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Thinking about Image Optimization
by JamesOne of the tasks left for me to improve the sustainability of my website is to reduce the size/transfer of the images on my site. This is actually two tasks: optimize the images themselves, two lazy load images so they only load when scrolled into view.
I'm not too interested in lazy-loading images as it would require adding more Javascript and client-side execution. So I plan to focus on optimizing images in place for now.
My blog is powered by Wordpress, so it should be as simple as installing one of the many "image optimizer" plugins. However, for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to image optimizing happens on their servers, or they want to use their CDN to delivery my images, or the plugin just kinda looks spammy, I haven't taken the next time.
My designed image processing shouldn't be too difficult - just call pngcrush and imagemagick depending on if I upload a png or jpeg file.
I've asked myself how do I address image optimization on my website: do I write my own image optimization plugin? Or do I do something else?
I haven't written PHP in a very long time I don't partially fancy developing a new Wordpress plugin. But it could be nice to make a nice, clean, no fuss plugin available for others to use.
However, I'm leaning towards "something else" and think a more generic solution might be better. i.e. What if I had a small daemon (probably Python, maybe Rust as an excuse to learn it?) to monitor a directory and automatically optimize the images when they're saved. This way no plugin is required and it could be used no matter the blogging engine.
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by James
Made it to Shonandai and back. Took the direct route there and the scenic route along sakaigawa back. Love rice harvest season. ππΎπ
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Checkin to ζΉεε°ε ¬ε
Midway point. Time to run back. πππ»
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by James
Ballot delivered πΊπΈ. Kuroneko, ftw!
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by James
5.5km run this morning. Running next to the farms is markedly cooler β feels like thereβs some AC blowing from them. Shonan Enoshima truck had a great Showa vibe. π
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Checkin to Yayoidai Station (SO33) (εΌ₯ηε°ι§ )
γγγγ£γ³ spotting with Leo
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Checkin to Starbucks
No run today. I needed this.
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Focusing on Sleep
by JamesTypically I always have had a side project that I work on before or after hours. However, with Covid-19 and everything else going on in the world I decided that rather than add another stressor to take a step back and focus on my mental and physical health.
To improve my physical fitness, I've been working on developing a regular running habit again. To improve my mental health, I've been focusing getting enough sleep.
In both of those aims my Apple Watch and iPhone have been a key tool in keeping me on track.
My watch reminds me to stand up and tracks my runs. I've also started a running club at work and while we can't run together, we do share our runs on Slack and set running goals each month.
For sleep health, I've setup Downtime everyday from 8:30pm - 5:30am, as part of my Screentime settings. This disables all apps on my phone, except phone calls and apps that I specifically allow. The only apps that I allow are Runkeeper, Music, and Overcast, as I use them when running.
I didn't think Downtime would have much of an effect at first, but I discovered that it prevents me from doom scrolling while in bed. And it turns out that limiting your intake of doom directly before and after you wake up, does wonders for your mental health.
The other setting that helps drastically is Bedtime. I aim for 8 hours of sleep a night and have set bedtime from 8:30pm - 4:30am, everyday. Notice that Downtime doesn't end until an hour after I've woken up - giving me at least an hour of time with "just me".
45 minutes before bedtime I get a notification that it's time to start winding down and notifications disappear, my phone dims and I get a nice banner that say things like "Good evening. It's time to start winding down.". Removing the notifications and making such a simple display makes it much less tempting to pick up my phone.
When I first heard about these features I thought they sounded a bit gimmicky and they wouldn't work. But they do. In the past two weeks I've averaged 8:29 hours in bed at 7:36 hours asleep each night. And each morning I feel refreshed.
If you've been having trouble sleeping this year, give yourself a break and try Downtime and Screentime.
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by James
Can't get enough of this Ben BΓΆhmer performance from a hot air balloon. Too beautiful.
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by James
35 minutes for 35 years ππ
