Weeknotes 26:37

I am a little frustrated that it took me so long to get this one out. I wrote all the “list” content on Monday. My process for writing these notes is to start with the list because they are an easy entry point, especially on slower weeks where I don’t have as much to talk about (or don’t remember all that I did that week). I have not been maintaining the discipline of a daily log to keep track of what I work on. It is much easier to write these posts when I have those notes to remind me or spark a thought about what to write about.

September 10, 2026 at 3:06 PM View on Bluesky September 8, 2026 at 10:17 AM View on Bluesky

• “Polish Day” – Not “Polish”, as in from Poland but polish as in to refine or make better. I spent last Thursday working on finer details and making some interfaces better. Part of those small details included updating the Revive Our Hearts logo on our sites and adjusting colors on the site to match our new color scheme. I also went back and did some work on our Wonder of the Word “hub” page, which will be the jumping off point to the different offerings that we will have for women and kids in 2027 and 2028.
• Windshield fixed! – We finally got the windshield in our daughter’s car fixed. A foreign object had struck it a month ago. We tried to get it fixed before she moved to college. We also tried to get it fixed in her new city before we came home but couldn’t. We picked up the car last weekend. The glass company put in another windshield (second replacement) and still could not get the safety cameras to calibrate. They came back the next day with a factory replacement and installed it. On Thursday, my wife took it to a Honda dealer and they were able to calibrate it. We delivered the car back to our daughter on Saturday.
• Roadtrip – We drove back to eastern Tennessee on Saturday to deliver the car. It was good to spend more time with our daughter. We picked up some groceries for her on the way into town and then we took her out to lunch near campus. And then we drove back to Chattanooga (about 3 1/2 hour trip + stops at Buc-ee’s both ways).
• Prototype (Just build websites…or small components) – I started playing around with a prototype for a new feature that the agency I freelance for wants to add to their site. The graphic includes several “pie” shaped pieces. I started looking into conic gradients and how to animate them. I built something very basic just to reproduce the different pieces and just rotated the whole thing. Trying to get some more ideas on how to animate it. Building a prototype was a great place to start.

Around the workshop

These are the main projects that I am focused on these days:

• Wonder of the Word templates – I am creating several templates for our next phase of studying through the Bible. We will be launching a preview in October.
• Study through the Bible email template – I am working on a HTML email template for seven different languages that will be sent out daily. I am working in MJML (still using Joe) within our codebase.
• Updating logo and colors on Revive Our Hearts sites – As I mentioned above, I started working on updating the logo and colors on the main Revive Our Hearts (English) site. The designer sent me files for the international versions on Friday. I finished up most of the work on the English site and moved onto the international sites this week. We will be launching the refreshed site on October 1. Down the road, we are planning to update the typography on the site, which I am very excited about.

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Articles I read

• Netflix’s “Little House on the Prairie” (Tim Challies)
• That’s Swell (Joe Crawford)
• By No Means Pardon the Guilty (Missy Roepnack)
• Why America Now Worships Its Cold-Blooded Killers (Daniel Darling)
• Animating CSS Grid Layouts with CSS Anchor Positioning (Bramus) – This is interesting. I don’t like that it involves adding another div but it is a nice trade-off for being able to animate and transition the grid cell content.
• Who’s that gull? (Joe Crawford)
• The Bulldozing of an Interface (Jim Nielsen)
• Using and Styling the Dialog Element (Geoff Graham, CSS Tricks)
• Something Nobody Told You About The Image Element (It Can Overflow!) (Temani Afif, Master.dev Blog)
• WordPress PHP-Only Block Registration (Fränk Klein, CSS-Tricks) – I don’t think I would ever used this based on the restrictions. I was surprised that WordPress would provide a PHP solution given that they had gone all-in on React.
• How to Ask for (& Make the Most of) an Informational Interview (Jenny Foss, LinkedIn) – Good advice if you are considering moving into a different field.
• You Know You’re in the Wrong Job. Now What? (Jenny Foss, LinkedIn)
• What It’s Like to Leave the Church You Planted (Darryl Dash)
• The Quiet Crisis of Prayerless Orthodoxy (Alistair Chalmers)
• Generosity as Witness (Randy Alcorn)
• Good News; Bad News (Joe Crawford) – Joe lost two fins bodysurfing. And found out he is not allergic to bee stings.
• Officially: fins lost (Joe Crawford)
• How Scammers Are Targeting Christian Authors (Tim Challies)
• The Crucifixion of Patrick Clancy (Bethel McGrew, Further Up)
• I Wasn’t Outside of God’s Will. I Was Tired. (Staci Eastin)
• A Refreshing Future (Van Shea Sedita)
• The Device Posture API (Geoff Graham)
• Why Adult Children Are Cutting Off Their Parents (Noelle Mering, The Gospel Coalition)
• Don’t Let Anyone Take Away Your Big Box of Cables (Jim Nielsen)
• The asteroid currently hitting frontend web development (Nolan Lawson)
• Remember the Sabbath: Four Reminders for Achievement Addicts (Kelly Needham, Revive Our Hearts)
• Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on ‘Leave of Absence’ (Samantha Cole, 404 Media)
• An Ode to Links (Jim Nielsen)
• I’m done with this podcast! (UX request) (Chris Coyier) – Chris has a request of Overcast CarPlay app; to be able to clear out podcasts that he only listens to part of but is not interested in listening to more.

Comment I made on Chris’ post:

This is one of the features I like about Netflix. You can remove things from your “currently” watching list. Disney Plus does not have this functionality and so movies that I watched but didn’t go through all the end credits so on that list. Drives me crazy.

I can see how that is even more important when listening to podcasts because you don’t always want to listen to the whole episode (unless it is Shop Talk 🙂 ).

• The Index: Issue #197 (Piccalilli) – I saved the link about how record players work.
• Gwen; AI; Fins (Joe Crawford)
• A Good Lie (Jeffrey Zeldman)
• A Catechism on Technology (Darryl Dash) – I appreciated these spiritual thoughts on technology.

What I watched

• Code for the People (YouTube) – A documentary short about the Open Web made by Automattic. Later in the week, I learned that Matt Mullenweg has been put on a leave of absence. Matt created a lot of drama in the past few years in his battles with WP Engine.
• Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy (Network TV)
• Antiques Roadshow (Samsung TV Plus)
• KU-MU football game (FOX) – I turned it off in the third quarter when Mizzou pulled ahead.

Books I am reading

• The Discipline of Grace (Jerry Bridges) 
• Enjoying Jesus (Tim Chester)
• Desiring God (John Piper)

What I played

MLB The Show 23 (Orioles) – I went 3-2 in games played this week.