November saw a lot of good work by our team. We got the fixed testing device back, so we were able to get some good data that, thus far, seems to bear out the reliability of our robot for our partners' needs. It also shows that my algorithm works! This was my first time doing a streaming algorithm and working with concurrency (i.e. threading), and while it's probably not that efficient and has a lot of time to process data points, it still works.

I also started working on a UI for our robot. I'm using PyQt5, which looks like a powerful library. Unfortunately, its the kind of power that comes with a lot of learning, so it's been slow developing it. On the up side, the partners are very happy with what they're seeing.

On the personal side, I'm finishing up my lease at my current place, so I found a new apartment. This one is a bit more expensive than my current one, but it's a studio. I'm learning that living on my own is what I really need, right now at least. Also, BC saw new, more restrictive COVID guidelines, which led my friend and I to start a Minecraft server using the Valhelsia 3 modpack. It's been a lot of fun figuring out all the options in the pack and building up an infrastructure in our mountain base. I also picked up Fuser, a DJ-based music game from Harmonix, that is a pile of fun. They've developed technology (seen before in their Dropmix music card game) that lets you mix together parts from a variety of songs, and automatically changes the tempo and key to make everything fit. So no matter how cursed the mix is, it always sounds pretty good.

Work-wise, December will involve more testing and getting more data to hand off to the partners, while I also develop the UI further and do some code cleaning. Then there's a holiday break, where I need to get packed up and ready to move, but I'll also spend some time relaxing and getting cozy, as well as connecting with my family back home remotely. I'll see you all in 2021!

(Photo by Harpal Singh on Unsplash)