I don’t always write webpack configuration files, but when I do, I… wait, actually I never do. I just use @laravelphp Mix. – https://laravel-mix.com/
Microblog
RSSAside: 01/31/2020
I see a lot of “jQuery sucks” or “don’t use jQuery in 2020” to which I say: use whatever works for you. If jQuery helps you make a better website or app, use it. It’s hardly a terrible choice. If anything, it’s battle-tested and reliable.
Aside: 01/24/2020
Web dev is so complex these days. Feels wrong to say all the complexity is bad. But it feels wrong to say it’s good. I use it but it never feels right to me. I feel this essay by @bastianallgeier 💯 https://bastianallgeier.com/notes/simplicity-part-2
Aside: 01/17/2020
I can’t stop watching this video by @cassidoo. Cracks me up every time. https://twitter.com/cassidoo/status/1216871876192088065
Aside: 01/16/2020
I’m scared to upgrade to Catalina. I’ve heard a lot of people complain about bugs. Anyone have anything good to say about it?
dg/twitter-php
I wasn’t satisfied with the IFTTT applet that was posting my microblog posts to Twitter for me, so I made my own custom integration using this handy library.
Aside: 01/14/2020
I just created an IFTTT service to automatically tweet microblog posts from my WordPress site. Let’s see if it works! #testing
Styling your first webpage with CSS
This is part 2 of a beginner series I’m writing over on Able Dev. I had a lot of fun writing it. I just wish my example site wasn’t so ugly. What was I thinking? 🤷♂️
CSS Bed
I love this collection of minimal, “classless” CSS stylesheets. I would love to see this list grow.
Aside: 01/08/2020
I really love this simple CSS stylesheet. I would love to see a curated collection of these kinds of minimal, typography-focused CSS “frameworks.” – https://uglyduck.ca/typesafe-css
Aside: 01/02/2020
A lot of people think that the Y2K bug was all hype. While it wasn’t world-ending, it was a problem that could have significant consequences. Fortunately, we saw it coming and had time to fix it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGrKKrsIpQw
Aside: 11/10/2019
I can’t stand reading Twitter threads. Such a disruptive, distracting reading experience.
Aside: 10/31/2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this look at JavaScript history and how the language progresses in a way so as to preserve backward compatibility. This is the tale of “Smooshgate.” https://css-tricks.com/yet-another-javascript-framework/
Aside: 10/27/2019
I loved this idea ever since I heard it, and it’s one of the things I love about the web—the idea that you can have your little lemonade stand on the Internet, as it were. https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
Aside: 10/14/2019
Figures out a couple of complicated components; gets stuck naming them. #hardproblems
Aside: 10/13/2019
PSA… You can subscribe to all my posts with the following RSS URL: https://blakewatson.com/feed/
If you would like to subscribe to my microblog only, use this RSS URL: https://blakewatson.com/feed/?cat=6
Aside: 10/13/2019
Aside: 10/11/2019
I really like the (past) work of http://plaintxt.org/. I would really love to see a modern version of it. If anyone is working on quality typographic minimalism in WordPress themes, I would love to know about it.
Aside: Ad-block shaming
I’m so sick of ad-block shaming. “We noticed you are using an ad-blocker…” Here’s my response: “I noticed you have been tracking me all over the Internet and exploiting my personal data for commercial gain.” I get that not every website has the same level of tracking. But I don’t see how a user has any choice but to just block everything. I can’t vet everyone’s advertising practices. Instead of shaming me into turning off my ad-blocker, I think websites should pitch why they deserve an exception. You want me to turn off my ad-blocker? Tell me what you are doing to protect my privacy. A great example of this is Daring Fireball:
For readers, these are ads that, again, are visually unobjectionable, and which offer the most privacy you could hope for. Not only is there no tracking involved, there is no JavaScript involved. They’re just images, text, and HTML links.
Able Dev
I started a website for people with disabilities interested in learning to code. The field of employment can be somewhat limited for people with disabilities. I have found success in web development and I have made it a sort of personal mission to get more people with disabilities to code. I’m figuring out this new site as I go, so it’s a work in progress.