Why does PayPal suck so bad? – ChatGPT Speaks

September 1, 2025 5:34 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Technology, User Experience

Why does PayPal suck so bad? I tried to set up a Venmo for donations and I failed. PayPal’s UI is awful.

ChatGPT Speaks:

You’re definitely not alone in finding PayPal frustrating—many users vent similar frustrations online. Here’s a breakdown of the most common pain points, especially relating to UI (user interface) and the headaches with setting up Venmo for donations:

Why PayPal Can Feel Clunky

1. Terrible Navigation & Overly Nested Menus

Users frequently report that the PayPal UI buries features deep within nested menus, making it hard to find what you need:

“I agree with you that this interface is terrible. It has a form of design that is obviously intended to hide your information… finding a sub category … you will have to dig back and forth until you find the button.” [PayPal Community

2. Poor Readability & Excessive White Space

The redesign with larger fonts and spacing makes scrolling a chore and reduces visibility:

“The new Transaction page uses big font … You can see a whole 8 transactions and then I have to hit the more button and scroll…” PayPal Community

3. Inconsistent Layouts & Confusing Checkout

The checkout process is overly complex, full of fields and confusing flows, even for experienced users:

“So why is the checkout SO COMPLICATED??? … I literally couldn’t understand what’s going on. So many instructions. So many fields to fill.” Reddit

4. Clumsy Authentication & Timeouts

Frequent logouts and multi-click login processes erode usability:

“PayPal times out… logging back in requires three clicks … click the log in prompt… log in button… ignore the promotional message… and click ‘go to my account.’ … design is annoying as all get?out.” PayPal Community

5. Dark UX Patterns & Hidden Defaults

Some design choices seem intentionally deceptive—like defaulting to paid options even after selecting free ones:

“It had defaulted to the ‘transfer now’ choice, so it cost me $6. … What a horrible thing to do.” Reddit

6. Glitches When Adding Bank Accounts

Many users struggle to link bank accounts due to awkward UI behavior:

“Try to add Fidelity as a bank account… No path forward… Workaround: type a bunch of garbage, and it will show you a button that will let you manually enter account details.” Reddit

7. Slow Performance & Looping Login Screens

Frequent re-authentication and laggy pages make the experience feel sluggish:

“Every step needs so much loading time. Every 1?minute I need to re?login. The dashboard and the activity feed is so confusing.”
Reddit

Setup Nightmares with Venmo Charity Profiles

If you’re trying to set up donations through Venmo via PayPal (especially for nonprofits), that introduces an extra layer of complexity.

Common Issues From the Trenches:

• Loops and endless redirects between platforms:
  “It takes me to Venmo Charity Profiles… then says ‘already verified’ and takes me back to PayPal. I’m getting so frustrated!”
  PayPal Community
• Renowned for being flaky and unresponsive support:
  “I’ve been struggling for two months… get the same error message… Venmo’s support folks are stumped… they open a tech ticket and nothing happens.” Reddit
• Account freezing or merging with personal profiles:
  “It was a nightmare… The account was frozen upon creation… multiple chats… have led to nothing.” Reddit
• Discomfort with linking a personal account to the charity:
  “They require it to be linked to a personal Venmo account… I don’t want my personal account linked to the charity I volunteer for part?time.” Reddit

Official Requirements That Make It Tough:

• You must verify charity status via PayPal.
• The same person must own both the PayPal and Venmo accounts—ownership is non-transferable. Venmo Help Center
• Venmo will reject setups if info doesn’t match or there’s a mismatch in phone number, ownership, or account status. Venmo Help Center+1
• Additional errors like “we can’t confirm your info,” “this link isn’t shareable,” or “timeout” are common blockers. Venmo Help Center

Summary Table

What You Can Do Next

• For UI frustration: Consider providing feedback directly via the PayPal Community, or exploring third-party integrations (like DonorBox or Stripe) for smoother UX.
• For Venmo setup:
  • Make sure the charity owner matches across accounts.
  • Use unique phone numbers and avoid account overlap.
  • Address any “good standing” issues with IRS or regulatory bodies first.
  • Be prepared to navigate redirects and reach out persistently to support.

