barbajoe
@barbajoe.tech
a11y focused full-stack tech lead
see my projects at https://barbajoe.tech
see my projects at https://barbajoe.tech
"Don’t review with a “how would I write it?” filter"
This is a great reminder to always work with your team, not force them into your preferences.
This is a great reminder to always work with your team, not force them into your preferences.
Mistakes I see engineers making in their code reviews
In the last two years, code review has gotten much more important. Code is now easy to generate using LLMs, but it’s still just as hard to review. Many software…
www.seangoedecke.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:10 PM
"Don’t review with a “how would I write it?” filter"
This is a great reminder to always work with your team, not force them into your preferences.
This is a great reminder to always work with your team, not force them into your preferences.
Very happy to see some research into how code reviews impact product.
The price of mandatory code reviews
Challenging the unwritten law of software engineering
newsletter.manager.dev
October 24, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Very happy to see some research into how code reviews impact product.
"Track leading indicators and publish a confidence index at each checkpoint so adjustments feel like stewardship, not backpedaling."
That puts words to a thought process I've been having.
Great article all around, but that quote stood out to me.
That puts words to a thought process I've been having.
Great article all around, but that quote stood out to me.
Leading Through Ambiguity
Create Alignment, Not Illusion
mikefisher.substack.com
September 27, 2025 at 10:27 PM
"Track leading indicators and publish a confidence index at each checkpoint so adjustments feel like stewardship, not backpedaling."
That puts words to a thought process I've been having.
Great article all around, but that quote stood out to me.
That puts words to a thought process I've been having.
Great article all around, but that quote stood out to me.
One of the reasons I like a11y work is because it forces you to be a bit clever when finding solutions that work for everyone. And there are a lot of great ways to solve these problems!
Great work by James here, looking forward to seeing his updates as he makes his solution even better!
Great work by James here, looking forward to seeing his updates as he makes his solution even better!
Developing an alt text button for images on my website | James' Coffee Blog
Mastodon shows an Alt button in the bottom right of images that have associated alt text. This button, when clicked, shows the alt text the author has written for the image.
jamesg.blog
September 15, 2025 at 12:38 PM
One of the reasons I like a11y work is because it forces you to be a bit clever when finding solutions that work for everyone. And there are a lot of great ways to solve these problems!
Great work by James here, looking forward to seeing his updates as he makes his solution even better!
Great work by James here, looking forward to seeing his updates as he makes his solution even better!
This is an absolutely brilliant discussion on masculinity in fighting. The focus is on video games (Soul Caliber mostly), but my favorite segment is on Bernard Herman (aka, Ricky the Ballerina Star), a boxer and professional wrestler. Brilliantly researched and executed!
What's up with Voldo from Soulcalibur?
YouTube video by Polygon
youtu.be
September 5, 2025 at 1:48 PM
This is an absolutely brilliant discussion on masculinity in fighting. The focus is on video games (Soul Caliber mostly), but my favorite segment is on Bernard Herman (aka, Ricky the Ballerina Star), a boxer and professional wrestler. Brilliantly researched and executed!
Jerry Lawson, the creator of the original joystick, founder of the first black gaming company, one of the first black engineers in silicon valley, designer of a groundbreaking videogame console microcontrollers, and general badass engineer.
How Did Jerry Lawson Change the Course of Video Gaming? - BrainStuff
www.iheart.com
September 4, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Jerry Lawson, the creator of the original joystick, founder of the first black gaming company, one of the first black engineers in silicon valley, designer of a groundbreaking videogame console microcontrollers, and general badass engineer.
Joe's top takeaways:
- AI tooling slows down development
- AI toolong _feels_ faster because it's fun
- "it's obvious that you should use AI for refactoring and documentation"
- AI tooling slows down development
- AI toolong _feels_ faster because it's fun
- "it's obvious that you should use AI for refactoring and documentation"
Unpacking METR’s findings: Does AI slow developers down?
Quentin Anthony unpacks why AI coding tools slow developers despite boosting perceived productivity, and how teams can improve results with task‑level fit and better digital hygiene.
getdx.com
August 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Joe's top takeaways:
- AI tooling slows down development
- AI toolong _feels_ faster because it's fun
- "it's obvious that you should use AI for refactoring and documentation"
- AI tooling slows down development
- AI toolong _feels_ faster because it's fun
- "it's obvious that you should use AI for refactoring and documentation"
Storybook's latest update (v9) has prioritized accessibility in a major way, and I'm a huge fan!
syntax.fm/show/908/sto...
storybook.js.org/blog/the-acc...
syntax.fm/show/908/sto...
storybook.js.org/blog/the-acc...
Storybook Has Evolved w/ Jeppe Reinhold - Syntax #908
syntax.fm
July 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Storybook's latest update (v9) has prioritized accessibility in a major way, and I'm a huge fan!
syntax.fm/show/908/sto...
storybook.js.org/blog/the-acc...
syntax.fm/show/908/sto...
storybook.js.org/blog/the-acc...
"Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't."
Well... that's exciting
Well... that's exciting
Thread by @METR_Evals on Thread Reader App
@METR_Evals: We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers. The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI...
threadreaderapp.com
July 11, 2025 at 10:58 PM
"Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't."
Well... that's exciting
Well... that's exciting
There are a lot of ways to pre-fetch content, lazy-load, and the like, but this 782KB package takes it a step further. Very cool!
GitHub - spaansba/ForesightJS: ForesightJS is a JavaScript library that predicts user intent by tracking the mouse. Great for prefetching without wasting resources.
ForesightJS is a JavaScript library that predicts user intent by tracking the mouse. Great for prefetching without wasting resources. - spaansba/ForesightJS
github.com
June 2, 2025 at 4:03 PM
There are a lot of ways to pre-fetch content, lazy-load, and the like, but this 782KB package takes it a step further. Very cool!
Use of prime numbers and CSS shenanigans is 🤌
My website is ugly because I made it
If my mom wanted good art on her fridge, she could’ve purchased reprints of works by Vermeer, Lichtenstein, Wyeth, etc. But she didn’t want good art – she wanted my art.
Somebody with good taste coul...
goodinternetmagazine.com
June 2, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Use of prime numbers and CSS shenanigans is 🤌
The succinctness is delightful, but even more than that, keeping the appropriate goal in mind is 🔥
"The goal is not 1,145 deployments per day. It's removing the friction that makes that pace impossible."
"The goal is not 1,145 deployments per day. It's removing the friction that makes that pace impossible."
On 1,145 pull requests per day
There is a recent video of Patrick Collison at Stripe Sessions 2025 stating that in 2024 Stripe did on average 1,145 pull requests per day. Not just creating them, but actually finishing them; "fully ...
saile.it
May 23, 2025 at 6:29 PM
The succinctness is delightful, but even more than that, keeping the appropriate goal in mind is 🔥
"The goal is not 1,145 deployments per day. It's removing the friction that makes that pace impossible."
"The goal is not 1,145 deployments per day. It's removing the friction that makes that pace impossible."
Damilola's journey to BiomeJS is a bit different than mine, but all the same I'm delighted to see more projects moving to it.
Major props to Damilola for putting together this post to make it easy for people to follow along and see how much simpler it can be to use BiomeJS.
Major props to Damilola for putting together this post to make it easy for people to follow along and see how much simpler it can be to use BiomeJS.
Migrating A JavaScript Project from Prettier and ESLint to BiomeJS | AppSignal Blog
We'll introduce the BiomeJS project, set it up in a project, and help you decide if you should migrate from Prettier or ESLint to Biome.
blog.appsignal.com
May 17, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Damilola's journey to BiomeJS is a bit different than mine, but all the same I'm delighted to see more projects moving to it.
Major props to Damilola for putting together this post to make it easy for people to follow along and see how much simpler it can be to use BiomeJS.
Major props to Damilola for putting together this post to make it easy for people to follow along and see how much simpler it can be to use BiomeJS.
This guy speaks my language! Quote:
Why This Works
Zero Willpower Required: The reminder appears without any action on your part
Why This Works
Zero Willpower Required: The reminder appears without any action on your part
How I hacked my clock to control my focus
I often get distracted.
I obviously don’t like it.
So I decided to turn my computer’s clock into a constant reminder to help me focus.
