Daniel R. Dafoe
@danieldafoe.com
Designer. Engineer. Web stuff @apple.
On a journey to architect the self.
On a journey to architect the self.
Say it with me: you can’t predict how someone is browsing a web page.
The idea of pushing back on something due to it adding “vertical height” carries little weight.
Zoom level, text size, viewport size, and orientation all impact how much available space there is.
The idea of pushing back on something due to it adding “vertical height” carries little weight.
Zoom level, text size, viewport size, and orientation all impact how much available space there is.
December 3, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Say it with me: you can’t predict how someone is browsing a web page.
The idea of pushing back on something due to it adding “vertical height” carries little weight.
Zoom level, text size, viewport size, and orientation all impact how much available space there is.
The idea of pushing back on something due to it adding “vertical height” carries little weight.
Zoom level, text size, viewport size, and orientation all impact how much available space there is.
Plan to do a certain activity only on a rainy day.
You reframe your idea of a rainy day being a limiting factor to one where you’re excited to do something you otherwise wouldn’t get to.
You reframe your idea of a rainy day being a limiting factor to one where you’re excited to do something you otherwise wouldn’t get to.
November 12, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Plan to do a certain activity only on a rainy day.
You reframe your idea of a rainy day being a limiting factor to one where you’re excited to do something you otherwise wouldn’t get to.
You reframe your idea of a rainy day being a limiting factor to one where you’re excited to do something you otherwise wouldn’t get to.
Authentic. Poignant. Gutting.
An incredible talk by @ericwbailey.website at @a11yto.bsky.social today.
An incredible talk by @ericwbailey.website at @a11yto.bsky.social today.
October 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Authentic. Poignant. Gutting.
An incredible talk by @ericwbailey.website at @a11yto.bsky.social today.
An incredible talk by @ericwbailey.website at @a11yto.bsky.social today.
To value getting along with everyone is to admit it’s OK to never show up as your authentic self.
October 12, 2025 at 1:29 AM
To value getting along with everyone is to admit it’s OK to never show up as your authentic self.
Happy Taylor Swift album release day to those that celebrate. 🥳
October 2, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Happy Taylor Swift album release day to those that celebrate. 🥳
Me: vibing, listening to something cerebral being said on Modern Wisdom
Interrupting YouTube ad: “ERECTION PROBLEMS?”
Interrupting YouTube ad: “ERECTION PROBLEMS?”
October 1, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Me: vibing, listening to something cerebral being said on Modern Wisdom
Interrupting YouTube ad: “ERECTION PROBLEMS?”
Interrupting YouTube ad: “ERECTION PROBLEMS?”
Reframing is the most powerful tool for increasing your happiness, exercising creativity, and peace.
Scenario: I always get frustrated when a video I'm watching on YouTube is interrupted by an ad. "Harumph!" I think, as I scramble to smash the skip button.
Then I had an idea.
Scenario: I always get frustrated when a video I'm watching on YouTube is interrupted by an ad. "Harumph!" I think, as I scramble to smash the skip button.
Then I had an idea.
September 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reframing is the most powerful tool for increasing your happiness, exercising creativity, and peace.
Scenario: I always get frustrated when a video I'm watching on YouTube is interrupted by an ad. "Harumph!" I think, as I scramble to smash the skip button.
Then I had an idea.
Scenario: I always get frustrated when a video I'm watching on YouTube is interrupted by an ad. "Harumph!" I think, as I scramble to smash the skip button.
Then I had an idea.
Working on a keynote is infinite tension between inserting important content and changing the design every 5 minutes.
September 29, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Working on a keynote is infinite tension between inserting important content and changing the design every 5 minutes.
I've become a basic bitch who drinks pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks every morning after the gym.
They're fantastic and I love this unexpected character arc.
They're fantastic and I love this unexpected character arc.
September 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I've become a basic bitch who drinks pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks every morning after the gym.
They're fantastic and I love this unexpected character arc.
They're fantastic and I love this unexpected character arc.
Source of joy: coffee shops with handwritten signs out front. Irregular baseline. Imperfect tracking.
