Bon Matin! 👋
I am in a particular Quebecois ⚜️ mood today since just this past weekend I saw off my older daughter to Quebec City for a 5 week language learning course. It is her first big trip away from the family for an extended time. I was more nervous than her, but I think she will have a blast. We will be going to Quebec to meet up with her and take a little tour of la belle province at the end of July.
What can I tell you about June? We had birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, my brother and his family came and stayed with us for a lacrosse tournament, and my mom made her first trip to the coast in many years to see our new house! Summer came (30ºC) and then went, and just today came back again. I am very happy to sit on my back patio under the blue sky in the cool evening, reading or conversing with my wife.
One year ago we were scrambling to prep for the move to Canada. I had to pack 22 boxes and have them shipped, and my wife’s Permanent Resident Travel Permit was issued in the Philippines, revoked, and then re-issued again after many stressful calls to Canadian emergency consular services over the Canada Day long weekend.
Now we are just relaxing on the back patio, surrounded by a dozen little pots and planters full of veggies my wife has been growing and serving us for dinner. Ah… the good life.
What else is key to the good life? People of course! Last month I put out a request for catchup calls and this month was a doozy for having virtual and in-person conversations with friends from around the world. I am so grateful to know all of you!
Passe un bel été pis, profite aux max!
Le Chad
🖋 From the Blog
I haven’t been blogging any serious tech articles recently. As I have mentioned before, I have been deep-diving ✌️AI✌️ which has been very interesting, and I am learning a lot, but I am not willing to publish any takes just yet. I have two experiments I am currently working on that I will write about once they are complete.
Coffee recommendations in Kyoto and Osaka ☕
For your next trip.
Scale
An applicable quote for our modern day tech experience.
Fantasy hole
Book recommendations you pervert 🙃
🧭 Elsewhere
DWeb Cascadia Camp is coming up in Aug! 🏕️ Link →
I attended the inaugural Vancouver WebSummit 🤖 LinkedIn →
Looking back at my photos of Iran 😢 Photos →
New coffee grinder and coffee sub ☕ Link →
Twitter leaver’s oath 🫡 Link →
The story of CSS’s new logo 🥹 Link →
Great storytelling from the frontlines in LA 🤝 Video →
Great shirt ✊ Link →
Hi-res map of Africa from 1636 🌍 Link →
Interactive world map through time is GOLD 🗺️ Link →
Finally, Zohran! Amirite!! 🎉✨💫
📖 What I’m Reading
This month has been a very good one for reading. I finished 5 books! Here is one I might finish tonight:
The AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna
(86% Complete)
A long (and yet mercifully short since it is by no means comprehensive) litany of all the ways you should not be using ”AI” (scare quotes intentional). Wondering if in the last 14% they will describe any ways we can use generative AI? 🤔 Anyways, this will be a must read to get grounded in many of the debates.
Connect with me on GoodReads → or on Bookwyrm →