← Feed

Posts

• View post

  One of my favorite things is when someone becomes obsessed with a craft, no matter how trivial, and makes it their Thing™. This guy was one of those people. https://blakewatson.com/journal/polyhedral-dice-showmanship-and-loss/

• View post

  The absolute worst use of AI imagery I've seen is restaurants using it for pictures of their food. Show me a real picture of your food, or don't show anything, please.

• View post

  I wrote this little web book in 2024 because I wanted to express the simplicity of HTML and show how easy it is for anyone to get started by making their own personal website. As of today, HTML for People is available in three languages! English: https://htmlforpeople.com/ Español: https://victorhck.gitlab.io/htmlparapersonas/ Português: https://htmlepessoas.com/ Many thanks to @victorhck@mastodon.social and @pablo@murad.social for their work translating and hosting the other versions!

• View post

  @neatnik@social.lol the problem this has caused is that every time someone mentions they're releasing an app, I wonder if it's just another vibe-coded app (of course I'm saying this as someone who vibe-coded an app once haha but you know). Somewhat related, an annoying side effect of the vibe-coded world we live in is that apps are asking to update like every day. I need to try to take stock and see which things I can drop. I would love to be able to drop VS Code, but that's one...

• View post

  Really enjoyed this guide by @neatnik@social.lol about making a website on the cheap where you are 100% in control. https://blakewatson.com/links/2026-08-23-hardcore-indieweb-run-your-own-website/

• View post

  RE: https://social.lol/@bw/116909023662989501 SLAP stack blog post in progress...

• View post

  Anyone have a recommended CMS that works with static site generators? I know Build Awesome is coming and I know a little about CloudCannon and Contentful. Anything else? For my personal sites, I just use markdown files, but if I were setting up a website for a business, I'm curious what my options are.

• View post

  I appreciate more and more that my otherwise incredibly dumb self in 2005 decided to get a domain name and start hosting a personal website. Every time a platform rises and falls, this becomes a better decision. If you are on the fence about getting a domain name and creating a personal website, just do it! If you think for some reason that it's too late, it's not. I always think about what @chriscoyier@front-end.social said about starting the CSS-Tricks blog back in the day. I once ha...

• View post

  I blogged about the SLAP stack (SQLite, Linux, Apache, PHP) and about my first time setting up a VPS. https://blakewatson.com/journal/the-slap-stack-is-the-last-server-stack-youll-ever-need/

• View post

  The wait is over. HTML for People is OUT NOW! I feel strongly that anyone should be able to make a website with HTML if they want. This web book will teach you how to do just that. It doesn’t require any previous experience making websites or coding. I will cover everything you need to know to get started in an approachable and friendly way. And it’s free for all. 🚀 https://htmlforpeople.com

• View post

  If you are skilled with Python and Go and want to work on projects for NASA, we've got some openings at MRI. https://mricompany.applicantpro.com/jobs/4055316 Check the full list of openings for security and cloud operations. #FediHire #Jobs

• View post

  I know someone who is interested in making apps. Right now, she only has experience with a service that essentially uses AI to build an app for you. She's planning on finishing college, but she's looking for resources right now to help her go beyond this vibe-apping. She has an interest in UI, how apps work, and seems to have a good eye for when they are nice and smooth vs janky. She's not sure at the moment if she's interested more in code or design or project m...

• View post

  I switched over to Numbers Creator Studio. It wrecked the alignment of a bunch of my tables in a file I've been using for years. I tried to fix it, but I finally got frustrated and moved it over to a Google Sheet. SAD! I would love to just manage it as a CSV file, but I have a few niceties baked in that require a real spreadsheet app.

• View post

  Sometime within the last couple of years or so, I became totally burnt out (heh) on cool colors. I've started using color schemes and themes (in different apps that support them) that employ warm, earthy colors instead. I recently found this one and one of the things I like about its theme for VS Codeht variant does as well, ensuring that all text meets WCAG AAA contrast standards. It's rare to find a good light theme with solid contrast. Even more so to find a good one paired...

• View post

  Showing all opened windows on macOS will always be "Exposé" to me.

• View post

  I gave a talk at MagnoliaConf in Jackson, MS today about how I am sick of frontend build steps (and what to do instead). I'm probably going to turn it into a three-part blog series. But for now I do have my talk in text form. https://blakewatson.com/magnolia2025

• View post

  When I wrote HTML for People, I envisioned non-tech people learning it because knowing HTML is a generally useful skill in information work. But AI kinda ruins that. Fewer non-tech people want to learn HTML. But it seems to have found a niche audience among people who still want to learn HTML despite having access to AI. That makes me feel better about it. I’m glad I wrote it when I did because I’m not sure I could have stayed motivated to write it in 2026 with the proliferation of AI options...

• View post

  You face an undead wizard? I feel bad for you, son. I got 99 problems but a lich ain't one.