Writing
Notes, essays, and product updates from over the years.
He who can contribute and does not, does not deserve anything
They have functioning limbs and minds good enough to work in even considered lower level jobs, but refuse to do so. The cockroaches, insects, parasites who do nothing to contribute to the community in any meaningful way. Yet they expect to be treated as if they were the same as...
Doubts
I know I've worked hard to get where I am. From low IQ scores, to struggling to learn to read, to social failures, I've worked very hard to put these things right. Now I would consider myself to be in a good place spiritually, financially, professionally and with my family. I...
Xpensemap and CraftCaption updates
For Xpensemap and CraftCaption there are new updates available. Here are the recent changes. Xpensemap version 2.0.2 improvements: Added: Analysis currency list is now sorted alphabetically
New App: CraftCaption
Introducing CraftCaption, don't think about social media captions and hashtags anymore. Just provide one or more photos and CraftCaption automatically gives you multiple captions you can use and multiple hashtags to boost your social media post presence. I built a new application...
Xpensemap iOS version 2.0.1
A fresh update for Xpensemap is here—the app that lets you effortlessly scan and organize both paper and digital receipts and invoices right on your phone! This new version is packed with fixes, tackling some of the most important issues that were have flagged. Here’s what we’ve...
Esportsfort iOS version 1.9.7
I’ve jumped back into working on Esportsfort and just rolled out a fresh update—version 1.9.7! This release comes with a handful of upgrades and fixes: New: Split view mode for iPad—perfect for multitasking fans.
Too early for Earth, too late for space, in time for the stepping stones
There was this meme I remember. That you were born too early to explore the Earth and too late to explore space, but just in time to browse memes. I think it resonates with some people, but it never resonated with me. You can always be the stepping stone for anything related to...
How to classify an image through ML on iOS
Let’s say we want to build an app or feature that imports a photo and then classifies what the image is. For example, if we import an image of a dog, the app should recognize that it is a dog. How can we do that within iOS? First, let’s break down the feature. We need the...
SwiftUI - Weather Hourly Forecast example
Let’s see how can we build this component of Apple’s weather app in SwiftUI. First, what do we need to display within the view? The headline of the forecast
How to start with a Microapps architecture on iOS
Every software application architecture pattern has its pros and cons. Today, we are going to look into how to start creating a microapps architecture for your iOS apps. First, what is modular architecture? To learn more about the Microapps architecture you can read more here. In...
How to display the user’s current location on iOS
You may want to display the user’s current location for some apps. For example, navigation apps, discover local area apps, AR apps, or a feature to log current user location. So how can we implement that? First, we need to build the functionality to request the user to allow us...
How to Tweet within your iOS app without using the Twitter SDK
Sometimes you want to give your customers to ability to share the content of your app. But, you don’t want to necessarily spend the time to integrate a whole Twitter SDK just to add a Twitter sharing feature. Probably cause it’s not a core feature of your app. How can we achieve...
How to let iOS speak to you
On iOS (iPadOS as well) can convert any text into speech. This results in letting your mobile app speak to your customers with voice and sound. Extremely helpful to implement features that read instructions, stories, or accessibility improvements. So how do we implement this...
Daily Series on break | Daily #260
I’m putting the daily series on a break again. Since late 2020, I’ve tried to write daily as much as possible. 260 blogs were published during this period with some breaks in between. But the growth by writing daily has been very stagnant lately. I’m writing just for the sake of...
Health > Work | Daily #259
Throughout the years, I’ve made this observation in several companies. That is that people tend to keep working even if they are sick. It’s even the case when they have a fever, cough, and basically feel weak throughout their whole body. Their reason for still working is often...
Rereading books | Daily #258
I don’t believe that many people can read something and immediately understand the meaning behind it. Usually, you have to reread it again and again or even better practice the knowledge. I’m that person. I’m not a superhuman or have a photographic memory thus I prefer to reread...
Physical Notebooks | Daily #257
I’ve tried many times to write notes on my iPad. Even borrowed the Apple Pencil from people for a week or two. But writing notes on that never seemed real, convenient, and honestly fulfilling. The best benefit was of course that I can organize and search my handwritten notes way...
Minimal Effort | Daily #256
From an entrepreneur's perspective, I understand the minimal effort strategy. What’s the biggest impact we can achieve, with minimal effort. Similar to selling copied paper notes in a high school, rather than creating a whole web app to download some notes. Sometimes you don’t...
The urge to learn something new | Daily #255
If friends tell you to stick to your lane at all times, they aren’t your friends. Now I’m not talking about in a work environment. If you get hired to do a specific job, then of course you need to stay in your lane and execute the job well enough. I’m talking about the ones that...
Working from Lisbon | Daily #254
For the past week, I’ve been in Lisbon. I’ve been exploring the city and working from there. Compared to last year, I’ve been managing this way better than in Valencia Spain. The most basic thing I’ve changed is working 4 hours in the morning (8 - 12) and then 4 hours between...
Some need to be micromanaged | Daily #253
A new discovery that I’ve found is that some need to be guided on what to do. Many say that they don’t want to be micromanaged. Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t tell me what is important. Don’t tell me how to play. I know what to do. I know what’s important. I know how the game...
Never tell somebody how to live | Daily #252
The past few years have taught me a lot about how society works. From ‘verified’ organizations telling others how to act and behave to virtue signallers standing with what's trendy just for the sake of social points, to canceling other parties' livelihood. The free individual has...
Birthday Wishes | Daily #251
It’s my birthday today and I know usually people wish things for themselves. I don’t do that. I wish for a strong and peaceful world. I wish for my family to be healthy and safe.
War | #250
War is here. You better prepare for the worst. Both mentally and physically. This war between Ukraine and Russia could end just between them. But you should prepare for the worst. Several countries are already supplying resources to support Ukraine in their defense. Russia could...
Planning is arrogant | Daily #249
You should have a roadmap on what you want to achieve in life. Basically have destinations and goals in your life that eventually you want to reach. Whether you reach them or not is irrelevant. The goal is growth and progress. The bad thing is that I notice that many plan their...
War reveals everyone | Daily #248
I find it immensely disgusting that people, celebrities, streamers, and many who DON’T have ANY knowledge comment on the Russian and Ukraine conflict. Are they really so up in their asses they can influence REAL War? Also, social media is the worst of them all. They litteraly...
We are built for creativity | Daily #247
Humans are inherently built to be creative. Your previous generations were always creative. For example: Hunting animals for food is creative in the way to catch, hunt, skin and process the animal as efficiently as possible. Similar to farmers that were creative in the way of how...
Loads want you to fail | Daily #246
I’ve seen many examples where people desire others to fail in their endeavors. I’m not talking about unethical doings that the grifters do. I’m talking about new technologies, startups, and even individual endeavors. For example, you see loads of this in the crypto and NFT...
God is real | Daily #245
God is real to me. God is the entity that watches over me. That judges me for every action and inaction I take.
Valentine’s Day | Daily #244
I rarely like to talk about my relationship and I think that’s for the better. You need to keep loads of things private only to your small group of people. Making those kinds of matter public screams of social status games, which I’m personally not a fan of. What do I think of...
Challenge yourself | Daily #243
Since the start of 2022, I’ve been challenging myself on all fronts. Building multiple projects, negotiating better circumstances, and training for a physical challenge. All those challenges have improved me on several fronts. Building a few projects has discovered what I like...
Truly nice people | Daily #242
I truly believe the nicest people are the ones who have struggled the most. Real struggle. What do I mean by ‘Nice’? I’m not talking about the people who have learned how to be nice. Those who are nice for their own benefit. Being nice to gain social status. Being nice to have a...
Already replaced the project | Daily #241
Within a day, I’ve found a new project to work on. How did I do this? By reflecting again what drives me. Maybe this time I hit the mark. I know that I’m a workaholic and realized that maybe I should stick to those problems regarding productivity. So far, the apps that I really...
Stopping another project (Mobloc) | Daily #240
For the past two months, I’ve been working on a project called Mobloc. This was both a web- and app tool to manage localizations for mobile development. After these two months, I’ve realized that I don’t want to work on this anymore. Feels like it takes too much effort to even...
What tribes mold you | Daily #239
Sometimes I still wonder if I’m in the tribes that truly want the best for me and themselves. They say you become a combination of the five people you hang out the most with. I would even expand on that. Your beliefs, interests, mental, and even physicality are a combination of...
Reading is overrated compared to action | Daily #238
I’ve been reading books less and less throughout the last four years. I go through random books, read what I want, switch to another book when I want, complete it or not complete it. I’m also not an avid reader. I read around read 15-20 books a year for three-four years (not...
Async Await in Swift
So Async await is a new concurrency feature that has arrived for a while now, but since recently can be used for iOS 15.0 and lower. But what does Async Await exactly solve, and should you consider refactoring your codebase to make use of it. Completion Closures Problem In Swift,...
Engineers output must be measured | Daily #237
I don’t understand why people care so much about wording certain topics. But the low-level IQ engineers keep pushing back on the idea that they are a resource. They say stuff like ‘You shouldn’t measure our performance, engineering is complex’. What is this bullshit? They act...
Deadlines are necessary | Daily #236
Deadlines have real power. Once a deadline comes closer and closer, we work harder than usual. From the moment you got homework in your high school. Every time the deadline is far away, you usually just chill and slightly work on it. But a week or two before the deadline, you go...
The raising money fool | Daily #235
There are many lies in tech or at least misconceptions. The biggest misconception is the reason why many startups fail in my opinion. That misconception that you NEED investment or VC money to become ‘profitable’. There are many tech companies (especially in the US) that have...
