I will be attending the Swift by Northwest conference in Portland on October 18-20. This is a sold-out conference for macOS and iOS developers, with a focus on the Swift programming language, and related topics.

I thought I’d write a post to introduce myself to other attendees.

My name is David Sinclair. I’m personally a quiet introvert, so if you see me, please feel welcome to introduce yourself. One of the main reasons for attending is to network with other developers and others in our industry, so I’ll be making an effort to awkwardly introduce myself to others.

I was born in New Zealand, so have a Kiwi accent, but my wife and I moved to the US in 2001, and I’m now a dual citizen. We live in the Portland region, about an hour out of town, on about 5 acres. I’ll be staying at the conference hotel, to make it easier for evening events, and because I don’t like driving, so wouldn’t want to commute in each day.

My personal blog is at dejus.com. I use this to post a daily photo of pizzas and other food, my pet cats and dog, and other things that don’t fit on the Dejal or Yellow Cottage Homestead blogs (see below), along with occasional random comments on life, the universe, and everything. It is cross-posted to Twitter, Facebook, Micro.blog, and Mastodon, or via RSS.

I am an indie macOS and iOS app developer.  My company is Dejal, where I have a number of apps including:

• Simon: a pro macOS tool to monitor websites and servers for changes or failures.
• Time Out: a popular macOS break reminder tool.
• Pack: an iOS packing list.
• Date Stamp: an iOS iMessage app to make customizable date stickers.
• Chicken GIFs: a fun sticker pack of chicken GIFs.

I also offer consulting services, and am currently working on SheetPlanner for macOS and NewsBlur for iOS.

You can follow Dejal on Twitter, Facebook, Micro.blog, or via RSS.

My wife and I also have another company called Yellow Cottage Homestead, where I blog about our feral cats, chickens, bees, lavender, and more. Let’s face it, most posts currently are about the colony of five feral cats that I care for, including the fancy shelter & feeder I built for them. I also post about other woodworking construction projects; the cat shelter, the chicken coop, and later this year a large berry cage for the veggie garden, compost bins, lumber storage, and other projects.  You can follow the homestead on Twitter, Facebook, Micro.blog, or via RSS.

So that’s me. And this is what I look like; I’m easy to spot, just look for the epic beard, and bask in its majesty! I’ll probably be wearing Dejal shirts to the conference, though not the hat, being indoors:

Again, if you see me at the conference, say hi. I’ll have some business cards and stickers to hand out, if you’re interested:

This morning we finished an epic weekend mornings viewing of the Doctor Who TV series, that we started around 2006: watching every episode from the very beginning, including all the reconstructions of missing episodes. Just in time for the new season.

So, apparently I have to send back my new iPhone XS Max, and buy a replacement.

I purchased it via the iPhone Upgrade Program on pre-order day, and got it on day one. Yay! But while my wife Jenn got a return kit (to return her old iPhone X), I did not.

Today I spent 72 minutes in a web chat with a very friendly Apple guy (hi Joshua), and ended up with the choice of either returning my current phone and buying a new one (hopefully with the return kit this time), or paying off the remaining balance on the X, and using the GiveBack program to get a credit. The latter option would have cost me $261, so I opted for the former.

So now I have a return label for my two week old iPhone XS Max, and a new order for an identical model. Fortunately, I should get my new Max around October 11-15, and have to return my current Max by October 19, so I shouldn’t have to move back to the X then again to the replacement Max. Still, a huge hassle for Apple’s error.

Oh well, at least I get the pleasure of unboxing again!

Edit to add:

But wait, it gets even more fun! I clicked the emailed link to print the return label for my current iPhone XS Max, and got a “something went wrong” error. Oh joy. I tried a different browser, or going via the orders page, with the same result. So had another chat with Apple (32 minutes, hi Lex), resulting in them sending a replacement label for the new phone that is being replaced! We’ll see if that works. If not, I may have to have yet another chat, or make the hour trek to an Apple store to sort this out.

I love Apple, but this is a bit of a FUBAR.

Edit again:

They sent a RMA label in an attachment, so that worked out. About a week later, I got my replacement iPhone. Now I just need to send back the previous one, and the old X. All’s right in the end, but it’s crazy that the best they could do is return the two-week-old phone and start again.