/ 2026-04-15T00:00:00-05:00 Computer scientist and educator. Creator of ChessCraft. Senior computer scientist at Environment Canada. 2026-04-15T00:00:00-05:00 2026-04-15T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2026-04-15:/sick-days-and-happiness.html

<p>I've had this on my mind for years. What if you made a graph of sickness versus happiness with respect to paid sick days? Here's my first good attempt. Your graph may be different than mine because:</p> <ol> <li>I have paid sick days.</li> <li>I feel some duty to my work.</li> <li>I …</li></ol>

2026-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 2026-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2026-02-10:/how-to-government.html

<p>I'm a senior computer scientist for the government of Canada, there since 2018. Sometimes reality doesn't reflect the official messaging in government. So this page lists some of my own guidelines, truths, and tools that have most helped my career in government and guard my sanity. I hope this page …</p>

2025-12-31T00:00:00-05:00 2025-12-31T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2025-12-31:/chesscraft-2025.html

<p>I've often liked year-end reviews like from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiG1MZATT3M">Wendover Productions</a>. So here's another for ChessCraft. See also:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-2024.html">2024</a></li> <li><a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-2023.html">2023</a></li> <li><a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-2022.html">2022</a></li> </ul> <h1>Metrics</h1> <p>This year ChessCraft passed <a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-1-million.html">one million installs</a>. Curiously, the page on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.FrameOfMindGames.ChessCraft&amp;hl=en">Google Play</a> still reports just 500,000 several months later! I guess Google doesn't care about my vanity metrics …</p>

2025-09-18T00:00:00-05:00 2025-09-18T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2025-09-18:/chesscraft-1-million.html

<p><img alt="chesscraft 1 million" src="images/1-million/fireworks.png" width="50%"></p> <p>Wow! How about that. Do I get a gold plaque from YouTube now? I still remember celebrating 100,000 in 2021:</p> <p><img alt="chesscraft 100k" src="images/1-million/2021-04-08-chesscraft-100k.jpg" width="30%"></p> <p>And if we <a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/first-hundred-installs.html">really go back</a>, 100 in 2019:</p> <p><img alt="chesscraft 100" src="images/2019-05-hundred-installs/2.png" width="30%"></p> <p>I guess I like round numbers. If you haven't passed it yet, I recommend celebrating your one billion second birthday …</p>

2025-08-26T00:00:00-05:00 2025-08-26T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2025-08-26:/2025-08-declining-ai-slop-mr.html

<p><img alt="ai slop soup nazi" src="images/ai-slop-soup-nazi.jpg" width="40%"></p> <p>Sometimes a merge request (MR) doesn't merit a code review (CR) because AI was used in a bad way that harms the team or the project. For example:</p> <ol> <li>Code deletion would improve the MR a lot.</li> <li>You don't know the basics of the language you submitted.</li> <li>Documentation spam.</li> <li>Blatantly inconsistent …</li></ol>

2025-07-13T00:00:00-05:00 2025-07-13T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2025-07-13:/2025-07-finding-a-job-build-something-real.html

<p>I often see these questions online:</p> <blockquote> <p>"I have no work experience. How do I get my first software job?"</p> <p>"I got laid off with only have 2 years of experience. How do I get a software job?"</p> <p>"What certs can help me get a software job?"</p> </blockquote> <p>I'm a team lead …</p>

2024-12-30T00:00:00-05:00 2024-12-30T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-12-30:/chesscraft-2024.html

<p>I've often liked year-end reviews like from <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/tag/2024-in-review/">quanta magazine</a>. So here's another for ChessCraft like <a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-2023.html">last year</a> and the <a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-2022.html">year before that</a>.</p> <h1>Metrics</h1> <p>It's been 7 years since I started working on ChessCraft on <strong>2017-12-30</strong>. We're now at 920,000 installs with 260,000 this year. I thought I might …</p>

2024-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 2024-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-11-11:/2024-11-future-of-political-conventions.html

