Advertise on podcast: General Musings with Kevin Powell

Someone left a comment on one of my videos asking "Who still cares about all those little CSS details?" and it's not the first that asks that type of thing, so I felt like I should reply. ✅ Newsletter: https://kevinpowell.co/newsletter ✅ CSS animations to bring your site to life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSNiSdB8Ens ✅ Recreating GTA6's awesome scroll effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi1MvM7whzg

Two bugs in PHP itself are being called "70% of the internet is affected", and the bug is serious, but the headline number is not. Here is what actually happened, where the 70% comes from, why so many sites are stuck without a fix, and what to do about it. PHP versions with the fix: 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35. 🔗 Links ✅ Wiz, "PHP2Shell": https://www.wiz.io/blog/php2shell-php-rce ✅ PHP security advisory (21 October): https://www.php.net/archive/2026.php#2026-10-21-5 ✅ PHP supported versions: https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php ✅ The Hacker News: https://thehackernews.com/2026/10/php-issues-emergency-patches-for-two.html ✅ Huntress: https://www.huntress.com/blog/php2shell-leaked-critical-php-vulnerabilities ✅ watchTowr: https://watchtowr.com/intelligence/php-remote-code-execution-php2shell/ ✅ Patchstack: https://patchstack.com/articles/php-major-vulnerability-alert-10-2026/ ✅ Cloudflare rules available to all customers (Help Net Security): https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/10/21/php2shell-php-vulnerabilities-patched-cve-2026-109618-cve-2026-109619/ ✅ W3Techs, PHP usage: https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/pl-php ✅ W3Techs, PHP 8 subversions: https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/pl-php/8 ✅ W3Techs, WordPress share of all websites: https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_management ✅ Ubuntu security notice for PHP 8.1: https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8948-1 ⌚ Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction 1:05 - What actually happened: two bugs in PHP itself 2:54 - Why it is such a big deal 4:33 - How your server runs PHP 5:44 - So is 70% of the internet affected? 6:56 - The real problem: old PHP with no fix 8:58 - Most people don't control their own PHP version 9:30 - Attacks, break-ins and who is going offline 11:23 - What you should do

An article saying "Passkeys are a trap. Do not use them." hit the front page of Hacker News, and its worry is attestation: a passkey feature that could let sites decide what software you can log in with. I break down what attestation actually is, why non-attested passkeys are still secure, and why I'm not too worried about it, at least for now. ✅ My newsletter: https://kevinpowell.co/newsletter ✅ Passkeys are a trap. Do not use them. (The Hack, Non-Functional): https://nonfunctional.substack.com/p/passkeys-are-a-trap-do-not-use-them ✅ FIDO Alliance members: https://fidoalliance.org/members ✅ Beyond Tellerand: https://beyondtellerrand.com/events/dusseldorf-2027/tickets

Most developers say they like the AI tools they're using, yet motivation is down and burnout is everywhere. This week I look at what the 2026 Stack Overflow and State of Devs surveys say, and what you've been telling me in the comments. Then I get to what the people who are happier with AI are doing differently, and what could actually fix this. Sources: Stack Overflow 2026 Developer Survey: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026 State of Devs 2026: https://2026.stateofdevs.com/en-US My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell 0:00 Developers like AI, so why the burnout? 0:15 The paradox in the Stack Overflow survey 1:58 What you've been saying in the comments 3:06 Reduced motivation is the top burnout symptom 4:13 Poor management, the top workplace difficulty 6:11 Some people are happier with AI 8:21 The job isn't typing, it's shipping products 9:33 Management needs a rethink 11:42 Lessons from Photoshop 14:45 What you can do 15:41 What do you think?

✅ Thoughtful Design Systems: https://thecascade.dev/courses/design-systems/ ✅ StyleX: https://stylexjs.com/ ✅ Jeremy Keith’s blog post: https://adactio.com/journal/857 My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@KevinPowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Beyond Tellerand: https://beyondtellerrand.com/ Thoughtful Design Systems: https://thecascade.dev/courses/design-systems/ The Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1wm5c21/i_am_done_with_this_shit/ My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Piccalilli: https://piccalil.li Master.dev blog (run by Chris Coyier): https://master.dev/blog/ Smashing Magazine: https://www.smashingmagazine.com Ahmad Shadeed: https://ishadeed.com Josh W. Comeau: https://www.joshwcomeau.com Bramus: https://www.bram.us CSS Tip (Temani Afif): https://css-tip.com CSS Weekly: https://css-weekly.com/ Geoff Graham: https://geoffgraham.me Articles and posts that I mentioned during this video: Chris’ article: https://chriscoyier.net/2024/02/28/where-im-at-on-the-whole-css-tricks-thing/ Geoff’s first goodbye to CSS-Tricks: https://geoffgraham.me/goodbye-css-tricks/ Geoff’s latest post on why it went quiet: https://geoffgraham.me/why-css-tricks-has-been-quiet/ DHH’s post annoucing the funding: https://omarchy.org/news/2026/09/digitalocean-joins-as-founding-corporate-patron/

👉 Start writing CSS with confidence, with or without AI 😅: https://thecascade.dev/courses/css-demystified/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=regular-video My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Jeremy Keith's article: https://adactio.com/journal/857 My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

The boring internet: https://www.terrygodier.com/the-boring-internet CSS Weekly: https://css-weekly.com/ The Index by Piccalilli: https://piccalil.li/the-index/ My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Vale's article: https://vale.rocks/micros/20260521-0440 Matthias' article: https://matthiasott.com/notes/ad-infinitum My article that I mentioned in passing: https://www.kevinpowell.co/article/tell-someone-you-appreciate-them/ My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

CSS Demystified: https://thecascade.dev/courses/css-demystified/?utm_source=general-musings&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=regular-video CSS Day: https://cssday.nl/ ZurichJS: https://conf.zurichjs.com/ I recently went through a period that could have led to burnout, but I managed to avoid it, so I thought I'd share how I managed to get through it.

CSS Day: https://cssday.nl/ ZurichJS: https://conf.zurichjs.com/ CSS Demystified: https://thecascade.dev/courses/css-demystified/?utm_source=general-musings&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=regular-video In this episode, I talk about why being an expert still matters in a world of AI tools, and how those tools can sometimes make us think we know more than we do. I also touch on imposter syndrome and the importance of knowing what we don't know. My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

In this episode I dive into the impact of AI tools on skill democratization, which I normally think is a good thing, and how it leads to an illusion of lowered barriers. I also go on to talk about how I'm worried about the potential skill gaps that are being created, and how they're best used as tools for experts, and not something that can innovate on it's own with some simple prompts.

Get your tickets (with a nice discount) for Smashing Conf Amsterdam: https://ti.to/smashingmagazine/smashingconf-amsterdam-2026/discount/wehopeyoullbejoiningus The Cassidy Williams video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5VzL256te4 In this episode, I talk about my upcoming content strategy, which includes experimenting with more shorts, balancing long-form and short-form content, sharing CSS tips, and remixing interview content. I also talk about the challenges of content planning and scheduling, emphasizing my preference for simple tools like pen-and-paper calendars over an excess of apps, and cautioning against tool sprawl and maintenance. My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell