<p>In the dynamic world of technology, I’ve found my niche as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a small organization. Over the past eight months, I’ve been at the helm of three distinct departments: Infrastructure/Tech Support, Analytics, and App Development. This journey has been a blend of challenges and triumphs, each day bringing new learning experiences. As a CTO in a small organization, my role extends beyond the conventional boundaries of leadership. It’s about fostering innovation, driving efficiency, and above all, building a resilient team that can adapt to the ever-evolving tech landscape.</p>
<h2>Challenge 1: Limited Resources</h2>
<p>One of the most significant challenges in a small organization is the scarcity of resources. Unlike larger corporations, we operate on a tight budget, with a lean team and limited time. Every decision, every project, and every investment must be carefully evaluated to ensure maximum return. This constraint, however, has been a catalyst for innovation. It has pushed us to think outside the box, optimize our processes, and leverage technology to automate and streamline operations. The challenge of limited resources has taught us the value of efficiency and the power of creativity.</p>
<h2>Challenge 2: Wearing Multiple Hats</h2>
<p>In a small team, versatility is key. Each member, including myself, often juggles multiple roles. As the CTO, I’m not just a leader but also a mentor, a project manager, and sometimes, a developer. This fluidity of roles, while challenging, has its rewards. It fosters a deep understanding of our organization’s workings, promotes empathy towards team members, and cultivates a culture of shared responsibility. It’s a constant balancing act, but one that enriches our work and strengthens our team.</p>
<h2>Challenge 3: Lack of Tailored Guidance</h2>
<p>Navigating the role of a CTO in a small organization often feels like charting unknown territory. Most resources and articles about being a CTO are written from the perspective of larger organizations. The strategies, structures, and solutions they propose are often not applicable or scalable for smaller teams. This lack of tailored guidance can make decision-making a daunting task. However, it also presents an opportunity to forge our own path, learn from our unique experiences, and share these insights with others in similar positions.</p>
<h2>Challenge 4: High Cost of Tools</h2>
<p>Observability is crucial in managing and improving systems and applications. However, many of the tools that facilitate observability come with a hefty price tag. For small organizations, these costs can be prohibitive. This challenge has prompted us to explore cost-effective alternatives, such as open-source tools, and invest in building in-house capabilities. It’s a testament to the fact that constraints can indeed breed innovation.</p>
<h2>Challenge 5: Rapid Change</h2>
<p>In a small organization, changes happen quickly. Whether it’s a shift in business strategy, a new technology trend, or a sudden market disruption, being able to adapt and respond quickly is both a challenge and a necessity. It requires agility, resilience, and a willingness to step out of our comfort zones. It’s a roller coaster ride, but one that keeps us on our toes and ensures we’re always learning and growing.</p>
<h2>Looking Ahead</h2>
<p>In my upcoming blog posts, I will delve deeper into each of these challenges. I’ll share my experiences, the strategies I’ve used to navigate these obstacles, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Each post will be a candid exploration of the realities of being a CTO in a small organization, coupled with practical insights and actionable advice. So, stay tuned for an exciting journey into the world of technology leadership in small organizations.</p>
<p>I hope this helps! Let me know if you need further assistance.</p>