<p><img alt="cfp logo" src="images/2024-11-cfp/cfp-logo.webp" width="8%"></p> <p>Here's my experience attending the founding convention of the Canadian Future Party (CFP) in November 2024 in Ottawa. Members voted for the first time on policy, leadership, and a constitution. Here I write about procedural problems and I propose modern solutions.</p> <p>(<a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/2024-11-future-of-political-conventions-fr.html">Version française</a>)</p> <h1>Context</h1> <p>The <a href="https://thecanadianfutureparty.ca/">Canadian Future Party</a> (CFP) officially …</p>

2024-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 2024-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-11-11:/2024-11-future-of-political-conventions-fr.html

<p><img alt="cfp logo" src="images/2024-11-cfp/cfp-logo.webp" width="8%"></p> <p>Voici mon expérience au congrès fondateur du Parti avenir canadien (PAC) en novembre 2024 à Ottawa. Les membres ont voté pour la première fois sur les politiques, la direction et une constitution. Ici, j'écris sur les problèmes de procédure et je propose des solutions modernes.</p> <p>(<a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/2024-11-future-of-political-conventions.html">English version</a>)</p> <h1>Contexte</h1> <p>Le <a href="https://thecanadianfutureparty.ca/">Parti …</a></p>

2024-10-09T00:00:00-05:00 2024-10-09T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-10-09:/2024-10-save-human-internet.html

<p>The human internet is dying.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/13/tech/facebook-fake-accounts/index.html">Facebook has shut down 5.4 billion fake accounts this year </a></li> <li><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/04/09/5-things-to-know-about-bots-on-twitter/">Two-thirds (66%) of all tweeted links were shared by suspected bots.</a></li> <li><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40211010">Reddit is full of bots: thread reposted comment by comment, 10 months later</a></li> </ul> <p>AI has created some big problems with election integrity, spam …</p>

2024-09-22T00:00:00-05:00 2024-09-22T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-09-22:/2024-09-public-service-displacements.html

<p>Sometimes my friends, family, colleagues, or online communities ask me this question:</p> <blockquote> <p>"If you could wave a magic wand to make one change in public service, what would it be?"</p> </blockquote> <p>I'd create a new tool for managers in government called "displacement". Here's how it works.</p> <h3>Disclaimer</h3> <p>The opinions here are …</p>

2024-08-02T00:00:00-05:00 2024-08-02T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-08-02:/2024-08-02-three-months-lwop.html

<p>After some big disappointments at Environment Canada, I decided to take three months off in May, June, and July of 2024. Now that my time off is coming to a close I thought it would be nice to jot down all the nice ways I got to spend my time …</p>

2024-07-31T00:00:00-05:00 2024-07-31T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-07-31:/chesscraft-release-1.16.html

<p>Since 2018 I've heard thousands of feature request ideas. By far the most popular feature request is to share your own custom images for pieces. Well it's finally here! I've just released version <strong>1.16</strong> on Google Play and Steam. It should be available within a few days, starting with …</p>

2024-05-01T00:00:00-05:00 2024-05-01T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-05-01:/2024-05-01-proposed-point-system-wfh.html

<p>This page describes a point system where public servants and their managers can autonomously identify what their minimum work-from-home (WFH) day count should be.</p> <h1>Why RTO</h1> <p>Some politicans are more transparent than others about why return-to-office (RTO) is so important to them:</p> <blockquote> <p>"Three days is a good start," Ford said …</p></blockquote>

2024-02-16T00:00:00-05:00 2024-02-16T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-02-16:/2024-02-16-ma-edtech-concordia.html

<p>Every so often someone asks me what I thought about the master's program in education technology (instructional design) at Concordia University in Montreal. If that's you, you've come to the right place.</p> <p>Overall I'm happy I enrolled. However the master's was just an outlet for my own self-drive and did …</p>

2024-01-01T00:00:00-05:00 2024-01-01T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2024-01-01:/chesscraft-2023.html

