Mitch Canter

12 June 2025

Howdy 👋. What's Up? Here's a #promosky about me: 🧔‍♂️ Me: CMDR Mitchcraft - Director of (Software) Engineering, WordPress Dev., Twitch Streamer, & Content Creator 👾 Games: Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Space, Survival Crafting 🎸 Music: Rock, Emo, Metal, Alternative 🤘 💬 My Ethos: Kindness. Justice. Anarchy.

One of the things I've picked up over my management career is how to simplify "tech speak" to a non-technical audience.

I still wish a "trust me" would go further sometimes, but in the long run... it pays off to be able to help others understand what's actually going on.

Shameless Engagement Question ™️ : What's the engineering reality you have the hardest time explaining to a non-technical stakeholder?

One of the things I've picked up over my management career is how to simplify "tech speak" to a non-technical audience.

Interpreting "tech-speak" is a skill every manager should learn. I find ways to work in simile or metaphors, to walk through the process:

"It takes this long because we have to do X, then Y, and then Z... and we do it in order to keep the website from being taken down by stray issues".

One of the things I've picked up over my management career is how to simplify "tech speak" to a non-technical audience.

It's much harder to explain that to someone who sees a button on the page and goes "make this button look different". They see the button as a simple task, and (therefore) it must have a simple way to fix it.

And, no, most stakeholders won't accept "it just takes that long" or "it's complicated" as actual answers 😬

One of the things I've picked up over my management career is how to simplify "tech speak" to a non-technical audience.

It's really easy for an engineer to look at a task and understand the intricacies of it: writing the code, verifying it on multiple environments, ensuring that it's scoped well, ensuring there's no visual regressions... the list goes on.

1 Sept

Two different places WordPress 7.1's responsive styles can live: theme.json (@mobile nested under a block's style object — applies site-wide) or a single block's own style attribute in post content (applies to just that one instance). Same syntax, different "blast radius", if you will.

1 Sept

One thing worth knowing before you go bug-hunting later: "instance-level" responsive styles - the ones set per-block in the editor, not in theme.json - get output with !important so they can beat inline styles. If your overrides aren't working... check the blocks before you go outward.

mitchcanter.meA Field Guide to Responsive Block Styles in WordPress 7.1 - Mitch CanterWordPress 7.1 brings responsive styling to the block editor: the theme.json syntax, custom breakpoints, pseudo-state styling, and what's still missing.

1 Sept

I've got a full field guide on WordPress 7.1's new Responsive Block styles here, if you're curious - go check it out here: mitchcanter.me/wordpress-re...

31 Aug

:: Stream Schedule :: We're starting to hit our stride with the games we've been digging into - progress is being made in the Facility, and our storm chasers... well... they're trying 😅 Monday: Abiotic Factor Thursday: Funnel Runners Friday: NO STREAM See y'all then! twitch.tv/CMDRMitchcraft

store.steampowered.comFunnel Runners on SteamTrapped in a doomed city, you and up to 7 friends must scavenge parts, fix your van, and escape the brutal tornado that approaches. A first-person co-op survival game with escalating disasters and tot...

28 Aug

We ended up switching to a new game - Funnel Runners - on stream tonight and WHOA is it fun. Your job is to fix your weather truck and get out of dodge before the F5 Tornado hits. 15/10, would get into "the suck zone" again. store.steampowered.com/app/3712080/...

mitchcanter.meWordPress Speculative Loading: What It Is & How to Tune ItHere’s a fun one: your WordPress site might already be reading your mind a little. Not in a creepy way – well, maybe a little in a creepy way – but in a “hey, I bet you’re about to click that” kind of...

27 Aug

WordPress has been quietly guessing what page you'll click next since version 6.8... and preloading it before you do. In today's field guide, I wrote up about Speculative Loading: How it works, how to tune it, and what you should exclude from speculation: mitchcanter.me/speculative-...

mitchcanter.meA Field Guide to Responsive Block Styles in WordPress 7.1 - Mitch CanterHow responsive styling works in WordPress 7.1 - viewports, theme.json syntax, custom breakpoints, pseudo states, and how it fits in a block theme.

26 Aug

I've been playing around with WordPress 7.1's new "Responsive Block Styles" - it's powerful, but there's some limitations and "gotchas" that may be worth knowing. I did a deep dive below. Side note: it's good to be creating guides again! mitchcanter.me/wordpress-re...

hollywoodreporter.comTim Curry, Outlandish Star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ Dies at 80The three-time Tony nominee terrified audiences in Stephen King's 'It' and was a prolific voice actor as well.

26 Aug

The universe needs to chill tf out a bit on this.

Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social

What the fuck is going on??? www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

toni.orgAboutBluesky’s mission is to develop and drive large-scale adoption of technologies for open and decentralized public conversation. Our main vehicles for accomplishing this mission are the Bl…

The guy who used to run Automattic now permanently runs Bluesky. That's not a coincidence, and it's a big part of why I post here instead of ... the bad place. toni.org/about/

Automattic's not perfect, but they've always had people on board that care about content - and making it easy to post and share that content. Bluesky is another great example of that.

If you've come over to Bluesky and actively work with WordPress - as a developer, in an agency, or as a people-manager - make sure to connect. I'm trying to do a better job about building up the tribe over here, and I'd love to have you on board :)

The guy who used to run Automattic now permanently runs Bluesky. That's not a coincidence, and it's a big part of why I post here instead of ... the bad place. toni.org/about/

I've noticed that quite a large mix of the 'developer community' is here rather than any other place (threads, Insta, etc) - with maybe an exception to Mastodon. Maybe. Even if the engagement numbers are lower, the quality is so, so much better over here.

