Blog

  1. "Tabs vs Spaces" Is All Sorts of Messed Up

    Published Jun 28, 2022 Updated Jul 6, 2022 8 min read
    The debate about tabs vs spaces is as old as the internet itself (I assume), and the way that we go about deciding which one to use is far more selfish than you realise.
  2. Melody: A New Way to RegEx

    Published Apr 4, 2022 Updated Jun 29, 2022 7 min read
    Writing RegEx has always felt like using blood to draw runes in the dirt for the purpose of enacting an arcane incantation, but... maybe it doesn't have to be that way. 🤔
  3. What would you do if your computer caught on fire?

    Published Jul 23, 2020 Updated Jun 29, 2022 3 min read
    Have you ever wondered what you'd do if you spent the day working on a huge new feature, only for your machine to catch on fire before you push the code? Well… I'll bet you're wondering about it now. 🙃
  4. Building Web Apps with Firebase

    Published Jan 30, 2020 Updated Jul 5, 2022 8 min read
    Data modeling makes everything easier when you're building an app. I'll explore my own data modeling process and discuss how I decide what data I need in my database.
  5. Loading Images with Web Workers

    Published Jun 10, 2019 Updated Jul 5, 2022 8 min read
    Web workers are magical. They allow for multi-threading in JavaScript, a language that has been single threaded *since the beginning*. Their practical applications cover pretty much everything we do in web applications... so why isn't anybody using them‽ 🤔
  6. Why Is Browser Caching So Hard?

    Published Oct 19, 2014 Updated Apr 7, 2022 6 min read
    Browser caching is one of the best ways to take care of your users while also speeding up your website... so why is it so hard?
  7. On Handlebars and Template Tags

    Published Jun 17, 2014 Updated Jul 5, 2022 3 min read
    Handlebars is **awesome**. I can separate my template logic from my application logic? Yes, please. When I try to use Handlebars in my local editor, though, it vomits all over those ugly `<script>` tags. Fortunately there’s an awesome, future-friendly, spec-compliant solution.
  8. How to do Amazing Things

    Published Jun 2, 2014 Updated Jul 5, 2022 7 min read
    A response to Raymmar Tirado’s 7 Reasons Why You Will Never Do Anything Amazing With Your Life
  9. On Dropdown Menu Transitions

    Published Mar 1, 2014 Updated Jul 5, 2022 6 min read
    The CSS transition property allows for a lot of really cool effects in your design, but it's caused me to bang my head against the desk more than a couple of times. Let's talk about some of the less well-documented parts of the transition property.
  10. On Advanced Box Shadows

    Published Dec 3, 2013 Updated Jul 5, 2022 2 min read
    `box-shadow` is arguably one of the coolest things to come out of CSS3. However, I’ve been creating shadows in Adobe Fireworks and Photoshop for years, so I feel like CSS3’s `box-shadow` implementation is just too constrained. In an effort to expand my boxy horizons, I set out on a quest to create some cooler shadows.
  11. On Saving Characters

    Published May 6, 2013 Updated Apr 7, 2022 2 min read
    Recently I discovered something mind-blowing that I feel like I should have known for years.
  12. On Variables, Calculations, and New Units

    Published Dec 15, 2012 Updated Apr 7, 2022 5 min read
    Web designers were begging for variables and calculations in CSS well before LESS and Sass came along However, Sass and LESS output can sometimes bloat your CSS and, while it's pretty fun to play with, it's a pain to have to recompile your CSS after every change. Fortunately, the W3C has come in like the proverbial Mary Poppins and to give them a spit shine, making everything all fresh and new again.
  13. On CSS Tooltips

    Published Oct 5, 2012 Updated Jul 5, 2022 4 min read
    Pure CSS tooltips have been a thing for a while now, but all of the solutions I've found have had severe limitations. After reading through Louis Lazaris's article — Pure CSS Tool Tips Revisited over at ImpressiveWebs — I decided to take a stab at making some powerful CSS tooltips of my own.
  14. On Responsive Design

    Published Mar 1, 2012 Updated Apr 7, 2022 3 min read
    After reading through A List Apart's article — What I Learned About the Web in 2011 — I decided I needed to make a second effort at getting into mobile web design. This article chronicles the epic struggle between myself and the perils of designing for a screen that fits in my hand.