Stupid woke games in esports | Daily #234
There has been big news in the industry that I follow quite often which is competitive gaming or esports. The news is that MTG’s ESL has been sold to Savy Gaming Group which is funded by the Saudi Arabian government. Now, I’m not the person who wants to bring up human- and equal...
USP is unnecessary | Daily #233
Never understood why people get de-motivated just because their idea is not unique. I never believed that just because a similar or even identical product exists, you can’t create your own. My best comparison is are drinks. Do you think there is a big difference between water...
Let the artist paint | Daily #232
We all know the story where the artist paints the most beautiful painting the world has ever seen. Then people come to ‘manage’ this amazing talent, and for some reason, their output just isn’t the same. The painter then strays away from their talent and paints less and less. The...
Soldier Mentality | Daily #231
I’m far from a military soldier. I respect everyone that fought for their country or beliefs. Even if the countries are corrupt or have beliefs that some consider dangerous. But I always admire the people who put their lives on the line hoping for a better future for their loved...
A big weakness | Daily #230
One of my biggest weaknesses holds me back more often than not. It moves me at a slower rate. It makes me often stagnant in my career. That’s the weakness of wanting to do everything myself. When I start a new project, I do the design myself. I code the program myself. I do the...
2022 Projects Set | Daily #229
Starting today, my projects have been set for 2022 regarding indie-hacking and other business on the side. These in total three projects that are also very different from industries. For the last 7-8 weeks, I’ve been brainstorming alone and with other people on what I and we can...
Power of anonymity | Daily #228
I believe anonymity is a power. Not to the point where you hide behind an anime avatar or Reddit-generated username. But the point where most people don’t know what you do or even who you actually are. With this power, nobody can reach you unless you want to. Nobody knows what...
Scrum is garbage | Daily #227
The more and more I see the SCRUM method being used at different companies, the more I believe is utter garbage. There is never consistency behind it. Each team or company has a process that LOOKS like SCRUM but is never actually the method itself. Some, for example, have the...
Time in bed is not asleep | Daily #226
The past few days, I haven’t been sleeping well again. The reason is the ‘sudden’ sleeping schedule changes that happened. When I was on holiday, I slept from 00:00 to 10:00 most of the time. Now back to work I’m in bed between 23:00 and 08:00, and I need time to adjust again....
Back to work | Daily #225
I’m coming back from a three-week holiday where I almost did nothing work-related. I’ve been relaxing, reading, watching TV shows, video gaming, and only worked on small things. I felt extremely relaxed the last couple and this basically solidifies my learnings two years ago that...
Taking a break from Daily Updates | Daily #224
I’m going to take a break from the daily articles about my thoughts and life till next year. December for me is going to be about recharging and planning the next year. Thus will take it easier when it comes to my writing. There will be still articles this month, mainly the...
GitHub actions to build and test iOS projects using Fastlane
Here is a template you can use to automatically set up GitHub actions in your iOS-based project. yaml name: "Build and Test"
Conflict is necessary | Daily #223
p.p1 \{margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 22.1px; font: 15.0px '.AppleSystemUIFont'; color: #1f2225\} span.s1 \{font-family: '.SFNS-Regular'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-size: 15.00px\} I don’t like conflict. I never liked to hurt someone physically,...
Craft my new writing tool | Daily #222
I’m using a new piece of writing software to write 90% of my notes now. It’s Craft.do and so far it’s been great. I was using Bear before this to write my articles but I think Craft suits me better in general. First of all, it doesn’t use the hashtag system and you can organize...
Comfort is earned not deserved | Daily #221
This may the first generation in all of history that think comfort is deserved and not earned. All the crying about ‘deserving’ a better paycheck, an affordable item, free services, great results, and more, makes me want to give up on society. I truly believe that if you haven’t...
Finding authenticity | Daily #220
I know that to live a fulfilling life, you should live as authentic as possible. No lies to yourself. Understand that life can be messy. Understand that to grow means painting outside lines. You don’t have to be honest with all the people around you. But you have to be honest...
Investments down, so what? | Daily #219
Both the stock and crypto market went down heavily. A big part of my wealth is invested in both markets. Also, a big part of my earnings comes from both of them. As I said before, if you can’t handle big red numbers, you shouldn’t invest. As well for the people who shout ‘BuY tHE...
TikTok is the future | Daily #218
Both positive and negative social media is here to stay. For a long time. I thought Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were addictive. You haven’t seen TikTok yet. From anecdotal experiences and advertising/engagement numbers, TikTok is crazy. Double as addictive and in some sense...
Love to pay for knowledge | Daily #217
I love to pay for knowledge. I just paid for a spreadsheet that contains all the information I needed to progress my personal goals. Or at least set up for it. In general, I love to pay for these things. I pay for loads of newsletters to condense information and for the writer to...
Starting to plan my 2022 | Daily #216
Since today, I’m starting to plan my 2022. December is for me mostly a rest month. I’ve developed many applications in 2021 which most of them failed or never got from the ground running. Also had many personal struggles that I may get into in my year review. But all in all, I’m...
The bag vs values | Daily #215
I’ve been leaning more towards getting the bag than usual. I pride myself on having a set of values that I truly uphold every day. Don’t work with grifters. Don’t do things that you wouldn’t like to be done to. Always be ethical from your own perspective. And more. But reflecting...
Quitting a project | Daily #214
In a previous daily blog post, I’ve said that I was working on a new (unannounced) project with a few partners. We did loads of research even contacted our target audience(s) and had interesting findings. But we are going to shelve the project and look for something else. Why?
Stop celebrating incompetence | Daily #213
I dislike very much people celebrating their incompetence. Yes, there is imposter syndrome and also gatekeeping in many industries. Software engineering is one of them. But incompetence is pure incompetence. There is no celebration, or looking at the positive things bullshit. You...
In-house or outsource | Daily #212
I believe most tasks can be outsourced to third parties. The best examples are freelancers and agencies. But when do you what to outsource or keep it in-house? Well, in short everything you don’t want and need to do can be outsourced. Usually, in every business, you don’t need...
Web 3.0 is the future but won’t be soon | Daily #211
I’ve been reading a bit about Web 3.0. In short, it will resolve issues that we currently have in Web 2.0 which are privacy, security, investments, centralization, payments, and more. The problem is that it is going against every current tech giant and also controlling government...
Back from Slovenia | Daily #210
I’m back from Slovenia and that’s also why I wasn’t writing daily for the last few days. How was it? Well, the trip itself was very exhausting and fun. The trip was to celebrate a good friend’s birthday. But these celebrations can sometimes be exhausting especially when we are...
Received my Oura Ring 3rd Gen | Daily #209
I’m one of the first people that received the Oura Ring 3rd generation. I actually ordered the 2nd generation back in September, but they didn’t have stock anymore of the product thus giving me an upgrade in trade for waiting 2-3 months. My initial impressions are great in some...
Playing Battlefield 2042, validating new project | Daily #208
Missed a few days of writing cause was too busy during the evenings more than before. Also, last weekend, I was playing the new game Battlefield 2042. The game has loads of bugs, but nowadays you just have to accept them. My initial experiences are pretty great. Next to this, I’m...
Burnout creeping in | Daily #207
I’m feeling the pressure and symptoms of burnout again after a body collapse caused due to it nine months ago. Now, while my body is not collapsing (yet), I’m noticing the symptoms. I don’t feel like working at all most of the time. I’m emotionally less stable. My workouts feel...
Never accept ‘criticism’ from nobodies | Daily #206
We all have those friends, acquaintances, and social media followers that give you what they either call feedback or criticism. No matter what you do, they criticize you for something they usually don’t like. Sometimes it could be valuable. For example, when your senior criticize...
Wanting to build a product for esports | Daily #205
Today, I was thinking about if I could build something for an esports audience. I created an esports calendar iOS app a few years and it did have some users, but rarely people that wanted to pay for it. Still, after the CSGO Major two days ago, I still have chills on how amazing...
Stockholm and CSGO Major | Daily #204
I haven’t been writing for the last few days cause I was abroad. Specifically, I was in Stockholm and really enjoyed the city. I was there to do two things mainly: Experience a new city (Stockholm)
Have to provide more free value | Daily #203
I’ve been thinking about credibility. Can people believe what I’m saying? Am I good enough to even provide value? Who am I to my audience? I’ve realized that my value is usually behind a barrier, like an app install or something that is not public at all. With the exception of...
The launch of Somnox 2 | Daily #202
Today was a big day for a company I’m working with. Somnox has released their second generation of their Somnox Sleep Robots and I know that a lot of effort was put into it. Loads of people already asked me before it the device actually works. Can it really solve my sleep...
Passed 200 Daily blog posts | Daily #201
With the article of yesterday, I’ve written 200 times on single day that resulted in a public blog post. What did positive things did I notice for me by keeping this habit up? Well, I can write faster and lay down stories more easily on paper. This for example has a positive...
Initial impressions MacBook Pro 14-inch M1x Max | Daily #200
I received my new MacBook Pro 14-inch yesterday. It has the M1 Max CPU. 64GB Memory and 1TB SDD. Basically, everything is maxed-out except the SSD hard drive. So here are my initial impressions. It’s definitely faster than the M1 Mac of last year. But you probably won’t notice it...
People don’t make use of trial periods | Daily #199
I see so many people have an opinion about a product that they never even tried before. Even though there is a FREE trial period, they already made up their minds that the product is shit or not worth it. It’s like before even trying the food at a restaurant you already say it’s...
Dumb useless tech stacks | Daily #198
If you give a shit about tech stacks, you are a bad developer. 80% of all the tech stacks are useless unless you truly need the highest performance and scalability futures. Most companies don’t even have millions of customers. Even if they do, it’s probably for payment systems...
