Vale

Front-end developer, designer, writer, and avid user of the superpowered information superhighway. ✧ https://vale.rocks ✧ https://fedi.vale.rocks/vale

1428 followers365 following65 stories

Longform Stories

Overview of Digital Accessibility Technologies

A high-level compilation of various digital accessibility technologies and systems used by people with disabilities to facilitate computer use. Covering both output and input methods, from widely know…

3d ago·1 min read·45 words

The Internet Is Going To Change Everything

A naïve dreaming of a web of the future from the past of another present. Ideation of an internet that could have been. One which brings power to the people, thwarts exploitative capitalism, and eleva…

May 25·1 min read·50 words

There Isn't A Microchip Under Your Skin Tracking You

Debunking the idea of subdermal implants containing trackers that phone home and maintain a constant log of your location, as seen in popular media. Exposing flaws in the idea from perspectives of tec…

May 22·1 min read·45 words

Lessons From Tech Support

Details and knowledge pertaining to providing tech support for people on a professional basis. Various tips and tricks, as well as advice on effectively communicating with clients to effectively provi…

May 19·1 min read·49 words

The $25 MacBook Pro

Buying a second-hand 2020 MacBook Pro for twenty-five dollars, upgrading from Catalina to Sequoia, and identifying the problems with the laptop's non-functional screen and Touch Bar. Diagnosing and tr…

May 7·1 min read·45 words

AI Terminology is Poorly Defined and Oft Misused

Words and terms used when describing artificial intelligence are often misused, inaccurate, or generalised to the point of losing all meaning. How terms like 'LLM', 'Agent', and 'AGI' have lost meanin…

Apr 28·1 min read·63 words

It's All Just Trees With Web Origami

Thoughts on the wonderful Web Origami project, which can be used as a static site generator but is also capable of very much more. It can be used in the shell to handle all sorts of data transformatio…

Apr 17·1 min read·56 words

The Regulated Reality of China's Gaming Industry

China's extremely developed and ginormous gaming industry and how it has been shaped by regulations and restrictions to become a growing international powerhouse. Covering restrictions, alternate Chin…

Apr 16·1 min read·44 words

China’s Parallel Web Behind the Wall

The unique web and internet of China, largely cut off from the rest of the world by the Great Firewall, yet not completely isolated. The climate and history that shaped the censorship and regulations …

Apr 14·1 min read·74 words

Beyond the Square and Under the Rug

The Tiananmen Square protests and massacre that occurred on June 4th, 1989, with emphasis on the context surrounding the event and the Chinese government's aggressive censorship. Also clearing of misc…

Apr 13·1 min read·40 words

Stay Away From Accessibility Overlays

Accessibility overlays are poor solutions to accessibility issues and in the majority of cases, inflict more problems than they solve. They don't provide legal protection and overall harm the usabilit…

Apr 3·1 min read·56 words

The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

Coverage of the steady erosion of the identity and character of game console interfaces, and a celebration of the excellent original Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, PS Vita, GameCub…

Mar 23·1 min read·48 words

Design Considerations for Moderation Tooling

Overview of thoughful and protective design of tooling for moderating user-generated content, placing emphasis on minimising the psychological effects of exposure to heinous content, while balancing e…

Feb 26·1 min read·51 words

My Opinionated CSS Reset

A CSS reset for modern web development to provide a consistent and high-quality base for projects. Low-specificity and very opinionated to provide a strong foundation allowing seamless use in projects…

Jan 22·1 min read·39 words

Experiencing Zen in the Ratz Instagib Meat Grinder

A love letter to Ratz Instagib, a breakneck, fast-jazz, neon-laser, and instant-death first-person shooter played entirely on instinct. Discussion of the feeling of playing, the community, the style, …

Jan 13·1 min read·49 words

You Can't Opt-Out of Accessibility

A rant of frustration about accessibility being a undervalued yet critically important part of building digital experiences. Complaining about the industry's apathy and the true human cost of neglecti…

Dec 18·1 min read·35 words

Frequently Asked Unicycling Questions

Answers to questions frequently asked of me as unicyclist, including whether it is dangerous, the various parts, how hard a unicycle is to ride and learn, and assorted answers to many other questions.

Dec 2·1 min read·37 words

Strongly Worded Emails

Discussion of the true wonders of strongly worded emails. The ever-grand communication medium that is forever effective and most certainly not flawed or a complete waste of time in any way, shape, or …

Nov 28·1 min read·37 words

On Writing for Publications

Notes on experiences and takeaways from writing professionally for a range of publications. Notes on pitching articles, writing outlines, collaborating effectively, taking feedback, ensuring good work…

Nov 24·1 min read·35 words

Nootropical Notes

Personal notes on assorted nootropics I've tried and used, including stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine. Anecdotal experiences, musings, and reflections on optimising cognitive performance.

