Ben Dunkle

Blog

  • Kerning animation concept

    A machine that pours water down a chute with a word at the bottom.

    A measuring cup directly underneath each gap between the pairs of letters.

    Each cup has the same amount of water in it after all the water has poured down and through the gaps.

  • Narrow focus

    Responsive design means narrowing your viewport to see if you can still understand the content.

     

  • Software and Experience

    The longer you’ve been using an application, the less value you hold to the app developer as a user. Take Facebook. Once upon a time, it was a linear, flowing post stream. If you missed something, you missed it. Now, I have no idea where my posts go or who sees them or in what context. Facebook doesn’t give a dang about me; it’s catering to new users, trying to hook them. It doesn’t want new users to be confused. So it abandons behaviors and functionality that experienced users have become accustomed to, and absorbs whatever stuff the latest shiny hot flavor of the day social media platform might have.

    It’s not just Facebook. I love Adobe products, but I feel like they’re trying harder and harder to compete with Sketch and the like. The reason Adobe software is so great is because it’s extremely powerful, and it takes a long, dedicated time to get good at. Lately though, Adobe products seem to be stripping away functionality that may seem daunting to new users, afraid that those users will head to more familiar territory.

    Software should reward experienced users, not ostracize them.

  • Thursday

    Good day, classes were unstructured but engaging ( I hope)
    Morning saw us getting passports for the kids. I wish it had been fun, but it wasn’t, because of the tide of grumpiness that gradually enveloped us.
    Afternoon was great, a quiet time teaching the intern and students.
    It’s the one-on-one interactions that make it fun. It’s the best way to teach.
    Now I’m at snyder bar getting some wings, having a Guinness. All ok

  • Textwrangler 3 released

    My favorite text editor just got updated. Woopee!

  • 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:

  • Chicken Picatta with Asparagus

    This recipe is easy and quick, and a good way to feed a pile of people.

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
    • 1 bunch asparagus
    • 1 lb. penne pasta
    • 1 cup flour
    • 1 tbsp. black pepper
    • 1 tsp. salt
    • 1 lemon, juiced
    • 2 tbsp. capers
    • 1 cup white wine
    • 1 cup chicken stock
    • 1 stick butter (8 tbsp.)
    • 1 tbsp. olive oil
    • 1 onion or 2 shallots diced
    • Grated parmesan cheese to taste

    Directions

    1. Fill a large pot halfway up with water. Add salt to taste. Cover and bring to a boil. Add penne and cook al dente.
    2. Cut or break off tough ends of asparagus. Cut into angled slices, 3 or 4 per stalk, so they are shaped like the penne.
    3. Dice up the onion.
    4. Cut the chicken breast into thin, flat pieces. Try to cut crossways as many times as you can to get wide, long but thin slices. I can usually get at least five from each breast. It helps if the chicken is partially frozen.
    5. Add 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper to a large bowl and stir.
    6. Dredge chicken slices in flour mixture until coated.
    7. In a large pan, turn to medium-high and add olive oil. Once that’s hot, swirl in 2 tbsp. butter.
    8. When butter is melted, add chicken slices in a single layer, covering the entire surface of the pan.
    9. Brown for 3-4 minutes, turn and repeat.
    10. Set aside browned slices and repeat until all chicken has been nicely browned.
    11. Add 2 tbsp. butter to pan. Add onions/shallots and saute until soft. The pan should be really hot.
    12. Pour in white wine to deglaze pan, scraping browned bits up.
    13. Add the chicken broth and remaining butter.
    14. Whisk in remaining flour. Add water/wine/butter/broth to build up a nice sauce.
    15. Stir in the chicken, asparagus, and capers. Whisk remaining flour into chicken broth and remaining flour. Cover and turn heat to low.
    16. Check occasionally. It’s done when the asparagus is bright, green and tender.
    17. Serve with grated parm. I like red pepper flakes as well.