Headed to Vegas for a week. Watch this space for updates on stupid shit you probably don’t care about.
Fall Break Starts Now
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”
What Does It Mean To ‘Holiday’?
We’ve just spent the last 25 days out of the country, visiting the Mouse and taking a Caribbean cruise. I think this might be the perfect amount of time to vacate as I’m much more relaxed than I was at the end of our trip last year. Disclaimer: I’m sitting in the Delta Lounge, off my face on Long Island Iced Teas.
How is it that we as a society decide that working ourselves to the bone over a 47 week period (due to my time at SAIT, I get 5 weeks of vacation) is okay? Why is that the norm? Why do we put up with it? How do we fix that so that we’re balancing our working lives with time away from work?
An even better question might be how do we make sure those 47 weeks don’t occur in one lump batch and make ‘mini holidays’ a norm again? I think I mull these ideas over at the end of every single holiday I’ve taken for the past eight years which doesn’t invalidate them, just makes me wonder if I’ll figure the answer out sometime soon.
My wife actually gets more time off than I do but she’s employed at a school and only really gets her long break during the summer because I get more flexibility in my schedule. I’ve considered Fall and Spring breaks and how to integrate them into my work schedule but this can’t be done for Sly.
Which is a conundrum because, unfortunately, I love her and love traveling with her. Not having her with me really does change the texture of a trip somewhere. On the one hand I become more adventurous, striking out in random directions to explore and find things that I wouldn’t normally do with Sly by my side. On the other, I don’t have the most important person in my life with me to share those experiences. I attempt a sort of ‘hacky’ pseudo-experience where I send her pictures and texts all day, telling her what I’m up to, where I am and what I’m seeing.
Did this last year with a spring trip to Vegas and it worked out pretty well. Five days off work and a quick jaunt out to Nevada gave me the recharge I needed to get me back in the fight at work.
So I’ve already started thinking about my next trip and it will probably be something quick and cheap (aka Vegas) that will get me out of the city for a few days and allow me to relax a bit.
This trip was incredible and I’ll probably want to write-up a few lines about it and some of the neat things we saw and did while away but I’m sitting in the Delta Lounge at MSP relaxing before our next flight which will take us home and I’m in more of a mind to sit and try to keep this travel glow going as long as I can.
Well maybe just a taste:
I’ll have more later.
Cheers!
Z
Least Irritating Beer Here
Seriously, it is.
Zuckerberg And a Bold Faced Lie
Think it’s super important for people to watch this and think about how far we’ve come in 9 years. Watch and remember. Maybe it’s time to re-think how much you’re sharing on the “Social Network”.
Remember: if you’re not paying for a service, you’re the product. More after the video.
When Facebook opened to the public, as opposed to just Harvard students, I signed up almost immediately and thought it was neat. Here’s my first post from July 7, 2007:
How exactly should I feel about jumping on this fucking bandwagon? Ashamed? Oh, most assuredly.Engaged? No, I’ve coded a better web interface in my sleep. I awoke with a hard-on it was so good. Feeling a sense of security? Umm… no. Now any knob who once knew me, knew of me or simply knows my name can peer into whatever detail I choose to leave on this site. Retarded. Ummm yeah. I’m done. I’m on facebook. Yay.
Only slightly prophetic, no?
One day soon, I’m going to swap over all my “social networking” to this site where I have a bit more control. Oh, I hold no illusions; anyone that’s actually interested in my content on the Internet can download it and use it as they see fit but I have control over what I share with the world here instead of thinking I have some modicum of privacy. The illusion that most social networking enthusiasts work under is that they have privacy. Seeing my FB data dump shows me how much I’ve shared over eleven years and that’s making me move more here, under my control.
I think more people should look to control the content that’s about them floating around on the net. Maybe I’m starting to get a bit paranoid but I want my thoughts, pictures, status updates to be mine and not sold to a company that will attempt to make money from me without me getting equal value in return.
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.
How to make the most of the Steam Controller: a comprehensive guide | PC Gamer
More often than not, I like using this space for storing links I might be interested in for future reference. It helps if I think the occasional visitor might also be interested.
Sly bought me a Steam Link and Controller for Xmas and I haven’t really gotten into messing around with it yet. There’s so many configuration options that it boggles the mind and can easily confuse the neophyte, such as myself. This guide does a good job of guiding you through most of the options available and setting up a very basic control scheme for most games.
I’m pretty big on alternate modes of control: I have a Logitech G27 Wheel and Pedals for my Farming Simulator fix and a SAITEK (Now Logitech) X-56 HOTAS setup for Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen.
I eventually bought the wheel because controlling a tractor or other piece of wheeled machinery felt really bad with the M&K. There’s very few things I can’t stand more than having to tap a key repeatedly to get a vehicle to follow a simple arc. With the wheel, I just have to give it a turn and the tractor follows the exact arc I’m looking for. It really added to the realism of the sim and I enjoyed that.
The HOTAS was a different story: I’ve been pledged to Star Citizen for a few years now and it’s only back in October when I felt a need to dive into the Alpha and fly around a bit. Now THAT felt like crap. I left it but felt a need to do some space flying so bought Elite: Dangerous during a Steam Sale. I felt the same way about the Mouse and Keyboard control scheme for E:D so I did a bit of research and purchased the HOTAS.
Both of these decisions have been good ones, if a bit costly. Neither of the controllers are cheap but I’ve definitely gotten value out of the wheel (purchased in October of 2015 and had hundreds of hours put on it) but I can’t imagine playing these games without them.
So back to my new control mechanism. When used in conjunction with the Steam Link, you can sit in front of your big screen TV and enjoy some gaming with a decent controller. Now, it would take a great deal of effort on someone’s part to get me to admit that the control that is achieved with a mouse and keyboard is matched by that of a controller. Maybe I’m old (school) but I’m still of the mind that if you’d like to shoot a baddie in the head, you need the fine control offered by a mouse. I’m going to give this a go with a couple of games directly on my computer first to get the hang of it but then who knows? Maybe I’ll be gaming from the comfort of my couch while enjoying a fine level of control and will have to eat some crow?
If you’re a PC gamer on the fence about buying a Steam Controller, give the article below a read and see if it would fill a niche in your controller arsenal.
Source: How to make the most of the Steam Controller: a comprehensive guide | PC Gamer
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
Mobile Plan Change aka Canada Day Success
I’ve spoken about the Canadian mobile market (or lack thereof, depending on your viewpoint) and how difficult it is for a consumer in this mobile environment with so little competition. It seems as though there might have been a slight change…..
Today I was reading MobileSyrup and saw a story on a plan that being offered to certain Rogers customers to combat Public Mobile’s lower priced plans that had recently hit the market. Continue reading “Mobile Plan Change aka Canada Day Success”
Blackjack: What is Basic Strategy?
Almost everyone knows the goal of blackjack: try to get closer than the dealer to a card total of 21 without going over. Pretty simple, no? But is it all guessing about what you need to do when you get a particular sequence of cards? The easy answer is no and hopefully I’ll give you a bit more information about how you can educate yourself on the right decisions.