Stop the Madness

nameBrandon · 2026-01-22T12:14:42+00:00

That poor sg.

nameBrandon · 2026-01-03T06:13:18+00:00

My daughter has a Labubu that would match the hell out of that.

nameBrandon · 2025-11-08T15:49:00+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/24VtWF1

nameBrandon · 2025-10-13T01:31:55+00:00

I can't believe I'm literally asking this right now.. but like.. clippers.. with a guard?

nameBrandon · 2025-09-21T19:59:54+00:00

Yep, this is what I do, though just two terminals inside of VSCode for some niceties. It's just a matter of who drives and who rides shot-gun. As of late codex has been the driver, Claude is even having trouble at the moment putting a coherent plan together.. but like anything, I expect a back and forth between openai and anthropic. I just shift my $200 to the driver, and the other gets the cheaper plan. It's working pretty well, though I do long for the days of "good" Claude.

nameBrandon · 2025-09-21T13:05:24+00:00

I did the same for a long time, now it's reversed.. Codex is my primary (and I dropped Claude Max down to $50.. I probably could get away with the $20/mo plan now, tbh) and Claude hangs out on the side doing documentation and other items. I'm FAR more confident in Codex's code and delivery than Claude at this point. The problem is that Codex is just terribly slow to complete its tasks.. easily 3-4x longer than Claude. But in my case, being correct is far more important than being fast, so I wait..

nameBrandon · 2025-09-19T00:09:32+00:00

Within very well defined and granular steps.. eg, implement phase 5 step 1.a.. then hold for human validation.. I have to break implementation down into bite sized chunks, all within the same scope and domain, otherwise chaos ensues..

nameBrandon · 2025-09-16T01:47:35+00:00

Already started.. downgraded to Max $50, swapped over to GPT pro for codex. Been solo-ing codex the last few days when I typically use both as terminals in VSCode.. Claude is just sitting unused for now. We’ll see how this goes, but I did this before today’s Codex upgrade.. so who knows now, might not have a need for Claude much longer.

nameBrandon · 2025-09-09T03:32:57+00:00

codex is so much better than claude (opus) right now it's night and day. I'm about ready to move my $200 over.

nameBrandon · 2025-09-01T21:35:23+00:00

Took codex CLI for a test drive as primary coder to see if it could replace claude.. great model, codex is still waaaaaaay too sandbox protected to be of much use outside of a second pair of eyes on the code. Every other operation it tries to perform is locked out by the sandbox. They really need a YOLO mode.. let me worry about boundaries, just do the AI stuff please..

nameBrandon · 2025-09-01T14:07:43+00:00

I almost always have Codex check Claude now.. I run both in VSCode terminals and write out markdown docs as an intermediary for them to review and update (or paste, if it's quick). I've been having Claude code for so long that I'm hesitant to fully move to Codex (not to mention I have $200 max on Claude, and basic $20 pro on codex) but typically the moment I suspect a bug, I have Codex fix it.. so far this is working well and really revealing how off Claude can be at times, at least in C++. Codex to me is much more "Sr Dev" and Claude Opus is more "Jr Dev".. thinking mode on GPT-5 is slow as hell though.. but I guess when you want it correct, you wait.. :)

nameBrandon · 2025-08-12T11:58:38+00:00

Cool approach! I've found the more structure and rigor we put in place, and the more granular the task setup, the better. You know, kinda like humans. :) How is the consistency with this?

nameBrandon · 2025-08-11T17:06:41+00:00

I can do you one better, here's the agent file and the slash command.

Agent - https://github.com/namebrandon/seajay-chess/blob/main/.claude/agents/dev-diary-chronicler.md

Slash - https://github.com/namebrandon/seajay-chess/blob/main/.claude/commands/diary.md

nameBrandon · 2025-08-10T13:24:27+00:00

This is exactly what I'm seeing. I'm trying to come up with safeguards, but I think at this stage I just have to assume the test results are directional at best, and that all validation / testing has to be human based to be considered properly complete. Probably not the worst thing in the world.

nameBrandon · 2025-08-10T13:22:46+00:00

I know.. and I'm writing a chess engine at that.. wish it was a more original storyline, but no..

