Another Rodeo

We’ve got to make the damn websites work
Is it the most transformative thing we can do on the web in 2024?
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 16 April 2024
On values
What we care about costs us.
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 8 April 2024
About this site
We're doing it live! Whatever this site becomes, we're gonna build it out in the open so everybody can see all the half-baked ideas and dead ends.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 7 April 2024
The handcycle
An interesting journey into making bicycling more accessible.
Tagged: Bikes.
Last rodeo: 28 March 2024
11ty Linkrolls
How to build an old-fashioned linkroll for the 11ty static site generator.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 13 March 2024
AI is boring and stupid and maybe that's OK
Sometimes boring and stupid is still really useful.
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 11 March 2024
So you don't want to be a manager
Straight talk to a senior engineer wanting to stay on an IC track.
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 7 March 2024
Know your (documentation) audience
Why nobody likes your docs and your Single Source of Truth isn't working
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 1 March 2024
Quicksand meetings
Managers: Avoid these sinking meetings so your teams don't feel stuck.
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 19 February 2024
The Five Conditions for (Organizational) Improvement
Understanding why organizations get stuck and won't change
Tagged: Writing.
Last rodeo: 19 February 2024
Deploying
A running list of the questions I have to remember to ask myself when deploying a new app to a new environment.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 13 February 2024
Markitup (v2)
Bringing an old favorite jQuery library into the modern era. And some musings on ChatGPT.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 8 February 2024
Not funny, Dad
The end result of a fascination with obscure government data sources and dad jokes.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 27 January 2024
Pear
Comparing text from two documents easily, with no sign-up or data sharing.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 10 January 2024
The giant list of questions to ask employers
Do you get sytmied when you're asked if you have any questions in an inteview? Have we got a list for you.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 7 January 2024
The Luxus folding bike restoration
For some inexplicable reason, I wanted a vintage folding bike.
Tagged: Bikes.
Last rodeo: 16 September 2023
Maturity Model Generator
Need a maturity model? Just enjoy a silly joke? Either way, we've got you covered.
Tagged: Web Things.
Last rodeo: 8 August 2023
The electric Schwinn
My e-bike conversion on a 50-year-old Schwinn.
Tagged: Bikes.
Last rodeo: 2 March 2023
Making wine cork handlebar plugs
Want something different for your handlebars? How about a wine cork bar end? They're easy to make.
Tagged: .
Last rodeo: 22 February 2023
Peugeot mixte restoration
Parlez-vous français?
Tagged: Bikes.
Last rodeo: 23 July 2021
Making a smart vintage camper
My attempt to bring modern tech to a very old camper.
Tagged: The Camper.
Last rodeo: 7 May 2021
The bedraggled Raleigh
A bound-for-the-dumpster Raleigh Sports gets a new lease on life.
Tagged: Bikes.
Last rodeo: 23 August 2020
1971 Eco fiberglass camper restoration
Trying to put an egg (camper) back together again.
Tagged: The Camper.
Last rodeo: 7 January 2020

Currently enjoying

Permission, forgiveness and workplace adulting — Audree Fletcher

The amazing Grace Hopper once said “it’s better to get forgiveness than permission”.

And I’ve seen plenty of leaders try to cultivate this philosophy among their teams - often feeling frustrated and wanting them to just crack on with what needs to be done instead of seeking permission and waiting for approval. And I feel it’s an admirable ambition in big bureaucracies with traditions of defensive permission-seeking (aka ass-covering).
Using a data journey map to improve your DevEx practice

The good folks at Nava with some practical tips for improving DevEx practice with a data-focused journey map.
Authenticated Attributes: An Alternative to Deepfake Detection
An interesting approach to establishing the source and history of digital media.
Models All The Way Down
A great look at "seeing like an AI model" that touches on a11y, SEO and many other topics.
The Market for Lemons - Infrequently Noted

New web services are being built to a self-defeatingly low UX and performance standard, and existing experiences are now pervasively re-developed on unspeakably slow, JS-taxed stacks. At a business level, this is a disaster, raising the question: why are new teams buying into stacks that have failed so often before?
The one about the web developer job market – Baldur Bjarnason
I truly hope it's not this bad but have little evidence to show otherwise.

We have the worst job environment for tech in over two decades and that’s with the “AI” bubble in full force. If that bubble pops hard before the job market recovers, the repercussions to the tech industry will likely eclipse the dot-com crash.
A Dao of Web Design – A List Apart
From a long, long time ago, and still relevant...

Web designers often bemoan the malleable nature of the web, which seems to defy our efforts at strict control over layout and typography. But maybe the problem is not the web. Maybe the problem is us.
Ways to make AI a force multiplier for workers with disabilities

Not many organizations have realized the potential of AI to support DEI initiatives and empower workers with disabilities.
AI and the Future of Government: Unexpected Effects and Critical Challenges

Based on observable facts, this policy paper explores some of the less- acknowledged yet critically important ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) may affect the public sector and its role.
Org. chart chasms cause custom software project failures. – Waldo Jaquith

Custom software projects fail at an extremely high rate in government, and that’s because of two core problems: the decision makers who set contractual requirements are far removed from users, and those decision makers are far removed from the software development team. These are really the same problem...
sepia() - CSS: Cascading Style Sheets | MDN
I am utterly amazed at what's built in to CSS today. We were cave-dwellers discovering fire. This is the industrial revolution.
The Abilene Paradox
When everyone knows they don't want to do something, but they collectively all agree to do it anyway.
Excuse me but why are you eating so many frogs

We've got the wrong theory about how minds work and it's ruining our lives... Nobody’s asking the obvious question: Dude, why are you eating frogs??
Most HR Data Is Bad Data

Managers are terrible at rating people’s performance.

(Their words, not mine. But I can't say I disagree)
Agile software promises efficiency. It requires a cultural shift to get right

The premise behind the Agile Manifesto is that developers, the users they serve, and business stakeholders all benefit by working together. But too often, organizations are faking true change by plastering a new label on older software development practices.
18F guide to consulting engineering
Loved this when I wrote it, still love it now.
The Blue Tape List – Rands in Repose
Some of my favorite advice for people starting a new job. Especially managers.
World War II 'Rumor Clinics' Helped America Battle Wild Gossip | History | Smithsonian Magazine

Newspapers and magazines across the United States published weekly columns debunking lurid claims that were detrimental to the war effort