The Website of Kai Conragan

23 Dec, 2008

1. Using svg on the web

   Useful tips on using svg in a webpage, both internally and as a linked object.

   # 10:09 a.m. | via: Simon Willison

18 Dec, 2008

1. State of Performance 2008

   Steve Souders has a recap of 2008 in regards to web performance as well as predictions for what 2009 will bring. Included in the post are links to slides he used in class High Performance Web Sites, taught in the Computer Science depeartment at Stanford. The slides are packed with information that should be of interest to any front-end architects.

   # 12:31 p.m.

16 Dec, 2008

1. Extending jQuery's selector engine

   I had no idea you could do this with jQuery.

   # 10:33 a.m.

15 Dec, 2008

1. How to install lxml python module on leopard

   This has long eluded me.

   # 9:38 a.m. | via: Simon Willison

12 Dec, 2008

1. The fundamental problem with CSS3

   Once again, Matt Wilcox hits the nail on the head.

   # 10:06 a.m.

11 Dec, 2008

1. Christoph Niemann's love affair with coffee

   This is fantastic.

   # 2:15 p.m.

2. lxml: an underappreciated web scraping library

   Nice series of examples comparing BeautifulSoup to lxml. Particularly interested in lxml’s ability to use css selectors.

   # 10:03 a.m. | via: Simon Willison

04 Dec, 2008

1. Hosting Subversion with Webfaction

   Nice little tutorial for setting up a subversion repository with Webfaction.

   # 10 a.m.

17 Nov, 2008

1. Andy Clarke: More on developing naming conventions

   Andy Clarke revisits his naming conventions and general markup patterns, within the context of Microformats and HTML5

   # 9:40 a.m.

07 Nov, 2008

1. Lessons learned while building and iPhone site

   Ross Harmes gives us the lessons he learned while building an iPhone optimized version of Flickr. Ultimately, he was able to reduce uncached page load time from over 90 seconds to under 7 through EDGE network. Impressive.

   # 10:42 a.m.

03 Nov, 2008

1. Introducing Python/Django testing

   Nice summary on basic doctests with Python and Django.

   # 10:11 a.m.

2. The day after Freebase went RDF

   # 10:04 a.m.

31 Oct, 2008

1. Freebase Redesign

   After months of work, we’ve just pushed live the new version of Freebase. This constitutes a massive overhaul to the site; besides a fresh coat of paint and a shiny new logo, we’ve rethought from the ground up ways to get people engaged with the data they care about.

   Of particular note is the new push to what we’re calling bases: smaller ecosystems within the Freebase biosphere that allow data enthusiasts to focus on a specific area of interest. I’ve created a handful of bases already, including one on surfing as well as another on scuba diving. Check them all out and make one for yourself!

   # 9:36 a.m.

30 Sep, 2008

1. Raphaël—JavaScript Library

   This looks like it will come in useful at some point.

   # 10:38 a.m.

18 Aug, 2008

1. Grep is a beautiful tool

   Another in Eric’s series on learning the command line.

   # 1:57 p.m.

2. Find is a beautiful tool

   Awesome tutorial using find, the command-line tool. Eric Wendelin provides compelling examples as to why you should integrate this tool into your daily workflow.

   # 1:54 p.m.

3. Django inserting and positioning images

   Interesting idea for using Django to manage images and insert them inline in articles, blog posts, etc.

   # 1:53 p.m.

4. Adding search to a Django site in a snap

   If the existing Django search projects are too heavyweight for you needs, Julien Phalip offers a pretty easy alternative.

   # 1:52 p.m.

15 Aug, 2008

1. CSS Variables Are The Future

   Alex Russel’s extremely thoughtful response to the aforementioned link, Why “variables” are harmful in CSS.

   # 10:51 a.m.

2. Why variables are harmful in CSS

   It is extremely unsettling to read something like this from an actual member of the W3C. To state that CSS variables would counter the need to keep CSS easy to learn is both laughable and and insult to designers and developers that actually make their living building websites.

   # 10:43 a.m.

23 Jul, 2008

1. jQuery Sparklines

   Sweet little jQuery plug-in that creates sparklines from data provided in inline HTML or javascript.

