Author Archives: ajebe

January ’26

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I started the year off being very productive. Together with the AI, I built a new app at lightning speed. I actually enjoyed developing again. The biggest advantage of the AI was that problems were solved quickly and easily. No more spending hours figuring things out, running countless tests to discover where the error is and how the solution should be built, instead, I just point out where the issue is and wait a moment while the AI analyzes and fixes everything. Solving one error no longer leads to the next; the AI simply resolves the whole chain of issues until everything works again.

My app ‘Mushroom Mayhem‘ consists of several components. First, the idea, that was my own bit of creativity. The images (AI, Bing), the music (AI, Suno), the coding (partly AI, Copilot), the small details (AI, guided by me). Lots of AI, and the result is a polished app that really matches the vision I had beforehand, and this time the outcome isn’t limited by my lack of skill.

Grandma Nel also came for a lovely visit. She had escaped the Dutch cold for a few weeks and arrived with a suitcase full of gifts, sausage, cheese, eel, and alcohol. She came to enjoy some time with the grandchildren and the Spanish sun. First, a week with friends in the south, where sunshine is guaranteed, and then a week with us, with pleasant temperatures but also the occasional shower.

AI Amazement

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I got to use an AI for free for a month. I have to admit, even after a month of usage I’m still amazed at how much work the AI can do, and how precisely it understands what I mean with just a few short instructions. I started with very small tasks and gradually began giving it bigger assignments. My free month is almost over, but I’m pretty sure I’ll continue with the paid subscription.

The productivity boost that AI provides is enormous. I stopped developing years ago because family life took up too much time, and I lost the long stretches of uninterrupted time I used to have. I always needed a few hours in a row to really focus on what I was building. But now, suddenly, even one hour is enough to make real progress. Fixing bugs, which was always tedious work, is no longer necessary, the AI handles that. All I have to do is test and fine-tune. It’s truly amazing what’s possible now, and it feels like having a team member who can take a lot of work off your hands.

Mushroom Mayhem 1.1

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MM 1.1!I’ve shifted the work I do on MM to the evenings. Before going to sleep. Rather than enjoying part of a movie or an episode of a series I now spend the last hour of my day talking and experimenting with my programming assistant. Over the past few days, I’ve made some improvements, so you can now get the new version.

Thanks for your feedback! The new version has a daily challenge and new edible mushrooms which you can use to get a little help when you’re stuck.

– New daily challenge!
– Five new levels in the adventure mode. These are very hard levels, so be patient!
– A whole new gameplay dimension: you can now find edible mushrooms (and click to collect them), which can be used to investigate any block you suspect might contain a toxic mushroom.

Once collected, the mushroom is stored for future use. Consuming an edible mushroom increases your awareness of nature and gives you a brief burst of intuition. It allows you to focus your thoughts and pick up on insights you might otherwise have missed. Simply click the edible mushroom icon in the top right, then select the area you wish to explore to get a sneak peek, whether it’s something worth uncovering or something best avoided.

– New immersive music track.

Get Mushroom Mayhem!

MagSafe

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I was a bit underwhelmed when I first started experimenting with my new iPhone 17. Coming from an old SE, I had expected the jump to the 17 to be a major change for the better. What I noticed instead were lots of relatively small improvements and a few big ones. Everything worked just a little bit better, a little smoother, and it made me realise my old phone wasn’t even that old. A noticeable upgrade was the larger, better screen, and the biggest change was the battery. I can now use my phone all day without worries.

There was one more big improvement that I didn’t notice at first: MagSafe. After getting a MagSafe charger for my nightstand, it didn’t take long to adjust to the new level of comfort it offered. There was a small issue with the bright LED built into the charger, but a small sticker quickly solved that. Step two was a MagSafe charger for my car, and that was all I needed to stop using cables altogether. It’s a very satisfying reality where I simply drop my phone onto the magnet or pull it off again. Sure, it might take a bit longer to charge, but since my phone is now my alarm/clock and it charges while I sleep, I don’t care.

My old phone used to turn itself off at least a couple of times a year from overheating. That’s what you get for living on a tropical island, I guess. The new phone has a cool feature to avoid overheating: a vapor chamber that should distribute heat more evenly so the phone can cool down faster. The really warm and sunny days are still a few months away, so this feature is something I’ll put to the test in the future.

For now, my conclusion is simple. My new phone wasn’t the jump into the future that I expected, but it has enough improvements to make me happy. The new magsafe (new for me, it been available for a few years already) did make me experience a jump into the future, and makes me happy.

Indie developer

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Indie developer!Ofcourse I have heard about ‘indie developers’. I like these kinds of games a lot, but suddenly I realised something…

No publisher, no external boss, no committee telling me what the game should look like. I decide the mechanics, the art style, the branding, the emotional tone and that creative autonomy is the core of being indie. My projects come from nostalgia, curiosity, and joy, not market pressure. That’s classic indie energy: making something because it matters.

Well, that also applies to mushroom mayhem… it just hit me: I am an indie game developer. Good times!

