There was pulled pork, beef ribs, pork ribs, sausages, chicken, potato salad, cornbread, biscuits, sweet potato pound cake, and apple pie. Pretty much the only adjustment we had to make was to use kale instead of collards. But we added extra smoked pork belly bits, so that turned out even better. There was enough food to feed an army!

What a weekend! Lots of food and drink and spending time with great friends!

And now it’s my first vacation day this summer. Yay! So, what’s the plan? Of course, there isn’t one … I’m just going to wing it and take the days as they come. The weather will, of course, help me decide what to do or even whether to do anything at all.

The theme for this week: just be! 😊

Also, I think there’s a different sun here. It seems brighter and closer to Earth, and it rises at like 4:30am, and it doesn’t set until like 10p … crazy!

On a more serious note, I don’t remember it being this warm “back in the day” … hm. And no, I have not checked historical weather records … yet … hold on … let me check … brb!

… playing soft elevator music while waiting for slow human to check historical weather data …

Aaaaaand we’re back. So, it turns out that my memory is not as accurate as I imagined … it’s basically just blah blah. Anyway, when checking historical SMHI weather data for Lund, Sweden, it turns out that summers were quite warm back then as well. Hm … I feel a small weather-related-showing-cool-data-visualization project coming on 🤓

But this time I have a trusty sidekick – Claude. And he’s worse than I. He’s always gung-ho and excited to start new adventures. Yes, I think there’s some co-dependency developing, but that’s for another post.

Anyway, we – me, myself, and Claude – are now at it and are building up a whole network of IoT devices, cloud-hosted servers, and stuff. Why? Well, because we can … I guess.

Well, there’s a bit more to it. I want to learn more about building out fully automated quality control processes for software and with a focus on software deployed on IoT devices that are deployed in the field and possibly not always online. And I want to learn more about using LLM-based processes to improve and automate the whole software development lifecycle. Obviously there are a million rabbit holes to dive into here, so we chose … uhm … all 🤓

And so my always excited trusty sidekick and I set off on this new adventure to build the F451 Labs network which will allow me to combine several smaller side projects into one big pile … what could possibly go wrong … right?

Oh … I almost forgot … let me get a few things off my chest and (hopefully) also explain a few things about how I think about technology in general and this project in particular:

1. I am using LLMs all day every day – we are a team, me, myself, and Claude. To me LLMs are just another tool that I can use to move my projects forward further and sometimes faster. Are there problems with GenAI and the whole industry? Absolutely! Am I just another tech bro fanboy? Hell no! Do I think LLMs are here to stay? Yes, and that is why I want to learn as much as possible. Do I think the industry is and geopolitical aspect of the tech industry is f-ed up? Yes! But I also think there are huge opportunities here for more independence and democratization of technology and access to resources. That is one reason why a part of this insane project includes learning about setting up and using local LLMs.

2. I am not having LLMs write for me – but I am using tools such as LanguageTool to fix my (sometimes) atrocious grammar. Apparently I have a hard time placing commas in the right place. Oh well, that’s why we have tools … right?. And yes, there are em-dashes in this text and other fun little things. Why? Because I put them there – just like this 🤓

3. There is no comment section – and there will never be one. Why? Because this is my project … and my rules. Period. Do I care about other people’s opinions? Uhm … not really. If people don’t like this project … well, they are free to build their own. Then why am I sharing this? Well, because its fun to build things. I’m building this for me. But in case there’s someone else out there curious about a project like this, then here is one possible recipe … one way of thinking … one way of solving these problems.

4. The theme is Fahrenheit 451 – yes, a bit dystopian, but also a starting point for an interesting backstory. After all, this project is an adventure and adventures need a story line. For this adventure the backstory is that we’re members of the resistance, the so-called Book People. Our mission is to preserve knowledge, and to share and teach. To that end, we’re continuously learning and finding new ways to redirect and share resources

Sure, I may have gotten carried away a bit with the story. And yes, this project exists where technology and art intersect … and I like that space.

