Keith Wagner

Reading Log - November 13, 2023 (#50)

I can't believe this is the 50th issue of my current take on my reading logs. This week I read about the renaissance of CSS, issues at SpaceX, the cancellation of a promising new nuclear power station, and more.

In Depth

CSS is fun again
Jeff Sandberg

CSS has been undergoing a quiet renaissance lately. Lots of big features which previously required an external tool to use, are now native parts of the language, and its growing more and more all the time. If you haven’t used CSS in a long time, for whatever reason, now is the time to take a look again.

It’s really amazing how far CSS has come recently with all the new features that make both big and little things easier.


Making a Website is for Everyone
Jim Nielsen

I agree with both Thomas and Jim on this.

The web’s low barrier to entry led me to a career that has been a boon for my life. I hope it can do the same for others.

While certain parts of web design and development can be far more difficult than others, the tools available for everyone to build their own website have only grown better and easier. Long past are the times of Geocities and MySpace customization.


10 hard-to-swallow truths they won't tell you about software engineer job
Mensur Durakovic

I agree with some of them more than others, but this one stuck with me:

Sometimes you don’t know the whole story. I have seen some cases where a person just can’t do their job properly. They are burdened with tons of tasks and doing work for 2 people.

With both work and life, we don’t necessarily know what others are going through. I know I sometimes get annoyed with the timeliness of responses from a certain team at work, but also have to take a deep breath and remember that the team is currently understaffed (they’re working on it) and often overworked. We’re on the same (larger) team and want the projects to succeed and that’s what’s important.


Link Blast

🖥 Software Development & Design

Style Scoped - Chris Coyier

Premature Infrastructure is the Root of All Evil - Michael Shpilt

What Exactly is “Modern” CSS? - Geoff Graham

Minimalist Affordances: Making the right tradeoffs - Lea Verou

How do build tools break backwards compatibility? - Chris Ferdinandi


🚀 Space

At SpaceX, worker injuries soar in Elon Musk’s rush to Mars - Marisa Taylor

Here’s How to Bring Mars Down to Earth: Let NASA Do What NASA Does Best - Phil Plait


🌎 Climate Change

The First Small-Scale Nuclear Plant in the US Died Before It Could Live - Gregory Barber


🎧 Podcasts

How I Built This #504: Twilio: Jeff Lawson

Make Me Smart #1042: The promises and risks of carbon capture


🎵 A Song to Leave You With

Jonathan Coulton - If You Could Read My Mind