Cassidy Williams

I'm Cassidy Williams, a software engineer, mom, and overall nerd in Chicago. I write about tech, projects, and whatever else I'm thinking about!
https://cassidoo.co/blog/ (RSS)
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The developer relations pendulum swings again
11 Dec 2024 | original ↗

Every so often, opinions about developer relations swing around, and it's my turn to share MY current opinions!

Noticing the little things
10 Dec 2024 | original ↗

The small details in everything, from code to life itself, are worth noticing, if we choose to.

Actively learning languages
9 Dec 2024 | original ↗

Passively learning a given language can work, but active effort takes you far.

Tracking side project income
8 Dec 2024 | original ↗

How do you value your time? How do you track that?

Doing things that don't scale is about finding value
7 Dec 2024 | original ↗

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
6 Dec 2024 | original ↗

For my 33rd birthday, please enjoy some partially written jokes

Writing good words for tech folks
5 Dec 2024 | original ↗

Writing content for developers can be challenging, and there's some tips that might help.

Ship it anyway
5 Dec 2024 | original ↗

You have a unique voice, and you should use it to build what you can.

Combining tools for fun and profit
3 Dec 2024 | original ↗

I put some tools together to make something handy, and you can do the same!

The what and the what now: note-taking
2 Dec 2024 | original ↗

Sometimes we take notes just to have notes, rather than for a purpose.

Fighting open source spam with interaction limits
1 Dec 2024 | original ↗

You can limit how people interact with your repositories to fight spam!

Being forced to upgrade
30 Nov 2024 | original ↗

Planned depreciation of hardware is annoying when you don't need a new device.

Haunted by my own projects
26 Nov 2024 | original ↗

Sometimes the new and shiny thing is way more fun than the thing that I genuinely want to ship... later.

Two months at GitHub
10 Nov 2024 | original ↗

I've been working at GitHub for two whole months!

I fell asleep in a driverless car
5 Nov 2024 | original ↗

I tried out the Waymo driverless car service and it was pretty nice.

A note on the future of Jumblie
1 Oct 2024 | original ↗

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
26 Sept 2024 | original ↗

Never take sleep for granted. Never.

Side quests
7 Sept 2024 | original ↗

It's good to have some side quests and passive hobbies in your back pocket.

Time containers
3 Sept 2024 | original ↗

I keep busy, because I know no other way!

Voice lessons taught me that I should be... true to myself
29 Aug 2024 | original ↗

How karaoke preparation turned into self-discovery, through singing lessons!

Making a simple React microphone component
26 Aug 2024 | original ↗

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
19 Aug 2024 | original ↗

The way JavaScript assigns and references variables is sometimes weird, let's learn why.

Layering CSS gradients
14 Aug 2024 | original ↗

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
11 Aug 2024 | original ↗

Here's my current recommendations and gear for traveling to events as a techie!

Analog girly
9 Aug 2024 | original ↗

I like being able to do things without relying on the algorithms and connections in the world!

Building the Micro Journal
28 Jul 2024 | original ↗

I built myself a digital typewriter!

Getting paid is weird and sometimes hard
25 Jul 2024 | original ↗

I should make more money, right?

Actually try on your job applications
7 Jul 2024 | original ↗

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
1 Jul 2024 | original ↗

Cassidy's current "stack" of task-tracking, calendar, and note-taking apps

Figma Config recap
29 Jun 2024 | original ↗

I spoke at Figma Config 2024 in San Francisco!

Being funemployed, and all that jazz
22 Jun 2024 | original ↗

What is a girl to do when her startup goes kersplat? Why, she blogs about it, of course!

Greetings, future billionaires
17 Jun 2024 | original ↗

Sometimes I am floored by how much money some people have.

The Merge in Berlin recap
16 Jun 2024 | original ↗

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
31 May 2024 | original ↗

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!
19 May 2024 | original ↗

I merged my personal website and my blog into one beautiful baby—er, website.

Front-end Design Conference recap
30 Apr 2024 | original ↗

I spoke at Front-end Design Conf in St. Petersburg, Florida, and it was great!