Finally, am I making a statement? Maybe. Do I care if anybody else cares? Not really. This is a fun and interesting project mainly for me and someone else finds it fun or interesting, great! And if not, also great.

Now, me, myself, and Claude have some coding to do! 🤓

Then again, and on further reflection over a not horrible cup of coffee here at the coffee shop by the train station(!), this is (at least today) not a major problem. Sure, it’s a bit annoying … but let’s just say that nothing earth-shattering will happen if I’m not at my desk at exactly whatever-o’clock. As much as I want to believe that my status reports are crucial for the survival of the human species, they really aren’t. No lives will be saved. No illnesses will be cured. No scientific breakthroughs will be made, or even delayed. And chances are, humanity will chug along towards wherever we’re headed.

No, the reality is that my job, like most of our jobs, is just that: a job. It pays the bills, but it’s not a life’s mission. And whether this job is done at 8:45 or 9:37 or at any other time today doesn’t make much, if any, difference. And, again, that’s true for most of our jobs.

And this is also why I don’t care so much that the trains are late today. Perhaps a bit annoyed, as I could have gone to the coffee shop earlier or had a nice coffee at home had I known, but … whatever. I’ll be a bit late for something that doesn’t matter. Who cares?

Also, it’s a beautiful morning in June, and I’m enjoying a nice cup of coffee, and … well, that’s all I care about right now 😊

And yes, there’s a very long list of things and places to explore, and also quite a few things to get used to, to figure out, and to learn. But I live here now … so I have time. There’s no rush.

One thing is certain, though: this was not an easy move, and I hope I never have to move again. Moving, especially long distance, is definitely one of my least favorite things to do. Of course, I’m glad I did it … but jeez, what a pain! Literally every aspect of that experience was unnecessarily stressful, unpleasant, and expensive. But it’s done … phew!

Anyway, in other news, it’s springtime, and the weather is spectacular. Sunny. Warm. Amazing! The funny thing is that I always think of Sweden as being grey and rainy with a few nice days sprinkled in here. But at least this year it’s sun, sun, and more sun. And the days are long. Sunrise at 4:30a and sunset at 9:30p … and the days are still getting longer! This will take some getting used to 😊

So, some 9 months later, truly every aspect of my life has changed. But I feel it’s been for the better. I can (and do) walk everywhere or take public transportation. I don’t need a car and don’t even miss it. It’s one less hassle to worry about. Better (and healthier) food, and in general, a lot less stress.

My old life in the States seems so long ago. In fact, sometimes it feels as if it never happened … and that’s a very strange feeling given that I lived there more than half my life. And, at the same time, so many things here still seem unfamiliar 🤔

It’s now a bit over 6 months since I moved to Sweden. And on one hand, it feels as though I’ve lived here forever. I did grow up here after all. But there are also many times when it feels as though I just arrived yesterday.

Sure, most of my memories from the “before life” — before I moved to the States — are essentially ancient, and Sweden is a different country today.

But some things have not changed. It’s still very difficult to get to know Swedes, and it’ll be interesting to see how long it’ll take to build up a new circle of friends.

Then again, this time around my immediate family is much larger and … well, things are different. This new life is built on a new, solid foundation. It’s the new and improved v2.0.

Oh, and I am very much looking forward to spring and longer days. In a few months it’ll be daylight when I catch the 6:38 to Copenhagen. That’ll be nice.

P.S. I’m crossing the Öresunds bridge as I’m writing this … and it’s a dark grey soup out there. It’s surreal. Cold grey waters meet cold grey low-hanging clouds. No visibility.

Dark grey. Very dark. But the snow makes it look kinda pretty. Cold? Yes. But not that bad. Walking to the train. Warm jacket, gloves, hat, proper winter boots.

I’m waiting for the train to take me in to Copenhagen. It’s 2 minutes late. Then it’s about an hour’s ride. Across the bridge. To another country.

