Weeknote 144

Tech conf, Celebrations including a brief trip to Leeds

• Finally ditched GeForce Now, the PC cloud gaming service I use on my Mac, after losing months of progress and any customisation options on a transport sim I’d been playing regularly since January. Shadow PC’s so far a promising replacement, albeit pricey, with full control of the remote PC, mods galore, and a much quicker loading time.
• Mid-week I went to Techshare Pro near London Bridge—a full schedule of panels on accessibility, from AI and wearables to the European Accessibility Act. Jonnie Peacock the gold winning Paralympian attended too for the opening panel. Helpful overall, but my limited social battery for networking between sessions was pretty much flat by midday. Not certain if I’ve come down with a post-conference cold, but it highlights how winter gatherings are often easier to join virtually. I learned that the hard way after catching COVID from a similar event a couple of winters ago.
• Mena and I celebrated our third anniversary on Thursday for Thai food at Som Saa, the spot where we first met. Amazingly, it had reopened just two days earlier after last summer’s fire. The evening was capped off with a surprise bonus, ice cream on the house.
• We headed to Leeds on Saturday to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. Winter finally made itself felt, and we checked out the indoor market for the first time for lunch. Though pleasant, it hasn’t yet reinvented itself with the cosy, modern food‑hall feel you find in places like Shrewsbury and Chester.