Weeknotes 21:01

January 3, 2021

Week of December 27-January 2

• I enjoyed taking two weeks of PTO at the end of the year. It was nice to be able to step away for a bit. Just long enough that I am looking forward to getting back to work this week.
• While most of my time off was spent doing other things, I did enjoy taking the time to read some Web development articles. I also read Debugging CSS, which is a book that I highly recommend for anyone writing CSS.
• I wrote a post about techniques I use in most of my projects these days. It was an idea I had back in August. I am glad I took the time to get those thoughts out of my head and hope they might be of value to others.
• I played around one afternoon with using localStorage with a theme switcher. I had seen this example of one on Codepen which uses localStorage to store the value of the theme (either the default one or the user-chosen theme). I started working on themes for a project on my last day of work in December. Originally, I was going to prefers-color-scheme preference from the user along with the option to change to the other theme.  But after further consideration, I think a better solution would be just to use a theme switcher. We launched the site with a “dark” theme with the understanding that we would create a “light” theme later. With this in mind, I think it would be off-putting to the user to suddenly change the theme if we made the “light” theme the default or went with the prefers-color-scheme preference.

Articles and Videos

• This used to be our playground – Simon Collison’s reflection on personal websites. I came away with the personal challenge to make myself the audience for this site. I am writing for me. If it is helpful for others, great. But first and foremost, I want to write for myself. I think that will free me up to write more often.
• Webbed Briefs: What is ARIA even for? – The pilot episode of a series Heydon Pickering‘s short vlogs about web technologies.
• A Deep Dive into CSS Grid minmax()
• Web Almanac by HTTP Archive: CSS chapter – A look at the state of the Web in 2020. Lots of interesting insights into how developers are using (or not using) CSS
• Design v18 of CSS Tricks – Behind the scenes commentary on Chris Coyier’s latest design of CSS Tricks.
• Semantics in web development
• Slow Movement – I enjoyed this perspective from Manuel Matuzovic in answer to the question, “What did you learn about building websites this year?” He reminds us that there is still a lot to discover in HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
• The CSS Mindset – Some really good perspective about developing with CSS.
• What Makes CSS Hard to Master – Some more great perspective on developing with CSS.

Books

• Inclusive Components  – I read the first chapter in Heydon Pickering’s book, Inclusive Components. I had intended to read it in 2020 but never got around to it. Looking forward to getting more into it.
• Debugging CSS – A much-needed book on a topic that has not been adequately addressed. I will say it again, I highly recommend this book to anyone writing CSS.

Watched

• The Repair Shop (Netflix) – I love this show. I really enjoy watching people who are so skilled at their craft doing what they love and how they delight in serving those who hire them.
• War Games (Netflix) – I enjoyed watching this iconic movie from my past with my wife and our teenage son.
• Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame – I enjoyed watching these movies with my daughters to end the year.
• Abstract: Typeface Design (Netflix) – My second time watching this episode. This time we watched it with my teenage son who is interested in graphic design. Not only was the content interesting and engaging, but the art direction of the whole episode also does a wonderful job of telling the story.
• Cobra Kai Season 3 (Netflix) – I watched seasons 1 and 2 over thanksgiving. I enjoyed getting back into it over the weekend.

Video Games

• MLB The Show 20 – I continue to enjoy playing a franchise season with the Tampa Bay Rays. In the past, I have played the game during the summer during “baseball season.” And even though it is not summer, I am having a lot of fun playing with this team.