Blog on JoRap Notes

Alex Eala Pro Career Tracker

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 05:00:00 +0000

I’ve been following Alex Eala’s career since her run at the 2025 Miami Open. Watching a Filipina rise through the WTA ranks in real time is something I never thought I’d get to do in my lifetime. I’m glad I started keeping notes when I did. This page is my running scrapbook for it. I update it when something happens worth pinning, not on a schedule.

OpenAI Is Leaving Cursor. I'm Fine With That.

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:40:00 +0000

I read OpenAI’s post about Cursor recently. Glad I already picked a default model and stopped treating the picker like a buffet.

Celebrate After - Or Experience Excellence at Home

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

I’m glad I started keeping notes on Alex Eala when the 2025 Miami Open semifinal broke on my phone. For years her matches meant late-night streams and headline refreshes. You could follow the climb, but you were always on a screen. You were far from how fast she moves, how heavy the ball comes off her racket, how she fights when a point turns ugly. The excellence was real. It just happened in other countries.

One Point Is Enough for the Best Pre-Slam Show

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

US Open Fan Week is on again: free grounds, qualifying, ticketed nights in Ashe before the main draw starts Sunday. I am glad the Slam calendar makes room for that week. The pre-tournament event that still lives in my head, though, ran in Melbourne in January: the Australian Open One Point Slam.

Why I Look Past the Lyrics When Picking Worship Songs

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 01:15:00 +0000

I’m glad we still sing together on Sunday. A room full of voices does something a playlist on my phone never quite matches.

Weeknight Instant Pot Beef Noodle Soup

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 03:56:00 +0000

I will detour for ramen, pho, or bun bo hue when someone else is simmering for hours. Same when I am out at a shop that does it right. Glad those bowls exist. I still hate the price. A shop bowl of beef noodle soup costs the same as a kilo of stew beef cubes. That is the part that gets me.

Skip the Viral Tote - I Carry the IKEA FRAKTA

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Every few months another tote goes viral. Right now it’s the Trader Joe’s bag: limited drops, resale chatter, people treating a grocery sack like a collectible. Fine if that’s your hobby. I’m glad I never waited for one. The blue medium FRAKTA already sits by the door, with a BRATTBY nested inside. One hand free, errands ahead - that’s what I grab.

Cheer Between Points - Not on the Toss

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

I’m glad you’re here live - ticket in hand, seat in the Pinoy section, flag out. Yell at the TV all you want. On court, the players and the umpire can hear you.

Instant Pot Beefy Taco Pasta

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Some weeknights I want the energy of those old ground-beef-and-pasta box meals. Salty, soft, gone before anyone asks what’s for dinner. Glad I moved that job to the Instant Pot: 1 kg lean beef, 1 kg short pasta, one pressure cycle in my 8-quart.

Why My Son Loves Toca Boca World

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 02:53:00 +0000

Davis has his own phone now. Not a hand-me-down flagship. A dedicated kids handset in kids mode, locked down so he can’t wander into my banking apps or the open internet. Glad that fence exists.

Why I Love Modern Board Games

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000

When someone says they don’t like board games, I usually know what they mean. They mean the aisle at the toy store - Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, the same boxes that have been there since we were kids. Glad I found the other shelf before I gave up on the whole idea.

Why I Prefer the Google Ecosystem Over Apple

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 02:51:00 +0000

I get the pitch. Apple hardware feels polished. The whole ecosystem talks to itself on a demo table. It looks effortless there. iMessage, iCloud, AirDrop, the App Store, the watch on your wrist. I own some of that hardware. Glad I still don’t have to live inside the whole Apple ecosystem to get work done.

Retheming Hanamikoji as Duopoly

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:26:00 +0000

I love Hanamikoji for the mechanics - glad the published game exists so I had something worth retheming at all. The retail box has gorgeous art - colorful geisha portraits, illustrated performance items, a table presence that pulls you in. I kept playing for the I split, you choose puzzle. How you bundle cards. What you force your rival to take. When to burn a Trade-off. The theme is atmosphere. The split is the game.

One Sheet, Eight Pages: Why I Use a 1-Page Zine for Rules Booklets

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:15:00 +0000

If you have ever tried to fit a full teach onto one reference card, you know the wall. Glad I hit it writing rules for a two-player card game instead of printing a booklet I didn’t need. A full rulebook felt like overkill for a 15-minute game. One card could not hold setup, scoring, and four different actions without turning into unreadable microtype.

The Short Extension Cord in My Laptop Bag

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:04:00 +0000

The thing I reach for most from my laptop bag isn’t a dongle or a power bank. It’s a short extension cord - glad I finally stopped treating it as optional.

Static Site or CMS? How I Pick the Stack

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Someone is about to pick a stack for a site that has to stay editable after launch. The forum thread will not answer that. Glad I learned to ask the useful question first: what has to change after launch, and who does the changing.

