Notes
Short, bite sized thoughts, inspirations, mistakes, and other minutia. The sort of scraps you’d jot down in a notebook to remember for later…
For longer, more thorough writing — peruse the articles section.
Goodbye Gatsby, Hello Hugo
Hugo has ruined me. Other static site generators that rely on community plugins and copypasta to fill out their gaps don’t cut it anymore…
Adding last modified timestamps with Git
Today I learned how to automatically add last modified dates to Markdown files used by static site generators like Jekyll and Gatsby.
Not so quick with the Gatsby site optimizations
This is the post where I talk about neglecting the site and pledge to blog more… wait, wasn’t I suppose to do this on January 1st?
Twenty Nineteen
First time doing a year in review post. The statistics contained are just for fun as there’s nothing to compare them against yet.
Faster Netlify builds
Slowly but surely, I’ve been chipping away at my site’s build time on Netlify.
There’s little left for me to optimize until Jekyll drops some nice updates in version 4.
Autumn refresh
Using CSS Grid Layout Module to redesign a Jekyll site and further improve performance and accessibility.
Configuring publishing sources for GitHub Pages
You know what sucks? Maintaining two separate branches of an open source project, just to host its source code and documentation together with GitHub Pages.
Oil pastels are not pencils
Not to overstate the obvious here, but oil pastels do not behave like colored pencils…
CSS blur effect
Playing with the new Depth Effect (aka fauxkeh) on my iPhone 7 Plus got me thinking about Gaussian blurs, and how to improve their use on this site.
Using SSI to detect cookies
In my never ending quest to micro-optimize the hell out of my site, I ran into a snag when trying to use SSI directives to improve the loading of critical CSS and cached stylesheets.
Inktober failure
Like previous years, I started out with the best of intentions for Inktober and then quickly lost steam…
How to glitch images
To create profile images that look like they’ve been run through a television set with poor reception, I use DECIM8.
How to make time-lapse videos on iPad
Methods used to capture time-lapse videos of drawing and painting on an iPad, to show an artwork’s progression.
iPad stylus recommendations
Long story short, if you have an iPad Pro do yourself a favor and get an Apple Pencil.
Learning to draw on iPad
How did I git gud at drawing and painting on an iPad? The answer that no one likes to hear is “practice, practice, practice.
What tablet do you use?
If it wasn’t obvious from the artwork on this site, I draw, paint, and create on Apple’s iPad.
Drawing experience
I’ve been drawing with traditional tools and materials — on and off for the last 20 years.
Paperfaces digital drawing giveaway
Enter to win a portrait of your choice drawn by Michael Rose in his signature PaperFaces style.
Inspiring faces want to know
Finding inspiration from the faces of strangers on Sktchy for iOS.
Starting young
It was only natural the two little rosebuds would become early adopters of technology.
365 days of drawing faces
Year one of my 365 day portrait project may be over, but I’m just getting started.
Sketching PaperFaces portraits
An experiment in humanizing the web — drawing a portrait everyday on iPad with the app Paper.
Easter egg marriage proposal
Two years ago on this day, I proposed to my wife Wendy by leading her on an Easter egg scavenger hunt.
Corn On Macabre record art — vellum and metallic ink bliss
My favorite thing about this Corn On Macabre 7-inch record is the use of vellum and metallic inks in the sleeve.
My About.me profile
How 5 minutes spent creating an About.me profile nabbed me free Moo business cards of my own design.
Urban Outfitters, ya typography dun goofed again
Glad to see improvements in the May 2011 Urban Outfitters catalog. Especially since I took a few issues with their typography last month.
Agna Moraine's Autobiography, handwritten record art
I couldn’t begin to tell you what the artwork in this emo record means. But silk screening lyrics on fabric scrapes is kind of cool.
Collecting records for the artwork
How the hand crafted aesthetics found in DIY released emo and hardcore records started my collecting addiction.
Typography no nos with Urban Outfitters
The typography in Urban Outfitters latest catalog has some serious readability issues.
Knowing grids means breaking grids
Exploring what it means to develop a grid system that helps facilitate strong design with purpose.
Makings of a mistake, designing this site
As a designer we’ve all been there. When was the last time you got bored with a design and decided to just burn it and start anew?
Impressions of iPhone 4 from a long time Palm user
The following are some of my experiences and observations transitioning from Palm to iOS after nearly 10 years of baggage.
Getting the sold out iPhone 4 at launch
Looks like I might actually get two iPhone 4s on launch day.
Bizarro me, a credit card scammer?
Apparently there is a bizarro version of me in Niagara County using scammed credit cards.
The Eviltron and a scary movie makes for a great prank
The Eviltron device, when setup properly, can land some convincing scares.
The iPhone is great, but the Palm Pre is more my style
Quick impressions of the Palm Pre from a long time smartphone user.
Wendy's bird cage & flying birds tattoos
Put a bird on it. Photographs of Wendy’s bird cage tattoos and some ink splat trees on my arms.
The quality of my first Blurb book is great
Using Blurb’s BookSmart software was painless and having it printed was equally enjoyable.
Rasterbating a large wall sized owl print
Tutorial and time-lapse using the Rasterbator web app to print and assemble a wall sized poster of an owl.
Seeing through blurred eyes — The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Quick impressions of the film, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly.
RRIICCEE show last night
Musically — RRIICCEE is fine, but not something I really want to see live again.
Upgrading an iMac G5 to OS X Leopard
What I went through upgrading an iMac G5 to Mac OS X Leopard (10.5).
One week with the new iPod classic
Quick impressions of the new iPod classic 60GB.
Blinded by the light — Sunshine impressions
The film Sunshine directed by Danny Boyle is science fiction without the big bang.
A Tale of Two Sisters is almost Fatal Frame
My quick impressions of a Korean horror flick that gives off some serious Fatal Frame vibes.
La Moustache quick review
My quick impressions of La Moustache — a French film about a dude shaving his mustache.
iPod battery settlement program status
A short update on the status of my iPod 3G battery settlement claim.
Feeling kinda stuck in a Half Nelson
My impressions of the film Half Nelson, starring Ryan Gosling.
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