Kris Howard
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Kris Howard
@web-goddess.org
940 followers 660 following 1.2K posts
Blogger, knitter, crafter, social media addict. Formerly at Canva & AWS. Recovering from 20 years in the tech industry. | 🇦🇺🇺🇸 she/her
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web-goddess.org
Dinner tonight - Sausages, cauliflower puree, roast carrots, and peas, cooked by me. Mr. Snook was very excited to finally crack open the mini beer mug of German mustard we got at Aldi.

https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/89213
A plate with sausages, cauliflower puree, carrots, and peas. Behind it is a glass of red wine and a mini glass beer stein of mustard.
November 24, 2025 at 9:47 AM
web-goddess.org
Possum-proofing, v2 - After our self- and rain-inflicted mistake (https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88913) with the really big fruit net, I’m happy to report that the magnolia made it through the weekend unscathed. We’ve now moved to v2 of our possu... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/89160
A tree in a garden, with each branch swathed in a sleeve of fruit netting
November 24, 2025 at 12:11 AM
web-goddess.org
Saga Bar and Ester - For our anniversary on Thursday, we decided to keep things local and stick around Chippendale. First we had a booking at Saga Bar (https://www.sagabarsydney.com.au/) for cocktails. Rodd had somehow heard of it but we’d never been be... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/89098
A smiling man in glasses. Behind him is a cocktail bar lit up with brilliant green and gold lightning. Two middle-aged people in a cocktail bar with drinks, one of which has a huge smoke bubble on top A cocktail in the foreground. Behind it sits a middle-aged man at a table in a cocktail bar. Two plates on a table at a restaurant. One has a small loaf of bread with a spread; the other has two dark dumplings.
November 23, 2025 at 2:36 AM
web-goddess.org
Web Directions Developer Summit 2025 - This past week Rodd and I attended the Web Directions Developer Summit 2025 (https://webdirections.org/dev-summit/), and as usual John Allsopp put on a program that both challenged and inspired. I actually started my... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/89076
A man with a microphone on stage in front of a slide that says Web Directions Dev Summit A man speaking in front of an audience. A slide behind him says "The Browser Strikes Back: Rethinking the modern dev stack" A man on stage at a tech event. A slide reads "Why do simple frontend tasks always turn out to be so complicated?" A slide from a technical conference. The text reads: Complexity in Frontend Is Inevitable Don't chase simplicity by ignoring the real-world problems your app needs to solve, instead, design for complexity. Think in Systems, Even in the Frontend Frontend is no longer a collection of isolated components — it's a distributed system in the browser. Design for Failure, not Just the Happy Path. Modern frontends are asynchronous, distributed, and unreliable - embrace that reality. Build Your Personal Mental Model. You don't need to know everything, but you do need a map — a structure of concepts like data flow, caching, il8n, and accessibility that helps you reason about complexity.
November 23, 2025 at 1:41 AM
web-goddess.org
Marimekko Field of Flowers 2025 - A few weeks ago someone (my friend Meredith?) told me about the Marimekko Field of Flowers pop-up exhibition (https://archive.is/90czi), and today I finally made it over to Westfield to check it out.

