General Musings with Kevin Powell

In this episode I dive into a topic sparked by a discussion in my Discord community where someone avoided learning grid because an experienced developer told them Flexbox can do it all. I share my thoughts on the impact of experienced developers' opinions shaping new learners' paths and emphasize the importance of embracing new tools to make our work easier.

In this episode I delve into the evolving landscape of CSS, discussing why we have so many ways of doing "simple" things, like declaring colors. I emphasize the importance of a solid foundation in core languages, the necessity of continuous learning, and the value of practical experience in mastering front-end development. Despite the increasing complexity, I believe these advancements ultimately offer better solutions and flexibility.

My experience talking at CSS Day 2024: https://www.kevinpowell.co/article/my-experience-talking-at-css-day-2024/My experience attending CSS Day 2024: https://www.kevinpowell.co/article/my-experience-attending-css-day-2024/Miriam's article I mention near the end: https://www.oddbird.net/2024/06/13/css-layout/In this episode, I talk about the slow adoption of new CSS features within the front-end and web development communities. I talk about why new CSS features, like container queries, despite initial excitement, seem to be taking so much time to be widely adopted.

Go here to enter your name to win a ticket to THAT Conference: https://forms.gle/vQPr383ZodpTqLq16 Or check out the site, and get your own ticket: https://thatconference.com/wi/My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

My newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter/The post by Chris that I mention: https://frontendmasters.com/blog/weve-got-container-queries-now-but-are-we-actually-using-them/In this podcast episode I discuss how he's come to realize that not everyone is as entrenched into the world of CSS as I am, and wonder a little bit about how to raise the general awareness of new features.

In today's episode, I talk about why I think it was so hard for me to make the decision to reduce my workload for YouTube content, even though, looking at that decision now, it was a really good one!If you'd like a bit more context, I talked about the decision more in this video on my main channel.

I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with Travis Neilson, who's channel DevTips inspired me to start my own channel.Our conversation explores their experiences in the web development industry and their approach to creating content. We discuss the pressure to conform to trends and algorithms, the importance of staying true to oneself, and the challenges of keeping up with rapidly evolving technologies.We also touch on the role of AI in design and development (which you might be able to tell, I used for these show notes 😅), highlighting the need for strong articulation skills to effectively communicate with AI models.Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of experimentation, continuous learning, and pushing the boundaries of creativity. The conversation explores the future of software engineering and the evolving job market, touches on the idea that while technology is changing, the skills and problem-solving mindset of a software engineer will always be valuable.We also reflect on the early days of their YouTube channels and the personal connections they formed with their audience, and the importance of a balance between work and personal life.Travis reflects on his decision to leave the DevTips YouTube channel and the impact it had on his personal life. He discusses the importance of genuine relationships and the joy of being loved rather than praised. Travis shares the unexpected story of how he regained ownership of the channel after five years and his plans for its future.My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel 👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses 👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome 💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

In this episode, I talk about how I've started to see Cascade Layers used in the wild, and I talk a bit about how much support is enough support before you start shipping features in production.My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell ✉ My newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter 💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

The Veritasium video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhgwIhB58PA In this episode, Kevin discusses the importance of being open to different learning methods and not getting stuck in one's preferred way of learning. He emphasizes the debunking of the learning styles myth and advocates for a multimodal approach to learning. Kevin shares his personal experience of scheduling learning time and how it has helped him become more organized and efficient. He also talks about the challenges of creating online courses that cater to different learning preferences. The key takeaway is to be willing to try different learning methods and not dismiss them outright. My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

Una's Website: https://una.im/ All of Una's Talks: https://una.im/speaking/ Give Una a follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Una More on anchor positioning: https://12daysofweb.dev/2023/anchor-positioning/Una Kravets, a developer advocate at Google, discusses her journey into front-end development and her passion for CSS. She shares how her background in design led her to explore the world of front-end development and how she found a perfect blend of logic and design in CSS. Una also talks about the rapid evolution of CSS and the exciting features that have been introduced, such as container queries and scroll-driven animations. She emphasizes the importance of staying up-to-date with new CSS features and encourages developers to experiment with them. Una also highlights the collaborative process of working on new CSS features and the role of community feedback in shaping the specifications. Una and Kevin discuss the importance of revisiting browser support matrices and using progressive enhancement in web development. They also talk about the adoption of new CSS features, the role of teaching in their careers, and their hobbies outside of work.

