The best tools are boring, visible, and hard to break.
If it needs a webpack config, it might not belong in the kit.
| Tool | Why |
|---|---|
| Notebook | Works without power. |
| Knife | Solves packaging. |
| Rag | Always useful. |
Roadside Archivist
Posts by this author.
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Tools that earn their keep
Tools and reasons to carry them -
Plain HTML still just works
A reminder that documents are already responsive before we start decorating them.
<main> <article>Hello, road.</article> </main>
That is enough structure for a lot of sites.
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No Build Step, Just Keep Driving
A build step is not a bad thing. It is just one more piece of equipment in the truckbed. Dirtbag does not need one yet, so it stays in the garage.
Current loadout
- Block templates.
- Patterns.
- Global style variations.
- Plain-text doors.
- Core comments.
- No bundled runtime.
If Dirtbag’s successor, Cab Light, ever emerges, it will start with vanilla JavaScript and a named job. Alpine can ride along only if markup-local state earns the seat. Reef and VanJS can keep playing cards at the truck stop.
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A Table, a Caption, and a Cheap Folding Chair
Tables get weird fast when they are treated like layout furniture. A real table is for data. It needs headings, rows, and a caption that tells you why the thing exists before the cells start muttering.
Part Dirtbag rule Caption Use the WordPress Table block figcaption, not a raw table caption that breaks the editor. Headers Use scoped table headers for rows and columns. Layout If it is not data, use headings, lists, or paragraphs instead. Table manners for a cheap folding chair website The goal is not fancy. The goal is that a screen reader, a browser, and a tired human can all get through it.