Oct 17·1 min read·27 words

Switching to Colemak-DH

Details of my choice and experience switching to the Colemak-DH keyboard layout from QWERTY for the purposes of speed and improved ergonomics.

Oct 11·1 min read·25 words

Identifying AI Content Is A Fool's Errand

AI-generated content is commonplace and largely indistinguishable from content created via other means, such that trying to identify or detect it is largely futile and impossible to do on the whole.

Sep 18·1 min read·38 words

Tea Reviews

Reviews and thoughts on various teas I've tried and formed opinions on. Covering assorted black teas, green teas, herbal teas, and masala chais.

Sep 12·1 min read·25 words

Biological Donation

Discussing the donation of material produced by one's body, such as blood and plasma, and my failed attempts at donating due to elevated heart rate.

Aug 18·1 min read·27 words

Winter Rhapsody

Impassioned discussion of winter and rainy days. The joys of 'bad' weather and bliss of stormy periods. Waxing lyrical on being snugged up with nature takes course around oneself.

Aug 1·1 min read·31 words

Allegedly I Have The Mark of the Beast

An analysis of the biblical concept of the mark of the beast, how it relates to biohacking implants, and a debunking of the notion that I have been marked by the beast as discussed in the Book of Reve…

Jul 27·1 min read·47 words

Wishes Upon My Demise

Publicly available documentation of what I'd like to occur in the event of my death. Includes information about my wishes for voluntary assisted dying.

Jul 19·1 min read·28 words

How I Configure Neovim

A full breakdown of my Neovim configuration, including documentation of all my base settings, plugins, and keybinds, as well as why I've configured them as such.

Jul 12·1 min read·30 words

Advising Reasonable AI Criticism

A loose analysis of the unproductive criticism surrounding artificial intelligence from both pro and anti camps, with advocations for more nuanced, constructive engagement and how that can be achieved…

May 29·1 min read·46 words

Creativity Came to Pass

A story where human creativity and art disappear as a result of artificial intelligence usage and prevalence. Written from the perspective of someone in the future.

May 7·1 min read·30 words

How I'm Using AI

An overview of my personal usage of Large Language Models (LLMs) and other generative AI. Tracking my experiences with AI tools, specific models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc), applying them practical…

May 2·1 min read·51 words

My Writing Style and Mannerisms

A look at the stylistic fingerprints marking up my writing. Covering and vaguely justifying my spellings, use of punctuation, sentence structure, and other prosal crimes.

May 1·1 min read·30 words

Why Video Isn't My Publishing Preference

Why I prefer not to publish video, including practical, technical, and personal reasons I find text a more maintainable, accessible, and effective medium for my online content.

Apr 30·1 min read·33 words

Why I Write

Unpacking my compulsion and will to write, including its benefits in forming thought, letting me express myself, hone in a craft, and publish accessible content.

Apr 29·1 min read·28 words

The Analytics of This Site

A look at website traffic to Vale.Rocks and a general analysis of the analytics. Particularly looking at popular referrers and the variance from general web analytics.

Apr 25·1 min read·31 words

Airports and Aeroplanes

A reflective piece exploring the sensory experiences and unique perspective gained while navigating the liminal spaces between destinations presented by airports and planes.

Apr 18·1 min read·26 words

Open-Source is Just That

A rant about behaviour in the open-source software community focussing on user entitlement at the expense of developer wellbeing.

Apr 4·1 min read·23 words

An Analysis of That's How I Beat Shaq

An in-depth analysis of Aaron Carter's 2000 release That's How I Beat Shaq. Including a breakdown of the legendary basketball showdown and cultural impact of this teen pop masterpiece featuring Shaqui…

Apr 1·1 min read·40 words

Build, Use, and Improve Tools

Why developers should create custom tools for repetitive tasks and one-off needs, with discussion of how LLMs can accelerate tool development, the learning benefits of building utilities, and how pers…

Mar 21·1 min read·44 words

AI Model History is Being Lost

We're losing vital AI history as properitary, hosted models like the original ChatGPT are retired and become completely inaccessible. This essay examines the rapid disappearance of proprietary AI syst…

Mar 16·1 min read·70 words

Respecting User Preference

Discussion of why respecting user preferences is satisfying, covering how respecting user autonomy, embracing diversity, solving dual-nature problems, practicing quality craftsmanship, and seeing visi…

Mar 7·1 min read·34 words

Strong Opinions on URL Design

A collection of strong opinions on URL design and structure covering topics including use of capitalisation, use of IDs, spaces, hyphens instead of underscores, trailing slashes, hierarchy, and other …