Coffee. Work. Lunch. Work. Maybe some coffee. Train home. It’ll be dark again. Maybe it’ll snow a bit again. Tomorrow it’ll be the same. Not sure about the snow. Weather can change every five minutes … at least so it seems.

Still, I very much prefer this over fighting rush hour on I-40 around RTP. No stress here 🥶😊

I really enjoy spending time at this library. In fact, I come here almost every weekend. I read the newspapers, browse some magazines, work on blog posts, and get a bit of fun coding done. And yes, it’s nice to just sit here and ponder.

This is a great library. OK, here is a theory of mine: if a city has a great library, great restaurants, and coffee shops, then it’s likely to be a great city to live in. Let me present to you some heavily subjective, totally biased, and carefully selected (and clearly anecdotal) evidence to back up the bold claim:

• Durham, NC – great library, great restaurants, and great coffee shops
• Lund, Sweden – great library, great restaurants and bars such as Mat & Destillat, and great coffee shops … well, there are probably a million in this big little city, but definitely try Mannz Bageri or Patisseriet

Now, if we add one more parameter – walkability – then I’d argue that Lund is likely one of the very best places to live in the world. But wait, what about sunshine and weather? Bah, who needs warm and sunny days year-round? Grey days build character!

And when I sit in the warm library, AirPods in my ears and music on, looking out the big windows at the grey and icy streets … then … well, whatever … I love this place! Grey and icy days and all 🥶😊

The day-job part is keeping me on my toes. There’s lots of busywork, as with any large project, and also quite a few new (at least to me) cool tools to learn. My focus is now on automated testing, which may not sound exciting. But let’s just say there are layers of complexity … lots of layers and lots of complexity and lots of machine-to-machine automation … yup, my inner nerd is smiling.

And yes, I’m definitely settling in, and I’m finding my groove 😊

It’s still early. A few minutes to ponder life. Actually, it’s not that serious. But it’s nice to just ‘be’ for a few minutes. Soon I’ll be neck-deep in schedules and planning and slide decks and status reports and Teams calls and Slack messages and emails.

I know I’m late to the party, but perhaps I should come up with some resolutions for the new year. It’s still early January … so why not give it a shot?

How about: … seriously planning to slow down? Well, that may have to wait until December. But next year will definitely have to be slower!

… spend more time with the whole family in general? Yes. That we’ll do. After all, most of us are now in the same time zone and even in the same country 😊

… read and write more … uhm … that one is on the list every year. But this year is different! This year I will find time … of course, I say that every year. I guess we’ll see. I do have two new (not so secret) weapons: the city library and the university library … and I love sitting there … so maybe this is the year after all 🤓

Anyway, it’s a short flight, and I’ll be home soon. I wish I could go by train. Of course, it’s technically possible but quite impractical to do so from Copenhagen. There are no direct trains, so one would have to switch trains at least 3 or 4 times, and total travel time is up around 12 hours or so. It’s a bit difficult to justify a train ride if it’s longer than 6 hours and the comparable door-to-door time for a flight is around 5 hours.

But travel by train would definitely be more fun. 🚄

Then another trip to Copenhagen and Lund at the end of May, when we also took the opportunity to look at some apartments in Lund. We love this town! It’s small, but it punches well above its weight. And with the proximity to Malmö and, more importantly, Copenhagen, this is the perfect corner of Europe.

The decision was made to get everything ready for a move back to Europe. Now it was time to plan and to outline the when, what, and how. An orderly exit after over three decades in the States back to Europe.

Then, a series of events and a huge opportunity. Previous timelines were scrapped, and a new accelerated plan was put in motion. A one-way ticket back to Europe for mid-August was purchased, capping off a 35-year adventure.

Now I live in Sweden again, and things sure are totally different. Sweden today is completely digital; almost every action or interaction is done on mobile phones. Now, when I left Sweden, there was no internet and there were no mobile phones. So yes, life here is now very different.

