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I really tried to like mainstream content management systems. But they never lived up to their promises to make developing websites easier. They tend to be inflexible, overly complicated, buggy, broken, and have issues with data loss. Those "five minute installations" often require hours of my time. My clients still struggle with editing or adding content, which isn't as easy or intuitive as it is supposed to be. Further, the text editors produce unreliable, messy, and buggy markup. ...
As the HTML standard evolves we are supposed to follow it faithfully. But the newest markup standard and official recommendations don't always make sense. For example, we are told to use list elements (ul, ol, li) to encapsulate anything that looks like a list. Using the recommended list markup, a list of words might look like: ...
If web design has taught me anything, it's that web design is painful. Styling content with CSS is one of the the most painful aspects of web design. Browsers have finally begun to follow the standard better, but are still far from perfect. Regardless, many simple layouts can't be done with CSS, or require ridiculous hacks. I used to try to write CSS around my visual designs. But I'm tired. I just want to be able to focus on writing good content for my website. Subsequently, I've started instead to build my designs around what CSS can do. And the only thing CSS can do decently is single-column vertically flowing layouts. ...
After getting a digital camera about 3 years ago, I stopped using film entirely. And why not? Digital photography is mature and much more convenient than film, isn't it? ...
I've learned many different computer programming languages. Each programming language is designed to emphasize certain ways of thinking and solving problems. Certainly, whenever I learn a new programming language, I learn new concepts, and subsequently, new ways of solving problems. At first, a new language and the concepts it embodies may seem radically different. However, as I develop deeper understandings of the concepts emphasized in the new language, I realize that those concepts are not exclusive to that language. All along, I could have used these concepts in any other programming language (although they may have to be expressed quite differently). Consequently, each time I learn another language, the possibility of what I can do in any other language expands. ...
The "demo scene" is a subculture that creates computer programs that generate and display short animations. These "demos" often feature computer generated music. Most of the artwork is not made directly. Rather, patterns are programmed for how shapes, objects, and colors, should appear and move. The programmers work alone or in small teams. The demo scene has several large annual meet-ups where teams compete. Demos are made on location typically over only a day or two. A lot of beautiful and innovative work has come out of this scene for over 25 years. I have no doubt that main-steam computer graphics owe much and will continue to owe much to the demo scene. ...