<p>I've often liked year-end reviews like from <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/tag/2023-in-review/">quanta magazine</a>. So here's another short one for ChessCraft like <a href="https://blog.stuartspence.ca/chesscraft-2022.html">last year</a>.</p> <h1>660,000 Installs</h1> <p>It has now been 6 years and 2 days since my first <a href="https://git-scm.com/">git</a> version of ChessCraft. Remarkably, the rate of installs per month is still increasing. We're now …</p>

2023-10-23T00:00:00-05:00 2023-10-23T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2023-10-23:/2023-10-new-role-at-eccc.html

<p>Today I'm excited to say I'm moving to a new team! They build AI prototypes in the cloud for Environment Canada (ECCC). On paper this is like a dream job! On this page I'll go over key details, the job description, and highlights.</p> <h2>Key Details</h2> <ul> <li>One year assignment starting November …</li></ul>

2023-07-07T00:00:00-05:00 2023-07-07T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2023-07-07:/2023-07-better-hiring-government.html

<p>When I help with government hiring I often give the same suggestions to hiring teams. So I wrote this page as a starting point. I focus on IT hiring but this also applies generally. If these points resonate with you, I'd love to help you with your hiring.</p> <p>Important note …</p>

2023-05-27T00:00:00-05:00 2023-05-27T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2023-05-27:/2023-05-goodbye-mongo.html

<p>After years of strange problems and bad performance with MongoDB, this week I successfully migrated chesscraft.ca to PostgreSQL. This took lots of preparations, went smoothly, and is performing great, so I thought I'd write about it. Writing here is cathartic. Also, others might find it useful.</p> <h1>Performance</h1> <p>Look what …</p>

2023-03-09T00:00:00-05:00 2023-03-09T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2023-03-09:/chesscraft-release-1.15.html

<p>I've just released version <strong>1.15</strong> on Google Play and Steam. It should be available very soon on Steam, and a few days from now on Google Play.</p> <p>What's new in <strong>1.15</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>Folders in the crafting hub!</li> <li>Filter by title or description text.</li> <li>Eight new piece rules: acidic, blacksmith …</li></ul>

2023-01-28T00:00:00-05:00 2023-01-28T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2023-01-28:/chesscraft-release-1.14.html

<p>I've just released version <code>1.14.0</code> on Google Play and Steam. It should be available very soon on Steam, and a few days from now on Google Play.</p> <p>What's new in 1.14:</p> <ul> <li>View the top boards and pieces this week, month, year, etc.</li> <li>Backup and restore progress online …</li></ul>

2022-12-31T00:00:00-05:00 2022-12-31T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-12-31:/chesscraft-2022.html

<p>I've often liked year-end reviews like from <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/tag/2022-in-review/">quanta magazine</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3dDagZMALQ">Wendover</a>. So why not do a short one for ChessCraft?</p> <h1>336,000 Installs</h1> <p>It has now been 5 years and 1 day since my first <a href="https://git-scm.com/">git</a> version of ChessCraft. Remarkably, installs per month are still steadily going up, even though …</p>

2022-12-09T00:00:00-05:00 2022-12-09T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-12-09:/2022-12-chatgpt-eccc.html

<blockquote> <p>The free ChatGPT AI gave excellent or perfect answers to all my real ECCC interview questions: code writing and soft skills.</p> </blockquote> <p>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 …</p>

2022-11-22T00:00:00-05:00 2022-11-22T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-11-22:/2022-pipsc-agm.html

<blockquote> <p>The views expressed here are my own, and do not express the views of my employer or my union.</p> </blockquote> <p>Here's my experience attending my union's <a href="https://pipsc.ca/about/governance/agm/2022">annual general meeting</a>. I felt some empowerment but mostly outrage and boredom.</p> <p>Clearly my union is sclerotic and archaic. We gathered to vote and share …</p>

2022-10-13T00:00:00-05:00 2022-10-13T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-10-13:/maybe-you-just-like-art.html

<p>If you love your <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_nO2NMH_g">stable diffusion</a> art made with a vague prompt, consider checking out the artist instead.</p> <p>I've made many thousands of SD images and I'm <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/xw08qd/samus_aran_by_various_pinup_artists/">having a blast</a>. I also love seeing what <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/top/?t=year">others have created</a>. But I've only recently been able to put into words something that …</p>

