Jamie Thingelstad Profile Photo

Jamie Thingelstad

Technologist, leader, and family man with expertise in software, architecture, business, who actively contributes to the tech community.

Kubb

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    The kids playing Kubb while we wait for our pizza. Playing with the custom set I won at the USA Kubb Championship.

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    After our TeamSPS Kubb Tournament a small group of us had a pickup game that was awesome. We had all 10 kubbs in play!

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    POAP 7192127 at SPS Kubb Tourney 2024.

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    This would be the perfect spot for a Kubb pitch at Adare Manor!

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    Smaller Images for Weekly Thing

    In the Journal section of the Weekly Thing I include any blog posts that I’ve made for that week. To keep things easy, I’ve always just linked to the same image files that are used on my blog. That has never been ideal since those images are much larger than what you would ideally include in an email.

    I decided to try and solve this problem in Shortcuts and the amazing S3 Files. The basic approach I take to getting blog posts into the Weekly Thing is:

    1. Retrieve the RSS feed for www.thingelstad.com
    2. Find items in feed that are within the time period of this issue
    3. Convert each post to markdown and do some post processing to make it work in the newsletter better

    To do this I would add another step after 3 to detect my own images in the posts, and do the following:

    1. Detect any URL’s that are uploads into my blog, and make sure to not grab any others.
    2. Retrieve the image file at that URL
    3. Resize it to 1,200 pixels on the “long edge”
    4. Add to S3 bucket for files.thingelstad.com in the right directory for this issue
    5. Replace the original image URL with the new URL

    It wasn’t too hard to make all this work. After tweaking the regular expressions, and making sure that the replacement worked right it was working great.

    Here is a snippet from my logs.

    When I ran this to the Journal images in Weekly Thing 262 it was able to resize 28 images from an original size of 43 MB to 12 MB, saving 31 MB of download data!

    This is a big win in two ways. First, when you open the Weekly Thing from 263 on your device will download way less data and need to use way less memory. Also, some email services apparently dislike it if emails reference images that are longer than 1,200 pixels on the longest side. Hopefully this little efficiency will also get finicky mail servers to be nicer to my emails.

    This was only possible with the revamp I’ve been doing to my automation, and the ability to add this step in was a great result of those changes.

    This post is part of the Shortcuts Collection.

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    TeamSPS 2023 Kubb Tournament

    Today we held our 5th Annual TeamSPS Kubb Tournament! This event has now become a real tradition and many of our team look forward to playing Kubb together in early fall every year.

    We had 16 teams of 6 people, with a full registration of 96 players. Plus plenty of folks came down just to watch, hang out with team members, and cheer on the players.

    The great thing about Kubb for a team event is that anyone can play, the game is quick to pick up, and I guarantee you that you are going to meet and talk to the other members of your team. The game is casual, and can be enjoyed by players of any age.

    Some of our team really get into it. As the Tournament Director I’m responsible for calling matches, making rulings on anything questionable on the field. It is awesome to see the folks that really git into the spirit of Kubb.

    This year we decided to up our game a bit and got 8 custom Kubb sets with SPS colors on the kings, and the logo etched into it. These amazing sets came from JP’s Backyard Games and he threw in some shirts that I got to hand out to some players as well.

    It was a great afternoon to Throw Some Wood!

    Just like previous years, we had a POAP for the event!

    We played three Round Robin matches in four different groups (results at the end), and from the round robin we placed teams into four different brackets. The winners of each bracket got bragging rights for the year, and an awesome medal!

    Bracket 1: Lead the Way

    EDI Emperors (W) vs. Kubastank
    The Kubb Nubbs vs. Kubbless (W)

    EDI Emperors (W) vs. Kubbless

    Bracket 2: Know More to Be More

    Kubbcumbers vs. Simply the Best (W)
    Kubbiks Rube vs. Kubb Me Up, Scotty (W)

    Simply the Best (W) vs. Kubb Me Up, Scotty

    Bracket 3: Win Today, Win Tomorrow

    Ice Kubs (W) vs. Kubb Scouts
    Lucky #13 vs. Knock’n Kubb Uff-da-bash! (W)

    Ice Kubs vs. Knock’n Kubb Uff-da-bash! (W)

    Bracket 4: Succeed Together

    Kubb on the Cob vs. Kubb Your Enthusiasm (W)
    Kubby-doo Where Are You? (W) vs. Kubb 2: Hyperkubb

    Kubb Your Enthusiasm vs. Kubby-doo Where Are You? (W)

    See: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2018 tournaments.

    Round Robin Results

    Group A

    Game 1:
    Ice Kubbs (W) vs. Kubbcumbers
    Kubb on the Cob vs. EDI Emperors (W)

    Game 2:
    Kubbcumbers vs. EDI Emperors (W)
    Ice Kubbs vs. Kubb on the Cob (W)

    Game 3:
    EDI Emperors (W) vs. Ice Kubbs
    Kubbcumbers (W) vs. Kubb on the Cob

    Group B

    Game 1:
    Simple the Best vs. Kubastank (W)
    Kubb Scouts (W) vs. Kubb Your Enthusiasm

    Game 2:
    Simple the Best (W) vs. Kubb Scouts
    Kubastank (W) vs Kubb Your Enthusiasm

    Game 3:
    Kubb Your Enthusiasm vs. Simple the Best (W)
    Kubb Scouts vs. Kubastank (W)

    Group C

    Game 1:
    Lucky #13 (W) vs. Kubby-doo Where Are You?
    The Kubb Nubbs (W) vs. Kubbiks Rube

    Game 2:
    Lucky #13 vs. The Kubb Nubbs (W)
    Kubby-doo Where Are You? (W) vs. Kubbiks Rube

    Game 3:
    Kubbiks Rube (W) vs. Lucky #13
    The Kubb Nubbs (W) vs. Kubby-doo Where Are You?

    Group D

    Game 1:
    Kubbless (W) vs. Knock’n Kubb Uff-da-bash!
    Kubb 2: Hyperkubb vs. Kubb Me Up, Scotty! (W)

    Game 2:
    Kubbless (W) vs. Kubb 2: Hyperkubb
    Knock’n Kubb Uff-da-bash! (W) vs. Kubb Me Up, Scotty!

    Game 3:
    Kubb Me Up, Scotty! vs. Kubbless (W)
    Kubb 2: Hyperkubb (W) vs. Knock’n Kubb Uff-da-bash!

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    POAP 6790247 at SPS Kubb Tourney 2023.

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    It was cool to see people playing Kubb in Bryant Park in New York.

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    POAPathon Future Thoughts

    On the December 30th POAPathon Community Call there was a request for feedback on where POAPathon should go in 2023. I thought about it and here are my thoughts.

    First some background. POAPathon is a community driven organization that facilitates design contests for people that need an image for a POAP event. I love creating POAP events, but I lack the design skills to create great images. I’ve used POAPathon a few times to get amazing images for my events. The process, collaboration, and results are great.

    Some POAPathon designed events I’ve done include:


    Magic Pines Summer of 2022
    by kavishsethi


    Jamie Thingelstad’s 51st Birthday
    by designatum.eth


    TeamSPS 2022 Kubb Tournament
    by InsertGenericArtName

    POAPathon DAO

    Creating a DAO for POAPathon would enable two important functions:

    Treasury for the DAO to fund programs, strategy, and execution.

    To fund the treasury some percentage of all bounties should be directed to the DAO. POAPathon is providing direct value by creating this marketplace, and directing some of those funds into the treasury to be used by the DAO is best for the overall health of the community.

    Governance tokens to enable decisions making.

    Governance tokens have no monetary value and should never be bought or sold. These tokens would be distributed for actions done in the DAO. Examples would include:

    1. Sponsoring a contest.
    2. Submitting a design to a contest.
    3. Volunteers managing a contest.
    4. Volunteers sending a newsletter (see below).
    5. Volunteers hosting a community call.

    There is likely a broad list of additional activities that could be rewarded with governance tokens, but there are two activities that should not be:

    1. Winning a contest is already rewarded with the bounty. Governance tokens should be given equally to any artist that participates in a contest. Winning should not be a factor for governance tokens.
    2. Community call attendance is already rewarded with POAPs, and that should continue. That rewards engagement, and governance tokens reward contribution. However, a volunteer hosting a community call should be rewarded.

    Serious thought would need to be given to governance token amounts for each activity. Fortunately POAPathan has been doing nearly all of these things for a year or more, and that historical set of activities could be used to model what the amounts should be. Future changes to reward amounts could be handled via a DAO vote.

    Lastly, the DAO should be run on Gnosis Chain in recognition that POAPs are distributed on Gnosis Chain. (Disclosure: I am a Gnosis Chain validator.)

    Contests On-chain

    Today contests are created via a survey, USDC is sent to POAPathon, and the Contest Managers (POAPathon volunteers) are trusted to setup the contests and distribute the funds. To further embrace a trustless approach, contests could be moved to a smart contract and executed on-chain.

    When a contest is created the USDC would be sent to a contract. That contract would then manage the distribution. Some percentage would be sent to the DAO immediately after the contest is approved. The remainder would be sent to the addresses of the winners.

    There are a lot of options here. It would be ideal if the smart contract knew what artists had submitted art for the contest, and could even handle distributing governance tokens rewarding them for participating. The contest requester could then select the winners from a list of participating artists.

    This would require development efforts that may go beyond the scope of volunteer engagement. If so, the DAO treasury could be used to fund the development of this.

    Other Stuff

    Focus on just POAPs. The POAPathon website suggests a variety of design services via contest (PFP, Logos), but POAP is right there in the name and focusing on just that use case may create more opportunity.

    Email newsletter. Discord is great, but is only useful for very engaged community members. A newsletter that highlights the contests, selected artists, and more could be very compelling. This is a way to stay connected and broaden the reach of POAPathon. POAP has This week in POAP for example.

    Give out more POAPs. POAPathon distributes a POAP for each Community Call. It would be cool to give a POAP for submitting a contest, and winning contests. I’ve created five contests now but there is no record of that outside of Discord history. I’d love to have a POAP from POAPathon showing that.

    Closer connection with POAP itself. POAPathon could be part of the POAP process. There seems to be no mention of POAPathon on the POAP website that I could easily find. Getting in this flow of requests would help make sure there are enough contests to have a thriving community.

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    The POAP for this years TeamSPS Kubb Tournament turned out just amazing! I created a Poapathon bounty and “InsertGenericArtName” just blew me away with this design.

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    POAP 5649610 at TeamSPS 2022 Kubb Tournament.

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    TeamSPS 2022 Kubb Tournament

    We had our 4th annual TeamSPS Kubb Tournament today. We were graced with impeccable weather to throw some Kubb. We had 16 teams of five or six people. The tournament format we used was very similar to last year, and simple to play. We had four round robin groups of four teams each. They played three single-game rounds, time limited at 25 minutes. At the end of 25 minutes the team with the most baseline Kubbs standing was declared the winner. A throw off would have been used on a baseline tie, but that wasn’t even needed.

    After the round robins were completed we ranked each team first to fourth in their group, and then went out into four simple brackets to get a winner from each.

    We did have a bit of a surprise when the sprinkler system at SPS Tower turned on while we were still playing. It continued and interfered with one final game, but everyone was a good sport about getting a little wet. 💦

    Final results of the #LeadTheWay bracket gave the overall with to Rubiks Kubb!

    This is such a great event and everyone has a wonderful time. I can’t wait to direct the 2023 Tournament!