Implementation This hack requires:
Ubuntu with GNOME desktop envi...
www.paepper.com
May 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM
This guy speaks my language! Quote:
Why This Works
Zero Willpower Required: The reminder appears without any action on your part
Why This Works
Zero Willpower Required: The reminder appears without any action on your part
If this isn't the perfect opening line, I don't know what is 🤌💯
"consider this an up-to-date, best practises demo app for Offline-First with CouchDB and PouchDB"
Also, extremely happy to see a growing trend towards local-first, the art of putting user experience first is 🔥
"consider this an up-to-date, best practises demo app for Offline-First with CouchDB and PouchDB"
Also, extremely happy to see a growing trend towards local-first, the art of putting user experience first is 🔥
Neighbourhoodie - Offline-First with CouchDB and PouchDB in 2025
Neighbourhoodie Software is a software development company based in Berlin, Germany. We are experts in CouchDB, PouchDB, and Offline First.
neighbourhood.ie
May 3, 2025 at 4:54 PM
If this isn't the perfect opening line, I don't know what is 🤌💯
"consider this an up-to-date, best practises demo app for Offline-First with CouchDB and PouchDB"
Also, extremely happy to see a growing trend towards local-first, the art of putting user experience first is 🔥
"consider this an up-to-date, best practises demo app for Offline-First with CouchDB and PouchDB"
Also, extremely happy to see a growing trend towards local-first, the art of putting user experience first is 🔥
Surprised to see that Lighthouse now requires that you manually style several base elements.
But I'm for it! Every design system (even my own) has all of those built in, and the HTML spec doesn't define them anymore. So it's probably good, but still, surprising.
But I'm for it! Every design system (even my own) has all of those built in, and the HTML spec doesn't define them anymore. So it's probably good, but still, surprising.
Default styles for h1 elements are changing | MDN Blog
Browsers are starting to roll out changes in default UA styles for nested section headings. This post describes the incoming changes, how to identify if it's an issue on your websites, and hints for c...
developer.mozilla.org
April 13, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Surprised to see that Lighthouse now requires that you manually style several base elements.
But I'm for it! Every design system (even my own) has all of those built in, and the HTML spec doesn't define them anymore. So it's probably good, but still, surprising.
But I'm for it! Every design system (even my own) has all of those built in, and the HTML spec doesn't define them anymore. So it's probably good, but still, surprising.
#3 is by FAR the most annoying to me! Very happy to see these not just called out but having super simple solutions given to them.
⚡️ New Blog Post ⚡️
Hands-on tips that will help you recognize and avoid some of the most common UI gotchas with navigation menus.
To be perfectly honest, these are pretty basic mistakes, but I see them all the time.
Here's what you need to know: blog.css-weekly.com/top-5-css-na...
Hands-on tips that will help you recognize and avoid some of the most common UI gotchas with navigation menus.
To be perfectly honest, these are pretty basic mistakes, but I see them all the time.
Here's what you need to know: blog.css-weekly.com/top-5-css-na...
Top 5 CSS Navigation Menu Mistakes
In this guide, you'll learn to recognize and avoid some of the most common UI gotchas with navigation menus.
blog.css-weekly.com
April 11, 2025 at 11:38 PM
#3 is by FAR the most annoying to me! Very happy to see these not just called out but having super simple solutions given to them.
I vibe with this _hard_. Especially this:
"I have found that AI-generated code is often sloppy, unnecessarily complex, and a lot of the time, just plain wrong."
*strong* yes
AI for code generation has its place, but goodness, I see that tool misused more often than not.
"I have found that AI-generated code is often sloppy, unnecessarily complex, and a lot of the time, just plain wrong."
*strong* yes
AI for code generation has its place, but goodness, I see that tool misused more often than not.
I was very interested to read the 2024 DORA report, in particular the section about AI adoption.
I wrote up my thoughts on AI and productivity, and how whilst we feel like AI is making us more productive, the data tells a different story.
And no, I did not use AI to summarise the report data.
I wrote up my thoughts on AI and productivity, and how whilst we feel like AI is making us more productive, the data tells a different story.
And no, I did not use AI to summarise the report data.
Does AI really make you more productive?
Most developers are using AI for speed and productivity. But at what cost? Could AI be sacrificing software delivery metrics such as efficiency and stability?
toddle.dev
March 31, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I vibe with this _hard_. Especially this:
"I have found that AI-generated code is often sloppy, unnecessarily complex, and a lot of the time, just plain wrong."
*strong* yes
AI for code generation has its place, but goodness, I see that tool misused more often than not.
"I have found that AI-generated code is often sloppy, unnecessarily complex, and a lot of the time, just plain wrong."
*strong* yes
AI for code generation has its place, but goodness, I see that tool misused more often than not.
