Scott Andrew

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11 things I learned reading the flexbox spec

Some interesting takeaways from the CSS Flexbox specification. Filed for further reading. Also, a thing to note: WC3 specs are fairly easy reads.

Posted June 1, 2017

Ray Harryhausen's Little Red Riding Hood

Posted to BoingBoing a few weeks back, I finally took the time to watch this early work from acclaimed stop-motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen. Created in 1949, long before his better-known work on movies like Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans.

There are a handful of outstanding moments. The way the grandmother leaps out of bed; the wolf prowling up the stairs in silhouette; the hunter jumping on the bed then putting an arm down to prop himself up at the window. It's that attention to detail that makes Harryhausen one of the greats.

Posted June 1, 2017

Add colorful terminal text to your Node applications

This colors NPM package looks handy for colorizing the terminal output of your Node application. See also these tokens that can be inserted into JavaScript strings to add colorized text.

Posted May 31, 2017

Making A Living As A Professional Dungeon Master

I love everything about this:

One night, after smoking a joint, [Toronto-based dungeon master John Dempsey] resolved to quit those day jobs and focus on the wild idea of playing Dungeons & Dragons full-time. He'd already spent hours building elaborate, three-dimensional dungeon sets; what if it wasn't purely for leisure? "For a month and a half, I heard nothing, and I thought to myself, 'what a stupid idea'. Some of my family and friends thought it was a stupid idea, too," he says. "But then I got a call, and another, and another, and before I knew it, this became a full time gig. I couldn't believe it! I still have a hard time believing sometimes that I make a living being a Dungeon Master. I currently have 14 groups, and it keeps growing every month."

After not playing for almost 20 years, I had the pleasure of joining some co-workers for a one-shot campaign with first-level characters, and it was a total blast.

Posted May 30, 2017

Introducing JSON Feed

A native JavaScript alternative to RSS and Atom:

We — Manton Reece and Brent Simmons — have noticed that JSON has become the developers’ choice for APIs, and that developers will often go out of their way to avoid XML. JSON is simpler to read and write, and it’s less prone to bugs.

So we developed JSON Feed, a format similar to RSS and Atom but in JSON. It reflects the lessons learned from our years of work reading and publishing feeds.

JSON has emerged as the interop format of choice, without question. It's a trend worth embracing.

Posted May 29, 2017

The JavaScript Garden

A catalog of quirks and gotchas. Worth a quick read if you work in the JS space.

Posted May 25, 2017

Learning Modes and Scales: A Study Guide for Bassists

"Remember: there is no such thing as a bad note, just a bad resolution."

Posted May 24, 2017

Speed Comicking

Tips from Ryan Estrada on how to hack your comics workflow.

Posted May 23, 2017

Please enjoy this awkward 1984 video of Yes lip-syncing to Owner Of A Lonely Heart

It occurs to me that by the time 90125 was released in 1983, the founding members of Yes were pushing 40 and now had to navigate this new thing called MTV. Jon Anderson's vocals sound so confident throughout Yes' recorded catalog, so it's strange to see him here not knowing what to do with his hands. Doesn't matter -- 90125 is still a great album.

Here's Yes in 1972, slaying on "Roundabout." How strange that only a decade separates these two very different incarnations of the same group:

Posted May 16, 2017

Jay Som, The Bus Song (Music)

Currently on repeat on my Spotify playlist:

Posted May 5, 2017