In this episode, I answer questions from my audience, covering topics such as studying coding courses, the importance of consistency in learning, starting a blog, the relevance of pixel units in CSS, other programming languages Kevin knows, the use of utility classes vs custom classes, and subtle UI animations and page transitions.

In this episode, Kevin discusses the benefits of teaching as a way to enhance your learning. He shares his personal experience of teaching and how it helped him deepen his understanding of CSS. Kevin emphasizes the importance of building a strong foundation and filling in knowledge gaps through teaching. He encourages listeners to start a blog or any public-facing platform to share their learnings and insights. Teaching not only helps you solidify your knowledge but also benefits others who are trying to learn the same thing.

The podcast is back! And in this episode, I talked about how the difficulties of semantic HTML. If you ask any front-end developer what the easiest language is between HTML, CSS, and JS, and everyone is going to say HTML, right?It’s funny though, because most of the things I hem and haw over the longest are often related to how to mark something up in my HTML.Links My newsletter: https://kevinpowell.co/newsletter The Discord community: https://kevinpowell.co/discord Stephanie Eckle's article on the difficulty of semantic HTML: https://thinkdobecreate.com/articles/a-call-for-consensus-on-html-semantics/ The twitter post I mentioned: https://twitter.com/KevinJPowell/status/1773035208175911301

The year in review: https://kevin-powell.ck.page/posts/year-in-review-and-my-plans-for-2024I should be back by March 😊

A shorter episode than normal as we head into the holidays.Other awesome stuff around the web: Stephanie Eckles 12-days of Web Oh No, Overflow! Observation: color-mix and currentColor Elevate your CSS debugging skills with these Chrome DevTools tricks in 2024What I’ve been up to this week: Incredible scroll-based animations with CSS-only The man behind some of the craziest CSS I’ve ever seen Use this instead of :focus in your CSS How I use AI to boost my productivity while CodingFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

A recent video of mine has made me realize that a lot of people don’t realize that cross-site caching isn’t a thing anymore, so in this episode, I talk about that, as well as how we do still need to optimize things, how great CSS is becoming, and more.Other awesome stuff around the web: The hanging-punctuation property by Chris Coyier Behavior belongs in the HTML by Alex PetrosWhat I’ve been up to this week: Two better alternatives to overflow: hidden True parallax with CSS These font stacks will improve your site’s performanceFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

Today is a bit of a story about how sometimes it can take a really long time to realize that you’ve actually had a really good idea. Or, well, that’s the case for me, at least. You see, I recently have become so excited about how we can use a CSS feature that I’m changing my approach to creating the core structure for websites going forward. The sort of final version of this idea I’m talking about is something that I posted about this week on my main channel, but in reality, it’s something I figured out over five years ago, and I just never realized how great it was at the time. Or rather, I realized I was onto something, and then, for reasons we’ll get to later, I stopped bothering with it and eventually totally forgot about it.Other awesome stuff around the web: CSS Wrapped: 2023 on the Chrome for Developers blog A few ways CSS is easier to write in 2023 by Geoff GrahamWhat I’ve been up to this week (and other links of mine that I mentioned): My first video on Grid My video from 2018 on grid as a container replacement My recent video on using grid as a container replacement My video from this week that expands on that idea I ranked the CSS units into different tiers

This week, I focus on two of the most important skills a developer can have, which also happen to be two of the hardest ones to teach: The thought process to break down more complex problems. Being able to dive into existing code and quickly make sense of it.These are probably two of the most important skills you can have as a developer, but they don’t get much attention because they aren’t as easy to convey as “follow along as I code this up”.I’ll give some tips on how you can improve your skills on both of these though, and as a bonus it can even be a little fun!Other awesome stuff around the web: ShopTalk show’s How to Think like a Frontend Developer Hyperplexed’s channel Hyperplexed video that I mentioned: CSS4 is coming by CSS Weekly Workarounds for Buggy Gradients by Keith J. GrantWhat I’ve been up to this week: The code behind a Hyperplexed video Awesome filtering animation with vanilla JS CSS Shorthands aren’t always worth itFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

