Mark – Page 10 – Mark Pospesel (Coding and Other Stuff)

I for one am looking forward to an entire year of iPhone 16 rumors.

For my first LEGO build since January, I’m going to build this Lunar Rover from 2022. Let’s see how it stacks up to similar rovers from the 1980’s.

Unopened box for LEGO set 60348 Lunar Roving Vehicle. Inspired by NASA's Artemis Lunar Rover Concepts.

Couldn’t resist taking the SUP out on a cold (10° C) but blue sky morning. The lake water is warmer than the air, producing mist.

Sun rising over hills surrounding a calm lake. Mist rises from the water.
Green forested hills over a blue lake with a sheen of white mist under a blue sky.

Low-lying clouds over the Ägerital this morning. Trying to restart an exercise routine after a 10-day hiatus due to COVID and other life stuff.

Low white clouds fill a valley under a pale blue sky and a riding sun with green pastures and a narrow farm road in the foreground.

Decided to make egg drop soup for dinner, but first I needed to run out to the store (i.e. the neighboring farm) to get eggs.

A chicken coop with several chickens

My favorite part of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 announcement, the Modular Ultra watch face, is not exclusive to the Ultra 2. In fact it finally got me to upgrade my phone to the iOS 17 RC so that I could get the watchOS 10 RC with that new face. It’s my new fave.

Screenshot of the new Modular Ultra watch face, showing elevation around the screen edges.

Six Years In Switzerland

View of Lake Brienz, Switzerland. The water is greenish blue, forested mountains are in the distance and a blue sky with white clouds overhead.

It’s been six years now since we arrived in Switzerland. This is not quite a record for longest time in one town, but it’s getting close. This is certainly the longest I’ve been at the same address in my adult life.

So what’s happened in the past year since I wrote this post?

The Past Year

In August I attended (and spoke at) the last ever 360iDev conference.

Last Fall I did an online German test prep course, and at the end of October I passed the A1/A2 German language test that I will need to apply for permanent residency.

I continue to be active in the Swiss RPG “verein” (a non-profit club). I play regularly in a West Marches style game and a few months ago I began running the Tyranny of Dragons D&D campaign for a group of five players. I have hosted games as a DM at Zürich Pop Con, Fantasy Basel, and Free RPG Day.

I try to get out into nature as much as possible, either hiking, snowshoeing, or stand up paddling. I think I prefer showshoeing and winter hiking to downhill skiing these days as I get older.

For most of the year I continued in my role as iOS Chapter Lead for YML and heavily focused on building out a portfolio of robust, highly-tested, open source Swift packages that could be used across projects to accelerate delivery, improve accessibility, and reduce bugs. But in May after two years in the role, I was finally caught in a round of layoffs that have swept the tech industry.

I used the suddenly free time to take a six week in-person super intensive B1 German language course (for comparison, I studied for two years at the A2 level). I will consolidate my knowledge by taking another test prep course starting later this month which will culminate in the B1 Goethe exam in November. I will also enroll in a local German conversation course to help me practice.

Goals for our seventh year in Switzerland

Get hired locally
Apply for permanent residency
Pass the B1 Goethe German test
Complete the Via Engiadina hiking trail (I have hiked 6 out of 12 stages)
Exercise regularly

The Future

We would like to stay here another two years until our son finishes high school.

Alp horn player returns

The alp horn player was back yesterday morning when I took the SUP out on the lake.

Landscape view with lake in foreground, green hilly pastures and forested hills in the background against a blue sky with a few white clouds.

Happy 732nd

Happy 732nd, Switzerland! 🇨🇭

Unterägeri heat wave.

Yesterday I returned from the mountains of the Upper Engiadine. Today is the hottest day of the year in Unterägeri (thus far): 32°C / 90°F. That’s not that hot, but AC is uncommon here. Today was an excellent day to take the SUP out on the lake instead of hiking. Alas there was no alp horn player today.

Vista of green pastures and forest under blue skies taken from a standup paddle board floating in a lake. The lake water glows green from the reflected vegetation.