Source: https://p.atrick.org/
Author: Patrick Marsceill

# Patrick Marsceill is a software designer, youʼve found his home on the internet.

### Latest Thoughts

-   [
    
    ## RSS as personal context
    
    September 9, 2026
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2026/09/09/rss-as-personal-context>)
    
-   Made this site a little easier for agents to read: append `.md` to [any page](<https://p.atrick.org/about.md>) or [post URL](<https://p.atrick.org/2026/09/09/rss-as-personal-context.md>) for a Markdown version. There’s an [agent guide](<https://p.atrick.org/AGENTS.md>) and [content index](<https://p.atrick.org/llms.txt>) for more efficent agent discovery.
    
    ## [September 10, 2026](<https://p.atrick.org/2026/09/10/125039>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Introducing Feedster
    
    March 5, 2026
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2026/03/05/introducing-feedster>)
    
-   “Ideas are cheap / execution is expensive” has become “Execution is cheap / ideas are cheaper”
    
    ## [March 2, 2026](<https://p.atrick.org/2026/03/02/143703>)
    
-   Thinking about (micro)blogging again.
    
    ## [February 17, 2025](<https://p.atrick.org/2025/02/17/141508>)
    
-   I love personal computing!
    
    ## [August 9, 2024](<https://p.atrick.org/2024/08/09/102924>)
    
-   We have lift off 🚀: The 2024 refresh of _This Modern Web_ is now live on the new domain [p.atrick.org](<https://p.atrick.org/>).
    
    ## [August 1, 2024](<https://p.atrick.org/2024/07/31/212004>)
    
-   Dusting off the cobwebs on this old thing…
    
    ## [May 30, 2024](<https://p.atrick.org/2024/05/30/143012>)
    
-   Meeting People Is Easy
    
    ## [July 20, 2022](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/07/20/16502>)
    
-   Deeply feeling this… [Desperation-Induced Focus](<https://rkg.blog/desperation-induced-focus.php>) by Ravi Gupta
    
    Processes that feel unnecessary really demotivate and kill creative spirit. One of the main reasons why I went from big tech to startup earlier this year.
    
    ## [March 1, 2022](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/03/01/2337>)
    
-   I’ve been spending more time than I should wondering why someone would choose not to add an RSS feed to their personal blog/website in favor of a “subscribe to updates with email”
    
    ## [February 8, 2022](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/02/08/16516>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Figuring out what’s nextHow I approached looking for my next job
    
    February 8, 2022
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/02/08/looking-for-my-next-job>)
    
-   First week at [WorkOS](<https://workos.com/>) is in the books. Really excited to share some of the stuff that we’ve been working on 🚀
    
    ## [January 16, 2022](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/01/16/143939>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Jealousy List 2021Shout-out to all the work that made me jealous this year
    
    January 16, 2022
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/01/15/jealousy-list>)
    
-   After 6.5 years, today is my last day at [GitHub](<https://github.com/>). It is truly the best job that I’ve ever had thanks to the people that I got to work with here. I’m proud to have been a small part of GitHub’s impact on the world and forever grateful for opportunities that came with it. 💜
    
    ## [January 7, 2022](<https://p.atrick.org/2022/01/07/23218>)
    
-   Boosted this morning 💉
    
    ## [December 15, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/12/15/211116>)
    
-   Some incremental improvements to the personal website…
    
    -   Re-wrote it in Next.js
    -   Switched to Stitches for styling
    
    Loving the perf gains so far.
    
    ## [December 15, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/12/15/42859>)
    
-   It’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving… time to get a tree.
    
    ## [November 27, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/11/27/165817>)
    
-   It’s a: gotta dig up my septic tank with a shovel to find out that it’s not draining properly kind of day.
    
    ## [November 23, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/11/23/17526>)
    
-   What’s your least favorite website that you _have_ to use? Mine is the Microsoft Corporate training SharePoint portal.
    
    ## [November 17, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/11/17/213918>)
    
-   Sensing some cosmic shifts these last weeks. 🪐👽
    
    ## [November 15, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/11/15/13430>)
    
-   Got Moderna shot #2 yesterday. The day after symptoms are no joke. I’ve been laid up with a fever and body aches all day.
    