Seattle and the internet
16 Apr 2024 | original ↗

The internet today reminds me of when I used to live in Seattle.

Non-traditional push presents
6 Apr 2024 | original ↗

New parents often are given very baby-oriented gifts, and here's some that are more about them.

I love reading fantasy again
31 Mar 2024 | original ↗

Brandon Sanderson books have brought me back to loving a good adventure story!

Building W-9 Crafter
21 Mar 2024 | original ↗

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
5 Mar 2024 | original ↗

JavaScript can't target pseudo-elements, but that doesn't mean you can't mess with them!

Jumblie has a database!
25 Feb 2024 | original ↗

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
24 Feb 2024 | original ↗

I took a workshop from LinkedIn about how to post well, and they had helpful insights!

How to test a browser extension locally
17 Feb 2024 | original ↗

Here's a step-by-step guide for quickly testing browser extensions locally in Edge or Chrome.

Sorting Git branches
15 Feb 2024 | original ↗

If you're tired of your git branches being alphabetically sorted, you can change that!

Use CSS accent-color to style your inputs
30 Jan 2024 | original ↗

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
28 Jan 2024 | original ↗

Make your HTML more "self-aware" with a fun little trick to get its own index.

Base CSS for your text-based pages
19 Jan 2024 | original ↗

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
13 Jan 2024 | original ↗

Just a little ranty rant about my fave JS library, ya know.

I miss human curation
12 Jan 2024 | original ↗

Where are my internet friends? And where are their weird blogs?

Jumblie 100
11 Jan 2024 | original ↗

Today is the 100th Jumblie puzzle day!

Experimenting with AI voice
6 Jan 2024 | original ↗

I tried out the ElevenLabs Beta!

Cassidy Williams... who is she
1 Jan 2024 | original ↗

Cassidy Williams, this one, here, is the real one, don't listen to the others!

Buh bye, 2023
31 Dec 2023 | original ↗

2023 is over, let's recap.

Stock options, vesting, and exercising, oh my
30 Dec 2023 | original ↗

Here's some advice around stock options and why they are... the way that they are!

Publishing to my blog from Obsidian
28 Dec 2023 | original ↗

This is how I publish to my Git-based blog straight from Obsidian (kind of)

Ideal fishing spots
18 Dec 2023 | original ↗

Sometimes our success is pushed to the side when the conditions aren't right, but that's okay.

Geek mama... saying no
13 Dec 2023 | original ↗

I can't "do it all" right now, but I can do some. Sometimes.

Making a single line break in markdown
10 Dec 2023 | original ↗

Here's how you can add single line breaks in your markdown documents!

Cassidy's Gift Guide 2023
9 Dec 2023 | original ↗

I've got some gift suggestions for the nerds in your life!

Jumblie Build Log
28 Nov 2023 | original ↗

I built Jumblie, a jumbled word search game. Here's how!

A use-case for CSS :has()
19 Nov 2023 | original ↗

I found an unexpected use case for the newly, fully supported :has() selector!

My first go tournament
5 Nov 2023 | original ↗

I participated in the 2023 Chicago Rapid Open!

Adding co-authors to TinaCMS's Git commits
3 Nov 2023 | original ↗

You can add co-authors to the TinaCMS bot now more easily

How and when to use keys in React
28 Oct 2023 | original ↗

When you render lists in React, you need to use keys.

Thirteen Potions Build Log
22 Oct 2023 | original ↗

I made a game called Thirteen Potions for js13kgames, here's how I did it!

Trying out TinaCMS
21 Oct 2023 | original ↗

I'm trying out TinaCMS to make it faster and easier to post here!

Calling an imported API at runtime in Astro
22 Sept 2023 | original ↗

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
27 Aug 2023 | original ↗

Sometimes you want to be able to credit others in a single Git commit, and luckily that's possible!

Why I like Astro
10 Aug 2023 | original ↗

Astro is the latest framework on the block that I've really been liking!

Maternity TV
14 Jul 2023 | original ↗

The shows that I've watched during my maternity leave

Dear Cassidy of 2 months ago
12 Jul 2023 | original ↗

A letter to my past self about the roller coaster of emotions I've been through.