What’s Next

August 21, 2025 10:02 am | by Craig Webb | Posted in Uncategorized

Can you remember who you were,
before the world told you who you should be?
– Charles Bukowski

I’ve completed a two-month stint working on lithography at The Art Students League and now I’m thinking about what is my next journey.

Working on lithographs at The Art Students League felt great. I wondered why I waited so long to get into an art space and to make prints.

When I complete a painting it tells me what the next painting will be. So this is a time to allow myself to imagine the next step of the journey.

Now when I’ve enjoyed this great experience I am taking a moment to absorb how it feels so I can replicate it and keep going. I know what I like. Being in an art community like The Art Students League is where I feel like I am being myself.

I want to find my way as a working artist. The pieces are in place. I need to put them together.

Let’s count recent wins

• Since Covid, I have returned to making art
• I am painting with egg tempera and drawing
• I was invited to be in a group show in New Mexico
• I taught two egg tempera workshops in spring 2025\
• I worked in lithography and etching at the art students league
• I gave a presentation about variable fonts to tech developers
• I am building an application tool and experimenting with AI tools

So now the next thing. I am looking for opportunities and open to possibilities. There are a lot of art resources in New York City, often hidden in plain sight. But art is everywhere. What I want is a stable home for the next 5 \- 8 years with room to work.

I want to take this moment to do a war dance and celebrate my wins, and meditate on how to best manifest myself as I take the next step.

Last day of the summer session at The Art Students League

August 15, 2025 10:00 am | by Craig Webb | Posted in Art

Today is the last day of the summer session at The Art Students League. I am finishing up my work in the lithography studio.

Midway through the July monthly session I was hired as a monitor for the two printing studios, etching and lithography. The Art Students League has a system of classroom monitors to open and close studios, and to watch over the artists who are working there. The monitor job is a minor position of responsibility and trust. I received credit towards tuition as compensation, which allowed me to work in August.

I found the artists and culture at The Art Students League to be engaged and friendly. The Art Students League has been a gateway and window into the New York City artist community.

I recommend The Art Students League to anyone who wants to connect and make art in New York City. Their system is that artists sign up for monthly sessions. Rather than paying semester-long fees, participation costs are thus minimized. Artists can ask to have sessions count toward a certificate program if they so choose.

In July I created a lithograph entitled “The Battle of Hong Kong – Tear gas fight”. I made a small edition of 20 prints. In August I embarked on a two-color print which is untitled. That project ended with a series of artist proofs. I did not make an edition of the print.

Yesterday and today I knocked out a final print, a touche-wash print entitled “Friends”. I made a small edition of eleven prints.

I look forward to working again at The Art Students League as well as other art opportunities.

The New New Thing – Back to the Stone Age

June 7, 2025 2:20 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Art, Technology

Last week I made a jump into a new (old) direction. I signed up to make lithographs at The Art Students League in New York City.

I looked at the summer schedule in May. Lithography is offered for June 2025.

I had to decide quickly. The listing cryptically said “June 2025” and June began on a Sunday. The lithography class has a requirement to talk to the professor before signing up. He was holding interviews on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That meant a danger of missing a week’s time.

I went to The Art Students League on Monday and invaded the facility to get a first look. The lithography shop was empty. The litho shop is rather small compared to university press shops. The presses have leather-strapped stretcher bars. The black ink rollers were wrapped in plastic. I did not see any color rollers. I did not see any color ink.

The Art Students League Litho Shop has a good many stones including some large ones. There is a small hand-crank lift to move stones from the shelf to tables and the press.

The layout was strange. I went home with doubts about enrolling.

Tuesday morning I woke and faced my fears and doubts. I went back to see the professor and took a second look.

