The Watchmaker Project

Finished processing all my inboxes. That leaves 18 items needing action, some left over from the week before last. #notgettingthingsdone

Previously

Mar 19

Write PHP Properly

Feb 10

One quick thought of my own on the new Apple iPad

Feb 09

Potential EE add-ons: What would you like first?

Jan 30

Reading List 2009

Jan 24

My World of Warcraft

Comments

1. 

   “

   You can not believe how long ive been looking for something like this. Browsed…

   ” (on New ExpressionEngine extension: Scroll to new comment)

2. 

   “

   I don’t have an answer for al your questions but it’s a template that…

   ” (on New ExpressionEngine extension: Cachebuster)

3. 

   “

   Thanks for this Matthew. Tried it out on a site running 1.6.9 with the css file…

   ” (on New ExpressionEngine extension: Cachebuster)

Last.fm

1. Cotton Wool
   Lamb
2. Lose Control
   Ash
3. Mr. Danny Boy
   Mother Love Bone
4. Gentle Groove
   Mother Love Bone
5. Capricorn Sister
   Mother Love Bone
6. Man Of Golden Words
   Mother Love Bone
7. Captain Hi-Top
   Mother Love Bone
8. Heartshine
   Mother Love Bone
9. Stargazer
   Mother Love Bone
10. Come Bite The Apple
    Mother Love Bone

Reading

Flickr

Recommending

Links & Thoughts

1. 23 July

   Using URL rewrites to make ExpressionEngine, Campaign Monitor & Google Analytics play nice #

   Bookmarking this article so I don’t have to keep searching for it when this problem bites me every time.

2. 14 June

   EECI2010 Round-Up #

   Bookmarking for future reference back to the various Erskine presentations from EECI2010.

3. 19 May

   So you’re moving to Hollywood #

   A great, great article on the experiences of a 20-something aspiring screenwriter working a series of soul-destroying PA jobs in Los Angeles.

4. 9 April

   Google Maps API Tutorials #

   An enormous collection of tutorials and links relating to Google’s Maps API.

5. 30 March

   3 CodeIgniter libraries that will make your life easier #

   The Ocular templating library looks interesting.

6. 23 March

   Placehold.it - Quick and simple image placeholders #

   An actually useful single-serving site. I’m bound to forget about it when I actually need it, though…

7. 19 March

   JavaScript Module Pattern: In-Depth #

   This is a great, detailed look at the Module Pattern in JavaScript. I’d really like to convert all our code to use the loosely-coupled version of this with lazy-loading of scripts to speed up our…

8. 19 February

   FPDF Library - PDF Generator #

   Via @drewm, a handy PDF library for PHP.

9. 10 February

   1000 Free “Farm-Fresh Web Icons” #

   Larger versions of famfamfam by the look of it.

10. The Missing Google Analytics Manual #

    A helpful collection of links and tutorials on Google Analytics - always nice if someone else does the hard work and finds the best results for you.

11. Revised Font Stack #

    My new go-to resource for deciding on a decent font stack in those important first few CSS rules of each new site.

12. 15 January

    Automatic data URI embedding in CSS files #

    Details and link to a tool that automatically converts your CSS background images into data URIs.

13. How to reduce the number of HTTP requests #

    This is brilliant, and deserves a lot more attention. A command line script that can convert all your CSS background-images into data URIs - the result is a much larger CSS file, but only one HTTP request!

14. How to reduce the number of HTTP requests #

    This is brilliant, and deserves a lot more attention. A command line script that can convert all your CSS background-images into data URIs - the result is a much larger CSS file, but only one HTTP request!

15. 26 November

    Top 20+ MySQL Best Practices #

    Some useful tips for anyone working with MySQL databases queries.

Featured Videos

Featured Quotes

1. If a film’s selling point is that when you watch it with special glasses on then some objects that were formerly on the screen are now sort-of hovering in front of the screen if you’re at the right angle then it doesn’t bode well. When a film trailer triumphantly announces that the film is in 3D, all I take from that is is that the film’s story, the characters and performances weren’t good enough to sell the film. It marks the film out as one to miss.

   I am already bored with 3D | Joeblade

2. If you are running require()-esque loader code in the browser you want to avoid blocking calls else Steve Souders will come over and beat you up.

   RequireJS: Asynchronous JavaScript loading

3. As the proverb suggests, sometimes you can’t jump a twenty foot chasm in two ten foot leaps. Cherry-picking only those design elements that are “proven” by an A/B test can be a route to fragmented, incoherent design. It may earn marginally more money in the short term, but it becomes hard to avoid a descent into poor UX and the long-term harm this causes.

   Statistical significance & other A/B test pitfalls

4. …my attempts to impress in the kitchen generally just mean using more pans than she would and throwing some fresh herbs on top of the dish.

   Pete Lambert takes his turn in the kitchen

5. Hi, if you are coming to this site via Internet Explorer 6, you might not be getting the best experience possible. Honestly, I can’t even begin to think about what your entire experience on the internet must be like? (…probably like riding a bike on the highway while cars blow by you on their way to Costco to get gallons of mayonnaise and 60-inch plasma TV’s). How will you ever be able to use this website?????? You wont. You’re an asshole and your browser is an asshole. So look, I’m going to be honest: I kind of hate you. BUT we c-a-n make this work. Here is what I am going to need you to do: fire up your Toshiba ShitBook© that weighs about 45 pounds, wipe the Cheeto dust off the screen, download Safari, delete Internet Explorer from your computer, punch yourself in the face, and get me a pulled pork sandwich.

   The footer of New to York