Axel Valdez Design Engineer
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The Blog

Notes on stuff I'm thinking about. For short-form posts, visit the stream.

  • I miss email

    I miss email as a personal communication tool. Surely I still use it, but it is 20% paper trail for transactions, and 80% cold-messaging from companies I don't know—or plain old spam, if there's even a difference.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Apr 28, 2026
    • tools
    • reflection
  • Kindness

    This is a note from my journal that works as a constant reminder of being kind, something that's very important on my current journey. I share it here because, as simple and silly as it may seem, sometimes finding something simple at the right time can give someone a shift in perspective, and I've found innumerable things on my own path that I'm extremely grateful for.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Apr 16, 2026
    • reflection
  • Journaling

    In its simplest form, journaling is keeping a record of our thoughts, emotions, and reactions to our circumstances. It gives us a history to revisit, reference material that would otherwise get lost in unreachable corners of our memory. I've gone back to pages from 4 or 5 years ago and been surprised to realize that I'd already lived through situations similar to current events I considered new.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Apr 14, 2026
    • mental health
    • writing
  • Notebooks

    For years I’ve tried to have a digital-only note system, but it’s difficult. It’s easy to have an organized archive for quick-reference in digital form, but for daily on-the-go notes nothing beats the availability of pen and paper.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Mar 04, 2026
    • 2 Comments
    • tools
    • writing
  • IIIMGS

    This blog is built on 11ty, and I use Decap CMS to update it (editing code directly gets old reeeeal quick). I don't love image management in Decap, though, and I always wanted a better and quicker solution for that. So I made my own.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Dec 12, 2025
    • coding
    • tools
  • CCCOLUMNS

    I’m a huge nerd for notes. A long time ago, I learned not to trust my memory, so everything that comes to mind and needs to be remembered goes into a note. There’s this idea that the brain is an excellent processor and a very shitty storage solution. I fully subscribe to that notion.

    I already use a system in Apple Notes, heavily based on Forever Notes by Matthias Hilse, but very distilled and simplified. However, I wanted an even more immediate quick-note system that was always up front and ready, so I made just that.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Dec 12, 2025
    • coding
    • tools
  • Vibe Coding (look ma'! I'm a developer!)

    I've been vibe coding again, but this time I took a different approach. I focused on stuff whose workings I already understand. It was a very different experience.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Dec 12, 2025
    • coding
    • tools
  • Drugs and Normality

    White Pills, by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

    I never did drugs in my youth because I was too afraid, but I always had this curiosity of how it would feel to be high. I imagined pure awesomeness and bliss.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Nov 27, 2025
    • mental health
    • reflection
  • Headphones

    Airpods Max, photo by Stephan Riedl / Unsplash

    I love headphones. I love them because music has always been my safe place and headphones were my way to carry that with me in public, except I never allowed myself to use them.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Nov 25, 2025
    • mental health
  • Making my phone boring

    I removed Instagram from my phone two weeks ago. Well, all social apps, but Instagram is the main one for me.

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    • By Axel Valdez
    • Sep 17, 2025
    • 1 Comment
    • social media
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© Axel Valdez
Last updated on October 11, 2026
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Axel Valdez Axel Valdez Axel Valdez

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.

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