Blog
š¤ Is This Thing On?
Posted October 13, 2024
Hello! I havenāt touched my blog inā¦ well, over four years, according to my last post. In fact, my blog was actually completely broken for a couple of years, and I didnāt even realize it! But recently I decided to redo my website (mostly because of my interest in Paul Hudsonās Ignite static site generator), which gave me the opportunity to give everything a new coat of paint, including this blog. Additionally, with Mastodon 4.3 adding support for author attribution, I thought it might be an interesting opportunity to explore Fediverse integration. Read moreā¦
Mouse/Trackpad Support in iPadOS - A Welcome Addition!
Posted March 24, 2020
Today, Apple released iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4. Alongside such features as iCloud folder sharing and expanded keyboard support (especially for developers), Apple has added full trackpad and mouse support for iPads. You might have noticed the small grey circle in the centre of the screenshot above - thatās the pointer! After spending less than 5 minutes with my Magic Trackpad paired with my 2018 iPad Pro 11ā, I can say that I am absolutely blown away. Read moreā¦
Practical Learning Powers Success in Science
Linked January 23, 2020
Back in July 2019, I was interviewed for an article in Carleton Universityās Eureka! magazine, which was preparing to feature a collection of students from the Faculty of Science who exemplified experiential learning. In October, the magazine finally came out. Read moreā¦
Publishing to Jekyll From iPad with Shortcuts and Working Copy
Posted October 4, 2019
This is a post that has sort of been in the works for a while now, ever since I got the chance to travel halfway around the world this summer! You can read more about that trip here.
My blog is generated using Jekyll, a wonderful static website generator that allows me to convert markdown files into new posts with very little effort. Read moreā¦
iOS and iPadOS 13 - The MacStories Review
Linked September 30, 2019
Every September, Federico Viticci from MacStories publishes a wonderful review and in-depth analysis of Appleās latest version of iOS. This year he has not only done it again, but it artfully encompasses both the traditional iOS and the brand new iPadOS. Read moreā¦
Queenstown, New Zealand
Posted August 26, 2019
Queenstown: the final destination of my trip, known for its winter and extreme sports. I arrived in the evening and checked into Haka Lodge Queenstown (yes, the same chain as the one from Auckland), and headed out to grab a bite to eat at the famous Fergburger. Supposedly Fergburger serves the best burgers in the world. I canāt speak for the meat variant, but while the falafel burger I had was very tasty, it certainly doesnāt hold up to that standard! Read moreā¦
Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted August 26, 2019
Christchurch ended up being a sort of last minute booking for me. I hadnāt really thought out what I wanted to do there, and my main motivator for visiting was the tour bus that I was planning on taking from Christchurch to Queenstown (you can read about that further down this post). There isnāt quite as much to do in Christchurch as there is in other cities, thanks to the massive earthquake that devastated the city in 2011 and reduced around 80% of the downtown core to rubble. But, I was able to make my short time there worth it! Read moreā¦
Wellington, New Zealand
Posted August 25, 2019
As I mentioned in my Auckland post, I decided to travel from Auckland by way of the Northern Explorer, a train that runs through the North Island countryside over the course of about 10 hours. The seats were comfortable, the food available on board was tasty (albeit not cheap), and the views were spectacular! Read moreā¦
Auckland, New Zealand
Posted August 25, 2019
It was so, so refreshing to step off the plane and out into the cool, New Zealand evening air after a month straight of roasting hot weather. I was greeted at the airport by Terry, a friend of my aunt. He and I had coordinated him picking me up, but he graciously offered me dinner and a nightās stay at his home in the Auckland suburbs, which I accepted. Sure, Iād arrive at my hostel one night late, no big deal. We had a wonderful Indian meal and then I more or less went right to bed for the night. Read moreā¦
New Zealand - 100% Pure New Zealand
Posted August 22, 2019
New Zealand was actually the second country I selected for this trip, despite it being the last one I ended up visiting. For a while, I even considered skipping it because Iād be there during the winter, and I wouldnāt be able to do anything like swimming or surfing! It also meant packing extra warm clothing that Iād be carrying around with me for a month in Japan and Vietnam. But I decided to do it, even just to check out some of the skiing on the South Island. And damn, was it worth it. Read moreā¦
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Posted August 22, 2019
By the time I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City from Da Nang, I only had a couple of days time to explore. And being a city with a population of 10 million, I definitely didnāt get the chance to see everything I wanted! But I had to make due with the time I had.
