It was a vibrant Saturday.
We started the day with the Beijing Half Marathon Family Run, completing the 2km race hand in hand. After enjoying generous race packs and a relaxing brunch, Xiaoyan and Hamer went to dance class while I played goalie at football—earning praise for some solid saves.
Later, we explored Sanlitun, talked about DIY doll-making, drank in a riverside bar, had some late-night noodles, and enjoyed Reply 1988 together before bed.
A rainy day in Beijing set the tone for deep reflection and small emotional turns.
While fixing an AI build issue during work, I accidentally dampened a colleague’s enthusiasm by responding too formally to her design share—something she later kindly pointed out.
At home, Hamer’s mystery about being kept after school had us guessing until she finally confessed: she scored a bit low on her math test.
I ended the day with a slow jog and stumbled upon a riverside bar serving craft IPA—a peaceful, unexpected find.
I resolved client build and packaging issues and discussed two directions for integrating MCP with ArcGIS Earth—either as a server via Automation API or as a client to interact with other MCP services.
In the afternoon, I underwent a root canal after discovering severe decay under a previous filling—thankfully painless under anesthesia.
Today was one of those days where everything feels unproductive.
After morning meetings, a high-priority bug pulled me away from my AI MVP draft. Debugging led to a valuable lesson from a colleague—a handy trick in Visual Studio that helped us locate an infinite loop. I later eased into the MVP discussion and managed to fix the bug before heading to play badminton.
Still nursing a twisted ankle, I focused on ball control and enjoyed a slower pace.
In the evening, I played idiom games with Hamer. Surprisingly, the two colleagues I play table tennis with have never even heard of Billie Eilish.
Today, I felt utterly lost—eager to accomplish everything yet ending up doing nothing meaningful.
During the work, I tackled PM questions in the moring and attended my first Dev Lead meeting. I struggled to balance team updates with my own ideas about an internal AI weekly newsletter.
At home, I cooked dinner with Xiaoyan, sharing a brief moment of culinary success. However, the day ended on a sour note when Hamer, upset over a broken promise regarding her new underwear, erupted in tears and a tantrum, triggering a conflict between her and Xiaoyan. Despite no further escalation, I was left feeling burdened by unresolved resentment.
With strong winds forecasted, we spent the weekend cozied up at home—it felt like a mini vacation.
On Saturday, I slept in late after a night of binge-watching TV. Hamer kept whispering in my ear until I finally got up. “This is the first time I’ve seen Dad get up this late,” she said. I lost a bet with Xiaoyan over the pronunciation of “divorce” and had to make lunch—two veggie dishes and a fried egg that turned out surprisingly well. Later, Hamer and I continued our series binge, and even Xiaoyan joined in after dinner, crying during several scenes. That night, I slept soundly in Hamer’s bed.
Sunday was equally low-key. After playing in the morning, we went grocery shopping for braised green bean noodles. Hamer also wanted a new watercolor set because hers lacked a skin-tone color. There were a few tears during the discussion with Xiaoyan, but she got it in the end.
In the evening, Xiaoyan cooked radish and cuttlefish soup—it was delicious. Hamer helped with folding laundry, hanging clothes, and washing fruit. She’s really becoming Mom’s little helper.
Meanwhile, I got deeper into pour-over coffee and finally dialed in the grind size. It’s starting to click.
Last night’s badminton game left me with a twisted ankle, and by morning, it was still sore and uncomfortable to walk on. After dropping Hamer off, I grabbed McDonald’s for breakfast—just had a craving.
Later, I visited the dentist to follow up on a previous check-up. X-rays revealed an old filling that may need a root canal. For now, I had a cleaning and got a reminder: no horizontal brushing, use an electric toothbrush, floss well, and pay extra attention around my implant.
In the afternoon, I worked on setting up an old AI project environment. With help from a colleague, I finally got it running and plan to document the process and improve it next week.
