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WriteDaily Security Review: How We Handle Your Writing Data in 2022
A commissioned security review of WriteDaily's infrastructure, data handling, and privacy practices. Here's what the audit found, what we fixed, and where we're heading on the privacy roadmap.
Read moreWriteDailySecurityPrivacyData ProtectionWriting AnalyticsDaily WritingStarting Out with Home Assistant
My first commit for my [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io) config to a public GitHub repo. https://github.com/simeonpashley/home-assistant_config ## Hardware - [Raspberry Pi 3B](https://amzn.to/3bHxYIr) ## Built On - [Home...
Read moreGitHubRepoHome AssistantSmart HomeFostering Innovation at Scale: How to Build a Culture that Drives Continuous Improvement
In today's fast-paced world, innovation isn't a luxury-it's a necessity. Discover how to build a culture that drives continuous improvement and fosters game-changing ideas at scale. From aligning innovation with business goals to leveraging emerging technologies like AI and IoT, this guide will show you how to future-proof your organisation and stay ahead of the competition. Ready to lead the charge? Dive in to learn how!
Read moreInnovationOrganisational CultureContinuous ImprovementEmerging TechnologiesStarting Out with Klipper for 3D Printing
My first commit for my [Klipper](https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper) / [Mainsail](https://github.com/mainsail-crew/mainsail) config to a public GitHub repo. https://github.com/simeonpashley/klipper_config/ ## Hardware - [Raspberry Pi...
Read moreGitHubRepo3D PrintingKlipperWriteDaily Gamification Goes Live: Badges, Streaks, and What Users Are Earning
The WriteDaily gamification engine is live. Users are earning badges for writing milestones, streak achievements, and focus metrics. Here's how the declarative condition system works, what badges are most earned, and what the early data says about motivation.
Read moreWriteDailyGamificationBadgesHabit FormationWriting AnalyticsProduct DevelopmentWriteDaily Now Runs on Laravel: The Migration Ships
After 18 months of parallel development, WriteDaily has switched to the Laravel stack. Zero downtime, zero data loss, and the first major architecture upgrade since the 2013 launch. Here's how the cutover went and what it makes possible.
Read moreWriteDailyLaravelMigrationProduct DevelopmentWriting AnalyticsDaily WritingWriteDaily Migration Update: Test Coverage Complete, Approaching Production Switch
The WriteDaily Laravel migration has reached a significant milestone: full test coverage on the core writing loop and sentiment analysis pipeline. Here's the testing strategy, the test results, and what's left before the production switch.
Read moreWriteDailyLaravelTestingMigrationProduct DevelopmentWriteDaily Development Update: Framework Migration Progress and the Pace of Side Projects
The WriteDaily Laravel migration has been running alongside the production codebase for eight months. Here's an honest look at where it stands — what's complete, what's in progress, and what realistic timelines look like when client work and side projects share the same calendar.
Read moreWriteDailySide ProjectsLaravelGamificationProduct DevelopmentWriting AnalyticsWriteDaily Architecture Upgrade: Moving to Laravel with Gamification and Cached Sentiment Analysis
After years of incremental maintenance on the original PHP codebase, WriteDaily is getting a long-planned architecture upgrade to Laravel. The new stack brings Eloquent models, a gamification engine, cached sentiment analysis, and proper multi-user support — all while the existing product keeps running.
Read moreWriteDailyDaily WritingLaravelGamificationSentiment AnalysisWriting AnalyticsProduct DevelopmentPreparing WriteDaily for Migration: Database Hardening and Security Hygiene
Before the Laravel migration goes live, there's groundwork to do. Here's how I'm approaching database hardening, backup verification, and security hygiene for a tool that holds years of personal writing.
Read moreWriteDailySecurityDatabase MigrationLaravelData Integrity