   # 10:50 a.m.

2. Migrating to newforms-admin

   Screencast detailing how to convert a Django project to use Django’s newforms-admin.

   # 10:46 a.m.

22 Jul, 2008

1. Replacing Django's template language with Jinja2

   Nice overview that examines the flexibility of Django’s loose coupling philosophy.

   # 12:14 p.m.

2. Django 1.0 Alpha

   Exciting news. Let the countdown begin.

   # 12:14 p.m.

24 Jun, 2008

1. Creating a tumblelog with Django

   This is a far more elegant solution than the one I use on the journal portion of my site.

   # 10:14 a.m. | via: Simon Willison

17 Jun, 2008

1. Faux Absolute Positioning

   Interesting new approach to CSS layouts. Seem to be a few shortcomings (counteracting a large negative bottom margin with a large padding-bottom value makes inline links unreliable), but still nice to see some developments in what has largely been a stagnant area of web design.

   # 10:05 a.m.

2. The Django Software Foundation

   With a foundation, Django will be able to continue its growth with new assistance from software operations large and small, from one-person outfits to industry leaders such as Google.

   The contributions will help Django leaders bring together core developers from around the world— from Lawrence to Australia or even Germany—to work side by side on details designed to make Django even better, faster.

   Congrats to the Django team. I can’t wait to reap the benefits.

   # 9:58 a.m.

12 Jun, 2008

1. Random Walk through Influences at Freebase

   Nice app built on top of the app that I spend my days building.

   # 10:13 a.m.

2. The Wysiwym Markdown Editor

   I have long loathed TinyMCE. It’s wonderful to see the shorthand markup languages getting some WYSIWYG love.

   # 10:09 a.m.

3. The Paragraph in Web Typography

   Fascinating essay from Jon Tangerine on the history of the paragraph as an entity, including reexamining its utility in web design.

   # 10:07 a.m.

10 Jun, 2008

1. Future Photoshop UI

   Interesting look at the forthcoming changes to to the user-interface of Adobe Photoshop, and presumably the rest of the Creative Suite. Of particular note is the addition of an optional application frame on the mac version.

   # 10:27 a.m.

2. CSS Performance Testing

   It’s long been said that descendant selectors in CSS have a negative affect in browser rendering times. It’s awesome to finally have some numbers.

   # 10:26 a.m.

3. Random Observations

   Part 1 in a hopefully ongoing series of observations from Eric Karjaluoto.

   # 10:24 a.m.

14 Apr, 2008

1. CSS Hacks

   Excellent resource for the necessary evil.

   # 10:03 a.m.

2. CSS Variables

   Please let this be so.

   # 10:02 a.m.

03 Apr, 2008

1. Python by Example

   This will definitely come in handy.

   # 10:22 a.m.

2. Pixel to EM Conversions

   Reference chart for converting EM-baesd units to pixels. Very handy.

   # 10:21 a.m.

3. CSS Compatibility Chart Provided by Microsoft

   Excellent reference from Microsoft detailing CSS compatibility across all major versions on Internet Explorer.

   # 10:19 a.m.

30 Mar, 2008

1. Writing Efficient CSS

   So one of the things I’m quickly learning at work is the implications of CSS coding strategies and how they relate to site performance. I’ve long been a fan of descendant selectors as they tend to allow leaner markup. However, there are serious speed ramifications when relying upon them in your CSS, notably rendering speed. Likely not an issue for smaller sites, but the speed implications become noticeable as your projects increase in scale. This is a great overview of how to write efficient CSS with rendering speed in mind.

   Also, see this article on how Yahoo! and AOL use CSS sprites to speed things up, as well as this post written by Dave Hyatt regarding browser rendering, written while he was still at AOL.

   # 5:56 p.m.

2. Cabel Sasser: Coda Confidential

   This has made it well through the blogosphere. Nevertheless, excellent talk by Cabel Sasser of Panic regarding the history of the company, design considerations in designing in Coda, and some randomness culled from the internet.

