Mike
banner
mikehaugland.com
Mike
@mikehaugland.com
aka merbzing. Cats! Software Dev. Cosplay enjoyer. Gamer. Canadian-Norwegian

Supports human rights.

English. Un peu de français. En litt norsk
Pinned
Oh hey there! Let's do an intro

I'm Mike 👋
I have a cat named Kael.
Work as a front end developer at a small start up.
Previously worked at Apple, Blizzard, Autodesk, Unity, and others.
I'm Canadian-Norwegian and live in Quebec.
I enjoy hockey, video games, rally, and cat pics.
2025 has been a pretty damn good one for game releases. Way too many studio closures and game cancellations to call it a good year for the industry. But as gamers, we had an abundance of choice in quality releases this year. Huge year for indies and smaller studios.
September 30, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Had to file CRTC and CCTS complaints against my former cellular provider. CS agent was so caught up in trying to stop me from reducing my monthly spend by $20 they ended up losing my whole account and might face penalties.
September 16, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Borderlands 4 thoughts. I think this is a pretty great game so far, possibly the best in franchise. But it has some work to really get there. Inventory/backpack UI is clunky. POV on console is too narrow. Performance issues are still very real.

But the core is great. Decent story. Fun mechanics.
September 14, 2025 at 2:38 PM
With the wildfire smoke this season, I’m noticing IQAir is overly optimistic on forecasting AQI. But using it for realtime numbers with firesmoke.ca has been very useful. Sadly we might need better systems for forecasting smoke in the years to come.
Home - FireSmoke.ca
firesmoke.ca
August 4, 2025 at 12:26 AM
It’s only been a couple weeks since my final Amazon order, but it’s actually really nice to shop locally for more things. I’ll inevitably have some trouble finding things in the future. Worth it still.
July 20, 2025 at 2:29 AM
This is how you do it folks!
P.S. If you already own the game in any of the abovementioned storefronts, you can play it on Mac for ZERO additional eddies. 💸
July 17, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This afternoon’s thunderstorm in Montréal has made for a much needed cozy day. The sound of rain and rolling thunder is relaxing
July 13, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Mike
'Vacations.'

The word is 'vacations.'
July 7, 2025 at 5:53 PM
If you didn’t notice this a lock screen screenshot from iOS 26 and not just a checkerboard pattern, I wouldn’t be surprised. This is obviously contrived to be a challenge for Liquid Glass, but it failed so predictably.
June 18, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Maybe I’m paranoid but I can’t bring myself to sharing photos of my home view that aren’t zoomed, cropped and generally devoid of landmarks. It was eye opening watching GeoGuessr players like GeoWizard and Rainbolt, but now AI can do it remarkably well.
June 16, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Switch 2 unboxing, but better. #caturday
June 14, 2025 at 9:39 PM
You've been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are coming to rescue you.

...and this week our main story is about kidnappings. I'd be in a bit, wouldn't I?
June 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I’m very conflicted with Liquid Glass after playing around with it for a day. Some elements of it are delightful and beautiful. Others are glaring accessibility concerns, and some places that don’t look quite right. Ultimately I’m fearful how third-party will use it, even if it will be “pretty”.
June 10, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Shoutout to @dropout.tv for being my most used subscription over the last year. Consistently awesome and providing laughs. My humble thanks. Not sponsored, just happy to spread the word.
May 30, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Caturday. It from today. It’s cloudy. But cat really enjoys this chair.
May 3, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Hi Canadians. Please vote. Today is the last day of advanced voting, but election day is just a week away.
April 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Not from today. But this is the playful and serious dynamic of my cat.
April 6, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Shoutout to video games for giving that excuse to just hang out with pals.
April 4, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Hey Mac gamers! The Steam hardware survey is happening. If you want to see more games hit macOS, I highly encourage you to participate.
April 1, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Secured a ticket for Deftones in Montreal, Sept 8th. First concern in ages. Much excite.
March 14, 2025 at 6:18 PM
The tariffs and trade war suck. But I want my American pals to hear that it changes nothing about our friendships.

I might opt to support Canadian businesses with my wallet, but friendship doesn’t care about borders and governing bodies.
March 5, 2025 at 2:38 AM
I missed Caturday, so here is Kael asking for pets when I was still at my desk late in the evening last Thursday.
February 10, 2025 at 4:42 AM
That’s right. It’s another caturday. Here’s Kael enjoying some late morning sun.
February 1, 2025 at 4:35 PM
OK, one more nice thing about Diablo IV in season 7. When going around the world and especially when doing a world boss you’re actually seeing class variety. This is so refreshing over last year‘s just constant Spiritborn everywhere all the time.
January 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Getting that caturday sunbath is tough work
January 25, 2025 at 4:41 PM