· Software Witchcraft

How I Started My Personal Blog and What I Learned in the First Year

12 June 2025

writing Lessons Learned

For a year, I wrote a technical blog without any predefined topics—just with the goal of writing, learning, and sharing experiences. In this post, I share the process, technical decisions, and lessons I learned — it might help you start your own.

Setting Up PHPUnit and GitHub Actions for a PHP Project

6 May 2025

Programming Tutorial Testing DevOps PHP PHPUnit GitHub Actions

Learn how to set up a PHP project with Composer, write tests using PHPUnit, and automate testing with GitHub Actions.

The Race That Debugged My Software

17 April 2025

Programming Weba Kayak Race Lessons Learned Testing

Turning a kayak ergometer into a virtual race seemed simple—until real athletes started competing. Unexpected bugs emerged live: sleeping devices, stuck avatars, and a canceled race thanks to one unlucky keypress. Nothing tests software like the real world.

How I Built a Free Static Website for Developers Club Using Next.js and Cloudflare

8 April 2025

Programming DevOps next.js Cloudflare

Learn how I built and deployed a free static website, covering the setup, deployment process, and the tweaks needed to keep the site low-cost and easy to maintain.

How a Designer Took Project Oktan to the Next Level

20 March 2025

Project management Oktan Lessons Learned

Hiring a skilled professional for the Oktan website illustration showed me that experts don’t just execute ideas—they refine and elevate them beyond expectations.

Key-Value Stores

11 March 2025

Programming Databases

Key-value stores are fast, scalable NoSQL databases that store data as key-value pairs, making them ideal for caching, session management, and high-performance applications.

Oktan: The Car Expense Tracker I Built 15 Years Ago

2 March 2025

Entrepreneurship Oktan Lessons Learned

A look back at Oktan, a car expense tracker I built 15 years ago—why I created it, the challenges I faced, and key lessons learned.

How to Count and Track Checkboxes in Obsidian with Dataview

21 February 2025

Programming Development tips Obsidian JavaScript

Learn how to automate task tracking in Obsidian using the Dataview plugin. This guide walks you through setting up a dynamic checklist counter to display completed and total tasks, helping you stay organized and track progress effortlessly.

Determining the Date of Monday in the First Week of the Year

5 February 2025

Programming Development tips PHP JavaScript Python C# Java

Learn how to determine the first Monday of the ISO week in any year using simple calculations and built-in methods in Python, Java, C#, PHP, and JavaScript.

Extend Hugo/Congo Theme: Adding Links to Unsupported Platforms

12 January 2025

Programming Development tips Hugo

Learn how to easily add custom profile links and icons to the Congo theme in Hugo, even for unsupported platforms like Goodreads.