September 28, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Source of joy: coffee shops with handwritten signs out front. Irregular baseline. Imperfect tracking.
Architect of the self.
September 24, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Architect of the self.
Netflix turned my Instagram gleescrolling into doomscrolling with a single death scene from The Land Before Time in my feed to tell me it's now streaming.
Take my hate-watch, you manipulative emotion engineers.
Take my hate-watch, you manipulative emotion engineers.
September 21, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Netflix turned my Instagram gleescrolling into doomscrolling with a single death scene from The Land Before Time in my feed to tell me it's now streaming.
Take my hate-watch, you manipulative emotion engineers.
Take my hate-watch, you manipulative emotion engineers.
What I love and hate about OpenAI encroaching on LinkedIn:
Love: LinkedIn will feel pressure to change. Finally.
Hate: LinkedIn will introduce more AI-driven features.
Love: LinkedIn will feel pressure to change. Finally.
Hate: LinkedIn will introduce more AI-driven features.
September 19, 2025 at 3:27 AM
What I love and hate about OpenAI encroaching on LinkedIn:
Love: LinkedIn will feel pressure to change. Finally.
Hate: LinkedIn will introduce more AI-driven features.
Love: LinkedIn will feel pressure to change. Finally.
Hate: LinkedIn will introduce more AI-driven features.
I wonder what lo-fi playlist AI agents listen to when they’re flow state coding someone’s vibe code request. 🥸
September 16, 2025 at 1:02 AM
I wonder what lo-fi playlist AI agents listen to when they’re flow state coding someone’s vibe code request. 🥸
Tearing up during a gym session is a new experience for me.
I guess that’s what happens when you unexpectedly hear Chris Williamson recite Richard Feynman’s love letter to his wife in an episode of Modern Wisdom.
My goodness does it ever punch you in the gut.
I guess that’s what happens when you unexpectedly hear Chris Williamson recite Richard Feynman’s love letter to his wife in an episode of Modern Wisdom.
My goodness does it ever punch you in the gut.
September 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Tearing up during a gym session is a new experience for me.
I guess that’s what happens when you unexpectedly hear Chris Williamson recite Richard Feynman’s love letter to his wife in an episode of Modern Wisdom.
My goodness does it ever punch you in the gut.
I guess that’s what happens when you unexpectedly hear Chris Williamson recite Richard Feynman’s love letter to his wife in an episode of Modern Wisdom.
My goodness does it ever punch you in the gut.
Has a recipe blogger ever actually used their own website before or nah?
September 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Has a recipe blogger ever actually used their own website before or nah?
X's developer portal landing page has a body font size of 12.8px. Some text has a computed size of 8px. LOL.
Designer fashion websites must have such respect for this choice!
Designer fashion websites must have such respect for this choice!
September 7, 2025 at 12:02 AM
X's developer portal landing page has a body font size of 12.8px. Some text has a computed size of 8px. LOL.
Designer fashion websites must have such respect for this choice!
Designer fashion websites must have such respect for this choice!
A huge accelerator for my own self-growth has been to ask myself, "what if they're right?" when I'm on the receiving end of criticism.
My natural reaction is to defend and oppose it, but challenging myself to consider it as true has been a helpful—and often humbling—experience.
My natural reaction is to defend and oppose it, but challenging myself to consider it as true has been a helpful—and often humbling—experience.
September 6, 2025 at 11:55 PM
A huge accelerator for my own self-growth has been to ask myself, "what if they're right?" when I'm on the receiving end of criticism.
My natural reaction is to defend and oppose it, but challenging myself to consider it as true has been a helpful—and often humbling—experience.
My natural reaction is to defend and oppose it, but challenging myself to consider it as true has been a helpful—and often humbling—experience.
I'm gonna start referring to lazy loaded components as just-in-time (JIT) components.
This will do wonders for my code's confidence! If it's "lazy", it's apathetic and doesn't care if it's loaded; if it's "just in time", it's intelligent and optimizing for when it's really needed.
