My computer treats me like a computer
Speech-to-text combined with LLMs give me a taste of what assistive technology could be like in the not-too-distant future.
2025
Introducing A Fine Start version 3
Over the last three months, I updated my minimal new-tab page browser extension and added some cool features.
IndexedDB made easy like localStorage
I made a tiny JavaScript package for saving data to IndexedDB without all the normal hassle.
Things I got from specific people
You ever stop to think who inspired your favorite activity? Or who introduced you to your favorite songs? Who taught you things you still use years later?
2024
2024: my year in review
Looking back on another year, fighting against the steady march of time.
Alpine.js for home-cooked apps
Alpine is my secret weapon for building interactive UIs with haste and abandon. Perfect for home-cooked apps that need to get done fast.
The making of HTML for People
I introduce my free web book all about HTML and give a behind-the-scenes look from idea to launch.
Where I’m at with notetaking apps
I switch notetaking apps constantly and I’m trying to stop doing that. Here’s my compromise—I'm allowed any app that handles a folder of files.
SMA Chat Discord server and other communities
I just want to throw this out into the void in case there is anyone with SMA looking for it.
Monster of the Week: Game introduction and rules summary
I’m starting a play-by-post Monster of the Week game. This is the intro to the game and summary of the rules that I wrote for my players.
My home-cooked app for online bookmarks
I made this app a couple of years ago, but recent updates have prompted me to (finally) write about it.
Mimicking e-ink with macOS
I wanted the feeling of an e-ink monitor, and I realized that with the right settings in macOS I could get something close.
Rebuilding my website with Eleventy
I talk details about moving my site from self-hosted WordPress to a static site generated by Eleventy.
Song Swap: Kayama by Karl Jenkins
Matt and I react to each other's music by doing a song swap. These are my thoughts on Kayama by Karl Jenkins.
Use your Mac the way I do: a thought experiment
Delve into an unconventional Mac setup as you take on my point-of-view and learn to use a Mac using only a mouse.
Things I miss
Let’s be sad together for a moment, and then get back to our regularly-scheduled programming.
Building our own private Discord knockoff
Take that Big Tech! I'm taking back my internet one small-web app at a time. This time I talk chat.
2023: my year in review
Looking over 2023. I shattered some goals and failed miserably on others. Here’s to a happy 2024!
2023
omg.lol: an oasis on the internet
If you enjoyed the old web of the 90s and 00s; if you love tinkering with your personal website; or if you just like quirky, fun things on the internet, you will love this.
Default apps, 2023
I list out the various default apps I use for different domains of life and technology.
MagnoliaJS 2023: The joys of home-cooked apps
Written version of my talk for MagnoliaJS 2023. I deep-dive into the world of home-cooked software and discuss the benefits of making things for yourself.
Fancy forEach with functional programming in JavaScript
Functional programming! Higher order functions! Let's learn some JavaScript together.
100 ways to generate a story idea
I discovered a brainstorming list I made in 2019. It’s many, mostly terrible, ways to generate a story idea. But hopefully one appeals to you.
Multi-browser workflow on macOS with Choosy
I use different browsers for different things and Choosy makes that easy.
Homebrew package for setting specified audio input device
A fix for when you don’t want AirPods to take over as your active microphone on macOS.
My journey with the Chubon keyboard layout
A tale of how SMA continually makes typing harder, and how I have adapted to keep up.
The fragile nature of my life’s work
During a four-day power outage I was confronted with how meaningless my work and hobbies are if there is no electricity to support them.
I made a web-based version of Sawayama Solitaire
In which I am enamored by a variant of solitaire and recreate it in canvas with PixiJS.
A home-cooked app for hiring personal caregivers
My brother and I made our own web app for recruiting caregivers and processing applications.
Surveying the landscape of CSS micro-frameworks
I love these tiny CSS frameworks for quickly building out side projects.
Neglecting the scrollbar: a costly trend in UI design
In which I extol the benefits of this humble UI control and lament its slow demise.
2022: my year in review
I took a look back at 2022 and, to my surprise, I got more accomplished than I thought I did.
2022
The joys of home-cooked apps
Home-cooked apps are the kind you make for yourself that solve your own problems. Building and using them is a rewarding experience.