I checked into my hostel, The Like Hostel, after a quick bus ride from the airport. It was pretty nice - tucked into an alley in District 1, it offered relatively quick access to many of the places I wanted to visit. It also featured a fun rooftop bar that provided free breakfast in the mornings. Read moreā¦
Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam
Posted August 20, 2019
I took a short haul flight from Hanoi to Da Nang, arriving fairly late in the evening at my hostel (Christinaās Da Nang - Seahorse Hostel). At this point it was really starting to sink in that I had not given myself enough time for Vietnam - I only gave myself two days in the Da Nang / Hoi An region, which was definitely not sufficient. Iāll have to come back some day! Read moreā¦
Cat Ba Island, Vietnam
Posted August 19, 2019
We arrived on Cat Ba Island after a 9 hour overnight bus trip from Sapa. With no charging ports on board the bus, I only had about 15% battery on my phone, so I kept it off for most of the day, and had to source my pictures from other people. Read moreā¦
Hanoi, Vietnam
Posted August 17, 2019
Due to some visa shenanigans (i.e. Iām an idiot who didnāt read the steps for acquiring a visa properly), I didnāt end up arriving in Hanoi until a day later than I had originally planned. No big deal - I still had an open schedule with zero plans, so I could stay in Hanoi as long as I wanted or needed. Or so I thought. Read moreā¦
Sapa, Vietnam
Posted August 17, 2019
The bus ride from Hanoi was long, and i didnāt sleep particularly well. Not that it mattered to the bus operators - we were kicked off the bus upon arrival in Sapa at 5:30am! At about 6:00am, we were picked up on a bus and driven from the main town to the villages in the valley below. I canāt say I knew what we were in for until we got our first glimpses of the valley. By the time we reached the tiny village in which we were staying that night, the sun had risen bright above the surrounding hills and was shining through the clouds, decorating the green grass and the rice fields with a magical glow. Read moreā¦
Vietnam - Timeless Charm
Posted August 15, 2019
When choosing the countries for this trip, I wanted to end up with three countries that were as culturally distinct as possible. Japan I already knew would be on my list, so I figured I would choose New Zealand (since I wanted to see the beautiful landscapes), and a country in Southeast Asia. It ended up being a tossup between Vietnam and Thailand. In the end, Iām not sure why I chose Vietnam, but Iām very glad I did! I had an absolutely incredible time doing everything from navigating the busy streets of Hanoiās Old Quarter to trekking through the mountains in Sapa. Read moreā¦
Osaka, Japan
Posted August 15, 2019
To conclude my stay in Japan, I visited Osaka! Since Kyoto and Osaka are quite close, it didnāt take me long to get into town and check into my first hostel, Nine Hours Namba Station. The hostel was well situated near Namba Station (duh), meaning I had no trouble getting around the city by subway. I took the opportunity on my first day to visit one of the shopping streets, Shinsekai. Right at the end of the street is an observation tower called Tsutenkaku. Read moreā¦
Nara, Japan
Posted August 14, 2019
While I was in Kyoto, I decided that I wanted to take a day trip to Nara, as I had heard about their famous āDeer Parkā. Knowing next to nothing about it before going, I hopped on a JR Line train that took me about an hour south of Kyoto.
