Vale.Rocks
Vale.Rocks
Declan Chidlow
Long-form writings spanning an assortment of topics, though oft technical in nature.
Latest Posts
Seeing a listing for a MacBook at the price of $25 AUD triggers a certain thought in the demented mind of a creature such as myself. Sure, the listing title might open with ‘FOR PARTS’ and the description might have the cursed words...
Tune into any discussion of the technologies widely referred to as ‘artificial intelligence’, and you’ll find that terminology is all over the place. Language is forever fluid and evolving, and with a field as quickly moving and with as...
This site, along with many other sites I’ve built since becoming familiar with the project in late 2024, is built with Web Origami. It has quickly become my favourite way to build static websites and work with and transform data. The...
It’s not uncommon for games to be localised, especially when moving between the Eastern and Western worlds. Of course there is the case of differing languages, but there are also many more innocuous elements that can become lost in...
The internet known within China is a very different internet to the one known by the world at large. It is censored, regulated and structured quite differently. It is controlled and managed, rather than organic and sprawling. From the...
Hu Yaobang was a pro-reform member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Joining in the 1930s, he was promoted to General Secretary of the Secretariat in 1980 and proceeded to move up the ranks. In 1981 he became the highest ranking role...
Accessibility overlays (sometimes called ‘accessibility plugins’ or ‘accessibility widgets’) are tools placed on websites that claim to improve accessibility. They usually appear as a small icon on the side or in a corner of a website’s...
When I powered on my Xbox Series S for the first time, there was no ceremony. A flat interface presenting a collection of rounded boxes arranged in grids and lists. It felt no different from Windows 11. An interface designed for general...
I have dedicated substantial amounts of time moderating communities on the internet. One of the duties I fulfil at Stoat has been to moderate content, and in doing so I’ve seen a great number of horrific things. The sort of things that...
As years have stretched on, browser user-agent styles have grown somewhat estranged from how many developers use the web platform. I am no exception to this rule and find my own needs at odds with the predefined user-agent stylesheets of...
Ratz Instagib is a fast-paced first-person shooter. As the name suggests, each hit is an instant kill. Be not disillusioned by my writing of this article, for this is not a game I am good at. In honesty, one shouldn’t even venture as far...
This is my annual pulse post, which is data heavy and contains visualisations and interactive elements. The experience of viewing it in a feed reader might be compromised, so I advise viewing it directly on the web at Vale.Rocks. As is...
I’m frustrated, and I’m angry at the state of accessibility on the web. I’m usually not much one for profanity, but I’m fucking pissed off. I’ve been worn down slowly by thing after thing – death by a thousand cuts. I feel powerless and...
As a unicyclist, I draw a certain amount of attention, and whether it be a busy sunny Saturday morning or 21:00 on a grim Monday evening, people are inclined to ask me questions. I imagine the spectacle and presumed friendliness of...
There are few greater joys in life than the creation of a strongly worded email. I have an innate love for the medium. It is an art form that sits at the intersection of literature, warfare, and therapy. Strongly worded emails are,...