Honest AI tool reviews
AI tools, coding assistants, automation tools, and practical AI web tech tested with real tasks.
The Practical AI Tool Matrix
Modern tools. Old-stack common sense.
Practical tech for solo builders who want useful tools, not more noise.
AI tools, web workflows, build notes, and simple-stack thinking for people building real things on the web.
Build with tools, not trends.
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A practical journal for useful tools and small web projects.
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Latest entries
Fresh from the journal.
The latest posts across tool tests, workflows, build notes, web tech, AI commentary, and small app ideas.
Automation Receipts
Why I Rebuilt the Automation Receipts UI With Tabler
I rebuilt Automation Receipts around Tabler so every new page didn’t become another custom CSS decision, while keeping the PHP/MySQL app simple.
Automation Receipts
Automation Receipts: A Readable Record for Workflow Runs
A webhook is easy. The harder part is turning automation runs into readable receipts so someone can understand what happened without digging through old logs.
Build Diary
EVE Profit Routes — Week 3: Making the Route Controls Easier to Use
Week 3 of EVE Profit Routes improves the route controls, adding sortable tables, clearer filters, and UI changes that make hauling decisions easier.
AI Commentary
Codex Makes Old-School Web Development Feel New Again
Codex makes old-school web development feel fresh again by helping with real code, small fixes, repo context, and practical solo builder workflows.
Small App Ideas
Syntax 819: Fun and Profitable Side Projects for Developers
Syntax 819 looks at side projects for developers: small tools, weird experiments, learning projects, money ideas, and the problem of actually finishing one…
Build Diary
EVE Profit Routes — Week 2: Turning Market Data Into Route Decisions
Week 2 of EVE Profit Routes turns raw market data into route decisions, adding scores, trust signals, and location context for better hauling picks.
Build Diary
EVE Profit Routes — Week 1: Starting a Decision-First Hauling Tool for EVE Online Market Traders
The first build diary for EVE Profit Routes: a simple web app turning EVE Online market data into one question: what should I haul right now to make…
Build Diary
Building the OSJ AI Tool Matrix
I built the OSJ AI Tool Matrix as a custom WordPress plugin, because a hand-edited table of AI tools sounded like a future migraine with admin edits. Oh…
LAMP Stack
LAMP Is Still Enough for Most Web Projects
Most developers aren’t building Netflix. For normal web projects, PHP, MySQL, Apache and cron still do the job without startup architecture up front. Usually.
LAMP Stack
Not Every Side Project Needs a Modern JavaScript Stack
Simple stacks like PHP, MySQL, Apache, and cron jobs are still enough for many solo builder projects. Not every web app needs JavaScript complexity.