The class professor is Michael Pellettieri. Michael turned out to be a very wise, kind man. He asked about my history and I showed a few prints from my website.

Micheal knew a professor at Cornell from when I was there. When I was at Cornell the professor was a professor emeritus.

Micheal suggested that I sign up for Wednesday/Thursday instead of Monday/Tuesday. I went home and tore up my storage area searching for my box of litho supplies and tools.

On Wednesday the shop assistant, Diego, gave me two stones. He offered a large stone but I could not move it from the shelf. The shelf rollers are plastic piping on rods and are hard to roll. I chose two medium-sized stones instead, a grey stone and a yellow stone. I spent Wednesday graining both stones. Diego made fresh paper covers for my stones to keep them clean.

On Thursday I had time to talk to Michael Pellettieri. He also teaches etching and is often in the etching room. I made trips to The Art Students League Art Supply Store and back. I talked to other students and monitors. I did not get more done than to gum out borders on my stones.

A huge limitation at The Art Students League is that people are not allowed to be in the shop except during the assigned “class time”. They keep things locked up. This is especially toxic for lithography as it is not practical to drag the stones home to work. I am used to a schedule of working from 8 am to 11 pm, seven days per week.

It is possible to pay to come on Fridays for four hours. The extra fee is $20. I paid at the bursars office. I came back on Friday afternoon to knock out a couple of touche images. I added texture with Korn’s crayons to provide for a comprehensive first test.

On Wednesday I will etch and then print. Thursday I will grain the stones and start a next set of images. I am excited to be working with lithography again.

Egg Tempera Varnish Party

June 2, 2025 2:20 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Art

Recently I gathered small paintings that I mostly painted this year and brought them outside to give a first coat of spray varnish.

These are egg tempera paintings, mostly on canvas but some are on paper. It is a good idea to apply a coat of varnish to egg tempera paintings after they have had time to fully dry and polymerize.

After applying the spray varnish I brought them back inside and set them on my office desk and art table for a few days. It gave me a chance to see them together and appreciate them together.

What I like most about egg tempera painting is the vibrancy of color that can be achieved. My work is still developing. It feels good to see all the paintings together to see and assess my development.

My African Spirit

May 25, 2025 2:20 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Art

I brought my African Spirit sculpture outside to give it a coat of teak oil.

I found this spirit in someone’s trash about 20 years ago and brought it home. I found that it had an infestation of termites at the base and on one ear. I sprayed it with bug-spray and the problem never returned.

My African Spirit stood by my front door at my old house. It lives in my office / art studio now.

Periodically I give it a coat of oil, usually lemon oil. The teak oil has made it darker than before. I brought it to the garden to take its portrait.

I like my African Spirit.

Developers are jumping ship on Apple computers

May 23, 2025 2:20 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Technology, User Experience

Recently my tech developer friends were discussing replacing their M-series Apple computers with non-Apple hardware. They told me that Apple had decided to weld the hard drive, battery and chips to the motherboard, preventing the ability to upgrade their equipment.

I discovered that the limitations of upgrading Apple’s M-chip computers is a significant issue. A sentiment of frustration among developers and programmers is quite strong. As developers work with LLMs, video and other sophisticated software and programming needs they are starting to rebel and abandon Apple products.

Here’s a breakdown of the issue:

The Soldered Components:

RAM (Unified Memory): Apple’s M-series chips (M1, M2, M3, etc.) use a “Unified Memory Architecture” (UMA). This means the RAM is integrated directly onto the chip or logic board, very close to the CPU and GPU. This design allows for incredibly fast data transfer between the CPU, GPU, and memory, which is a major performance benefit. However, the downside is that RAM cannot be upgraded after purchase. You have to decide how much RAM you need at the time of purchase, and you’re stuck with it for the life of the machine.