This week, I’m going to be talking a lot about CSS length units because one of the complaints I hear about CSS is the number of length units it has, with a total of 54 (not all of them are supported yet, though).That is a lot of units. But this is a feature and not a bug.Other awesome stuff around the web:z Sara Soueidan’s article on setting up screen readersWhat I’ve been up to this week: The flowchart The flowchart video Keeping up with CSS: The features released in 2023 Select all siblings of an element using :has()Find me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

This week is going to be a bit of a preview for a more in-depth video on my main channel that will be coming out in a few weeks because I’m in the middle of breaking down a few interviews that I’ve done to get some insight on helping people get their first jobs.In the video I’ll be talking about everything from positioning yourself to help you land interviews, how to have a successful interview, and how you can sometimes even skip a few steps along the way, but for this edpisode focus on how do you even know that you’re ready to start applying for jobs.Other awesome stuff around the web: Modular CSS and different ways to structure your stylesheets by Chris Ferdinandi The Three Cs: 🤝 Concatenate, 🗜️ Compress, 🗳️ Cache by Harry Roberts Why you suck at CSS by Zach JenszWhat I’ve been up to this week CSS position deep dive Use these instead of vh Combining transform with the individual rotate property makes things so much easierFind me elsewhere on the web My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

This week, I’m going to be talking about the results of the survey I ran last week asking about people’s primary pain point with CSS and exploring if we can find any correlation between years of experience and specific pain points—spoiler alert, we can!—as well as sharing a few of my favorite resources that I use to keep up with CSS.Other awesome stuff around the web: Stephanie’s newsletter CSS weekly newsletter Ryan Mulligan’s Layou Breakouts with CSS Grid Breakout of the container snippet by Stephanie EcklesWhat I’ve been up to this week: A new approach to container and wrapper classes A better image reset CSS animation keyframe tipsFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

The survey: https://kevinpowell.co/painpointsA lot of people get frustrated by CSS, but there are so many different aspects of it that seem to drive people crazy, and I’d love to know what they are for you!Other awesome stuff around the web: Chris Coyier on light-dark() (and other cool CSS functions) Bramus’ article on @scope Una taking a look at horizontal rules in select elementsWhat I’ve been up to this week: One of the most common CSS issues people run into True parallax with CSS-only is now possible 7 simple ways to center with CSSFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

If you’re learning something new and you’re putting in a lot of work, one of the best ways to supercharge your learning is to take notes. I know a lot of people might scoff at that idea because they see note taking as a waste of time, but in this episode I talk about how there are ways of doing it that can not only be effective, but which can supercharge your learning.What I’ve been up to this week: The problem with mobile-first CSS Subgrid & Container Queries change how we can create layouts How flexbox and grid are like owning different types of shoesOther awesome stuff around the web: Reality Check #1: Building out a furniture site from DribbbleFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

Online courses are awesome, but it’s really easy to get started with one only to let it drop by the way side after completing 20% of it, or actually finish one, but not feel like you learned as much as you were hoping to.In this episode, I explore some tips on how to get the most from online courses, and how to help make sure you actually get all the way to through them as well!What I’ve been up to this week: I asked people to make this simple layout and was surprised by the results A simple approach to layouts when going from design to code :nth-child has a super power most people don’t know aboutOther awesome stuff around the web: Sara Soueidan’s Practical AccessibilityFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter This podcast’s YouTube channel My Primary YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

You follow a few tutorials and feel pretty good with the small projects you’ve been able to build. Then you have a cool idea for your own project, you open up VS Code, and you have no idea where to start.This is a common problem, and it happens because understanding something is not the same thing as being able to do something.Other awesome stuff around the web: Naming Variables in CSS by Jonathan DallasWhat I’ve been up to this week: How to create and style lists with HTML & CSS Simplify your code with this underused pseudo-class Using CSS custom properties like this is a wasteFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