CTO Leadership At Small Scale

<p>While experimenting with ClaudeAI, I thought it would be interesting to have a conversation around how I should improve my teams in the game I have been playing. I don't remember why I started playing <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nexters.herowars&#x26;pcampaignid=web_share">Hero Wars: Alliance</a>, but it is mildly entertaining and has kept my attention. There are tools that the game is missing, including assisting with creating cohesive teams with meaningful synergy. There is a lot of knowledge of the interoperability of the various heroes of the game that make the rock-paper-scissors aspect engaging.</p>
<p>The conversation with ClaudeAI was very informative as to how I could get meaningful information out of it. I needed to occasionally backtrack as I went down rabbit-holes that were not productive. At the end, I think I pulled together what I was looking for - a list of teams that use many of the heroes that I have already put resources into, and provide a prioritization for what attributes to improve as I continue growing.</p>
<h1>Team Compositions Detail</h1>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Team</th>
<th>Type</th>
<th>Members</th>
<th>Strong Against</th>
<th>Weak Against</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Team 1</td>
<td>Control/Burst</td>
<td>Aurora - Dante - Nebula - Iris - Octavia</td>
<td>ODH teams; Keira teams; Physical burst teams</td>
<td>Strong healing comps; Jorgen teams; Heavy control teams</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Team 2</td>
<td>Sustain/Control</td>
<td>Astaroth - Maya - Jhu - Martha - Jorgen</td>
<td>Tank heavy teams; Dodge teams; Slow-build teams</td>
<td>Burst damage teams; Celeste (healing reduction); Strong CC teams</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Team 3</td>
<td>Honor</td>
<td>Galahad - Andvari - Helios - Sebastian - Tristan</td>
<td>K'arkh teams; Crit teams; Physical teams</td>
<td>Magic damage teams; Heavy control teams; Teams with Jorgen</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h1>Common Hero War Team Acronyms and Counters</h1>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Acronym</th>
<th>Heroes</th>
<th>Team Type</th>
<th>Best Counter Team</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>ADA</td>
<td>Astaroth, Daredevil, Alvanor</td>
<td>Physical Damage</td>
<td>Team 2 (Control with Jorgen)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AOH</td>
<td>Alvanor, Orion, Helios</td>
<td>Magic Damage</td>
<td>Team 3 (Honor with magic defense)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CKK</td>
<td>Cleaver, K'arkh, Kai</td>
<td>Physical Burst</td>
<td>Team 3 (Andvari counters K'arkh)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dodge</td>
<td>Aurora, Dante, Dark Star</td>
<td>Evasion Based</td>
<td>Team 2 (Jhu ignores dodge)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>FArT</td>
<td>Fafnir, Artemis, Tristan</td>
<td>Physical Damage</td>
<td>Team 1 (Control disrupts combo)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>JJI</td>
<td>Jet, Judge, Isaac</td>
<td>Physical Crit</td>
<td>Team 3 (Helios counters crits)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>KHK</td>
<td>K'arkh, Helios, Kai</td>
<td>Hybrid Damage</td>
<td>Team 3 (Andvari counters K'arkh)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>KSJ</td>
<td>K'arkh, Sebastian, Jet</td>
<td>Physical Burst</td>
<td>Team 3 (Andvari counters K'arkh)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ODH</td>
<td>Orion, Dorian, Helios</td>
<td>Magic Damage</td>
<td>Team 1 (Control disrupts combo)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>OSH</td>
<td>Orion, Sebastian, Helios</td>
<td>Magic/Crit</td>
<td>Team 1 (Control disrupts combo)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Note</strong>: Most teams add a tank and support/healer to complete the 5-hero lineup. Common additions include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Tanks: Astaroth, Aurora, Cleaver</li>
<li>Support: Martha, Jorgen, Nebula</li>
</ul>
<h1>Hero Investment Priority Guide</h1>
<h2>Team 1 (Control/Burst)</h2>
<h3>Aurora (Maxed Glyphs, Maxed Sparks)</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Dodge > Health > Strength > Magic penetration > Magic attack</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Nordic (Dodge) > Demonic (Armor) > Spring &#x26; Thunder (Health) > Default (Strength) > Romantic (Magic Penetration)</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Book of Illusions > Ring of Strength > Selias' Legacy</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>:</li>
</ul>
<h3>Nebula</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Physical attack > Agility > Health > Armor > Magic defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Romantic &#x26; Winter (Physical attack) > Default (Agility) > Celestial (Armor) > Spring (Dodge)</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Ring of Agility > Book of Illusions > Unborn Stars</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Last priority</li>
</ul>
<h3>Dante</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Health > Physical attack > Dodge > Agility > Armor</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Solar &#x26; Lunar (Physical Attack) > Default (Agility) > Winter (Health) > Romantic (Dodge) > Spring (Magic defense)</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Ring of Agility > Book of Illusions > Spear of Fate</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: High priority for damage</li>
</ul>
<h3>Iris</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Magic Attack > Intelligence > Health > Magic penetration > Magic defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Beach &#x26; Stellar (Magic attack) > Default (Intelligence) > Masquerade (Health) > Cybernetic (Armor)</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Ring of Intelligence > Tome of Arcane Knowledge > Tome of Enslaved Souls</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Second priority for damage</li>
</ul>
<h3>Octavia</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Physical Attack > Agility > Health > Dodge > Magic defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Cybernetic &#x26; Celestial (Physical Attack) > Romantic (Health) > Default (Agility)</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Mirror of Truth > Ring of Agility > Book of Illusions</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: High damage priority</li>
</ul>
<h2>Team 2 (Sustain/Control)</h2>
<h3>Astaroth</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Health > Armor > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default Armor > Magic Defense > Winter</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Armor Book > Magic Defense > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: High priority for survival</li>
</ul>
<h3>Maya</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Magic Attack > Intelligence > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Magic Attack > Intelligence</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Magic Attack Book > Intelligence > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Medium priority</li>
</ul>
<h3>Jhu</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Physical Attack > Armor Penetration > Health</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Physical Attack > Penetration</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Weapon > Armor Penetration > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: High priority for damage</li>
</ul>
<h3>Martha</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Health > Magic Defense > Intelligence</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Health > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Health Book > Magic Defense > Intelligence</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Low priority</li>
</ul>
<h3>Jorgen</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Intelligence > Magic Defense > Health</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Intelligence > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Book of Intelligence > Magic Defense > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Low priority</li>
</ul>
<h2>Team 3 (Honor)</h2>
<h3>Galahad</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Physical Attack > Armor > Health</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Physical Attack > Armor</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Weapon > Armor > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: High priority for tank/damage</li>
</ul>
<h3>Helios</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Magic Attack > Intelligence > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Magic Attack > Intelligence</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Magic Attack Book > Intelligence > Defense</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Medium priority</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sebastian</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Intelligence > Magic Defense > Health</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Intelligence > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Book of Intelligence > Magic Defense > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Medium priority</li>
</ul>
<h3>Andvari</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Health > Armor > Magic Defense</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Health > Intelligence</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Armor Book > Magic Defense > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: High priority for survival</li>
</ul>
<h3>Tristan</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glyphs</strong>: Physical Attack > Armor Penetration > Health</li>
<li><strong>Skins</strong>: Default > Physical Attack > Armor</li>
<li><strong>Artifacts</strong>: Weapon > Armor > Health</li>
<li><strong>Sparks</strong>: Medium priority</li>
</ul>


