That didn't last long: I flipped back to my new old theme. I suppose "flipped" doesn't do me justice: I threw 3 hours into the change after hanging out with ChatGPT 4. The time spent was only for the two Google Charts named "Maps," along with some minor content updates.

See, I use CSS variables on this site. It lets me set up the color standards on this site so that changes made then propagate everywhere. Like, I used to love (even had memorized) #ec1690, but now I run with #ff2683. Only one change is required and everything matches the update.

For example, my last theme had this: --black: #3F3F3F; --white: #fcfcfc; --gray: #e5e5e5; --shadow: #b4b4b4; --primary: #324d8f; --secondary: #007bff; --highlighter: #edfe5fb3; --accent: #c01b2c;

(That accent is another example of a change from a memorized #b70d00.)

Simple stuff. But, for an explosion of color, I go from 8 variables to 16. But Google Charts cannot directly access those site colors without declaring the variables:

1. In the Google Chart JavaScript, go ahead do that for some 15 aspects of a chart, title, gridlines et al: var titleColor = root.getPropertyValue('--compare__title').trim();

2. And then pop this into CSS --compare__title: var(--neon__blue);

Now, I could have saved that second step from happening, but I don't want a standard for my two Google Charts, but for them to stand on their own (and I want the ability to modify it at one place in the future). So for TWO charts, I doubled the amount of variables—whew!

And thus, it was all an exercise in detail! And now, I have the ability to ensure all the colors are what I want without running down particular files. My site is actually in pieces; each Chart is in its own HTML file via Jekyll's _includes functionality. And think, there was once a time when sites required PHP for such capability. (Not the Future...).

I like how although I built this website from the ground up, there is always some new customization I can drop into this muscle car.

My life hasn't been all technical this week:

1. I pulled off the wall a breaker-tripping microwave oven from over the stove (and now I'm in the market for a vent hood). It should have been easy, but the guy who installed it bolted the fasteners diagonally against the wall. I had to *thud-thud-thud* away with my woodworking chisels to make room for their extraction. It was the first time I've ever used a socket wrench with a screw bit.

2. I waved around my magic multimeter to troubleshoot a bathroom light fixture.

3. I pulled back the oven to plug this 220-to-110 adapter in because I got tired of seeing the gas oven's power cord snake over to the counter's outlet. It was laughable when we moved in, because it was on a surge protector. What—should I upgrade it with a UPS to ensure my bread isn't interrupted?