Software developer, Scale Modeler, Dad

In the past I've mentioned that I used AI to refresh this site, in everything from migrating the data from the previous platform to a new one, to choosing a new platform to use. That's far from the first time I have used AI; in fact, I use it for work more than anything else. I have been using it for everything from single code functions to full build and deployment scripts, which are now faster than ever before. Even the image in the banner for this entry was generated with Google Gemini.

Indeed, the past year has been a somewhat annoying, somewhat entertaining year where people swung from predicting that "AI is going to replace developers" to the rise of a new job position: the vibe code cleanup specialist.

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For the past 2 years I have been meaning to migrate this site away from its previous platform. I have been using Ghost CMS for this site, and while it's beautiful and functional, it's becoming unbearably expensive. With a virtual machine running on Azure, along with all the requisite services, and I had been meaning to move to a static web application to save on costs.

The biggest hurdle by far was migrating data. While it was fairly easy to obtain a JSON file that contained all of your Ghost entries, and with so little content, this was the easiest first step.

But what do I do with that data? I ended up having to take three more steps.

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One of the major concerns I had when I shifted away from my software developer role was the uncertainty over the future.

Just like any developer I had aspired for a career that steadily progressed from junior to a senior developer, and beyond that I imagined becoming some sort of software engineering manager, head of software engineering, or even a CTO role. But the role shift that had happened threw me off of that track, and it was jarring, unsettling, and uncomfortable trying to, all of a sudden, reimagine a future far different from what I've envisioned in the past.

The stakes were also higher as I have a daughter entering university soon, and the financial implications of her schooling added one more thing for me to worry about.

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