2022-09-24T00:00:00-05:00 2022-09-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-09-24:/green-party-of-canada-membership-test.html

<blockquote> <p>What's more important to you: climate science or social justice?</p> </blockquote> <p>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 …</p>

2022-06-29T00:00:00-05:00 2022-06-29T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-06-29:/public-and-private-sector-it.html

<p>I often see these questions online:</p> <blockquote> <p>"What are the differences between private and public sector IT?"</p> <p>"What makes you stay in government IT?"</p> <p>"Aren't government IT workers underpaid?"</p> </blockquote> <p>This page is my list of the best things about public sector IT.</p> <p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> The views expressed here are my own, and …</p>

2022-03-05T00:00:00-05:00 2022-03-05T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2022-03-05:/training-video-philosophy.html

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

2021-10-24T00:00:00-05:00 2021-10-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2021-10-24:/chesscraft-is-patronware.html

<p>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 …</p>

2021-07-01T00:00:00-05:00 2021-07-01T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2021-07-01:/chesscraft-release-1.13.html

<p>This amazing release has the most new piece and board rules ever in a single update! I've also added seven new languages. As usual, it may take a few days for Google to make the update available to everyone.</p> <p>I must extend a special thanks to Politique 2.0, Maria …</p>

2021-04-17T00:00:00-05:00 2021-04-17T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2021-04-17:/oh-stallman.html

<p>Richard Stallman may be a legend in the world of software, but he also has decades of history promoting a toxic environment in software communities. Due to this, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has been pressured to kick out Stallman from the board of directors, which they did, though he …</p>

2021-02-09T00:00:00-05:00 2021-02-09T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2021-02-09:/chesscraft-release-1.12.html

<p>Today I'm incredibly excited to announce a test release of ChessCraft with online multiplayer! If you are a beta tester on Google Play, you'll soon get the latest version 1.12 which allows you to play your friends online.</p> <p>Just like <a href="chesscraft-release-1.4.html">release 1.4</a> where you could share your designs …</p>

2020-12-01T00:00:00-05:00 2020-12-01T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-12-01:/bazaar-launch.html

<p>So... I bought myself a ChessCraft mug. Is that vain?</p> <p>I'm really happy with this awesome mug!</p> <p><img alt="chesscraft mug" src="images/2020-12-bazaar/1.png" width="50%"></p> <p>In case anyone else is interested, here's a link to the new online store: <a href="https://www.zazzle.ca/store/chesscraft/products">ChessCraft Bazaar</a>. Good to note: these are printed individually by Zazzle so they are quite pricey, and I hardly …</p>

2020-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 2020-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-11-11:/chesscraft-release-1.11.html

<p>I thought this was a small update, but then I reviewed all my changes and I surprised myself!</p> <ul> <li>Collect "relics" in adventure mode.</li> <li>Be a spectator with the new AI versus AI mode.</li> <li>Occasional ambient music.</li> <li>Bishop/Rook slide range editor increased from 0-3 to 0-5</li> <li>Choose piece movement animation …</li></ul>

2020-09-04T00:00:00-05:00 2020-09-04T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-09-04:/ode-to-the-public-servant.html 2020-08-22T00:00:00-05:00 2020-08-22T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-08-22:/chesscraft-release-1.10.html

<p>Two great new features have been added! <strong>Restrictors</strong> prevent nearby pieces from moving and/or attacking, and <strong>Gems</strong> which you collect and spend to open gates.</p> <p>There's also a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4vEuHBWsNU">great new trailer</a> to replace the first one that I made 18 months ago.</p> <p>And of course, bug fixes and UI …</p>

2020-07-15T00:00:00-05:00 2020-07-15T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-07-15:/chesscraft-release-1.9.html

<p>This small update is all about convenience features and bugfixes.</p> <ul> <li>Fixed a bug where the AI thinks a very long time then makes illegal moves.</li> <li>Undo button in the board editor.</li> <li>Drag release drift.</li> <li>Swap button for white/black when placing pieces in the board editor.</li> <li>New piece abilities: move …</li></ul>