SSD (Storage):

Similarly, the SSD storage in most M-chip Macs is also soldered to the logic board. While there have been some rare instances of engineers managing to desolder and replace SSD chips (a highly risky and complex process that voids warranties), for the vast majority of users, internal storage is not upgradeable.

Other Components:

The CPU, GPU, and other core components are all integrated into the M-series “System on a Chip” (SoC), meaning they are not modular and cannot be replaced or upgraded independently. Batteries can be replaced by Apple or authorized service providers, but not easily by users.

Why Apple Does This (and the Developer Perspective):

Performance:

The primary technical reason for integrating RAM and other components is performance. UMA significantly reduces latency and increases bandwidth, making M-chip Macs incredibly efficient and powerful for their size and power consumption.
Miniaturization and Design: Soldering allows for thinner, lighter, and more compact designs, which is a key aspect of Apple’s product philosophy.

Control and Profit:

This is where much of the developer and user frustration comes from. By making components non-upgradeable, Apple effectively forces users to buy a new machine if they need more RAM or storage, rather than simply upgrading existing hardware. This leads to higher costs for consumers and, some argue, contributes to e-waste. The premium Apple charges for RAM and storage upgrades at the time of purchase is often significantly higher than the market cost of those components.
Prevalence of Sentiment Among Developers and Programmers:

The sentiment among developers and programmers is widely critical of Apple’s non-upgradable hardware. Here’s why:

Resource Demands:

Developers often work with demanding applications, large codebases, virtual machines, and multiple tools running simultaneously. These tasks can quickly consume significant amounts of RAM and storage. Being locked into a fixed configuration means they might find their machines underpowered sooner than they’d like.

Cost of Ownership:

The inability to upgrade makes the total cost of ownership higher. If a developer needs more RAM a couple of years down the line, their only official option is to buy a completely new, expensive machine.

“Right to Repair” Concerns:

This issue feeds into the broader “right to repair” movement. Many developers and tech enthusiasts believe that consumers should have the right to repair and upgrade their own devices, and Apple’s practices are seen as directly opposing this.

Longevity and Sustainability:

From an environmental perspective, forcing users to replace entire machines instead of upgrading components contributes to electronic waste.

Exceptions and Workarounds:

While official upgrades are impossible, some users resort to external SSDs for additional storage. For RAM, there’s no practical external solution, although some highly skilled engineers in places like Shenzhen have demonstrated extremely risky and difficult methods of desoldering and replacing RAM chips. These are not viable options for the average user or even most professional developers.

In summary:

While Apple’s integrated design offers performance benefits, the inability to upgrade RAM and internal storage on M-chip Macs is a major point of contention for developers and programmers. It forces them to either over-spec their machines at the time of purchase (leading to higher upfront costs) or face the prospect of buying a new computer when their current one no longer meets their needs. This contributes to a strong negative sentiment regarding Apple’s hardware longevity and repairability.

Doing it alone. Everyone has left.

May 19, 2025 2:20 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Polis

I buried my brother Wade this spring on Good Friday. He died almost two years ago. It took me this long to take care of him.

My brother died in California where he lived and worked for over thirty years. I buried him in Pennsylvania in the town where I was born.

My father or grandfather bought grave plots in a cemetery near Crestmont. My grandparents are buried there and also my brother Paul.

Wade died of heart failure and non-alcoholic cirrhosis. His demise was agonizing. The cirrhosis caused him to hemorrhage in his esophagus and he lost a lot of blood. The loss of blood caused a heart attack and Wade was in a comma for three weeks. When he came to he could not speak.

The hospital was prepared to send Wade for a liver transplant but the damage to his heart was too severe for him to undergo the treatment. I was there and spoke to him one day. The next day he was unconscious and the nurses were desperately trying to get his blood pressure up. The drugs they were using to force his heartbeat were no longer working. Wade’s blood pressure dropped and he died.

Days earlier the doctors were still considering the liver transplant and then they had to tell him no.

