Ben Dunkle

Blog

  • A standard for user interface icon design

    A standard for user interface icon design

    Editing this article to discuss general icon design standards, which I believe are needed. Icons should down-rez gracefully to small sizes, with vertical and horizontal edges aligning to the pixel grid at sizes as small as 9 pixels. A 3×3 sub grid should be adhered to when designing icons.

    [codepen_embed height=”265″ theme_id=”1″ slug_hash=”EvqZQZ” default_tab=”html,result” user=”empireoflight”]See the Pen <a href=’https://codepen.io/empireoflight/pen/EvqZQZ/’>base-8 grid icons</a> by Ben Dunkle (<a href=’https://codepen.io/empireoflight’>@empireoflight</a>) on <a href=’https://codepen.io’>CodePen</a>.[/codepen_embed]

    As you can see in the last icon, the 3×3 subgrid isn’t honored and some edges get blurry:

  • Burgers

    They were thin but tough. Next time I will cook them for less time.

  • Eli's trip to the dentist

    So Eli had a run in with the dentist and went from his jolly self to a smear over the course of 1 hour. He has to go back twice; it’s going to be hell getting him back once.
    I remember going through hell when I was his age at the dentist. After my mom would buy me a toy, she felt so sorry for me. I felt like getting Eli a toy, but it would’ve become a huge production with Grif and Nan wanting in on the action.

  • The good old days of 25¢ video games

    Once upon a time I was an arcade junkie. I would dump quarter upon quarter trying to understand the inner workings of the most beautiful machines I knew of, these arcade consoles. But I never had enough money.
    My cousin Paul dinardo, apparently, did, as he pwned the high-score in tempest (the greatest video game ever) in Virginia Beach, circa 1980. He was also an amazing athlete, like the rest of the DiNardos.

  • WordCamp Scranton

    What an awesome experience, and great job done by the organizers. As an organizer myself, I learned a few tricks and got some ideas for the next WCBUF. One thing I want to consider is killing the whole lunch thing altogether. Too many variables that inevitably go wrong. Provide coffee and water all day long, and people can bring their lunches.

    I’ll write more when time permits.

  • The Darkness

    I recently read an article about someone who experienced trauma when they were very young, and how it manifested itself for the rest of his life as “the darkness”, a kind of demonic presence that was always looming.

    It was a very sad read. Though a very busy person, he found no joy in work, relationships, exercise or hobbies. Eventually, he took his life.

    I learned about Bills’ wide receiver Zay Jones’ incident last night, and began to think about it in that the context of “the darkness”. I wonder if he, too, has some kind of burden he carries, tied to experiences he cannot forget or wishes never happened.

    I’m also torn up about all the stories coming forth regarding victims of abuse at the hands of those who should be their nurturers. The darkness that follows them must be excruciating. It’s encouraging to see them bringing their stories to the light.

    If I had to define depression, it would be this darkness thing that follows you around and can’t be shaken off. I think we all experience it from time to time—something just beyond the horizon, or inching closer behind us in the rearview mirror. Most of us have learned to block it out, or ignore it. At our best, we learn to confront and defeat it. Life is tough, but we persevere.

    We label people who are forced to cope with horrifying experiences, and who lack the facility to overcome the darkness, as depressed, mentally ill, unstable. First and foremost, however, they’re survivors, fighters, soldiers, heroes. They are us. We must replace words that marginalize and pigeon-hole with ones that humanize and empower. The darkness doesn’t stand a chance against community.

  • Lichess Patron Icon

    Lichess Patron Icon

    I probably am on lichess.org more than any other single website, mostly losing chess games. It’s an absolutely perfect example of the best open-source software can be.

    As an open-source project, the developers do not charge for membership. It’s totally free. There’s something extraordinarily humane and selfless about open-source, especially when it rises to the usage levels that Lichess and others (Linux, Blender, WordPress, e.g.,) have achieved.

    Alternatively, closed-source projects usually offer a free membership, but include motetization strategies such as ads that only go away, or features that can only be accessed if you purchase a membership.

    That’s not to say they don’t need money, but almost all of the revenue open-source make comes from donations.

    One of the interesting ways Lichess monetizes is via the “patron” badge. If you donate at least $5, you get a little wingy icon next to your username:

    That’s it–instead of a boring little circle, now you have a bit of “flair” that distinguishes you as someone who supports the hard work it takes to make an open-source project great. It’s a brilliant strategy to encourage donations. But I have to wonder, is it a feature? In other words, does paying for Lichess actually improve your chess skills and help you win more often? Does it help your rating improve?

    I think this would be a great study. Lichess has a monumental open data set. One could conceivably analyse the data and determine that become a member does, in fact, make you a stronger player. At the very least, it would make you a stronger player on Lichess.

    Symbolism and iconography have a powerful effect on us. They form our communication methodology and influence our decisions. When you play someone with a wingy badge, you may feel empathy toward them, and thus not play with your typical competitive drive. Or you may feel intimidation, or some other form of distraction that might throw you off your game, even if it’s just the tiniest bit. Placing the Lichess dataset under a microscope might reveal patterns that show that patreons are not only being supportive, they’re being tactical.

    Here’s my hypothesis: becoming a Lichess patron makes you a better player. Time to get the abstract written.