iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simon W @simonw.xyz · 19/02/2026

A few of years ago I started migrating away from Outlook email. In the last year or so especially I've started getting a lot of spam in my old outlook inbox, but given that Microsoft is a company with near limitless resources it's probably just some really sophisticated spam filter avoidance, right?

A series of emails with extremely dodgy looking sender names, each with a very dodgy looking pdf attachment, using non-latin characters in English phrases like "Final Warning" and "Payment RequireD".

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 07/11/2025

Spent some time fixing a #css issue which bugs me with most implementations of sticky stacking cards; Scrolling is often imprecise or jumpy, so you usually end up with cards unsatisfyingly overlapped... Unless you add a little "wiggle room": svelte.dev/playground/7...

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 29/10/2025

I followed a creative itch and learnt about SVG paths. It was hard to find the motivation today, but I'm pleased to have done *something*. Take a look :) #svelte #webdev svelte.dev/playground/a... Also shout out to @joshwcomeau.com. Their exceptional SVG articles inspired me out of the day's funk.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 30/07/2025

Inspired by a recent Posy video - I wondered what would happen if you Gaussian Splatted a selfie video. Seems that @jawset.bsky.social Postshot seems to get quite confused, tries it's best, and creates something wonderfully trippy as a result.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 11/06/2025

Solved: Use Blade::renderComponent($item) to properly render a component you instantiated yourself. Bonus: Use "withAttributes" to manage the component's attribute bag programatically.

Shows a component's blade view. Each item in the items collection is output using Blade::renderComponent($item).

Setting the navbar's items as a collection of components. The "Home" Link instance's attributes are customised by calling withAttributes to set a "btn-home" class.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 11/06/2025

Working on a menu system and I'd like to compose the it as a heirarchy of Component classes. Sadly, instantiating them yourself causes errors to be thrown on render, due to no $attributes being set. Maybe Laravel is telling me I should be handling more of this logic in the view...

An example Navbar component, the constructor sets the items property to a collection of Link and Dropdown components (Home, About, Services Dropdown, etc).

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 23/04/2025

#laravel people, do you use the Context system much? I've not found myself reaching for it since it's addition, but maybe I'm just missing a trick.

A screenshot of code taken from the laravel docs, showing how middleware can be used to add the current URL and a trace ID to the request's Context.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 14/02/2025

I improved this weird clock! It has a different colour for pm, hours and minutes move gradually, and nothing animates backwards on minute / hour changes, much nicer. That happened because css animating from 1 turn to 0 turn doesn't take the "shortest path". The solution... Only ever increase!

A hard to read clock face, as shown in the quoted post using conical gradients and masks to create 3 main segments around a donut shape, but now the colours are different to indicate am or pm.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 11/02/2025

The time is 3:27:49, as you can clearly see by this clock I just made with a few stacked conical gradients and a mask. I've always enjoyed abstract and hard to read clocks. svelte.dev/playground/3...

A clockface represented by a donut shape. There are three clear segments, where conical gradients have overlapped. The "reset point" in each gradient creates lines denoting the seconds, minutes, and hours... Though, it's unclear from the screenshot which gradient line is which.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 08/01/2025

Starting off my year learning how to type again. I've modelled my layout on my 60 key ortho's, and I'm tweaking things every day still until I can iron out the little snags from losing another row of keys. Still, enjoying the process! Beautiful little keyboard. #zsa

A messy desk with a zsa voyager split keyboard at the front, the RGB lighting is red on the left hand half and blue on the right hand half. Towards the back of the desk is a matrix layout 60 key keyboard, and to the back right a keychron keyboard.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 19/12/2024

If you've got a custom domain handle and created a bsky.social account to reserve your old one. Here's what you need to do: Delete that reserved account. Claim it on your main account by switching your handle to it. Move back over to your custom domain. That'll reserve the account.

The "Create Account" screen, trying to register for the account name I had previously used before setting up a custom domain name, shows an error message "Reserved handle". Success!

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 07/12/2024

Sure, mate! Here's some example Translatable enum traits, how they might be used, and a bit of a writeup in the readme! github.com/mister-simon... Should be of interest for any #laravel people, or generally anyone who uses a lot of PHP Enums. Enjoy!

Examples of using backed enums with the addition of trans, options, trans choice, and options choice methods. The output below displays a translated string, and a collection of translated cases. Magic!

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 30/11/2024

Reminder, make dumb joke projects too. Not everything needs to change the world. troobnsloobtoob.surge.sh

This post's text content, in a text area input on the left has been translated into the following, on the right: Roobmoobndoobr, moobkoob doobmb joobkoob proobjoobcts tooboob. Noobt oobvoobrythoobng nooboobds toob choobngoob thoob woobrld. A button below says "click to copy".

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 26/11/2024

Began prototyping some little clay frog friends to give away as wedding favours. Also, my first time experimenting with DAS air dry clay. Do you have a favourite or any suggestions? #art #clay #frogs

The squad of 7 prototype frogs from the front. They range in size and shape. One is particularly round and lacking in froglike features but we love them anyway.

The squad of 7 frogs viewed from above. They range in size, but they're all slightly haunted.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 17/11/2024

I made lil animations every day in September for #septembit #art challenge, and a svelte site to showcase them septembit24.simonw.xyz. Feels good to learn a new skill and prove to yourself you can commit to a big project and see it through.

My completed septembit template. 30 pixel art animations with a 4 colour pallete. 27 small canvases and 3 large ones. Each day had a different theme, with the overarching theme of Monster Maker (Pokémon inspired pieces).

This final large canvas pixel animation shows mountains in the distance. A valley between them in the midground. In the foreground silhouetted trees sway. A small silhouetted creature appears in the foreground and watches as a giant albino rabbit hops between the mountains off in the distance scarcely visible between the peaks.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 10/11/2024

I hope your Sunday is as relaxed and restful as these guys. #rabbits

A large silvery-black furred rabbit flopped on his side in a wooden cabinet, his head lolls over the edge of the cabinet base onto the rug.

A large silvery-black rabbit laid out, looking very relaxed, with his much smaller white albino lop-eared companion nestled up cosily between his butt and the wall.

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Simon W @simonw.xyz · 06/11/2024

Just wait until you fall down the rabbit hole of split / ergo / programmable keyboards... I'm happy with my ortho-matrix board, which has genuinely changed how I code and my mentality around work. But now I really just want a zsa voyager (an even smaller split keyb) for my next step.

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