2025
- Generating open graph images in Astro
I built my own solution for social sharing images for my blog, and you can too! - Making Puppeteer work at build time on Netlify
Sometimes Puppeteer fails during Netlify builds or in serverless functions, but there's a couple options to fix it! - Building for a physical scavenger hunt with Astro, Tally, and Netlify
I built a website for Alinea's 20th anniversary, and it was a cool learning experience! - Baby sayings
Kids do really say the darndest things. - PocketCal Build Log
I made a date-sharing app called PocketCal. Here's how I did it! - What does it mean to flatten an array?
What is flattening an array, and why would you do it? I'll tell ya! - Styling the icon for HTML date and time types
If you want a custom-styled icon for HTML date/time types, there's some options for you. - My second c-section experience
I had a c-section recently and delivered my second baby! It was a lot. - End of an era with Stack Overflow
I'm no longer writing the Stack Overflow newsletter or on the podcast, but it was fun while it lasted! - Keybindings I use in VS Code
I've been asked a few times about the keybindings I use in Visual Studio Code. Here's a list! - Make your images in markdown on GitHub adjust for Dark Mode and Light Mode
When you want your images to look good in Markdown on GitHub, you might have to adjust for the UI around them. - Things I learned while upgrading my iPad
I traded in my iPad for a new one, and wanted to share all that I wish I knew! - I don't know what MCP is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask
It feels like everyone is talking about how the Model Context Protocol is a big deal... but why? - Geek mama... saying no... part 2
I really cannot "do it all" right now, but I can do some. A bit. - Create an HTML dialog when you click an image
Sometimes you just want an image to be more in your face, you know? - I am going to have a second baby and my brain is spinning
How do people do this everyday? - We should have more friction in our lives
Our world of instant gratification and convenience has made us impatient and... kinda lazy. - Think less, ship more
I do too much thinking about what I want to make, and not enough actually making the thing. - Debugging my Micro Journal
It's amazing how reading the docs is actually effective. Who knew? - Convert a video from dark mode to light mode with FFmpeg!
Here's a CLI command for helping you convert a screen recording in VS Code from dark mode to light mode! - Re-ordering Git commits
When your Git commits are not in the right order, never fear, rebase is here! - A couple CSS tricks for HTML Dialog elements
You can use CSS to add some simple functionality to HTML <dialog> elements! - Making my startup come back to life
I hacked together tools to make my app live once again! - How to use GitHub Copilot Edits
You can edit files directly, make new ones, and mooore with Copilot!
2024
- Adios, 2024
2024 is over, let's recap. - The beautiful sentence that is the web
A metaphor for the building blocks of web development. - Wrapping up Blogvent 2024
Don't be sad that Blogvent is over, be happy that Blogvent happened. Here's all the posts I wrote this month! - I really love entering raffles
Being able to potentially win things is one of my favorite things. - How I use Obsidian Dataview
I love the Obsidian plugin Dataview, which lets me index and query my notes! - How I use Obsidian Templater
One of my favorite Obsidian plugins is Templater, which lets you create reusable templates in your notes vault! - It would be cool for 2024 to just calm down
Why is everyone so dang busy? Stop that! I am tired! - Browser extensions I shipped in 2024
I made a couple browser extensions this year that have saved me time and frustration! - How I approach humor
If you want to flex your funny muscles, come on down and see how I do it! - I have become a minor writing utensil snob
I like nice pencils and pens! But only a totally reasonable amount! - Introduce yourself to your remote team
I've enjoyed being able to show my new team who I am... with documentation! - How to make your RSS feed pretty
Life is too short for ugly XML. - How to switch to Astro Content Collections
If you have an Astro website needing some updates, here's a technical peek about what you need to know for version 5.0, Collections, and globs. - Updating my blog to use Astro Collections
This blog is getting some much-needed updates to keep it running smoothly! - Choose kindness over pile-ons
Even when the comment section is tempting, it's better to step away. - The developer relations pendulum swings again
Every so often, opinions about developer relations swing around, and it's my turn to share MY current opinions! - Noticing the little things
The small details in everything, from code to life itself, are worth noticing, if we choose to. - Actively learning languages
Passively learning a given language can work, but active effort takes you far. - Tracking side project income
How do you value your time? How do you track that? - Doing things that don't scale is about finding value
When you do more manual work, it can be slow, but more valuable than you think. - 33 of my own joke concepts that have never seen the light of day
For my 33rd birthday, please enjoy some partially written jokes - Ship it anyway