Before heading home, Hamer called and joked that I might get blown away if I didn’t hurry. After dinner, we watched When Life Gives You Tangerines and only realized IU was the lead by episode two.
The long-anticipated windstorm still hadn’t arrived by bedtime—maybe tomorrow.
Hamer’s been waking up early lately, getting ready calmly and playing on her own before school. After dropping her off today, I grabbed breakfast, ate wontons while waiting for corn, and brought extra food home.
In the morning, I subscribed to CapWords—originally just out of curiosity, but the heartfelt story behind it deeply resonated with me.
I spent the day testing local language models with the Earth MCP Server. A larger model was too slow, and a smaller one underperformed, but I eventually got two working and pulled together some solid takeaways. Before wrapping up work, I submitted a documentation PR to the oterm project—my first open-source contribution—and was thrilled to see it merged right away. I hope it’s just the beginning.
Around noon, I was notified of a seatbelt violation from last Sunday. It surprised me—I’m usually careful—but the photo said otherwise.
All the talk today was about Beijing’s strong wind forecast. Looks like we’re staying indoors this weekend.
I started the day by continuing to listen to the ongoing company meeting—by this point, I had followed it from start to finish, which made me feel somewhat involved in the whole session.
Throughout the day, I explored integrating Ollama with MCP to run local language models. I initially tried Open WebUI’s mcpo to expose MCP as an OpenAPI interface, but I didn’t know how to use the tools it offered. Later, I found oterm, an Ollama client that supports MCP tools. When I couldn’t select tools, I realized that not all models support the tools feature.
When we got home, Hamer surprised me by pretending to be a waitress—seriously guiding me through removing my shoes, washing up, and serving dinner. Her commitment to the role was both hilarious and sweet. After dinner, we went shopping. I was impressed by how disciplined Hamer has become—carefully choosing only a few things. She’s really growing into a thoughtful, self-controlled little person.
I went to bed late last night after an online company meeting, and when I woke up, it was still going. I tuned back in and was struck by how open and confident everyone was, regardless of role.
The rest of the morning was filled with more meetings, but our team meetings felt flat—minimal interaction and little new information. It’s something I’ve been reflecting on.
I spent the afternoon preparing NMEA data visuals for a presentation and began exploring LM Studio and Ollama’s Python SDK to see how local models might support MCP tasks.
On the way home, I got my badminton racket restrung, filled a growler with beer, and grabbed barbecue for dinner.
Xiaoyan and I also considered renting a car for a weekend trip now that I’m confident driving, but the windy forecast led us to postpone until next week.
This morning, Hamer woke up teary-eyed, missing Liuliu deeply. She cried as she got ready but gradually calmed down.
After the dev meeting, I reflected on how to make these sessions more impactful.
In the afternoon, I settled on NMEA playback as the focus for this week’s Earth 230 Tips, which gave me clarity and momentum. I also completed paperwork for my work-residence permit renewal—much easier now that the company is handling it directly.
We decided to skip this week’s family badminton session. Xiaoyan felt I’ve been too critical during play, and Hamer said she was a bit tired. After dinner, we took a relaxing evening stroll and picked up some fresh fruit.
Today, I drove back to Beijing, covering 250 kilometers in 7 hours, bringing my total driving distance over the last two days to 400 kilometers—the longest I’ve ever driven. It was a challenging but rewarding experience, and by the end of the day, I truly felt like a “real driver.”
We left around 11 a.m. and got home by 6 p.m. In the evening, we celebrated my mother-in-law’s 62nd birthday with a family dinner. Happy Birthday, Mom!
Today, I drove on the highway for the first time—about 150 kilometers. I started out nervous but gradually found my rhythm, and by the end, I felt proud and accomplished.
In the morning, we visited Huanghua Port and Golden Beach, where the wide river and sandy shores created a relaxing coastal feel. Hamer and Liuliu played in the sand while we strolled and chatted under the sun.