Hero Investment Priority Guide

<p>I am going into this series with nearly no knowledge of the <em>Ahsoka Tano</em> character, nor any other <em>Star Wars</em> lore outside of the movies and a few live-action shows.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The first in a series of posts on <a href="/series/star-wars-commentary">'My Thoughts on <em>Ahsoka</em>'</a> and other <em>Star Wars</em> series. A new thread after each season!</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Part One: Master and Apprentice</h2>
<ul>
<li>"I'm calling their bluff." I like this captain! "Signal them to come aboard." You fool - I hate you.</li>
<li>I'm getting strong Jonathan Frakes fibes from Baylan.</li>
<li>I appreciate that very early in the show, we learn exactly how to pronounce "Ahsoka".</li>
<li>Requisite epic green-screen special effects set with the cloaked protagonist seeking out something underground.</li>
<li>This puzzle is straight out of a video game - turning pedastels, glowing success indicators, revealing the treasure, an ambush after retrieval.</li>
<li>Queue the "this is a badass protagonist, watch!"</li>
<li>Why would the self-destruct take so long and why couldn't the robots give chase while the explosives charge?</li>
<li>A little bit of exposition and then a new waypoint on the quest hub.</li>
<li>It's almost like I'm supposed to know that's a Mandalorian helmet? Or maybe a helmet that the idiots like me think is Mandalorian but true fans know what it really is?</li>
<li>Why would a member of the Sith have a braided strand of hair? It serves no practical purpose; she gains no tactical advantage having it; idleness or affection would cause its creation. It's an unnecessary and distracting character flourish. I hope there is some backstory about that braid in a future episode.</li>
<li>Are you surprised that the (ex-?)apprentice who doesn't listen to authority absconded off with the map she was told to keep in the ship? Shocking turn of events.</li>
<li>Oh snap! Anakin!!!</li>
<li>I literally fell asleep during the next 10 minutes. No idea what happened in the show. I'm sure I didn't miss anything important.</li>
<li>If it's a fancy Rubic cube, couldn't they have just had a robot work all the permutations really quickly and brute force that rock open?</li>
<li>Does anyone, and I mean <em>anyone</em>, actually believe that Sabine is dead?</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part Two: Toil and Trouble</h2>
<p>Reflecting back on the first episode, why does it take an old, encoded map, buried in an ancient puzzle, to find the location of a recently exiled Imperial leader? The protagonists aren't searching for some long-hidden treasure or some old-god in hiding. These settings aren't congruous with the reality of the modern world they actually live in.</p>
<ul>
<li>The easiest story to tell in sci-fantasy is to say some ancient civilization built a thing and somehow no one else knows about it but the antagonist using the device.</li>
<li>As Ahsoka's ship lands on another planet, I am reminded how good Star Wars is at portraying the large and vast planets and worlds that its character inhabit - even if the stories keep coming down to a handful of people that decide the outcome of all the key conflicts.</li>
<li>The cut to a random dude standing at a control panel of some kind, and he has... maybe 10 buttons he could push. This is what Star Wars is so absolutely terrible at - with all these advancements in androids, spaceships, AI, and they haven't developed a functional control panel with labels and descriptions and utility?!</li>
<li>Well that was a really bland episode. On to the next one, I guess.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part Three: Time to Fly</h2>
<ul>
<li>If Anakin was too old to start training when he was a little boy, how has Sabine not just aged out of the program? Why all of these inconsistencies in a vast crazy world?!</li>
<li>Well I'm glad Huyang made that same frickin' point!</li>
<li>Why were these six craft so far away from the planet? In the vast expanse of the solar system, they just happened to be in an area behind where Ahsoka dropped out of hyperspace?</li>
<li>She put on that suit really damn fast - like Clark Kent in a phone booth fast.</li>
<li>Flying whales, eh? It certainly tracks with Star Wars' creature creativity.</li>
<li>"Ah yes, standard operating procedure." I feel the same way, Huyang.</li>
<li>Remember when Darth Vader could detect Luke from half an orbit away - how powerful does each Force user need to be to sense the other?</li>
<li>How is a minute or two enough time to confidentally turn power back on?</li>
</ul>
<p>Another bland episode; maybe next one will give us something unique to be excited about.</p>
<h2>Part Four: Fallen Jedi</h2>
<ul>
<li>When they got to the system, their transmissions were jammed. Why would bringing comms back up have any different effect on their ability to communicate?</li>
<li>With all this talk of Thran, there's been no indication - even apocryphal - about why his return would effect so much change.</li>
<li>Removal of cloaks is a good touch - I am forever reminded of Edna's "no capes!" edict.</li>
<li>I think it would have been much cooler if the ring ship had sucked them all into its hyperspace jump and now we're in this Star Trek Voyager / Stargate Universe situation halfway across the universe.</li>
<li>Oh Anakin... blah.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part Six: Far, Far Away</h2>
<ul>
<li>I was SO FUCKING BORED with Part 5 that I didn't even take notes on it. That's how boring the episode was.</li>
<li>This whole show <em>still</em> hasn't give the audience any reason to understand why Sabine is so desperate to rescue Ezra. We're told to care without convincing us to care.</li>
<li>It's no Imperial Deathmatch entrance theme, but it was dramatic enough to get me to pause what I was doing and take notice.</li>
<li>There are Tuskar all the way in another galaxy. Cool, cool.</li>
<li>Again, a species from another galaxy and they can just communicate like she took that thing's language as an elective in college.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part Seven: Dreams and Madness</h2>
<ul>
<li>Random cameo used as a McGuffin, how fortunate.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord</h2>
<ul>
<li>When the writers can't even be serious about the title of the episode, how is the audience supposed to take it seriously?</li>
<li>Great, just what this universe needs, magic flaming swords.</li>
<li>Stormtrooper Zombies? hahahahahahahahaha</li>
<li>Why did Ezra wait so long before force-pulling his lightsaber? It seems like that should have been a quick and easy thing to do.</li>
<li>Ahsoka vs Morgan has been the best choreographed fight of the series and the simplicity of the cinematography lets the craft really shine.</li>
<li>Did no one think to warn Thrawn that there was a ship flying around on the surface?</li>
<li>Long rolling hills, vast mountain ranges with enormous statues carved into them, distant towers - is this a LotR set?</li>
<li></li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
<p>There is a lot of potential for a whole season or more with the four main characters that were left on this distant planet. Plot threads about how Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang are managing life and integrating with the local politics, cultures, and various norms. Another perspective on that same jouney could be shown from Shin's point of view. And all this lore about the witches and ancient magic along with Baylan's search for something greater than himself would make for another plot line. There is so much potential here!</p>
<p>I am sure, though, that Season 2 (if it happens) will have the ASH trio making it back to the prime galaxy by the end of episode three.</p>
<p>Absolutely superb acting by Ray Stevenson and Lars Mikkelsen; good performances by Ivanna Sakhno, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Rosario Dawson. Huyang was the hero of the show and David Tennat's voice was key to the droid being a remarkable character.</p>
<p>Also, Wes Chatham was robbed of a chance to show off his acting skills.</p>