I told Wade that I would bury him in Pennsylvania. He shook his head no. He was unable to say what he wanted because he could not speak.

I wanted to bury Wade next to my brother Paul, who had died some thirty years earlier. Wade loved Grandma as well. He had a photo of her in his living room in Pasadena.

My father who also died recently is not buried. His last wife has him, I think. He died right near Thanksgiving. Wade told me that she does not want to speak with me. So I don’t know what will happen with my father. I’m pretty sure that he wanted to be buried near his father and mother, and his brother.

I’m glad that I buried my brother in the family plot. I did it for me. I did it for my self respect. I’ve done what I could to take care of my family.

* * *

Wade must have known that he was in trouble. I visited him two years earlier and accompanied him on a visit to the hospital. He had an appointment at the hematology department. After he came out of the appointment he told me that both his white and red blood cell count were low. He said the doctor made a scan of his spleen.

I asked him multiple times what the doctors said and I encouraged him to go back for more information. He told me he did not believe in western medicine. Some friend of his came by with a tincture of some sort, a “holistic medicine”.

Had Wade dealt with the problem then he probably would have gotten the liver transplant. The lesson is to go to the damned doctors. Since Wade died I’ve had a liver and kidney screening, a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. I get blood tests every six months. I’ve got x-rays of my hip and knee, which are becoming arthritic.

Go to the doctor. Ask questions. Look up the results using AI. Find out what is going on and deal with it.

* * *

Wade left a lot of damage. He had been successful as a solar-power engineer for housing and commercial buildings in Los Angeles county. He had a caustic mouth and he wrecked his marriage. After his wife left him his life and business went south. She handled the books and Wade did not handle the business finances well. He had a bad client and he accrued a lot of debt. He was lonely and he became involved with a catfishing scheme. Wade was sending bitcoin to some catfish floozy.

Wade lost his business license. He had to work through an associate’s business and earned less money. He fell off a ladder and broke his hip. I came out to take care of him for a couple of weeks. There was no food in the house and I bought food at various grocery stores for us to eat. I would work on my computer while he made called to creditors to let business loans.

Wade was 10 months behind in rent when he died. The landlord had put a lock on his door and a notice of eviction. His work associated got his debit card and emptied his bank account saying that he owed them money. They agreed to get his stuff out of his apartment but then turned around and sold Wade’s four prized guitars on Craigslist for $1000.00. Basically everything he had is gone, including his car and his photographs of grandma and the catfish.

* * *

Mom is buried at the national cemetery in Santa fe New Mexico in a crematorium plot intended to be shared with her husband Larry, a Viet Nam veteran. Larry has advanced dementia. His sister gained conservancy and she brought him to Ohio where she lives. She is taking care of him and his sister who also has dementia. She last told me that Larry is physically strong. I do not know that she intends to honor my mother’s wish to be buried with him in New Mexico. It may be awkward to dig my mother up. I don’t want to have her buried alone, forgotten.

For now I’m just living life and getting by. I miss having family. My therapist asks me how I feel and I don’t have much to say. I feel a hole. I often have dreams with Mom and my brothers in them. The dreams are about packing to move or leaving a party, needing a ride and being left behind. I dream that I am the last to leave the party and I don’t have a ride so I am deciding to hitchhike. Abandoned. Doing it alone.

Uses of Poppy oil, Walnut oil, and Lavender Retouch Varnish

April 24, 2025 2:43 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Art, Technology

What are the effects and uses of Poppy oil, Walnut oil, and Lavender Retouch Varnish for artist painting with oil painting and egg tempera painting?

Below is a concise, studio tested rundown of how each material behaves, why artists reach for it, and the main “do’s & don’ts” when you combine them withoil colors or traditional egg tempera panels.

1.Poppy Oil

(Often labeled “poppy seed oil,” a slow drying, very pale drying oil)

When to pick it

• Ultra-pale highlights, delicate pastel passages, or icy glazes where linseed’s amber cast would muddy the hue.