YouTube Premium is UNDERRATED | Daily #197
I’m currently on a trial subscription using YouTube premium. I truly underestimated the value of it before and regret that I didn’t get it sooner. I know that probably 80% of YouTube users probably use an Ad-Blocker. But for me, I always tried to support my content creators by at...
Thinkdrop 2 numbers after two weeks | Daily #196
Thinkdrop 2 has been released for two weeks already. Here are some numbers to give you a detail about Thinkdrop and its progress. ⬇️ 288 Downloads 🏆 4 Features on tech media-related outlet
Traveling impacts your sleep | Daily #195
I’ve been traveling the last few days and will be going to additional cities. The one thing that has severely impacted my health is my sleep quality. Usually, you have to get used to a new place and bed when sleeping at another location. This takes around 4-7 days for most....
Separate politics and career | Daily #194
If you can, never and I mean never involve politics in your career. I believe that we are at a tipping point where you have to be a compatible human being as well to do a job. Years ago before the social media craze, we hired people based on their skills. Wanted your house...
Exploring the city of Valencia | Daily #193
For the last two-three days, I’ve been in Valencia. Eating paella almost every day, and walking 20.000+ steps a day. From visiting markets to museums to the beach to shopping to cathedrals.
Realizing I’m walking so little | Daily #192
I’m in another city and have been almost walking the whole day. I’ve almost reached 30.000 steps today and am now realizing how little I actually walk every day during COVID19 times. On average (according to my Apple data) I walk daily between 8000 and 10.000 steps. Most of them...
Traveling for a few days | Daily #191
I will be traveling for a few days in the upcoming week which means my daily-ish blog may become for this even more daily-ish. I’m going to Spain and one more undisclosed location in the upcoming week. During that week, I will be still working for the majority, but mainly for my...
I love investments | Daily #190
I’m in a fortunate position where almost all my luxury expenses are paid by my investments. From my new car this year, to travel, to new tech equipment. Don’t think it didn’t take time to build my portfolio. It took me almost four years to build a solid investment portfolio that...
League of Legends Worlds 2021 | Daily #189
So the League of Legends worlds championship main stage has started. I admit that I’m more distracted than usual these days. Especially when the CS:GO major starts as well in less than two weeks. Am I dealing with this distraction? Not really, I’m still doing and completing my...
Downies | Daily #188
I’m having one of those days again where I’m feeling like a failure. Those days that you feel like you aren’t good enough. That you are not the best person you could be.
Getting my first Thinkdrop 2 subscribers | Daily #187
Great news! Thinkdrop 2 is featured on AppAdvice. You can find the article here. While I already had a few subscribers before the article, it boosted the download numbers a lot. This generates lots of eyes to the product and hopes I can convert them into customers/users.
Nothing wrong with 9-5 | Daily #186
In today’s world, it is bad for some people’s perspective to work 9-5. Some would even call them being a wageslave and spending their majority of their time working. I’m here to tell you that there is nothing wrong with working 9-5. Wear your supermarket uniform with pride.
Thinkdrop 2 initial launch day | Daily #185
I’ve launched Thinkdrop 2 yesterday and is available now for all iOS, iPadOS, and M1 devices. I haven’t got any concrete data yet on how many units have been installed so will update that at a later date. But I did already receive some feedback about the app which is a good...
Why I build Thinkdrop 2
Ever had a thought and forgot about it later? Think Drop 2 aims to help you with that. Two years ago I build Think Drop. An app that is solely focussed on uncluttering your mind. Drop your thoughts into Think Drop, and it will only be there. No sharing between servers, no...
Gradually improving my health, but not fast enough | Daily #184
Beginning this year, I was close to being obese. I can blame it on COVID19 and all the lockdowns, but it all came down to me. I didn’t exercise often enough and began developing bad eating habits during the last two years. That resulted in a weight gain of 10 to 15kg while also...
You don’t need a unique idea | Daily #183
I’ve always disliked the sentiment that you need a ‘unique’ idea to succeed. That somehow you will have an idea that the 7.5 billion other people on earth haven’t thought of yet. That it is so unique only you but only can have thought of that. Well sorry to burst your bubble, but...
Channel the power of Music | Daily #182
First of all, I want to say that music is indeed very subjective. Some like electronic music during work, some like heavy metal for some reason. But we can all agree all one thing. A certain music type brings a certain kind of emotion/mood that can be channeled into a certain...
Thinkdrop 2 is ready to go | Daily #181
Thinkdrop 2 is basically ready to go. I’m still testing for the last few days just to be sure, I haven’t missed any crucial thing. But my initial reactions are that it is basically ready to go. I found several bugs that I’ve fixed and am happy to have resolved them before launch....
Growrilla 1.9.0 massive performance improvements | Daily #180
I’ve made some big improvements for Growrilla. Besides loads of animation issues that were heavily present on iOS 15, I’ve rewritten the whole database access module and architecture. Without getting into the deep technical details on why this improves data consistency and...
iPhone 13 Pro initial reactions | Daily #179
I’ve finally done it and bought a new phone. After almost four years of using the iPhone X, I’ve switched to the iPhone 13 Pro. And it is indeed an immense improvement. My first impression is that the phone is bigger, thicker and heavier than my old one. This makes it feels like...
iOS updates with too many apps | Daily #178
I haven’t had the chance yet to really look into iOS 15.0, besides working on Thinkdrop 2. But sadly, it has brought many bugs for my apps like Growrilla and Kowa. As an indie developer, this is a nightmare. I can’t put in a week work to fix all of the bugs immediately since I...
Travel plans disrupted, getting tired of the pandemic | Daily #177
I hate all these travel restrictions around the world. I’ve been fucked by sudden travel restrictions changes of my destination for the second time this year. Due to this, I’ve had to cancel, change plans and even lose money due to it. While I haven’t written this on my blog last...
A loyal fool | Daily #176
Sometimes I meet someone again after a while and basically catch up with them. We trade ‘war stories’ together and have a good time usually. Sometimes they do tell me that they haven’t changed jobs in five years or even more. Then they basically give me the reason cause they want...
DevLeads is now free | Daily #175
I’ve made DevLeads free. This decision was mainly cause I don’t want to maintain it anymore nor did it paying subscribers at all. So as a gift for the new week I’m making DevLeads free for everybody as long they sign up with GitHub. What is DevLeads again? DevLeads is a tool to...
Family First | Daily #174
During this week, I was talking with a friend and I gained much a lot of respect for him. Without naming him, he basically told me that he is under a lot of pressure at the moment. His mother is having mental breakdowns (or sickness) right now, and the son (him) is taking two...
The best exercise set | Daily #173
Usually, I go four times to the gym minimal. I choose between a cardio or strength training day. A cardio day is usually cardio exercises like running, elliptical, jumping rope, cycling (rarely), and stair steppers. On these days, I just try to sweat as much as possible. But the...
Thoughts Apple Event September 2021 | Daily #172
Just finished seeing the Apple event, and looked at the new things in the Apple Store. The first thought is that it was an alright event. But an alright event is basically the same as all the other hardware announcement events so nothing to be feeling down about. I didn't really...
Don't exist... live | Daily #171
I was one of the stupid and selfish people that sought the path of least resistance. Why? cause it was easy. All I had to do was get good grades in high school and people would love for me it. Besides being forced to work with my parents in their restaurants, I had all the...
Thinkdrop 2 website online | Daily #170
Gonna keep it short today, cause it's Sunday. Today I've worked on Thinkdrop 2 again. The app is pretty much down like 90%, but until iOS 15 is out, I won't release it. I aim for a release of Thinkdrop 2 at the end of this month. The website is already online to give you a...
Not disciplined enough | Daily #169
Work every day on the same thing for a year. Doesn't matter how long. Whether it is 10 minutes of meditation, 30- minutes walk, one hour on a project, 15 minutes of writing, it will transform yourself. I strongly believe that I'm still not disciplined enough. I write every day,...
Google provided knowledge but made us dumb | Daily #168
You would be a fool to disagree that the search engine is the greatest product ever created since the Internet. The Internet search engine made it possible to have the library of Alexandria times ten at the palm of your hands. Google was the first one to have created this amazing...
Thinkdrop 2 is coming | Daily #167
Thinkdrop 2 is coming. pic.twitter.com/Y9Fn0hqFv4 — Hoye Lam (@hoyelam) September 9, 2021 Thinkdrop 2 is coming.
Do what you truly want | Daily #166
It always sounds cliché, but it is true. If you want to do great work, you can only do it if you truly want it as well. You can't do that if you keep thinking about switching careers or even colleagues. But this advice gets executed the wrong way almost all the time. I think...
Everybody loves shortcuts | Daily #165
From the pandemic, I realized that the majority only want shortcuts. Instead of taking care of your health and building up your immune system to fight off viruses, people rather take the vaccine. It's just two appointments, two jabs and you are ready to go. Other examples are the...
Recovered from food poisoning | Daily #164
Since last Friday, I've been recovered from my food poisoning. God bless. The last two weeks were probably the worse weeks I've had in a long time. Every one or two hours I needed to go to the toilet. The stomach pains from dormant to extreme randomly. The four-day fever also...
China restricting video-gaming | Daily #163
China is now banning video gaming for minors below 18 years old. They can now only play three hours each week and even a certain times. Now the implementation details are still not certain yet, but it probably has to do with your social ID that is connected to the gaming...
COVID19 is political | Daily #162
Today, (or yesterday) Joe Rogan released a video that he has been diagnosed with COVID-19. He also proceeded to tell that he took vitamins and supplements to keep himself as healthy as possible. The good news is that he is recovered pretty fast and didn't suffer from too many...
The best teams are individualistic | Daily #161
I truly believe that the best teams consist of members who are very individualistic. What I mean about that is that they care about their craft only. They get the freedom and resources to perform their craft to the maximum. I don't believe that somebody can create truly amazing...