You have a unique voice, and you should use it to build what you can. - Writing good words for tech folks
Writing content for developers can be challenging, and there's some tips that might help. - Combining tools for fun and profit
I put some tools together to make something handy, and you can do the same! - The what and the what now: note-taking
Sometimes we take notes just to have notes, rather than for a purpose. - Fighting open source spam with interaction limits
You can limit how people interact with your repositories to fight spam! - Being forced to upgrade
Planned depreciation of hardware is annoying when you don't need a new device. - Haunted by my own projects
Sometimes the new and shiny thing is way more fun than the thing that I genuinely want to ship... later. - Two months at GitHub
I've been working at GitHub for two whole months! - I fell asleep in a driverless car
I tried out the Waymo driverless car service and it was pretty nice. - A note on the future of Jumblie
Being a puzzle editor is fun, but incredibly hard, thankless work, and it's time to move on. - Sleep is the most magical thing in the world
Never take sleep for granted. Never. - A Quick Guide for Building your own GitHub Copilot Extension
You can build your own Copilot extensions now! Here's how to make them and test them. - Side quests
It's good to have some side quests and passive hobbies in your back pocket. - Time containers
I keep busy, because I know no other way! - Voice lessons taught me that I should be... true to myself
How karaoke preparation turned into self-discovery, through singing lessons! - Making a simple React microphone component
The browser has some nice built-ins for building a microphone recording component, so you don't have to use third-party libraries! - Why JavaScript variables don't always update
The way JavaScript assigns and references variables is sometimes weird, let's learn why. - Layering CSS gradients
You can layer CSS gradients as background images, even for text! Check out how I did it for making a marker-like highlight. - Traveling to technical events: A guide
Here's my current recommendations and gear for traveling to events as a techie! - Analog girly
I like being able to do things without relying on the algorithms and connections in the world! - Building the Micro Journal
I built myself a digital typewriter! - Getting paid is weird and sometimes hard
I should make more money, right? - Actually try on your job applications
It can be a pain to put in more effort on job applications, but it takes you further than you think. - The Productivity apps I use in 2024
Cassidy's current "stack" of task-tracking, calendar, and note-taking apps - Figma Config recap
I spoke at Figma Config 2024 in San Francisco! - Being funemployed, and all that jazz
What is a girl to do when her startup goes kersplat? Why, she blogs about it, of course! - Greetings, future billionaires
Sometimes I am floored by how much money some people have. - The Merge in Berlin recap
I went to Berlin for the first time and spoke at The Merge, a developer experience conference! - Nice keyboards make me want to write blogs
I don't actually have anything to say, but I want to type on my keyboard right now - I rewrote my blog! And website! They are one!
I merged my personal website and my blog into one beautiful baby—er, website. - Front-end Design Conference recap
I spoke at Front-end Design Conf in St. Petersburg, Florida, and it was great! - Seattle and the internet
The internet today reminds me of when I used to live in Seattle. - Non-traditional push presents
New parents often are given very baby-oriented gifts, and here's some that are more about them. - I love reading fantasy again
Brandon Sanderson books have brought me back to loving a good adventure story! - Building W-9 Crafter
I built an app for generating Form W-9s for U.S. contractors and freelancers, here's how! - Styling a CSS pseudo-element with JavaScript
JavaScript can't target pseudo-elements, but that doesn't mean you can't mess with them! - Jumblie has a database!
Using the power of Supabase and Netlify Build Plugins, I was able to make Jumblie a bit cleaner under the hood! - Tips for posting on LinkedIn
I took a workshop from LinkedIn about how to post well, and they had helpful insights! - How to test a browser extension locally
Here's a step-by-step guide for quickly testing browser extensions locally in Edge or Chrome. - Sorting Git branches
If you're tired of your git branches being alphabetically sorted, you can change that! - Use CSS accent-color to style your inputs
If you want a quick styling win, you can set a color for your input and progress HTML tags! - HTML "self-awareness" with sibling indexing in JavaScript
Make your HTML more "self-aware" with a fun little trick to get its own index. - Base CSS for your text-based pages
Sometimes the defaults your web browser gives you aren't very cute. Here's a lil snippet I use to fix that. - Kind of annoyed at React
Just a little ranty rant about my fave JS library, ya know. - I miss human curation
Where are my internet friends? And where are their weird blogs? - Jumblie 100
Today is the 100th Jumblie puzzle day! - Experimenting with AI voice
I tried out the ElevenLabs Beta! - Cassidy Williams... who is she
Cassidy Williams, this one, here, is the real one, don't listen to the others!
