Stuart Spence Blog

Computer scientist and educator. Creator of ChessCraft. Senior scientific programmer at Environment Canada.




Fri 09 December 2022

ECCC and ChatGPT

Posted by Stuart Spence in Blog   

The free ChatGPT AI gave excellent or perfect answers to all my real ECCC interview questions: code writing and soft skills.

This post is written for public servants that need to know about the latest AI tool called ChatGPT. We should all understand what kind of text and interview answers …

Read more...


Tue 22 November 2022

My First Union Event

Posted by Stuart Spence in Blog   

The views expressed here are my own, and do not express the views of my employer or my union.

Here's my experience attending my union's annual general meeting. I felt some empowerment but mostly outrage and boredom.

Clearly my union is sclerotic and archaic. We gathered to vote and share …

Read more...



Sat 24 September 2022

Green Party of Canada Membership Test

Posted by Stuart Spence in Blog   

What's more important to you: climate science or social justice?

Canadian politics is better when all parties are strong. How can the Green Party of Canada (GPC) recover its legitimacy and relevancy? Here I describe a simple and likely controversial membership test. I can't think of any other way forward …

Read more...


Wed 29 June 2022

Public and Private Sector IT

Posted by Stuart Spence in Blog   

I often see these questions online:

"What are the differences between private and public sector IT?"

"What makes you stay in government IT?"

"Aren't government IT workers underpaid?"

This page is my list of the best things about public sector IT.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own, and …

Read more...


Sat 05 March 2022

Training Video Philosophy

Posted by Stuart Spence in Blog   

Most training videos are really bad. This is troublesome to me because I must constantly re-explain my philosophies and processes to colleagues or volunteers. This page aims to help.

Over the years I've made over a hundred training videos for public servants, high school and university students, workshops, and the …

Read more...


Sun 24 October 2021

Patronware

Posted by Stuart Spence in ChessCraft   

I like that the full ChessCraft game is free and ad-free, and yet it is monetized. It has been a challenge describing this monetization strategy succinctly. I wish there were a word for it. In this post I'll explore how words like "donationware", "freemium", and "nagware" aren't a good fit …

Read more...