Boundaries | Daily #160
A man can only achieve so many things in their lifetime. The curse however is that we want it all. From success to innovation to a loving family to an empire to exploration to enlightenment whatever you can imagine and want. But most of us won't achieve all those things or any at...
Vanity Metrics | Daily #159
We all know a friend or acquaintance that do this. They brag about how many times they've done something specific. In all honesty, I'm unconsciously doing the same sometimes. These are some examples: I've made x amount of software products I've read x amount of books this year
Start with the first task on your TODO-list | Daily #158
Since today I'm recovering from food poisoning. Luckily, I can be more physically active and don't have to be in the toilet every hour. I realized in the morning that it all starts with one task at a time to get back in my rhythm. The morning for me is meant to be physically...
Still food poisoned but recovering | Daily #157
I've been recovering, well slowly. This is honestly one of the worst food poisoning experiences I've ever had. Usually it takes me one or two days to fully recover from it. This time, it has started since last Friday and the pain keeps being there.
Food poisoned | Daily #156
Man, I hate these occurrences. Went out to eat at some 'fancy' restaurant in Rotterdam. The food was okay-ish but definitely not the quality you expect for the price. Overall, it was too expensive. They even gave a bad oyster, but sometimes that happens. They tried to make it up...
Discovering the man I want to be | Daily #155
Lately, I haven't been reading a lot. If I do, I read a chapter then go to another book the next day. Probably something I should pick up again. But yesterday, I read the second rule of Jordan Peterson's book Beyond Order and this is: Imagine who you could be and then aim...
Customers are not always right | Daily #154
Sometimes I truly think that customers don't know what they want. We all know the famous lines. Customer is always right Customer knows what they want
Five cheap items worth trying to improve your life | Daily #153
Usually, I don't do these things. Lately, I've bought some things that were quite cheap, but improve life immensely. These are five recommendations on the top of my head. (Of course, prices may differ depending on where you are living) UPPLADDA Infusion bottle with straw, 0.7 l -...
Missed few writing days | Daily #152
I broke my daily writing streak for the past three days. Didn't even write in private as well. What happened? Did I stop it entirely? No. Last Friday, I completely missed it, cause honestly, I just forgot about it. I was busy with a new app release this September. More on that...
Excited for league of legends playoffs | Daily #151
Starting today, playoffs have started around the world for the local League of Legends esports. I'm excited. I usually don't watch that many regular-season games from the various leagues. Thus I'm making time available for the playoffs series. Will this impact my productivity?...
I should spend more on improving myself | Daily #150
In the last few years, I haven't spent really much on educating myself. I spend probably around 400 euros this year on most books and online courses. But I don't think that is enough. When I was very young, my parents taught me to don't buy things unless I really needed them....
Meetings hide incompetence in writing and reading skills | Daily #149
I dislike (hate) meetings. The only meetings I like are the meetings that result in critical decisions. These meetings usually steer the entire ship to an additional or another destination. Everybody needs to agree or else the ship is going to sink. Problem is that the majority...
Weak men are immoral | Daily #148
I dislike weak men. How do you identify them? By seeing them complain about many subjects. Can't learn something new?
Computer Science degree has no value | Daily #147
I've been graduated from university for around 3-4 years now. Not one job application and the offer did my computer science degree had ANY influence over it. Sometimes the companies asked for it. But it was more like a throw-away question. 'Are you graduated from university?'...
Eleven learnings from building indie apps / SaaS so far | Daily #146
Over the years, I've built several indie apps on mostly mobile but also web since the release of DevLeads.app. While none of them has five-figure successes yet, these are eleven things that I have learned from building them. Release or at least beta-test as soon as possible....
AirPods Max | Daily #145
I bought the AirPods Max just to try it out. After an hour or two, I returned them. I think that they were too heavy for me. My head or neck was starting to get annoyed by it. Also, because of that, I started to get headaches as well. So when it comes to comfort, it definitely...
Fandoms are a disease | Daily #144
You can always be a fan of something. Whether it is an artist, community figure, company, music group, (e)sports team, or whatever. There is nothing wrong with rooting for the things you like. The problem is when it goes too far. Stans are what we call them usually for the worst...
You are in a cult | Daily #143
When the majority of your life is dedicated to a company (besides your own), you are in a cult. So how does a cult work? Well, there are usually leaders that tell you how what is right and wrong. Then they tell you that your presence is what keeps them strong and productive. Then...
Integrity | Daily #142
Most people don’t have integrity. They will choose shortcuts and be dishonest with themselves to gain short-term accelerated gain. We see this in many forms like startups. Growth hacking for example in startups can be seen as dishonest cause they are talking about the benefits of...
Hangout with people that wants best for you | Daily #141
I’ve been blessed to have been in many friend groups. From weed smokers to videogamers, to clubbers, to tech, to business people. But, I’ve noticed that not everybody wants you to be happy. They like it as long as you part of their group. Like, smoking weed, playing video games,...
Entertainment Abundance | Daily #140
At this age, there is too much to consume. Take one example like Netflix and you spend hundreds and even maybe thousands of hours consuming content. Or the Amazon bookstore, there are millions of books available to select and consume from. Or YouTube, there are millions of short...
I’m unworthy yet | Daily #139
There are actually very few reasons to execute on my advice, tips, thoughts, or any other thing I’m talking about. Why? Cause I’m not the person I want to be yet nor in the position. Similar to that you don’t listen to a fat person when they talk about fitness or being healthy....
Activision Blizzard’s hypocrisy | Daily #138
Today, a report came out by the California Department of Fair Employment and housing has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for discrimination. For further details refer to the tweet thread below. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed an...
The biggest lie told in computer science university | #Daily 137
In university (of applied sciences) for computer science, and even before that, I asked my teachers this question. Do software engineers only producing code during professional work? They all told me the same gist.
Being truthful | Daily #136
Being true to yourself is a superpower. No need for lies, and no need to keep track of them. Human nature tends to lie to hide its uncomfortable truth. Whether it is relationship struggles or financial struggles, people tend to hide them. And to hide them they lie. They lie that...
Witnessing greatness in esports | Daily #135
Most individuals won’t achieve greatness. With greatness I mean literally the top 0.1% of their field. Whether it is business, programming, indie-hacking, sports, esports, marketing, or any other field, it is great to witness it. Today (and the past several days), I’ve witness...
Choosing where to live | Daily #134
The three biggest decisions in your life are to choose what you do, where to live, and who your friends are. Where to live has been something on my mind for the past few months. I’ve been looking for a house to buy and move into. My idea is to live there for the foreseeable...
Employer-employee boundaries | Daily #133
When you work for a company, they own your work, not your life. https://t.co/rkMKOgpeWR — Hoye Lam (@hoyelam) July 16, 2021 There has been a document leaked whereby Apple has rights and access to their employee's health data. Then it is also suggested that Apple themselves can...
Be valueable or be worthless | Daily #132
If you can’t provide value, you are worthless. You have no worth. The good thing is, is that it should be easy to create value.
Bursts of focussed work | Daily #131
The best work that I do, is usually done in small bursts of repetitive focus and energy. No human can focus eight hours or more straight. Even marathon athletes turn their brains off during their marathon for a duration or have a slower pace eventually. The mind is different than...
Anger should be controlled not dismissed | Daily #130
Anger is usually an emotion that has a bad annotation in modern society. It is frequently related to chaos, where things usually happen that can be considered negative. Anger can lead to undesired actions. We have all seen this either in our own life or in others. Anger can lead...
Blog Update 11th July - I'm back
Hi to all who have been reading my blog. I haven’t written anything for my blog for the last two months. Mainly cause there was limited progress to share in general. My indie- work was short and earnings were low. I became lazy and relied heavily on my stocks and crypto portfolio...
Weekly Update #10
Due to all of this, I’m a bit lost. Should I work on another product even though it hasn’t been a year yet? Or should I even do other things like creating a more prominent brand? I don’t know anymore. After building roughly five-six products that haven’t made the return that I...
Weekly Update #9
Indie In this week’s indie update is that I’ve released a new feature Growrilla. In Growrilla 1.7.0, (free and paid) users can now pin items on a certain day. They just indicate that they want to focus on items to count on a certain day. Then on that day, the item will appear on...
Weekly Update #8
Growrilla upcoming new feature, content creation, migraines, esports tournaments Indie Sadly, I haven’t been working a lot on Devleads. I have some users that registered on the app, but none paying customers yet. I may need to be more prominent in my marketing of the tool, but...
Weekly Update #7
Indie Devleads is online now! Users can now start using the platform to search for developers. You can visit it on www.devleads.app. I haven’t done much marketing or official launches so far, but maybe I won’t do it as well. I don’t think my target audience is on Producthunt for...
Why the five-day workweek should be seven
The current five-workday week is broken and doesn’t reflect on the modern world. In a world where everything is connected and 24/7 available, the five-workday week is stupid. Where did the five-workday week come from in the first place? Well, we can trace it all back to the bible...
Weekly update #6
Indie This week’s progress of Devleads has been great. I’ve implemented much of the feedback I’ve received from various people. These are as followed
Weekly Update #5
Indie For the past week, I’ve been developing Devleads. I worked on additional filters to find developers, a subscription integration system with Stripe, a privacy policy page, terms of use page, and landing page adjustments. Here are the following results
Weekly Update #4
New side-product announcement! It’s not a mobile app. 😉 Indie For the last week, I’ve been using most of my free time to create a new software app. This will also be the first web-app I’m going to ship individually.
Weekly Update #3
Career So this has been my first week back into the daily working schedule. I had to pleasure of going immediately straight into fire cause there were many tasks that needed to be done with limited time. As always, I can’t go over the details but can talk about the experience. I...