2023
- Buh bye, 2023
2023 is over, let's recap. - Stock options, vesting, and exercising, oh my
Here's some advice around stock options and why they are... the way that they are! - Publishing to my blog from Obsidian
This is how I publish to my Git-based blog straight from Obsidian (kind of) - Loving and hating the streak
I have a love/hate relationship with my GitHub streak. - Ideal fishing spots
Sometimes our success is pushed to the side when the conditions aren't right, but that's okay. - Geek mama... saying no
I can't "do it all" right now, but I can do some. Sometimes. - Making a single line break in markdown
Here's how you can add single line breaks in your markdown documents! - Cassidy's Gift Guide 2023
I've got some gift suggestions for the nerds in your life! - Jumblie Build Log
I built Jumblie, a jumbled word search game. Here's how! - A use-case for CSS :has()
I found an unexpected use case for the newly, fully supported :has() selector! - My first go tournament
I participated in the 2023 Chicago Rapid Open! - Adding co-authors to TinaCMS's Git commits
You can add co-authors to the TinaCMS bot now more easily - How and when to use keys in React
When you render lists in React, you need to use keys. - Thirteen Potions Build Log
I made a game called Thirteen Potions for js13kgames, here's how I did it! - Trying out TinaCMS
I'm trying out TinaCMS to make it faster and easier to post here! - Calling an imported API at runtime in Astro
When you want to call an API at runtime in an Astro component, you have to import it in a different spot! - Co-authoring Git commits
Sometimes you want to be able to credit others in a single Git commit, and luckily that's possible! - Why I like Astro
Astro is the latest framework on the block that I've really been liking! - Maternity TV
The shows that I've watched during my maternity leave - Dear Cassidy of 2 months ago
A letter to my past self about the roller coaster of emotions I've been through. - Open standards, trust, and Google
We should build and use software that uses open standards, and be careful about the companies in which we place our trust. - Removing trailing space underlines from groups of anchor tags
Sometimes when you have a bunch of anchor tags, the trailing spaces around them are underlined. Here's how to fix that. - Turning todos into tadas
Learning to focus on what I did do, rather than what I didn't. - My c-section experience
I had a c-section recently and delivered my first baby! It was a lot. - Three ways to set headers with Netlify and Astro
If you need to set headers in your Astro site to deal with CORS or custom requests, here's a few ways how! - The Productivity apps I use in 2023
My current 'stack' of task-tracking, calendar, and note-taking apps - Memorize quotes
Memorizing quotes is probably one of my favorite easy 'life hacks'. - When useEffect runs
useEffect can be challenging to understand, and manipulating exactly when it runs is a good skill to have! - Quirky local delights
I love the weird things that remind you that you're home. - Setting up Netlify Redirects with Astro
Making Netlify Redirects work with Astro is a quick one-line change! - The small, private wins
Sometimes I can't really share what I work on, and I just gotta deal with that and be happy! - Importing SVG files as React components with Vite
With create-react-app, it was easy to import SVG files as components. Now with Vite, you can do the same!
2022
- See ya, 2022
2022 is over, taking a lil look back on how it was. - My language brain is... broken?
I think in one language when I hear another, and... I have no idea why. - Two(ish) months at Contenda
I've been at Contenda for about two months! - Passing Markdown components to React or Preact in Astro
When you want to pass Markdown components to a non-Astro component (while using Astro itself), you need slots! - Hello, world
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet (but for real) - Saying goodbye to my crappy vision
My vision sucks... for now, with LASIK on the horizon! - Moose facts
I learned a lot about moose and need to tell people, namely you, about them - Customizing my Zsh Prompt
Cassidy updated her Zsh prompt to have some fun colors, the date, and git information. Here's how! - Renaming a folder on the GitHub website
Sometimes when you're working with the GitHub UI, you need to rename a folder before cloning it to your computer. Here's how! - Make line breaks work when you render text in a React or Vue component
Sometimes you just want those pesky newline characters to actually work! - Use Unicode characters for bullet points in CSS using ::marker
If you don't want to use plain bullets, the ::marker psuedo-element is for you! - The Productivity apps I use in 2022
Cassidy's current "stack" of task-tracking, calendar, and note-taking apps - Adding a lang attribute to your Next.js site
Updating your Next.js sites to have a language set for screen readers is important for accessibility, and only takes a few lines of code!