2020-06-08T00:00:00-05:00 2020-06-08T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-06-08:/chesscraft-release-1.8.html

<p>Before I ramble too much about the random board generator, I must thank:</p> <ul> <li>Luigi Annicchiarico</li> <li>Johan Estévez</li> <li>Selianin Alexander</li> </ul> <p>- for volunteering to fully and thoroughly edit my Italian, Spanish, and Russian translations! This was a lot of work. More than most people may realize. Internally, ChessCraft has over 500 different …</p>

2020-03-28T00:00:00-05:00 2020-03-28T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-03-28:/chesscraft-release-1.7.html

<p>This is a fun one! Ever since I started working on ChessCraft in January 2018, I've wanted "iron pieces". I've published 1.7 on Google Play - it will be available to you sometime in the next few days when Google approves it.</p> <p><img alt="iron piece sprite" src="images/release-1.7/1.png" width="30%"></p> <p>This is one of my oldest feature ideas …</p>

2020-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 2020-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-03-24:/2020-03-ai-of-chesscraft.html

<p><em>Updated: 2025-01</em></p> <p>This page is a description of the artificial intelligence (AI) in ChessCraft. This page assumes you:</p> <ul> <li>have seen a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-hfs1NCCic">gameplay video</a>, or played around a bit with the ChessCraft board editor and piece editor</li> <li>have some introductory chess ability, like how to checkmate a king with just a …</li></ul>

2020-02-29T00:00:00-05:00 2020-02-29T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-02-29:/chesscraft-release-1.6.html

<p>Apparently, some of you have been very busy making lots and lots of custom boards and pieces. A popular request is to sort and filter your creations, so here it is!</p> <p><img alt="chesscraft screenshot" src="images/release-1.6/1.png" width="50%"></p> <p>So you could, for example, see a list of only boards that you've created sorted small to big.</p> <p>Fun …</p>

2020-02-15T00:00:00-05:00 2020-02-15T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-02-15:/chesscraft-release-1.5.html

<p>So I'm told (by many of you) that achievements are a critical element of mobile games. Well here we go! I thought I'd get started with these two:</p> <ul> <li>using at most two seconds every turn to win.</li> <li>using at most three minutes to win.</li> </ul> <p>The stars on the badge indicate …</p>

2020-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 2020-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2020-01-30:/chesscraft-release-1.4.html

<p>I'm extremely excited to share this new version!</p> <p>You can now share your creations online. Sharing creates your own web page on the ChessCraft website <a href="https://www.chesscraft.ca/design?id=50">like this one</a>. Your friends can then use the share code to play your custom boards and custom pieces. Or, backup your favourites online before …</p>

2019-09-20T00:00:00-05:00 2019-09-20T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2019-09-20:/chesscraft-release-1.3.html

<p>The new version of ChessCraft is here! What's new, you ask?</p> <ul> <li>Premoves</li> <li>Choose a visual theme: minimalist, or wood.</li> <li>Say au revoir to English! Play ChessCraft in one of eleven languages. That was something.</li> <li>Computer complexity and human complexity tips.</li> <li>Kangaroos.</li> <li>Bug fixes and UI improvements. Thanks for all the …</li></ul>

2019-07-19T00:00:00-05:00 2019-07-19T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2019-07-19:/chesscraft-release-1.2.html

<p>This wonderful update includes a new <strong>human versus human mode</strong>, ranged attack pieces (which attack without moving), and board preview thumbnails. I also removed restrictions on naming boards and pieces. Finally, many UI tweaks and some bug fixes.</p> <p>Thank you all for your patience on this new version. I've had …</p>

2019-05-20T00:00:00-05:00 2019-05-20T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2019-05-20:/chesscraft-release-1.1.html

