<![CDATA[Highlights feed]]>https://rileyjshaw.comGatsbyJSThu, 09 Jul 2026 22:28:23 GMT<![CDATA[Feature: add a dark theme]]>Dark themes are something I’ve sought since my early days on a computer. I remember finding a way to apply a black background to Microsoft Word 2003, then being horrified when I accidentally printed the document. In uni I scripted my desktop to boot into f.lux’s darkroom mode. One of my only lasting contributions to Signal was loudly advocating for dark mode on iOS and Desktop, not just Android. I even made a browser extension in 2015 to apply a dark theme to the entire Internet.

It’s not the most pressing or exciting work, but I decided my site should have a dark theme of its own. I took a lot of inspiration from my former Khan Academy teammate Josh W. Comeau’s dark mode post, with a few differences.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw.github.io/1c9ceef36f4fef69fd3a20b65414de774f3bf3e1COMMIT_1C9CEEF36F4FEF69FD3A20B65414DE774F3BF3E1Sat, 06 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Feature: add an embed blocker for external media 🔐]]>Makes page loads snappier, and lets folks opt into Google’s tracking empire

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw.github.io/0065325b42759a67cc72cbad73c5f1d97bdf2857COMMIT_0065325B42759A67CC72CBAD73C5F1D97BDF2857Sun, 07 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Release: remove the “beta” banner!!! 🎊]]>Almost one year ago, I quietly launched the new version of my site to rileyjshaw.com. It was the last day of the decade, and it felt momentous. But since there were still some glaring bugs and omissions, I decided to hedge the release behind a “THIS SITE IS IN BETA” banner.

It’s the end of the year again. Though there are still design problems and omissions, the site is much further along than it was on initial release. Some highlights:

  • /lab no-longer crashes Webkit based browsers (lol)
  • I added bunch of new scrapers. Most recently: SoundCloud, Vimeo, and YouTube.
  • The design is still uh… getting there… but it’s at least simpler and more consistent now.
  • I test-drove the blog and added some new features (like MDX!)
  • I put a ton of meat on last year’s skelly bones. From /about to /lab to adding about 3x more quotes, this site is more substantial and chaotic than ever before.
]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw.github.io/5edf7cab0d844a346f49222f92a84005b0f01433COMMIT_5EDF7CAB0D844A346F49222F92A84005B0F01433Fri, 18 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Feature: add a video scraper]]>I figure now that I’m scraping SoundCloud, I’d better start scraping YouTube and Vimeo too. Since I occasionally cross-post videos (eg. a demo / instructional video for Patchstorage), I need to figure out how to reduce the clutter caused by duplicate entries. I’ll solve that problem once I see where duplicates tend to crop up.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw.github.io/4d115d10aa58b7606b7ef4ad1c750e4bf4c56fc7COMMIT_4D115D10AA58B7606B7EF4AD1C750E4BF4C56FC7Thu, 17 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Feature: add a SoundCloud song scraper]]>For now it’s mostly experiments and technical demos, but as I get braver I might start posting more music :)

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw.github.io/76a558dfd30b60806e4d7cd42ab37ef0737c3f31COMMIT_76A558DFD30B60806E4D7CD42AB37EF0737C3F31Mon, 14 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Feature: add lazy loading to the lab]]>This small, very important change has been in my working directory since January. What a year…

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw.github.io/0cdfad1d54b6ce4317efc6775f67c9c12827bcd0COMMIT_0CDFAD1D54B6CE4317EFC6775F67C9C12827BCD0Tue, 10 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Scaling faders (audio demo)]]>I dread mixing audio. I tend to make the drums a little louder, then the lead, then the bass, then the drums again, and on and on until I’m clipping everywhere.

I made this demo UI to show how a mixer might help keep your levels in check. Does this exist yet?

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/ZEOqdPMPROJECT_SCALING_FADERS_14AUDIO_DEMO15Mon, 09 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[guyz]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/jObpqemPROJECT_GUYZTue, 12 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Deletion Day]]>Deletion Day challenges the prevailing notion that “more is more”. In a culture that strives for permanence, we celebrate ephemerality, growth, and change.

]]>https://deletionday.comPROJECT_DELETION_DAYSat, 04 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[PO-33 loader]]>A drum sample loader for my Pocket Operator K.O.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/po-33PROJECT_PO_33_LOADERFri, 07 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Plop]]>A scriptable text expansion microtool.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/plopPROJECT_PLOPFri, 13 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Add pagination to the blog!]]>This is an exciting commit for the new site. It collects blog posts from multiple sources (for now: http://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com, https://sfpc.rileyjshaw.com, and https://rileyjshaw.com/blog), orders them by date, and paginates them into a nice on-site list.

In the past, my blog has always seemed stale and outdated. By allowing it to gobble content from across the web, I can point it to whatever platform I'm currently publishing on!

This commit is going to show up as a post on my blog, which feels rather meta.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw-new/13f32fb1219d29a61032646be13dcfe602a595f5COMMIT_13F32FB1219D29A61032646BE13DCFE602A595F5Tue, 03 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Bootstrap an independent data scraper]]>Project scraper

The projects on my site are automatically scraped and formatted at publish time using the scripts in this directory. Read more about my reasoning below, or skip to the directory structure.

