#005: build, on device and in-betweens
It’s has been Mayy!!
Time is flying like, way too fast. It’s already noon, and I’m still trying to figure out what happened to all the other o’clocks… because my day? Barely started and it is already 12pm.
Anyway, since the last time we spoke, I’ve been… well, a little lost. Microsoft had some layoffs last week, and it really got me thinking — what if? and what next?
Also, somewhere along the way, I dropped the ball on my weekly demo series too, which only added to the questions around my why and where I’m heading.
As with most Tuesdays, the month has been dragging along slowly.But the one thing I was looking forward to? **Microsoft Build,** especially the Imagine Cup Championships (go Sgnverse! 🙌), and all the exciting updates that dropped yesterday. Like, WSL is now OSS!
AI: small language models and ai on-device
I love writing notes. Less than two years into owning an iPad, and I’ve already racked up over 1,000 notes. So naturally, I had to try out the new Apple Intelligence features — and decided to use them to create a small comic strip on AI Agents. The results? Actually incredible.
With AI on edge, I was able to iterate directly within Notes, build out visuals, and generate a comic strip with context-aware suggestions. It understood what I was working on and helped me refine from there. Speaking of local AI…..
Just yesterday, Azure AI Foundry Local was announced — allowing you to run models directly on your machine, both Mac & Windows. Naturally, I had to try it. Here's me experimenting with it: AI Foundry Local Experiments.
A few months back, I gave a talk at Bengaluru and Sydney on: “Explore Cutting-Edge Models: SLMs, LLMs, and More…” You can find all the resources and how to get started here.
🧠 What I’m exploring: The AI Toolkit and Azure AI Foundry extensions on VS Code, loving how everything’s coming together in one place!
What else? (Because there’s always something else...)
🎤 I gave a talk to Kabarak University students on generating PowerPoint slides using AI. Not my best talk, but speaking to students is always a highlight.
⏸️ My interlude: Consistency is still a struggle — but the only way to beat it is to keep showing up.
🛠️ Catch up on the **Microsoft Build keynote,** here’s what’s new around Azure AI! ✨
🤖 I integrated my AI tagging agent into GitHub Discussions! Want to see it in action? Ask an Azure AI-related question on my repo and it will get tagged, powered by GitHub Actions!
🚀 We launched a new skilling challenge for anyone interested in learning AI and Cybersecurity — and yes, there’s a certification voucher at the end: https://lnkd.in/dZ8Sx-m5
The In-Betweens
Here’s what’s up:
🎨 Hobby: Bought some coloring books for a girls' night — and I’ve been all about it. A little coloring, a little doodling… pure joy.
🎧 Podcast: Still deep in my Financially Incorrect phase, but the episode on grief by The TMI Podcast? So good.
📺 Show: I’ve been on a documentaries and true crime binge lately. Discovered Silent Shadows on YouTube — totally my vibe.
📚 Fiction: Just found out Not Dead Yet is based on the book *Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up* by Alexandra Potter — and that’s now my current read.
📖 Non-fiction: Switched it up a bit with How to Be a Person by Catherine Newman and Radical Self-Love by Sue Clancy.
🥾 Experience: I went back to hiking! Joined the Cianda Walk by Let’s Drift and it had everything — tea farms, waterfalls, coffee farms, and even a dam. 10/10, would recommend.
That’s it for the in-betweens. 💫
Beauty in the Mundane
My theme for the year is Beauty.
And one thing I’ve appreciated this past week? Lighting a jasmine candle and letting the scent fill my whole house. Simple, soft, and everything I needed. 💛