    ## [May 1, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/05/01/231022>)
    
-   Ideas for future posts:
    
    -   Designing principles
    -   Fewer concepts and more types
    -   Finding that sweet spot between implementation and concept/shaping
    -   Looser process/stricter framework
    
    ## [February 20, 2021](<https://p.atrick.org/2021/02/20/20743>)
    
-   > Man you gotta love Benioff (I mean, you don’t but he’s going to try), he clearly worked for Larry Ellison, loved Larry Ellison, and then said, I will be the absolute opposite of Larry Ellison and yet still build the most phallic building in history.
    
    [Let’s Skim! The Slack/Salesforce Press Release](<https://ftrain.medium.com/lets-skim-the-slack-salesforce-press-release-22e941ddc1e0>)
    
    ## [December 14, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/12/14/125926>)
    
-   I think I might be ready to start writing again…
    
    ## [December 12, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/12/12/19143>)
    
-   One of my [favorite websites](<https://poolside.fm/>) now has an iOS app… Check out what the poolside.fm folks have been building over at [https://cellular.poolside.fm](<https://cellular.poolside.fm/>)
    
    > The closest thing you can get to drinking Peach Bellinis at your desk. ★★★★★
    
    ## [September 11, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/09/11/154321>)
    
-   Yesterday marked my five year anniversary of working at GitHub 🎉
    
    ## [September 9, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/09/09/191023>)
    
-   It feels obvious now, but just starting to realize that my own creative output correlated to my personal happiness and probably my mental health, also.
    
    ## [September 9, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/09/09/184830>)
    
-   Nice surprise for a Thursday evening… [Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack now on Spotify](<https://open.spotify.com/album/1XoE7ZirQ3gjxq8HIzTJU9?si=LTSHiO4iRUiy2c1-lc-UIw>).
    
    via [Kotaku](<https://kotaku.com/the-cowboy-bebop-soundtracks-just-hit-spotify-so-excuse-1844563638?utm_campaign=Kotaku&utm_content=1596146488&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=twitter>)
    
    ## [July 30, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/07/30/232849>)
    
-   I love me some internet nostalgia and [98.css](<https://jdan.github.io/98.css/>) does not disappoint.
    
    > 98.css is a CSS library for building interfaces that look like Windows 98.
    
    A pretty damn faithful recreation of the UI that sent me online curiously building my first web pages, Winamp skins, Visual Basic programs, and pirated copies of PhotoShop.
    
    ## [July 8, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/07/08/02140>)
    
-   [If I could bring one thing back to the internet it would be blogs](<http://tttthis.com/blog/if-i-could-bring-one-thing-back-to-the-internet-it-would-be-blogs?ref=thismodernweb.com>)
    
    > Maybe it was chronicles of their life as they got a job teaching in Japan and how it was leaving American for the first time and all the new things there and skateboarding and meeting people and trying to meet girls, or a photographer working for a while in Minorca or some island off Spain when music hit a rock scene period and all the young people were dressing up in leather and tight jeans and going out dancing to dance rock and writing about his thoughts on where he fit into the scene as he was kind of older but not old, or a compilation of weird and unexplained science and gnostic wisdom, or the things some guy was making out of wood or electronics in his garage, or some Japanese girl who posted pictures of herself looking extremely pink and pneumatic and writing little things with them.
    
    ## [May 18, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/05/18/2281>)
    
-   Most Thursday nights, I was with three other humans in a too hot (or too cold) room constructed out of hastily framed walls, unfinished drywall, and 200 year old brick. Ah band practice, how I miss you. These days you’ll find me at “band practice” in my home office smashing buttons on my Ableton Push, trying to get the most out of samples, VST instruments, and a lot of trial and error. A different kind of fun.
    
    ## [May 18, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/05/18/13028>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Hacking from your iOS deviceDeveloping with Siri Shortcuts and more
    
    May 13, 2020
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/05/13/siri-shortcuts>)
    
-   [Gruber’s review of the 2020 iPhone SE](<https://daringfireball.net/2020/04/the_2020_iphone_se>) showcases the bonkers performance of the A13 Bionic chip:
    
    > …a $400 iPhone SE bests a $3,000 top-of-the-line MacBook Pro in single-core CPU performance.
    
    ## [April 23, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/04/23/143031>)
    
-   I am very excited to hear that [NetNewsWire](<https://ranchero.com/netnewswire/>) (my RSS reader of choice) is going to get iCloud syncing support! That was literally the only wishlist feature that I had for this app. Maurice Parker, a developer on the project [wrote a nice piece about building the feature](<https://vincode.io/2020/04/09/cloudkit-impressions-from.html>) and his impressions of CloudKit in general.
    
    ht @manton
    
    ## [April 10, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/04/10/34412>)
    
-   Some thoughts I had this week:
    
    -   I’ve never been this conscious about what I’m eating every day because we only have a finite supply of staples like eggs, butter, milk, bread, etc…
    -   I’ve never been this conscious of how I manage my time every day because my wife and I are splitting childcare duties and we need to balance getting work done and not sitting my daughter in front of a screen all day
    -   I’ve never been this conscious of how often I work out because we all need to get some physical exercise to stay mentally and physically well
    
    Wellness in the time of global un-wellness, I guess.
    
    ## [April 10, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/04/10/33610>)
    
-   Phases of social distancing / shelter at home: Week 1: WTF is this, the world is going to hell Week 2: Struggling to find balance between work and family Week 3: Every day is the same: depression Week 4: I’m lucky to have a job and be able to spend unlimited time with my family
    
    ## [April 7, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/04/07/172749>)
    
-   I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can bring the principles and tools used in open source software development to the scientific and medical community to aid in finding solutions for big problems faster.
    
    ## [March 29, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/29/152911>)
    
-   In a truly psychedelic moment during my morning run, I saw two older men (70+ years old) walking six feet apart, movements perfectly in sync, both wearing leather driving gloves, and both smoking giant cigars.
    
    ## [March 29, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/29/53>)
    
-   [Gary Hustwit](<https://www.hustwit.com/>) is streaming his documentaries for free during the COVID-19 crisis. [Watch this week’s flim _Helvetica_ about the iconic typeface from March 17-24](<https://www.ohyouprettythings.com/free>).
    
    > I’ve decided to stream my films for free to viewers stuck indoors anywhere in the world. No catch…
    
    ## [March 20, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/20/2020-03-20-15-58>)
    
-   My daughter now has FaceTime dates set up with her classmates in pre-school because she can’t be physically close to them and probably won’t be for a few months. This makes me wonder if this time will have any long term affects on our kids?
    
    ## [March 20, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/20/2020-03-20-13-15>)
    
-   Got inspired by [Rafa’s Shortcut](<https://twitter.com/rafahari/status/1239682156919762946?s=21>) and whipped [my own Apple Shortcut](<https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/98ce69a7f59640ce931e45f3d69d2adf>) up to automate posting media and books to my [Inbox](<https://thismodernweb.com/inbox>) from my iPhone. All I need is to select cover art from my Photos and the shortcut handles everything else (except the merge into `master`).
    
    ## [March 17, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/17/2020-03-17-04-04>)
    
-   🎥 [Uncut Gems](<https://m.imdb.com/title/tt5727208/criticreviews?ref_=m_tt_ov_rt>) might be the most stressful and anxiety provoking film I’ve ever seen. Amazing on so many levels and the celebrity cameos were done in a way that I’ve never really seen before — at this scale, anyway.
    
    ## [March 15, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/15/2020-03-15-15-32>)
    
-   Popular Science’s [DIY hand sanitizer recipe](<https://www.popsci.com/story/diy/diy-hand-sanitizer/>):
    
    > 1 cup of 99% isopropyl alcohol, 1 tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1 teaspoon of 98% glycerin, ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon, and 1 teaspoon (or 85 milliliters) of sterile distilled or boiled cold water
    
    ## [March 13, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/13/2020-03-13-13-49>)
    
-   [
    
    ## This web designer gets his wingsMy first impressions of SwiftUI
    
    March 13, 2020
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/13/swift-for-web-designers>)
    
-   I hope we see more of this from the tech industry, which actually has the resources to put a dent in the detection effort despite our government’s ineptness:
    
    > The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that it will commit an additional $5 million to help public health agencies in the greater Seattle region enhance their capacity to detect novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in King County, Snohomish County and other surrounding communities.
    
    via [gatesfoundation.org](<https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/03/Gates-Foundation-Commits-5-Million-to-Help-Public-Health-Agencies-in-Greater-Seattle-Region>)
    
    ## [March 9, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/09/2020-03-09-03-29>)
    
-   Three lessons in on [Design+Code’s SwiftUI course](<https://designcode.io/swiftui?promo=learnswiftui>). SwiftUI’s layout engine feels really similar to [auto layout in Figma](<https://www.figma.com/blog/announcing-auto-layout/>).
    
    ## [March 6, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/06/2020-03-06-14-04>)
    
-   Useful dashboard for viewing the latest quant data for COVID-19 from Johns Hopkins CSSE. [Desktop version](<https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6>) and [Mobile version](<http://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/85320e2ea5424dfaaa75ae62e5c06e61>) available. The raw data is [also available on GitHub](<https://github.com/CSSEGISandData/COVID-19>).
    
