{"id":27,"date":"2025-11-20T00:07:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T00:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afzaalahmadzeeshan.com\/home\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T00:07:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T00:07:55","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?page_id=27","title":{"rendered":"Hi, my name is Afzaal."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e7b68ed0 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-bottom-color:var(--wp--preset--color--background);border-bottom-width:1px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignfull is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-e15afb30 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light extendify-image-import\" style=\"border-top-right-radius:1.5rem;border-bottom-right-radius:1.5rem;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);min-height:100%;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-352 size-large\" alt=\"A windmill in the Holland. Pictured in Hoofddorp.\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_20201023_172053-1024x576.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\"\/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#6e8eb2\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:380px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-c6aab7f7 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-831b2db5 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0f0a2993 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teacher, engineer, gamer<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:16px\">I live in Almere, the Netherlands, and I spend days working with and playing with code, and I spend nights playing games. I have two daughters who use 100% of my weekends. I started this blog to consolidate three personas (engineer, expat, and personal life) into one place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-3739adc1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/blog\">Read Blog<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-tertiary-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe5ad25c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" id=\"blog\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-831b2db5 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-32cbc5bb wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:16px\">Personal reflections, experiences, and ideas. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/query\" data-wp-key=\"10\" data-wp-router-region=\"query-10\" class=\"wp-block-query alignwide is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow\"><ul class=\"columns-3 wp-block-post-template is-layout-grid wp-container-core-post-template-is-layout-7e964c02 wp-block-post-template-is-layout-grid\"><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-1\" class=\"wp-block-post post-1 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=1\" target=\"_self\" >Hello world!<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it,&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-537\" class=\"wp-block-post post-537 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=537\" target=\"_self\" >Canadian Shipments to the EU Are Annoyingly Slow<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">I think the EU-based logistics, deliveries has pampered us to a point&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-487\" class=\"wp-block-post post-487 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=487\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Launching iSha: Private Baby Tracker and Logs app\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120.png 2560w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120-768x480.png 768w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120-1536x960.png 1536w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_1774817120-2048x1280.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=487\" target=\"_self\" >Launching iSha: Private Baby Tracker and Logs app<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">iSha: Pronounced as Aisha. My daughter, Aisha, was born in 2022. As&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-474\" class=\"wp-block-post post-474 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-expat tag-dutch tag-expat tag-family tag-netherlands\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=474\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2313\" height=\"1188\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"I Voted: The Municipal Elections in The Netherlands 2026\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323.png 2313w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323-300x154.png 300w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323-1024x526.png 1024w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323-768x394.png 768w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323-1536x789.png 1536w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-323-2048x1052.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2313px) 100vw, 2313px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"tag\">Expat<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=474\" target=\"_self\" >I Voted: The Municipal Elections in The Netherlands 2026<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">This was my first time voting, and it was incredible. Voting Process&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-436\" class=\"wp-block-post post-436 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=436\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"385\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dependency.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"The Vertical of AI-Driven Tech Stacks\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dependency.png 385w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dependency-236x300.png 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 385px) 100vw, 385px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=436\" target=\"_self\" >The Vertical of AI-Driven Tech Stacks<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Where do the AI-platforms exist in the stack vertical of an application?&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-323\" class=\"wp-block-post post-323 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-development tag-development tag-game-development tag-low-poly-games tag-unity\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=323\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/unnamed.webp\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"I Created This Mobile Game in a Week.\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/unnamed.webp 240w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/unnamed-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"tag\">Development<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=323\" target=\"_self\" >I Created This Mobile Game in a Week.<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">I recently published a mobile game that I developed in about 1-week.&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-331\" class=\"wp-block-post post-331 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-expat tag-expat tag-family tag-ideal tag-money tag-netherlands tag-network tag-payments tag-wise\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=331\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"2340\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"iDEAL Just Got Less Affordable on Wise.\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404.png 1080w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404-138x300.png 138w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404-473x1024.png 473w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404-768x1664.png 768w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404-709x1536.png 709w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_20260211-024404-945x2048.png 945w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"tag\">Expat<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=331\" target=\"_self\" >iDEAL Just Got Less Affordable on Wise.<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">For Wise users in the Netherlands, iDEAL now charges extra amount based&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-382\" class=\"wp-block-post post-382 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-development tag-database tag-development tag-environment tag-incident tag-production tag-staging\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=382\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"875\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-288.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Production Data Loss for twodos App: Minimal Impact on Users\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-288.png 875w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-288-300x49.png 300w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-288-768x126.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"tag\">Development<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=382\" target=\"_self\" >Production Data Loss for twodos App: Minimal Impact on Users<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">A major incident caused the entire PostgreSQL database to be dropped due&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-306\" class=\"wp-block-post post-306 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-reviews category-uncategorized tag-ai tag-ai-slop tag-copilot tag-family tag-gemini tag-youtube\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=306\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1885\" height=\"1045\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-273.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Aggressively Dominant AI-slop Content for Children. How to Avoid It?\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-273.jpg 1885w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-273-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-273-1024x568.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-273-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-273-1536x852.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1885px) 100vw, 1885px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=5\" rel=\"tag\">Reviews<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=306\" target=\"_self\" >Aggressively Dominant AI-slop Content for Children. How to Avoid It?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">I have a three-year-old. We never gave her a screen time until&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><li data-wp-key=\"post-template-item-254\" class=\"wp-block-post post-254 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-expat tag-dutch tag-expat tag-netherlands tag-schengen tag-visa\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d8bfe474 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:12px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=254\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Schengen Visit Visa Rejected? Should You Appeal or Apply Again? Do this. An Expat Guide.\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20200120_130118-scaled-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6417a519 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:1.5rem;padding-right:1.5rem;padding-bottom:1.5rem;padding-left:1.5rem\"><div class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2bac158711617329ff66a9b07b2da425 wp-block-post-terms has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"tag\">Expat<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:clamp(0.984rem, 0.984rem + ((1vw - 0.2rem) * 0.809), 1.5rem);margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:12px\" class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/?p=254\" target=\"_self\" >Schengen Visit Visa Rejected? Should You Appeal or Apply Again? Do this. An Expat Guide.<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-small-font-size\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">A good resource to further read and learn about the Schengen visa&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fcbfd87a wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gUepn3QM8aM&amp;list=PLlYVkTTXNTjOHZEBQZgZN564ZoEc04asB\">Explore More<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-tertiary-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe5ad25c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" id=\"blog\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-831b2db5 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-32cbc5bb wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Expat Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:16px\">The expat life entails a lot of opportunities and challenges, and I share my learnings here, and on YouTube. The <a href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/podcast-pakistan-sai-holland-ka-safar\/\">Podcast &#8220;Pakistan Sai Holland Ka Safar&#8221;<\/a> is a personal journey for me, and I am very happy to share my lessons with you. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fcbfd87a wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/podcast-pakistan-sai-holland-ka-safar\/\">Explore More<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-tertiary-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0a594f59 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" id=\"about\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-b7f6f8cb wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-0c22cdd7 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Instagram<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:16px\">I post content on Instagram, but only about 1 in 100 pictures make their way to Instagram. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-3b8eca09 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the_expat_diary\/\">@the_expat_diary on Instagram<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-8c381d87 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-instagram-gallery\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the_expat_diary\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the_expat_diary\/<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teacher, engineer, gamer I live in Almere, the Netherlands, and I spend days working with and playing with code, and I spend nights playing games. I have two daughters who use 100% of my weekends. I started this blog to consolidate three personas (engineer, expat, and personal life) into one place. Blog Personal reflections, experiences, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"no-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-27","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mermaid-essentials.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}