My flight from Memphis to LaGuardia has been delayed so long that I’m not going to make the last flight from there to Toronto, my final destination today. As it currently sits, I don’t arrive in Toronto until 2345 and I’ve been sitting at the airport since 1100. If I wasn’t sitting comfortably in the Delta SkyLounge I’d be really angry right now. It’s taking a large amount of self control not to deplete their self-serve bar of all their bourbon.
Continue reading “It’s Finally Happened”CES 2019
I’ve been absolute shite about keeping this up to date but I’ve got an update that I think needs sharing somewhere off the ‘social’ media’.
I’m headed to Vegas tomorrow for CES. This will be my third year attending but this year is a little different: I’ve joined the Canadian Delegation to represent SAIT (and Alberta/Canada) at the show on behalf of Applied Research. Myself and Emerson Burns (see our Bios here) will be at the show and at the Canadian Pavillion manning a booth for a bit of time. I’ve embedded a map below in case anyone might be interested. Blue pin, top left is where we’ll be for a couple days during the show.
The combination of fear and exhilaration is astounding; something that I’ve seen innate value in for the past two years finally becoming something we might use as a vehicle into more potential projects.
I hope I don’t fuck this up, I hope that we can derive some real value out of this and that it turns into something we contribute to on an annual basis. I hope this is something that I can build off of and develop new streams of potential project partners, close to home and abroad.
Don’t expect a ‘Facebook dump’ of selfies and activities while we’re away; I think my boss wants to hedge a bit and see how this trade mission goes before announcing our participation to stakeholders that might look down their nose at two ARIS employees being sent to Nevada simply because of the location without considering the value of the mission. Though when the weekend starts and the pressure has lessened you might get a couple of photos posted of Emerson and I blowing off some steam.
We’ll see.
Lounge Life
I’ve mentioned that I really like visiting airport lounges before. If you’ve visited here before you’ve probably even seen me post a photo or two. I won’t bore you with another picture but I will regale you with a tale.
Made it through the security and customs hurdle (went for the full body pat-down instead of the scanner for shits and giggles) without too much of a hitch. Made it through duty free without raising any alarms. This is when the fun part starts.
Normally I might find a place near my gate to sit, browse the web and wait. No longer will I be a slave to the shitty seating at the gate! No longer will I board a flight completely sober or hungry! No friends, I have now ascended to the lounge class!
Last month I decided to get an American Express Platunum card due to the number of perks provided to cardholders. There are many perks but I’ll only be touching on the lounge access today.
It’s a nice quiet place to relax, have a few drinks and prepare for what can sometimes be a very stressful experience.
I’ve got access to the Centurion lounges, Priority Pass lounges and the Delta lounges (if I’m flying Delta that day) and a few others I don’t know the name of. Inside you’ll find food, drink reading material and, maybe most importantly, plugins for your phone and\or laptop. But, again, the most important being the quiet place to unwind.
Am I becoming a snob? Possibly but this seems so fundamental to air travel that I would have a hard time without it. If you get a chance I thoroughly recommend it.
Got a business problem? College students can solve it. – Macleans.ca
Article about a project we did a few summers ago and how we use student interns to solve business problems.
I’m always perplexed seeing my name included in an article about the work we do. I know we do good work and solving problems that might not find traction elsewhere is really cool but it’s not until someone external says, ‘Hey, this was really neat and I’d like to know more about it!’, that I actually feel a sense of accomplishment. So having an article published about it is almost surreal. If you’re interested, read the MacLean’s article here.
With our change in vector to more IoT and sensor networks based projects, it would seem I should get used to it. Innovation space has never been more exciting.
We haven’t moved into our new lab yet but we’re already getting queries about potential projects and that is very exciting.
Source: https://www.macleans.ca/education/college/got-a-business-problem-college-students-can-solve-it/ “Got a business problem? College students can solve it. – Macleans.ca”
Least Irritating Beer Here
Seriously, it is.
Fresh
Just a picture of the new haircut.
Here’s How to Share as Little Data as Possible Without Deleting Facebook
I’ve considered the move from Facebook for some time now. As I get closer and closer to pulling the trigger, one of the main things on my mind is ensuring that FB has as little information about me and make sure that they don’t manage to get more info about me as I move around the web.
This is a decent article about minimizing the amount of data you allow FB to harvest about you.
One day, very soon, I’ll stop using FB completely and replace my banner with an image the explains my reasoning with a link here. If people are interested in what I’m up to, let the come to chriszaal.com and get the skinny, straight from the horse’s mouth without the need of an intermediary.
Link: Here’s How to Share as Little Data as Possible Without Deleting Facebook
Precision Cattle Ranching Project Video
I’ve been working at SAIT since 2005, in one capacity or another. I’m quite proud of that fact as the school is one of the better employers I’ve had in my life.
Since March of 2013, I’ve been working with the Applied Research and Innovation Services Department at SAIT. During that time I’ve had many roles: embedded programmer, project coordinator and now Research Associate, which is basically the manager for the Centre for Innovative IT Solutions. It’s been a great experience for me and I continue to get more opportunities as time goes by.
The video below is the first time I’ve been asked to present myself for an audio and visual presentation that we’ve published for the world on Youtube. Another good experience.
I thought I’d put the video here for posterity as I continue to inch away from Facebook as a social media platform. I have yet to generate enough courage to release myself fully but I see that in the future.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
To the most beautiful IKEA furniture assembler I know, Sylvia Zaal.
This year will be our 14th year as a married couple and you never cease to amaze me. I wish I was a better man so you would have a better life.
Love you immensely!
X
Fifth Annual Vegas Vacation
Starting now!
No plans this time around. Sly has gotten comfortable with just sort of winging it, which is my normal MO. We’re going to eat some food, watch a few movies and do a bunch of shopping.
We’re both pretty beat and this break couldn’t have come any sooner. I’ve been complaining about how it seems that the usual Fall slowdown didn’t occur this year and it’s just been go go go.
We’re here for a week then back home for a week before starting this trip all over again.
But that’s a different story.