Weekly Update #2
A weird warm week, considering one-two weeks ago, it was freezing. I had to turn up the heater but last week, I see people even wearing short pants and t-shirts. Such a weird and fast transition that worries me for this summer and the years to come with climate change 😬. Career...
Weekly Update #1
This is the first issue of my series weekly update where I give an update about my personal life, indie development, and career. Career To start off, I have received some offers from various companies to join them. Each of them has benefits and disadvantages. I’m planning to make...
Blog Changes to Weekly Blog
I’ve given lots of thought to it, and my daily-ish blog will be changed to a weekly one. Since September, I’ve been writing daily on this blog laying my thoughts down, being an indie developer, and my career choices. My highest back-to-back writing day streak was 141 which is...
Growrilla 1.6.0 released
Today, Growrilla version 1.6.0 is available. I thought it would be taking a bit longer, but I’ve been testing it myself for several days and the review by Apple was extremely fast. So I decided to release it immediately.
Valentine Day
Happy Valentine Day to all of you. Love you all even though I may not know you personally. If you are reading this blog, that’s already big support to me. My girlfriend made steak, bulgogi, and edamame for me for Valentine’s dinner which is all I need. ♥️ The one productive thing...
Growrilla 1.6.0 upcoming major update
In the next version of Growrilla 1.6.0, a big new feature will be added. As teased before in previous blog posts, this is the new feature that will provide more insights on all your tracked and counted events. For example, it displays the total counts, events tracked, the daily...
Happy Lunar New Year
I wish everybody to have good fortune in the year of the Ox. 🧧 Today, I made some images for the Growrilla social media channels Twitter and Instagram. Below the article, you can get them if you may want. Chinese New Year is a bit different this year due to Coronavirus and all...
Believe in something
I’m a believer in god. I strongly feel that you should believe in something. It doesn’t matter if it is religion, a sense of the sovereign individual, or duty. Who are the warriors you may admire in religion? Not the good and horrendous acts they did, but their spirit.
Growrilla Week Reports Preview
Today I’ve been working on a new feature called Reports. This feature provides information for Growrilla users about how their week or year went for all counts on all tracked events. Here is a preview of what you can expect from it. With this, you will get weekly or yearly...
Paving the next chapter
I’ve been applying for some companies that may be my next career-home. Currently, I’m in talks with two companies that I’m interested in. If those two both won’t work out, I will be searching further. At the beginning of this year, I made a tweet that I was looking for a job...
I'm back
A week ago, I blogged that I was burned out/exhausted so I had to take some time off. During that time off, I mainly chilled, watched some movies, and played some League of Legends. I watched movies for example the Monsterverse franchise which are Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island,...
Burned by stock exchanges
Yesterday, I wrote that I’ve been watching the stories about Wall Street with Reddit against the Hedge Funds or the rich. I didn’t expect in any way what happend today. Robinhood (and several other brokers) decided to forbid buying stocks like &GME, &AMC, &BB, and &NOK, but allow...
WallStreet Stock Market
Today, I’ve been distracted and pre-occupied with the ongoing trading war with subreddit /r/wallstreetbets and Wall Street bankers. Without explaining the whole feud and plan, basically, a community of people is pumping several stocks like $GME, $AMC, $NOK, $BB, and several...
Share Sheet UIActivityViewController within SwiftUI
With Growrilla 1.5.0 released, users can now share their progress more easily. Thus I also want to share how I did it. First, we have the make the UIActivityViewController usable with SwiftUI. Thus we are going to wrap it around a UIViewControllerRepresentable.
Growrilla 1.5.0 - Sharing Feature
I’m a firm believer that you should share and celebrate your progress whether it is big or small. Four times in the gym last week? Share it. Published a new blog post? Share it.
New Headphones Sony WH-1000XM4
I finally bought a new pair of headphones after many months of waiting for the AirPods Max. However, I didn’t buy those specifically. I really think the AirPods Max is too expensive. Yes, the AirPods Max sound may have high sound quality. Build quality seems great. It may be even...
Growrilla upcoming sharing feature
Today, I’ve been working on the possibility of sharing your counts. Similar to the Apple Watch Activity app where you can share your today’s progress of completing your rings. My aim with this feature is to allow options for the user to share their progress and achievements with...
Esports matches back running again
I love esports. It’s like watching football, NBA, UFC, or any other sport on TV. Now the esports season for most videogames has begun. In CS:GO the Blast Premier Global final has begun where the top teams are competing for a million-dollar prize pool.
Planning on a rework of an app
I’m planning to do a big overhaul of a specific mobile app that I have built before. Not sure if I have the time for it at the moment since I’m looking for a new job and freelance projects as well. But the whole idea excites me since I’ve been planning to do it for a long time....
Annual Growrilla Subscription Pricing changes
Based on the reviews and feedback from users, the biggest complaint was regarding the pricing of Growrilla. When I’m reflecting on this, the previous pricing of $21.49 USD may have been too much. Some features were still missing and the subscription felt more like a necessity to...
A good night of sleep is the source for a good day
Last night I didn’t sleep well at all. I was in bed for 8-9 hours but woke up many times. I kept dreaming about weird things like I was heavily on drugs. I woke up for 15-30 seconds several times and then fell back to sleep.
Growrilla New Card 1.4.0 and pricing changes coming up
Today, I’ve been developing a new card for Growrilla users. This is the ‘recent weeks’ card. It will display all the additions of the most recent (calendar) weeks. Now, in addition to the last seven days and year overview (premium) statistics, you also gain insight into your...
Summing up numeric properties of objects in an array in Swift
You may want to sum up properties from an object. For example, you may retrieve log data from your analytics web server. A struct could be the following: swift
Growrilla Small Improvements Sunday | Day #129
Today, I’ve played some videogames and worked on Growrilla. Barring from satisfying my itch to play videogames, it is a good Sunday. I’ve improved multiple things. The first one is that I sped up the custom amount count view display animation by 15%. Not that much development...
Learning watchOS Development | Day #128
Today, I’ve been learning watchOS development. Not necessarily to integrate with Growrilla yet, but just to explore some things. All I can say is that it has been quite challenging. App Groups aren’t supported anymore, so it is very different from usual extensions. This means if...
A great week | Day #127
When it came to my full-time job, it was a great week. Most of the things worked out, there were loads of progress. Even from the dependencies that you can’t control sometimes. Usually, there is always a day or two in a week where things don’t work out. You get stuck in something...
Assess, sprint, reflect, rest | Day #126
Every day there should be a progression in your life. Even resting contributes to that cause you need to assess, sprint, reflect, and rest. Whatever you do, assess, sprint, rest, and then reflect.
Growrilla 1.2.0 release, the invention of communication | Day #125
Today, Growrilla 1.2.0 is released. This has the new feature where you can double-tap the count button add a count number higher than one. Make sure to update Growrilla and keep counting your events!
Blog Theme changes | Day #124
This blog now has a new theme! With some small adjustments to the Dawn template from Ghost, I’m making this theme the main theme for 2021. The only changes I may do are the only the colors, but overall it stays the same. Unless of course, the readers don’t like it, but I think is...
Growrilla - Add Custom Amount | Day #123
Today, I’ve been working on a new feature for Growrilla. This new feature allows Growrilla users to add up a custom amount of counts to an item/event. This means that users that may for example do 100+ push-ups, 100+ squats, and/or 100+ deadlifts a day, can more easily count it...
Not enough | Day #122
For the last three years, I’ve been feeling like I’ve done everything correctly when it comes to my finances. I rarely spend money at all besides the occasional takeaway food and travel. The only two luxury items I bought in 2020 were the iPad Pro 11-Inch (2018) and MacBook Pro...
Twitter, Decentralisation, Fall of Digital Rome | Day #121
Many things have happend today, mostly due to U.S. politics. But barring from that I’ve made more Marketing IG reels and Twitter for Growrilla. Follow either @growrillaapp on IG or Twitter to see those videos. First of all, Twitter (and other platforms) have silenced the 45th...
Growrilla Fixes, Talks, Tired evenings | Day #120
Growrilla Fixes, Talks, Tired evenings | Day #120 Today, a new update has been released for Growrilla 1.1.0. As written before, this version has several new features. Go download/update now if you haven’t yet. I’ve also already pushed out another update with is version 1.1.1....
Making Growrilla Ad videos | Day #119
Today, I’ve been working on some Marketing videos for Growrilla. (Also, ignoring U.S. politics but is hard since Social Media is filled with it) I learned Davinci Resolve in an hour just for this. Usually, I use Sony Vegas Pro on the Windows PC to edit videos. But I want to keep...
Growrilla Report 21 days after launch | Day #118
As am trying to ‘build in public’ or at least try to be as transparent as possible, I will share some interesting statistics of Growrilla. After 21 days, Growrilla now has the following now: 💸 MRR: $8
Growrilla update coming 1.1.0 | Day #117
In the next update Growrilla and the first one of this year, two new features will be released. These are the: Notifications Reminder to count a specific event (premium-only)
Returning to work, Growrilla Premium Notifications | Day #116
The first workday of 2021 and after a three-week holiday and a new feature coming for Growrilla. Today, it started out with reading many Slack and email messages. Only 20% of those were relevant for me, but that is how it goes. After an hour or two, the real development started....
Forced Rest Day | Day #115
So today wasn’t that great of a day. I had lots of TODOs planned for Growrilla and some things I need to sort out with my company. However, once I worked for an hour, I randomly got a headache and specifically a ‘tension headache’. This is a headache that is mainly on your...
