Kevin Yank

Pet peeve: messaging UIs like Confluence and Facebook Messenger that both support Emoji reactions and prompt you to reply with a message containing a single emoji.

a screenshot of a Confluence comment thread that shows both an "Add emoji reaction" button and separately offers buttons for suggested replies, including "👍"

The just-announced OM System OM-3 #camera is just what I’d hoped for in an upgrade from my OM-5: AI subject detection, new menus, headphone jack, USB-C and metal body – all while staying small and significantly cheaper than the OM-1 ii flagship model. They listened!

Pretty happy with this star trails shot from my back yard. The aircraft lines are a bit of a shame, but I kind of also dig them! #astrophotography #startrails

a large gum tree set against a long-exposure shot of stars forming arcs around an empty point in the sky

Just starting to dabble with star trails using the Live Composite feature of my OM-5.

Arcs of light traced by stars in a murky sky, behind a eucalyptus tree

The new Harry Potter LAMY nexx fountain pens are much sexier than the AL-stars that came out last year. It’s just a shame someone decided they should have two Harry Potter logos side by side on the barrel! #fountainpen

Four LAMY nexx fountain pens with two-tone coloured caps, and black lacquered barrels, each emblazoned with two Harry Potter logos (a short "HP" and a full "Harry Potter") and a house name: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff

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Build the Web

Make pixels change colour with code, to create beautiful, accessible experiences.

As Director of Front End Engineering at Culture Amp, I lead a practice of about 50 engineers to build interfaces that help users create a better world of work. After more than 20 years in the field, I continue to learn and explore what is possible on the Web.

Featured article

Tailwind CSS and Traditional CSS Solve Different Problems

Tailwind CSS’s core idea is that 99% of the CSS we write today is unnecessary repetition, that would be better expressed with a higher-level language inline with our HTML, tight coupling with which is inevitable. Even if you like CSS and enjoy writing and maintaining it [which I do –Kev], Tailwind argues that this is usually not a good use of our time.

8 minutes → Read now
A leafy tree is buffeted by a strong wind. In the foggy background of the windswept landscape, a second, nearly identical tree can barely be seen.

Latest articles

  1. Tailwind CSS and Traditional CSS Solve Different Problems
  2. Use Tailwind CSS prefixes for shared design system components
  3. Help! Storybook is eating all our tests!
  4. useEffect vs useLayoutEffect and server-side rendering
  5. Elm Town #54: Aloha with Kevin Yank
  6. On Endings: Why & How We Retired Elm at Culture Amp
  7. MelbJS March 2023 notes
  8. Fix System Beep on Move Editor into Next Group in VS Code
  9. Horizontal Scrolling
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→ All articles in web development

Know your tools

Technology is a superpower. Make it work for you.

One of the gifts of a career in software development is the ability to automate away your own problems with custom software. I love to explore the little-known features and extension points in the technology I use, particularly in the Apple ecosystem.

Featured article

Assume ChatGPT is Lying

In an industry where expertise is currency, a tool that lets us all pretend to be experts to each other is very dangerous indeed.

8 minutes → Read now
A confused-looking toy robot

Latest articles

  1. Sort Burst Shots in Apple Photos
  2. Refreshing my m43 Camera Workflow
  3. Apple Vision Pro demo review
  4. Weird Mac networking glitch
  5. Assume ChatGPT is Lying
  6. New Mac Day One Installs
  7. Privacy & Security settings in macOS reset on reboot
  8. Twitter Archived
  9. Email apps on Mac, iPhone and iPad compared
  10. Shrink Videos With ffmpeg On Your Mac
→ All articles in tech

The rest

Personal stuff. Highs and lows.

Latest articles

  1. Subspace Radio #73: Moles
  2. Subspace Radio #72: Unreasonable Klingon Ships
  3. Subspace Radio #71: Kim & T'Pol
  4. Subspace Radio #70: Unseen crews
  5. Subspace Radio #69: Going Undercover
  6. Subspace Radio #68: Non-humanoid Life
  7. Subspace Radio #67: Space Stations
  8. Subspace Radio #66: Farms
  9. Subspace Radio #65: Offscreen Breakups
  10. Subspace Radio #64: Meeting Yourself
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