dgeisert

SF Bay Area, 2024

I got in Friday and went straight to work. I had a big Demo set for Monday, and I ended up working almost all of Saturday as well. The demo went really well, and we’ll have to see what comes of it in the follow up. Saturday night I got dinner with Adam, Paul, Yutong, Michael, and Michelle. Then we went to play a round of mini golf. I had a great time, despite being worn out.

Then Sunday I had a mostly relaxing day doing some follow ups with work. Paul and Yutong were kind enough to have me over for dinner despite them being under the weather from their vaccines the day before. Yutong cooked an amazing dinner and we also had some tacos from the place nearby.

I went on a run Monday morning out to the little hill along the bay. There were a lot of other people out, and I saw a coyote there. There was a woman walking her tiny mini sheltie, and the coyote started stalking them. I ran up to them after the coyote got to about 15 feet from the mini sheltie, and it stopped and backed off. It had been looking for rabbits, and I bet the mini sheltie was just about right for a nice brunch.

Monday’s demo went great. Then that evening we went out to eat as a group.

Tuesday I did some volunteering with StartX, then Tuesday evening I went to George’s for Frosthaven. I took over Adam’s character, the BlinkBlade.

Wednesday was a good day in BUR and I got most of what I wanted to done. I then went to the normal Wednesday at George’s where we played a round of Mysterium. I did another round of work in MPK, then BUR before heading to SFO on Thursday.

This would have been London week 99

November 5, 2024 0

NYC, 2024

I went to NYC for work as part of a three week trip to the US. This was the first week for a summit about prototyping. I really enjoy chatting with the other prototypers and listening to the talks. True to form for me I didn’t go to most of the talks live, instead listening to them at 2x later.

The first night I got in I just relaxed around the hotel. Monday I went to work, but most of the people I was hoping to meet with didn’t end up coming into the office. I had a great time that evening meeting Rotem and Evelyn for dinner at the same little taqueria that David took me too the last time I was in NYC.

Tuesday evening was a fun party at a indie arcade game bar. They also had karaoke, and I got to sing two of my go to songs. It was great fun watching everyone else do karaoke, and I was surprised at how good everyone was.

I took some time away from the proto summit to go to the accessibility summit, and presented some there as well.

Wednesday evening was great with a simple group dinner, with great conversations about the future of our work and how we were thinking about it.

I did a two hour game jam on Thursday with a partner, Xenia. We didn’t finish, and I chose the format poorly as the partially completed project wasn’t set up to run well. It was still amazing to get as far as we did, and I am pretty sure with three hours we could have completed our ambitious project.

Thursday we went to a show called the 20 Sided Tavern where they did D&D based improv. They had a great crew doing the improv and had good audience participation points. I had a great time with it and enjoyed getting to chat with the people who were there.

What would have been Week 98 in London.

November 5, 2024 0

Ricardo in London!

I had a really chill week for week number 97 in London. This week was spent close to home taking care of things. On Wednesday we took the kitties to the vet to get them checked up. They are doing well, and I just need to brush their teeth more often.

Giulio joined me for choir on Wednesday, which as great. We went to the pub after with the choir as well and it was great talking to everyone there. I really enjoy talking to people in the choir because they aren’t in tech. It is a breath of fresh air and I get to hear what non techies lives are like.

I ran into the canal cats a good bit this week. There is a new Tortie and the Orange Tabby near Kaki was out and about again. It is also truly turning to fall this week. The trees in the courtyard have gone golden. They are gorgeous, but in a few days they will be bare. Other trees are turning as well, some golden, some red. It is a pretty if dreary time of year.

Saturday I ran errands in the morning then we went to dinner with Ricardo. We then went to Camden and tried to find some live music, but the only major show was sold out. We got a Guinness at a pub and then walked along the canal back to King’s Cross.

Sunday Steph organized a trip to Dover Castle. We had a few detours along the way, but made it there and then toured the castle. It was a pretty quiet day, but the weather was perfect for it. The castle is big, and has a ton of history. They also did lots of period pieces to show what it would have been like in the 1200’s. We walked down to the beach and had dinner by the water.

October 13, 2024 0

Pittsburgh

I went to Pittsburgh for a week to meet with people from the new team. This would be London week 96.

I had a long layover in Boston on the way there, and a short one on the way back.

Pittsburgh was a nicer city than I was expecting, with the wooded hills and rivers it was picturesque with a decent downtown area. The conference center was nice and I got to listen to a number of good talks on the new team. There was a bird stuck in the conference center, but we were able to let it out which really made my day. I got to talk to so many great people and see so much cool tech on the trip. I also really appreciated seeing the people I had known from before and I hope to be able to work with them. I went to a really neat building called the Cathedral of Learning. It was in the style of medieval cathedral, but most of the classrooms on the first three floors were given really elaborate themes around different cultures from all around the world. It was very well done and amazing to see.

Saturday morning I got back and it was a long and rough flight. I got home at 8am and spent the day relaxing.