<p>I just released version 1.1 which is my first patch for ChessCraft! Thanks everyone for the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) feedback.</p> <h1>Slapped by Google Bots</h1> <p>I had a hickup this morning where <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChessCraft/comments/bqwvvh/google_bots_slapped_chesscraft/">ChessCraft was briefly taken off Google Play</a> but all seems fine now.</p> <p><img alt="google ban email" src="images/release-1.1/1.png" width="100%"></p> <p>It seems …</p>

2019-05-18T00:00:00-05:00 2019-05-18T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2019-05-18:/first-hundred-installs.html

<p><img alt="100 installs banner" src="images/2019-05-hundred-installs/2.png" width="100%"></p> <p>Today ChessCraft passed 100 active installs! That is, 100 people decided to install ChessCraft and (most importantly) did not decide to uninstall it. So that's quite nice. This makes ChessCraft the most popular game I've ever made. Except if we count Starcraft 1 and Warcraft 3 multiplayer maps I made …</p>

2019-03-29T00:00:00-05:00 2019-03-29T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2019-03-29:/how-its-made-universities.html

<p>There is a possibility that ChessCraft will be used to teach artificial intelligence in a university course! My commandline interface already supports round robin tournaments, and a professor expressed some interest today. It occurred to me that if I prepare a package, lots of AI professors could use it. And …</p>

2019-02-24T00:00:00-05:00 2019-02-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2019-02-24:/chesscraft-release-1.0.html

<p><img alt="chesscraft banner" src="images/release-1.0/1.png" width="100%"></p> <p>ChessCraft is now <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.FrameOfMindGames.ChessCraft">available on Google Play</a> for the first time! The <a href="http://www.chesscraft.ca/">ChessCraft website</a> has also been updated, and there's a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfG2eP-fN1A">launch trailer on YouTube</a>.</p> <p><img alt="chesscraft logo" src="images/logo-128.png" width="20%"></p> <p>The new ChessCraft 1.0 icon.</p> <h1>No More Google+</h1> <p>For some time, it was necessary to use a Google+ group to share private releases with …</p>

2017-07-01T00:00:00-05:00 2017-07-01T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2017-07-01:/perfect-code-may-be-terrible-for-teaching.html

<p>When I post tutorial videos people often make suggestions on how to improve my computer code. Thank you for your code suggestions! However, we may have a problem.</p> <p>I often find that code suggestions are not teaching suggestions. Almost all computer programmers are not experienced educators, so this is understandable …</p>

2017-02-21T00:00:00-05:00 2017-02-21T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2017-02-21:/movie-review-hidden-figures.html

<p>Hidden Figures is a 2016 movie about the 1960s space race, the early days of computation, and segregation. It's an uplifting movie - described by some as "cheesy". However the cheese serves to distinguish it from other films in its genre which are typically very dark and gritty. It's an underdog …</p>

2016-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 2016-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-11-10:/trumps-victory-both-terrible-candidates.html

<p>Name one thing you liked about Trump's campaign. If you can't, consider the possibility that your political views are unbalanced and biased. If you look hard enough, you should never agree or disagree 100% with a political platform.</p> <p>Name one thing you disliked about Clinton's campaign. If you can't, similar …</p>

2016-07-21T00:00:00-05:00 2016-07-21T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-07-21:/enjoy-the-innocence-of-pokemon-go.html

<p>This is an incredible century to witness the births of technologies. The past couple weeks I've been observing the world's first augmented reality global hit. Enjoy the innocence while it lasts! In this post I'm going to talk about aspects of Pokemon Go that aren't being talked about much:</p> <ul> <li>Businesses …</li></ul>

2016-06-13T00:00:00-05:00 2016-06-13T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-06-13:/lose-your-job-to-automation-even-if.html

<h2>Get Excited</h2> <p>Are you excited about automation yet? You should be. Here's a great video to get us started:</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU"><img alt="youtube embed preview" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Pq-S557XQU/0.jpg" width="50%"></a></p> <p>But I'm tired of all these misconceptions about automation replacing jobs! Consider these statements:</p> <ul> <li>Jobs are safe when no robot can do 100% of the job.</li> <li>Jobs are safe when they …</li></ul>