It’s located on th... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/89074
A sign that says Marimekko Field of Flowers Exhibition. Behind it and on the wall are bold colourful floral prints. Part of a pop-up cafe/shop with large panels of boldly colourful printed florals Two people in a funhouse mirror that makes their legs look really long. The border of the mirror is decorated with bright floral motifs. A table laden with coffee mugs, all printed with bright floral designs
November 22, 2025 at 11:59 AM
web-goddess.org
Rainy day - We had another setback in our attempts to protect our magnolia tree from Mr. Possum. This time it was entirely self-afflicted though! The weather has turned rainy, and the water made the netting (https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88541) we s... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88913
A magnolia tree next to a fence with a big pile of wet white netting A view looking down at a person's feet wearing yellow gumboots, standing on wet pavement.
November 21, 2025 at 10:24 AM
web-goddess.org
Happy anniversary to us - 21 years being married to my bestie… https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88910
Two middle-aged people in a cocktail bar with drinks, one of which has a huge smoke bubble on top
November 20, 2025 at 12:11 PM
web-goddess.org
Web Directions Dev Summit - There are some people who, after they’ve left the tech industry, take the opportunity to not wear branded tech clothing. And then there are others who just want to sartorially shitpost. https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88896
Two middle aged people at a tech conference. The woman is wearing a black and grey striped t-shirt with no obvious logo. The man is wearing a grey t-shirt with a prominent A logo for Angular.js.
November 19, 2025 at 10:05 PM
web-goddess.org
Who’s at Web Directions Dev Summit today? It was a delight to run into my old colleague Belinda McKeon working the Figma booth. ❤️ #webdirections
Two middle aged dorks taking a selfie in front of a lovely woman at a Figma booth at a tech event
November 18, 2025 at 9:20 PM
web-goddess.org
Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf? - We’re the Sydney Theatre Company. The last time I saw this show, I was stage managing it… decades ago. https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88830
Two middle aged people in front of a large poster for the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
November 18, 2025 at 7:34 AM
web-goddess.org
Random Links - Clearing out the browser tabs…

- stickertop.art (https://stickertop.art/main/) – Love this ode to laptop stickers. It sent me on a quest to find one of my favourite Amazon laptops (https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/date/2020/02/page/... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88707
A screenshot of a Bluesky post from @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social that says: "Every day someone new learns that Oscar Isaac was in a late 90s Christian ska band. Who will today’s person be." with a phot of a dodgy looking 90's ska band
November 16, 2025 at 2:34 AM
web-goddess.org
Granny Square Pajama Pants - Sometimes I’m a genius.

Guess what? These are NOT crocheted!

A few months back I was doing my daily archive pruning, and I discovered a post from fifteen years ago (https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/9150) where I linked ... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88673
A mirror selfie of a woman in a brown linen shirt. She's wearing pajama pants that appear to be crocheted granny squares. A large piece of fabric spread out on a floor, with a sewing pattern on top of it. On top of that are a ruler, a remote control, and various books acting as pattern weights. A front view of a person wearing loose pajama pants printed with granny squares A rear view of a person wearing loose pajama pants printed with granny squares
November 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM
web-goddess.org
Sydney Street Feast - I volunteered to help out today with another Thread Together activation, this time at the Sydney Street Feast (https://www.facebook.com/stmaryscathedralsydney/posts/sydney-street-feast-is-backfor-the-seventh-annual-time-sydney-street... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88585
The forecourt of St. Mary’s Cathedral on a sunny day. It’s filled with a big tent and booths from charities handing out supplies.
November 14, 2025 at 3:52 AM
web-goddess.org
Thoughtworks’ Digital Leaders Forum - Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the latest Digital Leaders Forum (https://www.thoughtworks.com/en-au/about-us/events/digital-leaders-forum/digital-leaders-forum-sydney-) event in Sydney fro... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88548
A name tag that says "Kristine Howard - Australian Data Science Education Institute" on a table with a wineglass A man presenting at a tech event, with a window with a harbour view behind him A woman presenting onstage at a tech event, with a window behind her with a harbour view Several folks on stage at a tech event. The slide reads: "ok deck is kinda mid but the demo? it ATE 🍽 lowkey think we ship tmrw if QA doesn't yeet us. no 🧢 10/10 would soft launch. 🔥🚀🤞 /srs"
November 13, 2025 at 7:22 AM
web-goddess.org
Tree netting - The latest salvo in the battle with Mr. Possum. We had to jury-rig some support structure to hold the weight of the netting, but the Snook reckons it’ll work. Let’s see if the little bastard can get through this. https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88541
A man arranging a giant net bag around a magnolia tree
November 12, 2025 at 11:51 PM
web-goddess.org
Eating - Stuff I should eat: the Snook’s tuna niçoise salad with asparagus and tuna his cousin caught.

