Larry Myers

mostly cycling and technology

Daily Note

December 3, 2023

Trading card games are having a bit of a renaissance. I remember playing Magic in middle school in the mid-90’s, and it was definitely not something you would do if you prioritized general social acceptance in the meat grinder that is 8th grade. Magic is still around, and still has the largest player base, but it still seems just as unapproachable as it was 30 years ago. I’m not sure what I think about Lorcana yet. The Disney brand ensures it’ll be popular, but the scarcity issues and general cost certainly on brand for Disney as well. I still really enjoy Pokemon. There’s real depth in the game, while still being approachable and fun. The card artwork is more fun and playful than Magic cards, but still has some truly beautiful cards.

Regardless, my favorite aspect of getting back into TCG’s as an adult is having another thing to do with my kids. Every shared hobby we can do together is a joy.

All Notes →

Articles

Own Your MX Record→

December 3, 2023

Your email address is the most important digital asset you have. Make sure you own and control it.

How to Create an Astro Markdown Plugin→

November 20, 2023

Creating a Markdown plugin for the the Astro framework is great way to make it easier to author content for a static website. This tutorial will show to how to create a basic plugin.

How to Run Your Own Minecraft Server→

October 15, 2023

Want to be the coolest parent ever? Run a home Mincraft server.

We Can Have Nice Things→

August 7, 2023

An explanation of a phrase I've found myself repeating during my career.

The Downsides of Remote Work→

July 7, 2023

Sometimes you need more than the endless solitude of the home office.

About Me

I'm a [Dad, Technologist, Cyclist] living in Chicago with my wife, kids, and cats. There are some ghost shrimp in a fishtank too, but I'm not sure I count them as members of the household.

When I'm not getting paid to code I'm usually playing outside and exploring the city.

Things I've Built

Cycling Weather Forecast

weather.larrymyers.com

There's plenty of weather forecasts out there, but none did a good job of answering the question: "When should I go biking tomorrow?"

So I built one for myself. It's an extremely lightweight traditional webapp with a Go powered backend.

Metra Train Tracker

metra.larrymyers.com

Metra has never had a good train tracker, I doubt they ever will. This is a React app with a Go backend that is geared towards people who want to know when the next train is coming with just a quick glance to their phone.

Wordle Solver

wordle.larrymyers.com

Some days you just don't want to spend the time staring at your 3rd guess trying to figure out a word that fits. I built this wordle solver to allow me to spend more time analyzing guesses and less time trying to think of words.