> I'm retired. I don't have to write software, but I spend more time writing software (for free), than I did, for most of my career.

Same. Claude/Gemini/DeepSeekV4/Qwen3.6 are enabling me to do way more experimentation than I could do on my own. 10X at least. Not getting paid for any of it, but that's OK, getting paid imposes limitations on what you can work on and imposes responsibilities that I don't care to have anymore. There's a certain kind of integrity in that as well.

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draftsman 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Do you find joy in using LLMs to write software? I tried using Claude/Cursor/CodeX/etc. for personal projects and experimentation, and I found no joy in it. I learned nothing, and when my MVPs were complete, I only had a shallow understanding of how the code that powered them worked.

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didgetmaster an hour ago | parent | next [-]

I guess some people only enjoy the destination and don't care how they got there. These people seem to enjoy AI more than the people who want to enjoy the journey along the way.

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dansquizsoft an hour ago | parent [-]

[flagged]

	▲	didgetmaster 30 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		What? For the record, I am not saying that you shouldn't ever use AI. Plenty of good programmers use it as a tool to boost their productivity or to validate things. But if you are using AI to write all your code, I think you are missing a lot. It is like when you use LLMs to write your whole paper for you, rather than to check your grammar or offer critique of something you actually wrote.

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ChrisMarshallNY an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I do, but I also use LLMs in a manner that seems drastically different, from most folks here.

I use the standard $20/ChatGPT Pro sub, and run Thinking 5.5 as a chat interface.

I use it like a "trusted personal advisor," as opposed to a "black box employee."

I'm intimately involved in almost every step of the development process. Most of what I ask from the LLM, is function-length snippets.

It's made a huge difference in the velocity and scope of my work.

I have learned that I need to be very careful, though. The LLM sometimes really borks things, and I have to rip out the garbage, and rewrite the code, myself. I can't even imagine the quality of "vibe-coded" software.

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t_mahmood an hour ago | parent [-]

I don't know, the flow sounds exactly the same like many other comments, that starts almost exactly like this : that I use it differently then people here ...

Maybe I'm wrong, but these comments sound more and more advertising than personal experience.

I didn't see any reason for you to type the whole LLM version following the casing so precisely, why would it matter?

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ChrisMarshallNY an hour ago | parent [-]

And...we have an attack...

I love this place, I really do, but this stuff gets a bit tiresome.

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onraglanroad an hour ago | parent | next [-]

It's a troll (based on username). Enjoy your retirement, I'll be there in a couple of years myself and hopefully doing equally useful stuff.

	▲	t_mahmood 43 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		And you would absolutely be wrong. Why would my username make you think it's a troll? No intention to disrespect anyone, I said what the comment felt like.

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t_mahmood 34 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Interesting, why do you think it's an attack? I was skeptical, and I felt there is a common theme. if I'm wrong, I sincerely apologize, but I can't brush off the feeling.

But hey, maybe I'm really over-thinking, so I'll go off.

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ChrisMarshallNY 22 minutes ago | parent [-]

I'm not advertising jack. Everyone else mentions the LLM they use, along with all kinds of details, like token costs, etc. I mention it to frame the context. I don't think that using ChatGPT impresses anyone, around here.

It is not a common theme. However, when I do post something like this, I find a lot of kindred spirits, so I guess we are the "quiet ones."

Most people -the vast majority- use agents and IDE integrations; sometimes, in amazing ways. It's a very different way of using LLMs from the way that I do. Maybe the way I use it is considered "quaint," and people don't want to admit it, because they are afraid folks will make fun of them. I don't really give a rat's buttocks. I'm retired, and long past the need to feed my insecurity by accepting the judgment of others.

I am big on checking out people's profiles, when I am interacting with them. Sometimes, it makes a big difference in the way that I approach them. That's why my own profile is packed full of information. I'm not showing off -many folks here, are a lot more impressive than I am- I just want people to know who I am.

But that doesn't prevent the usual Internet Ready, Fire, Aim approach.

And one habit that I deliberately foster, is not engaging folks that want to attack me, beyond one or two mild responses. Once I say "Have a Great Day!", we're done. You can add whatever last word gives you good feelz. I won't respond.

I also don't attack. I respect this community, and engaging in troll-battles, just makes it ugly. And I could be really good at trolling; I just feel as if you can't shovel shit, without getting it on you.

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t_mahmood 10 minutes ago | parent [-]

I still don't get it why me being skeptical considered trolling. I don't troll. And, my comment was definitely, absolutely, not an attack.

But true, I didn't check your profile initially, so, my conclusion was uncalled for, and wrong.

So, really, was not trolling, and no attacks intended.

	▲	ChrisMarshallNY 5 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		We're good, here. I checked out your profile (and GH profile). We probably have a lot more in common, than differences. I'm always glad to find people to interact with. I know that my HN persona is a bit "stuffy," because I'm going out of my way, not to be abrasive, and to contribute to the community, but there are folks that absolutely hate me -in a Commissioner Dreyfus kind of way-, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's the Apple thing. Eh, whatevs. I'm "on the spectrum," and got used to people disliking me for no reason that they can even articulate. It used to really bother me, but these days, it's just background noise. I'm actually a fairly decent chap, and probably worth getting to know.

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voidfunc an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I like building stuff. I don't care about the code. I convinced myself over 20 years that I liked coding to get myself through the drudgery of corporate work but the reality is the building was the important thing to me. I'm able to build things quickly with AI.

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skinfaxi 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm curious of the places you've found joy while writing software traditionally. For me, it has been in reasoning about the system, debugging issues, and discovering what works. The iterative process of eventually coming to a more complete understanding, as you stand on and build off of your prior understanding.

All of those elements are present for me while using AI to augment my output. I have started using voice to interact with my coding harness though and I think that has maybe influenced my opinion. I also don't let things go fully autonomously and look at the diffs along the way.

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roncesvalles an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Depends on how you use them. I'm a detail-obsessed perfectionist. I believe these qualities are what have enabled me to produce better software than most people. I use LLMs the way I can without violating these principles.