• Extended open time for subtle blends (portrait flesh, sky gradations).

2. Walnut Oil

(Traditional Renaissance binder; medium-slow dryer with balanced properties)

When to pick it

• You want a compromise: slower and paler than linseed but tougher than poppy.

• Making historical egg-tempera-grassa layers that transition smoothly to straight oil glazes.

3. Lavender Retouch-Varnish

(Usually spike-lavender solvent + dammar resin in ~20% solution; marketed by Natural Pigments, Chelsea Classic, etc.)

When to pick it

• Reviving matte, “sunken-in” passages mid-project.

• Light couch to prevent dry-patch drag in next oil layer.

• Low-tox studio where turpentine is banned.

Practical Workflow Tips

1. Layering order (fat-over-lean)

   • Tempera panel → tempera-only layers → optional very lean egg-oil emulsion (walnut) → fully dry → couch with lavender retouch → oil glazes (walnut or poppy-rich) → final dammar or synthetic varnish after 6-12 months.

2. Mixing mediums

   • Simple glaze: 2 parts poppy (or walnut): 1 part spike-lavender retouch = ultra-smooth, slow-dry glaze that keeps color brilliant.

   • Alla prima modifier: Walnut oil + a drop of spike-lavender speeds flow without over-thinning with mineral spirits.

3. Avoid common pitfalls

   • Don’t bulk-replace linseed with poppy in thick under-paintings – risk of wrinkling.

   • Keep dammar-containing retouch layers thin; too much early resin can cause future cracking.

   • For egg-tempera panels, ensure complete carbonization (brittle snap when flexed) before any oil or varnish layer — usually 3–5 days in warm, dry air.

4. Clean-up

   • Walnut oil can double as a brush-washing step before soap and water—helps condition bristles.

   • Rags: store in a sealed, water-filled metal container to eliminate fire risk from oxidizing oils.

Bottom line

• Poppy oil = coolest whites and long open time; upper-layer specialist.

• Walnut oil = balanced workhorse; ideal for tempera-grassa and everyday glazing.

• Lavender retouch varnish = quick, aromatic solution for re-saturating or “couching” between sessions — great in solvent-sensitive studios.

Use each deliberately, keep films thin and “fat-over-lean,’ and these classic ingredients will add finesse (not headaches) to both oil-painting and mixed egg-tempera approaches.

Rocking with Astoria Tech Meetup

February 22, 2025 2:20 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Polis, User Experience

Last week I participated in multiple events with the Astoria Tech Meetup. I have attended Astoria Tech Meetup for most of 2024 and this year too.

Astoria Tech meets weekly Thursday mornings for coffee at a local shop and holds a monthly event at night at a bar with short presentations and a chance to network. Astoria Tech has also started to have a monthly hacker session on Saturday afternoons where people can share what they are working on. People pair and work together. Last week I did all three events.

I had an opportunity to give a presentation at the Wednesday night meetup event, held at Klatch Bar in Astoria Queens. Astoria Tech Meetup sets a 10 minute limit for presentations to keep them fun.

I gave a presentation about loading variable fonts on a local server. Variable fonts are easy to install but there are a few pitfalls to know about. They need a conversion and I have a collection of converted fonts on my Github to give away. I made a brief slide deck and aced my presentation in just nine minutes.

I enjoy meeting friends at the Thursday coffee Meetup. We chat about how we are doing and share tips. I always come away with new suggestions and websites on my phone from other members. It is great to learn cool new things.

This Saturday I came to the Astoria Tech Hacker Event held at Klatch Bar. I have a JavaScript project that I have worked on for a long time and I brought that to work on.

We paired together for three 5-minute rounds to see each other’s projects and then we switched partners. Some members are working on very advanced applications.

One member suggested that I try using Claude AI with part of my project. I tried Claude with middling success. Meanwhile another participant built a partial replica of my application using the D3 JavaScript library. I came away with parts of programs and code that I can study and move forward with my project.