2021
- Build wicked fast sites with Astro: An Introduction
Astro is the latest new framework that seems pretty dang nice! - React 18 Alpha is out! Now what?
They kept us in Suspense!! - Shallow Routing in Next.js
Shallow routing isn't a deep topic. Heh. Heh heh. - Pursuing Passive Learning
A little update on how some of my learning is going! - Making a virtual credits sequence for your video calls with OBS and CodePen
It's always good to lead with pizzazz when you're ending a call.
2020
- An Incredibly Serious Discussion about Next.js at Reactathon
Next.js is very, very serious and you should never, ever joke about it. Ever. - Enabling AMP in your Next.js projects
You must appease the SEO gods. - Adding Babel presets and plugins in Next.js
Babel presets and plugins help you add even more functionality to your code! - React Children: The misunderstood prop
Both human and React children could use some help being understood. - Query an API at both build time and runtime with Next.js
There's pros and cons to calling APIs at different times! - How to turn off telemetry in Next.js
Don't let 'em catch ya! - Add Web Monetization to your sites with Snippet Injection
You can use Netlify's snippet injection to add web monetization to any of your apps! - Logging in Next.js
Where will your logs be? Depends on where you call them. - Deploy from CodePen to Netlify in less than 30 seconds
It's faster to deploy from CodePen to Netlify than it is to read this blog post. - React Strict Mode in Next.js
Strict mode helps you, help yourself. - Environment variables in Next.js and Netlify
Environment variables in Next.js are pretty straightforward, and importing them to Netlify ain't too bad either! - Global Styles in Next.js
Sometimes you'll want some styles that can be applied across your Next.js applications. - Making a custom 404 page in Next.js
Don't be lost, don't be unfound, a 404 page gives you steady ground! - Absolute Imports in Next.js
Get rid of those long, gross import statements in your Next.js apps! - Why you should code together: Mob Programming FAQs
Our team at Netlify loves coding together, remotely! - Building a custom React media query hook for more responsive apps
CSS only gets you so far, sometimes, when you want to pay attention to window sizes! - "Escaping" Next.js to access the browser
When things are server-side, there's some tricks to get back to client-land! - What is React Fast Refresh?
Hot module reloading has a new look! - Next.js: Should I use SSR or SSG?
Next.js allows you to both server-side render and statically generate websites. Why would you choose one over the other? Read and find out! - Using React Context for state management in Next.js
Ever wondered how you should manage state information across your Next.js applications without installing anything extra? Look no further! - Avoiding burnout as an ambitious developer
Burnout is difficult to describe to people who haven’t felt it. But it was also a valuable lesson. Here's a few tips on how to take care of your ambitious self and avoid burning out.
2019
- Apollo Mission - The Pros and Cons of Being an Early Adopter of New Technology
Using cutting edge tech can help you move fast. But what happens when something breaks and you can't find experts with an answer? There are pros and cons to being a pioneer.
2018
- Follow your dreams (literally): How I designed and launched the Official Scrabble Keyboard
The Scrabble keyboard has been a passion project of mine, and now it's real!
2017
- Building todometer: a meter-based to-do list
Just released my latest side project with Electron, React, and Redux! - Building My S60-X Keyboard
After a bunch of trial and error, I built and programmed my first mechanical keyboard!
2016
- L4 Digital: First Impressions
This week was my first week at L4 Digital! - Writing Practice: The Agua Caliente Airport
I did a writing exercise using a random Wikipedia page. And puns. - Subconscious Learning
I've been learning about... learning lately, specifically subconscious learning. Here's what I've found! - Pure CSS3 Text Carousel
I built a pure CSS text carousel because I couldn't find one I liked. Here's how I did it, and tweaks for later. - Closures in JavaScript
Closures in JavaScript are an important concept that all JS devs should know. So here's a summary for you. - Messing with Sketch Club
I got the app Sketch Club and have really enjoyed making some fun drawings!
