Running Across Two Countries

This Sunday, I’m running the Bridge Run 2025 — a 21 km (half marathon) race that stretches between Denmark and Sweden across the Öresund Bridge. I actually walked across that same bridge when it first opened about 25 years ago (back when it was allowed for pedestrians during the inauguration). There were plans to make the run an annual event, but I guess shutting down one of the busiest bridges in northern Europe for a whole day turned out to be a bit too costly. So finally, this year, they’re doing it again!

I’ve been a runner throughout my adult life, and while this isn’t the furthest I’ve ever run (that would be 30 km at Lidingöloppet in 2018), it’s a big deal to me personally. After gaining a lot of weight and losing my fitness after having kids, I’ve worked hard to get back into shape — and this run feels like a great way to celebrate that progress.

I’ll update this post with my final time and maybe a picture or two after Sunday, so check back if you’re curious. I’m aiming to complete the run in approximately two hours. Who knows — maybe next time I’ll tackle a full marathon?

Update: My time was 1:57:10!

I am also incredibly proud of my wife who also finished despite being sick a lot this spring and barely having any time to train.

I have a job!

Less than a week before graduating as a web developer—and I’ve already landed my first job!

I’m beyond excited to join the amazing team I’ll be working with and dive into the project I’ll be leading. I’ve had the chance to meet them a few times already, and they’ve made me feel right at home.

The organisation I’m joining is a non-profit that supports young students in starting after-school sports associations. I’ll be stepping in as their IT developer—helping build a brand-new platform for their upcoming initiative, while also maintaining and improving their existing systems. I’ll also be their go-to person for general tech support.

I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to start contributing and putting my skills into action.

Curious about the organisation? Check out their website (in Swedish):
👉 https://www.skolidrott.se

Nerd Dads Assemble: Painting Space Dwarfs

I recently started playing a new(ish) game with a few fellow nerd dads Kill Team, and I figured it was time to show off my progress painting one of my 14 special little guys—space dwarf salvagers, to be precise.

This post is light on words and heavy on pictures, but I’ll walk you through a bit of the process.

First Steps (Not Pictured):
Before painting, I spent some time cutting out all the parts, gluing everything together, and giving the whole model a solid basecoat using an off-white shade called Wraithbone. This helps the colors pop later.

Painting Magic:
I’m using Contrast paints—they’re like inks that naturally settle into the recesses while thinning out over raised surfaces, giving automatic shading and depth. I love how intuitive they are. I’m using Citadel paints, but plenty of other brands offer similar options if you’re curious to try them out.

A Quick Thanks:
Huge shout-out to WarHipster on YouTube for the awesome paint scheme guide that inspired this look.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to…
Thayne Varrik “Stoneheart” Drunn of the Heartkyn Salvagers.

I got to attend an exclusive Workshop

A week ago, I had the privilege of attending a User Experience workshop and presenting my work on digitizing the opera experience, hosted by Malmö Opera and Lund University, among others.

I had to sign my first-ever NDA, which was quite interesting—so I can’t share much about the workshop itself. But I received some really good and positive feedback on my presentation, and I had the chance to brainstorm UI and UX with some incredibly talented people.

I truly hope that when my ten weeks of thesis work/internship come to an end, it won’t be the end of my collaboration with these wonderful people.

Creating a chat app in React and socket.io

As part of my thesis work, I had to learn how to use Socket.io to enable live chatting. I found an awesome 5 hour tutorial on YouTube, and after about 8–10 hours of work, it looks great and works like a charm. If you’re looking to improve your web development skills, I definitely recommend checking it out!

Here’s what I used to build it:

• React +Vite
• Socket.io
• .Net + Express
• Tailwind CSS + daisyUI
• Toast (love this little pop up add on)
• and few other bits and bobs

I’d love to share the full project, but that would probably crash the tiny bit of server space I have 😅. Instead, I’ll share the tutorial!

Till next time!

Working on your CV

Writing a CV can feel like navigating a maze of conflicting advice. Some say you must include a professional photo, while others insist that leaving it out is the way to go. Some swear by a sleek one-page layout, while others prefer a more detailed approach. The truth? I have no idea, but I try to listen to the advice that resonate the most with me. And I ask for feedback from friends and family a lot.

One tool that makes the process easier (and way more visually appealing) is Canva. It offers a ton of beautifully designed CV templates that can help you get started, I use it all the time. Not only for CVs but drafting logos and invites and other documents.

For inspiration, here’s my latest version of my CV!

My Son Keeps the Heroes Out

I recently kickstarted (crowdfunding board games has been a hobby of mine for many years now) a very cute board game called Keep the Heroes Out. It is fairly straightforward, with no text—only symbols—so I hoped I could play it with my five-year-old son and possibly even my three-year-old daughter. And I was not disappointed.

While my daughter can’t really focus for an entire play session, my son has declared it his favorite game of all time (this illustrious title has been passed from game to game a few times already, but I still consider it quite an accolade). He has even made his own paper game pieces and designed both monsters and cards for the game. You could say I’m quite the proud father.

The game itself is a co-op tower defense deck builder. Quite a mouthful, but the gist of it is that you work together to defend against waves of enemies while acquiring stronger cards for your decks and eventually persevering until the onslaught ends.

