Firehose

Oh, look. Accessibility horrors beyond comprehension from Apple. A company with so much money the human mind boggles to comprehend it.

Accessibility horrors so blatant it takes one glance to identify many of the more offensive failings.

Accessibility horrors that are so inaccessible that even the completely able struggle.

Accessibility horrors that are covered in the very first class of any UI/UX design or front-end development education.

Accessibility horrors that you have to force through because even the worst testers are screaming at you.

Do some people prefer to read content directly in their feed readers? With the exception of some news outlets, I much prefer to view content on site.

I feel that the site on which writing resides provides a large part of the content’s atmosphere.

In the same vein as Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, I propose some renamings:

  • Safari Surfer
  • Chromium Cruiser
  • Firefox Forager
  • Edge Envoy
  • Vivaldi Voyager

Sometimes I find myself thinking about the fact that Google’s Material Symbols has an icon called “Skull List”.

I’m sure that’s nothing…

A very simple skull icon next to three lines representing a list.

Video

The Size of My xG3v2 Magnet Implant

Showcase of the size of the xG3v2 bio-magnet within my hand with the help of a to-scale 3D-printed analogue.

A few days ago I wrote a message and forgot to close a parenthesis. I’ve been talking as an aside ever since, and I can’t take it anymore.

)

I’m free!

Video

Identifying Materials Using My Magnet Implant

Showing how my xG3v2 bio-magnet implant can be used to loosely identify materials based on if they stick to my hand or not.

And with a single click, I find myself transported to an ancient place. I’m a digital archaeologist, and I’ve stumbled across a long-forgotten remnant of those who came before. UI untouched for a decade.

It is two rebrands old. The palette is warped. Distorted. There are gradients. Buttons forged from a low-resolution image. I brush away a drop-shadow-lg.png to inspect an input form. Picking it up, I bring it to my face to count the pixels, only to be hit by the harsh aroma of Bootstrap 2 in the back of my throat.

I drop it to the ground, and it shatters into CSS properties. “Oh well,” I muse aloud. “It’ll be fixed on refresh. Assuming anyone ever discovers this place again.”

I do what I came to do and close the tab.

What is it with big corps trying to make “everything apps”? We’ve already got apps that do everything.

Web browsers. I’m talking about web browsers. Just invest in the web. It isn’t hard.

I’ve been CAPTCHA’d. They’re holding me at a data centre and won’t let me go until I point out all the motorcycles, but they keep telling me I’m incorrect. Please send help! The situation is dire.

Note with text distorted like a CAPTCHA reading:

A hand reaching out through a Google reCAPTCHA interface towards the viewer. The top reads:

#372C25. The silty sediment that swirls at the bottom of a river bed. Slightly washed out and absorbent of light rather than reflective. Clay muddles what is otherwise organic and grounding. Decaying leaves and mud. Undulating and dispersing as it ebbs and flows between the toes of those who wade and splash.

I left my flexbox out in the sun for too long, which caused it to dry up. Now it won’t wrap anymore.

Do I need to get a new one, or can I rehydrate it somehow?

Sometimes I read something I’ve written and think, “Who the hell writes like that?”

Then I have the horrifying revelation that it is me. I write like that. Oh dear.

‘Did you, or did you not, kill this man?’

‘Your honour, he recommended I rewrite my static site with React because, quote, “It’s better.”’

‘The killing was justified. Court dismissed.’

This just in:
People shocked as venture capital backed company with good product/service that was operated unsustainably and at a loss to draw in users enshittifies as backers scramble for return on investment.

“I’m shocked”, says one user of the product/service. “I know this exact thing has happened every other time without fail, but I thought this time would be different.”

Sending love to all the poor folks named Albert who go by Al.

None of us saw this coming, and I’m sorry most fonts don’t differentiate between ‘l’ and ‘I’.

Video

Turning Off My Laptop Using My Magnet Implant

Putting my laptop to sleep by placing my xG3v2 bio-magnet implant on the lid sensor.

Advising Reasonable AI Criticism

We're the good guys. They're the bad guys.

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 to allow more informed and respectful discussions about AI technology and its impact.

https://vale.rocks/posts/ai-criticism

Last night I crept into your house under the cover of darkness and made almost imperceivable modifications to your browser’s user-agent stylesheet.

Changes just impactful enough that you will be mildly inconvenienced. I chucked a few !importants in there as well.

My evil knows no bounds.

Video

Quick xG3v2 Bio-magnet Implant Showcase

A showcase of my bio-magnet and some of the more presentable things I can do with it.

You use * + * because it is a useful CSS snippet. I use * + * because I think it looks funny, and I like saying ‘lobotomised owl’.

We are not the same.