And to make things a bit more complicated, I work at a startup in Copenhagen. For one, that means commuting to a different country. Then there’s the switch from working at a huge bank in the States to working at a startup again. Oh, then there’s the thing of dealing with multiple currencies – Swedish kronor, Danish kronor, U.S. dollars, and the euro. Then there’s going back to the metric system, the 24-hour clock, and the different date format, which is still messing me up … so for now I’m spelling out the month name to be on the safe side. 🤓

Then there’s the not-owning-a-car thing and walking everywhere or using public transportation. And yes, I actually like that part. It’s actually nice to not sit in traffic all the time and to not have to drive everywhere all the time.

Then there’s the whole quality-of-life thing. Sure, I work quite a lot. But somehow it feels different. Somehow I feel a lot less stressed. In fact, I don’t feel stressed. Sure, there are minor frustrations here and there from time to time. But that’s just life.

Overall, though, I don’t feel stressed. Maybe it’s just that I’m just older and simply care less. But life here is much more relaxed. There’s less chasing and being chased, and a lot more being.

What an insane year!

Outside it’s a dark, wet, and cold Tuesday morning… but not freezing or icy… yet. Most Christmas decorations are gone. It’s so dark. Gloomy, actually. Later it will go from dark to dark grey… it’s that kind of day.

There are a few more people on their way to some place. Work, probably. Walking. Bicycling. People here ride their bikes year-round and in every type of weather. Rain, snow, ice, sleet… it doesn’t matter.

It’s the last few working days of 2025, and I still have a lot of work to do. I want to hit the ground running the 1st full week of January when everyone else is back from their winter holidays.

But first, a warm cup of coffee. I need a few minutes of peace and quiet. ☕️

It will definitely take some time getting used to this. It’s still dark when I leave for work in the morning and already dark when I get home in the evening.

I moved to Sweden just over 3 months ago, and a lot has changed. Actually, everything has changed… profoundly! And I have changed.

I used to be a Swedish American. But now I’m an American Swede… and apparently with an American accent. I guess that’s what happens after 35 years in the States.

Interesting side note: I just got back from a few days in the States, and one thing that struck me was how much time I spent driving from place to place. And this was just running errands and doing normal day-to-day things.

I bet I spent on average well over an hour, if not more, per day just driving from place to place. And this was not commuting to work—just doing regular things.

I don’t drive anywhere in my new life. Instead, I walk to most places or take the train. Sure, I spend about 2 1/2 hours commuting most weekdays. However, I doubt that total time in transit per week is much more than all that time driving in the States.

More importantly, I like not spending all that time driving, and I really like being able to walk to most places.

So, just over 100 days in, and I’m already so much more European. 😊

I have nothing to do and no particular place to be. I’m killing time one cup of coffee at a time. I’m not on vacation, but I’m also not working. I’m in this weird transition period “between jobs” … or at least I hope I am. A few weeks ago, I lived on a different continent and in a different world. Now I’m starting over … again … in a different country.

My life right now can be characterized mainly as “hurry up and wait” … lots of waiting for all kinds of things. It’s a strange place, this “in between” … in between jobs, in between homes, in between lives. Everything is “in progress,” but nothing is ready. Everything is temporary, and everything can change by tomorrow, or next week, or next month.

In fact, many things will have changed by next month. But which things? When? In what order? How?

So for now, another cup of coffee. Killing some more time. Waiting. ☕️

I’m both a tourist and a native. I recognize some places, and am totally lost in others. Familiar places. New places. Wrong subway platform. Right exit to that one street.

So many bridges. I forgot that Stockholm is made up of an infinite number of islands. Beautiful parks. Old buildings. New buildings. So many coffee shops. How much coffee do Swedes drink?

Water. Bridges. Boats. Everywhere. This is a great city! 😊

Sure, I grew up here. But now, some 35 years later, everything is very different. Familiar, yes. But still very different. So many things have changed. So many things are new. I don’t feel like a foreigner, but I also do not feel like a native. I don’t blend in, but I’m also not out of place.

