On Pull Requests
In small teams, you're spread thin, constantly multitasking. Enter pull requests; the epitome of asynchronous collaboration. They're how you keep the bar high when you're running lean.
Archive
2023
18
Refactoring's Unseen Value
Refactoring is not just about cleaning up; it's about future-proofing the codebase. It's about making it easier for the next developer (or even future you) to understand what's happening. But companies don't usually reward this.
The Plumber Problem: A Coder's Lament
Ever watched a hacking scene in a movie and cringed at how unrealistic it was? As someone who has spent years in the trenches of software development, these scenes are not just inaccurate; they're painful to watch. They're a caricature, a gross oversimplification of a complex and nuanced field.
On Climate Change
Climate change is no longer a distant, abstract threat. It's here, it's now, and it's personal. We've inherited a world on the brink of climate collapse. But it doesn't have to define our future.
The Ephemeral Web
We often take the permanence of our online data for granted. But as recent events have shown, this is a dangerous assumption. Archiving can help you regain control of your data and ensure that you have a copy that's safe from the whims of the digital world.
On ActivityPub
I'm excited about ActivityPub. I see its potential to shake up the social web, which has long been a playground dominated by tech giants. Meta has promised to hook up Threads into ActivityPub, but I can't help but wonder about the implications for data privacy.
The Useless Web
It's a tale as old as the web itself—a realm where practicality takes a backseat and uselessness reigns supreme. Countless websites, often dismissed as trivial or bizarre, cater to specialized niches. However, amidst the chaos and clamor, the spirit of uselessness perseveres. It seeks refuge in the hidden corners of the web, in communities that revel in the delightful absurdity.
Unplugged Productivity
Working remotely as a web developer offers incredible flexibility, but let's face it, distractions are a struggle for us all. Dave Rupert's thought-provoking piece, Bag of Distractions, got me pondering the allure of the digital realm and how it impacts our productivity as we toil away in our home offices.
Google Reader's Unseen Potential
In 2013, Google Reader was deemed unnecessary and was cast off into the void. But as users scramble to escape the clutches of algorithm-driven feeds, they’re running back to RSS.
The Future Is Disabled
Let's dig into Ashley Shew's piece on tech and accessibility from MIT Tech Review. It's all about the real deal with assistive tech and how we can shape a more inclusive future.
On Large Photo Libraries
Taking and sharing photos is a cornerstone of the iOS experience. Yet Apple has inundated us with features without ensuring the user experience is improved.
On Trans Rights
Trans people should have the same rights as anyone else. They should feel safe going about their daily lives like the rest of us. Their voice and vote should carry the same weight.
Looking Back On My Lockdown Experience
I was a remote worker before 2020. But I think I speak for most pre-COVID WFH folks when I say that the lockdown destroyed our way of life.
Data Hoarding and the Death of Collecting
It's easy to lose sight of the physical relationships we once had with the media we consume in the digital age. The ease with which we can collect and store data has altered our relationship with media and how we organize it. We can reclaim this relationship by developing better systems for organizing and prioritizing information.
Location-Based Things Reminders
Things v3.17 was released and brought a much-needed overhauled Shortcuts integration. This means you can now create your location-based reminders with the help of travel triggers.
Tools of the Trade
A Pen Addict episode discussed the importance of having the right tools for optimal productivity and simple elegance to them. Here's a list of the most important tools I use every day as a web developer.
Surfing The Old Web
I was given open access to the internet at a young age back in 1999-2002. It was the early web. A digital garden where anyone could express their creativity with a hand-crafted digital persona, often completely disconnected from their true selves. And I miss the sense of discovery more than anything. But in today's hyper-connected web, there are still a few places where you can still experience this feeling.
Back to Blogging
Blogging has been something I've struggled to do consistently for longer than a few months at a time. But as I've gotten older and my relationship with the internet has matured, I've developed a healthier relationship with the online communities I frequent. And I think I'd love to share more of my thoughts.
2022
5
Better Coffee, Better Life. Papa Juan.
I come from a long line of coffee lovers. My ancestral land in Central America has been growing delicious coffee for centuries. I, on the other hand, am stuck looking for sub-par coffee from some overpriced online vendor that claims to have _the best coffee known to mankind_ for the low price of $39.99/bag.
Rediscovering A Love for Gaming
I recently resurfaced a nostalgia for my childhood gaming days. And thought maybe I should do something about it and hunt down the stuff I used to play with when I was a kid.
Internet Access For All
A utility we take for granted every day is hardly accessible to a large portion of the country. So many of these underserved communities are taking matters into their own hands.
Spreadsheets Revolutions
I was dissatisfied with the current bookmarking solutions out there, so I decided to make a custom one instead. This started with a myriad of Airtable bases and then —for some stupid reason— I decided to roll my own hosted database.
Owning Your Data
When your data is the source of revenue, whoever has it will do anything to protect it and reassure you that it is best placed in their hands. But when it isn't at risk of being lost, it's being utilized to violate your privacy.
2021
2
2021: I forgot what happened...
After a rough year, 2021 was shaping up to be a rough one as well. And, for all intents and purposes, it was. But somehow I cannot recall much about it. Every day was more or less the same.
The WET Codebase
Early in our careers, we're exposed to several principles which are thought of as hard rules one must abide by. And while constraints can yield innovation, they shouldn't be at the cost of having a maintainable codebase.
2020
4
March Notes
Most of us are spending a lot more time at home than usual. I'm used to spending weeks indoors without seeing the light of day. Although being told I can't go out makes things far more stressful for some reason.
February Notes
So much happened in such a short amount of time. I've occupied myself with work to the point that I hardly did anything else but code this month. But, I still managed to squeeze in some interesting stuff.
January Notes
This was a solid start to the Year of Focus. I've been working hard on two things this month: optimizations to the site and cleaning up my feeds (podcast and RSS).
Year of Focus
Last year's theme was a success. This year, I want to take advantage of the extra time I carved for myself and focus on the things that matter.
2019
3
Spreadsheets Reloaded
In this second installment of Spreadsheets, I want to detail my attempt at making a database for all my lists. I don't recommend this approach; there are plenty of more user-friendly solutions to this problem. But that's no fun.
Spreadsheets
I like lists. I make them all the time to help me keep track of just about anything I need to know. After some time, these became spreadsheets. And now, it's a sizable amount of Airtables.
Year of Quality
Every year, the guys over at the Cortex podcast come up with a theme that sets an overarching idea guiding their decisions. That got me thinking of some recent media consumption changes I've made recently.
2017
1
On Procrastinating
For a lot of us, procrastinating is the norm and getting some work done is the accomplishment of the day. I have no idea how to solve that problem. And that's not what this post is about. But let's talk about it anyways.
