Weeknotes 25:51

Posted 24 hours ago

Week of December 14–20

Learning

I took advantage of the slow down in work load to take advantage of some learning opportunities.

  • Web Components Demystified – I wanted to explore doing a web component for a reusable piece of code that I wanted to replicate on several different sites for the Read Through the Bible initiative in 2026. I didn’t get far into the course but also decided to look for other solutions based on timing (I didn’t think I had enough time to learn how to build a web component as a solution). Plus after working through the introduction of the course, I am not sure that a web component was the best solution.
  • JavaScript For Everyone – I had not spent time in the course over the last few weeks so I decided to go back and reread several of the lessons in the first section.
  • Brand New Layouts with CSS Subgrid – I have used subgrids several times in recent projects and was interested to read what Josh had to share. I encountered the same “gotcha” in that you have to have enough rows defined in the parent for the child to use those rows in the subgrid. My solution was a little bit different. I hope to write about it in the next few weeks.

Assumptions

I spent a little bit longer solving an issue this week because I had started with a wrong assumption. A client’s site was no longer displaying ads that were served through a plugin. The report came on the heels of me updating the WordPress software. So my assumption is that the problem was tied to that. It was a project that I was not familiar with. As I started investigating, I noticed that the plugin was out of date (several years). My first recommendation was to update the plugin. I had assumed that the WordPress update was the culprit.

I was then asked to explore a solution that would not involve having to buy a new license in order to update the plugin (and the person didn’t think the plugin being out of date was the problem). But I was still holding onto my assumption that the cause was the WordPress update. After chasing my tail for a bit, it came to mind something that there were several “ad groups” and that the client was actively using groups with an “X” in front of their names. Sure enough, the root of the problem was that the client had renamed the ad groups and the code in the templates was specifying the ad group name. Once I changed the name in the code, the ads displayed again.

It was not clear that the naming was the root of the problem. But because of my wrong assumption as to the root of the problem, I didn’t put that together until I had hit a bunch of walls trying to solve other “problems.”

There are two lessons that I draw from this experience. First, web development is hard and the path to the solutions is not always linear. Sometimes you have to go the long way about to come up with a solution. But it is also important to understand the assumptions you are making so at some point you question those assumptions, especially when it seems clear you are not heading in the right direction.

I celebrated my birthday with a free scoop of frozen custard (Turtle) on Tuesday at Culver’s and with my family (sans my son) at Texas Roadhouse on Wednesday night.

Recent projects

2025 Annual Praise Report

I enjoyed getting to translate a print report into a digital experience. I used an inline preview video solution that I have been continuing to refine throughout the Fall. I used CSS scroll-driven animations (with a fallback for browsers that don’t yet support it) for a timeline component. And I played with some different layouts to create a unique digital experience that captures the spirit of the digital report.

Read through the Bible

This is version 2 of the page. This is the hub for our Read through the Bible initiative for 2026. The template will be translated into other languages and allow each one to share common elements and have the flexibility to add specific elements for that language.

Wonder App

A landing page to promote our new app for teenage girls to get them into God’s Word each day. “Through short, engaging, video-based daily devotionals, Wonder leads girls straight into the Bible—helping them open Scripture for themselves, understand it, apply it, and love it.”

I built this using a Photoshop mockup provided by the company that developed the app. As I mentioned last week, this is the first time I had built a site from a Photoshop mockup in at least ten years. This is one of the projects that I used subgrid in several places to keep things aligned across multiple columns.

Articles I read

Caught my eye

PostHog – This site is similar to the WDC: The Web Creative Conference that I mentioned in July. They both use the metaphor of desktop computer (Mac) where you can open different windows. You can move the windows around and the windows scroll. Interesting concept.

What I watched

  • Hawkeye (Disney+) – We finished this on Sunday night.
  • Last hour of Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Everybody Loves Raymond (MeTV)
  • The Voice (NBC) – We watched both finale nights. We were pulling for Dek of Hearts (they were students at Trevecca Nazarene University where my daughter went to school and now works) and Max Chambers.
  • Percy Jacksons and the Olympians, Season 2 (Disney+)
  • Watson (Paramount+)
  • Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
  • The Grinch That Stole Christmas (Peacock)
  • Somebody Feed Phil – Mississippi Delta (Netflix)
  • Arthur Christmas (Digital)
  • Champagne Problems (Netflix) – Not a bad rom-com. Better than expected.

Books

Walking

I ended up not walking this past week. It bums me out because I want to walk regularly but am finding it a challenge to be consistent. To be fair, we went out to eat more this week, either out of necessity or a planned celebration (my birthday on Wednesday). I also had several things I had to address with a freelance relationship that I can only address at night. Put this week past me and try again next week.

What I played

  • MLB The Show 20 (Twins) – I played three games this week and am closing in on the end of the season.
  • NBA 2K25 (Nuggets) – I played one game this week and won.

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