Unsupervised Design

Happy towel day you hoopy froods #TowelDay

Raquel and I got another round of surprise tickets to the Thunderbirds from a still mysterious benefactor and tonight I found a fun souvenir in my seat.

Selfie of Raquel and sitting in the stands.

Lacrosse ball that I found in my seat sitting in the cupholder of my seat.

As has become tradition over the years I have pulled together my NHL bracket. Very strange to be doing it and not being overly optimistic about the Penguins winning.

2023 NHL playoff bracket predicting that the Colorado Avalanche will defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup final

Saturday Morning dog pile.

Hugo laying on the couch on his side with Luna laying on her side on top of Hugo

Took some time to unwind tonight by baking a batch of cookies. I didn’t even end up eating any of them tonight!

Fresh batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies sitting on the cooling rack on top of the stove in my kitchen

I was craving some baked goods so I made a batch of soft pretzels for the first time in twenty years I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.

A bakers dozen of soft pretzels on a cooling rack on top of the stove cooling in the sun.

Today at work we hit general availability on one of the most challenging projects I’ve tackled, “how do you take the password out of 1Password”. Unlock with Okta is the result.

Our security team did a wonderful job detailing how we solved the problem and maintained end to end encryption.

Raquel and I took in the Thunderbirds game this afternoon after I won free tickets. Half way through the game Raquel said “I think I like sports now!”

One cool touch was that they had a drum circle before the US and Canadian anthems.

The Thunderbirds turf and Jumbotron in the Scotiabank Center pregame.

A drum circle at Center field performing the Mi’kmaq Honour Song before the US and Canadian National anthems

Post game moment with the team gathered at center to celebrate the win

Apparently it has been 10 years since “this is fine” was published. This meme has deeply embedded itself in my professional life and even taken up a spot on my shelf.

Plush dog wearing a bowler and holding a mug from the “this is fine” comic sitting on my shelf.

The original artist posted a great reflection on the impact of this phenomenon on them.

And it feels like it’s only getting harder. The best I can ask for is for people to simply forget, but the dog persists. So I do what I can and try to keep in good humor and be thankful that I can still do what I do for a living.
Reflection on a decade from the author

I went looking for a keyboard and mouse combo with multi device support and immediately gave into nostalgia for my university days.

Wireless black Thinkpad keyboard with little red mouse pointer nubbin sitting on a wooden desk. It is the Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint Keyboard II.

Celebrating the last day of 2022 by taking in a family walk to the outdoor cafe the Bike and Bean to enjoy the very warm day

A picnic table in front of the bike and bean cafe with the sun high in the sky

Carrot weather forecast showing that it is 9 degrees Celsius (feels like 7) and a quip of “How many famous people can 2022 kill on its way out the door?”

On Christmas Eve we had a little family outing to the rink and I got to take Gwen for a bit of a spin around in addition to playing some hockey with my cousin’s children.

Gwen in a red snowsuit sitting in her stroller while I am pushing her around the ice surface of Kentville arena while wearing a hockey helmet and holding a hockey stick in my other hand.

After 3 days of birthday parties, Christmas, and family visits the pups are pretty happy to have a quiet morning.

Hugo curled up between my legs with Luna laying on top of him in my lap viewed from behind.

Hugo curled up between my legs with Luna laying on top of him in my lap with a view of their faces.

I am not usually one for “end of year replay” social stuff but getting my Steam replay was definitely satisfying.

Summary of my Steam activity for 2022. 46 games played, 338 achievements, 558 sessions, 33 new games. Hades, LEGO Star Wars, Spiderman, Halo, and Tape to Tape were the top 5 games played.

Sitting in a dog pile in the sun and playing Hades

Hugo laying on my legs with Luna laying on top of him and my left hand resting my Steam Deck playing Hades on top of both dogs.

Took in the solstice sunset with the pups.

Hugo and Luna standing on the edge of flat water lake as the sun sets behind the clouds.

It would seem that the FIA is bound and determined to not let FIFA out do them in the “monstrous multinational sport” competition.

“No political statements” is a political statement.

FIA bans drivers from making ‘political statements’ without permission

It was not as drastic as last time but I had my first haircut in almost 18 months this week. Couldn’t risk Gwen not recognizing me so has to keep it simple.

Before shot with hair past my shoulders and covering the left side of my face.

After shot where the longest hair in the back is neck length and the front is much shorter

Even without a rooting interest in either side this World Cup final has been thrilling. Really too bad it will be decided by penalties.

As far as Gwen is concerned this may as well be the Infinity Gauntlet with all of the Infinity Gems installed. The moment I fully assemble it she will stop whatever she is doing and come pull it apart and distribute the rings to all corners of the room to keep the house safe.