Friend, Growrilla, Twitter Job Opportunities | Day #114
Saw a friend that I haven’t seen for the last 7 months. New features for Growrilla. Twitter job post. Today I went to the family of a childhood friend. I gifted them the Ring Fit 2 video-game Nintendo cause I didn’t really use it anymore. The mother reacted happily and my day was...
Happy New Year 2021 | Day #113
For all my followers and readers, I wish you a great 2021. It was a great midnight, since I was hanging out with a few limited friends. Celebrating the New Years, making jokes, and playing some games. After 04:00, we went home and slept immediately.
Goals 2021 | Day #112
This will be a short post cause plans and goals usually don’t work out anyway. Nothing goes according to plan, but you do need to have a vision and goals to focus on. For 2021, my goals are as followed. Health Reach body weight around 80kg
Merry Christmas | Day #106
Merry Christmas all! Hope you have it great in the last remaining days of 2020. Nothing much to write today. Growrilla hit a big milestone of 500+ installs. A great Christmas gift.
Supermarkt Bad Father Example | Day #105
Me and girlfriend went to the supermarket today to do groceries for a Christmas dinner. We picked up some things we needed and went to the queue for the cashier. It was a queue where you probably had to wait for 5 minutes since it was busy due to people buying ingredients for...
Change in Satisfaction | Day #104
I’ve announced that in the last days of this year, I will be busy relaxing and reflecting on my 2020. So today, after creating some Growrilla graphics, I was mainly watching some videos and playing videogames. I was playing some League of Legends and Counter-Strike Global...
This year last Growrilla update, Updated PressKit | Day #103
Today, I’ve been working on the last Growrilla update this year which is mainly the daily reminder notifications system. As yesterdays post, this allows the user to set reminders to review all their counts of the day. Users can select choose their own time and the number of times...
Growrilla Stats, Daily Notifications system, one-star review sadly | Day #102
The installs and traction of Growrilla have been cooling down a lot. Current statistics are as follows: 400+ Installs
Rest Days | Day #101
Today is a Sunday. For most, this is intended a rest day. For me, I try to rest as well. But the duty for me to work is high.
Premium Bug, iCulture, Custom Sort | Day #100
Not the best start of the day. I found out that there is an embarrassing bug within Growrilla for Premium users. This bug doesn’t automatically un-blurs the premium content and features that are available with a count item. Extremely Stupid, but won’t happen again next time. I’ve...
First two Growrilla Premium users | Day #99
Count anything and everything with the gorgeous Growrilla app by @hoyelam https://t.co/0hX16Y3lRA — iMore (@iMore) December 18, 2020 I woke up today with a great email and Twitter notification. This is Growrilla being featured on iMore 😱. I contacted a journalist randomly and he...
Productive day during holiday | Day #98
Today, I’ve worked on several things while having my holidays. I don’t mind necessarily cause I like it, but am afraid of burnout. At least that is what other people tell me most of the time.
An iOS Developer Perspective on the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 2020
My thoughts on the performance, display, keyboard, IO, and more on the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 2020 Before starting my thoughts about MBP13-Inch M1, I like to give some context about my usage first. Firstly I’m a software developer which mainly focuses on iOS development. Thus I...
Launch Day Growrilla | Day #97
Today, I’ve launched Growrilla. The app to count anything and everything is now available on the App Store for iOS and iPadOS. 🎉 https://apps.apple.com/app/growrilla/id1541899636
Apple M1 MacBook Pro initial thoughts | Day #96
Lucky me, just around an hour ago, I received my new 13-inch MacBook Pro M1. Like a kid, I immediately unpacked it, and here are my initial thoughts about it. (I had some trouble setting it up due to migration assistant, but I stopped it cause I want to start my MBP with a clean...
Dutch Lockdown 2.0 | Day #95
Welp, our PM has announced that we will be going into a hard-lockdown starting tomorrow. I don’t agree with calling it a ‘hard-lockdown’ cause many things remain open. I would have called it an ‘intelligent-lockdown’ but whatever that is just naming. The decision I think is good,...
Try your hardest or be average | Day #94
For a man to thrive they need a goal. Particularly a vision in which they stand behind it. In history, these were the men who believed in an ideal. They sticked with it until they either achieved it or died before.
Three weeks time-off full-time job | Day #93
I’ve got a three week holiday from my full-time work starting today. I’m excited. I haven’t had a long vacation since one and a half years ago.
New Technology needs to time grow organically | Day #92
Early technology usually needs to adapt to the market and grow organically. You can at most accelerate it but can't force it. The majority of the new technologies don’t change the world immediately. There are many examples. The first iPhone needed adaptation. Everybody thought...
To build or not to build | Day #91
There is always a fight that I have in myself. This is whether to use a third-party tool or build it completely myself. The best examples are when I’m considering creating a backend service for a software application. Even though it could be as simple as storing one column with a...
AirPods Max Thoughts | Day #90
A new Apple product has been announced out of the blue. Now the AirPods Max is released. I think they are beautifully designed. They look very clean and high value similar to the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is also aimed as a luxury item for the most part (except SE), so the...
Growrilla Widgets Support | Day #89
Growrilla is going to support widgets on launch day. It will be available starting with a small and medium widget. A large widget will be coming later next year. The widgets are intended to give the user a quick glance immediately at how many counts they’ve done today. The small...
Talent is rare | Day #88
Most people don’t understand that real talent is rare. I’m not talking about people that work hard and/or smart. I’m not talking about people who lucked out and found the right environment to thrive in.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Day #87
Today, I’ve been playing the new Assassins Creed Valhalla on PC the whole day. I haven’t done this in a long time where like 60%-80% of my day is spent on video gaming. I don’t feel bad about it all. At the end of the day, I’m feeling very relaxed. Reasons are mainly cause it is...
Growrilla Additional Count Card | Day #86
Growrilla has been the only thing on my mind lately. The beta-test is going well, apart from one crash that I’m not sure how happened. Today, I’ve added a new information card for Growrilla. https://twitter.com/hoyelam/status/1335298111326081025?s=20
Bugs Identified during Beta-testing | Day #85
I always appreciate beta-testers and think it is very important. Even though if it just a few beta testers that can count on two hands, it is very valuable. Beta-tests are a representation of what could happen during production. Once you launch and make a big thing out of it, you...
Growrilla Beta-Testing available | Day #84
Growrilla is now available for beta-testing. Here is the link: Join the Growrilla beta - TestFlight - Apple
Skills and knowledge I lack | Day #83
I’m confident in the skills I have. If you ask me to build a mobile or web application, I’m confident that I can build anything given enough time. But there are many that I also lack.
Growrilla Website Online | Day #82
Like my other mobile apps, Growrilla’s website has been built is online right now. The websites act as a fast landing page and overview of what the mobile app does. You can take a look at the website on https://growrilla.app.
Excited for the Holidays | Day #81
This year had its up and downs. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2020 is the year of Rat and I’m my sign is the same. (You can deduct my age now with this information.) There is a belief that people will have either an amazing or very bad year when it is your Chinese Zodiac year....
Growrilla - Year Chart | Day #80
80th daily writing streak. Can't believe I'm still keeping this up. Growrilla is on its way to being open for beta-testing soon. Somewhere this upcoming week, I will be providing a TestFlight link for users to test. Today, I’ve been working on a new chart. This is the year chart....
I Love myself | Day #79
One of my favorite songs of all time is Kendrick Lamar’s single ‘I’. The vibe of this song is amazing and really makes you feel like there is nothing wrong with the world. At least with mine. Music is of course very subjective. But this song makes me love myself instantly, just...
Black Friday Craze | Day #78
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals coming up. Remember that you ain't saving money. You are spending less. $350 to $250?
Growrilla Subscriptions | Day #77
Yes, yes, yes. I’m aiming to have subscriptions for Growrilla. The app to count everything in your life. With Growrilla premium, you are going to have access to all the features and upcoming ones of Growrilla. The benefits of a premium subscription are currently as followed:
Lead by example | Day #76
You can’t save anybody. They have to save themselves. It's much easier to influence others, by your own example rather than to force them. Nobody will listen to your fitness thoughts if you aren’t healthy or fit.
Losing focus and productivity | Day #75
My mind for the last two days hasn’t been performing well. I’ve implemented things and written documents twice for no reason. Just cause I forgot I made them already a few months back. I’ve dosed off and am sometimes working on the less valuable tasks or even the wrong things.
Growrilla new icons | Day #74
I’m also returning my Apple Magic Keyboard with a numeric keypad. I don’t like the amount of space it takes on my desk. So bye keyboard! Today, I’ve been working on Growrilla again. I’ve been working new app icons that my customers can switch if they want to.
MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 | Day #73
My posts from a few weeks ago and initial reactions on the Apple M1 device release were indicating that I was making a purchase on the Mac mini. After more thoughts and discussions I’ve decided that I will be going to purchase the MacBook Pro 13-inch instead. Why?
Today | Day #72
Today, I slept well around 8 hours. Today, I ate steak as brunch. Today, I trained outside in a park.
Music is so interesting | Day #71
I’ve been listening to ‘old’ songs that were released between 1990 and 2010. These songs now hit me very differently. I grew up with (English) artists like User, 2Pac, Akon, Flo Rida, Pitbull, Ne-Yo, MJ, 50 Cent, Missy Elliot, and many more. Mostly R&B and Hip Hop songs. For some...
CloudKit support for Growrilla progress | Day #70
Today has been a hectic day. I was trying to buy a PS5 today, but haven’t been able to do so. Still trying cause I want to play on it during December. But I’ve also been working on Growrilla. As on my day #66 blog post, I said that I was working on it. Now it is working...