Instant Pot Arroz Caldo

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +0000

I used to make arroz caldo in a Hanabishi rice cooker - congee button, dump everything in, walk away. That worked for a while, and I’m glad it taught me the dish before I outgrew the pot. This is the version I actually make now: 10-12 bowls from an 8-quart Instant Pot in about 45 minutes.

Why I Stopped Playing Marvel Snap

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 06:11:00 +0000

I still get the itch sometimes. Three locations, six turns, snap on turn four - my brain knows the rhythm even months after I stopped opening the app. Glad I quit while the itch was still optional.

Why I Focused on Open Source Technologies

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

If you’re learning on a student budget, the real question isn’t “which stack is best.” Can you install anything on the machine you actually have? That’s where I was before I knew what a “stack” was. I’m glad open tools were what I could actually run.

Sustainable Online Publishing

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:58:00 +0000

If you’re still stuck on why own a site at all, start with why I still run my own website. Glad that argument still holds - this post is the habit.

Consistent AI Output for WordPress Builds

Sat, 30 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Ask the same AI for the same WordPress feature on Tuesday and Thursday and you’ll get two versions that both work and neither match. That’s the problem nobody warns you about - and I’m glad I hit it early enough to write the rules down.

HugoPlate: The Theme Quietly Powering This Site

Fri, 29 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

If you’ve ever spent a Saturday “just browsing” Hugo themes, you already know the trap. Every one of them looks gorgeous on a landing page. Half of them haven’t been touched in two years. The other half are tied to a styling system you’ll spend a month fighting before you can change a button color. Glad I stopped browsing after one weekend.

The Mouse Wheel Click: One Button, Three Operating Systems

Thu, 28 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

If you still open links with right-click → “Open link in new tab,” there’s a faster button right under your finger. Most people never use it. Glad someone showed me before I wore out another right-click habit.

Why I Switched from Drupal to WordPress

Wed, 27 May 2026 06:30:00 +0000

I Went Looking for the Best Open-Source CMS

If you’re picking a CMS for paid work, the clean architecture diagram matters less than whether clients and job posts exist in your city. I learned that the hard way - and I’m glad the market pushed me before I dug in deeper.

What I Look For in Wireless Earphones

Wed, 27 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

I’ve been through a lot of wireless earphones. True wireless buds, neckbands, sport clips, over-ears, the cheap ones from the checkout aisle, the not-so-cheap ones I felt guilty about. Most of them ended up in a drawer within a month. Glad the boring pair that stayed out taught me what to keep.

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

Sun, 03 May 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Adobo used to mean standing at the stove for an hour and a half, poking at it. Glad I got tired of that on a Wednesday and moved the whole thing to the Instant Pot.

Worship Pads for Solo Guitar: What Changed When I Finally Tried Them

Sun, 04 May 2025 05:00:00 +0000

I love leading worship with just my acoustic guitar - glad that setting still feels like home. There’s an intimacy to it that a full band can’t quite reach. But anyone who’s stood at the front of a room with just six strings and a microphone knows the other side.

The Set It and Forget It Arroz Caldo

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

I used to make Arroz Caldo most Friday nights this way - prep it, hit the rice cooker’s congee button, go to bed. Glad those mornings started with ginger before I was fully awake.

How I Built JoRap Notes: After Losing PHP Hosting

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Still paying shared hosting for a personal blog one person publishes? I was too, until the client who split the bill moved on and the math stopped making sense. Glad that bill forced the switch.

RSS Feeds - What I Wish I'd Done Sooner

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For a long time I had this routine: open browser, check tech blog, check news site, check forum, check another blog. Find nothing new. Repeat in two hours. Anyone who’s ever been into a niche corner of the internet probably knows the feeling - the constant, low-key checking, just in case. Glad a friend laughed me into RSS before I burned more mornings on it.

Why I Still Run My Own Website

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Every time I tell someone I run my own website, the reaction is the same: “Why? Just post on Facebook.” Glad I kept the boring answer anyway.

Facebook's Hidden Gem: The Favorites Feed

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

I can’t quit Facebook entirely - Messenger is how too many people in my life actually reach me, and I’m glad that part still works. What I did quit, mostly, was scrolling the main feed.

The Miracle of Isaiah David

Mon, 08 May 2023 05:00:00 +0000

There’s no smooth way to start this story, so I’ll just say it. On May 8, 2020, my wife Pia and I found out she was pregnant. We gave birth to our son Isaiah David on the same day. That sentence still doesn’t feel real, even years later - and I’m still thankful we got to live it.

DNPAP - The Song Pia Recorded at Home

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

If you sing DNPAP in church or stream it on Spotify, the links below are still the page I keep bookmarked. I’m glad I never took it down. I keep the page itself for a different reason.

Why I Still Keep a Desktop or Laptop

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Every couple of years someone tells me they’re “going mobile-only.” A tablet, a phone, maybe a foldable. I get the appeal. Glad I still keep a laptop - that’s where I actually get work done, sitting upright, full keyboard, big screen, the real version of the software.