Ahsoka: Season One

<p>Bullet-pointed ramblings about <em>The Mandalorian</em> might be my favorite part of having a <em>Disney+</em> subscription. There's no real point about all this other than that I'm having fun doing it. There are spoilers, but I don't care; this is best understood if you have already watched the season.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The third in a series of posts on <a href="/series/star-wars-commentary">'My Thoughts on <em>The Mandalorian</em>'</a> and other <em>Star Wars</em> series. A new thread after each season!</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Chapter 17: The Apostle, err Apostil, no wait Apostate!</h2>
<ul>
<li><em>Last time on</em>, only it was in a different series, so... um... <a href="/posts/2022/the-book-of-boba-fett-season-1">go watch that</a>, then come back here.</li>
<li>Do IRL blacksmiths get chubbies watching these forging scenes or do they groan in frustration at the inaccuracies?</li>
<li>Giant crocodiles are so damn annoying. But also delicious!</li>
<li>The toot when deus-ex-Mando appears is just perfect sound editing. This <a href="https://www.emmys.com/shows/mandalorian#awards">show needs an Emmy</a> just for that.</li>
<li>I love a good <a href="https://rpgmuseum.fandom.com/wiki/Rules_lawyer">rules lawyer</a>.</li>
<li>'Hey... who did the makeup and costumes for Pirates of the Carribean - can we get them for an episode to do up a couple aliens?'</li>
<li>Sure - "respectable and not to be trifled with"; the humiliated foe definitely won't come back with more friends and cause havoc.</li>
<li>"That's using your head." Some writer was really proud of that line.</li>
<li>Pirates?! Shocking!! Who could have possibly seen this coming?</li>
<li>Katee Sackhoff is always a win; however brief, I'm glad for the appearance.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 18: The Maybe This Show Isn't Terrible of Mandalore</h2>
<p>I am starting to appreciate the narrative that this season is going about. The Mandalorian is on the grand quest, which we all think is pretty stupid (and maybe he does, too), but it is clearly important to him to be an accepted member of his tribe. At the same time, we are getting this training in <em>The Way of the Mandalorian</em>; not too dissimilar in how we, the audience, have been taught <em>The Way of the Jedi</em> over the decades. This season has a lot of potential and I hope that it doesn't squander this good opening.</p>
<ul>
<li>It's a throwaway line about the pressurized helment and Grogu getting into his pod, and I am glad it didn't get cut; I appreciate the little details.</li>
<li>If an audience member hadn't seen <em>The Book of Boba Fett</em>, they would be really confused about why he was struggling to use the Dark Saber; they should have referenced that in the Previously On segment for this episode.</li>
<li>Well that's a really fucking creepy droid / biological hybrid thing!</li>
<li>Does Bo-Katan just spend all day in her armor brooding on her throne? Or did they only have the budget for one set piece and one day's worth of filming for all her scenes for the season?</li>
<li>Okay, so I paused after the Bo-Katan rescue fight. The way I understand it, if the Dark Saber can only be rightly won in combat, and that bug-machine stole it from Mando, then it's now officially hers to wield and rule with? Let's see what loophole I missed.</li>
<li>Wait?! He just pockets the Dark Saber and no one says anything about it?</li>
<li>If saving his life once forever puts him in her debt, what does saving his life twice entail?</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 19: The Convert (Are they talking about me?)</h2>
<ul>
<li>When I have to deliberately stop remind myself to pause the show at the title card and make a comment here, I guess that means the episode is going well so far.</li>
<li>"Empire, Rebels, New Republic, I can't keep track" - I feel you, dude.</li>
<li>The scientist scene has strong "this guy is going to die" vibes; which quickly turned into strong "she a mole" vibes.</li>
<li>What in the hell is going on with this episode? I WAS STARTING TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS SHOW, YOU ASSHOLES.</li>
<li>"It was a trap" Really?! - you went there, writers? I am back to dislike-watching this show (not quite hate-watching).</li>
<li>This episode just makes me angry, now. The writers wasted a lot of time setting up the fact that there's one person who still harbors active sympathy for the Empire and for some reason killed the clone scientist. Guess what - don't care! The gunslinger, his quest, and Katee Sackhoff are the only reasons we're here. Cut out all the other bullshit, please and thank you.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 20: The Found The</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p>They really wanted to film a Top Gun scene, didn't they?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>They hit the engine, so I only have a bunch more flying I can do before the engine gives out at just the right time.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>All that bullshit in the previous episode so that we can experience a quick shot of that stupid rock?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>As far as flashback intros and outros go, I'm not upset about that one.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>I appreciate the costume choice of having several members with mismatching armor pieces; gives a solid sense of the ragtag nature of this crew.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>I'm glad the writers allow Bo-Katan to respect the local customs and ask questions about how to follow them.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Don't shoot the raptor or use your jetpack, but I'm going to climb with my bigass gun and jetpack on. That seems to make sense.</p>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>Once upon a time, there was a mom<br>
Her name was Mrs. Pteranadon<br>
Sitting on her nest she heard scratching and said<br>
'Oh boy, my eggs are hatching'<br>
One by one her kids popped free<br>
Baby Pteranadons, one two three<br>
'I'll name you Tiny, Shiny, and Don'</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>"There's always a bigger fish." I wonder if anyone has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQRTFX1Lp4">said that before</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The rescue scene was fun and I hope that they didn't blow their SFX budget on that at the expense of the rest of the season.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>"Mythosaur" reminds me of "unobtainium" and "handwavium" - let's just be blunt about how the audience is suppose to perceive this plot device.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>We're back to "mildly-dislike-watching"; this hasn't fully redeemed the sins of the last episode, but it's made up some ground.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 21: Yarrrrr, Pirates</h2>
