SuperDB Website Build Review
hugo
My work designing and developing the superdb.org website is finished. The first commit was on October 4th, 2024 and the final commit was on February 5th, 2025.
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useStateObject: A Simple, Convenient API Around useState
react
I am loving this API for working with React state. It’s a very light wrapper around useState. I call it useStateObject.
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The 3 Types of CSS Utility Classes
css html
A 9.0 earthquake shook my front-end world when I discovered “layout primitives” at every-layout.dev. Then an aftershock rolled through when I learned about fluid sizing and spacing tokens from utopia.
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Ship That Code • Publish That Post
programming writing
Two articles I read this week have inspired the heck out of me. The first was by Jared Turner of thoughtbot with the punchy title “WIP is waste”.
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How to Debug NodeJS with Breakpoints in VSCode
javascript
I made a quick screen recording using the VSCode debugger to break on a line of code in my NodeJS electron process.
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The One Thing Missing in Every Budget App: Spending Commitments
money
The one thing missing in every budgeting application is the “Spending Commitment”.
Definition: “A thing I am already committed to paying for”
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Fix for Kamal Deploy Assets Not Updating
ci rails kamal
Does this sound like you?
You are using Sprockets to pre-compile assets for production. You are using Kamal to deploy. You have asset bridging enabled in your deploy.
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How to Set Output Values in Github Actions
ci github
This is the syntax for setting an output parameter in a Github Actions step.
echo "{name}={value}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" Here’s an example of using this syntax in a workflow step.
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Responsive Sizing for React Arborist Tree Component
javascript react react-arborist
Many people ask me about how to dynamically set the width and height of the Tree component based on its parent using react-arborist.
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Cache the Result of a JavaScript Getter Method
javascript
My first programming language was Ruby. Well, it was actually Microsoft Excel, then VBA, then C# for a university class, then Ruby.
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The Friend Is You
addiction love god
Imagine hanging out with someone all day who berates you. They make final judgements about your character. They criticize anything you do imperfectly.
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Finally Understanding How Array.sort(comparator) Works
javascript
After 13 years of JavaScript, I finally have a way to remember how the comparator function in Array.sort() works.
I think the trouble is that all the examples use this shorthand syntax.
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Using @monaco-editor/react in Electron without Internet Connection
react electron monaco
The Monaco Editor is awesome. It’s what powers VSCode. I wanted to use it to power the query editor pane in Zui, the data exploration app I work on.
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Transitions All Settled
javascript
I just published a JavaScript library called transitions-all-settled that allows you to wait for CSS transitions to settle before you do something.
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There Are Only Two Types of Transactions
budgets money
There are only two types of transactions.
The ones you are present for. The ones you are not. This just dawned on me.
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Against Single Element React Components
react javascript
It's not uncommon to see this type of single element React component.
function Title({ children, ...rest }) { return <h1 {.
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How to Optimize Your Hugo Blogging Workflow on Mac
writing
I love this quote by John Cutler from his post on disincentives.
“Good things can happen when you make it easier to do good things.
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A Better Goal Than Sinless Perfection
god
Any two people in a close relationship are bound to eventually hurt each other. To most of us, it is no surprise when this happens.
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I Have Enough
poem money
I have enough food in my kitchen.
I have enough water to drink.
I have enough clothes to wear.
I have enough things in my house.
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Company Culture & Church Community
church
This is a great podcast episode about company culture. The gist is, it doesn’t matter what people say or write about what the culture is.
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Let It Flow
poem
I was just in the gym and as I lifted a weight I thought of the energy flowing out of me to lift it.
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How to Pipe a NodeJS Readable Stream into a Child Process
javascript node
I love pipes. Anytime I can pipe something somewhere, it seems that order has claimed a victory over chaos. In fact, there is pipe-related photo of me at the end of this article for your viewing pleasure.
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Waiting for a Comet
poem
Comets are constantly falling.
We don’t know when.
But if we’re open, our eyes are open,
The comment will appear.
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A Battle of Wit
poem
Swords drawn, Draw blood, Blood in the water
Recover, Respond, Respect
Cross the line, Cut too deep, Feel the heat
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Partially Controlled Components: A Declarative Design Pattern in React
react
A common distinction in React is Controlled vs Uncontrolled components. But the real world is not so black and white…
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Others May Know More
god
A child knows nothing about itself. Its body is a mystery, its ideas, its dreams, its feelings. The child relies on caregivers to teach her everything.
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It’s Good to Wonder About Mysteries
existence
I was talking with a group of friends trying to come up with possible answers to unanswerable questions like:
What happens when we die?
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React Hook for Avoiding Flash of Empty UI While Data Transitions
react
I’m working on a React app that has frequent data transitions. Each time a user submits a query, the state is reset as we wait for a response from the server.
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Confronting a Man at the Playground
parenting
While at a playground this weekend a man talked to my 3-year-old son in a way that upset me and I had to do something about it.
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Persisting the Human Experience
existence
Experiences compress into memories.
Memories compress into feelings.
Feelings compress into instincts.
Instincts compress into the unconscious.
The unconscious compresses into the collective human unconscious.
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Joshua Tree Trip
travel
We took a trip down to Joshua Tree this weekend for a cousin’s wedding. For the first time, I could appreciate the gifts of a desert climate.
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5 Tricks for Taking Great Photos
photography
I’ve owned a full frame camera for over 5 years. I’ve acquired 3 lenses and snapped many thousands of photos. And yet, last week I discovered these five tricks and was shocked by my ignorance of them.
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It’s a Gift for Me to Be Angry
relationships
When I’m angry I stop needing everyone to like me. I don’t care if they approve of what I do. My face doesn’t hurt from smiling all the time.
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13 Decisions to Make Before Publishing JavaScript to NPM
javascript npm
This post is half rant, half guide. Each of these 13 questions reveals tradeoffs that take time and mental energy to research.
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Netflix Does Not Have My Best Interest
addiction
I watch Netflix because I’m too tired to do anything else. The kids are finally sleeping and I’m spent.
It’s meant to be a quick escape from life before I do what I really need to do which is sleep.
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Embedded Divinity
god
What if we didn’t think of God as infinite.
What if God poured itself into this particular universe. What if He’s completely bound to this one cosmos.
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Adults Don't Share
parenting
All the time at the playground I hear, “good sharing!” and “no no Jackson, you need to share”.
We parents think it is some critical skill that children need to learn.
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TypeScript Classes Are Giving Me Carpal Tunnel
typescript
Whenever a class needs a few arguments in TypeScript, I cringe because I know I’m going to need to perform a ceremony to make it happy.
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Sharing Steps in Github Action Workflows
ci electron github
I’ve got an electron app that needs to be built on all three platforms. I’ve got three workflow files all with slightly differing steps.
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How to useRef and forwardRef in React
react
What do I do when my component uses a ref internally but also needs to forward a ref from its parent?
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