The frontend code I deliberately keep boring
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One feature taught me that a neat React state machine was less valuable than three plain useState hooks, and it changed how I choose boring frontend code.
The metric I stopped letting ruin my morning
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For months my HRV score decided if I was allowed to feel competent that day. A 90-day experiment changed it from a verdict into one quiet input among many.
What My Automated Archive Exposed About My Writing
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Reading a batch of AI-written posts in my Ghost archive made the patterns obvious: recycled transitions, invented habits, generic intros, fake closure, and why even a few real notes change the result.
When smooth animations make a fast site feel slow
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A site can be technically fast and still feel slow if your animations sit between intent and feedback. These are the ones I shortened, simplified, or removed after watching real users.
Where Cursor Stops and My Judgment Begins
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Cursor is very good at filling in the boring middle. Recent client work showed exactly where that stops, and where experience still has to say no.
The health dashboard I check less now
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My health dashboard went from decision tool to confirmation ritual. Once I stripped it back to a few blunt metrics, the excuses disappeared and the habits improved.
The First Ten Minutes of Testing a Design on Mobile
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I spend the first ten minutes of mobile testing without DevTools: thumb reach, dead hover states, 100vh traps, sunlight, forms, scrolling, and quiet frustration.
I Would Rather Publish 600 Useful Words
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Fixed word counts made my writing longer, not better. I stopped aiming for 1,000+ words and started cutting until it hurt. The result: denser posts, better trust.
The lineup I got wrong
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One bad Saturday lineup showed me how quickly attitude and last year’s logic can override hard numbers, and how I changed my process afterward.
The Morning a Yellow Recovery Score Overruled Me
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One yellow 43% recovery score forced me to cancel squats, move a session, and change how I schedule training. That weekend turned HRV data into a traffic-light rule set.
Why I Switched from Whoop Back to Apple Watch
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Whoop gave me beautiful recovery scores, but kept my best insights locked in its own app. Apple Watch is dumber and messier, but it fits my actual life and tools.
What Six Months of Daily Weigh-ins Can and Cannot Prove
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Separate actual trends from body-composition estimates and daily noise