I find it extremely interesting that the people who use @kagi.com are the type of people who pin Wikipedia, MDN, StackOverflow, and GitHub in their top ten search results. These are my people! 😄
Kagi Search Stats
Better search results with no ads. Welcome to Kagi (pronounced kah-gee), a paid search engine that gives power back to the user.
kagi.com
March 31, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I find it extremely interesting that the people who use @kagi.com are the type of people who pin Wikipedia, MDN, StackOverflow, and GitHub in their top ten search results. These are my people! 😄
Reposted by barbajoe
If you’re looking for some sleepy time white noise tonight, I had an ~~idea~~ this week…
It’s a white noise video that donates all revenue to Partners in Health and you can watch it here:
youtu.be/dv2XyqC-EQ4
It’s a white noise video that donates all revenue to Partners in Health and you can watch it here:
youtu.be/dv2XyqC-EQ4
White Noise For Charity - Torc Waterfall in Ireland - Sleep, Study, Focus!!
YouTube video by vlogbrothers
youtu.be
March 30, 2025 at 2:40 AM
If you’re looking for some sleepy time white noise tonight, I had an ~~idea~~ this week…
It’s a white noise video that donates all revenue to Partners in Health and you can watch it here:
youtu.be/dv2XyqC-EQ4
It’s a white noise video that donates all revenue to Partners in Health and you can watch it here:
youtu.be/dv2XyqC-EQ4
I've been building up a repository of coding exercises in TypeScript, but I started teaching myself Go this month, and I've just added my first Go exercise to the repo!
Thanks @cassidoo.co for this week's interview practice problem!
Thanks @cassidoo.co for this week's interview practice problem!
coding-exercises/GoLang/longest-streak/solution/longest-streak.go at main · Barbacoa08/coding-exercises
Contribute to Barbacoa08/coding-exercises development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
March 27, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I've been building up a repository of coding exercises in TypeScript, but I started teaching myself Go this month, and I've just added my first Go exercise to the repo!
Thanks @cassidoo.co for this week's interview practice problem!
Thanks @cassidoo.co for this week's interview practice problem!
March 26, 2025 at 3:20 PM
TLDR: understand when you're building things to last vs building fast
These are solid points on when and why it is appropriate to be purposeful in sacrificing maintainability to build "pragmatic solutions for real users.”
But I'm not sure I trust it... at least not yet 😁
These are solid points on when and why it is appropriate to be purposeful in sacrificing maintainability to build "pragmatic solutions for real users.”
But I'm not sure I trust it... at least not yet 😁
Ugly Code and Dumb Things
Why ugly and dumb code sometimes blind sights engineers from the ingenuity behind it.
lucumr.pocoo.org
March 5, 2025 at 10:59 PM
TLDR: understand when you're building things to last vs building fast
These are solid points on when and why it is appropriate to be purposeful in sacrificing maintainability to build "pragmatic solutions for real users.”
But I'm not sure I trust it... at least not yet 😁
These are solid points on when and why it is appropriate to be purposeful in sacrificing maintainability to build "pragmatic solutions for real users.”
But I'm not sure I trust it... at least not yet 😁
Being forced to spend the last four years implementing a pure CSS Library with my team was essential to leveling up and understanding core front-end principles and utilizing them to make the best possible UX and durable DX!
All that to say, this article is excellent!
helloanselm.com/writings/kno...
All that to say, this article is excellent!
helloanselm.com/writings/kno...
Knowing CSS is mastery to Frontend Development — Anselm Hannemann
helloanselm.com
March 4, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Being forced to spend the last four years implementing a pure CSS Library with my team was essential to leveling up and understanding core front-end principles and utilizing them to make the best possible UX and durable DX!
All that to say, this article is excellent!
helloanselm.com/writings/kno...
All that to say, this article is excellent!
helloanselm.com/writings/kno...
I've felt this way about AI-enabled coding for the past two years, but it's nice to see some data to support my intuition.
I wonder what the best balance of Speed, Quality, and Learning will be as the industry moves forward; and how that changes based on your years of experience.
I wonder what the best balance of Speed, Quality, and Learning will be as the industry moves forward; and how that changes based on your years of experience.
The 70% problem: Hard truths about AI-assisted coding
A field guide and why we need to rethink our expectations
addyo.substack.com
December 23, 2024 at 6:37 PM
I've felt this way about AI-enabled coding for the past two years, but it's nice to see some data to support my intuition.
I wonder what the best balance of Speed, Quality, and Learning will be as the industry moves forward; and how that changes based on your years of experience.
I wonder what the best balance of Speed, Quality, and Learning will be as the industry moves forward; and how that changes based on your years of experience.