We are Alex & Nate Beattie and over the past few years we have traveled across the Nordics, Europe, and the U.S.A. We have navigated the challenges of working, living, studying, and traveling during a global pandemic.
We chronicle the triumphs and struggles of learning what it’s like to live and travel in this new world. As software engineers, we are regularly solving tough challenges and want to shared our results with you so you can stop struggling and get back to coding!
Technical Debt Accumulation On a warm August day six months ago, I began a new journey as a doctoral researcher. As part of that journey, I have been diving into an open biomechanical modeling source software called OpenSim. Successfully compiling the code base for the first time was a non-trivial task and was a cause for major celebration. As a nearly 20 year old software project (the first public release was on August 20, 2007), it has expanded far beyond its intended purpose and accumulated significant technical debt along the way. ...
The Problem If you are attempting to use any rule from @build_bazel_rules_apple on MacOS with a mediapipe project you may face a build error. The error will contain the following message: Configurable attribute "srcs" doesn't match this configuration (would a default condition help?). Conditions checked: @cpuinfo//:linux_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:linux_arm @cpuinfo//:linux_armhf @cpuinfo//:linux_armv7a @cpuinfo//:linux_armeabi @cpuinfo//:linux_aarch64 @cpuinfo//:linux_mips64 @cpuinfo//:linux_riscv64 @cpuinfo//:linux_s390x @cpuinfo//:macos_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:macos_arm64 @cpuinfo//:windows_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:android_armv7 @cpuinfo//:android_arm64 @cpuinfo//:android_x86 @cpuinfo//:android_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:ios_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:ios_x86 @cpuinfo//:ios_armv7 @cpuinfo//:ios_arm64 @cpuinfo//:ios_arm64e @cpuinfo//:watchos_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:watchos_x86 @cpuinfo//:watchos_armv7k @cpuinfo//:watchos_arm64_32 @cpuinfo//:tvos_x86_64 @cpuinfo//:tvos_arm64 @cpuinfo//:emscripten_wasm This github issue summarizes the problem succinctly. This issue has remained open for nearly 2 years without response from the mediapipe team so I will provide a patch based solution here until the problem is resolved properly. ...
Before deciding to study abroad, I had never heard of Bergen. I would have struggled to name one Norwegian city aside from Oslo, let alone imagine that I would be living in this second-largest city in Norway. After spending five months living and studying there, Bergen has quickly become my favorite city in the world. Here is an unofficial guide and list of my favorite things for anyone who is planning to visit this wonderful place. ...
Some know Finland as the happiest country on earth. Some know Finland as an untamed arctic wilderness. For the past year and a half, I have known Finland as home. Growing up in the U.S. with a Finnish mother and grandparents, I expected living in Finland to feel somewhat familiar. Instead, I experienced culture shock almost daily in the first few weeks after moving. While initially surprising, these moments have been critical keys to unlocking the secrets of nordic happiness. While reflecting on my experience acclimating to Finland, I have selected my top 5 culture shock moments to share with you. ...
Since my last post, I have traveled to Denmark, Sweden, Greece, and Italy. Many of these places I had only dreamed of seeing, and did not know if I would ever have the chance to visit. One of the benefits to studying in Europe is the ability to quickly and easily travel to many different countries. With the COVID travel restrictions in many countries weakening or dissolving completely, it was the perfect opportunity to travel around the continent. ...
Lost in time while solo backpacking the Midnight Sun in Tsarmitunturi Wilderness Area Reading atop my first fjäll peak at Tsarmitunturi Many Finns celebrate the Juhannus or Midsummer holiday by going to a mökki (a small cottage), but I discovered Tsarmitunturi in a guidebook I received for Christmas that year. Tsarmitunturi is a 150 square kilometer Wilderness Area in the east part of Finnish Lapland. The guidebook recommended getting lost in time hiking without a phone or watch during the Midnight Sun when the sun never goes down. I had experience with long haul backpacking from Boy Scouts but never went on an adventure like this. I was alone, off the grid, and far outside my comfort zone. These are my takeaways from venturing into the wilderness. ...
As I am writing this, I am sitting at the home of composer Edvard Grieg, in the same place where he often sat to find inspiration for his music. As I look out on this specific inlet of the North Sea, I understand why he chose this spot. The calm waters and forested islands, accompanied by the intermittent chirps from an arrangement of birds immediately put my thoughts into a reflective mindset. I have been in Norway for the better part of two months, and it feels like it has been simultaneously only a week and an entire semester. Each day, packed with so many opportunities, passes by in the blink of an eye (and only ~6 hours of sunlight), while these busy days coalesce into weeks that feel like months. I seldom have time to sit and reflect just in my thoughts, so moments like this make me truly appreciate the experience and opportunity I have been given. ...
Hello! My name is Nate Beattie, and I am a Junior at Mizzou studying Computer Science and Music. I am currently spending the semester studying at the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway, and I also happen to be Alex’s brother. Much like Alex, I have a background in technology with software development experience and am passionate about sustainable development. This series will outline some of the highlights of my experiences while in Norway and beyond! ...
My name is Alex Beattie and over the past four years I have lived in three countries and have navigated the challenges of working and traveling during a global pandemic. Semester in Sweden The Linneaus University Campus Castle Seeing the Northern Lights for the first time On a cold winter day in early 2019, I traveled from St. Louis, Missouri to Växjö, Sweden to commence a semester study abroad program at Linneaus University. Returning to the U.S. that summer with a fresh mindset, I began to wonder if it was possible to continue my development in a global context. In Sweden, I brushed off emails from my university’s fellowship office encouraging me to apply for national grants and fellowships. ...