   # 5:53 p.m.

3. Django Search

   An easy-to-implement search feature is one of the key missing components in Django. Looks like Jakob Kaplan Moss, one of the originators of Django, is tackling this with the intent of it becoming django.contrib.search. Excellent.

   # 5:44 p.m.

26 Mar, 2008

1. Code Highlighting In Django

   I need to add a code highlighting feature to this site—it’s actually stopping me from writing a few posts. Saved for the next free weekend.

   # 7:01 p.m.

19 Mar, 2008

1. Integrating reCAPTCHA with Django

   Bookmarking for future reference

   # 9:53 a.m. | via: Simon Willison

18 Mar, 2008

1. Safari 3.1

   Apple releases Safari 3.1. There’s a new Develop option in the preferences, which basically enables the Web Inspector and some other goodies through the convenience of GUI instead of the old terminal method. Of particular note is some new support for CSS3 properties, including Web Fonts as well as CSS transforms and transitions. HTML5 gets a nod as well, with added support for <video> and <audio>. Awesome.

   # 10:02 a.m.

16 Mar, 2008

1. Kottke.org Turns 10

   Congrats Jason.

   # 8:44 a.m.

10 Mar, 2008

1. Artist Series: David Carson

   Short film from Hillman Curtis about graphic designer David Carson. During college, Carson was hands down my favorite designer, which I’m sure wasn’t unique for a design student at the turn of the millennium. Yet, my initial exposure to David Carson came far earlier in my life: he designed a number of my favorite spreads in Surfer Magazine from the early 90’s, including a landmark piece introducing Mavericks to the rest of the world, a wave I had grown up with in my backyard. It wasn’t until college, when I got my hands on a copy of The End of Print, that I made the connection between David Carson and all those childhood surf magazines. Thanks for the memories Hillman.

   # 8:36 a.m. | via: Airbag Industries

2. Our Favorite Typefaces of 2007

   Typographica’s always excellent annual collection of favorite typefaces. Purista looks like a Eurostile killer. Arno has lovely swashes, and is bundled free with Adobe Creative Suite 3.

   # 8:30 a.m.

3. Beautiful Minimalist Design From New Zealand

   Thanks Khoi

   # 8:29 a.m. | via: Subtraction

04 Mar, 2008

1. Best of Craigslist

   This is nothing new, but there is some seriously hilarious shit in here.

   # 9:38 a.m.

2. Rails is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Python

   Argument that Rails, by highlighting the benefits of using MVC frameworks and scripting languages, has helped Python in terms of overall usage. He doesn’t provide any real proof of this idea, and his examples are anecdotal at best, but I have to agree with his overall point. Case in point: I came to Python through Django.

   # 9:31 a.m.

3. Interesting New App For Mounting SFTP Servers as Volumes in the Finder

   This program would have made my life a lot easier on recent project I worked on. According to Gruber, some interface complaints aside, it works pretty much as advertised

   # 9:28 a.m. | via: Daring Fireball

03 Mar, 2008

1. Microsoft Reverses Positioning On Versioning Targeting in IE8

   Fantastic news. There were some heated opinions on this issue on both sides of the fence. From Microsoft’s standpoint, I’m sure it made sense to put the burden of version targeting on the shoulders of standards-aware developers since they are a smaller user-base and well-enough informed to reverse the default behavior. However, I ultimately agree with James Bennet’s sentiment that it is not the responsibility of designers and developers to help Microsoft maintain their market share. Regardless, I’m very happy that Microsoft listened to the feedback of the development community, and tailored their decision accordingly. That, in itself, is a victory.

   # 3:27 p.m.

24 Feb, 2008

1. Fuck Style

   Great essay by Eric Karjaluoto of SmashLab.

   # 9:56 p.m.

20 Feb, 2008

1. Visualizing Fitts's Law

   Nice article up at Particletree titled Visualizing Fitts’s Law with excellent diagrams illustrating key points and problems. Also check out this article by Dunstan Orchard on the subject, with some practical advice related to hyperlinks.

   # 3:48 p.m.

15 Feb, 2008

1. Interview: Adrian Holovaty

   Excellent interview about the newly launched Everyblock with mastermind Adrian Holovaty. It’s amazing that more than half of the data available on Everyblock is obtained by scraping HTML and not through formal APIs.