In the afternoon, I drove Xiaoyan and Zhu Jian to Cangzhou West Station, tackling both local roads and the highway. The 100-kilometer stretch was intense at first, but I settled in and gained real confidence behind the wheel. Returning solo to Liuliu’s house, I felt calm and capable.
That evening, the warm, everyday scene—Liu Dan in the kitchen, the kids playing—filled me with comfort and gratitude. Their family’s kindness and support made me feel truly at home.
We got up at 5 a.m. to head to Huanghua, where Liuliu’s dad drove us to visit her at her grandma’s place. Hamer and Liuliu were clearly thrilled to see each other, though they tried to play it cool. I was unsure about driving back to Beijing alone and hoped Liuliu’s dad could take the car while we returned by train.
Lunch was a feast—seafood, lamb spine hotpot, and shrimp paste flatbread—that left me full well into the evening. We strolled through Xinyulou in the afternoon, and later, the four of us played mahjong until past 11. Afterward, Zhu Jian took me visit a local bathhouse for a soak and steam, spending the night there.
Tonight, we attended our first performance at the China National Opera House—a symphony and ballet set to The Yellow River. The music, staging, and dancing were breathtaking, and we left wanting to see it all over again.
Since our e-bike couldn’t fit four, I planned to run home—but Hamer wanted to join. We waited backstage, caught glimpses of the dancers leaving, then walked home together, snacking on frozen grapes from 7-Eleven. We held hands, laughed, and skipped until she got tired. At Chuangshan Liquor Bar, we stopped for skewers and beer to rest.
After dropping Hamer off at school this morning, I grabbed a big breakfast to share at home—more than we could finish.
Most of the day was spent diving into the MCP C# SDK. While reviewing the official samples, I spotted a bug I initially planned to fix, only to find someone had already submitted a PR—so I added a supporting comment instead. I also spent time exploring how to integrate MCP with the Earth project but realized it’s not easy to integrate directly.
In the evening, After shopping, we visited a print shop to print photos for Hamer.
Hello, April.
This morning, I woke up early and joined Hamer for a morning run. We ran and walked around 3 kilometers together—it was a joyful experience. On our walk back, she said the day felt like a weekend without school.
At work, I learned I’ll be taking over the lead of a project. It didn’t hit me until I was added to the group, making me realize this new responsibility.
In the evening, I grabbed some draft beer and skewers on a whim, and Xiaoyan couldn’t resist nibbling despite being full.
There was a moment of misunderstanding with Hamer’s homework, where I was adamant I was right, but later discovered she was correct. I realized I need to listen to her more and not always assume my perspective is the right one.
We also got our registration confirmed for the parent-child run at a local Half Marathon. Looking forward to it!
I spent the day optimizing the MCP server for ArcGIS Earth Automation API and troubleshooting data issues. Recorded demos using Claude as a client, which impressively handled polygon drawing and undo-delete commands.
Evening brought news I wasn’t selected for the Beijing Half Marathon. After dinner with Xiaoyan, I helped Hamer with homework and fixed her alarm. When she wanted to join my run but hesitated, we planned a morning run for April 1st instead.
Today was a leisurely Sunday that began with sleeping in until Hamer asked for help reading her textbook. Initially, I suggested she practice independently, which led her to seek Grandma’s assistance before proudly returning to demonstrate her progress.
My coffee experiment failed due to using espresso beans and too-fine grounds for pour-over brewing. At noon, we visited the Beijing Minsheng Art Museum for “The Origin of Civilization” exhibition, where LEGO recreations of archaeological sites and a bronze figure installation particularly impressed me.
After lunch at Sunrise Ramen in its new Wangjing location, we explored 798 Art District. At Berry Bean café, Hamer bonded with a dog named Huahua while I admired specialty bikes. The day concluded at Tiaohai Bar, where we unexpectedly stayed for a dance concert featuring memorable performances by SkyChildren, NoGender, and a duet by Quqi and Erhan.