I am very glad to have a local Meetup where I can meet fine people and learn about programming. There are so many avenues to explore. Everyone is on their own journey but at least we get to touch grass together over coffee.

My Egg Tempera Workshop

January 23, 2025 1:49 pm | by Craig Webb | Posted in Art, Technology

In mid-January I led a workshop on how to paint with Egg Tempera. My workshop was hosted by The Collaboratory, an artist collective with a public space in Long Island City, NY.

Egg tempera painting is a venerable medium. Egg tempera provides a translucent paint, as juxtaposed with the transparency of water color or the opaque quality of oil painting.

The egg tempera workshop consisted of many parts. I offered a slide presentation showing a history of egg tempera painting. The slide presentation consists of pre-renaissance Italian painting and modern American painting. I also showed slides that I took recently of an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art called The Siena Show.

Next I showed the materials and tools I use to paint with egg tempera. I use raw pigments that I get from Kramers Pigments in New York City. I came prepared with an egg mixture to use as binder for the pigment. The binder consists of egg yolk, water and damar varnish.

I also prepared masonite boards coated with gesso, and I brought paper and canvas to use. Tools include paint brushes, palette knives, styrofoam palettes and drip-bottles.

I discussed how to handle the powder pigments safely. A demonstration was made how to mix and modulate the egg mixture with pigment and water to make paint, and how to apply the paint with the brush.

Once those subjects were complete the participants were free to try painting with egg tempera themselves. We had more than two hours to paint during the three hour workshop.

I personally enjoyed most that each participant introduced themselves and we all had a chance to talk amongst ourselves. I was pleasantly surprised to feel an immediate sense of community. It felt really good to paint along with a group of friends.

My hosts at The Collaboratory were happy with the event. They have invited me to return again in a few months.

I am interested to give more workshops and looking for additional venues in the greater New York City area. If you are interested to host a workshop please send me a message.

Remembering back before the big project

April 9, 2024 10:44 am | by Craig Webb | Posted in Technology

This morning I started my day by reading tutorials on my computer. I read an article that made me look through my recent prototype files for my Links and Buttons project.

I had forgotten about the Links and Buttons project. I did lots of research. I want to write about links and buttons.

In March I delved into a deep dive into my WordPress CSS code and typography. My work on my code base required intense research and consistent concentration. The typography refactor project took way longer than expected.

Long projects affect my connection to other projects. I’ve lost the thread of other work that I was doing. Now I need to pick up the threads of previous projects.

I’ve written many articles recently. I had a nagging feeling that I wrote an article that I lost, or that I wanted to write.

A description I found embedded into the Links and Buttons prototype is the kernel of my article.

Links and buttons may look the same but they are different. Buttons connect to JavaScript functions. Links go somewhere.

A key interest I have for links and buttons has to do with CSS attributes and selectors. I used data attributes in my prototype to make variations of the links and buttons.

I opened more tutorials to study. I also dug into Aria a little more. I am thinking of revisiting the project to add aria labels for the links. From what I have read a simple “ID” is enough of a label for aria and CSS selectors.

I discovered many other prototype projects in my 2024 Prototype folder. The other prototypes have to do with color, scrolling behavior, and animation. I plan to combine elements of these projects to redesign parts of my website.

These prototypes are the components that I use to build websites for clients.

I am working on creating a presentation to teach how to set up an Eleventy project. I was testing the course to decide how to include styles. I need to write a purpose statement to introduce the presentation. My goal is to keep the presentation to 40 minutes.

Another project is a HTML portfolio that I will print as a PDF. I intend to use it for self-promotion and project search. I have many work samples to add.

At the end of the March typography refactor project I published my article. There are two more articles to edit and publish. I want to get these done and out. I am eager to pick up work on my other projects. I am putting myself out to the world looking for paid projects where I can offer my design expertise.