Sports

I was raised in Toronto by a sports-loving father so I really had no choice: I'm a huge fan of all the Toronto area sports teams (Raptors, Blue Jays, Maple Leafs, TFC). I also picked up an obsession with the San Francisco 49ers while in high school, after seeing then-coach Mike Singletary blow up the team in a post-game press conference.

Some epic moments I will never forget:

• Vernon Davis' game winning catch and cry against the Saints in the 2011-12 playoffs
• Jose Bautista's game 5 homerun and batflip in 2015
• Kawhi Leonard hitting the shot in 2019, and the subsequent finals win

I am probably a bit too invested into fantasy sports and sports odds, or other odd stuff like Jon Bois' The Bob Emergency and the PDC Darts Pro Tour. When I'm not watching sports, I also go to climbing gyms (boulder or top rope), play ultimate frisbee and go for runs around whatever city I'm in.

Board Games

I've been attending/hosting regular board game nights for quite a while, and have a preference for European strategy games. (Here is my BGG page). I last attended PAX Unplugged 2019 in Philadelphia, which was a great convention for discussions on board game design, playtesting games, competing in tournaments, and just playing a lot of games; I would highly recommend it if you are a fan!

I recorded a 5 part quarantine discussion series about common pitfalls in board game design and board game groups. The discussion series can be found here, and an accompanying blog post can be found here!

Pinball

While at interning at LinkedIn over the summer of 2015, my manager Joel showed me a bit of pinball strategy, and I was instantly hooked. Nowadays, I frequent pinball museums (the all-you-can-play deals are too good to pass up) or pinball-themed bars, which you can find via the pinball map. My all time favorite (and strongest) machines are Star Trek (Stern 2013) and The Sopranos (Stern 2005).

Hackathons

This is less of an interest of mine these days, but back in the day, I participated in a few hackathons.

• Handoff/Asterisks (1st Overall at Linkedin Intern Hackday 2015 - $10000)
• SwearJar (Best Use of Paypal @ CalHacks 2014 - $500 + Swag)
• MediData (Best Use of MongoDB @ MHacks 2013 - $500 + Swag)

Opinions/Ratings

Many of my friends would say I'm into hot takes. Responses encouraged!

For movie and album ratings, you can see my RYM page.
I also maintain a tier list of all Pittsburgh restaurants I've been to.

My other Top 10 favorites: (which is not the same as top 10 best)