<ul>
<li>He couldn't even put the useless parts he took and put them back on the statue? Feels a bit disgraceful.</li>
<li>Getting feelings of "help me, <del>Oni-Wan Kenobi</del>Captain Teva, you're my only hope."</li>
<li>"Don’t hail me again unless it’s to surrender" - but... but... Gorian hailed Greef.</li>
<li>Is that... a Tim Meadows sighting?! I shall join the fans in this delighting.</li>
<li>These pirates are the worst sort of incompentence.</li>
<li>What's with this consistent approach of lassoing a target, then beating/shooting it? If you can grappling hook it, can't you just shoot it first?!</li>
<li>These needs a "I am Heavy Weapons Guy, and this is my new weapon." oh, or "Vzzzzzt! Rahrahrahrah! Vrrrrr! Wahahahaaaaaa!"</li>
<li>Never fuck with a mama bear armorer, this is the way.</li>
<li>The show seems to have tried to portray this whole pirate incident as a one-and-done, but also hint that Pirate King Gorian Shard has a boss and probably a boss's boss.</li>
<li>If no one really cares about a glassed planet, does it really need to be "retaken", as if there is a looming battle? Isn't it more of a "fund the rebuilding" effort?</li>
<li>Taken by Mandalorians or framed the Mandalorians? dun dun dun!</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 22: Guns, Lots of Guns (for Hire)</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Previously On talked about the Dark Saber, so can we get back to that little hiccup?</li>
<li>The cold open was a cute little vingiette; I do hope that it gets tied into the greater story somehow later.</li>
<li>"...taking back Mandalor" - But who <strong>has</strong> Mandalor?? I'm still trying to understand that.</li>
<li>Nothing good happens when entering a banquet with chirpy, classical, background music.</li>
<li><strong>Lizzo and Jack Black</strong>: it actually pulls me out of the scene with this cameo. Hilarious to see them, but completely distracting.</li>
<li>Katee Sackhoff's repeated look of "this can't be right" is wonderful. Why isn't there a meme of this expression?</li>
<li>Hahaha - we can't have weapons, but since weapons are part of your religion, then you get to carry the weapons and pewpew all the things.</li>
<li><strong>Christopher Lloyd</strong>? This 'guns for hire' seems to be more like 'cameos for hire'.</li>
<li>This side-quest of theirs feels like it's pulled directly from a video game.
<ol>
<li>Go talk to this person.</li>
<li>Initiate dialog, ignore most of what he says, wait for quest waypoint to update.</li>
<li>Go to new area and stumble around until you find the correct triggering action.</li>
<li>Get updated quest waypoint; travel there.</li>
<li>Interrogate another NPC, triggering a chase event.</li>
<li>Catch up to fleeing object and defeat it in battle. Collect loot and trigger next waypoint.</li>
<li>Quest plot twist dialog.</li>
<li>Surprise short battle to keep player enagaged.</li>
<li>Random backstory that players will ignore all the details of, eventually leading to a waypoint update.</li>
<li>Confront the true antagonist of the quest chain.</li>
<li>Head back to original quest giver to close things out and receive that sweet loot.</li>
<li>Go back to main quest line.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>I know I may sometimes fanboi on Katee Sackhoff (yes, it's her whole name, every time) - she adds more depth to the character than any other actor does to any other character in this show.</li>
<li>I FUCKING CALLED IT!!! I was right all along about the dark saber shenanigan. I feel better now.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 23: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</h2>
<ul>
<li>So many pointless guards just standing there, doing nothing.</li>
<li>Grand Admiral Thrawn... cool... another random person that I guess I'm supposed to know? And what kind of a codename is "Project Necromancer"?</li>
<li>Post "Long Live the Empire!", I expected a "now how do I hang up on this call, again?", in true Zoom fashion.</li>
<li>How does the city not have sensors to say a vessel is approaching long before it starts hovering over the city?</li>
<li>Kids are the worst.</li>
<li>Bo-Katan, Din Djarin, Grogu, and The Armorer - that's quite the Mandalorian VIP ship.</li>
<li>Falling out of a ship and landing gracefully using a rocket pack might be on my list of life goals.</li>
<li>How have we gotten into hand-to-hand combat and there's no dark saber action?!</li>
<li>I expected an ambush, but I didn't expect Din Djarin to be isolated as a part of it.</li>
<li>"Next generation dark trooper suit"... /sigh... naming things is hard. I get it.</li>
<li>The death scene needed a good final one-liner. Paz Vizsla deserved at least that much and I'm a little surprised that Jon Favreau's ego let him get killed off without a good sign off.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chapter 24: The Return of the Aimless Plot</h2>
<ul>
<li>A 42 minute episode and they use the first three minutes on the disappointing recap.</li>
<li>In a previous episode, we saw that the jetpacks have a limited range when flying at high speeds while traversing the canyon. How can the jetpack, going full blast, make it all the way into space? This seems like a terrible oversite.</li>
<li>Din Djarin is a prize capture and they leave just two peons to escort him? Even if there's internal tracking sensors, it seems like a waste of guards. Either let him run free and save the two lackey's lives or send more guards to escort and keep him contained.</li>
<li>Jetpacks sure make ship-to-ship transfers a whole lot easier! That scene was a nice touch.</li>
<li>No really?! How much jetpack fuel do they have??</li>
<li>The Armorer charging in with hammer and wrench is hot.</li>
<li>Did they learn nothing from the last ambush? Going after the primary antagonist, <em>in his private lair</em>, is always going to lead to bad things.</li>
<li>The Din Djarin vs red suits really needed better gun-fu fight choregraphy. Having recently rewatched the <em>John Wick</em> series, I can only dream of how awesome that fight would have been.</li>
<li>He has a super suit and they didn't show a corpse. What are the odds that Moff Gideon isn't actually dead?</li>
<li>I understand the whole thing with not taking off his helmet for anyone, but isn't he allowed to take off the armor on his day off?</li>
</ul>
<h2>What comes next?</h2>
<p>It seems there was a nice little bow tied around this series, even if it di wander a fair amount from episode to episode. I don't remember exactly how I felt about the previous two seasons as a distinct set of episodes. Which I am taking to mean that I probably felt the same way at the end of those as I do now. The story wasn't super compelling, but the show had glimpses of promise. The plot was loose and wandering and felt very trope-formulaic. I'll still be back next season, hate-watching and bullet-point ranting.</p>


