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• What I'm Up To (March 2025)

  March 30, 2025

  Got into Instant Film

  I got a Polaroid SX-70 and that's unleashed a new passion for Polaroid instant film. I've been shooting instant film with Instax film, but Polaroid is a whole other beast. Far more finicky, but I also enjoy the experience.

  Spent a month with my family

  My parents came to visit me. We went to Monterey, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle. It was lovely showing them my part of the world. They were already very familiar with San Francisco, but got to see these other cities this time. We traveled by Amtrak, coach (Flixbus), plane (Alaska Air out of Burbank, best way to arrive in / leave Los Angeles), and caught a ride with friends (Monterey to Los Angeles). We ate well, saw waterfalls, saw friends. It was a lovely way to spend a month.

  Continued to commute to Monterey

  After 4 months going to and from Monterey (by shuttle), I've grown quite comfortable with the commute and life there. I have favorite spots (Ho Wah! Barba azul! First Oriental Market!), friends, and more. I like it.

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• What I'm Up To (January 2025)

  January 19, 2025

  This is a jumbo sized update, because lots of things have happened.

  Sea Life

  I work at an aquarium now!

  I started a ridiculously cool gig at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where I am building their first product management team. There's a lot to do, the people are wonderful, the animals are fun, the environment is delightful. I've been keeping track of some of the things that give me joy here (text-only Mastodon thread) and here (photos mostly). If I may say so myself, the photos are lovely.

  I spend half my week out there, which I honestly don't mind. I go to the aquarium any time I want (which is, all the time). I am surrounded by marine puns all day.

  It's funny this happened, because back in May I started listening to marine biology and deep sea ocean research podcasts whenever I was running. I thought, 'wonder if there are any cool jobs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for me?' Turns out, they did.

  Kismet.

  We said goodbye to Cookie

  Cookie, the love of my life, passed on in June 2024. She was 14 years and 8 months. This Mastodon thread celebrates my life with her. In time, I may want to publish a little memorial photo book.

  Sabrena graduated

  My wife, Sabrena, graduated summa cum laude from SF State University in psychology! Back to work for her though, as she also started her Masters in Clinical Psychology shortly after. I am incredibly proud of her. What an achievement

  More to come, hopefully I'll update these pages more frequently!

  Working on a book

  I am writing a book! "Product for the People: A Guide to Building Mission-Driven Digital Services in Government and Nonprofit Organizations"

  Too often, many product management books are about maximizing profit. Well, that's important, but people are important too. So I'm writing a book about that. More details soon!

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• What I'm Up To (May 2024)

  May 9, 2024

  Gave a talk at 11ty Conf

  My presentation was on, '11ty for 'non-devs'. While rebuilding this site in 11ty, I fell in love with building for the web again. So many things about 11ty just make sense to me. I truly believe that people who are technical-adjacent, but not web devs, can probably have fun with 11ty too. My talk was about my personal journey, why I think 11ty is the right tool for these folks, and why it's important to make building on the web fun again. (View the YouTube video here)

  Visited LA

  Did I mention that I absolutely love LA? I didn't expect to. I don't like cars. But, I love the people, the food, the neighborhoods. I had a wonderful time in East La and then in Sawtelle. More on that in a bit. I even said on Mastodon 'I like the food scene in LA as much as I like Bangkok's', which is no small feat.

  Took so many film photos

  I am still developing them.

  My wife graduated from SF State!

  With honors. I am so proud of her. Next stop: grad school.

  Also a few life events that still feel too new to talk about, but I will, soon.

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• What I'm Up To (April 2024)

  April 17, 2024

  Gave a talk at Singapore GovTech UX Week 2024

  My presentation was on, 'Centering Marginalized People: in a world of artificial intelligence'. The main gist of what I think on this is, 'why AI? why now? what are you trying to do?' and also 'maybe we can start by going back to basics: try to do things that center marginalized people and you'll get more accessibility AND better AI'.

  My dog almost died

  We had a vet scare: Cookie is 15 years old this year. She suddenly stopped eating. We received excellent emergency veterinary care at SF AMC. It was pricy, like all emergency vet care, but our pet insurance went a long way. I don't think one should have senior pets in the US without good pet insurance. Anyway, the worst is over, but it was touch and go at one point. Cookie is all better, though she will always have a problem with her digestive system, but the worst is over and we found a way to keep her in a good state, for now. I even posted a retrospective of Cookie's life, but she survived. I'm not sorry: I am thankful for the miracle!

  Work is intense right now

  I've been working on some large projects at work. I can't talk about them yet, but they are impactful and significant. I like work. There's just a lot of it.

  Soy, tofu, love

  I've been enjoying my newfound Mastodon food influencer fame. Bit of a joke, but kind of not. There aren't really traditional influencers on Mastodon. But I get to pretend, and to do it in a way I prefer: nerdy, text-based deep dives into things that I really like.

  For example, soy sauce. And tofu.

  Rediscovered my love of kaju curry

  I love cashew curry. When I spent time in North India, I found I didn't love the food of the Hindi belt (I have a hugely biased preference for south Indian, mainly south Indian coastal cuisine). But. Cashew curry, I loved. So I cooked it. It will now be a regular dish in my repertoire.

  Did some thinking on what queer marriage means to me

  Yes, it's arbitrary, and assimilationist. But I would not be able to have any of this life I now have, without queer marriage as an institution.

  Food newsletter

  Re-upping my mango newsletter. How to buy and eat Indian mangoes. More recently: a list of tandoori restaurants, and a tandoori glossary. I have so many food-related projects now it's hard to keep track.

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• What I'm Up To (March 2024)

  March 30, 2024

  Interviewed by Manuel Moreale

  I've long enjoyed Manuel's "People and Blogs" series. My old friend Winnie Lim so kindly recommended my blog to him. Here's the interview I did.

  Set up Public Sector AI

  I'm hoping to be able to process and filter news about artificial intelligence, through my public sector lens, to find the things that are useful for other folks in the industry.

  This wound up in two parts: the Public Sector AI website and the companion newsletter. Read more about my motivations here, and here.

  Went on many long walks

  My dog Cookie is not getting any younger. This October, she turns 15. I'm hoping to spend as much time with her as I can in the twilight of her life. We go on many long walks, and snack on things together.

  Sent out a bunch of proposals for talks

  I used to give talks all the time. Then I went into a period of hibernation. Now I am emerging from deep sleep. Expect to see more talks from me, on a variety of topics, soon.

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