Unbridled Thoughts: 3
Here we go for all the random documented public thoughts that span from April 16 to April 21st 2026. If you must: please enjoy. These are the final notes that I copied from my Substack profile.
04/16/2026: If I push the buttons on my microwave fast enough, I can imagine it saying “crikey!” in a high-pitched Australian robot voice.
04/16/2026: Morning friends. I just published a new article that briefly talks about the WebP image format. Also it includes a link to the batch converter I made for us.
04/16/2026: In case you are also on edge about my incoming fabric order: it has been shipped and is expected in less than a week.
04/17/2026: Gosh it is hard not to get shoved into a silo on here. Can’t I like a few themed things in a row without my feed becoming ONLY that thing?
04/18/2026: Oh my, raccoons hunting or whatever they are doing in the dark as a pack sounds intense.
04/18/2026: I have a cup of tea I’ve been refilling with water for a few days when it gets low. There’s certainly a loaves-and-fishes miracle situation going on as we’ve somehow maintained the color of the tea without re-steeping any leaves. I’m only vaguely concerned there is some mold growing in there to keep the color deep.
04/18/2026: Does anyone know of any ASL (American Sign Language) resources that aren’t clogged with ads? Trying to find a good resource is horrible on many levels.
If you don’t know of any but you have the ability to create or the rights to existing resources, please let me know! We can offer them to the world for free without needing ads to support it.
If still no, maybe you can help me find someone who knows or who wants to work in tandem on a leaderless public service project for making ASL resources more accessible and safe?
Also I’ve adapted a technique from game development and open-sourced the JavaScript code so whoever can host short (10 second) low-resolution animations as 300 KB WebP images. Remember spritesheets? Much better than gif, for me. I use this technique for storing dance animations, but I’d say it would also be a perfect format for demonstrating sign language!
04/19/2026: If you haven’t danced or marched around in a circle path on the grass yet today, now is your chance! I’d say it is a sure way to get to a certain state of meditation.
04/19/2026: Obviously all of the characters on Star Trek TNG are wonderful in different ways, but I want to take a moment to give special appreciation to Lt. Commander Data. To those who wrote him and to Brent Spiner who played him, way to go!
04/19/2026: I like my battery-powered reciprocating saw for cutting lumber. It feels like using tech to do what I can do with a hand saw, but faster. And it is very versatile. Any of the circular types are so crazy loud and cumbersome, albeit very fast.
04/20/2026: LOL no, I didn’t graduate highschool
LOL no, I don’t have a single degree
LOL no, my parents; in no way are they proud of me
LOL no, I’m not forever hurt
LOL no, I’m never for-long damaged
I’m me, just me. I’m totally complete just as me. I’m always becoming all I’ve ever dreamed I could be.
I unconditionally love me.
04/20/2026: Did you know that Star Trek TNG production team would accept “speculative material from amateurs” aka public submissions for stories for the show? Apparently the initial idea for the well-loved episode “The Offspring” from season 3 came from a waiter in New York. What an awesome policy.
04/20/2026: There are many informational resources that need to be more free, accessible, and widely replicated. We can work together to decentralize the distribution of valuable collective knowledge. Let’s make more indie websites as ad-free accessible resources, please.
04/20/2026: Do y’all web developers like using the Origin Private File System JavaScript API? Or do you prefer some other persistent storage thing?
04/20/2026: I’m writing an article about the Origin Private File System. Here’s an excerpt from my draft that introduces the OPFS API:
The Origin Private File System is a fairly simple, low-level-feeling API. It shares methods with the regular File System API. It allows us to create, read, update, and delete files and heierarchical directories. However, the OPFS does not require the permissions methods provided by the File System Access API, because the OPFS doesn't modify protected device storage (storage directly shared by the OS). Instead, the OPFS operates within the limitations of your browser's storage and doesn't require any extra permissions to use. This means that you, as a web developer, can employ it without any extra added user interface friction.
04/21/2026: It is amazing to observe how smart squirrels behave in some ways. There’s a group of squirrels and cats around here. The squirrels seem to recognize which cats are dangerous, even though some cats look similar. The squirrels will come within arm’s reach of my cat and sometimes she’ll thwap or bound towards them playfully. When the feral male cats come around, all the squirrels go into the trees and do their barking-scream alarm sounds.
04/20/2026: Almost like this except maybe barefoot on grass or soft earth. Turf marching in a circle as a happy group is mighty utopian fun! Just don’t be like Wesley who will mistakenly stomp the flowers.
04/20/2026: Does navigating Amazon make anyone else feel insane? I think the web interface is a nightmare of mostly dark UI patterns and I really wish it was designed to be usable instead of gross and slimy. I only go there when there aren’t other options but holy hell it is uncomfortable there.
04/21/2026: I wonder, how many times will you have me ask you for less video content?
04/21/2026: I love doom/stoner rock but there are so many bands that can deliver sludgy instrumental magic and then have a singer who does not do any justice.
04/21/2026: Reusing my own handwritten code and improving it over time feels really good. In contrast, my forays into using tools that promised increased productivity felt very stressful and counterproductive overall.
04/21/2026: Lordy why have popups become standard on so many people’s DIY websites? I know some are using templates and such but surely there is a way not to immediately overwhelm a large portion of visitors. Visitors are taking a risk when leaving their comfy platforms and when a link is stressful I think it makes them less likely to visit other indie websites in the future. I wish for people to be responsible.
04/21/2026: Please remember that many data and metrics are used for misinformation. Collection and measurement techniques aren’t foolproof, and even straight objective data can be sliced and framed to support or discount any point.
Here’s a simple example. If an independent website is showing hundreds of thousands of views, they may be counting the total number of page hits or HTML file downloads. Just because a website is built and measured poorly and each visitor makes someone naively think they are 100 people, does not mean each visitor is 100 different people.
There isn’t a surefire way to determine how many real unique users are on a website. People use related measurements and complicated techniques to make a wild guess, or at worst to present traffic in a way that suits them.
04/21/2026: Hello friends I’m still on the hunt for ad-free and accessible American Sign Language resources.
Please let me know if you know something about ASL resources or know someone who knows something about ASL resources.
04/21/2026: Some of the fabric arrived! I’m excited enough to post even before opening it. I bet you one indie website visit that it is the undyed cotton duck canvas.
So now you must comment with your non-platform blog or other indie website in case I have to settle up.
04/21/2026: Forcing learners to watch a lengthy ad in order to see a brief sign language demonstration is absurd. These resources should be free and accessible. Instead everything I can find on ASL seems broken, unusable, or predatory.
04/21/2026: Writing prompt: popularity as a poison.
04/21/2026: Well that was an interesting experiment! Thank you for the data, covert gambling platform. My faith in humanity has been greatly altered in less than two months. I think it would be heathiest for me to take a break and consider permanent cessation from interacting with this particular shenanigan now.
If any of you dear hearts want to reach me, I’ll be at my library.
Although the social media platform experiment is over, it doesn't mean my thoughts will stop! They continue on, exclusively here, in the next installment of this series. Keep an eye out for Unbridled Thoughts 4, coming soon.
<3 Grant