SMA in fiction: The First Thing About You
My thoughts on the YA rom-com, The First Thing About You, that features a main character with SMA.
Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
The unedited, writerly feel of monospaced fonts meets the readability and legibility of proportional ones.
Thinking in rich text
I recently started using a what-you-see-is-what-you-get app for notetaking after using plain text for over a decade. I’m pleasantly surprised by how much more effective my notes have become.
2021
The powerful accessibility of the customizable web
Browser extensions are extremely helpful for accessibility as they allow for user customization of websites and web apps that's usually not possible in native apps.
Introducing synthwave.live, a nostalgic musical odyssey
Over a year after its creation, I introduce my synthwave music mix website, discuss its features, and offer some developer commentary.
Speaking in code: hands-free input with Talon
Learn about coding by voice in this written version of my MagnoliaJS 2021 talk.
The making of d20 version 3
A behind-the-scenes look at the third version of d20, my beloved passion project.
2020
Finishing side projects
Side projects are one of the most fun things about web development. Here I discuss various tips and tricks for getting side projects over the finish line.
Why I host my websites with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET
I love NearlyFreeSpeech.NET because they're not like any other web host out there. They march to the beat of their own drum and I love them.
2019: My Year in Review
New job, new experiences, and new stuff made. These were the highlights of my year.
2019
Why I chose Simplenote over Standard Notes and nvUltra
Watch me work my way through a paralyzing crisis whilst I nerd out over the nuances of note-taking apps.
How to: array reduce in JavaScript and PHP
Make dealing with arrays cleaner, more concise, and more fun by using the all-powerful reducer.
Unpopular opinion: switching to WordPress in 2019
After a years long stint as a static site, blakewatson.com returns to being a WordPress site. While I still like static sites, I have a renewed appreciation of WordPress (and a renewed design for this site).
Playing Minecraft by voice with Talon
How I play Minecraft using a mouse and one mouse button along with the hands-free, programmable input system, Talon.
2018
Writing and coding by voice with Talon
Talon is a programmable voice recognition system that helps me code by voice—something that isn't feasible with macOS' built-in dictation.
Writing and coding with the macOS Accessibility Keyboard
macOS' Accessibility Keyboard is a highly customizable on-screen keyboard for people who aren't physically able to type.
2017
My answer to the gratuitous new tab page
I created a small web service and Chrome extension that replaces your web browser’s new tab page.
Why I left Facebook
After being an early adopter of Facebook and using it for over a decade, I decided to delete my account. Here's why.
An ode to web pages
I reminisce about a time when I created websites without all the complexities of modern frameworks, libraries, and tooling.
2016
2016: My year in review
I take a look back at the work I've done in 2016, from Mad Genius work to my first app on the Mac App Store.
SVG logo animation with Anime.js
Anime gives you structured and granular control of your animations. Here's an example using my logo.
A decade of Mac
I've been using a Mac since 2006. Now I'm taking a look back at what I love about the Mac, then and now.
How to lessen your exposure to Google
I’ll occasionally mention in passing the various alternatives to Google that I use for web browsing, search, and email, but I haven’t talked about it in much detail.
Better UI components with KnockoutJS
How to make a reactive UI component, such as a filterable list, using the JavaScript library, KnockoutJS.
A geek's defense of Monopoly
Permit me to offer some counterarguments to common gripes people have about Monopoly.
2015
Why Darth Vader can't be a barista
An illustrated comic
5 Sublime Text packages that make it a little more like Coda
Sublime Text is very extensible. But out of the box, it doesn’t match up against Coda’s main selling point: it’s super amazing sidebar that consist of a full-featured file-browser, FTP client, and snippet manager.
New personal mark
My personal mark improved as I became a better designer and turned my energy toward freelancing. Still, it never felt completely right.
How to get smart quotes in wok
Smart quotes (i.e., “curly quotes”) are a must-have for me. Here's how to use the Typogrify package to get them automatically in wok, the static-site generator.
This site’s design is not original
There's nothing new under the sun.
Making this site: Going static
Pivoting my site from a freelancer’s pitch to a developer’s journal, I really wanted to get back to basics.
Hard refresh
I still have most of the source code for every design iteration of this site from its beginnings in 2005 to the 2013 design, which stayed in place through the summer of 2015. I managed to put together a graphic that shows the homepage of each iteration.