You don’t need the newest tools to produce | Day #69
I’m always surprised when people need the best tools to start producing. They always think that they need the gear first before producing. Some examples:
Apple M1 Hype | Day #68
People have started receiving their Mac devices with their new M1 chips. Also, there are many reviewers who have had it for a week. The initial reviews are absurd. Here are some of them:
Day #67 | Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa is one of my favorite character and movie franchise. Today, I’ve watched the first movie again and it is amazing as always. Based on a true story, a nobody suddenly gets a chance to start his story against all odds.
Day #66 | Working on Growrilla iPad support and iCloud sync
Today I’ve been working on some fixes on Growrilla. These have mostly to do with displaying on the iPad devices. Like too wide components or not visible ones. Also, some count logic didn’t store correctly. Then I’ve started working on iCloud auto-sync with CloudKit. The...
Day #65 | Growrilla progress Calendar View
Today, I’ve worked on the calendar view of Growrilla. Within this view, you can see all the logs of a specific day. This view is to explore the logs of previous days of a certain event you are counting. It also allows for the ability to delete logs. Just incase you made a mistake...
Day #64 | First impressions of macOS Big Sur
Today in the morning I installed macOS Big Sur. Here are my initial impressions. I always like it when Apple redesigns their OS versions. It feels like I’m using a completely new computer. This is included in the new design of Big Sur. The text fonts and colors changed and more...
Day #63 | Updating Home UI for Growrilla
I’ve worked a bit on Growrilla today. There are some UI changes on the home-view of Growrilla. Firstly, the cards are removed from the home view. They make it harder for the people to hold to complete circle. (Also, I’ve been losing interest in card views a bit. )
Day #62 | Software tools I recommend
Here is a collection of products and services I use regularly and am grateful for. I recommended these software tools as well cause it makes my work and life easier. Development IDEs Xcode :
Day #61 | Apple Event November thoughts
I wrote yesterday that I was excited about today’s event and wanted to write about it tomorrow. But since I’m just done anyway, I’m going to write about it today. There were major announcements about apple products. These they integrations of their new Apple Silicon called M1...
Day #60 | Excited for tomorrow’s Apple Event
This is my 60th blogpost and writing streak. I’ve never thought I would be writing for 60 days straight. But here I am. Yesterday, I was sick as well (big headaches/migraine), but now feeling somewhat better. I’m very excited about the Apple Event tomorrow.
Day #59 | Sick Day
Today was one of the worst days of my health. Slept terribly due to excessive sugar intake yesterday cause it was my brother’s birthday. (I’m not good with sugar) Then I woke up as well with one of the biggest headaches I’ve had.
Day #58 | Highest streak for Growrilla
I’ve announced that I’m working on Growrilla and will be releasing it this year. Today, I’ve been working on how to calculate the highest streak of the number of counts. It was a bit complex due to the nature of the database structure that I have. It may also be a bit inefficient...
Day #57 | Grateful for Swift content creators
Honestly, from all the software development fields, the Swift community is the best one. There are so many prominent members in the community that provide amazing content. The content is in general high quality as well with explanations on how certain things work. Compared to the...
Day #56 | What drives me
I recently received a question on what drives me in general. Why do I wake up in the morning? Why do I do what I do?
Day #55 | Rewriting software is normal
Most developers do not write software that is going to last decades. Eventually, every code needs to be rewritten. It doesn’t matter what the reasons could be. A new preferred tech stack, API, changed user requirements, deprecation, redundancy or self-reflection could be one of...
Day #54 | Growrilla: count literally anything you want - Work in progress
A few weeks ago, I posted that I am working on a new project. This is Growrilla. What problem does this mobile app solve?
Day #53 | COVID19 Test Results
Woke up today from a good seven-hour sleep. Had some weird dreams as well, but none of that matter. I immediately checked up if I got the results of my COVID19 test. Then I saw that indeed my results were in.
Day #52 | Getting COVID19 tested
Today I got tested for COVID19. It was a completely new experience for me. One of the first times where for health reasons a cotton swab (q-tip) went deep into my mouth/throat and nose. I felt extremely weird when it went to my mouth. I felt like I was getting gagged and even had...
Day #51 | In self-quarantine, been in contact with infected
Sadly, I got the news that two of my friends were positive. What’s worse is that I hung out with both of them last week. We didn’t regularly hang out in the last few months, but unlucky that the time we hung out, they got infected.
Day #50 | Are you a publisher or a subscriber?
I believe that people have two modes. This being a publisher or subscriber. When you are a publisher, you are the one creating things. It could be writing a book, programming a software piece, teaching others about your knowledge, cooking a dish for others, or something else...
Day #49 | Body Regression October
I’ve been ignoring and regressing my body again. For the past three-four weeks, I’ve been losing muscle and gaining fat. Due to the big daily COVID19 increases here in the Netherlands, it feels less safe to go to the gym. Also, my gym has made it harder for people to reserve a...
Day #48 | Nintendo Switch - Ring Fit Adventures
I recently bought a Nintendo Switch game called Ring Fit adventures. It is a game where you train at home with the Nintendo Switch and some additional equipment provided by the game. You strap one of the Nintendo Switch controllers around your left leg and the other one on the...
Day #47 | You are responsible for third-party dependencies
If your software app relies on a third-party software/service. Always, test them frequently. Validate that the output from the dependencies is accurate. You have (almost) no control over third-party software dependencies. Yes, some of them are open source. Yes, they may have a...
Day #46 | You are not unmotivated, you are uninterested
Everybody has days where they feel unmotivated. Days where you don’t feel like working. Days where you don’t feel like talking to colleagues.
Day #45 | One week holiday review
For the last seven days, I had a holiday week from my main job (software lead and iOS Dev at Somnox). It was a nice week. Celebrated a good friend’s birthday. Played some video games. Spend extra time with my girlfriend. Read a random book. Watched a Netflix TV-show and esports....
Day #44 | Upset at being bad? Get good
There are so many skills and professions in the world. Even new ones being randomly discovered by creative people every day. It is not feasible to learn them all and even be good at it. So you have to choose what you want to be good at.
Day #43 | Semi-finals LoL Worlds thoughts
Tomorrow the semi-finals of worlds are starting. G2 vs DWG and TES vs SUN. First of all, in the quarter-finals, I predicted G2, DWG, TES, and JDG to get out. Three out of four are correct. The only wrong one is SUN winning against JDG.
Day #42 | Airplane mode is a tool for focus
They should rebrand 'Airplane mode' to 'Offline mode'. Maybe then it will become normal to be disconnected. — Hoye Lam | 林浩意 (@hoyelam) October 22, 2020 These days people can’t live without their phones. Literally.
Day #41 | Video-gaming during time off
I have been taking some time off work and tried video-gaming again. For me, video-gaming is a double-edged sword. Either it puts me in a relaxed state through escapism or in a competitive mode where I need to win. The latter is the reason why I consider myself pretty good in...
Day #40 | Being nice
I would say that in general I'm a nice guy. (Immediately sound egotistical as hell) I smile to everybody including strangers when making eye-contact or having conversations. I make compliments whenever I can, whether it is about their knowledge, looks, skills, work, network, or...
Day #39 | Distractions are not always distractions.
Somedays you are distracted from your work. I’m not talking about unplanned events, like children crying, construction workers, or the internet not working. I’m talking about the times where you keep putting your focus and time into different things. The times where you research...
Day #38 | Build things
All the people that I admire or respect have put their time into building things. Whether it is products, software, network, relationships, and or family they put in the time to foster it. But usually what people see are the results. They don’t know how much time it takes to...
Day #37 | Taking time off
Taking time off is important. It resets your mind and work completely. Similar to when you take a walk after you were stuck with a problem. The time off makes you well rested and reinforces yourself for another period. Humans are not meant to work all the time, machines do.
Day #36 | Deciding not to buy the iPhone 12
For my initial thoughts of the Apple October 2020 events, I wrote that I was interested in buying either the iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max. But after some thoughts and evaluation, I decided not to go for it. All the improvements to the new phones compared to my iPhone X are great. But...
Day #35 | Thoughts Bracket Stage LoL worlds 2020
Today DWG and DRX played one of the quarterfinals and DWG won with 3-0. These are my still my thoughts for the bracket stage. First of all, I don’t like the draws. I’ve been waiting for LPL to fight against LCK, but it doesn’t seem we will get that at all until the final. Which...
Day #34 | Thoughts Apple 2020 October Event
In Apple’s 2020 October Event two five new products were announced. HomePod Mini iPhone 12
Day #33 | Stay in your lane, unless it affects you
The most important for any team and organization to work is trust. Trust that your colleagues deliver competent work cause that is the reason that is hired. But sometimes incompetent work gets delivered and you are the one affected by it. Then what do you do?
Day #32 | Kowa - now available on macOS
Kowa is now available on the macOS and is available for purchase of $3.99 (or €4.49). Kowa will be still free on iPad on iOS, but to support the continuous development a price has been set for the macOS version. Once again, all the features that are available on the iPad and iOS...
Day #31 | Am I an average developer?
I honestly think that I am an average developer. If you would have asked me very specific details about software development, I’m sure I would say something wrong. I can create things from the ground up given time. From web apps to mobile to databases and servers. But, I still...
Day #30 | Learn the basics first
There is a wrong belief that you can get far fast without basic understanding. People like to think they are outliers while in reality there are not. This is not a movie, this is real life. You can’t just pick something up and expect abnormal outcomes.
Day #29 | Define your Ethics, find your tribe
The first thing to figure out in life is what your values are. — Hoye Lam | 林浩意 (@hoyelam) October 4, 2020 As I tweeted out is that finding out what your values are is the most important thing in life. Let me elaborate on why.
Day #28 | Kowa - macOS coming soon
For the past few weeks, I found time to work on Kowa again. Soon a macOS version will be available to the public. I’ve been using Kowa more often on the Mac instead mobile. This is cause I prefer to shop on a computer rather on my phone. It is easier compare stuff then on my iPad...