Open standards, trust, and Google
21 Jun 2023 | original ↗

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
14 Jun 2023 | original ↗

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
20 May 2023 | original ↗

Learning to focus on what I did do, rather than what I didn't.

My c-section experience
6 May 2023 | original ↗

I had a c-section recently and delivered my first baby! It was a lot.

Three ways to set headers with Netlify and Astro
14 Apr 2023 | original ↗

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
8 Apr 2023 | original ↗

My current 'stack' of task-tracking, calendar, and note-taking apps

Memorize quotes
27 Mar 2023 | original ↗

Memorizing quotes is probably one of my favorite easy 'life hacks'.

When useEffect runs
10 Feb 2023 | original ↗

useEffect can be challenging to understand, and manipulating exactly when it runs is a good skill to have!

Quirky local delights
8 Feb 2023 | original ↗

I love the weird things that remind you that you're home.

Setting up Netlify Redirects with Astro
3 Feb 2023 | original ↗

Making Netlify Redirects work with Astro is a quick one-line change!

Loving and hating the streak
27 Jan 2023 | original ↗

I have a love/hate relationship with my GitHub streak.

The small, private wins
26 Jan 2023 | original ↗

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
6 Jan 2023 | original ↗

With create-react-app, it was easy to import SVG files as components. Now with Vite, you can do the same!

See ya, 2022
31 Dec 2022 | original ↗

2022 is over, taking a lil look back on how it was.

My language brain is... broken?
29 Nov 2022 | original ↗

I think in one language when I hear another, and... I have no idea why.

Two(ish) months at Contenda
16 Nov 2022 | original ↗

I've been at Contenda for about two months!

Passing Markdown components to React or Preact in Astro
26 Oct 2022 | original ↗

When you want to pass Markdown components to a non-Astro component (while using Astro itself), you need slots!

Hello, world
8 Aug 2022 | original ↗

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet (but for real)

Saying goodbye to my crappy vision
28 Jul 2022 | original ↗

My vision sucks... for now, with LASIK on the horizon!

Moose facts
13 Jul 2022 | original ↗

I learned a lot about moose and need to tell people, namely you, about them

Customizing my Zsh Prompt
31 May 2022 | original ↗

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
28 Apr 2022 | original ↗

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
9 Apr 2022 | original ↗

Sometimes you just want those pesky newline characters to actually work!

Use Unicode characters for bullet points in CSS using ::marker
7 Apr 2022 | original ↗

If you don't want to use plain bullets, the ::marker psuedo-element is for you!

The Productivity apps I use in 2022
22 Mar 2022 | original ↗

Cassidy's current "stack" of task-tracking, calendar, and note-taking apps

Adding a lang attribute to your Next.js site
8 Feb 2022 | original ↗

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!

Build wicked fast sites with Astro: An Introduction
8 Jul 2021 | original ↗

Astro is the latest new framework that seems pretty dang nice!

React 18 Alpha is out! Now what?
8 Jun 2021 | original ↗

They kept us in Suspense!!

Shallow Routing in Next.js
2 Jun 2021 | original ↗

Shallow routing isn't a deep topic. Heh. Heh heh.

Pursuing Passive Learning
28 Mar 2021 | original ↗

A little update on how some of my learning is going!

Making a virtual credits sequence for your video calls with OBS and CodePen
23 Feb 2021 | original ↗

It's always good to lead with pizzazz when you're ending a call.

An Incredibly Serious Discussion about Next.js at Reactathon
20 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Next.js is very, very serious and you should never, ever joke about it. Ever.

Enabling AMP in your Next.js projects
19 Dec 2020 | original ↗

You must appease the SEO gods.

Adding Babel presets and plugins in Next.js
18 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Babel presets and plugins help you add even more functionality to your code!

React Children: The misunderstood prop
17 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Both human and React children could use some help being understood.

Query an API at both build time and runtime with Next.js
16 Dec 2020 | original ↗

There's pros and cons to calling APIs at different times!

How to turn off telemetry in Next.js
15 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Don't let 'em catch ya!

Add Web Monetization to your sites with Snippet Injection
14 Dec 2020 | original ↗

You can use Netlify's snippet injection to add web monetization to any of your apps!

Logging in Next.js
13 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Where will your logs be? Depends on where you call them.

Deploy from CodePen to Netlify in less than 30 seconds
12 Dec 2020 | original ↗

It's faster to deploy from CodePen to Netlify than it is to read this blog post.

React Strict Mode in Next.js
11 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Strict mode helps you, help yourself.

Environment variables in Next.js and Netlify
10 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Environment variables in Next.js are pretty straightforward, and importing them to Netlify ain't too bad either!

Global Styles in Next.js
9 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Sometimes you'll want some styles that can be applied across your Next.js applications.

Making a custom 404 page in Next.js
8 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Don't be lost, don't be unfound, a 404 page gives you steady ground!

Absolute Imports in Next.js
7 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Get rid of those long, gross import statements in your Next.js apps!

Why you should code together: Mob Programming FAQs
6 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Our team at Netlify loves coding together, remotely!

Building a custom React media query hook for more responsive apps
5 Dec 2020 | original ↗

CSS only gets you so far, sometimes, when you want to pay attention to window sizes!

"Escaping" Next.js to access the browser
4 Dec 2020 | original ↗

When things are server-side, there's some tricks to get back to client-land!

What is React Fast Refresh?
3 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Hot module reloading has a new look!

Next.js: Should I use SSR or SSG?
2 Dec 2020 | original ↗

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
1 Dec 2020 | original ↗

Ever wondered how you should manage state information across your Next.js applications without installing anything extra? Look no further!

Follow your dreams (literally): How I designed and launched the Official Scrabble Keyboard
4 Apr 2018 | original ↗

The Scrabble keyboard has been a passion project of mine, and now it's real!

Building todometer: a meter-based to-do list
30 Apr 2017 | original ↗

Just released my latest side project with Electron, React, and Redux!

Building My S60-X Keyboard
1 Jan 2017 | original ↗

After a bunch of trial and error, I built and programmed my first mechanical keyboard!

L4 Digital: First Impressions
2 Dec 2016 | original ↗

This week was my first week at L4 Digital!

Writing Practice: The Agua Caliente Airport
2 Nov 2016 | original ↗

I did a writing exercise using a random Wikipedia page. And puns.

Subconscious Learning
16 Mar 2016 | original ↗

I've been learning about... learning lately, specifically subconscious learning. Here's what I've found!

Pure CSS3 Text Carousel
4 Mar 2016 | original ↗

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
25 Feb 2016 | original ↗

Closures in JavaScript are an important concept that all JS devs should know. So here's a summary for you.

Messing with Sketch Club
22 Feb 2016 | original ↗

I got the app Sketch Club and have really enjoyed making some fun drawings!

5 applications of linear regression that will drive him crazy
16 Nov 2015 | original ↗

Push these sexy applications in his mind to spice things up and drive him nuts.

Adding Keyboard Shortcuts to your React Apps
3 Aug 2015 | original ↗

Using the Mousetrap library, you can add keyboard shortcuts to your React apps.

Making the Whitney Houston API
26 Jul 2015 | original ↗

I made a Whitney Houston API. Because why not.

Picking your brain: Cold call email etiquette
20 Jul 2015 | original ↗

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
13 Jul 2015 | original ↗

I've been at Venmo for a year!

A Brief History of the PNG
15 Jun 2015 | original ↗

The PNG file format has been around forever... sort of. Not really.

The CSS Image Values Spec
7 Jun 2015 | original ↗

The CSS Image Values Spec allows you to cleanly blow up pixel art on the web.

Finding a Mentor
6 Jun 2015 | original ↗

Finding a mentor isn't always as explicit as it seems.

The positives coming from the negatives
20 Jan 2015 | original ↗

From the negatives we see and experience online, together we can create positives.

A Weekend at BattleHack Boston
10 Aug 2014 | original ↗

I had my first hackathon experience as a Venmo employee this past weekend, and boy was it fun!