The Mandalorian: Season Three - All The Rants

<p>I have left the Vue world and embarked on new adventure in learning how to work with React. My first project was to rebuild this website using <a href="https://nextjs.org/">Next.js</a>, keeping <a href="https://tailwindcss.com">Tailwind</a>, <a href="https://fontawesome.com/">Font Awesome</a>, and <a href="https://rovaninet">Netlify</a>. Recognizing that I will probably be continuing to rebuild the front-end, I decided to split out the blog posts into their <a href="https://github.com/drovani/rovaninet-posts">own repo</a> and use <code>git submodule</code> to pull the files into this project. I'm particularly excited about this feature.</p>
<p>There are a couple of <a href="/side-projects">side projects</a> that I have in mind to add some experience with React.</p>
<p>Welcome to the new codebase for <a href="https://rovani.net">Rovani's Sandbox</a>.</p>


Next.js Now Powers Rovani.net

<p>This might be the least appetizing show so far in this extended run of <em>Star Wars</em> shows. It's the life and times of a has-been character, where we already know his fate and the fate of all the important characters of the show. When will the extended universe get back to telling unique stories? In the meantime, maybe you'll enjoy another running list of random thoughts I had while watching the show.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The first in a series of posts on <a href="/series/star-wars-commentary">'My Thoughts on <em>Obi-Wan Kenobi</em>'</a> and other <em>Star Wars</em> series. A new thread after each season!</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Part 1</h2>
<ul>
<li>They do a great job of reminding me how absolutely awful the prequel trilogy was; how Anakin was an obvious monster and how Padmé's blindness to it was completely forced.</li>
<li>"Okay, so let's open with an massive Jedi vs Storm Troopers battle. We've not done that in a while!"</li>
<li>I'm so fucking sick of this planet. There are supposedly so many worlds out there, why do we keep coming back to this sand covered hellhole dump.</li>
<li>We are four characters into this show and I'm already spending more eyeballs time on Twitter and coding tutorials than this episode.</li>
<li>Oh, snap! Little girl puts a bully in his place and gets chided for it. Isn't life great?</li>
<li>This entire episode could have been a Star Wars scrolling text intro.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part II</h2>
<ul>
<li>In "Obi-Wan The Musical", the Stormtroopers get to sing "move bitch, get out the way".</li>
<li>This is probably the best surprise casting in a Star Wars show, yet.</li>
<li>Did you notice how many "7" glyphs there are in the various signs and posters? Or maybe I noticed two and now it's confirmation bias.</li>
<li>The hubris of evil bosses trying to put their overly ambitious underlings in their places by simple verbal berating, only to be stabbed in their back/stomach is a ridiculous trope. Does Star Wars do much of anything that is original, anymore?</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part III</h2>
<ul>
<li>Why would an automated cargo ship have a pressurized atmosphere?</li>
<li>Stormtroopers are so expendable that it's not even suspenseful when they come up against the protagonist.</li>
<li>Just knowing that Obi-Wan and Darth Vader still have to fight in <em>A New Hope</em> takes a lot of suspense out of this chase scene. Neither of these characters can be physically damaged, because it would break canon.</li>
<li>Classic "hit the steam pipe" escape.</li>
<li>I'm still not sure what we're supposed to be getting out of this series. Obi-Wan is an untrusting, whining, curmudgeon. Didn't we kinda know that during <em>A New Hope</em>? And Anakin/Darth Vader is consumed with his quest for revenge - <strong>also not new</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part IV</h2>
<ul>
<li>It's a key base, located in Vader's own solar system - but some low/mid-level officer from some other random system thinks she can just waltz right it? How terrible are the Empire's security protocols that this ship doesn't need any kind of preclearance to even arrive in the system?</li>
<li>Oh, so you can land your ship, make up some bullshit about "classified" and keep on walking?</li>
<li>Why get into the water without bringing flippers? At least make your swim a <em>little</em> easier.</li>
<li>She just left her communicator <em>with the sound on</em> at her station?!</li>
<li>SO SUSPENSEFUL!! There are Stormtroopers coming! #notsuspenseful</li>
<li>"I just found the secure sector." Good thing this key I have lets me right in.</li>
<li>Obi-Wan is starting to get his mojo back, eh?</li>
<li>No water made it through that door? And the Stormtroopers died instantly? How do these obvious errors make it through production?</li>
<li>Again - a key base, and no air defenses or orbiting patrols?</li>
<li>Throwing a battery/heavy object at the ship might have been the best use of a force power this whole series.</li>
<li>I'm curious how this intersteller tracker works - does it broadcast to a galactic network of spy transceivers? How secret is this network? How comprehensive is the coverage?</li>
<li>Why does reprogramming a robot mean its visual indicator turns red?</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part V</h2>
<ul>
<li>This is probably the first enjoyable episode of the series. There's some real character development.</li>
<li>She gets a win for "into the breach" command, I'll give her that.</li>
<li>The unfortunate consequence of introducing secondary characters into shows/movies earlier in a timeline is that the audience knows the main characters aren't going to die which means the secondary characters are completely disposable. There's no suspense in their survival.</li>
<li>"You're going to die." No, no he's not. And she won't kill Vader.</li>
<li>How come there aren't ships hovering over those exit doors? It's not like it's a small hatch that's hard to see.</li>
<li>Why scream right as you're about to swing when you could have just turned on the lightsaber while it's pointed right at his back? And again, this isn't a "who is going to win?" dramatic fight. It's just a question of whether Vader decides to keep Third Sister alive; which he won't.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Part VI</h2>
<ul>
<li>This fucking planet again?</li>
<li>How does she recover from a fatal stabbing to the gut, disavowed by the Empire, on a planet without resources for her - and get to that desert hellhole seemingly instantly?</li>
<li>Why couldn't Vader just follow Kenobi in his own ship and leave the destroyer to keep chasing the refugees?</li>
<li>Another fight where we know who can and can't die. The only question is how the writers are going to get out of this.</li>
<li>And yet another battle sequence where the audience already knows that Luke, the uncle, and the aunt can't die.</li>
<li>If Obi-Wan truly meant to win the fight and kill Vader, why didn't he keep pressing his advantage? Oh right - because Vader isn't allowed to die for another 15 (or so) years.</li>
<li>If Obi-Wan acknowledges that Anakin is dead, isn't it his duty as a Jedi to defeat the Sith apprentice?</li>
<li>So it's okay to slaughter an unknown number of Jedi sympathizers in a quest to get close to Vader to revenge kill him, and then all is forgiven because you didn't murder his young son in cold blood.</li>
</ul>


Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season One - Thoughts Have I

<p>Creating a handful of components to render the data that loaded from a JSON file was covered in the <a href="/posts/2022/first-rudimentary-mercenary-components/">previous post</a>. It can feel a little defeating to just have a dump of content without any style to it. This step of the tutorial will cover implementing TailwindCSS to our project and adding some basic styling.</p>
<p><img src="/images/hsmercs-banner-varden.png" alt="No one is as pretty as Varden"></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The fourth in a series of posts on <a href="/series/hsmercs-from-scratch">'HSMercs Helper From Scratch'</a>, a tutorial for recreating <em><a href="https://hsmercs.rovani.net">HSMercs Helper</a></em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The native <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/docs/guides/vite">tutorial for installing</a> Tailwind CSS with Vue 3 and Vite is straightforward and easy to follow. Most of what you'll see in this post is following the steps in that post.</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">yarn add -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
</code></pre>
<p><em><a href="https://postcss.org/">PostCSS</a></em> is a tool for transforming styles with JS plugins. These plugins can lint the CSS, support variables and mixins, transpile future CSS syntax, create inline images, and more. The <em><a href="https://github.com/postcss/autoprefixer">Autoprefixer</a></em> plugin parses CSS and adds vendor prefixes to CSS rules using values from <em><a href="https://caniuse.com/">Can I Use</a></em>. Together, these provide the functionality that Tailwind uses to pump out the CSS we need it to.</p>
<p>The official tutorial now instructs you to run the command <code>yarn tailwindcss init -p</code> which creates a <code>postcss.config.js</code> file for <em>PostCSS</em> configuration and a <code>tailwind.config.js</code> file for Tailwind specific configuration.</p>
<h4>postcss.config.js</h4>
<pre><code class="language-js">module.exports = {
  plugins: {
    tailwindcss: {},
    autoprefixer: {},
  },
};
</code></pre>
<p>This tells <em>PostCSS</em> to utilize the <code>tailwindcss</code> and <code>autoprefixer</code> plugins.</p>
<h4>tailwind.config.js</h4>
<pre><code class="language-js">module.exports = {
  content: ["./index.html", "./src/**/*.{vue,ts}"],
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  plugins: [],
};
</code></pre>
<p>Additional configuration is provided to <em>TailwindCSS</em> informing it to parse the root <code>/index.html</code> file and all <code>.vue</code> and <code>.ts</code> files anywhere under the <code>src</code> folder.</p>
<h4>src/index.css</h4>
<pre><code class="language-css">@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;
</code></pre>
<p>These three layers are where PostCSS and Autoprefixer inject the styles that Tailwind generates.</p>
<h4>src/main.ts</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">  import { createApp } from 'vue'
  import App from './App.vue'
+ import './index.css'
  import { store } from './store'
  