2015
- 5 applications of linear regression that will drive him crazy
Push these sexy applications in his mind to spice things up and drive him nuts. - Adding Keyboard Shortcuts to your React Apps
Using the Mousetrap library, you can add keyboard shortcuts to your React apps. - Making the Whitney Houston API
I made a Whitney Houston API. Because why not. - Picking your brain: Cold call email etiquette
I get a LOT of emails from people asking to "pick my brain." Here is how I wish people would approach this. - One year at Venmo
I've been at Venmo for a year! - A Brief History of the PNG
The PNG file format has been around forever... sort of. Not really. - The CSS Image Values Spec
The CSS Image Values Spec allows you to cleanly blow up pixel art on the web. - Finding a Mentor
Finding a mentor isn't always as explicit as it seems. - The positives coming from the negatives
From the negatives we see and experience online, together we can create positives.
2014
- A Weekend at BattleHack Boston
I had my first hackathon experience as a Venmo employee this past weekend, and boy was it fun! - My last days at ISU
I'm leaving Iowa State in a few weeks, which is both a bummer and very exciting. - How to ask for help
Some people don't know how to ask for help. Luckily, there's a proper way to do it. - 10 Tips for Successful Public Speaking
Public speaking is the number 1 fear out there. Let's conquer it together. Lovingly. - The laptop you need for college
Too often people go for the biggest and best laptop out there, when there are reasonable, affordable options. Let's talk about it. - HackISU Hackathon!!
We had the first ever Iowa State hackathon! - How to Ace an Interview
Interviews are scary, but they don't have to be. When you're on the spot, it's best to be prepared. Let's prepare you. - Things you should have on your LinkedIn profile
As much as I'd like to say that your looks will get you far, sometimes actual information is good to know too. - What is Computer Science ACTUALLY like?
You might question CS as a major, but I'm here to tell you not to! - Feedback is awesome
I love getting feedback from people. You learn most from it. - My Talk at TEDxDesMoines
I spoke at TEDxDesMoines, come hear what I had to say! - My "romantic" Valentine's Day plans!
Don't be fooled, I'm coding on Valentine's Day. - HTML+CSS Tutorial, Part 1
This is part 1 of a two-part tutorial for beginners as an introduction to HTML and CSS. - HTML+CSS Tutorial, Part 2
This is part 2 of a two-part tutorial for beginners as an introduction to HTML and CSS.
2013
- Here come the 2013 Mashups!
Here's some of my favorite mashup music of the year! - Inspirational quotes to get you through the day
These are some great quotes that have really helped me out! - I am better than you at everything
(I'm not, actually) - Things you should have on your LinkedIn profile
People should know what you're about! - Finding your dream major in college
What if you could study exactly what you wanted to? - Crushing Procrastination in 3 Steps
You should be doing that thing. You know that. - Design Your First iPhone App
It's not too bad to start building the phone app of your dreams! - Tips for remembering names
Because we've all panicked about this at some point or another. - 5 Questions to Ask Your Boss
The squeaky wheel gets the grease! - Networking as a college student
Networking is one of the most important skills you can develop! - A Weekend at PennApps
I went to PennApps to hack some apps and take some names! - Crushing the Impostor Syndrome
Sometimes you don't feel like you're good enough, and that you're fooling everyone. You're not alone. - Startup Weekend Ames
We built some fun things at Startup Weekend! - Happy Pi Day!
It's the mathiest day of the year! - I went to the White House!
My sister and I were so thrilled to be included in such a cool event! - What's a house that's white in Washington D.C.?
My sister and I got some exciting news!
2012
- Grace Hopper in Baltimore!
I'm at a huge women in tech conference! - Facebook's 2012 Summer of Hack
I got to check out the Seattle Facebook offices for their summer hackathon! - This is how a rock star feels
I had an incredible day!! - How my big bod broke a bus
I am a real Spaniard now!
2011
- System.out.print("My Major");
I'm studying computer science!
2010
- The T in Often
Don't pronounce it! - Amazing and Free Software
Here's some great free software!
2009
- The Wrist Keyboard
Someone made a wearable keyboard! - Hello.
Wee a blog!
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