This week, I talked about whether or not I can break the curse of every conference that I get invited to being cancelled 😅. So far, I’m four for four, but I have a chance to break it to start off 2024, when I’ll be speaking at THAT Conference in Rolling Rock, Texas! Also, I'm still a little sick, sorry if I'm talking a bit funny 🤧What I’ve been up to this week: The State of HTML 5 tips to getting better at CSS Taking on a CSS Battle The easy way to make sense of complex selectorsOther awesome stuff around the web: Maxi Ferreira’s Astro + View Transitions demo with a 3D model of a person walking that persists across pages Codrops article by Igor Penaque exploring the basics of View Transitions with AstroFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

Intrinsic Web Design, or Intrinsic Layouts, is a way we can approach writing our CS where we’re handing off a lot of the control the browser. That doesn’t mean we’re letting go of all the control though, but instead that we’re giving the browser hints on what we’d like to happen and letting it do the hard work for us.What I’ve been up to this week: How to make your own frontend roadmap Create a progressively-enhanced infinite horizontal scroll animation The border-radius feature most people don’t know about CSS Mastery with Kevin Powell: Unveiling Uncommon Knowledge (The Code Ryan Podcast)Other awesome stuff around the web: Contextual Spacing For Intrinsic Web Design by Stephanie Eckles Styling the Intrisic Web with Cascade Layers & Container Queries by Miriam SuzanneFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

CSS is different from other languages, and while that can seem frustrating and leads to a lot of people complaining about it, there’s a good reason that it is the way it is. In this episode, I explore how and why it’s different, and how we can overcome the frustrations we run into with CSS by adopting the right mindset when authoring our stylesheets.What I’ve been up to this week: A quick guide to CSS focus states I just wasted a day on this code, was it worth it? Is this the strangest CSS solution out there? Choosing between flexbox and grid (not from this week, but mentioned during the podcast)Other awesome stuff around the web: The State of HTML survey Jen Simmon’s talk Everything You Know About Web Design Just Changed Jen Simmon’s talk Designing Intrinsic LayoutsFind me elsewhere on the web: My Newsletter My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

I'd love to know what you think of this longer version of the podcast: Cast your votes right here.As for the episode itself, in this one I talk about how people sometimes romantisize the idea of freelancing, and sometimes get into web development with the idea of becoming a freelancer, without realizing everything it entails.What I’ve been up to this week: CSS Confetti explosions 3D card hover effect CSS Gradients > SVGs for patternsOther awesome stuff around the web: Using REM Doesn't Make Your Website Responsive - Here's Why by Caio Marcellus Cabral Best Practices When using Fonts on the Web on Joy Of CodeMy NewsletterMy YouTube ChannelTwitterThreads

In this episode, I talk about how I use Notion to keep track of what I’m up to, both for the bigger picture of my content calendar, and also a daily to-do list, and also how I managed to get this system to stick after trying, and failing, to use it several times.What I’ve been up to this week: Beginner’s guide to styling text with CSS Bring a smile to your users’ faces with a confetti celebration The scrollbar control you didn’t know you neededOther awesome stuff around the web: Technical SEO for DevelopersWhere else you can find me: My Newsletter My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

I work from home, and with my home-office being the same place I use for my downtime, it can be a little tricky to make that separation at times. In this episode, I talk about how I use virtual desktops to help create a bit of a different environment for what tasks I'm doing, which I find has really helped me make that separation, and also avoid general distractions. My Newsletter My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads

This is the second episode of an experimental podcast where I use the AI voice-to-text service ElevenLabs to generate audio based on the general musings section of my weekly newsletter.In this one, I talk about why we can fall into a rut, or lose motivation, which can lead to things like burnout, how important it is to realize when we're heading that way, and also how I deal with it. My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads ElevenLabs (this is an affiliate link, you will not pay more if you sign up, but it will help support me a little bit!)

This is the first episode of an experimental podcast where I use the AI voice-to-text service ElevenLabs to generate audio based on the general musings section of my weekly newsletter.In this one, I talk about the issues with generic learning roadmaps, and how you can easily figure out what you should be learning next. My YouTube Channel Twitter Threads ElevenLabs (this is an affiliate link, you will not pay more if you sign up, but it will help support me a little bit!)