For the first time since I started programming for fun and profit, I felt the need to have a secondary monitor. AI coding agents need a lot of attention. Alt+Tabbing constantly is never going to work. [Notifications](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/coding-agent-notifications) are a distraction if you are listening while working. A secondary monitor just to run the agents on the terminal emulator works well for me. The trick is to have a swivel chair to avoid neck pain.
#personal
Through an Alumni meet, I got the opportunity to visit the school I studied classes 11 and 12. It was a feeling of acceptance more than anything else. I felt like "Yes, I was here. I went through these incidents in my life. Now here I am." I was surprised with what I wasn't feeling - pride, joy, pain, fellowship, regret, longing. Probably because I only spent 2 years in that school and I didn't meet MY teachers.
#personal
Watched Sinners in a flight from Frankfurt to Chennai. I should've watched it in a big screen with theatrical sound system. It has soul. I interpreted the vampire confrontation as an IRL incident, in which racists cause death and destruction. The community fights back, KKK comes for revenge and the protagonist has the final say in a one-man Commando-style showdown. The music was amazing. A terrific watch. Of the limited films I watched in 2025, this one is up there at the top.
There are at least 3 standalone movies packed in one, which appears to be the movie's main criticism, but I am happy with this version and with my interpretation. #bookmark #movie
There are at least 3 standalone movies packed in one, which appears to be the movie's main criticism, but I am happy with this version and with my interpretation. #bookmark #movie
A Real Pain is the first time I watched Kieran Culkin for full 30+ minutes on screen. What a terrific performance! I felt his every facial muscle movement. His eyes when he is alone vs when is with company. I saw his world shatter when he heard his grandma talked about him behind his back - a behaviour which he disapproves of. Jesse was amazing too. Themes about survival, depression, pain and suffering - so poignantly depicted and left to the audience to "feel" them rather than get preached about like its done on most Indian movies. I watched with my daughter and it was a memorable one.
#bookmark #movie
2025 has been a blur. Personally and professionally it wasn't a good year. I am diabetic now, but not taking medication yet, it is borderline. Didn't really ship anything meaningful at work, I seem to find busy work to spend weeks on that somehow is complicated yet low impact. My exit plan didn't go well either. I got calls from dream companies but couldn't clear interviews. On the plus side, I completed one semester in OMSCS - Machine Learning for Trading, more on that in another post.
#personal
