Will says goodbye to Obélix and I

It was wonderful to have Will along for the first few days of Startical 2.0 given all the adventure time we shared together during Startical 1.0, and now it was time for him to continue his travels.

As he was departing, I thanked Will for his visit as it provided a rare occasion for me to discuss wellness and philosophy and share experiences (especially culinary) in depth for more than just a fleeting moment. I realise that most of my time is spent with my startup colleagues or working in isolation. In my twenties, it was relatively easy and common to spend a week with friends-outside-of-work, but as we've all grown older (and more responsible?) it seems increasingly rare to do this. It's easy to find an excuse when you have a career and/or kids.

This reinforces for me the importance of making time for visits like these, or adventures like the one I shared last year with Will: Montreal to Chicago by rail via Vancouver and Seattle. (Photos | The Canadian | The Empire Builder). I look forward to the next one, and will definitely put in the effort to make it happen!

Reminiscing about last year's epic rail journey

Last year today I embarked on an epic rail journey from Montreal to Chicago via Vancouver and Seattle. This time of the year is pretty much the only time I can completely escape startup life (and Internet connectivity), and a year ago I seized the opportunity to do something I'd been dreaming of since childhood: take "The Canadian" across Canada. Sat down with a beer and watched my videos from that trip (see playlists below) which brought back very fond memories not only of the trip itself, but also of Startical 1.0 which involved a similarly ridiculous Montreal to San Francisco rail journey. The playlists: "The Canadian" - Toronto to Vancouver by rail "The Empire Builder" - Seattle to Chicago by rail Also reminds me of my Rails and Reels: History, Infrastructure and the IoT blog post from 2013, just after we had become "World's Best Startup". Somehow rail journeys bring out the philosopher in me...

Office painting continued

There was fugly wallpaper on BOTH of those walls... ...the last to (soon) be painted white. Only just today realised that our new office, which is on the corner of Sherbrooke and Parc streets (Parc is French for Park) could cheekily be called PARC. XEROX PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) is effectively the birthplace of much of the core technologies we continue to use today (tablet computers, graphical user interfaces, mice, object-oriented programming...). See this reelyActive blog post . I've been calling the office Sharc to date, but PARC is not only awesome, but also fitting since the intent is to use it as a living lab and showcase of all the emerging tech we have developed and continue to develop. It may seem silly, but this is the highlight of my day and unbelievably motivating!

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