Blog

Notes on files, formats and the tools that handle them.

Roundups, comparisons and the occasional opinion, all aimed at one thing: spending less time fighting with files and more time on the work that matters.

Latest 6 min Jun 22, 2026

How Many Working Days Are in a Year? (2026 Count + Calculator)

Start with 52 weeks times 5, which is 260 weekdays, then adjust for the extra day or two in the year and subtract public holidays. Most people land near 250 working days, but the number shifts every year and by country.

How Many Working Days Are in a Year? (2026 Count + Calculator)

How to Cite a Website With No Author (APA, MLA, and Chicago)

7 min Jun 22, 2026

How to Cite a Website With No Author (APA, MLA, and Chicago)

When a web page has no named author, the title takes the author's place. Here is exactly how that works in APA 7 and MLA 9, with a worked reference and in-text example for each, plus the organization-as-author and no-date cases.

Should Your Resume Be a PDF or Word Doc? (The ATS-Safe Answer)

7 min Jun 22, 2026

Should Your Resume Be a PDF or Word Doc? (The ATS-Safe Answer)

Picking between PDF and Word for a resume feels riskier than it should. Here is the short answer, the real tradeoff between locked layout and reflowing text, and the mistake that quietly breaks applicant tracking systems.

Business days vs calendar days: what actually counts

6 min Jun 20, 2026

Business days vs calendar days: what actually counts

Calendar days count everything; business days skip weekends and usually public holidays. The gap between them grows fast, which is why a deadline often lands much later than it first sounds.

How to scale a recipe up or down without ruining it

6 min Jun 20, 2026

How to scale a recipe up or down without ruining it

Most of a recipe scales on one number. Divide the servings you want by the servings you have, multiply everything, and you're most of the way there. The catch is seasoning, leavening, pan size and time, which don't move with that number.

GLB, glTF, STL, OBJ and PLY: which 3D file format is which

7 min Jun 14, 2026

GLB, glTF, STL, OBJ and PLY: which 3D file format is which

Printing means STL. Web or a game means glTF or GLB. A scan is usually PLY. What the file stores tells you what it is for.

How to check a 3D model before you 3D print it

7 min Jun 14, 2026

How to check a 3D model before you 3D print it

Before you slice, look for the four defects that ruin prints: holes in the mesh, flipped normals, walls thinner than your nozzle, and steep overhangs. A viewer shows all of them in two minutes.

Why your email signature should be HTML, not an image

6 min Jun 14, 2026

Why your email signature should be HTML, not an image

An image signature is one flat picture: no clickable links, no selectable text, and a blank box the moment a client blocks images. HTML survives all three.

Flowchart, diagram, wireframe or mind map: pick the right canvas

6 min Jun 14, 2026

Flowchart, diagram, wireframe or mind map: pick the right canvas

A flowchart shows a process in order. A wireframe shows where things go on a screen. A mind map spreads ideas out from a centre. Diagram is the word that covers all of them.

Invoice, receipt, quote or purchase order: which to send when

6 min Jun 14, 2026

Invoice, receipt, quote or purchase order: which to send when

A quote offers a price, a purchase order accepts it, an invoice asks for payment, and a receipt proves it was paid. The order they travel in is the whole story.

BMR vs TDEE: which number actually sets your calories

6 min Jun 13, 2026

BMR vs TDEE: which number actually sets your calories

BMR is the floor your body needs at rest. TDEE adds movement and digestion on top, and that is the number you adjust to lose or gain weight.

CSV vs XLSX: which spreadsheet format should you use?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

CSV vs XLSX: which spreadsheet format should you use?

Use CSV to move data between systems and XLSX when you have a working document with formulas and formatting. This post covers the gotchas most guides skip, like leading zeros vanishing and dates eating gene names.

Gross pay vs net pay: where the rest of your paycheck goes

6 min Jun 13, 2026

Gross pay vs net pay: where the rest of your paycheck goes

Gross pay is your total earnings before anything is removed. Net pay is what reaches your bank after taxes and withholdings. This walks the full deduction stack with a worked example, and explains why a pay rise never leaves you with less.

How big should your emergency fund be?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

How big should your emergency fund be?

Most advice lands on three to six months of essential expenses. The right number inside that range depends on how steady your income is and who depends on it.

How hex color codes work (and what #FF5733 really means)

6 min Jun 13, 2026

How hex color codes work (and what #FF5733 really means)

A hex color code packs three numbers, red, green and blue, into six characters. Each pair runs 00 to FF, which is 0 to 255. Once you see #FF5733 as 255, 87, 51, the notation stops being a mystery.

How much protein do you actually need per day?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

How much protein do you actually need per day?

The RDA for protein is a minimum, not an optimum. If you train or lift, the evidence points to roughly 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg. Here is a worked example.

How to verify a download with a checksum

6 min Jun 13, 2026

How to verify a download with a checksum

A checksum is a file's hash. Compute the hash of your download, compare it to the one the project published, and you know whether the file arrived intact. Here are the exact commands and the honest limit.

Simple interest vs compound interest, and why the difference grows

6 min Jun 13, 2026

Simple interest vs compound interest, and why the difference grows

Simple interest counts only your starting amount. Compound interest counts your starting amount plus every bit of interest already earned, so it accelerates. Here are both formulas and a 10-year example where the gap is 1,289.

Static vs dynamic QR codes: what is the real difference?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

Static vs dynamic QR codes: what is the real difference?

A static QR code stores the destination directly, so it works forever with nothing behind it. A dynamic one stores a redirect owned by a service that can edit and track, until the service paywalls it or dies. Here is how to pick.