   # 8:50 a.m.

12 Feb, 2008

1. OS X 10.5.2

   Apple finally releases 10.5.2. I’ve been waiting on this one for a while. Apparently they’ve fixed quite a number of GUI complaints including the incredibly annoying translucent menu bar as well as the way the dock handles folder contents. I’d be satisfied with a stability increase. I’ve had three kernel panics recently.

   # 7:24 p.m.

2. Typecaster

   What’s your type? Turns out I’m Helvetica. No surprise there.

   # 7:22 p.m. | via: Airbag Industries

04 Feb, 2008

1. Why I'm Excited About the Google Social Graph API

   Joshua Porter has a nice write-up on the newly released Google Social Graph API and how it benefits individual web users—programmers or otherwise. I particularly like how he contrasts this concept with the Walled Garden of Facebook.

   # 7:21 p.m.

01 Feb, 2008

1. Geometry of the Mint Logo

   Shaun shows once again why he is one of the best out there. Genius.

   # 7:20 p.m.

2. Microsoft Offers $44.6 Billion for Yahoo

   Apparently the rumors have been true. I’ve thought for a while that in order for either Microsoft or Yahoo to effectively compete with Google, they would need to join forces. Though the likelihood of the two companies actually working effectively is next to nil. John Gruber raises an interesting point that nearly all of Yahoo’s web apps are built on LAMP, therefore meaning Microsoft would have to undertake a massive rewrite process or assume ownership and maintenance of assets not based in their own technologies. Let’s not forget antitrust issues as well.

   # 5:07 p.m.

31 Jan, 2008

1. Erratic Widsom Redesign

   Beautiful redesign. Love the archives module at the bottom of the page.

   # 5:06 p.m. | via: Inman

2. xScope 2.0

   Update to Iconfactory’s nice set of on-screen measuring tools. The new Dimensions tool may be worth th $10 upgrade alone ($26.95 for new users).

   # 5:04 p.m.

3. InstaPaper

   From Tumblr developer Marco Arment, a new web that simply allows you to save the web pages for later viewing. A simple bookmarklet allows you to save a page you are on to your account. Your account page is simply a list of articles you’ve saved for future reading. Brilliant and so simple. I’d say on average I have 15-20 tabs open at any given time, and that’s just in Safari. I do all of my initial development in Firefox, which houses a good amount of tabs at any one time as well. At any given time, a good number of those tabs may be articles I came across while doing research that, while interesting, weren’t directly related to my topic. Add in the inevitable pages open from RSS feeds, and Instapaper should help me cut down on tab-overload. Sweet.

   # 5:03 p.m.

29 Jan, 2008

1. Oobjects

   New (to me) site I’ve been following. Categories run the gamut, from best Apple concept mockups to best cardboard robot costumes. Love the typography too.

   # 5:02 p.m.

25 Jan, 2008

1. Sorting in Python

   While building this blog I needed to do some sorting to achieve the aggregate display on the default Journal page. This was the best overview I found.

   # 5:56 p.m.

2. Charles and Ray Eames U.S. Postal Stamps

   I own three Eames Molded Plastic Side Chairs, including a mustard yellow one I found at a laundromat with an Eifell Tower base. I will consider my life a success when I buy my own Eames Lounge . In the meantime, these stamps will do just fine.

   # 5:56 p.m.

3. 19 Best Ads

   Great collection of ads from the past few years.

   # 5:26 p.m. | via: Kottke

24 Jan, 2008

1. Everyblock

   I’ve been looking forward to this since it was announced last year. I’ve consistently been impressed by the work Adrian has put out over the past few years. He has a way of applying technology in a way I can only describe as human. Wilson Miner is one of my favorite designers on the web. When I heard the two of them were teaming up, I knew Everyblock would be something special.

   Everyblock is currently only available in Chicago, New York and, fortunately for me, San Francisco. But more is certainly coming. Poynter has an interview up with Adrian Holovaty and Daniel X. O’Neil posts some personal thoughts on the project.

   # 10:11 p.m.