Pinched Off

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Half a year ago I really started benefiting from AI. Together we built my little game. Night after night I worked on small details: polishing options, smoothing out bugs, expanding functions, images, music. Normally, an hour in the evening wasn’t enough to make real progress, but with AI help, an hour was enough. It felt like having an extra pair of hands, a smart colleague you can ask anything and who immediately gets to work.

But that time is over now. Copilot has new rules. I still pay every month, but now you work with credits. And they evaporate the moment the AI has to do anything more than complete a simple sentence.

Where I used to be able to develop almost every evening for an entire month, I can now work for three evenings… and then my balance is gone. It feels like my creative flow is being squeezed shut by a meter that drains faster and faster. But well, it is what it is. The holiday period is coming up again, so I’ll finish my last update and then it’s time for some rest, to reset my focus a bit. I will take it as a sign by a higher power, that I need to focus on something else. Something less oriented on the digital world, and more anchored in the real world. Maybe a good (paper) book.

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Teacher approved

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It all started with a game steeped in war. Mines everywhere, danger lurking, a cold grey world. I liked the core idea, but I thought: surely this can be done better. And that’s how MycoSweep was born.

The grey squares were replaced with calming shades of green. The logic stayed the same, but every war-related element was removed and replaced with peaceful, natural themes.

Google has even awarded the game the Teacher Approved badge. MycoSweep helps children and adults develop logical thinking and it does so in a completely peaceful way.

MycoSweep 1.7

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With the Android release, a whole range of issues immediately came to light. Android runs on an enormous variety of devices, and pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong somewhere. Hopefully, the new version has resolved a large portion of these problems.

On top of that, big improvements have been made to the overall app experience. Small tweaks here and there. The sound effects have been reworked, and the vibration feedback is now set up in a more logical and consistent way. New installations now start with sound enabled, but subtly, at 50% volume.

Get MycoSweep for iOS!   Get MycoSweep for Android!

Airtag v2 conclusion

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I bought four AirTags and have been using them for a few months now. One of them is in the car. That’s the one that gets used the most, and I specifically use it to easily find my parked car again. Alex can now track it with his phone as well, which is handy, and it works well and simply.

Another one is in my suitcase. On our trip to Lanzarote, I used it to check whether the suitcase had arrived in the same place as we had. Everything went smoothly, so it was reassuring to know, though not really a surprise. For the other two, I haven’t yet found a truly useful purpose.

May ’26

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In May I had to get to work at the company run. I tried something new, a personal pacer! I ran with Alex for almost half the distance and running together motivated me to go just a bit faster.

For my game it was an important month! Big changes! Its now called MycoSweep and it’s still available on iOS, but now also on Android!

It was a month with some odd events. A tree almost fell on Ana while she was on her way to pick up Alan from school. As it came down, the tree took a streetlight with it, and that pole crashed onto the ground right next to her. Just a few days later we even had a little earthquake.

Spring cleaning

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Cleaning! Spring is for cleaning, we all know it, but this spring I focussed my cleaning efforts on the digital world. First, my blog. My domain and hosting have all moved to IONOS; basically from a Dutch provider to a Spanish one. The result is a much cheaper and much newer server, with some extras like HTTPS (more secure) and new email addresses (info@leiden365.nl).

I installed a VPN for safe browsing, and I stopped using a single email address for everything, and started to use a few different ones. All your eggs in one basket is a risk, so now I have a few baskets with each contain a couple of eggs. Much safer.

Then there’s my game. A huge rebranding with a new name: MycoSweep. It has become more professional with its own website (mycosweep.com) and its own email (info@mycosweep.com).

And what about the typical spring cleaning? Well, with all the work I’ve done in the digital world, the ‘real’ cleaning has been postponed for a bit although I’m quite sure that a delay won’t become a cancellation.

Install MycoSweep

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Install MycoSweep!

Scan the QR code with the device on which you want to install MycoSweep, and that’s it. You’ll be taken straight to the correct page in the App Store or Play Store, where you can start the installation.

MycoSweep 1.6

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MycoSweep!MycoSweep is a cozy logic puzzle set deep in a quiet, enchanted forest. Every tap uncovers a clue, every number whispers a hint, and every decision brings you closer to revealing the hidden mushrooms beneath the mossy floor. It’s a calm but clever challenge: observe, deduce, and trust your instincts as the woodland slowly reveals its secrets.

The name reflects the heart of the game. Myco refers to mycology, the study of mushrooms. Sweep nods to the classic roots of the puzzle genre and the satisfying act of clearing the board. Together they form a name that tells you exactly what awaits: a thoughtful, logical puzzle adventure in a world full of mushrooms.

Big changes: the app has a new name! MycoSweep! The game has grown into something that deserved a different name. And so MycoSweep was born.

And the second big change… MycoSweep is now also available on Android devices!

There are more smaller changes. A new name deserves a fresh foundation, so I’ve been working hard to clean up the technical base of the app. The previous update simplified the app, and the game suddenly became much easier to understand because I removed several confusing options. Behind the scenes, however, things were less tidy, and I wanted the code to be clean as well, so I tackled that at the same time.

One more thing.. we all hate to lose, but now, when you lose a game, you can review it and see if, and where, you made a mistake.

You can download the new version, still completely free, right here.

Get MycoSweep for iOS!   Get MycoSweep for Android!

Businessrun

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We had another company run coming up, and I’ve signed up again, which for me means a 10 kilometer run. Naturally, I’m hoping for a good time. My ambition was to finish well under an hour, and that will probably work out for me, possibly thanks to my adrenaline training.

Two years ago (in 2024) I ran the 10k in a nice three quarters of an hour. A year later (in 2025) it already took me a bit longer, namely 49 minutes. This year, who knows. I hope I’ve found my old form again, but it could just as easily go the other way.

Due to a small misunderstanding, I received two numbers this year. Instead of simply throwing one away, I came up with a clever way to give myself some extra motivation during the race. The route is 10 km, but it actually consists of two laps of 5 km. After about 1.5 km I pass my house, and again after 6.5 km. That gave me the following idea:

  • Preparation: Starting in May I go for practice runs with Alex every weekend.
  • Match
    • I run from the start.
    • Alex gets the second number.
    • During the second lap, around 6.5 km, Alex waits near our house. As soon as he sees me, he starts running with me.
    • He is of course still completely fresh, and 3.5 km is easy for him. This way he acts as my personal pacer and helps me keep up the pace.
    • The result: I run the full 10 km but with an extra motivation during the toughest part.

My time/result: 0:50:31
Alex’ time/result: 0:49:54 (faster thanks to his final sprint)

0.0 Results

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I’ve started having a cup of coffee a day again. Instead of four or five, I now limit myself to just one. After my 0.0 month, the effect of a single cup of coffee is now very noticeable. After just a few minutes it kicks in: my senses become a bit sharper. I see better, I hear better, my thoughts are clearer. It lasts for a couple of hours, during which I slowly return to normal again. This will probably only last a few days, and then I’ll be used to the caffeine boost again. Still, I’m going to try to stick to one cup a day.

The other part of my 0.0 adventure was alcohol, and I actually didn’t notice anything there. Since I don’t drink during the week anyway, and only have drinks on weekends when we’re with friends, I’m going back to my habits before I started the test. A few beers on the weekend, and that’s it.

Conclusion: The only clearly noticeable thing was reducing my coffee intake. The adjustment regarding alcohol was quite easy. I did enjoy the experiment, so I might do another April 0.0 next year.