Latest posts
- Back button hijacking is going awayApr 14, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
When websites are blatantly hostile, users close them to never come back. Have you ever downloaded an app, realized it was deceptive, and deleted it immediately? It's a common occurrence for me. But there is truly hostile software that we still end up using daily. We don't just delete those apps because the hostility is far more subtle. It's like the boiling frog, the heat turns up so slowly that
- You paid for it, you should be comfortable in itApr 13, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
A friend of mine bought a Tesla Roadster back in the early 2010s. At the time, spotting a Tesla on the road was a rare event. Maybe even occasion enough to stop and take a picture. I never got the chance to photograph one, let alone drive one, until I met this new friend recently. This was my chance to experience the car firsthand. We walked to the parking structure to see it. As soon as he opened
- Your AWS Certification Makes You an AWS SalesmanApr 12, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
I must have been the last developer still confused by the AWS interface. I knew how to access DynamoDB, that was the only tool I needed for my daily work. But everything else was a mystery. How do I access web hosting? If I needed a small server to host a static website, what service would I use? Searching for "web hosting" inside the AWS console yielded nothing. After digging through the web, I f
- Your friends are hiding their best ideas from youApr 11, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
Back in college, the final project in our JavaScript class was to build a website. We were a group of four, and we built the best website in class. It was for a restaurant called the Coral Reef. We found pictures online, created a menu, and settled on a solid theme. I was taking a digital art class in parallel, so I used my Photoshop skills to place our logo inside pictures of our fake restaurant.
- What Are You Trying to Say?Apr 09, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
Sometimes, I find myself talking while my audience has a puzzled look on their face. It doesn't matter how much I prepared my speech, the message is just not getting through. But then they ask: What are you trying to say? Somehow, this shifts the conversation entirely. Instead of trying to sound smart and interesting, I start telling them exactly what I'm trying to say. The fluff disappears, the j
- AI Did It in 12 Minutes. It Took Me 10 Hours to Fix ItApr 06, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
I've been working on personal projects since the 2000s. One thing I've always been adamant about is understanding the code I write. Even when Stack Overflow came along, I was that annoying guy who told people not to copy and paste code into their repos. Instead, they should read it and adapt it to their specific case. On personal projects, I've applied this to a fault. Projects never get done beca
- It's not that deepApr 05, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
I have these Sunday evenings where I find myself sitting alone at the kitchen table, thinking about my life and how I got here. Usually, these sessions end with an inspiring idea that makes me want to get up and build something. I remember the old days where I couldn't even sleep because I had all these ideas bubbling in my head, and I could just get up and do it because I had no familial responsi
- My Zip bomb strategy is not as effective as it used to beApr 03, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
Last year, I wrote about my server setup and how I use zipbombs to mitigate attacks from rogue bots. It was an effective method that helped my blog survive for 10 years. I usually hesitate to write these types of articles, especially since it means revealing the inner workings of my own servers. This blog runs on a basic DigitalOcean droplet, a modest setup that can handle the usual traffic spike
- 13th Year of BloggingApr 01, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
Of all the days to start a blog, I chose April Fools' Day. It wasn't intentional, maybe more of a reflection of my mindset. When I decide to do something, I shut off my brain and just do it. This was a commitment I made without thinking about the long-term effects. I knew writing was hard, but I didn't know how hard. I knew that maintaining a server was hard, but I didn't know the stress it would
- What is Copilot exactly?Apr 01, 2026Ibrahim Diallo @dialloibu
A coworker of mine told me that he uses Microsoft Copilot frequently. In fact, he said "I don't know how I did my work without it." That came as a surprise to me. I can't stand Copilot. This is a very productive employee, one of those 10x engineers you can throw any problem at and he'll find a solution. Obviously, if he found a use for Copilot, then I was probably holding it wrong. So I decided to