My site's pretty simple - 5 "top" pages, plus the blog posts. So... I opted for something a bit different for the navigation.

I -hate- the hamburger menu concept. So, I've moved to more of an 'app shelf' style - all 5 links, visible from the bottom, and optimized for mobile view. I think it works much better, and there's no second click to head to any other section.

#WordPress agencies have a management problem nobody's writing about ... at least not here on Bluesky. 1/

I hear from agency owners, individual contributors, and even junior developers all the time - but there's no one in "the number two spot" who's really talking about their day to day life. Hopefully, I can shed a bit of light - and some of my experience - onto that. 5/

Oh, and a question to get the algorithim fed and happy: If you manage engineers inside an agency, what's the one thing nobody warned you about? 6/6

#WordPress agencies have a management problem nobody's writing about ... at least not here on Bluesky. 1/

One thing that's not changed: regardless of the technology available to us: we still very much need good people. And while hiring technical-minded people is a solved problem, management training for said people... is not. 3/

I hear from agency owners, individual contributors, and even junior developers all the time - but there's no one in "the number two spot" who's really talking about their day to day life. My goal is to start writing about that more here on Bluesky. 4/

#WordPress agencies have a management problem nobody's writing about ... at least not here on Bluesky. 1/

Which, is pretty crazy given that so much of the WordPress community has migrated over to BlueSky away from... ... the other place. I'm going into my third year working here at WebDevStudios... and even looking back to a few months ago (or even weeks) the landscape has changed dramatically 2/

6 July

New Month, New Season in ESO! Monday: Enderal: Forgotten Stories - Continuing with the main story! Thursday/Friday: ESO - Season 1 Starts! We'll be digging into the new season, checking out rewards, and continuing work on both our Dragonknight and Werewolf toons! twitch.tv/CMDRMitchcraft

Hello puppy

I LOVE Nightcrawler's costume design in the X-Men '97 trailer. The inclusion of his clerical collar is such a nice touch, especially with how integral his faith is to his character. #xmen97

26 June

We're playing something different tonight: Meccha Chameleon with friends and family. Come hang and watch the bad art flow! twitch.tv/CMDRMitchcraft

24 June

My unsolicited idea for casting for Carl: Mace from the @avantris.bsky.social podcast / live play. * Gruff, but with range * Decent hair (very important in later seasons) * Probably already owns the boxers * Used to dealing with all sorts of weird shit already, the AI won't even phase him

As a content creator, is there a person to talk to (or guidelines I can check out) to become an 'official content creator' with some of the Bethesda properties? Fallout 76, ESO, Skyrim, etc? Anyone have any insight on the how/requirements? @bethesdastudios.com @elderscrollsonline.com

Also @jonrush77.bsky.social and @fallout.bethesdastudios.com on the Fallout side?

Me: -uses an app daily for like 6 months- Also me, after not using it for a week: ...what was the name of that app again? 🤔

In which I, the Mary Sue, keep Mary Sue-ing all over the place in Enderal: Forgotten Stories. twitch.tv/CMDRMitchcraft

I'm not the target market for a Steam Machine. I can get a Steam Machine for the price of building a moderate desktop, from scratch.

For someone who isn't wanting to spend the time/effort to build a machine, the Steam Machine is (I think) slightly overpriced. But there's also value in simplicity, and the Steam Machine should "just work" like the Steam Deck.

All that to say, I think there's a target market for it. It's not me, and I'm happy with the PC I have, but I think someone will very much enjoy it.

A happy pride to those on my timeline who are involved. I'm not a part of the flag myself; I'm a flagpole - straight, but supportive and here if people need me. My community, and motley crew we've gathered, is a safe harbor. Hate isn't welcome inside of it.

We're back to a regular schedule this week! Mon/Thu: Enderal: Forgotten Stories Fri: ESO with CTRL-ALT-CHAOS's chaos raids! Won't you join us, friends?

Sat down tonight to finally put the pipeline together I need to stream > record > get shorts/videos out of my content. The biggest issue: I wanted to record my camera, game footage, and anything else separately. Enter Source Record >

obsproject.comSource RecordDownload Plugin for OBS Studio to add a filter that allows you to record a source. Add "Source Record" filter to your source. Installation Copy and merge the folders that are in the download zip ...

Source Record lets you add a filter that will record scenes independently. I have them all outputting to a Camera, Game Capture, and "Stream Backup" folder with the same name so I can reference things faster. Check it out: obsproject.com/forum/resour...

21 June

Finished both Dungeon Crawler Carl and He Who Fights With Monsters, and now (im)patiently awaiting the next book in both. I think I still want a LitRPG, but more on the fantasy side of things, for the next series. Any suggestions?

17 June

This evening, we're heading up to KY to take our son to Murray State for "Summer O" - college orientation. Hard to believe 24 years ago, I was the one doing orientation, wide-eyed and ready to hit Murray by storm). Seeing him excited for it makes me all the more excited, too!

Sometimes the satisfaction of a job well done is payment enough.

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I'm looking for a game with some specific parameters: * Respects my time - people who play it a LOT can still have fun with people like me who play less * Cooperative - I want something that I can play with friends/Discord members

* Something where if I leave and come back I don't feel overwhelmed with FOMO * Fantasy or Sci-fi themed a big plus. Anyone have any suggestions?