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Animate SVG Path Changes in CSS
20.2.2020
Every once in a while I'm motivated to attempt to draw some shapes with <path>, the all-powerful drawing syntax of SVG. I only understand a fragment of what it all can do, but I know enough to be dangerous. All the straight-line syntax commands (like L) are pretty straightforward and I find...
Design Systems Blogathon
11.2.2020
It was fun watching a bunch of back and forth blogging between a bunch of smart people quoting a bunch of smart people last week. If you missed it, you might wanna start at the end and work backward.
I only have one tidbit to add. I don't do much with design systems as someone who works on pretty...
Resizing Values in Steps in CSS
30.1.2020
There actually is a steps() function in CSS, but it's only used for animation. You can't, for example, tell an element it's allowed to grow in height but only in steps of 10px. Maybe someday? I dunno. There would have to be some pretty clear use cases that something like background-repeat: space...
Four Layouts for the Price of One
29.1.2020
Pretty notable when a tweet about a flexbox layouts gets 8K+ likes on Twitter!
4 layouts for the price of 1, thanks flex ????
css` form { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;
& > input { flex: 1 1 10ch; margin: .5rem;
&[type="email"] { flex: 3...
Flexible Captioned Slanted Images
25.1.2020
The end result of Eric Meyer's tutorial on creating this row of slanted images is pretty classy. But it's more about the journey than the destination (there isn't even really an isolated demo for it). Eric does an amazing job at talking it through like a thought process.
We did that recently, only...
Component-Level CMSs
23.1.2020
When a component lives in an environment where the data queries populating it live nearby, there is a pretty direct line between the visual component and the database where that exact content lives. That is opening up doors to site editing experiences that travel that line. We're starting to...
This Page is Designed to Last
23.1.2020
Jeff Huang, while going through his collection of bookmarks, sadly finds a lot of old pages gone from the internet. Bit rot. It's pretty bad. Most of what gets published on the web disappears. Thankfully, the Internet Archive gets a lot of it. Jeff has seven things that he thinks will help make...
How Is Bitcoin Cash Different From Bitcoin Core?
20.1.2020
The crypto space can be hard to break into for those unfamiliar with the jargon, lingo, and foundational knowledge taken for granted by the already initiated. Adding to this difficulty is the fact that there are several different cryptos which bear the name “Bitcoin.” Convoluted as this...
How to Turn a Procreate Drawing into a Web Animation
20.1.2020
I recently started drawing on my iPad using the Procreate app with Apple Pencil. I’m enjoying the flexibility of drawing this way. What usually keeps me from painting at home are basic things, like setup, cleaning brushes, proper ventilation, and other factors not really tied to the painting...
NetNewsWire and Feedbin
16.1.2020
NetNewsWire is one of the classic RSS apps, debuting in 2002. I was pretty stoked when it went 5.0 and was open-sourced in August 2019! You can snag it right here. (Sorry, Mac only.)
It's super nice, is fast, and looks great. It has just the right features.
But... I thought, at least at first...
The Deal with the Section Element
15.1.2020
Two articles published the exact same day:
Bruce Lawson on Smashing Magazine: Why You Should Choose HTML5 <article> Over <section>
Adam Laki on Pine: The Difference Between <section> and <div> Element
They are comparing slightly different things, but they both...
CSS-Only Carousel
10.1.2020
It's kind of amazing how far HTML and CSS will take you when building a carousel/slideshow.
Setting some boxes in a horizontal row with flexbox is easy.
Showing only one box at a time with overflow and making it swipable with -webkit-overflow-scrolling is easy.
You can make the "slides" line...
let vs. const
9.1.2020
There are multiple ways to declare variables in JavaScript. We had var, and while that still works like it always has, it is generally said that let and const are replacements to the point we rarely (if ever) need var anymore. This doodle explanation does a pretty good job, if you need...
“All these things are quite easy to do, they just need somebody to sit down and just go through the website”
8.1.2020
I saw a video posted on Twitter from Channel 5 News in the UK (I have no idea what the credibility of them is, it's an ocean away from me) with anchor Claudia Liza asking Glen Turner and Kristina Barrick questions about website accessibility.
Apparently, they often post videos with captions,...
Wufoo + Zapier
31.12.2019
Wufoo has always been great with integrations. They have integrations with specific apps, like Campaign Monitor, Mailchimp, and Typekit, but they also integrate with Zapier, which is sort of like an integration inside an integration.
That's kinda meta, but the idea is actually pretty...
Goals For 2020
30.12.2019
Every new year brings about a sense of optimism that the next 365 can bring about big, positive changes in different phases of life. That’s no exception for me and this blog. I did pretty well with last year’s goals, so I thought I’d push myself again with a new set of goals. Be...
Raw GraphQL Querying
20.12.2019
GraphQL has all kinds of awesome tooling built around it. But like everything on the web, it ultimately comes down to data shootin' across the ol' network and responses coming back. If you need to talk to a GraphQL API endpoint, you don't absolutely have to use some kind of framework or library...
Bitcoin History Part 22: The New Wealthy Elite
19.12.2019
“I am pretty confident we are the new wealthy elite, gentlemen, even with a sum as small as 10 bitcoins … The world just isn’t going to be the same and we have been blessed as the pioneers.” When these remarks were made in June of 2011, they seemed hopeful to the point...
The Typed Object Model
20.11.2019
I help write technical documentation and one feature I've been writing about this year that has really stood out is the Typed Object Model (or Typed OM). If you haven't come across it yet you would be forgiven as it's pretty new. It falls under the CSS Houdini suite of API's and on the surface...
Oh, the Places JavaScript Will Go
19.11.2019
I tend to be pretty vocal about the problems client-side JavaScript cause from a performance perspective. We're shipping more JavaScript than ever to our user's devices and the result is increasingly brittle and resource-intensive experiences. It's... not great.
But that doesn't mean I don't like...