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POAP 6366384 at SPS TechConnect 2023.

Circular badge logo for SPS TechConnect event, Feb 28 to Mar 2 2023, with concentric colored rings on dark background
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Mason Jennings at The Dakota

I don’t remember exactly when I heard Mason Jennings first album but it wasn’t long after it was out and I played it a lot. It was a real treat that he played a number of those songs at the Dakota this evening, and I was surprised to realize that I still knew the words to nearly all of them after so many years. This show was a real treat. 🎶

Curly-haired man with a beard plays an acoustic guitar and sings into a microphone on a dimly lit brick-walled stage Curly-haired man playing a Steinway grand piano on a dimly lit stage under a blue neon Dakota sign, with guitars on stands nearby
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Scene from Potluck MN Food Hall.

Spoon Me restaurant interior with hundreds of wooden spoons suspended from the ceiling above a small table and two chairs.
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I minted Cat #2230 of the Ukraine Cats Division. This NFT project is raising funds to help Ukraine defend itself. I think I’ll mint a few more and get a Ukraine Cat Platoon going. 😸🇺🇦

Illustrated cartoon cat wearing Ukrainian military camouflage uniform with Ukrainian flag patch, holding a rifle, on a light blue background.
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The Bad Guys

We finished our “snowpocalypse” movie series tonight with The Bad Guys. We watched three movies in three nights! That is a very rare thing for the Thingelstad family. This was a fun movie with multiple callbacks to other heist movies like Oceans 11. I may have nodded off a couple of times. 🥱

DreamWorks animated movie poster showing cartoon animal characters riding in a black convertible with money flying through the air above them
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Family game of Five Crowns tonight. Tyler won with just 66 points! Tammy had 86, Jamie with 108, and Mazie with 178.

Five Crowns card game in progress on a round ottoman with four hands of cards fanned out and a central draw and discard pile.
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POAP 6356207 at MnTech Tech Leadership Forum: Generative AI.

MnTech Minnesota Technology Association circular badge for Tech Leadership Forum February 23 2023 Generative AI Harnessing Disruption into Innovation
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From The Economist, World in Brief, February 24 2023.

Sam Bankman-Fried, a former billionaire and founder of FTX, a collapsed crypto exchange, was charged with four new criminal offenses, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and securities fraud. Prosecutors allege that Mr Bankman-Fried developed a “series of systems and schemes” through which he could “access and steal” billions of dollars of customer deposits. Mr Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all of the eight original charges against him.

Bankman-Fried was a criminal mastermind more than any crypto mastermind.

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Who Invited Charlie?

We continued our “snowpocalypse” movie series tonight. This evening a bit more justified with over a foot of fresh snow on the ground. We watched Who Invited Charlie?. The movie revisits the COVID-19 lockdowns following a wealthy family as they escape New York City to the Hamptons, and their visitor Charlie joins them.

Movie poster showing two men facing each other nose to nose with three people visible between them, blue house illustration behind them
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MnTech Leadership Forum: Generative AI

Today I hosted the MnTech Q1 2023 Tech Leadership Forum. The organization is changing the format of this event to have technology leaders run these quarterly forums. I thought it would be fun to focus on the topic that is making so much press lately — Generative AI: Harnessing Disruption into Innovation.

MnTech Tech Leadership Forum title slide dated February 23 2023 with geometric blue and dark gray shapes

I was lucky enough to get three others to join in the dialog:

Slide titled Today's Panelists showing four circular headshot photos with names and titles below each: Jaime Thingelstad CTO SPS Commerce, Todd Van Nurden Principal Cloud Architect Microsoft, Sam

Some of the topics discussed:

  • Why now? AI has been in the works for a long time. Has there been a technological breakthrough recently?
  • How does Generative AI affect how we build software.
  • How does Generative AI benefit from these early releases.
  • Opportunities technologists see to use this capability in their organizations.
  • What are some of the risks to keep an eye on?
  • AI as a coach or mentor?

Since it was an invite only event for members there isn’t a video to share. 😕

Circular black badge with blue border reading Tech Leadership Forum February 23 2023 with MnTech Minnesota Technology Association logo and Generative AI Harnessing Disruption into Innovation text

Of course there is a POAP for the event! And even more exciting, the POAP is also held by POAP.MnTech.eth which is the first POAP that MnTech is officially producing.