Mike van Riel

  • Run PHP & Composer Without Installing Them (Using Docker)

    Run PHP & Composer Without Installing Them (Using Docker)

    Want to run php and composer on any machine—without installing PHP or Composer locally? You can, by launching a disposable container that has everything preinstalled and points at your project folder. Here’s the command: This drops you into a bash shell inside the official composer image (which already includes PHP and Composer). From there you…

  • Using Google Chrome’s Omnibar to Directly Prompt ChatGPT

    Using Google Chrome’s Omnibar to Directly Prompt ChatGPT

    In recent updates, Google Chrome introduced a new shortcut feature in the omnibar (also known as the address bar) to directly prompt Google’s Gemini AI using the keyword @gemini. This innovative addition allows users to interact with AI straight from the address bar without the need to navigate to a separate website. But did you…

  • When Bluetooth devices won’t connect anymore

    When Bluetooth devices won’t connect anymore

    If you’ve ever experienced Bluetooth issues on your Windows PC, you’re not alone. I recently faced a frustrating problem where my Bluetooth devices refused to connect, no matter what I tried. One day it worked, and the next it didn’t. The only difference I could figure out, was that my Bluetooth drivers had updated to…

  • Resolving ImagePullBackOff with Registry Authentication Issues

    Resolving ImagePullBackOff with Registry Authentication Issues

    Encountering an ImagePullBackOff error in Kubernetes can be a frustrating experience, especially when it’s due to a 401 error from a Docker Registry. This guide will walk you through the steps to diagnose and resolve this issue by updating your registry credentials. Diagnosing the ImagePullBackOff Error When a pod fails to pull an image, it…

  • More flexible Figma Components: Slotting

    More flexible Figma Components: Slotting

    Slotting in Figma is a practical technique that simplifies working with complex designs by equipping components with flexible “slots”. These slots are essentially predefined spaces within a component where other components or elements can be inserted. This is particularly useful for creating customizable and reusable UI elements such as buttons, cards, and navigation menus. The…

  • Getting a list of week numbers between two dates

    Getting a list of week numbers between two dates

    Recently, I was working on a PHP application that needed to show weekly summaries in the period of one month. Then, January came and I found myself looking at 48 weeks instead of the expected 4 to 5. This is the piece of code that I used in a Twig template. What the above does,…

  • A new talk in the making? (User) Stories for Developers

    A new talk in the making? (User) Stories for Developers

    At Ingewikkeld, we hold internal presentations to share knowledge between us. Recently, it was my turn; I wanted to tell a story, on stories. In our field of Software Engineering, one of the hardest things (besides naming) is to break down work into manageable pieces of work. In this presentation, I demonstrated how you take…

  • ‘master’ has always been a poor branch name

    ‘master’ has always been a poor branch name

    Recently I was scrolling through my twitter timeline when I encountered this tweet by Fabien Potencier: Fabien eloquently describes something that suddenly clicked with me; master has always been a poor choice of name. With the current state of affairs, people have been reviewing the names that we use on a daily basis. And the…

  • Three ways to switch between views in Blender, without using a NumPad

    Three ways to switch between views in Blender, without using a NumPad

    I generally work on my laptop a lot, including using Blender, and as most laptops do; this one does not have a NumPad. Most tutorials that you find on the internet presume you do; if you are like me you struggle with not being able to easily switch between views using the NumPad or to…

  • Designing stories in (roleplaying) games

    Designing stories in (roleplaying) games

    Some time ago my friend Jhon and I spoke through WhatsApp after having spent an enjoyable evening in a café. There we dwelled on various topics including one of our favourites: Dungeons and Dragons, or more specifically: writing good stories for our roleplaying campaigns. After we parted I recalled two techniques that I particularly like…