Vale.Rocks
Declan Chidlow
Long-form writings spanning an assortment of topics, though oft technical in nature.
July 2026
August 2026
September 2026
Top Words
- browsers
- site
- design
- accessibility
- examining
- html
- reality
- china
- twenty
- under
All posts (80)
A reflective piece exploring the sensory experiences and unique perspective gained while navigating the liminal spaces between destinations presented by airports and planes.
A rant about behaviour in the open-source software community focussing on user entitlement at the expense of developer wellbeing.
An in-depth analysis of Aaron Carter's 2000 release That's How I Beat Shaq. Including a breakdown of the legendary basketball showdown and cultural impact of this teen pop masterpiece featuring Shaquille O'Neal.
Why developers should create custom tools for repetitive tasks and one-off needs, with discussion of how LLMs can accelerate tool development, the learning benefits of building utilities, and how personal tools become valuable assets in your workflow and beyond.
We're losing vital AI history as properitary, hosted models like the original ChatGPT are retired and become completely inaccessible. This essay examines the rapid disappearance of proprietary AI systems, why preservation matters for research and accountability, and the challenges in archiving these technological...
Discussion of why respecting user preferences is satisfying, covering how respecting user autonomy, embracing diversity, solving dual-nature problems, practicing quality craftsmanship, and seeing visible impact creates fulfilling work beyond mere functionality.
A collection of strong opinions on URL design and structure covering topics including use of capitalisation, use of IDs, spaces, hyphens instead of underscores, trailing slashes, hierarchy, and other gripes and particulars I hold.
AI language models are shaping technology adoption in software development through training data limitations and system prompt biases. This analysis examines how AI assistants' preferences for established frameworks like React and Tailwind CSS may be creating barriers for newer technologies, supported by testing...
A guide wrapper about how to bring old Kindles, such as the Kindle Keyboard, as well as the Kindle 4, and Kindle 5 up to speed a bit to be usable in the modern era. Covering screensaver hacks, improved font handling, and more comprehensive customisablity with KOReader.
A collection of my favourite words (as defined by their extreme specificity, enjoyment to say, and overall zaniness) presented with definitions and in some cases their etymologies and my justification for inclusion.
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