    ## [March 2, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/03/02/2020-03-02-20-20>)
    
-   Trying out Meng To’s [SwiftUI class](<https://designcode.io/swiftui?promo=learnswiftui>).
    
    ## [February 25, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/02/25/2020-02-25-01-35>)
    
-   First time I’ve seen a pixel font in the wild in about a decade. I’m not mad at it either.
    
    ## [February 19, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/02/19/2020-02-19-00-05>)
    
-   [
    
    ## This modern what?A new decade, a new site, and a new name
    
    February 17, 2020
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/02/17/new-site-who-dis>)
    
-   Kinda love the “build the plane as you fly it” approach to making my [personal site](<https://thismodernweb.com/>). The more things coalesce, the higher it flies.
    
    ## [February 15, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/02/15/2020-02-15-22-45>)
    
-   I’ve been sick for three weeks, the longest I can remember. Makes me wonder if my body is getting weaker or are the germs are getting stronger.
    
    ## [February 10, 2020](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/02/10/2020-02-10-13-08>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Some things I did in the 2010sMusic, family, and a career
    
    January 3, 2020
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2020/01/03/what-i-did-in-the-2010s>)
    
-   4 years at GitHub!
    
    ## [September 27, 2019](<https://p.atrick.org/2019/09/27/23145>)
    
-   Are there any examples of design education that focus on how to effectively utilize existing infrastructures vs. blow everything up and start over?
    
    ## [August 13, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/08/13/49313>)
    
-   🤔 Does the long arc of the web bend toward non-bullshit? Link: [The Bullshit Web](<https://pxlnv.com/blog/bullshit-web/>)
    
    ## [August 9, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/08/09/68214>)
    
-   “I love the smell of incremental correctness in the morning.” - Anonymous
    
    ## [August 8, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/08/08/77329>)
    
-   Zen and the art of website maintenance
    
    ## [August 6, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/08/06/55722>)
    
-   Wrote code for the first time in a while today. Feels like stretching.
    
    ## [July 27, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/07/27/74622>)
    
-   [
    
    ## DIY internet privacyRoll your own VPN for (almost) free
    
    March 27, 2018
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/03/27/diy-internet-privacy>)
    
-   📺 [Grand Designs](<https://www.netflix.com/title/80160755>) has become my new obsession.
    
    ## [March 21, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/03/21/grand-designs>)
    
-   👋🏻 I’m posting from the Micro.blog iOS app using the micropub API.
    
    ## [March 14, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/03/14/84178>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Here we go againIs the future of the web a network of independent sites?
    
    March 14, 2018
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/03/14/here-we-go-again>)
    
-   Hello, micro.blog!
    
    ## [January 20, 2018](<https://p.atrick.org/2018/01/20/hello-microblog>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Design GitHub, the productShape the future of software development
    
    March 28, 2017
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2017/03/28/design-github>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Dear Last.fm,It’s been awhile. Seven years, actually
    
    January 10, 2017
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2017/01/10/dear-last-fm>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Hacking the font StackExplorations in a modern native fonts on the web
    
    November 28, 2016
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2016/11/28/hacking-the-font-stack>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Introducing Tab Lab
    
    February 8, 2015
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2015/02/08/tab-lab>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Woodshedding
    
    October 30, 2014
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2014/10/30/woodshedding>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Designing for Yourself
    
    September 11, 2014
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2014/09/11/designing-for-yourself>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Prototyping Q&A
    
    December 11, 2013
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2013/12/11/prototyping-q-and-a>)
    
-   [
    
    ## The Russian Joe
    
    June 26, 2013
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2013/06/26/russian-joe>)
    
-   [
    
    ## The Difference Between Money and Power
    
    February 27, 2013
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2013/02/27/the-difference-between-money-and-power>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Building My Desk — Part Two: The Top
    
    February 13, 2013
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2013/02/13/building-my-desk-part-two-the-top>)
    
-   [
    
    ## Building My Desk — Part One: The Frame
    
    January 14, 2013
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2013/01/14/building-my-desk-part-one-the-frame>)
    
-   [
    
    ## How I Setup My Machine for Prototyping
    
    November 19, 2012
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2012/11/19/how-i-setup-my-machine-for-prototyping>)
    
-   [
    
    ## First.
    
    October 24, 2012
    
    ](<https://p.atrick.org/2012/10/24/first>)