This morning, Hamer and I used GPT-4o to enhance one of her drawings—she was amazed, though she noticed its text recognition could be better. After breakfast at Xiaoguan Market, we met her classmate. Hamer didn’t join the group play, preferring one-on-one time, but still enjoyed observing.
The wind on our way back was intense, and Xiaoyan later got her braces replaced. In the afternoon, I played in a football match with the CUGB alumni team after a four-year break—starting as goalkeeper and easing back into the game.
Since neither of us could take Hamer to dance, Grandma stepped in. Last night, Hamer cried about it, but Xiaoyan had a clever solution: Grandma would take her to class, and later they’d go to The Box to visit Miniso.
In the evening, we all played doubles at a new badminton gym, then grabbed barbecue on the way home—a relaxing end to a full day.
Today, I continued working hands-on with the MCP server, this time using the ArcGIS Earth Automation API as the application scenario. I used Cursor together with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, referencing the official Model Context Protocol servers' Python SDK to carry out some Vibe Coding. By the end of the workday, I had successfully run through the core workflow. There’s still some polishing to do before submission, but it’s coming together nicely. I tested the setup using the MCP Inspector, which worked quite well. Toward the end of the day, I switched back to using Claude as the MCP Client for another round of testing. It was genuinely exciting to see Claude follow my instructions, call various tools, and interact with Earth—I could hardly wait to complete the whole workflow!
As usual, I went to the gym at noon. I didn’t work out much, but the key thing is maintaining the habit.
In the evening, it got really cold. I had originally planned to go pick up Xiaoyan from Sanlitun, but halfway there, I felt frozen and asked her to take the subway instead—I met her at the station. After dinner, Hamer continued putting up English conversation stickers with me. She had even called me after school to remind me to come home early so we could do it together. I had intended to watch a movie afterward, but Hamer came running over, asking to join. In the end, we watched the animated film Goldie together.
Today, I was completely immersed in developing an MCP server for ArcGIS Location Services, to the point of practically skipping meals and breaks. By the end of the workday, I had finally built a simple, functional version. In the evening, I also tried submitting it to Smithery, though I still need to figure out how to properly use the deployed server—something I’ll dig into later.
Throughout the development process, I used uv to manage the Python project. The implementation was based on the ArcGIS Services Postman Collection, and I relied heavily on conversations with Claude and the Edit Mode in Cursor to guide my work. One of the trickiest parts was that the Postman Collection didn’t provide complete parameter details to the LLM, which led to a lot of misconfigured requests that took quite a bit of time to debug.
I used Claude Desktop as an MCP Client to test the server and found that using conversational prompts to drive the LLM for testing was a surprisingly fun experience. However, debugging wasn’t the most convenient, so I’m planning to try out the MCP Inspector to streamline the process going forward.
This morning, I also joined the CUGB Beijing Alumni Soccer Team group chat. The admin was super welcoming and gave me a great intro to the team, along with some useful info. I signed up to play in a match this Saturday afternoon—looking forward to getting out on the field and meeting everyone.
In the evening, the On Running shoes Xiaoyan ordered for me arrived. The fit was perfect, and I really liked how they felt—so much so that I kept walking around the house in them all night. Later on, Hamer and I put up some immersive English-language stickers around the house for speaking practice. It was a fun little parent-child activity.
I was tired in the afternoon from poor sleep and felt it during badminton, though I did test Xiaoyan’s new racket and liked it.
I also published my half-marathon training plans on GitHub Gist, upgraded Claude to Pro, and used it as an MCP Client—its power impressed me.
In the evening, Hamer and I shopped at Hema after dinner.
I woke up after 4 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep. Around 5, Hamer had two nosebleeds, so I stayed with her until daylight. She got ready early for a field trip, and I spent the day building a half-marathon plan and researching badminton gear.
I also fixed a symbology issue at work and studied HybridWebView.
In the evening, I joined a community-organized badminton session for the first time. The event had great energy, friendly people, and even snacks and beer. I was impressed by the group leader’s dedication—he didn’t play but focused on serving everyone else.
