The Future is AI's Proof of Work
In the race to advance AI systems, measuring their ability is critical, and the future is how we will grade them.
Back Alley Coder
Code, distributed systems, and the web.
Latest posts
PassSeeds - Hijacking Passkeys to Unlock Cryptographic Use Cases
An exploration in using Passkeys as generalized cryptographic seed material to address new use cases, while inheriting the benefits of cross-device synced keys with native biomentric UX.
Identity Is the Dark Matter & Energy of Our World
Exploring identity as a cosmological analog - proposing that like dark matter and energy in the universe, identity forms the vast unseen infrastructure that powers all our daily interactions.
Demythstifying Web Components
Dispelling common myths and FUD about Web Components by clarifying what they actually are - encapsulated, declarative, custom elements that enable reusable, interoperable functionality.
Scaling Decentralized Apps & Services via Blockchain-based Identity Indirection
Exploring how blockchain-based identity indirection can address the scalability challenges of decentralized applications and services while maintaining consensus guarantees.
Recapping the W3C Blockchain Standardization Workshop @ MIT
A recap of the W3C blockchain workshop at MIT discussing potential Web standards for blockchain technology, particularly focusing on blockchain-based identity authentication.
The Nickelback Persistence Conjecture
Debunking the fallacious arguments about data persistence in decentralized systems and why economic incentives in distributed networks are more robust than critics claim.
S(GH)PA: The Single-Page App Hack for GitHub Pages
A clever hack to enable single-page app routing on GitHub Pages by leveraging the 404.html file and preserving SEO-friendly status codes for crawlers.
The Web Beyond: How blockchain identity will transform our world
A vision of how blockchain-based identity systems could revolutionize daily life through seamless, secure, and interoperable digital interactions across all devices and services.
A Renewed Call for App-to-App Interaction APIs
Renewing the discussion around app-to-app interaction APIs for the web, examining past attempts like Web Activities and Web Intents and proposing better solutions.
Element Queries, From the Feet Up
Exploring Element Queries as a solution for truly responsive components - Media Queries scoped to individual elements rather than viewport dimensions.
Cross-Browser, Event-based, Element Resize Detection
A cross-browser solution for detecting element resize events using hidden object elements, enabling responsive behavior beyond window resize events.
The Oft-Overlooked Overflow and Underflow Events
Exploring the lesser-known overflow and underflow events in Firefox and WebKit browsers that detect changes in element scroll states.
FlightDeck and MetaLab: Bad Messaging Leads to Bad Times
A retrospective on the challenging FlightDeck project at Mozilla, exploring how miscommunication and bad messaging can derail even well-intentioned collaborations.
MVCR – Minimum Viable CSS Ribbon
A minimal CSS snippet using pseudo-elements to create UI ribbons that work in IE8+ and support dynamic content modification via JavaScript.
CSS Selector Listeners
Exploring a new event mechanism called CSS Selector Listeners - a powerful way to listen for when elements match specific CSS selectors in the DOM.
A Modal Cure in Pure CSS – No Wrappers, no JavaScript, no BS
A simple pure CSS modal solution that requires no wrapper elements, no JavaScript, and no complex implementations - just clean, elegant CSS.
I Want a DAMNodeInserted Event!
Exploring the frustrations with DOM Level 3 Mutation Events and the need for better node insertion detection in JavaScript.
Deep, Strict Equality Comparison of Native Types in JavaScript
A comprehensive approach to performing deep, strict equality comparison of JavaScript native types, handling edge cases beyond basic type checking.
The Best Damn Modal Method Period™
A comprehensive cross-browser modal implementation method that handles all the edge cases and browser quirks for creating robust modal dialogs.
MooTools Vertical Text Element Method
A MooTools Element extension for creating vertical text using CSS and DOM manipulation when browser-native solutions aren't sufficient.
Link element load event support for CSS Style Sheet includes, finally!
A solution for detecting when CSS stylesheets loaded via LINK tags have finished loading, addressing the long-standing lack of reliable load event support across browsers.
Opera Added to the Browser Add-on API Coverage Table
Announcement of adding Opera extension APIs to the browser add-on API coverage table, expanding cross-browser extension development documentation.
State of the Add-on Developer Union: The Browser Add-on API Coverage Table
A comprehensive comparison table of browser add-on APIs across major browsers, analyzing the current state of cross-platform extension development capabilities.
Jetbug – Mozilla Add-on SDK debugging library
A debugging library for Mozilla Add-on SDK that enables Firebug-based debugging of add-on code with support for chrome-level objects and SDK API introspection.
Programatically Convert CSS named colors to RGB & HEX
A JavaScript solution for converting CSS named colors to RGB and HEX formats, essential for color manipulation in front-end development.