  
  createApp(App)
      .use(store)
      .mount('#app')
</code></pre>
<p>The main script file loads the Tailwind generates CSS file into the full app. All of the magic happens behind the scenes, so we won't go into the details on how or why this happens. We're just happy it works.</p>
<h4>src/App.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">  &#x3C;template>
+   &#x3C;header class="ml-4 p-4 rounded-bl-md border-l-2 border-b-2">
+     &#x3C;div class="text-2xl font-extrabold">HSMercs Helper&#x3C;/div>
+     &#x3C;div class="font-light">A set of tools for Hearthstone Mercenaries players.&#x3C;/div>
    &#x3C;/header>
    &#x3C;Mercenaries>&#x3C;/Mercenaries>
  &#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p>This applies a little styling to the header section of the app. Eventually, we will be putting navigation to different tools up there, so it is nice to give it some visual separation.</p>
<h4>src/components/Mercenaries.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
  &#x3C;section>
+   &#x3C;h1 class="text-xl mx-8">Collectable Mercenaries&#x3C;/h1>
+   &#x3C;div class="flex flex-wrap gap-2 px-2">
      &#x3C;MercenaryCard
        v-for="(merc, mercName) in mercenaries"
        :key="mercName"
        v-bind="merc"
        >{{ mercName }}
      &#x3C;/MercenaryCard>
    &#x3C;/div>
  &#x3C;/section>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p>When there is a set of cards, and we don't particularly care how many are in a row, the best case is to use <code>flex</code> on the container, instructing the browser to place entries next to each other, and wrap (<code>flex-wrap</code>) onto the next line when the block element won't fit in the viewport. <code>px-2</code> means to put a small padding on the left and right side of the container and <code>gap-2</code> instructs flex to keep a small space between elements.</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">yarn dev
</code></pre>
<p><img src="/images/hsmercs-mercstyled.png" alt="A little style!"></p>
<p>One of this first things I panicked on when I first installed Tailwind was that all of my text was suddenly the same size. What did I screw up?!</p>
<p>Well, fear not; this is intentional. The directive <code>@tailwind base</code> contains reset rules (called <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/docs/preflight">Preflight</a>)that clear all of the browser defaults. Since each browser has slightly different default stylying, the first thing Tailwind does is strip it all out.</p>
<h2>Style Some More Components</h2>
<p>Most of the styling is going to be inside the Mercenary Card or one of its children. We can start by throwing around a couple classes and seeing what happens. Now is a good time to experiment and see what you like. This first pass doesn't involve adding any color or images, it is strictly to improve readability of the basic content.</p>
<h4>src/components/MercenaryCard.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
  &#x3C;div
+   class="grid grid-rows-3 w-96 rounded-md border-2 gap-y-1 pb-1"
  >
    &#x3C;div>
      &#x3C;div
+       class="flex justify-between px-2 py-1 text-white bg-gray-700"
      >
+       &#x3C;h2 class="font-bold text-xl whitespace-nowrap">
          &#x3C;slot />
        &#x3C;/h2>
      &#x3C;/div>
+     &#x3C;div class="grid grid-cols-5 justify-around place-items-center px-2">
        &#x3C;Attack :role="role" :attack="attack" />
        &#x3C;Tribe :tribe="tribe" />
        &#x3C;Health :role="role" :health="health" />
+       &#x3C;Rarity class="col-span-2" :rarity="rarity" />
      &#x3C;/div>
    &#x3C;/div>
+   &#x3C;div class="grid grid-cols-3 gap-x-1">
      &#x3C;AbilityStamp
        v-for="(ability, abilityName) in abilities"
        :key="abilityName"
        :ability="ability"
        class="rounded"
        >{{ abilityName }}
      &#x3C;/AbilityStamp>
    &#x3C;/div>
+   &#x3C;div class="grid grid-cols-3 gap-x-1">
      &#x3C;ItemStamp
        v-for="(item, itemName) in equipment"
        :key="itemName"
        :item="item"
        >{{ itemName }}
      &#x3C;/ItemStamp>
    &#x3C;/div>
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p><strong>This right here</strong> is why I think CSS is so frickin' cool. We made a small adjustment to the CSS and BOOM, it looks so incredibly different. I get excited when I start seeing things really begin to take shape.</p>
<p>I hope you're getting excited, too.</p>
<p><img src="/images/hsmercs-mercs-level1styled.png" alt="HS Mercs - adding style to the MercenaryCard"></p>
<p>Let's do a some touch-up here and there by going into some of the components and applying a little style.</p>
<h4>src/components/AbilityStamp.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
+ &#x3C;div class="border rounded text-sm sm:text-base text-center">
    &#x3C;slot />
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<h4>src/components/Attack.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
+ &#x3C;div class="text-center font-bold w-10 h-10 text-xl p-2">
    {{ attack }}
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<h4>src/components/Health.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
+ &#x3C;div class="text-center font-bold w-10 h-10 text-xl p-2">
    {{ health }}
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<h4>src/components/ItemStamp.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
+ &#x3C;div class="border rounded text-sm sm:text-base text-center">
    &#x3C;slot />
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<h4>src/components/Tribe.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
+ &#x3C;div class="whitespace-nowrap text-center">
+   &#x3C;span class="align-middle">{{ tribe }}&#x3C;/span>
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p>Those little touches don't add much, but they set us to for the next stage in styling, which is to start having fun with dynamic colors and images based on properties of the mercenary.</p>
<p><img src="/images/hsmercs-mercs-level2styled.png" alt="HSMercs - level 2 shaping"></p>
<h2>Time For Some Images</h2>
<p>All this grey and white and boxes is getting boring. The excitement is starting to wear off. Time to add some pictures into this. Head over to the repo for this project and download the images from the <a href="https://github.com/drovani/hsmercs-helper/tree/main/assets">"/assets/" folder</a>. It's safe to grab all of the images in that folder, but if you want to be selective, these are the ones we are going to work with first.</p>
<h4>Assets Folder</h4>
<pre><code>├── assets
│   ├── alliance-watermark.png
│   ├── caster-attack.png
│   ├── caster-health.png
│   ├── epic.png
│   ├── fighter-attack.png
│   ├── fighter-health.png
│   ├── horder-watermark.png
│   ├── legendary.png
│   ├── neutral-attack.png
│   ├── neutral-health.png
│   ├── protector-attack.png
│   ├── protector-health.png
│   ├── rare.png
</code></pre>
<p>Be sure to place the <code>assets</code> folder at the root.</p>
<h4>src/components/Attack.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
  &#x3C;div
+   class="bg-center bg-contain bg-no-repeat text-center font-bold text-white w-10 h-10 text-xl p-2"
+   :style="{
+     'background-image': `url('/assets/${role.toLowerCase()}-attack.png')`,
+   }"
  >
    {{ attack }}
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<h4>src/components/Health.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
  &#x3C;div
+   class="bg-center bg-contain bg-no-repeat text-center font-bold text-white w-10 h-10 text-xl p-2"
+   :style="{
+     'background-image': `url('/assets/${role.toLowerCase()}-health.png')`,
+   }"
  >
    {{ health }}
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p>If you've left the <code>vite</code> server running, your place should be autorefreshing with the new content when you save the Vue files. If not, go ahead and start it up, now. You can see how the affect of the <code>role</code> property plays out by dynamically setting the URL of the background image.</p>
<h4>src/components/Rarity.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
  &#x3C;div>
+   &#x3C;img
+     class="max-h-6 inline"
+     :src="`./assets/${rarity.toLowerCase()}.png`"
+     :alt="rarity"
+   />
    {{ rarity }}
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p>Tailwind's Preflight sets the <code>img</code> to <code>display:block</code>, so we need to set it back to <code>inline</code> for this instance. The <code>max-h-6</code> is there to keep the image contained. We could also set an explicit height or width, but I prefer telling it the maximum allowed size and if the container shrinks, then the image will scale, too.</p>
<p><img src="/images/hsmercs-mercs-level2images.png" alt="HSMercs - level 2 images"></p>
<h3>Tailwind Custom Colors</h3>
<p>The next style we are going to implement is to color the border and the top bibbon of each card based on the class. Looking through Tailwind's <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/docs/customizing-colors#default-color-palette">default color palette</a>, the colors red-800, green-800, and blue-800 seem to nicely fit with the Mercenaries color palette. However, instead of having to remember which color we picked for each class, and which shade is the right one, Tailwind allows us to create custom named colors.</p>
<h4>tailwind.config.js</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">+ const colors = require("tailwindcss/colors");
  
