Joe Winger
Welcome to my site :) I use this as a central source of truth for my doings online. I'll update it occasionally when I have new things to share.
Why does it look like this? Keeping the design of this site fresh & new ended up causing more stress than it was worth, so I've settled on what you see now. Plus, this brings me back to my roots of figuring out how the web works from scratch, and that makes me happy. No build tools, no compile step, no libraries, no CDNs, just plain code :)
About Me
I just love building things. I learned to code as a kid and I haven't stopped since. I spent a lot of time playing with Java and Python before realizing that the web is truly the universal operating system and zeroing in on that.
My favorite tools include TypeScript (or vanilla JS), Astro, Alpine, and Vue (when it's needed). I design in Figma, and I primarily use VS Code unless I can get by with vim.
Some of my principles are: Do it right, Use the right tool, and Don't delude yourself.
Current Projects
- Stakeout Studio - My digital agency, where I build custom software & websites for clients.
- Hyzer: The Disc Golf Wiki - A resource for disc golfers. I work on this here and there as my love for the game fluctuates with the seasons.
Older Stuff
- Pain in my Deck! [Unmaintained, might not work] - A mobile-first Cards Against Humanity clone. Similar to Jackbox, but not as full-featured. I built this entirely on top of Firebase, which was a mistake. Vendor lock isn't always bad, but most of the major bugs in this project could be easily resolved using different technologies.
- College SnowJam - I was the technology coordinator and event manager for College SnowJam, one of the largest Music & Snowsports festivals in PA, from ~2014-2018.
- Astronomical Products - A since-defunct startup my brother and I founded, building LateSkate - a smart safety illumination system for longboards and skateboards. The lesson here is to launch fast and ask questions later. There's no point in spending time and money on R&D if you never get anything out the door.
Thoughts
- Just because something's ubiquitous doesn't mean it's great (*cough* React).
- Vanilla is best. When you can't use vanilla, use as close to it as possible. Vanilla CSS > Tailwind. Vanilla JS > Alpine > Vue, React, Svelte, or anything with a Virtual DOM. (See: Lindy)
- Donate $2 when Wikipedia begs you 🙏
Contact
If you'd like to reach out for any reason, my email is [email protected].