Things are moving relatively quickly. Two weeks in, and I’ve been able to resolve or at least initiate a few essential aspects of life in modern Sweden. Mobile phone, bank account, and, most importantly, a bank ID. Life in modern Sweden is almost entirely digital, and it’s quite challenging to function without those three things. Worse, they go hand in hand.

So I’m slowly clearing one hurdle after another, and while there are still a few more to go, I can feel the progress. Now I have to wait … patiently. Some things simply take time. However, patience is not (yet?) one of my superpowers. I’ll have to work on that.

Overall, the process of moving here has been fairly smooth, and I’m excited about this new phase in my life. And no, I have no idea how anything will turn out or even what will happen next. In fact, I don’t even know what will happen next week. Maybe nothing. Perhaps something important. Who knows?

One thing is certain: this has been one hell of a ride so far 😉

Sure, I’m obviously fluent in Swedish, albeit with an American twang, apparently. But even the language has changed. There are so many more English words that have been adopted and adapted.

Life in modern Sweden is almost completely digital. Literally everything is online, and almost all services are accessible on your phone. Of course, the flipside is that you cannot really function without a mobile phone (with a Swedish phone number!) or a digital ID. That then leads to some interesting Catch-22 situations.

For example, to get a regular phone plan, you need a so-called Bank ID, for which you need a bank account, which requires a physical address, which requires a bank account and a Bank ID. Yes, there are ways around this. There’s something called a Freja ID, and you can get prepaid phone plans. But, not having a Bank ID signals that you don’t have a bank account which means you’re less likely to get access to other things and on and on. Oh, and forget cash.

As with so many societies, once you’re “in,” things work fairly smoothly. It’s getting “in” that can be very frustrating. I’m lucky that I have family here, and things are a lot easier. I have to admit, though, it’s interesting to observe this modern society as an outsider again. And when you ask a Swede to explain how to do things or which rules apply to this or that, you can get them to realize how circular certain aspects of life in Sweden are.

Now, there’s one more thing that at least for a while, will throw me for a loop: I think in English, but I obviously speak Swedish when I talk to Swedes. This then sometimes results in my speaking Swedish with American sentence structure and wording. But it also messes with my English. Fun times! 😉

Why? One (long) word: enshittification! I simply don’t like being on those other platforms.

Conversely, I feel that I “found my tribe” on Mastodon. There are so many interesting people there posting tons of interesting stuff. I’m also spending a bit more time on a few select Reddit forums and am keeping half an eye on LinkedIn, mainly for work-related things.

I deleted my Medium account but kept my Youtube and (locked down) Instagram account (for now). And, occasionally, I may be lurking on Threads when bored out of my mind and stuck on some mindless call. Guilty pleasures, for sure, and only consumed using browsers. I also had to get a new Facebook account as our HOA and neighborhood organization only post updates there. But again, I have no apps on my phone or tablet and only visit the site as needed.

For Mastodon, though, I have installed the excellent “Ice Cubes” app on both phone and tablet. On my laptop, I use the browser and access the Mastodon web app, which is pretty good and more than enough for my needs.

In short, I’m still very pleased with my move to the fediverse, and I definitely do not miss Twitter or Facebook. I may also delete my Pinterest and Tumblr accounts shortly and further reduce my digital footprint. And no, I will not get accounts on Bluesky or TikTok either.

Here goes January:

• Meetings … so many meetings — I seriously think there’s a gremlin in my Outlook calendar that sneaks in new meetings when I look away 😏
• Coffee shops — going to coffee shops with daughter and making sure to eat pastries to properly balance out any possible progress towards a healthy living I may make when I go to the gym a million times per week. Yes, I know it’s self-defeating … but I like pastries with my coffee.
• Teenager is no longer teenager — one realizes how one is when one’s children are suddenly all grown up. I’m old!
• Antiques and weird old stuff — free weekends also mean rummaging through “antiques” in warehouses and stores. And no, not everything is a “diamond in the rough” … sometimes junk is just that, junk 😑

Short version: January — it’s a new year (already) filled with infinite meetings. Weekends in coffee shops and galleries and finding interesting antiques in old warehouses.