Today, one of the company's new developers joined me for a home inspection to see how we work in the field. I showed him how I documented advice in one app, opened another to preview the protocol, opened a third to compile an invoice, opened a fourth to send in a tip... He was sh … | Continue reading
There's a task at work that I don't do very often. It's an important task related to safety. I remember the first time I did it. I was so nervous and felt like I wasn't very good at it. "I'll never be good enough at this," I thought to myself. Now I've done it several times, and … | Continue reading
Owl collection One of today's clients collected decorative owls. She started after a trip to Greece in her teens. Now she had hundreds. It's quite common for me to come across various collections when I'm out inspecting houses: dolls, jars, toy cars, matchboxes, stamps... I think … | Continue reading
Parking in Stockholm is expensive. What's more, it's incredibly difficult to find a parking spot. When the city recently decided to increase the fee by over 30%, I'd had enough. Now, I park just outside the city and take my bicycle to the car. It takes about 20 minutes and I get … | Continue reading
In Al Pacino's autobiography, "Sonny Boy," he tells a story about a family of tightrope walkers who once suffered a serious accident. As soon as they recovered from the disaster, they were back on the wire. When one of them was asked why he continued to perform after what had hap … | Continue reading
"I don't have time." That's a response I sometimes get when I ask someone if they have a blog. The answer implies that there are certain rules for blogging, such as how often you should write or how long a blog post should be. But there are no rules other than the ones you set up … | Continue reading
Get ready to dive into the spookiest, creepiest, and most fun time of the year! Transform your blog into a haunted house of Halloween thrills with just a few lines of code. In your Bear dashboard, select the "Themes" menu option. To retain your existing color scheme, add this cod … | Continue reading
Bearming theme 1.4.3 released with some mine tweaks. See details in the changelog. | Continue reading
A while ago, a friend told me she was unhappy at work. She disliked certain tasks and felt a resistance to going to work in the morning. When I asked how everything was at home, it turned out that they were currently having tough financial times. On another note, this past week I … | Continue reading
Today I experienced a great example of seeing the bigger picture. I revisited a client where I had conducted a home inspection four years ago. It was during the period when my life was a living hell. Back then, I ended up returning the next day, on a Saturday, because I was so an … | Continue reading
I heard that some hair salons in Sweden have started offering 'silent haircuts'. When making the booking, you can request that you want the hairdresser to keep quiet during the haircut. My hairdresser isn't very talkative, so I don't even have to think about it. But I can definit … | Continue reading
Today, I heard about a Swedish radio show with a recurring segment. Every day, they ask the same question to their guest: "What are you thinking about?" When I heard it, I thought about what I was thinking, and I thought it could be a fun segment for bloggers. Don't you think? We … | Continue reading
The other day, someone pointed out that I had lost weight. I said that it's a matter of perspective – and I didn't mean that I look extra slim from a certain angle. It's true I've lost weight compared to six months ago. However, someone who hasn't seen me in two years might say I … | Continue reading
Yesterday, I released version 1.4 of the Bearming Theme. It was the biggest update so far, but also the one that was least visible outwardly. I described it as a boring update in the form of optimizations and behind-the-scenes improvements. I also explained that it's something I' … | Continue reading
I've noticed that I find it harder to write on weekends. You'd think it should be the opposite, since I have more free time on the weekend. But even though my job takes up a lot of my time, it's also my biggest source of inspiration. I visit an average of five different places on … | Continue reading
A few days ago, I wrote about a growing idea to split this blog into two. I've been experimenting with this "behind the scenes" for a few days, and now I have an even better understanding of what the right path is for the moment. The blog will remain as it is. It became very clea … | Continue reading
When Steven shared his blog post, "From Daily Writer to Dormant Blogger: Staging a Comeback" on Mastodon, he asked three questions: What's your daily writing routine? Any tips to stay consistent? How do you balance writing with other commitments? Although I write every day and ha … | Continue reading
A tattoo caught my eye. Two words. It turned out to be a slogan for a Swedish sports club. What a perfect motto for blogging, I thought. It said: "Always, regardless." | Continue reading
As part of my job inspecting houses, I also assess the household's fire safety. Often, important products like fire extinguishers and smoke alarms are missing. If the customer is missing something and wants to purchase it, I have those kinds of products in my car. The sales are s … | Continue reading
If you're a homeowner, you know how daunting it can feel to paint your entire house at once. Hiring someone to do it can be expensive, and doing it yourself can seem overwhelming. But what if you painted one side every other year? It suddenly becomes a much more manageable task. … | Continue reading
"But I don't know what to blog about." I often hear that. Friends and acquaintances who know that I blog, and who are eager to start themselves, but don't know what to write about. My answer is always the same: "Blog your way to the answer." We can sit and ponder for eternity wit … | Continue reading
I'm sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops here in Stockholm. A friend reached out and asked if I wanted to meet up. She was just about to meditate first. I've meditated myself in periods. I'm actually doing it right now. The meditation I practice is called writing. Few thing … | Continue reading
Every time I start to enjoy the simple pleasures of a hobby—like writing, playing guitar, or brewing a great cup of coffee—I feel this overwhelming urge to go all in. [...] And then, I just stop. The passion fizzles out. Yordi nails it in his blog post, The Subtle Art of Always Q … | Continue reading
Cinnamon buns at Tösse Cinnamon buns are all the rage in Sweden today. That's because it's October 4th, which means we're celebrating Cinnamon Bun Day here. A delicious pastry and perfect with a cup of coffee for a genuine Swedish fika. Most workplaces are treating their staff to … | Continue reading
One of my tasks during house inspections is to assess the household's fire safety. When I ask if the fire extinguishers are no more than ten years old, I often get the answer that they are at most 6-7 years old. Upon closer inspection, though, it often turns out that they are wel … | Continue reading