In this case, the game puts you in the role of monsters guarding their dungeon (which sadly doesn’t translate well into Swedish, as the closest words either mean “prison dungeon” or just “cave”) from nasty heroes trying to steal all your valuable loot. Each player gets to choose a tribe of monsters—some with a lot of units, or “meeples,” like the slimes or ratkin with eight or more cute little fellas, or the mighty dragon that only has one piece to move around. This adds an asymmetrical aspect to the game, allowing players to tailor the gameplay to their preferences.

We’ve already played two games and won both, and my son is raring to go and tackle the harder difficulties. I can really recommend this game for both casual and more hardcore gamers (it has variable difficulty levels), and the aesthetics are amazing (the wooden meeples are gorgeous). The optional expansion packs that replace the non-wood meeple tokens with actual wooden pieces elevate the feel of the game to the next level.

Check it out on Board Game Geek!

My daughter loves the Unicorn monster and my son is a big fan of the Slimes. I took control of the covetous Gnolls!

My Thesis Work

After emailing roughly 70 people over the past couple of months, I have finally found a company for my final thesis work. I was invited to an interview at the consulting company adesso AB Sweden. Originally a German company with an Italian name, it is now well established in Sweden.

One of the first questions I asked during the interview—out of morbid curiosity—was why the company name is spelled with a lowercase ‘a’. Apparently, there’s no definitive answer, but they believe it was a way for the founders to stand out in the market. Adesso (the word, not the company) means “now” in Italian, in case you were wondering.

Since the initial interview, I’ve visited their offices twice more—once to discuss the project and once to meet the team and attend their Tech AW. The project looks promising and fun (I’ll write more about it later if I’m allowed), and the people at adesso are incredibly nice and welcoming. The AW included a presentation on OAuth by a well-versed expert, something they do at every Tech AW, once a month, and I learned a lot.

I also introduced one of my classmates to adesso, and we’ll be doing our thesis work together, which is really exciting. He’s nine years younger than me, so I hope my experience can match his vigor.

Consulting often involves a lot of remote work, so having a partner will help me stay focused and engaged. We’ve also committed to working at the office every day instead of relying too much on remote work. After two years of studying from home in front of my personal computer, I’m eager to experience the outside world again.

If you want to check out adesso AB Sweden, you can find more information here.

Return to Blood Angels

I have been collecting, building, painting, and playing with miniatures on and off since I was less than ten years old. It’s a hobby that I have a real love/hate relationship with. Of all the different miniature games I’ve played, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 have a special place in my heart, and I always seem to return to them. Whether it’s for the minis, the books, the video games, or something else, Warhammer always manages to light a passion in me.

I first got into Warhammer through my friends in elementary school, and it quickly became a shared interest. Later, when I was around 16-17, I met a friend who was just as into Warhammer as I was, and we bonded over it. My grandpa, who built model ships, also supported my hobby a lot, which meant a lot to me.

Recently, I began playing a god-awful gacha mobile game called Warhammer 40k: Tacticus. While the game is grindy and very much P2W (pay to win), it did reignite my love for Warhammer. My faction of choice has always been the Blood Angels, even though I’ve dabbled in other ones in the past. Blood Angels are part of the Armies of Mankind—specifically the Space Marines. They’re not really the good guys (no one is in Warhammer), but they’re the closest you get to it. These bioengineered warriors, clad in red and gold, are tragic heroes with a vampiric theme. Cursed with the Red Thirst, they crave blood and eventually fall to madness, this Black Rage makes them relive ancient battles without being able to tell friend from foe. Despite this, they try to suppress their urges and act with even more grace, honor, and kindness—at least outside of battle. When facing the enemies of mankind, however, their bloodlust often takes over, turning them into an unstoppable force.

I just think they’re neat.

So, of course, I went to my local geek store, Science Fiction Bookstore, and found a very nice Blood Angels mug—but sadly not the novels I was looking for. I also picked up Space Marine 2 on Steam and have started playing the campaign with a friend. And lastly, I dusted off some old miniatures I had lying around that I want to paint and display.

Having hobbies is great! Having several so you can switch between them when interest wanes is even better.

Nuxt.js Stock App

During one of my recent projects, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a talented course mate on developing a stock management app tailored for businesses in the alcohol and spirits industry. Our goal was to create a system that streamlined inventory tracking while ensuring secure access for users.

Tech Stack & Features

We chose Nuxt.js as our framework because we wanted to try working full stack and we had never tried it before. For authentication, we implemented JWT (JSON Web Token), allowing users to log in securely and access their inventory data.

Some key features of our app included:

• Real-time stock updates: Businesses could track their inventory levels dynamically.
• User authentication Using JWT, we ensured secure login and permissions.
• Responsive design: The UI was optimized for both desktop and mobile use.

Challenges & Takeaways

One of the biggest challenges we faced was handling authentication efficiently while keeping the app fast and responsive. Nuxt built in routing and API routes helped us maintain secure user sessions without sacrificing performance.

This project was a great learning experience in full-stack development with Nuxt.js, and I really enjoyed working alongside my course mate, who brought valuable insights into the development process.

Would I use Nuxt.js for a similar project again? Absolutely! Its flexibility and built-in features made development smooth, and I’d love to explore more ways to optimize performance and security in future projects.