What I actually want to eat: My friend Michelle is visiting from the States, and brought me a big ol’ jug of my favourite candy from Costco becaus... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88498
A salad with cos lettuce, asparagus, potatoes, olives, and chunks of grilled tuna A big plastic jar of Kirkland milk chocolate salted caramel clusters with macadamias
November 11, 2025 at 12:04 PM
web-goddess.org
Prescription sunnies… and eye issues - Two weeks ago I headed to Bailey Nelson (https://baileynelson.com.au/) to order a pair of prescription sunglasses and use up my optical health benefit for the year. I’ve worn glasses since I was in year 3, but as... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88302
A person wearing large sunglasses and a brown bucket hat
November 11, 2025 at 3:06 AM
web-goddess.org
Big Thing alert! 🪓
A selfie of two people giving a thumbs up in front of a giant roadside axe
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 AM
web-goddess.org
Dredge - I am far too much of a scaredy-cat to be playing this game (https://www.dredge.game/) at night. https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88183
A scene from the game Dredge showing a lighthouse and a spooky lighthouse keeper
November 5, 2025 at 9:46 AM
web-goddess.org
PIX book launch - One of the best parts of being on the State Library Foundation Board is getting to take appreciative guests to fun events. Last December the Library launched a free exhibition (https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/pix) about PIX Magazin... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88174
A couple dressed in vintage clothing and hats, being photographed at a book launch A woman speaking at a lectern in front of an audience A man in a suit speaking at a lectern in front of an audience A woman in glasses speaking at a lectern in front of a crowd
November 5, 2025 at 12:36 AM
web-goddess.org
Make do and mend - I’ve had a pile of clothes to be mended in my office for some time, but I’ve finally managed to make some headway in the past week. I had two t-shirts with tiny holes in them that I was able to stitch up, and Rodd had a couple pairs... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88168
A homemade pair of denim shorts The inside of a pair of denim shorts, where a length of elastic is being fed into the waistband The side of a pair of homemade denim shorts A person wearing a pair of homemade denim shorts
November 4, 2025 at 4:19 AM
web-goddess.org
Paul Keating at the State Library - Tonight Rodd and I attended a very special event at the State Library: author and journalist Troy Bramston in conversation with the Honourable Paul Keating (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Keating), 24th Prime Minist... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88154
A full auditorium of people awaiting an event A selfie of a middle-aged man and woman in an auditorium A woman at a lectern in front of a crowded auditorium Two men seated in chairs having an interview in front of an auditorium
November 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
web-goddess.org
Marimekko Warehouse Sale - A couple days ago Rodd sent me a very exciting link: Marimekko were having a warehouse sale (https://www.marimekko.com/au_en/m/warehouse-sale-sydney) with up to 80% off. EEEK! It started today at 10am, so I made plans to head to... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88112
A queue of people stretched along a building in a parking lot outside A tired and sweaty woman pulling a face in front of a glass door with a sign that says marimekko WAREHOUSE SALE The view of a queue of people leading into a building A sad table at a warehouse sale covered in nothing much at all. Behind it is a corner walled off with padded panels.
October 31, 2025 at 6:07 AM
web-goddess.org
Partying with the Janeites - Last night I was at the State Library again for two Sydney Writers’ Festival events dedicated to Jane Austen, in honour of her 250th birthday. The first was a panel event called “Austen’s Powers” (https://web.archive.o... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88099
A panel of three women and a man in front of an audience. The slide reads AUSTEN'S POWERS Two women sitting in chairs in front of an audience Two women seated on stage in front of an audience with a slide that says WILD FOR AUSTEN Two women in chairs in front of an audience at an event
October 31, 2025 at 5:37 AM
web-goddess.org
Volunteering - Feeling grateful for the opportunity to spend time this morning at the Foster House homeless shelter volunteering with Thread Together (https://www.threadtogether.org/). Right now loads of people are having a tough time, and it’s very eas... https://www.web-goddess.org/archive/88080
A selfie of a woman in glasses. Behind her are volunteers and a table with clothing to give away
October 29, 2025 at 1:04 AM