My last days at ISU
30 Apr 2014 | original ↗

I'm leaving Iowa State in a few weeks, which is both a bummer and very exciting.

How to ask for help
24 Apr 2014 | original ↗

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
16 Apr 2014 | original ↗

Public speaking is the number 1 fear out there. Let's conquer it together. Lovingly.

The laptop you need for college
14 Apr 2014 | original ↗

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!!
8 Apr 2014 | original ↗

We had the first ever Iowa State hackathon!

How to Ace an Interview
4 Mar 2014 | original ↗

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
27 Feb 2014 | original ↗

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?
25 Feb 2014 | original ↗

You might question CS as a major, but I'm here to tell you not to!

My Talk at TEDxDesMoines
22 Feb 2014 | original ↗

I spoke at TEDxDesMoines, come hear what I had to say!

Feedback is awesome
22 Feb 2014 | original ↗

I love getting feedback from people. You learn most from it.

My "romantic" Valentine's Day plans!
14 Feb 2014 | original ↗

Don't be fooled, I'm coding on Valentine's Day.

HTML+CSS Tutorial, Part 1
10 Feb 2014 | original ↗

This is part 1 of a two-part tutorial for beginners as an introduction to HTML and CSS.

HTML+CSS Tutorial, Part 2
10 Feb 2014 | original ↗

This is part 2 of a two-part tutorial for beginners as an introduction to HTML and CSS.

Here come the 2013 Mashups!
30 Dec 2013 | original ↗

Here's some of my favorite mashup music of the year!

Inspirational quotes to get you through the day
12 Dec 2013 | original ↗

These are some great quotes that have really helped me out!

I am better than you at everything
9 Dec 2013 | original ↗

(I'm not, actually)

Things you should have on your LinkedIn profile
26 Nov 2013 | original ↗

People should know what you're about!

Finding your dream major in college
14 Nov 2013 | original ↗

What if you could study exactly what you wanted to?

Crushing Procrastination in 3 Steps
4 Nov 2013 | original ↗

You should be doing that thing. You know that.

Design Your First iPhone App
21 Oct 2013 | original ↗

It's not too bad to start building the phone app of your dreams!

Tips for remembering names
7 Oct 2013 | original ↗

Because we've all panicked about this at some point or another.

5 Questions to Ask Your Boss
30 Sept 2013 | original ↗

The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Networking as a college student
16 Sept 2013 | original ↗

Networking is one of the most important skills you can develop!

A Weekend at PennApps
10 Sept 2013 | original ↗

I went to PennApps to hack some apps and take some names!

Crushing the Impostor Syndrome
23 Jul 2013 | original ↗

Sometimes you don't feel like you're good enough, and that you're fooling everyone. You're not alone.

Startup Weekend Ames
17 Apr 2013 | original ↗

We built some fun things at Startup Weekend!

Happy Pi Day!
14 Mar 2013 | original ↗

It's the mathiest day of the year!

I went to the White House!
5 Feb 2013 | original ↗

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.?
28 Jan 2013 | original ↗

My sister and I got some exciting news!

Grace Hopper in Baltimore!
3 Oct 2012 | original ↗

I'm at a huge women in tech conference!

Facebook's 2012 Summer of Hack
10 Aug 2012 | original ↗

I got to check out the Seattle Facebook offices for their summer hackathon!

This is how a rock star feels
20 Jul 2012 | original ↗

I had an incredible day!!

How my big bod broke a bus
8 Mar 2012 | original ↗

I am a real Spaniard now!

System.out.print("My Major");
22 Mar 2011 | original ↗

I'm studying computer science!

The T in Often
21 Apr 2010 | original ↗

Don't pronounce it!

Amazing and Free Software
22 Mar 2010 | original ↗

Here's some great free software!

The Wrist Keyboard
2 Feb 2009 | original ↗

Someone made a wearable keyboard!

Hello.
11 Jan 2009 | original ↗

Wee a blog!

↑ These items are from RSS. Visit the blog itself at https://cassidoo.co/blog/ to find everything else and to appreciate author's digital home.