Geek in Heels

For today's website of the day, I present to you the World Dumpling Index: a clickable map of the world's many many different dumplings. Created with Svelte and D3, the hand-drawn map is a cute and informative way to organize and visualize a food so many cultures have in common. For instance, when you click on South Korea, you get the following result: I would have guessed mandu and songpyeon, but I was surprised by sujebii. I wasn't sure if I would've characterized that as a dumpling since it doesn't have a filling, but a quick search for the definition of 'dumpling' results in: "Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made...

Blogging, Geek, Web, WordPress

How I Finally Turned to ChatGPT

Dec 17. 2025

Despite being a self-proclaimed geek, I never fully embraced AI. I just never saw its appeal. Perhaps I'm too influenced by old movies like the Terminator series and 2001: A Space Odyssey? Perhaps I still keep hearing/reading about its limitations? Sure, I'll use Google Assistant to set my alarm and use voice commands in Android Auto while driving, but that is about all I do on a regular basis. When Photoshop announced it added a generative AI feature, I played around with it some, but I never used it after that one time. When everyone on social media downloaded EPIK and uploaded their pictures to generate AI images of themselves a couple of years ago, I did that too....

Beauty, Personal, Reviews

Outside In Silk Serum Foundation Review

Dec 13. 2025

I know I declared a new foundation my HG just 5 months ago, but I think I may have found one even better. Outside In is the new brand by Hourglass founder Carisa Janes. Right now they only have three products: a foundation, a foundation brush, and a face oil. The Silk Serum Foundation is the centerpiece of the debut collection, and it is designed as a hybrid of makeup and skincare. It is formulated to have the weightlessness of a serum with the performance of a long-wear foundation. Infused with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, the Outside In Silk Serum Foundation promises to improve your skin over time. (Personally, I don't take too much...

Art/Design, Funny, Geek, Web

How to Update Your Search Bar

Dec 11. 2025

I must admit that I haven't really kept myself updated on web/UX design trends — to be completely honest, I prefer the popular designs from the 2010s over what what's taken over in the 2020s. But when I came across this on Reddit earlier today, I had a good chuckle. It's not an evolution of search bars, per se (because that would include much earlier versions as well), but it's more of a step-by-step progression of how the simple search bar has been — IMHO — enshittified, like many things, by AI. As discussed on the Reddit thread, wouldn't you know it, the search bar on Reddit looks eerily like the final "AI Glow" version. (I hadn't...