Days 4-6: Pink Salmon Season - When Life Calls and Code Can Wait 🐟
The Plan: Days 4-6 of intense development on my AI-native observability platform.
The Reality: "The pink salmon are running in Puget Sound. Time to fish like it's our job."
Welcome to Days 4-6 of building an AI-native observability platform in 30 days. Except I didn't build anything. I went fishing. And it was exactly the right decision.
The Decision Point
After Day 3's massive breakthrough, I faced a choice: keep coding or follow our fishing routine.
Pink salmon in Seattle run every two years. Miss it, wait until 2027. Code will be there tomorrow.
When the humpies are running, Marlon and I fish like it's our job.
Day 4-6: Pink Salmon Adventures with the Sea Eagle
We've been going out almost daily in our 16-foot Sea Eagle with electric motor upgrade. Setup: downriggers with purple UV flashers and pink hoochies, plus buzz bombs for casting.
Secret weapon: A 4-foot kiddie rod with 6lb line that Marlon found underwater last April.
Marlon caught the most fish with that kiddie rod. Sometimes the "wrong" tool works best when you're not overthinking it.
The same skills that make you good at debugging work for fishing: pattern recognition, persistence, patience.
Three insights from the water:
- Sustainability beats momentum - ahead of schedule, but a 3-day break costs less than burnout
- Context switching works - disconnecting lets your subconscious solve problems
- Family first - meaningful work requires meaningful moments outside work
Result: cooperative salmon, successful kiddie rod, and mental clarity.
Monday: Aneke's Turn
Monday: wife Aneke gets her turn on the water. Result: 7 pink salmon, close to limit.
Your code is only as good as the life that supports it. Taking care of the people who take care of you isn't distraction - it's what makes work worth doing.
Why This Matters for Development
Technical justification: Day 3 completed foundational architecture ahead of schedule. Natural break point.
Cognitive benefits: Memory consolidation, subconscious processing, fresh perspective without mental fatigue.
Systems thinking: 30-day challenge needs stable family support. 3 days investment = 27 days of focused work without guilt.
Traditional thinking: More hours = more output
Reality: Strategic rest + focused effort + life alignment = better output + better life
Net result: More energized than if I'd ground through the weekend.
Days 7-9: Back to Code
Foundation solid, family happy, freezer full, mind clear. Time for AI features.
For fellow developers: It's okay to stop coding when life calls. Your code will be better when you're better.
The Catch (Literally)
Final tally for the three-day break:
- Total salmon: Close to limits most days, including 7 on Monday with Aneke
- Marlon's kiddie rod victories: Countless (and priceless)
- Sea Eagle electric motor performance: Game-changer for positioning
- Family memories: Priceless
- Strategic insights: 3 major architecture improvements identified
- Guilt about not coding: Zero
- Excitement to get back to work: Maximum
Pink salmon season comes every two years. Code sprints come whenever you decide to start them.
I made the right choice.
This is Days 4-6 of the "30-Day AI-Native Observability Platform" series. Sometimes the best development happens away from the keyboard. Tomorrow we dive back into LLM Manager implementation with fresh energy and clear priorities.
Next up: Day 7 - LLM Manager with Multi-Model Support (for real this time)
Stack: Fresh humpy salmon, family time, clear priorities
Tools: Sea Eagle canoe + electric motor, downriggers with purple flashers, kiddie rod magic
Location: Puget Sound, Seattle - where pink salmon run every two years and developers remember what really matters
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