What is a UUID, and when should you use one?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

What is a UUID, and when should you use one?

A UUID is a 128-bit value, usually 32 hex digits in five groups, that lets any machine mint a unique ID with no central counter. Here is the actual collision math, how to read the version digit, and when an integer wins.

What is URL encoding (and why spaces turn into %20)?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

What is URL encoding (and why spaces turn into %20)?

URL encoding replaces characters that are unsafe or reserved in a web address with a percent sign and their hex value, which is why a space becomes %20. It is fully reversible and not encryption.

Why are my photos so large? Megapixels and file size explained

6 min Jun 13, 2026

Why are my photos so large? Megapixels and file size explained

A pixel takes three bytes, so a 48 MP shot is roughly 144 MB of raw data before JPEG touches it. Here is the chain from megapixels to megabytes, the mistake most people make, and the two-step fix.

Why Excel functions have different names in other languages

6 min Jun 13, 2026

Why Excel functions have different names in other languages

Excel shows function names in your display language, so SUM is SUMME in German and SOMME in French. The file stays neutral inside, but a pasted formula can still break because the argument separator flips from comma to semicolon.

Why is my PDF so large, and how do you shrink it?

6 min Jun 13, 2026

Why is my PDF so large, and how do you shrink it?

A text PDF is tiny. A scanned one is a stack of photos, one per page. Here is how to tell which you have, and what to do about each.

YAML vs JSON: when to reach for each

6 min Jun 13, 2026

YAML vs JSON: when to reach for each

Every JSON file is already valid YAML. Use JSON for machine-to-machine data and APIs; use YAML for config a human edits by hand. The gotchas below are why.

Base64 is encoding, not encryption: what to know

6 min Jun 12, 2026

Base64 is encoding, not encryption: what to know

Base64 turns bytes into text so they survive text-only systems. It has no key, so decoding takes one click. It also grows your data by about a third. Use it for transport, never for secrecy.

BMI vs body fat percentage: what each number actually tells you

6 min Jun 12, 2026

BMI vs body fat percentage: what each number actually tells you

BMI is a cheap height-and-weight ratio that can label muscle as fat. Body fat percentage measures the thing you care about. Use BMI as a quick flag and body fat for the real picture.

Debt avalanche vs snowball: which clears your debt for less

7 min Jun 12, 2026

Debt avalanche vs snowball: which clears your debt for less

Avalanche pays the highest-rate debt first and costs the least interest. Snowball pays the smallest balance first and pays you back in momentum. The right one is the one you finish.

Refinance breakeven: the month a refinance starts saving you money

6 min Jun 12, 2026

Refinance breakeven: the month a refinance starts saving you money

Refinancing trades closing costs now for a lower payment later. Divide the cost by the monthly saving and you get the month it pays for itself. Past that month is profit; before it, you lost money.

What a contrast ratio actually measures (and why 4.5:1 matters)

6 min Jun 12, 2026

What a contrast ratio actually measures (and why 4.5:1 matters)

A contrast ratio compares the luminance of two colours, from 1:1 (identical) to 21:1 (black on white). It measures brightness, not hue, so red and green can still fail. Here is the formula and the exact WCAG numbers.

What EXIF data reveals about your photos (and how to strip it)

6 min Jun 12, 2026

What EXIF data reveals about your photos (and how to strip it)

Every original photo carries an invisible EXIF record: device, exposure settings, timestamp, and often the GPS coordinates where you stood. Useful to a photographer, risky when you share it. Here is how to read it and clear it.

What is actually inside a QR code (and what a WiFi code reveals)

7 min Jun 12, 2026

What is actually inside a QR code (and what a WiFi code reveals)

A QR code stores plain text as a grid of squares: a URL, WiFi credentials, a contact card. Nothing is encrypted, and the built-in error correction is why a smudged or logo-covered code still scans. Worth knowing before you print one.

APR vs interest rate: why the two numbers differ

6 min Jun 11, 2026

APR vs interest rate: why the two numbers differ

The interest rate prices the loan. The APR prices the loan plus its fees, as one yearly percentage. When they differ, the fees are the gap.

Macros vs calories: which one moves the scale

6 min Jun 11, 2026

Macros vs calories: which one moves the scale

Calories control weight, macros control body composition. Set the calorie target first, then use protein-forward macros to keep muscle and stay full.

Is It Safe to Paste a JWT Into an Online Decoder?

6 min Jun 4, 2026

Is It Safe to Paste a JWT Into an Online Decoder?

Decoding a JWT is harmless Base64. Pasting a live one into a site that sends it to a server is the part that can get your account taken over.

Password-Protecting a PDF: What It Really Stops

7 min May 30, 2026

Password-Protecting a PDF: What It Really Stops

A PDF has two kinds of passwords, and only one of them actually locks anything. Here is what each really stops.

Why "redacted" PDFs still leak their text

6 min May 28, 2026

Why "redacted" PDFs still leak their text

Drawing a black rectangle over text hides nothing. The words sit underneath in a separate text layer, ready to be copied out by anyone who selects the page.

PNG, JPG, WebP or AVIF: A decision tree

7 min May 21, 2026

PNG, JPG, WebP or AVIF: A decision tree

Ask one question about your image and the format almost picks itself. PNG for sharp edges and transparency, WebP or AVIF for photos, JPG only as a fallback.

The Privacy Case for In-Browser File Tools

8 min May 18, 2026

The Privacy Case for In-Browser File Tools

In-browser tools keep your file on your device, but the page is still code you trust. Here is what that protects and how to check it.