2016-04-18T00:00:00-05:00 2016-04-18T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-04-18:/nitpick-trudeau-quantum-computing.html

<p>What matters here is having a Prime Minister who wants us to stop laughing when the media asks a politician about science.</p> <h2>What happened?</h2> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRmv4uD2RQ4">Here's the video.</a></p> <p>Justin Trudeau was jokingly asked to explain quantum computing at a university of Waterloo press event. The room full of reporters laughed. He …</p>

2016-03-28T00:00:00-05:00 2016-03-28T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-03-28:/sorry-id-like-to-help-but-cant.html

<p>When I post tutorial videos, I get a lot of requests for personalized help. I want to help! Your project might even sound really cool to me. But here I'm going to explain why I probably cannot help you today.</p> <h2>Unfortunately, It's Inefficient</h2> <p>One of the exciting things about the …</p>

2016-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 2016-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-03-24:/learning-to-code-by-writing-not-copying.html

<blockquote> <p>"Yeh, If your a experianced coder, five mins no problem but if your a bigginer it can take hours." - Rowen Henderson8</p> <p>"it would help a lot if you ppl would copy and paste the code into your videos on the bottom." - Emjay Club</p> <p>"Fantastic but please add the script somewhere …</p></blockquote>

2016-02-22T00:00:00-05:00 2016-02-22T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2016-02-22:/book-review-open-organization.html

<p><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/The-Open-Organization-Igniting-Performance/dp/1625275277">The Open Organization</a> by Jim Whitehurst describes the <a href="why-do-for-profit-companies-give-software-to-schools.html">open source</a> software company Red Hat. It does a great job introducing Red Hat's unusual culture, but it was also written by the CEO so the stories and ideas are mind-numbingly positive. If you can get past its repetitious optimism then it's …</p>

2015-08-29T00:00:00-05:00 2015-08-29T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-08-29:/outpost-bureaucracy.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/outpost-bureaucracy.png" width="80%"></p> <p>What's the longest journey you've ever taken through university bureaucracy? Mine is probably longer. After five months of appeals, I'm finally able to register at Concordia as a McGill student for an equivalent course. Just like the comic above - I was arbitrarily denied for no good reason after getting approval …</p>

2015-08-26T00:00:00-05:00 2015-08-26T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-08-26:/guess-who-is-still-teaching-at-mcgill.html

<p>That's right, this guy:</p> <p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/prof-lottery.png" width="100%"></p> <p>A year ago I wrote a post called <a href="nomination-for-worst-prof.html">Nomination for Worst Professor</a>. I highly recommend it if you're interested in how bad professors can possibly be. Here's a reminder if you need it though. First, the usual "merely bad professor" stuff:</p> <ul> <li>His lectures were usually not …</li></ul>

2015-08-08T00:00:00-05:00 2015-08-08T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-08-08:/killer-robot-research.html

<p>There's a lot of <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ban-killer-robots-before-they-become-weapons-of-mass-destruction/">serious and legitimate concern</a> lately about the development of autonomous weapons.</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqHrTtvFFIs"><img alt="youtube video thumbnail" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xqHrTtvFFIs/0.jpg" width="50%"></a></p> <h2>The Basic Idea</h2> <p>Humanity nearly has the technology to mass produce machines which can target and choose to kill humans, all without human intervention. So a factory worker turns on a machine, and then it …</p>

2015-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 2015-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-03-24:/mcgill-survey-results-giggle.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/could-be-worse.png" width="100%"></p> <p>Prepare to be amused and blown away. If you're a university student you may think your department is bad, but McGill's education department is worse. For several years now McGill education students report having the most boring, most random, most tuition-wasting, and most impossible-to-fail courses. This makes me really sad …</p>

2015-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 2015-03-24T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-03-24:/mike-shortt-methodology.html

<p>This post gives more details on the surveys and methodology, if you're interested. I decided it was too boring for a general audience so I cut it out of my original post. But you are an eager beaver! So here you go. And feel free to send me a message …</p>

2015-03-17T00:00:00-05:00 2015-03-17T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-03-17:/education-dean-response-to-feedback.html

