Author: Tom (Page 25 of 426)

How I Set Up My 2021 MacBook Pro

January 3, 2022 / Tom

TL;DR: Here’s how I set up my 2021 MacBook Pro along with links to all the software and the method by which I install them (either via the Mac App Store, Homebrew, or Direct Downloads).

The last time I wrote anything about setting up a new machine was in 2017 and it was specifically for a MacBook Pro and WordPress development. Though I shifted much of my work to a Mac Mini in 2018, I’m now using a 2021 16″ MacBook Pro as my primary machine. And though I still work in software development and primarily work in the WordPress economy for a living:

I use a handful of different tools,
I use a handful of the same tools,
I have different tools for productivity as well as for personal use.

And how I set all of this up has changed, too.

Since it’s been about four years since I’ve written anything like this, now’s a good time to document my current set up both for reference and to share with the rest of you who find this kind of stuff interesting.

Introducing Digital Minimalism in 2022

January 1, 2022 / Tom

I’m not, nor rarely have been, much of a procrastinator. If there’s something that needs to be done, I try to take care of it in a timely fashion. Sometimes it’s easier than others, but on the whole I dislike putting things off.

To that end, I’ve used the methodology of Getting Things Done for years with the help of a couple of utilities, like Things, all of which are beyond the scope of this article.

You can read about the workflow in the article linked above. The purpose of mentioning it to show that even when I lean towards procrastination, I have a plan for how to tackle something.

To that point, there’s been book of which I’ve been aware for roughly three years that I’ve deliberate put off reading. Perhaps I’ve even avoided reading it for reasons that I’ll soon explain.

And that’s Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University.

Fix WordPress, PHP, MariaDB, and Homebrew

December 29, 2021 / Tom

TL;DR: If you find yourself setting up a new environment and you run into problems running WordPress, MariaDB, and PHP there are a few things to remember. Here’s what and here’s how to fix it.

I’m working on a longer post about how I set up my latest development environment but, in the mean time, hit a wall when working with the following requirements:

We recommend servers running version 7.4 or greater of PHP and MySQL version 5.7 OR MariaDB version 10.2 or greater.

Requirements, emphasis mine

Note that I use Homebrew to manage all of my packages and use Laravel Valet, WordPress, MariaDB, and PHP along with wp-cli. I’ll more on this in an upcoming post.

I’ve been talking with a few people on Twitter about it and it turned into a fun discussion.

Anyway, if you’ve followed any of this – or even if not and you’re experiencing this – then here’s a resolution for you.

The Good Old Days of WordPress (Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Too)

December 28, 2021 / Tom

TL;DR: If you’re a drive-by reader coming from Google or another search engine, this probably isn’t the type of post you’re looking for (insert the Obi-Wan meme here). But if you’re someone who’s read this blog for any length of time, then feel free to stick with me for a bit.

I’m writing this post in the Classic Editor and it’s the first post in a very long time that I’ve used said editor.

I’m not anti-blocks,
I’m not anti-Gutenberg or FSE,
This isn’t a post that has an agenda for anything related to anything like that.

Instead, I just felt like using the Classic Editor. It’s comfortable because I’m used to it and it works really well. I also use the Block Editor which is a bit uncomfortable because I’m not as used to it and that doesn’t work as well because it’s still in its infancy [but it’s maturing daily and it’s going through more testing at a faster rate than the Classic Editor likely ever did].

Obligatory First Post, 3 October 2010. That permalink 😆.

And this is somewhat of a metaphor for what I’m going to talk about in the rest of the post. So if you’re ready for a little bit of a longer article than usual – and one that isn’t as technical – keep reading.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays (From 2021 to 2022)

December 25, 2021 / Tom

For those who have read this blog for the last few years, you know:

I don’t really do retrospective posts for each year,
I take the time off for the rest of the year from blogging.

To own dismay, I haven’t blogged regularly this year (but such is life and unforeseen responsibilities 🙂) but the points still remain true.

So as we collectively get ready to end this year (which some people are referring to as 2020, Part 2 🤷🏻‍♂️), here’s to some time offline.