Tidbits from Brian - Issue #10
I wish everyone would stop idolizing remote work
There seems to be a big misconception about remote work. I see it online and with people I talk to. For example, I was at Starbucks, and the barista asked me what I do for work. The moment I mentioned I work from home (my bad, I guess), her eyes seemed to glaze over. 👀 After that, she didn't hear a word I said. And this isn't the first time this has happened.
Working remotely isn't all rainbows and unicorns. 🌈 In fact, there are a lot of negatives:
You have to have discipline. Nobody is there to manage you but yourself. Distractions are a constant thing you have to deal with.
Some think you save a ton of money always eating at home. But it can be an even bigger temptation to go grab food just to get out of the house.
If you don't get into an exercise routine, working from home can be really bad for your health. You can easily find yourself just sitting all day and never moving. 🏋️
It's lonely work for the most part. I'm a big introvert, so this doesn't bother me much, but I know many struggle with this.
Personal hygiene takes greater effort. 🚿 Some think we just sit around in PJs all day, which is tempting. But that's not reality.
Work can flow into every aspect of your life if you don't stop yourself. I shut my phone and computer off on Saturdays to give myself a full day to recharge.
With that being said, after working remotely for 7+ years, I wouldn't have it any other way. After all, where else could I watch the sunset as I work? But that doesn't mean it's for everyone. Some people aren't built for remote work, 🏠️ just like others aren't built for working in an office. 🏢
Updates ✍️
When it comes to writing, I've tried so many different Mac apps over the years and always come back to Ulysses. It's simply a beautiful distraction-free experience. Check out my review. And much better than writing in the block editor in WordPress.
I've officially moved from NordVPN to ProtonVPN. It's faster, works great with streaming services, and I like their focus on privacy. Check out my thread where I ran speed tests comparing the top VPNs. 🔒️
We pushed out version 1.9.5 of our Perfmatters plugin. It includes improvements to JS delay, CSS background images, and CDN rewriting. We also added some exclusions for Unused CSS that are always needed.
We pushed out version 1.3.2 of our Novashare plugin. It includes five more filters, improved compatibility with SEOPress, and we added a fallback to a featured image when using open graph and no post-specific meta image is set.
I rebuilt one of my homepages/sidebars using GenerateBlock's new query loops and dynamic data features (see before and after). Love it! 🥳 Was able to uninstall WP Show Posts, WP Show Posts Pro, and Classic Widgets. Always a good day when you can get rid of 3 plugins.
I think it's important to embrace your failures and remember that there's no such thing as overnight success. Check out my career path of 22+ years in a thread (failures + adventures).
Interesting things 🔎
Misc.
Loving the Upside app for saving on gas at the pump. ⛽ Props to Thomas for sharing this with me. Stacked with my grocer discount and cashback credit card, I saved $12.55 on my last tank of gas!
Mimestream, the best Gmail client for Mac, got a huge update!
Speaking of Gmail, they are rolling out their new UI with Google Sans font. I think I prefer Roboto.
Huge milestone as human subject wears augmented reality contact lens for the first time. This is really cool!
Amazon executives have discussed ditching Amazon Basics to appease regulators. Yikes, that's probably half of my kitchen.
Slack is increasing prices and changing the way its free plan works. You can pay early to lock in current prices for another year.
PayPal is reducing fees as of July 28th! This is great news for sellers. US only right now.
WordPress
Code Snippets Pro is officially out! We love this plugin. They have a launch special going on for a limited time.
Misogyny in WordPress is real. I've personally witnessed some of this myself, and we can do better.
If you're trying to clean up images left behind over the years, the Media Cleaner WordPress plugin is great!
Easy Digital Downloads 3.0 is finally here. It's been a long time coming, but I'm glad they didn't rush things.
Some great takeaways in this post on the impact of the pandemic on the WordPress community (two years later).
Dave dives into why he left WordPress for Ghost.
Check out Joost de Valk's seventh semi-annual CMS market share analysis.
WPLift.com sells for $160k, but it sold for $205k in 2016.
Performance
Interaction to Paint (INP) is a new metric that you might see become part of Core Web Vitals.
WordPress Performance Team proposes developing a new plugin checker tool.
A few useful tips on how to fix the “ensure text remains visible during webfont load” warning in PageSpeed Insights.
Imagify just launched smart compression. I'm impressed!
WordPress theme developers need to stop including 700 KB web font icon files. I will send the client right back to them. 😉
Kinsta just increased their free CDN bandwidth up to 500% across their WordPress hosting plans.
Marketing
Google Search Console Insights finally supports Google Analytics v4.
I recommend checking out Maddy Osman's new book "Writing for Humans and Robots: The New Rules of Content Style."
Is Bob Vila one of the top affiliate marketers on the planet?
Bitcoin (not financial advice)
Bank for International Settlements allows banks to keep 1% of reserves in Bitcoin.
Riot Blockchain shuts down operations to support the power grid in Texas. This is fascinating.
Jack Mallers destroys proof of stake "It's a liability, creating money cannot be free."
How Bitcoin can unlock the energy of the ocean for 1 billion people.
Gloria Zhao becomes the first female Bitcoin Core maintainer.
Check out what inflation really looks like over the last three years.
Is it time to lowercase Bitcoin? An interesting take.
Celsius, Voyager, and Vauld are all bankrupt. Can't say this enough. Take custody of your keys! I have some recommendations in my blog post.
Lolli just added Costco! Get 2% back in Bitcoin using your existing credit card. Amazing. (US and iPhone only right now)
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If you're ever in the Scottsdale, AZ area, hit me up, and we can grab a coffee! ☕️👋