Day #27 | What I want from the Apple October event
I’m looking forward to Apple’s October event. I’m in the market for a new phone and do think iPhones are the best. Of course, I’m biased as hell since I’m an Apple Engineer. Currently, I own the iPhone X and am getting the feeling it is getting outdated. I mean I actually don’t...
Day #26 | LoL Worlds 2020 week 1 group stage thoughts
So the first 32 games of the LoL worlds have happened and these are my thoughts about it. Based on my previous post on my initial thoughts of the group draw, it looks as expected. In Group A, I predicted G2 and Suning to get out. They are now the top two and I wouldn’t change my...
Day #25 | Cut the bullshit
Lots of people like to think that they’re in their best environment. Everything is great. Every place is good vibes, all colleagues are great, all the work they do is amazing, they are financially stable, their relationships are perfect, they’re healthy, and they got the best...
Day #24 | Companies should only focus on winning
Coinbase is a mission focused company There have been a lot of difficult events in the world this year: a global pandemic, shelter in place, social unrest, widespread protests and riots, and west coast wildfires. On top of that we have a… Companies should have only one goal. That...
Day #23 | Writer’s block
Everybody experiences writer’s block to some degree. Whether you are writing a column, blog post, page, chapter, or even software code, sometimes you just can’t seem to write anything down. There could be one or several reasons why writer’s block happen. Some examples are...
Day #22 | Injuries suck
Last week, I wrote about exercising back to normal. Since COVID19 has regressed my body. I’m trying to go back to my body and fitness before the end of this year. But, funnily enough, I strained myself a bit last Monday. The strain or injury is somewhere around my right...
Day #21 | Moon Festival 2020
中秋節快樂! Happy autumn moon festival! 🥮 pic.twitter.com/M8DBnWHvDq
Day #20 | Rare angry moment
Today has been a weird day. Woke up and went to the gym as usual. Even received some good news that had a positive impact on my day. Then something happened. I basically fucked over and disrespected. I’m not going to go into detail on what the situation was or how since it is too...
Day #19 | How to get better feedback
Good working people always hunger for feedback. They desire to improve their current skills or even learn new ones. Based on feedback or tips they can improve themselves even further. This increases their focus, productivity, and even enjoyment in working. But if you ask for...
Day #18 | Apple Notes to Notion to Noto to Bear
I’ve been trying to find the best note-taking app for myself in the last two years. The Apple Notes app is the default for everybody, but if you need something more beautiful and powerful, you have to look for something different. So I switched to Notion cause it is powerful. You...
Day #17 | A streak of bad nights
For the last few days, I’ve been sleeping pretty badly. There are some factors that are outside of my control that resulted in this. For example, the weather changes from warm to cold, but also things that are a bit too private. The current streak of bad sleep nights is around...
Day #16 | Losing inner peace
The internet has created many possibilities. From people that found their loved ones to exploring a new passion. Or from meeting new people from other countries and cultures to discovering new ideas for their personal growth. The internet has been amazing for everybody that is...
Day #15 | Think before you speak
This is a rule that I try to apply to myself every day. I had a bad habit of answering immediately when somebody asks a question. The silence between the answer and the question made me feel uncomfortable when I was young. This was because I admired people who could talk their...
Day #14 | Exercising back to normal
My body has been declining in terms of fitness since COVID19. I'm definitely going to get back to my normal body state by the end of this year! 😤 — Hoye Lam | 林浩意 (@hoyelam) July 24, 2020 During the first part of this year I fucked my body up. I quarantined myself between March...
Day #13 | Unproductive days
You always have them. Days where you felt unproductive, not motivated, or low energy. Sometimes you can't even control it. Bad news came up, a plan that didn't work out, or an unexpected event happens. You just sometimes have those days. Nothing you can about them. Nothing wrong...
Day #12 | Ownership is important
When you own it. Let's think of when you own a new car. Would you take care of it? Probably yes, you wouldn't recklessly drive (if you don't have the skills) and potentially damage the car. Same with owning a house. If you own a house, you will take care of it. By placing new...
Day #11 | Software Builder or Writer?
You either quit programming or live long enough to see yourself becoming a documentation writer 😬 — Hoye Lam | 林浩意 (@hoyelam) August 21, 2020 My role has changed quite a lot since I started working for Somnox. From a sole software builder to a lead for projects and teams.
Day #10 | Writing streak #9
I started writing every day since September 11th. The goal was to improve my writing and putting my thoughts down on paper. Since then, I have written nine blogs (ten including this one).
Day #9 | Video-gaming in moderation
The debate on if video-gaming is a waste of time has been going on for forever. When I was a kid I played loads of videogames. After school or helping my parents with their restaurant, I would immediately go behind the Playstation or PC. I then spend loads of hours playing...
Day #8 | New project [🐒📈🦍]
At the beginning of 2020, I promised myself that I will release two new mobile applications. The first one has already been released as Kowa. The second one is hereby in progress. This is going to be a very exciting project for me. This mobile app is going to be one of the apps...
Day #7 | My Watch Face Setup ⌚
This is my watch face build on the ideas of quick information and opening the apps I use 99% of my time. I'm using the Infograph watch face. The reason for using the Infograph watch face is that I hate using the App Switcher or Dock.
Day #6 | Apple 2020 September Event
Initial thoughts for the #AppleEvent \- May step over to Apple Watch Series 6 from 4 \- iPad upgrades are nice but still happy with my iPad Pro 2018 (120Hz)
Day #5 | Thoughts LoL Worlds groups draw 2020
My first esports blog post. Yay 😬! I saw the group draw and have some thoughts about it. Of course, I'm by no means an expert in League of Legends, just somebody who likes to watch it. My thoughts could also change after the play-in stage, but here are my initial thoughts for...
Day #4 | THE job interview question
The interview process for hiring software employees is very dynamic. There are various components depending on the company. There could be getting-to-know conversations, live QA, coding exercise/project, or other unique forms. As an engineer that have handled several job...
Day #3 | Suck at writing? Write
Since the launch of Kowa, I have realized several things in my life. Some of them I may write about later, but this article is about writing. I would say that I suck at writing in general. I grew up in the Netherlands and learned Dutch as my second or even third language. I...
Day #2 | Start free, earn later
Want to start with a new path? Maybe in software development, UI design, UX research, sales, marketing, or whatever? There is only one way to get good at it: There are no hacks. That's it
Day #1 | Software is never finished
The only way software is truly finished, is when customers stay the same forever. Spoiler, this is impossible. Once humans get accustomed to something they want better. Civilization and innovation are built upon that idea. Once the humans created the first car, a faster one was...
🏡 Remote working from home tips
The quarantine has forced many employees to work remotely or from home.For some, it may be even better than before. For some, it may be worse. Whatever which side you are on, here are five tips on working remotely. #1 One area for work
Why learning the basics of programming is important
Programming or coding is a skill that is very important in every industry now. If you do not know how to code anything, you will be looked down upon. But should everyone learn to code? Well, short answer yes. Technology is everywhere, whether you like it or not. People are glued...
Improving ergonomics and my wrists
It's 2020, and people still have bad posture. Probably even worse cause of the lockdowns across the world. It is easy to lay down or sit laid back on your chair cause nobody is looking. This is bad. I suffered from (and still am to a degree) RSI and probably carpal tunnel as...
It's time to fix wishlists. Use Kowa.
Wishlists are barely used. As a frequent web-shopper, I barely use the wishlist feature at all. Webshops like Coolblue, Amazon, bol.com, and more has this feature. You can create wishlists and add items directly into it on the webshop. However, I don't use them and think I'm not...
Why I Build Think Drop
One week ago, I released a new iOS application called Think Drop. The main features are simple. Drop your thoughts into an app without the need of sharing it to anybody. This includes other features like encryption, thread support, statistics, pinning and sharing to Twitter. But...
An IOS Developer Perspective on the MacBook Pro 15 Inch 2018
Before diving in on what I think of the MacBook Pro, I think that some background information is required about my personal laptop usage. So, I am primarily working as an iOS engineer, thus make intensive use of Xcode and developing mobile applications. I also do some lightweight...
Your Phone Is Not a Curse
There has been a lot talk about the downsides of phone usage. In particular, social media consumption. Somehow using your smartphone for long hour sessions is now considered a bad thing. It can increase the likelihood of depression and in worse case lead to suicide. While there...
Esports Calendar IOS New Design Auto Notification System
As a biased user of my own app, there were a lot of flaws in the Esports Calendar iOS app. The last UI and UX design had two downsides and also missed an important feature: Old design of the Esports Calendar iOS app Esports Calendar did not had ‘modern’ UI
Creating a Circle CI App Client OnCircleCI
OnCircleCI provides a simple iOS mobile application to keep track of your Circle CI build statuses. As most of you know, there are limited mobile applications available on the market when it comes to Circle CI. Thus, I created my own. OnCircleCI OnCircleCI works as follows. You...
Esports Calendar IOS Added CSGO Support
Last week, I released the esports calendar application in the app store. A calendar showing upcoming esports matches from various videogames. These videogames were League of Legends, Dota 2 and Overwatch. I suggested in my last post that CS:GO support could take a while. But, I...
Esports Calendar iOS Release - a Free Time Project
It has been some time, I wrote a post on Medium. A lot has happened since then. I graduated, went on a little holiday and found a full-time software engineering job.Meanwhile, I also worked on a little hobby project called the esports calendar. I love esports Every week, I watch...
Still no clue
These are the last stages of my student life. I will be graduating this year and I still don’t have a clue what I want. The major I chose is computer science. I have been studying and working in this field for the last four years. Yet, I still have no clue. Is this the career and...