Simple Makes [Life, Software, Everything] Better.
Simple Makes [Life, Software, Everything] Better.
I’ve been developing & teaching UW-Madison’s Computer Science Capstone since Fall 2020. In Fall 2021, we started to welcome a handful of Product Management MBA students into the program, as well as UX Master’s students and now we have a new course entirely for our Product Management MBAs.
Even though I’m now a small part of the AI-revolution (see my announcement about joining Strudel AI two weeks ago!), I was reminded last weekend that in-person events are still pretty much the best things ever. But given how quickly AI is permeating every aspect of our online lives these days, I find myself craving humanity — real humanity. And I found it last weekend at GameHole Con.
Last month, I kind of un-retired. That’s right. After a year and a quarter of slow mornings, travel, and lots of reading / board games, I’m now back at work. I found a company and a team that made me really excited, it turns out: Strudel AI.
Five years ago, UW-Madison’s first cohort of Computer Science students got to take the brand new Computer Science Capstone. This semester we have two section, 168 students, and 22 Capstone partners. Our partners are amazing and I’d like to take a moment to introduce them to you.
Every year, I go on a girls’ weekend trip with three other ladies I met at my first full-time job at IBM. It is a wonderful time of reconnection and fun. This year, we met up in Colorado and drove from Denver to Vail and Breckenridge to stay in my friend Sara’s vacation home that they’re about to sell — one last time.
In order to be more intentional with my time, I periodically do a “Time Review” and have some specific practices around increasing my time doing things that bring me energy (my “Energy Gainers”) and decreasing the things that take energy away (my “Energy Drainers”).
I’ve been to Omaha plenty because my grandparents lived there. While most people actively avoid Nebraska, my family was going there twice a year every single year. This summer we decided to see the sites. It was my husband’s first time in Nebraska and I will echo his reaction to the weekend: Nebraska was, surprisingly, a fun place to visit.
Our final stint in Portugal was a road trip to the Algarve region along the Southern Coast. With its gorgeous coastline and beautiful beaches, the Algarve did not disappoint.
The Douro River Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is filled with wineries and olive oil presses. It makes for a lovely day trip from Porto. Here we’ll show you where we went and what we drank.
Our trip to Portugal would not have been complete without a visit to its second-largest city, Porto. We absolutely loved Porto and it is the city we are dying to get back to after just a few weeks away. Here’s a bit of what we saw and did while in Porto.