I've previously written about the absence of a search function on many modern blogging platforms. Although there is a way to add kind of a Bear search feature, it's not a 'real' search function. Since I personally find the lack of such an essential feature almost as peculiar as n … | Continue reading
I've been thinking a lot about creativity lately. It's only recently that I've begun to understand how it works, at least for me. I've had many blogs and other projects over the years. They've always been accompanied by great enthusiasm and inspiration on my part. For a while... … | Continue reading
I read Cole's post titled Just one good paragraph, where he references a blog post by Ratika Deshpande. Deshpande writes, "A paragraph is a good place to begin." How true! It can be daunting to sit with a blank page, but if we reduce our expectations, we can increase the chances … | Continue reading
I have hundreds of Swedish texts from my old blogs. 'Perfect for translating into English, maybe rephrasing a bit, and then post it here,' I thought. But it doesn't work. Why? It doesn't feel like me writing. It becomes something half-baked in the twilight zone between past and p … | Continue reading
"If I were you, I would..." Do you sometimes hear that? I think it's such an incredibly stupid thing to say. If you were me, which you clearly aren't, then you would do something that I, as myself, wouldn’t do. It's just a way of expressing oneself, someone might think. I beg to … | Continue reading
"They say it takes 10 years to become an overnight sensation, and who better exemplifies that than Charli XCX." That's how the documentary about the artist Charli XCX, which I listened to today, began. Featuring, among others, the Swedish songwriter, producer, and friend Noonie B … | Continue reading
It was a pretty stressful and long day at work today. After work, I usually do a short yoga session at home, but today I was really, really dreading it. Somehow, I still managed to tear myself away from all the interesting feeds and do a few minutes. What struck me was how quickl … | Continue reading
It's not only when we're wrong that we find it difficult to admit it. The same applies when we exhibit weakness in some way. Or rather, what we've come to believe is 'weakness'. That's why it took so long for me to seek help when I was going through the most challenging time of m … | Continue reading
"I could be wrong; I've been wrong once before." A former coworker of mine used to say this. Of course, he said it as a joke, but it's also a classic example of 'it's funny because it's true'. No one would seriously express themselves this way, but it seems to be the attitude man … | Continue reading
”In your darkest hour, what saved you? What helped you find the strength to carry on?” These are the questions posed by Matthew Graybosch for September's IndieWeb Carnival, entitled Power Underneath Despair. My darkest moment in life occurred about five years ago. For a long time … | Continue reading
Today, a friend of my brother's turned 50. My brother called him up to congratulate. He suggested that I do the same, emphasizing how much his friend would appreciate it. I replied that I would send a message instead, as I really don't like small talk. I'm "good at it" but dislik … | Continue reading
There are a lot of things in life I could do more of: eat more semlor (super yummy Swedish cream buns), drink more wine, and buy more fun tech stuff. Just to name a few. But it's not very smart in the long run. That's why I don't do more of them. Then there are things that everyo … | Continue reading
Today marks exactly one year since my dear dad was laid to rest. I want to share the beautiful words that my mother wrote today: ”If I could give you one thing in life, it would be the ability to see yourself through my eyes. Only then would you truly understand how special you'v … | Continue reading
I listened to an interview with the Swedish celebrity chef, Björn Frantzén. His successful restaurants in Sweden and Singapore have earned three stars, the highest rating, in the chefs' equivalent of the Oscars: the Michelin Guide. When asked about what has led to his success, th … | Continue reading
As some of you readers know, I've always been a real tech geek. So it’s no surprise that I became curious when I read an AI-related news article yesterday. The news was about NotebookLM, an experiment from Google, which had launched the feature Audio Overview. Google describes th … | Continue reading
Greyhound statue "We actually wanted a bigger house, but had to settle for this one." That's what one of today's clients told me when we met. Was it because they couldn't afford a larger house? No, the reason was their love for their dogs (the photo is from their driveway). The h … | Continue reading
Are you thinking about starting a blog but feel like you haven't found "your voice" yet? That's understandable; many people feel the same way. Luckily, there's a solution to the problem: Start blogging! There's no better way. Or rather, it's the only way. We might have written hu … | Continue reading
Gingerbread computer When I inspect houses as part of my work, I always advise homeowners to check their attics a couple of times a year. I also suggest making it as easy as possible to do so, for example by installing a built-in ladder. If it feels too cumbersome to check your a … | Continue reading
A common comment when it comes to blogging is that people don't know what to write about. There's even a dedicated "What to blog about?" category on the Blog Inspiration page. While I understand that many feel this way, the "problem" for me is rather the opposite: I have so many … | Continue reading
This writing prompt came up: ”What personality trait in people is a red flag for you?” People who talk a lot. It’s immediately a red flag for me and sets off every alarm bell. It doesn’t really matter what they talk about, although it’s of course extra annoying if someone can’t s … | Continue reading
A client I visited yesterday had recently lost her husband. She was in the middle of selling their house because it was too much for her to handle alone. It was clear how difficult she found it all. When I was finished with my work, we continued talking… I told her that my dear d … | Continue reading
Today, I heard an interview with the Swedish guitarist Janne Schaffer, known for his work with ABBA and Bob Marley, among other things. He was asked to name the world's 30 best songs. Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys came in at the top. No surprise there, but then something unex … | Continue reading
As soon as I greeted the customer, I knew what was coming. This is not going to be pleasant, I thought. And I was right. The person in question wasn't mean or angry, just very rude. Always knew best and interrupted as soon as I started to respond. In short, an unpleasant type. Fo … | Continue reading