Turns out that there arenāt just deer in one spot. There are deer absolutely everywhere. Read moreā¦
Kyoto, Japan
Posted August 13, 2019
I really looked forward to my trip to Kyoto, especially because it started off with a ride on Japanās Shinkansen, or bullet train. Expensive as hell, but totally worth the experience and the speed. The trip took about two hour, with the train reaching speeds of hundreds of kilometres per hour as we blasted through the Japanese countryside. Read moreā¦
Hakone and Lake Ashi, Japan
Posted August 11, 2019
Totally rain-soaked, but still mildly pleased with myself, I left Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko for Hakone. Hakone is a small, somewhat mountainous area about two hours from Fuji by bus, known for its many hot springs (or onsen). I got dropped off at Gora Station, which happens to be the place where both the train and the local cable car begin. Just like with Lake Kawaguchiko, it felt very picturesque, what with the abundance of nature and the quaint train tracks running alongside the road. Read moreā¦
Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko, Japan
Posted August 8, 2019
It was almost a relief to leave Tokyo for the quiet countryside of Lake Kawaguchiko, at the base of Mt. Fuji. As I walked from the bus stop to Kās House Mt. Fuji, it honestly felt like one of those picturesque towns out of a movie. It was so refreshing to see some countryside, with hills rising up around the village and small winding roads passing lazily between the houses. Read moreā¦
Japan - Land of the Rising Sun
Posted August 7, 2019
Iād always wanted to visit Japan. It has a certain cultural appeal to me, one that is just so different from any other country in the world. Unfortunately, living in North America makes it difficult to even get to the other side of the world, a problem that is compounded as a student with expenses. But after getting extremely fortunate with my working opportunities (i.e. TripAdvisor), in combination with some lucky timing, I ended up with the means and the time to take a whole six weeks to travel the world! So naturally, Japan was first up on my list. Read moreā¦
Tokyo, Japan
Posted August 7, 2019
I landed in Tokyo in the evening, after an excruciatingly long 22 hours of travel - plus the time change - and checked into my hostel for the next few days, Grids Nihombashi. Since it was already 10pm at that point, my first true experience with Japan was the following morning, when I did a free tour with Tokyo Localized. We began in the famous Akihabara district, some of which is known as āElectric Townā due to being Japanās centre of anime, technology, video games, and entertainment. Almost immediately, I felt that many of the stereotypes I had heard about modern Japan were validated; flashing signs and posters plastered across skyscrapers, anime merchandise shops and manga shops at every corner, music and noise coming from all directions, and hundreds of people of milling about. Read moreā¦
Implementing UICollectionView / UICollectionView DiffableDataSource in SwiftUI
Posted June 7, 2019
Just a few days ago at WWDC19, Apple announced that they had been developing an incredible new declaritive UI framework called SwiftUI, designed to substantially increase the rate at which developers can create, test, and tweak beautiful layouts for their apps. However, it became clear after the first day or two of the conference that not quite everything that was possible using UIKit had an equivalent in SwiftUI, notably UICollectionView. To find out how to interate UICollectionView with SwiftUI, I did what any WWDC attendee (or scholarship winner!) would do: asked at the labs! Today Iāll be sharing with you what I found out. Read moreā¦
How I Won a WWDC Scholarship
Posted April 16, 2019
Iāve been developing iOS apps on and off for about three and a half years now, and recently started a co-op work term as an iOS developer for TripAdvisor (see here for more on my move to Boston!). But last night, for the first time, I received news that I was fortunate enough to receive a student scholarship to attend Appleās WWDC this year in San Jose, California. Attending WWDC has been something on my bucket list probably since the time I started getting interest in programming, so to receive the opportunity means a whole lot to me. Iād definitely like to thank Ben Emdon, a WWDC scholarship winner himself, for giving me the push that I needed to apply. Read moreā¦
A New Chapter
Posted January 6, 2019
Since I moved to the city at the age of four, I have never spent more than two weeks at a time away from Ottawa. On January 2nd, 2019, I moved to Boston to begin a four month internship with TripAdvisor at their headquarters. Needless to say, this is a pretty big step for me, and writing about my impressions and experiences in depth will give me the opportunity to reflect on the changes I will have gone through, both as a person and as a developer. Read moreā¦
Farewell, TripAdvisor
Posted September 2, 2018
For the past four months, Iāve spend each and every weekday at TripAdvisor Canada. I can honestly say that my coworkers were a group of people that inspired me to be a better programmer. Each day, I was amazed by their incredibly deep knowledge of such a wide variety of programming-related topics, their astute problem-solving abilities, and their dedication to their craft. This created a work atmosphere that I would look forward to being a part of every day. Read moreā¦
Blogging with Jekyll
Posted August 28, 2018
I think the most fitting way to start my blog would be to talk about the process of setting it up in the first place! The idea to blog first came into my head about a week ago, but at the time I figured that I didnāt have the technical expertise and experience to post information about the technologies I work with with any sort of authority. Read moreā¦
The One Minute Manager
Linked August 28, 2018
I just finished reading a fascinating short book called āThe One Minute Managerā, written by Dr. Kenneth Blanchard and Dr. Spencer Johnson. This book was part of my training to become a team lead for the computer science team at the Carleton Science Student Success Centre. It provides insight into a style of management that is definitely applicable to many aspects of our daily lives - not just in a work setting. Read moreā¦
Created with Ignite