This will do wonders for my code's confidence! If it's "lazy", it's apathetic and doesn't care if it's loaded; if it's "just in time", it's intelligent and optimizing for when it's really needed.
September 6, 2025 at 6:44 AM
I'm gonna start referring to lazy loaded components as just-in-time (JIT) components.
This will do wonders for my code's confidence! If it's "lazy", it's apathetic and doesn't care if it's loaded; if it's "just in time", it's intelligent and optimizing for when it's really needed.
This will do wonders for my code's confidence! If it's "lazy", it's apathetic and doesn't care if it's loaded; if it's "just in time", it's intelligent and optimizing for when it's really needed.
Tip: Hide notification badges for all of your apps.
These badges give a false sense that there’s something pressing to do. Removing them is a form of saying “no” to things that don’t matter.
These badges give a false sense that there’s something pressing to do. Removing them is a form of saying “no” to things that don’t matter.
September 4, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Tip: Hide notification badges for all of your apps.
These badges give a false sense that there’s something pressing to do. Removing them is a form of saying “no” to things that don’t matter.
These badges give a false sense that there’s something pressing to do. Removing them is a form of saying “no” to things that don’t matter.
To the #Product folks who need to hear this: prioritizing user stories/features/chunks of work should never be dependent on the level of effort from engineering.
Technical complexity does not change how important it is to the business.
Technical complexity does not change how important it is to the business.
September 3, 2025 at 10:56 PM
To the #Product folks who need to hear this: prioritizing user stories/features/chunks of work should never be dependent on the level of effort from engineering.
Technical complexity does not change how important it is to the business.
Technical complexity does not change how important it is to the business.
Expand-collapse components should only reveal content after their triggering button—at least in the DOM.
I'm open to having it be visually different, but I'd rather have visual behaviour match encoded behaviour.
I'm open to having it be visually different, but I'd rather have visual behaviour match encoded behaviour.
September 3, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Expand-collapse components should only reveal content after their triggering button—at least in the DOM.
I'm open to having it be visually different, but I'd rather have visual behaviour match encoded behaviour.
I'm open to having it be visually different, but I'd rather have visual behaviour match encoded behaviour.
Giving the ability to enable and disable features of an e-commerce store with major UX impacts to non-design folk is the worst kind of hell.
Help chat pop-ups, rewards pills, discount dialogs, Notifications API requests, etc. So much friction and resentment.
Help chat pop-ups, rewards pills, discount dialogs, Notifications API requests, etc. So much friction and resentment.
September 3, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Giving the ability to enable and disable features of an e-commerce store with major UX impacts to non-design folk is the worst kind of hell.
Help chat pop-ups, rewards pills, discount dialogs, Notifications API requests, etc. So much friction and resentment.
Help chat pop-ups, rewards pills, discount dialogs, Notifications API requests, etc. So much friction and resentment.
I think GenAI has entered the "trough of disillusionment" phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle.
In the next couple years, I think (hope) a startup will emerge from the fog with something that shows us the application we were missing.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner...)
In the next couple years, I think (hope) a startup will emerge from the fog with something that shows us the application we were missing.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner...)
August 31, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I think GenAI has entered the "trough of disillusionment" phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle.
In the next couple years, I think (hope) a startup will emerge from the fog with something that shows us the application we were missing.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner...)
In the next couple years, I think (hope) a startup will emerge from the fog with something that shows us the application we were missing.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner...)
A wonderful self-growth concept I’ve been thinking through is being more open to changing your mind.
You’re not tied to your past beliefs or principles. It takes agency and courage to challenge your existing ways of thinking and adopt what makes sense to you now.
You’re not tied to your past beliefs or principles. It takes agency and courage to challenge your existing ways of thinking and adopt what makes sense to you now.
August 30, 2025 at 9:34 PM
A wonderful self-growth concept I’ve been thinking through is being more open to changing your mind.
You’re not tied to your past beliefs or principles. It takes agency and courage to challenge your existing ways of thinking and adopt what makes sense to you now.
You’re not tied to your past beliefs or principles. It takes agency and courage to challenge your existing ways of thinking and adopt what makes sense to you now.