Went to Microsoft HQ for hands-on training with Azure AI services. There I built a tool for getting answers from a large collection of technical documentation. It comprised a processing pipeline and an agent, and because I have trust issues, I extended it to issue citations.
This actually blew my mind. A few years and a few teams ago, I worked on a similar problem so I’m familiar with the NLP problem space: Long months of experimentation were reduced to a few keystrokes and clicks over an afternoon. The commodification of tooling right now is impressive, and I walked out shocked.
Shipped the largest codebase change I’ve made recently affecting 364 files, which required a few weeks of lead-in and planning. OMG I'm so relieved it’s over.
Went for dinner with some folks working data where we talked news and I tried my very very best to sell the UK and London as places to at least visit. Unfortunately recent headlines about Birmingham made it impossible to sell going there. C’mon people, how else are we getting people to visit PureCraft?
Left behind my headphones tho.
AG is in town, so we met for dinner with our former colleagues and reminisced over pieces of grilled chicken. The last time that we’d all been in the same room at the same time is north of five years, and yet, it didn’t feel like a day has passed. We did a group photo, and it’s probably the most unfortunate shot of me that will ever exist. At least the chicken was good.
At the weekend AG, MP & I met up at Yanaka Ginza to explore the area, and in a moment of desperation found one of the quirkiest cafes ever. We compared our experiences exploring Japan and of working in news product.
Some walking about Shibuya followed by more pieces of grilled chicken.
Sunday was easter, and MP & I met up to celebrate the Orthodox way (we’re technically in different churches but this part is basically the same?) so: boiled eggs dyed aggressively red. Unfortunately, I lost.
But really, for most of the weekend I was preparing to move house. And by preparing I mean packing. And by packing I mean, actually packing this time, not like last time.