Mushroom Mayhem

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Mushroom Mayhem!Mushroom Mayhem is a puzzle game set in a mysterious woodland filled with hidden mushrooms. Each tap uncovers a piece of the forest, reveals subtle clues, and challenges you to deduce where the magical fungi are hiding. Trust your intuition, read the signals of the woods, and unravel the pattern before the mayhem begins. A cozy blend of strategy, nature, and a touch of chaos.

Gameplay is easy, intuitive and challanging. Tap to reveal the tile. Tap and hold to mark as dangerous. The numbers show how many mushrooms are around that tile. Calculate possibilities, play it safe or take some risks. Like life itself, it is up to you.

Get Mushroom Mayhem!

Day three

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In the first two days I got a lot of work done. Today in Spain we celebrated the three kings day, so I had another day available. The third day gave me some time for testing, tweaking and finetuning. I tried the app to find stuff that didn’t feel right, logic that did not work as I expected, and other small issues. I changed some images, modified some gameplay, and used the AI to improve what I already had. Three days (and a clear idea of what I wanted) was all I needed to go from a five year old concept app to a good looking game that gave me a really good feeling. Color me amazed!

Weekend with the AI

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I had one weekend without the kids, so I suddenly had some extra time. I decided to invest it in a game I started building five years ago but never finished. I used Copilot AI, which is very nicely integrated with Visual Studio Code.

First two hours
The first few hours I could use the AI for free, just to get a taste. And did I get a taste. My old app was extensively modified so it would run again in a modern environment. Work that would have taken me days was done effortlessly by Copilot in a very short time. All the files that made up the project were updated, and every change was clearly explained. I was left amazed.

First full day
After a few hours, my free time with the AI ran out and I got a monthly subscription to continue. The level of cooperation the AI provided felt genuinely valuable. It was like talking to a colleague who had been working on the same project with me. I used the AI to review and correct code, configure my development system properly, and connect my iPhone for testing. The AI quickly understood requirements and implemented them just as I would have done myself. It adapted to my style. Impressive.

Second day
Yesterday I used the AI for small functionality changes. Today I took it a step further. The AI created the entire adventure mode, first 5 levels, and later expanded it to 25. It implemented the background music and helped me fine-tune the settings page. The AI helped me update all the graphics. The amount of work completed would have taken me weeks on my own.

The app I created was small and quite simple, but the AI’s contributions left me speechless. Copilot boosted my productivity enormously. I felt like a tester whose feedback was fixed immediately by the AI. Incredibly satisfying. Dreaded errors in project dependencies or startup issues no longer caused stress, the AI simply fixed every error that appeared and got the app running.

A few more tweaks are required and then I will place the app in the appstore. To be continued!…

2025

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AI: create an image with a glass jar, with inside it an ocean and a little island. The little island has a lot of trees on it and a couple of houses. Above the island there are stars and a moon, all inside the jar. In the ocean in the bottom part of the jar we see some ocean animals. Add some fireworks inside the jar, which display the number 2025The year has once again passed extremely fast, a lot has happened, but once again it feels like everything is still the same as it was. Sometimes it feels like 2024 was just a short while ago. Maybe that is a good thing. What we did clearly notice this year is that the kids grew up a lot, both of them. Both kids are moving into the future on their own paths and they are clearly taking a different approach to life. They are both very smart, prudent and they both know they have a solid foundation at home they can depend on. The perfect environment to start exploring their world.

There was a real personal milestone for me in 2025. I turned 50 this year! A nice moment to look back, and I was happy that for me, looking back, was an overall positive experience. I started to increase the value I invest in myself. Going out with the guys, getting the latest tech, enjoying my hobbies. I now regulary bake a cake with the kids, I cook with creativity and [pleasure|beer], I take care of our hamsters and my coffee plant, I play with Lego’s again, and I allowed myself to spend a nice amount on IT related toys. Taking care of my body by being active and by keeping up my vitamin C habit. Looking forward also gave me a positive feeling, so all good.

AI: create a similar image with the jar open, in full daylight, bathing in the sun, but with the fireworks saying 20262026 is next! My own objectives were simple. Enjoy myself a bit more. I actually managed to do just that, so for me last year was a win. Next year? I want to publish another mobile app which I want to build together with an AI, I am still thinking about a ‘maridaje‘, and for the rest I will see what unfolds.

December ’25

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The highlight from December!The final stretch of 2025, and we celebrated it thoroughly. The highlight was Alan celebrating his 10th birthday! He got a very big stack of gifts. After that, we started the day with a BBQ in Gáldar. We had a reserved spot, so we didn’t have to worry about availability. Together with a bag of charcoal, plenty of meat and drinks, some marshmallows for dessert, and to finish, a beautiful cake. Afterwards, the children spent an hour playing ninja games. A day later, it was party time again, this time with his whole class.

Sinterklaas came by again, and Santa Claus paid us a visit. To top it all off, we even went on a short weekend trip to Tenerife. Just a quick boat ride there and back, through a big storm, to greet Alex’s godfather and Alan’s pan-godfather. He was on the island for a conference, so we couldn’t pass up the chance to drop by.

The last part of the month I’ll be on my own. I don’t have any vacation days left, and Ana is visiting her family with the kids. A nice opportunity for me to really relax and focus on my hobbies.