Learning Log, Mar 2025
March went by in the blink of an eye, between traveling for half the month and trying to keep moving forward in spite of the constant state of crisis Americans find ourselves in.
🧶 Crafting
- Made great progress on my first Colorwork Cuff Club sock; I’m knitting the flowers from the August pattern—though with my dark green color they look more like clovers perhaps. I’ve completed the cuff, heel, and gusset on one sock and have now started working on the foot. I’m pleased that the colorwork was able to fit over my heel when I tried it on for size!
- Drew a few sketchbook pages on location in Goa, India.
🧙🏻♀️ Side quests
My husband and I traveled to India for a couple weeks to visit my in-laws. While returning to the U.S. after international travel feels a bit more trepidatious these days, everything went fine and it was really nice to spend time with family in person. I had two new experiences on this trip:
- My first domestic flight within India.
- My first time in Goa, a beach town in India with a notable Portuguese influence. Despite the fact that that influence has its roots in colonialism, the area was quite beautiful—interesting, vibrant architecture; so many mangroves on the way in; and neat animals on the beach. We saw a TON of black kites scoping out the fishermans’ catch that day. I’d never seen more than a handful of raptors in one place at a time.
Speaking of raptors, it’s amazing what you notice as your attention changes. Most of my family now lives in my college town, and on every visit I see and/or hear several hawks over the trees. I don’t remember ever noticing them during my four years of college.
🛜 On the internet
- Through LEGO Compositions, Katherine Duclos Grounds Chaos in Color
- This post is a master class in writing evocative alt text.
- Owls in Towels, via Eric
- This short comic on the human condition by Adam Ellis. Alt text: a man-presenting character is shown over 3 panels spending happy times with friends: walking with ice cream cones, playing a game together, talking to two friends at a party. In the fourth panel, he lies awake at night asking himself, “am I fundamentally unloveable?”
🔖 Reading
Product
- Enshittification as a Matter of Taste
- Five PLG tactics every sales-led company should do
- Company blogs are no longer worth the investment – interesting…
Accessibility
- Be Wary of Accessibility Guarantees from Anyone
- The European Accessibility Act for Websites and Apps
Design & development
Web
- The Future of the Internet Is Likely Smaller Communities, With a Focus on Curated Experiences
- I Like Having a Links Page
- March 2025 Web Platform Update
AI
- AI is killing some companies, yet others are thriving - let's look at the data
- ChatGPT’s New Image Generator Is Delayed for Free Users
- Poisoning Well
Personal growth
- Writing about worries eases anxiety and improves test performance
- The Imperfectionist: Three Ideas for Turbulent Times