Hello,
I'm Axel.

I'm a Design Engineer living in Hermosillo, Mexico. I've been working in the software development industry for pretty much my entire adult life, in roles related to both front-end development and design. I lived through the browser wars, the web standards movement, social media becoming mainstream, and the decay of privacy online. Today I'm very much into the indie web and the small web movements. This website is my hub on the web, from work to hobbies and everything in-between.
Axel Valdez

Content Timeline

This timeline shows the 20 most recent posts across the blog, the stream of consciousness, memories, and links sections.

  1. Sharing knowledge is more important than protecting your ego

    There's a quote I saw somewhere on the internet around 2012 and I used to repeat to myself whenever I was preparing to give a talk at a university.

    I can't remember who said it, or even the exact wording. I've searched for it more times that I care to admit, but it either disappeared from the internet, or my Google-fu (is that an anachronism already?) is rusty.

    Continue reading →

  2. The cool thing about getting a new iPhone is The smoothness of the experience. Unless you're new to iOS, everything is always exactly the same.

    The thing that sucks is also that it's always exactly the same.

    You get a brand new iPhone, set it up, and five minutes later you've somehow had it for six years.

  3. I spent a few days (couple hours a day) vibecoding a mac app for my personal archive notes and my work notes.

    Turns out I was vibecoding a shitty version of Obsidian.

    Lesson learned, again 😬

  4. Watched Tony last night. I've always been inspired by Anthony Bourdain, but now I feel like I'm going fully into the rabbit hole of rewatching No Reservations, Parts Unknown, etcétera.

    My partner is just learning about the guy. I already have Roadrunner ready for her, and I'm so excited.

    Don't you love the recommendation high when somebody you appreciate doesn't know something you deeply care about? I'm riding that high right now.

  5. Invisible Tools: Window Management

    This post is part of a series about my invisible tools: the hardware and software I use so much that I don't have to think about using them.

    During 2024 and 2025, I traveled a lot, and I decided to work only on my laptop, with no peripherals, whether I was at home or on the go. I wanted my setup to stay the same so there wasn't any warm-up time when switching.

    Continue reading →

  6. Invisible Tools

    Having your tools become second-nature has more effect on your productivity than getting the right tools. Once they reach that status I like to call them "invisible tools".

    I've found the best way of having a tool become invisible is a combination of:

    Continue reading →

  7. I started journaling again this weekend, after a couple of months of inactivity. I'm surprised every time by the mental clarity and peace it brings.

  8. Impostor syndrome never goes away, it just lingers in the shadows, waiting.

  9. New bitter-old-man rule: I don’t open any YouTube video recommendation that has a cryptic baity title and/or thumbnail, period.

    We’re turning into gullible children. I won’t have that, fuck you very much.

  10. This is a good week. I came back from my trip to Chihuahua to find two new records at my door: Papota by CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso and Thank You, by Mike D.

    The first one already shows wear marks on my Apple Music account. The second one fills me with joy: it's the first new thing related to Beastie Boys to arrive in many, many years (excluding the half-assed documentary, that is).

    It's also Apple Event week, and my kids arrived home today. Not much else I can ask for right now.