I've been diving into Vim lately. It all started out with DHH and his push for Linux and Lazyvim through his Omakub project.
At first I started to really consider Linux. Partly because small things annoy me in macOS. Things like not being able to remove animations when switching spaces. But also because I feel stuck in my ways. I've been using Macs for so long that I've become blind to other options out there.
But then my objective voice of reason kicked in, and I didn't see enough compelling reasons to make such a drastic change. But I did want to find out what particularly inspired me with the Omakub project, and take on some of its aspects.
Lazyvim
Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint why something hits a nerve at a given point in time. Vim has been around for ages, and I've always kind of hated it. ssh-ing into a server and trying to do basic stuff like copying one line and pasting it a different spot was a frustration. What's yanking?
Fast forward to 2024, I now see its appeal.
What before just felt foreign, now feels foreign and intriguing.
It appeals to my minimalistic approach to life.
Having less dependencies.
Less computer resources to use.
And LazyVim just made Vim more approachable.
Also, just staying in the terminal feels really nice!
David vs. Goliath
The other aspect that appealed to me from Omakub, was the "us agains the mega corporations" mindset. Whether it's Microsoft, Apple, Google or Amazon.
I keep feeling this urge. An urge to move towards more open standards.
I have a Kindle, but my next e-reader probably won't be from Amazon.
I have an iPhone, but I'm not sure the next phone will be from Apple.
I should be more flexible. Not just settle for what Apple decides to launch.
Sure, these are all potential frustrating changes in the short term. But being more vendor agnostic surely is better in the long-term.
In todays note to self, its just a basic reminder of how to check if a user is logged in or not.
Mainly because I've looked for this at least twice, and got stuck with old forum answers with pre-Kirby v.3 syntax that didn't work.
As with most stuff in Kirby it's very easy once you know how. But sometimes you (me) still get stuck in docs and google searching for small things like this.
if ($kirby->user()) {
/* Do some cool stuff*/
}
Or if you maybe just want to hide the whole page behind a login:
/* in top of the master template file */
<?php if (!$kirby->user()) redirect('/panel') ?>
I use this to be able to make new sections of a page without it being open to the public. For example when I want the client or my coworker to just quickly have a look at it before releasing it.
I also use the redirect solution for working on a WIP-project until it's ready to go live.
There's a term in running called a "kick", which refers to the ability to sprint at the end of an endurance-oriented race.
Often it leads to anger amongst other competitors, who felt it unfair that they had to lead in front the whole race only to be overtaken the last meters.
Yesterday I was watching the final of 1500m running in the Paris Olympic, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen led the race about 1400m out of the 1500m, but ended up forth. Some might say that it was a bad strategic choice, but I believe he knew there were too many other runners in the field with a better kick than himself, so he had to rely on the overall pace of the race. He needed to get rid of the kickers earlier in the race by pushing hard all the way through, to avoid the end sprint.
I'm by no means a professional runner, but from my understanding the value of having a good kick is underestimated.
Nobody cares if you lead the whole race.
The kickers always win.
Read more about Kickers on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_(running)
I have an issue with the Sanity Content Lake.
The Sanity Content Lake is where your content is stored and accessed. It runs in the cloud and is fully managed by us.
What I read: your data is ours, and we control it.
You want to keep the data in your own server you say? Not possible. Do people want it? Yes they do.
Why isn't it possible? Would only be guessing from my side, but data is quite valuable isn't it? And Sanity has investors and surely ambitional growth plans. I can only imagine data ownership being an important factor.
Call me old fashioned, but I'd rather choose where to store my data myself, however fancy and convenient the "lake" is.
Sometimes the database keeps growing and you want to figure out which table(s) are causing the issue. It happens sometimes for me on Craft CMS projects.
I then find it useful to be able to isolate the largest table(s) within the database to see where the issue is at.
I've found the simplest solution being to run the following query:
SELECT tablename AS "Tables", round(((datalength + indexlength) / 1024 / 1024), 2) "Size in MB" FROM informationschema.TABLES WHERE tableschema = "yourdbname" ORDER BY (datalength + index_length) DESC;
Credits to Steve Grant at Stackoverflow: https://craftcms.stackexchange.com/questions/40236/the-size-of-the-database-has-increased-how-to-reduce-it
Storing it here for future reference, instead of always having to google it.
Good question.
I guess a natural follow up question is: Why did you start in the first place?
My thoughts on it:
- "Writing to learn": I believe that writing is a great way to learn.
- It sorts floating thoughts somewhere. Sure, could be private notes. Could be a physical notepads. Could be voicenotes. But since I make web pages for a living, a simple blog seems like a decent fit.
- Practice. Writing is a core skill that never goes out of date, and always will be relevant. And writing a blog practices that writing-muscle.
- Learning to let go. Clicking that "publish" button might not mean much. After all, I can probably count on one hand the readers of this post. Still, it feels like a massive hurdle. And because "caring less what others think" is a personal goal of mine, writing and pressing publish aligns well with that. The uncomfort is just proof that I still care too much.