<p>I recently got an email from the dean of education. Essentially he says that I'm annoying:</p> <blockquote> <p>Dear Mr. Spencer</p> <p>It has come to my attention that you have written repeatedly to our Associate Dean, among others across the university, about technology issues in the Faculty of Education, and also about …</p></blockquote>

2015-03-07T00:00:00-05:00 2015-03-07T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-03-07:/why-do-for-profit-companies.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/google-microsoft-apple-amazon.png" width="100%"></p> <p>Have you ever noticed that for-profit companies often advertise free or cheap software licenses to students, teachers, and schools?</p> <p>Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, and countless others all offer deals on their software and services to schools. Why do they do that?</p> <p>This post is written for educators, not tech experts …</p>

2015-02-25T00:00:00-05:00 2015-02-25T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-02-25:/nomination-for-worst-prof.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/prof-lottery.png" width="100%"></p> <p>In my previous post I talked about the McGill education students that <a href="many-mcgill-education-students-cannot-calculate-an-average.html">cannot calculate an average</a>, but I glossed over talking about the lecturer for that course. We've all heard about bad professors, but I have proof this professor was beyond merely bad. This story also includes what happened when …</p>

2015-02-19T00:00:00-05:00 2015-02-19T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-02-19:/many-mcgill-education-students-cannot-calculate-an-average.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/calc-average.png" width="100%"></p> <p>This is a story about McGill education students that cannot calculate an average, and the professor who admitted he didn't care. Finally, I explain why this is important.</p> <p>I hope that by telling this embarrassing story I will contribute to raising the standards at McGill and for Quebec teacher certification …</p>

2015-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 2015-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-02-10:/proof-that-mcgill-admin-ignore-feedback.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/advisers.png" width="100%"></p> <p>There were some concerns about my aggressive approach in my post where I complain about <a href="things-mcgill-education-students-dont-know.html">how poor the education technology courses are at McGill university</a>. Before making noise, did I talk to my professors? What about the department, or the dean?</p> <p>Well that's exactly what I did for two years …</p>

2015-02-04T00:00:00-05:00 2015-02-04T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-02-04:/mcgills-textbook-embarrassing.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/modern-mobile-phones.png" width="60%"></p> <p>Get ready to go on a magical journey where we discover just how old a "modern" textbook on education technology is. It says it's published in 2012 but don't let that fool you! Here it is:</p> <p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/textbook-cover.jpg" width="40%"></p> <p><a href="http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/meaningful-learning-with-technology-9780132565585">This is the textbook currently used</a> by McGill's "EDPT 200 -Integrating Educational Technology in …</p>

2015-02-04T00:00:00-05:00 2015-02-04T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-02-04:/professor-response-mcgill-textbook-embarrassing.html

<h2>Response from the Professor</h2> <p>Before I put <a href="mcgills-education-technology-textbook-is-embarrassing.html">this post</a> online I sent a draft to the professor, Sam Bruzzese, so he'd have a chance to respond. He did!</p> <p>Seeing as I brought these issues to his attention while I took the course, I originally made a list of possible reasons …</p>

2015-01-27T00:00:00-05:00 2015-01-27T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-01-27:/things-mcgill-education-students-dont-know.html

<p><img alt="image tooltip text" src="images/blogspot/exam_graded.png" width="100%"></p> <h2>Frustration</h2> <p>Is this a real exam, or a fiction fabricated by someone frustrated with the bachelor of education program? You decide.</p> <p>More seriously, here are some details if you're interested. The parody exam spawned from my frustration that McGill university in Montreal (which is supposedly one of Canada's top schools …</p>

2015-01-22T00:00:00-05:00 2015-01-22T00:00:00-05:00 Stuart Spence tag:None,2015-01-22:/the-silly-qep.html

<p>Briefly: The Quebec Education Plan (QEP) is a bloated 517 page document filled with ambiguous crap and buzzwords. Education professors in Quebec seem to be coerced by some mystical force to include the QEP in their university courses. But each new time I'm forced to analyze, my criticisms of it …</p>