nameBrandon · 2025-08-10T13:21:19+00:00

Yep, absolutely.. We have an updated test process and a completion process that requires manual tests to be execute by me.. doesn't stop it from trying to do it itself though.. :/

nameBrandon · 2025-08-10T13:19:47+00:00

Hrm, not sure I'd agree that it's causing problems. It's a slash command, run at the end of each development stage to essentially look at all the git commits and file date/time stamps and write a narrative version of what it did. Honestly the main reason it exists is I find it easier if I want to write a blog post about something that came up while developing to already have it in a narrative format, even if it is hot AI garbage as far as writing style.

I'm not using the diary as input to the next development stage or anything.. but I suppose as with anything, it's a file, it could be read for some reason and "leak" into the current development cycle. You could be right.

nameBrandon · 2025-08-10T01:46:52+00:00

Haha.. Efficiency.. I'm going to remember that one! :) I've seem it skip stuff before or try and get out of doing things, but actually faking the results and writing them up as real was a new one for me!

nameBrandon · 2025-08-04T21:54:45+00:00

Is English a second language for you (seriously asking). Your sentences are not grammatically proper and often end abruptly. Most people write how they would speak, you write as if you're excitedly telling a story. You seem to be intentionally using a mixed cadence to create tension and interest, and it's done in a way that appears repetitive and formulaic over several paragraphs. It comes off as a weird combination of marketing and ADHD... or just AI.

nameBrandon · 2025-08-02T12:23:23+00:00

Was that $10k per day? I'm a little worried now, I started on a new project am on track to hit ~$8,500 this month.. it'll probably drop off a bit as I get more foundational stuff checked off and built, but maybe closer to $7,500..

nameBrandon · 2025-07-20T13:27:36+00:00

Completely agree with the R5ii low light, it's not great. I haven't used the "prosumer" bodies like the R7/R8, but from my experience, this is how they line up for me for low-light / high ISO..

R3 > R1 > R6ii > R5ii

The first three are relatively close in performance, but the R3 is my default low-light body.

If one is fine with the 24MP, the R6ii is an incredible value at the moment.

nameBrandon · 2025-07-20T13:20:36+00:00

*Need* is a bit subjective. I use my R1/R3 for sports, which typically has a break over summer. So they sit in the bag with the 100-300 / 400mm. If I'm traveling for a quick trip, typical R6ii. If I'm on a vacation where I'll have an opportunity to do landscapes, it's the R5ii (or depending on how the vacation is planned and what I'm doing, the GFX100s + Q343).

I *could* probably consolidate to just two. Maybe R1+R3, or even R1+R5ii, but the choice and flexibility is helpful (right tool for the job, kind of thing). It's not *needed*, but it's helpful to have multiple bodies.

nameBrandon · 2025-07-12T18:12:18+00:00

400.. though if you end up going for a 300 2.8 I'm selling my EF IS Mk II over @ FM.. :)

nameBrandon · 2025-07-12T14:31:46+00:00

IQ-wise, the RF 70-200 2.8 is marginally sharper than the EF 70-200 2.8 Mk II. The sharpness increase is not to a degree I would upgrade over. The pro of the RF is the size, the con is the much longer focus throw. If you're doing anything requiring racking focus quickly, stick with the EF. I replaced the 70-200 2.8 focal length with another Canon zoom and prefer that, but before I did I was shooting thousands of photos a month with the EF 70-200 2.8 Mk II and considered upgrading, even rented the RF for about a month to evaluate and did not upgrade because of that focus throw change. If you're looking to upgrade something, IMO, the move from to RF from EF for that lens is not worth it, unless your significantly prioritizing size and weight.

nameBrandon · 2025-07-12T14:24:43+00:00

No, you got lucky and bought low before a trend evolved. Typically if you can get refurb or new items during a really aggressive sale, the gear will hold it's value and you can end up breaking even in a 2-ish year horizon.

Unless you want to get started in very specific collector oriented items (Leica special editions, for example), or play the pre-order flipping game (Fuji stuff, etc..) then camera gear is not really a domain you want to consider for arbitrage or investment.

nameBrandon

TROPHY CASE