Christopher Kao - Christopher Kao

Constructing an XML Payload in Java for an API Call

I offer a solution to a problem with the Java jackson-dataformat-xml library where the .writeValueAsString() function wraps the desired XML in tags.

November 07, 2020 - 2 min read

Orange County Fire Photography

The SIlverado fire is 15 miles away from me, and I am documenting it through photos.

October 27, 2020 - 2 min read

Volunteering for the Philadelphia OIC Drone Program

Last week I was able to take a day off from work to volunteer anywhere of my choosing, so I gave a talk to students of the Philadelphia OIC Drone Program.

October 26, 2020 - 3 min read

Choosing a Leica Macro Lens for the Leica SL

An analysis of macro lens options for the Leica SL and why I chose the Leica APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm f/2.5.

October 18, 2020 - 5 min read

Remembering Keon Ho (Chris) Lim

I want to take a moment to reflect on the loss of Chris Lim.

October 07, 2020 - 3 min read

How Does a Leica S Camera Autofocus a Hasselblad Lens?

I investigate a question that has been bothering me. The answer can help unlock the value in Leica S autofocus lenses.

October 06, 2020 - 5 min read

How to Fetch G Suite Service Status Programatically

Here's one approach to fetching G Suite's service status since Google doesn't offer an API for it.

September 05, 2020 - 3 min read

Save Money With My Referral Codes

Today is July 10, 2020. COVID-19 cases are picking back up again; today the United States reported over 60,000 new cases for the third day in a row and there are fears that we may be heading into another recession. If you are trying to save money, feel free

July 11, 2020 - 1 min read

Name Redux Actions After States, Not Getters and Setters

If you're using your Redux actions like getters and setters, you might as well be using something else because you are not using Redux to its full potential. Dan Abramov seems to agree: I would add that Redux is fairly useless if you treat actions as setters and couple actions

June 29, 2020 - 4 min read