    See: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2018 tournaments.

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    I thought I knew all the esoteric strategy lawn games, and then Tammy surprised me with Kingdom! I’m intrigued! May this usurp Kubb?

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    TeamSPS 2021 Kubb Tournament

    TeamSPS had a great time playing Kubb today, connecting with colleagues, and having a fun time. We weren’t able to have this event in 2020 due to COVID-19, but thanks to vaccines we were able to throw some batons together! Several people commented how much they loved this event. Here are some selected photos from Tim Van Cleave who was so generous to volunteer as official photographer! He has an entire album of additional shots as well.

    You can also see the official SPS Tech Blog post on the Kubb event, and looks back to our 2019 and 2018 events. This event got real momentum after we did Kubb at Tech Jam in 2016. The first introduction was a Kubb Class in 2014 that was part of our SPS Charity Auction. Kubb has some deep roots with Team SPS!

    See: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2018 tournaments.

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    POAP 1273919 at SPS Kubb Tournament 2021.

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    Time to play some Kubb at Birchwood Acres! Lake Pepin in the background.

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    2019 TeamSPS Kubb Tournament

    We had a great time with our 2019 #TeamSPS Kubb Tournament today! We had 20 teams having a lot of fun, getting to know their teammates better, and enjoying a gorgeous day outside!

    After the round robin our #TeamSPS Kubb groups split into brackets with a winner in each bracket! We kept track old school, just like most tournaments do!

    After the 2019 #TeamSPS Kubb tournament a bunch of folks hung out and played, you guessed it, more Kubb! Next year we might introduce Mölkky at the end!

    See: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2018 tournaments.

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    Flying the Planet Kubb banner while the kids play some Kubb! 👍

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    Kubbchucks playing in our 8th annual Minnesota Kubb winter tournament, part of the Loppet! Largest winter Kubb tournament in the world!

    Kubbchucks went 2-1 in this mornings Minnesota Kubb round robin! On to the Championship bracket!

    Throw off for entry into the Minnesota Kubb Championship bracket. INTENSE KUBB ACTION! Throw 3 Kubbs, then 6 batons. Whoever downs most Kubbs wins! 🔥

    These three Kubb professionals took the Kubbchucks down without even flinching. Brutal.

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    Minnesota Kubb 2019 Winter Tournament

    The Kubbchucks played our 8th annual Minnesota Kubb Winter Tournament this weekend. After a week of record cold temperatures we were treated to a fabulous day in the mid-30’s, nice sunshine and no wind. Perfect for winter Kubb!

    Round Robin

    We opened the round robin versus Team Dondante. This was their first tournament and we helped them with tournament rules. They were good players, but needed to work on their drilling technique. We took the match 2-0 and it went on way too long because we were able to close it out. We went very cold on our 8m and that makes for a long game, if you don’t lose.

    We played the Free Agents next, serious Kubb talent here. We had an epic fail in our first game and left a field Kubb on our very first turn, throwing 4 batons at 2 Kubbs. The Free Agents then kindly put us out of our misery. We drug out the 2nd game for a good long time. We got to 8 Kubbs in play and went back and forth for about 20 minutes. Sadly we broke first and left a line, which resulted in the expected immediate loss. 0-2 on that match.

    We finished the round robin versus The Four Old Guys, however there were only three of them. They had a good game, just lacked some consistency. We were never really at risk in these games, and closed out the match 0-2.

    Bracket

    With a 2-1 record out of the round robin we went into the difficult end of the Round of 16.

    We had to play Skol in the round of 16. Three monster Kubb players including Evan Fitzgerald. We didn’t stand a chance. On top of that, we played horribly. I don’t mind to lose, but our play was really sub-par. It took about 10 mins for them to put us away.

    Free Agents, the team that we lost to in the round robin ended up winning the whole tournament.

    We had a great day of Winter Kubb! 👍🏻

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