Feb 24·1 min read·39 words

AI is Stifling Tech Adoption

AI language models are shaping technology adoption in software development through training data limitations and system prompt biases. This analysis examines how AI assistants' preferences for establi…

Feb 13·1 min read·76 words

Improving Early Kindles

A guide wrapper about how to bring old Kindles, such as the Kindle Keyboard, as well as the Kindle 4, and Kindle 5 up to speed a bit to be usable in the modern era. Covering screensaver hacks, improve…

Jan 26·1 min read·50 words

An Inventory of Lexical Loves

A collection of my favourite words (as defined by their extreme specificity, enjoyment to say, and overall zaniness) presented with definitions and in some cases their etymologies and my justification…

Jan 24·1 min read·37 words

The Flow State

A description and look at the productive trance that is the flow state (AKA zen state). An attempt at capturing in words the essence of complete cognitive immersion and the enthralling rush it brings.

Jan 21·1 min read·37 words

My Experience Biohacking

My experience getting an xG3 bio-magnet implanted in my hand. Covering the implantation, healing, and my newfound abilities.

Jan 6·1 min read·21 words

The Implementation of This Site

A breakdown and overview of the implementation of Vale.Rocks, how it used to be built, how it's built now, and its associated infrastructure.

Dec 12·1 min read·28 words

Media Review Reasoning

A breakdown of the reasoning behind my reviews with particular emphasis on the five-point and binary rating systems and why I dislike them yet go along anyway.

Dec 10·1 min read·30 words

Lorem Ipsum

A page for testing and trialing formatting, features, and typography by seeing how they interact in complex arrangements to catch edge cases at scale.

Nov 25·1 min read·26 words

Building Sites With iFrames

A look at putting iframes to use for seamlessly displaying content and implementing micro-frontends.

Oct 8·1 min read·18 words

Technology I Use

Details of the tools, software, and hardware powering my workflow. Information on my setup, development environment, self-hosting, and multimedia management. Collates most of what I use on my laptop, …

Aug 5·1 min read·35 words

I Got A Flipper Zero

My review of the Flipper Zero and the things I've done with it. Encompassing everything from the initial purchase to setup and usage, as well as the community and some cool projects.

Jun 14·1 min read·37 words

JPEG XL and Google's War Against It

Starting with an overview of existing image formats, including JPEG, PNG, and GIF, a look into the very promising JPEG XL and why it hasn't seen the adoption it deserves as an innovative new file form…

May 1·1 min read·47 words

My Code Formatting Guidelines

Code formatting, how I go about it using Prettier, and why I choose to do it the way I do. Covering indentation, string formatting, my take on the classic tabs vs spaces debate, and much more.

Apr 18·1 min read·40 words

Minecraft, Nostalgia, and Growing Up

A look back on Minecraft, its editions, its culture, and how it shaped me as a person as I transition into adulthood.

Apr 2·1 min read·27 words

Cybersecurity Superstition

A look into some cybersecurity myths and misinformation. Explore the best practices regarding passwords, multifactor authentication, social engineering tactics, antiviruses, and much more.

Feb 28·1 min read·25 words

I Hate My Nokia

My review of my Nokia G22. A phone touted as being easily repairable that doesn't quite live up to the standards it sets for itself.

Feb 3·1 min read·29 words

Everything is Chrome

My look into the overaching dominance of Google Chrome and it's overwhelmingly negative impact on the web as we know it.

Dec 11·1 min read·24 words

A Year With The Framework Laptop 13

My review of the Framework Laptop 13. I cover the assembly, setup, value, build, support, community, and much more.

Dec 1·1 min read·26 words

Prematurely Pulling The Plug On 3G

Critical thoughts on the intention of Australian telcos to sunset the 3G network and the major repurcussions on coverage, safety, and much more that will come with it.

Nov 26·1 min read·34 words

"Halo: My Thoughts"

Explore my journey through the Halo series, from the iconic Combat Evolved to the latest release, Infinite. Discover my thoughts, experiences, and insights into each game's virtues.

Aug 27·1 min read·30 words

The Ultimate LibreOffice Setup

My comprehensive tutorial aimed at optimizing LibreOffice to match the functionality of Microsoft Office. Elevate your document editing experience with tips, tools, and enhancements for seamless and e…

Jun 16·1 min read·33 words

Connecting to Australian Public School Internet

The Education Department of Australia does some silly stuff with their network quite frequently. This tutorial shows you how to get up and running in no time at all.

Oct 12·1 min read·35 words

The Design of This Site

A breakdown and overview of the design choices of Vale.Rocks, as well as its influences and brief touchings on the site's philosophy.

Sep 12·1 min read·27 words