Sunday we met up with Radha and went to a Spanish Galleon that was on show near the tower of London. It was impressive as it is still a working ship that is sailed from place to place. We then had a great discussion over drinks and hopefully we can work out a project together.

October 8, 2024 0

Choir and Karaoke

London Weekly 95

I did a good bit of singing this week, between Karaoke on Tuesday and Choir on Wednesday. I really enjoyed both. The karaoke was only four of us, Xiaomeng, Giulio, Baha and myself. I found a new team at Meta, and resolved some of the big unknowns I had hovering over me.

On Sunday I took Steph to an afternoon tea at Whiskers & Cream, a cat cafe. It had some really cute cats that were really chill. There were a lot of children that weren’t terribly nice to the cats, so mid visit most of the cats were taking sanctuary in the high places around the cafe.

October 5, 2024 0

Parents Visit

London Weekly 93

This week my parents were in town. They got in early on Tuesday and we had them come to our place. I showed them around the Kings Cross area. It just happened that the British Library was closed that day. But they were able to see it on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday I took them to breakfast at work.

Thursday we had a nice afternoon tea at the Lanesborough, where my parents Irish friends joined us. The tea was really well done, and they had a cute cat named Lilibet that just relaxed around the hotel.

Saturday We walked by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, then we took the ferry to the Cutty Sark.

Sunday I walked my parents over to the British Museum, and we met up afterwards for dinner.

I had breakfast with them Monday before they headed to the airport.

October 5, 2024 0

Work winding down

London Weekly 94

The team at work wound down and we had drinks after work a few times. I also headed up to Highgate to take care of a cat for a coworker. Overall very little happened this week worth noting. Most of the team transferred to a new group, and others transferred to the US. I did get to go to choir as the new term started. I really enjoyed the group singing and had missed it.

October 5, 2024 0

Yutong!

London Weekly 92

Yutong visited us this week, but that is later in the week.

Tuesday we had a last lunch with Irene and were joined by Nancy and Punit on their first outing in a while without Atlas. They wanted a sit down meal, and it was pretty good. The issue was that Irene only had one thing on the menu that she could eat.

Wednesday I joined coworkers at The Constitution, a bar along the canal, for Bijoy’s going away drinks.

Friday Yutong was in town and up for hanging out. We met up with her for dinner. We went to Gunpowder Indian. Then we went to see Slave Play, an interesting take on interracial relationships. It was a very strange play. It had Kit Harrington, and we waited after the play so Steph and Yutong could get pictures with Kit.

Saturday we had breakfast with Yutong at Half Cup, then headed to The Tower and did the Gunpowder Plot experience. It was unique and interesting, but had a lot of things that detracted from the experience. I had a good time analyzing their use of VR.

After lunch at the St. Katherine Docks, we met up with Yutong at the Sherlock Holmes museum. It was interesting as they semi presented it as actually having the items from Sherlock Holmes, but they did have a lot of interesting editions of the books and period antiques. Then we walked through Reagents Park, down the canal, and had dinner in Camden Market. We then walked the rest of the way down the canal to King’s cross and had Yutong over for a bit. She was clearly tired, as she broke 30K steps on Saturday.

We met her for lunch on Sunday near Russel Square, then we walked around the National Gallery for a few hours before it was time for her to pack and head to Zurich.

That evening Steph and Radha did some knife training. Then we went to dinner at Bao, a restaurant that has been on our list for a while. It was good, but not amazing for the price.

September 9, 2024 0

A Week with Irene

London Weekly 91

This week I was cat-sitting a cute grey longhair, Henry. It wasn’t too bad going up to Highgate.

Monday we had off, I spent the day selling our bikes. We hadn’t used them even once since we moved to the UK. They sold really quickly on the company for sale board. Then we met some people for dinner in the Dalston Curve Garden. It was a really nice space, and I’d be up for going back there and hanging out more. We hung out with some of the people from Radha’s book launch, Rachel, Mike, Erin, and Irene. It was a great discussion, and we got some good pointers for the Global Talent Visa.

Wednesday we went to lunch with Irene at a fancy place in Bank. It was good, but strange to be there. that evening we went to Hadestown, but 4 people dropped out from being sick. The main actor wasn’t great, as he really struggled with the high notes. The rest of it was great, and I really liked that they had a baritone as a main role.

Thursday we saw Deadpool and Wolverine again with Irene, and I enjoyed it just as much. We went to the Baker Street location of Everyman, which was something new.

Saturday, Steph and I went to the Queens Wood for lunch. Eating next to the Royal Frog Pond. Afterwards, I got lots of plants in Camden. I’m putting a row of plants between the terrariums and the window as they’ve been getting too much light and spending most of the day fogged. One plant died from the overheating. This is despite the window not getting any directly light.

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous. Steph and I spent the evening sitting out by the lock in Camden, picnicking and watching the boats go up and down. We met up with the group from the book launch again, and it was a great evening. I really enjoyed chatting with them, and look forward to seeing them again.