- As Steve Jobs said: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.". Having some dots written down and timestamped will make it easier for future-you to connect them.
I know, not a great list, but enough to keep me at it for now.
"Writing is easy. You only need to stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead"
– Gene Fowler
My previous post is really not that old. I wrote it 13th of September 2023 so less than half a year ago.
A fair bit has changed since then.
Kirby launched Kirby 4 in December 2023, and Craft CMS just launched Craft CMS 5 march 2024.
Sizes from original post September 2023
- Kirby CMS (v3.9): 6.1 mb
- Wordpress (v6.3.1): 54.9 mb
- Craft CMS (v4.5.4): 70.8 mb
- Statamic (v4.21.0): 86.3 mb
Numbers February 2024
- Kirby CMS (4.1.0): 6.8 mb (0.7mb increase / 11.5% increase)
- Wordpress (v6.4.3): 57 mb (2mb / 3.8% increase)
- Craft CMS (Craft CMS 4.7.2.1): 78.2 mb (7.4mb / 10.4% increase)
- Statamic (v4.48.0): 88.6 mb (2.3mb / 2.67% increase)
Numbers June 2025
- Kirby CMS (4.1.0): 7.7 mb
- Wordpress (v6.8.1): 60.7 mb
- Craft CMS (Craft CMS 5.7.11): 80.4 mb
- Statamic (v5.1.4): 97.6 mb
Who cares, right?
In the same way the average weight of web pages has steadily increased over the years, we are (arguably) not building much better sites than we did 10 years ago.
Of course I love progress, and I also understand the issue of backwards capability. Still, think of something like jQuery, with its massive user base, still managing to reduce the size of jQuery 4 compared to 3.7.1.
Or think of Snow Leopard, one of my favorite ever OS updates, managing to make a point out of simply "cleaning up" and having "0 new features". Still the release was full of refinements and little touches. And an upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard actually freed up about 7GB of hard disk space. And this was back in 2009! Thats my favorite type of release.
I have many a time added node_modules and the likes to my git repositories.
Tired of always googling it, I noted down this solution to cleaning up after.
- make .gitignore file (or update the one you have)
- add node_modules/ or what you want to get rid of line to the .gitignore file
- Run the following lines:
git rm -r --cached .
git add .
git commit -m "remove gitignore files"
git push
I've long been fascinated by the notecard systems of people like Ryan Holiday and Billy Oppenheimer, and no less fascinated by the quality of content they consistently share.
My current system for collecting nuggets and wisdom I pick up in everyday life is a mess. I kind of use "likes" on twitter as a way to "remember" good bits, and I use Apple Notes for writing up ideas I get. On top I heavily use bookmarks, with a bit of Mymind mixed in. And then there's this blog, which also somehow acts as a note taking device.
This week I decided to give Zettelkasten a go. Because as much as I find it cool with the hand-written direction Ryan Holiday and Billy Oppenheimer take, I don't think that's for me. The leap is too big. And I feel like I can better express my thoughts with a keyboard in front of me than with pen and paper.
Either way, I really love the software made by the Zettelkasten crew called "The Archive".
Note Taking: Nimble, Calm, Plain.txt
I know there are many options out there. Many people seem to love Obsidian for instance. But for me, The Archive is much more appealing in its simplicity.
It kind of reminds me of 37Signals, and their philosophy to making products.
“Victory belongs to the most Tenacious” — a phrase that echoes across the clay courts of Paris each spring.
Originally attributed to Napoleon and later adopted by aviation hero Roland Garros, this quote now adorns the stadium walls of the French Open. And it couldn’t be more fitting.
Alternatively "Victory belongs to the most persevering".
French Open (Also often referred to as Roland Garros), is a Grand Slam tennis tournament (Highest level tournament). Winning a Grand Slam tournament truly is an act of perseverance.
Yet as much as I admire this quote and its connection to Roland Garros, it brings up a question that continues to bother me:Why don’t women compete in best-of-five sets, just like the men?
Part of what makes this quote so fitting — “Victory belongs to the most tenacious” — is the grueling nature of the men’s format. Winning a best-of-five match demands physical endurance, mental toughness, and, yes, perseverance. Shouldn’t that same stage be set for the women?
I can’t see a good reason why it shouldn’t.
In fact, I think something is being lost here—not just for the female athletes, but for the fans too. We’re missing out on longer battles, deeper momentum swings, and the kind of legendary comebacks that only extended formats allow. Imagine how many iconic moments never had the chance to unfold simply because the match ended too soon.
Equality isn’t just about prize money or airtime. It’s also about giving every player the same opportunity to prove their resilience.
Who am I to comment on all this?
Just a web designer from Norway—and a big tennis fan.
In fact, I've even built the web page for Casper Ruud via my small design studio, Vasser. Maybe one day he’ll lift that Roland Garros trophy himself.
Other links:
More about Roland Garros at their official page: https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/page/a-trailblazer-for-aviation-and-a-war-hero-roland-garros