  module.exports = {
    content: ["./index.html", "./src/**/*.{vue,ts}"],
    theme: {
      extend: {
+       colors: {
+         protector: colors.red[800],
+         fighter: colors.green[800],
+         caster: colors.blue[800],
+       },
      },
    },
    plugins: [],
  };
</code></pre>
<p>The Tailwind compiler (and the VSCode Intellisense) now know that "protector", "fighter", and "caster" are valid colors.</p>
<h4>src/components/MercenaryCard.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">&#x3C;template>
  &#x3C;div
    class="grid grid-rows-3 w-96 rounded-md border-2 gap-y-1 pb-1"
+   :class="{
+     'border-protector': role == 'Protector',
+     'border-fighter': role == 'Fighter',
+     'border-caster': role == 'Caster',
+   }"
  >
    &#x3C;div>
      &#x3C;div
        class="flex justify-between px-2 py-1 text-white bg-gray-700"
+       :class="{
+         'bg-protector': role == 'Protector',
+         'bg-fighter': role == 'Fighter',
+         'bg-caster': role == 'Caster',
+       }"
      >
        &#x3C;h2 class="font-bold text-xl whitespace-nowrap">
          &#x3C;slot />
        &#x3C;/h2>
      &#x3C;/div>
...
    &#x3C;/div>
...
  &#x3C;/div>
&#x3C;/template>
</code></pre>
<p>How cool is that?! Using the <code>role</code> prop, Vue assigns the right border and background class to use. Tailwind knows to generate the appropriate CSS class to match the colors we want.</p>
<h3>Tribe &#x26; Faction</h3>
<p>There is a concept in Mercenaries PVE where some tribes are a part of the "Alliance" faction, others are in the "Horde", and the rest are neutral or without a faction. Instead of doing a long set of logic in the <code>&#x3C;template></code> block, we'll create a <code>computed</code> property that will evaluate the faction based on the mercenary's tribe.</p>
<h4>src/components/Tribe.vue</h4>
<pre><code class="language-diff">  &#x3C;template>
    &#x3C;div
+     class="bg-center bg-no-repeat bg-contain h-10 whitespace-nowrap min-w-[6rem] text-center"
+     :style="{
+       'background-image': backgroundImage,
+     }"
    >
      &#x3C;span class="align-middle">{{ tribe }}&#x3C;/span>
    &#x3C;/div>
  &#x3C;/template>
  &#x3C;script setup lang="ts">
+ import { computed } from "vue";

  const props = defineProps({
    tribe: {
      type: String,
    },
  });

+ const horde = ["Blood Elf", "Goblin", "Half-Orc", "Orc", "Tauren", "Troll", "Undead"];
+ const alliance = ["Draenei", "Dwarf", "Gnome", "High Elf", "Human", "Night Elf"];
+ 
+ const faction = computed(() => {
+   return horde.find(t => t === props.tribe)
+     ? "Horde"
+     : alliance.find(t => t === props.tribe)
+     ? "Alliance"
+     : "Neutral";
+ });

+ const backgroundImage = computed((): string => {
+   if (faction.value === "Horde" || faction.value === "Alliance") {
+     return `url('/assets/${faction.value.toLowerCase()}-watermark.png')`;
+   }
+   return "unset";
+ });
  &#x3C;/script>
</code></pre>
<p>The two arrays tell us which tribes are in which factions and the <code>faction</code> computed property does a quick look-up. We then utilize that value to drive the <code>background-image</code> style for the <code>div</code>.</p>
<p><img src="/images/hsmercs-mercs-level1dynamic.png" alt="HSMercs - Round 1 Styling Complete"></p>


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