Customizing my Xteink firmware and wallpaper
I got the Xteink X4 device, and it's really fun to hack around with!
Cassidy Williams
I'm Cassidy Williams, a software engineer, mom, and overall nerd in Chicago. I write about tech, projects, and whatever else I'm thinking about!
Latest posts
Whitespace in Astro 7.0
The way whitespace is rendered is different in the latest version of Astro, and here's how you can fix it.
An animated radial gradient mask over text in CSS
Here's a technical walkthrough of how I made a fun little demo to mask some text in a clever way with CSS.
On the edge of burnout
I almost burnt out recently, but I made it through!
KeyCon 2026 recap
I spoke at KeyCon, a mechanical keyboard convention!
Microsoft Build 2026 recap
I spoke (a lot) at Microsoft Build in San Francisco!
A simple clustering algorithm for lists
I nerd-sniped myself deeply when sorting baby toys and came up with a fun pattern for doing so!
La Pedra Go Club in Barcelona
I visited a decades-old Go club in Barcelona!
Shipping todometer, version 3!
I updated my app todometer after several years of it lying dormant, and it's better than ever!
Codemotion Madrid 2026 recap
I spoke at Codemotion Madrid and had a blast!
Connecting the Logitech MX Creative Console to Elgato Lights
I used the GitHub Copilot CLI to generate some scripts for me to control Elgato Lights with the Logitech MX Creative Console!
Deep Dish Swift 2026 recap
I spoke at Deep Dish Swift in Chicago!
Speaking at TechCamp Korea 2026
I spoke in Seoul, South Korea to an incredibly bright group of participants!
My rainbow sweater
My sweater is weird but it is special and important to me.
I got yet another digital typewriter: The BYOK
I love my single-purpose devices, and I got another one for distraction-free writing called the BYOK!
A history of styling choices leading to native CSS
How I switched from Less to Sass to CSS Modules to PostCSS nested and nesting to finally, at last, using pure CSS.
Notes for my future self on how to set up a camera for streaming
I had to set up my Sony a6400 fresh, and here's all the settings I used!
Making art with CSS gradients and corner-shape and skew, oh my
I combined some fun CSS techniques to make a little diving board drawing!
How passkeys work
If you're not sure about the ins and outs of passkeys, here's a little primer.
I am making videos again!
Catch me on YouTube and Twitch, y'all.
Improving my newsletter's open rate the hard(er) way
Turns out just asking for help gets you help? Who knew? Here's how I increased my newsletter open rate.
Making interesting borders with CSS corner-shape
You can make cool beveled, rounded, notched, scooped, and elliptical borders with the new CSS corner-shape property!
Remaking the Linux "touch" command in PowerShell
Context switching between terminals can be a mental lift, and this function to add touch to PowerShell has helped me a bunch!
A fun trick for getting discovered by LLMs and AI tools
After learning that people were finding my content via LLMs, I tried using said LLMs to make them find me even more often!
Code Wave Build Log
I made a game called Code Wave for the GitHub Game Off 2025, here's how I did it!
Appreciating Mary Cassatt now that I am a mom
I've always loved Cassatt's art, but it hits differently now that I have kids of my own.
Do not give up your brain
It's tempting to just let tools think for you, but you still need to be able to think for yourself and stay sharp.
A career chat with students in the age of AI
I spoke with students at Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College about tech careers, AI, and networking.
Toodles, 2025
2025 is over! Let's recap.
Wrapping up Blogvent 2025
Don't be sad that Blogvent is over, be happy that Blogvent happened. Here's all the posts I wrote in December 2025!
Making the "End of Year Developer" nature documentary
The creation of an unflinching look at the survival period of "working" during the holidays.
CSS for markdown blockquote attribution
When you generate an HTML blockquote from markdown, your resulting HTML needs some styling love.
I like when apps are "finished"
Sometimes the software we see out there doesn't need to be further updated. Sometimes it's just good enough!
I have become more of a writing utensil snob
I really like nice pencils and pens and it's not a problem, I am totally in control? But I probably have too many now.
Configure your repositories with .github
The .github folder (and .github repository) is special for customizing your projects to your liking. Here's what you can do!
My inbox is so full
My chores and tasks are piling up... and so are my emails.
Things I would study more if I had time
There's so much I want to learn and so little time in the day!
Coming up with blog topics
Here's a few questions I ask myself before I start blogging.
Influencing without authority
You can be a leader without a fancy title... and hopefully that gets you the fancy title eventually!
Trying out Ente for media backup
I'm backing up my photos and videos with Ente now, and it's pretty good.
Vibe coding is boring
Vibe coding gets the job done, but there's no thrill in the build.
Podcasts I'm listening to in 2025
I don't listen to many podcasts, but the ones I do are pretty solid!
The Abilene Paradox
What happens when you compromise too much?
Food I recommend in Chicago in 2025
If you wanna eat more than a hot dog and deep dish pizza when you visit Chicago, I got you!
Pausing a CSS animation with getAnimations()
When your CSS animations need a break, you can work with the output of the getAnimations() method!
Sewing an e-reader case
I made a simple case for an e-reader as my first sewing project in a long time!
The ABCD framework for feedback
This is a short and sweet way to get feedback on your work in a specific, helpful way!
Lasagna and a root beer float
What is the food and drink that represents you?
Goodbye to an 11-year-old Issue
An old feature request on a repo has me in my feelings!
The what, how, and why of CSS clamp()
The CSS clamp() function is a clean way to make your apps and sites responsive. Here's how!