Hey friends,

Nothing like a week of being iced-in to give everyone a little:

Thinking Too Hard 🤔

Last week, I wrote about the 'boulders of uncertainty' that appear in projects, slowing progress. What do you do when you find yourself staring at a boulder?

• Find a prior example or precedent. Problems have a way of reoccurring, and it may have already been solved elsewhere.
• Seek advice from team members who have overcome it themselves. They may be able to point you to a solution or a path forward.
• Lots and lots of research, then testing things one at a time.
• Fall back on what you know to be true. Sometimes you don't even need to move that boulder. Return to your core objectives and figure out if you can skip that boulder entirely.

The goal is movement. Movement doesn't always mean progress, but you won't move the boulder by standing still.

Interesting Web Bits 🍿

Web Stuff

• They're discontinuing the curl bug-bounty program because of AI-slop and bad-faith attitudes. Sounds exhausting.
• Wow, remember Vagrant? Emil Burzo reached into the past to help run Claude Code with dangerous permissions allowed.
• This Web-GPU powered chart library is pretty impressive for handling extreme amounts of data in a way that doesn't try to turn your computer into a rocket ship.
• Woah, I didn't know invoker commands API was a thing, and it already has good support!? 😲
• Vanilla CSS has come a looooong way, and it may even be all you need anymore.
• Maggie Appleton extracts some learnings from the wild experiment that is Gas Town.

Other Stuff

• In the ongoing tradition of making DOOM run on everything, Arin Sarkisian got it running on earbuds.
• Jim Nielson on a variation of the classic Jurassic Park quote: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they SHOULD". But like, with data... instead of dinosaurs....
• "There is no greater illusion than thinking the accomplishment of some goal will change your life."... "Instead, take care of your business with a quiet, inward satisfaction." 🧘
• Ralph Hammer reminds us that that interesting part of drawing (but really any creative work) is what it means to YOU.

Weird, Watch, and Play

• Just Pomeranians going on a walk...
• A delightfully overly detailed and interactive look at how airfoils work. ✈️
• Want some Megaman-esque vibes with some old-school chiptune style harmonies? Try Keiji Yamagishi's two albums: Retro-Active, pt. 1 and Retro-Active, pt. 2
• Where would the Times Square Ball be if it started dropping RIGHT NOW?!
• Remember Super Monkey Ball? No? Well you can play it in the browser now!