Articles

HTMX is a JavaScript library that can be used to issue AJAX requests, create CSS transisions, and set up web sockets using HTML

The power of HTMX is that it can be used without writing any custom JavaScript code. It works by looking for attributes in HTML tags using that information to set up events, user interaction, and send requests to a back end. The system is backend agnostic and so will essentially work with any system that can accept, interpret, and respond to the requests.

I have been meaning to look at HTMX since hearing about as it seemed like a decent system with a good community. Since then it has been included into Drupal 11.2.0 and there are plans to make it the core system for AJAX requests going forward. As a result it has jumped forward in my list of things to look at.

Single Directory Components (SDC) consist of a directory of files that go together to create a small component on a Drupal website. SDC can be nested together, which means that a consistent set of elements can be created and plugged together on a site.

The power of SDC comes from their ability to be self contained. If you have the need to build a complex component that displays data in a widget then building it as a SDC means that you can ensure that every time you include it, the same widget will be shown.

It is possible to add an SDC to your Drupal site without adding them into tempaltes first. You can use the SDC Component Library module to preview them whilst you are building them, and then integrate them into your site once they are ready.

Single Directory Components (SDC) consist of a directory of files that go together to create a small component on a Drupal website. The component contains all the templates, styles, script, and images needed to display some content in a consistent way.

Different SDC can be nested together, which means that a site can be built up from different components working together to generate the content.

The power of SDC comes from their ability to be self contained. If you have the need to build a complex component that displays data in a widget then building it as a SDC means that you can ensure that it looks and functions in the same way every time you include it.

Kiwi Ears Altruva are a set of wired headphones that have an opened backed design. They connect via a standard audio jack interface, which has a built in adapter so it's compatible with 3.5mm or 6.35mm connections.

I usually spend about an hour a day on video conference calls (sometimes much, much more than that) and I have a set of headphones that I use for this. Actually, I have used the same headphones for this purpose for the last 5 years so when Kiwi Ears reached out to offer me the Altruva headphones I was keen on giving them a go as my daily drivers.

In this article we will look at the Kiwi Ears Altruva headphones, their build quality, functionality, and how they sound.

Allowing users to switch between light and dark colour schemes on websites is a popular feature. You can often see a small sun or moon icon that allows you to change from light mode to dark colour scheme, or visa versa. Some operating systems and user agents also have the ability to activate a dark colour scheme, which websites also pick up and use.

This feature is so popular, in fact, that a number of browser extensions exist to allow users to force websites to be shown in certain colour schemes, the most popular ones making the site dark. Having a dark colour scheme on a website aids in readability, especially for people who have ADHD and similar disorders.

From a person perspective, having a dark colour scheme in a website means that I can view the content in the middle of the night without causing myself eye strain or disturbing anyone else. I often have trouble sleeping so the ability to read articles in the dark has become quite important to me.

The Keychron Q13 Pro is a full size keyboard that has wired and wireless capabilities, featuring 106 keys including 5 macro keys and a number pad.

The keyboard features an Alice layout, which means that the board is essentially split into two sections, with each section curved towards the lower middle of the board. The idea behind this is to give the keys a more natural position for the user to type on, preventing wrist stretching.

In a drive to keep typing as much as I do, whilst also not suffering from RSI, I was looking for Alice keyboards, and the Q13 Pro stood out. I have tried split keyboards in the past and didn't really get on with them, so I was curious to know if the sloped design would cause me problems with typing.

Hooks are used in Drupal to allow modules and themes to listen to or trigger different sorts of events in a Drupal system. During these events Drupal will pause and ask if any modules want to have any say in the event that is currently being triggered.

For example, hooks are commonly used when content is viewed, created, updated, or deleted. So, if we delete a page of content then a delete hook is triggered which allows modules to react to that content item being deleted. Using this, we can react to this and perform clean up operations on items of content that don't exist any more. Our custom module might want to remove items from a database table, or delete associated files since they wont be needed.

This is just one example of how hooks are used in Drupal as they are used in all manner of different situations, and not just listening for content events. Another example of a common Drupal hook is when creating a custom template.

Kiwi Ears Spark are a set of open earphones that have bluetooth support. Open earphones or ear buds are a relatively recent development in earphones that sit on the outside of the ear, rather than being pushed into the ear canal.

I haven't tried open earphones before so I was interested in seeing what they were like.

In this article we will look at the Kiwi Ears Spark Bluetooth Earphones, their functionality, how they sound, and what sort of environments they would be most useful for.

LocalGov Drupal Camp 2025 was held in The Abbey Community Centre (near Westminster Abbey in London) on July 3rd 2025. I travelled down (despite the English rail network's attempts to the contrary) for the day as an attendee.

It was a hot day in London on the 3rd July, and thankfully the Abbey Community Centre had lots of doors and windows that we could open to let some air through. Including a few fans dotted around to try and keep the rooms cool.

After a small icebreaker, where people stood up if this was their first LocalGov Camp or what sort of role they have, we started the camp with an introductory session.

Have you ever noticed the slightly green colouration in the movie The Matrix? The movies are full of different colour pallets, but when inside The Matrix everything gets a slight green colouration.

This is colour pallet is created as a post processing step, using a colour grading algorithm. The original colours of the film are passed through a filter to tweak the colours slightly for the scenes inside the simulation.

In this article we will look at how we can convert a pixel so that it has the green colour grading found in the matrix, and how to use the system on images in PHP.