Why?

Gatsby's source and transformer plugins are powerful, and I used them in the initial development of this site. I eventually decided that separating my collection process would be good for flexibility, control, and offline work.

Flexibility

GraphQL's filters and transforms are powerful, and Gatsby's APIs add more options for how data is fetched, cached, and transformed. However, complicated or non-standard data transforms and sanitization are much easier outside of Gatsby's ecosystem. For instance, the API starts to feel clunky for one-off treatment of specific content nodes,

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw-new/2488bcd5e5610f692773e7815fabdb247ece55f5COMMIT_2488BCD5E5610F692773E7815FABDB247ECE55F5Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Firehose: proof of concept]]>I'm experimenting with auto-generating nodes for https://rileyjshaw.com/lab from a variety of data sources. This project may eventually replace https://rileyjshaw.com.

This is the initial commit, completed quickly as a proof of concept. There's nothing much to show, but I want to deploy ASAP so I can test the full pipeline.

So far, everything has worked! Data from a variety of sources is already appearing on my local server. To reproduce:

So far, I'm surfacing data from:

Setting this up was EASY, which makes me excited for the future of this experiment :)

]]>https://rileyjshaw.commit--blog.com/rileyjshaw/rileyjshaw-new/f117f4faa75dca5fa109bac066adb3b3ee5c6cf7COMMIT_F117F4FAA75DCA5FA109BAC066ADB3B3EE5C6CF7Fri, 09 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Servo]]>A fork of the official Arduino Servo library, improved to match standard R/C pulse widths.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/Servo/tree/min-max-improvementsPROJECT_SERVOFri, 05 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[typing lazy (desktop only)]]>Try touch-typing an English word without moving your fingers from their resting position on the keyboard.

This was a proof-of-concept for a keyboard glove, which was implemented in hardware by mapping the trie to a directory tree.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/glitch-archive/projects/typing-lazy/PROJECT_TYPING_LAZY_14DESKTOP_ONLY15Sun, 10 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[hw]]>https://are.na/riley-shaw/hw-u1lmoisdnyuARENA_HW_U1LMOISDNYUWed, 21 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Huertbeat]]>Pulse available Philips hue lights to whatever is playing on Spotify.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/huertbeatPROJECT_HUERTBEATWed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[canvas]]>THIRTY-EIGHT rough visual experiments in alphabetical order.

Each experiment was built using a web tool I created in the spirit of OpenFrameworks and TouchDesigner. I wanted libraries close at hand with a simple API for drawing to <canvas>, SVG, etc.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/canvas/PROJECT_CANVASSat, 07 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[write]]>A chill place to write things.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/writePROJECT_WRITETue, 17 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Crypto Christmas]]>Improve your online privacy and security over the 12 days of Cryptmas.

I was interviewed for this work by NPR, the CBC, and PCMag.

]]>https://xmas.rileyjshaw.com/PROJECT_CRYPTO_CHRISTMASTue, 27 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[RileyJShaw.???]]>A single program that outputs my name when you run it through three separate programming languages.

]]>https://gist.github.com/rileyjshaw/216af3d73b16e35d462ea5a29da4bcd4PROJECT_RILEYJSHAW_1R1R1RThu, 27 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Cyber pilot (with controls)]]>Play this one in a small window. Arrow keys to move around.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/pen/YGQVqK?editors=1000PROJECT_CYBER_PILOT_14WITH_CONTROLS15Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[w h a t]]>Short narrative experiment written for the PICO-8 fantasy console.

]]>https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=27571PROJECT_W_H_A_TSun, 28 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Virtuoso]]>Play a .mid file at your own speed using a MIDI keyboard!

Works best with MIDI keyboards, but you can use your computer keyboard too.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/virtuosoPROJECT_VIRTUOSOFri, 17 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Keyboard keyboard]]>Use a MIDI keyboard as your laptop keyboard.

Hard press = UPPERCASE, soft press = lowercase.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/keyboard-keyboardPROJECT_KEYBOARD_KEYBOARDSat, 28 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Typing for two]]>A competitive typing tutor. Two players type different paragraphs on the same keyboard, simultaneously.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/typing-for-twoPROJECT_TYPING_FOR_TWOSat, 28 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Single line tiling]]>Tiling patterns from a single spiral with a fixed modulation signal.

Though the line’s formula stays consistent as it spirals out, the tile grid doesn’t increase in size.

]]>https://codepen.io/collection/nYWPBp/PROJECT_SINGLE_LINE_TILINGWed, 18 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Literate theme]]>A CLI tool to update your favorite text editor theme. Emphasizes comments and mutes everything else.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/literate-themePROJECT_LITERATE_THEMEThu, 12 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Circling circles]]>Very simple rule applied to a bunch of particles for a smooth ripple effect.

Changing the timing function on this one is extremely satisfying.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/xVQBLG/PROJECT_CIRCLING_CIRCLESTue, 03 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Jittery visualizer v2]]>Added a linear ramp and smoothing function to v1 to make the lowest frequency bin match up with the highest frequency bin in both position and derivative. The effect is a continuous circle, versus the “speech-bubble” notch effect of v1.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/oxaxqX/PROJECT_JITTERY_VISUALIZER_V2Thu, 28 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Typelab]]>Repeatedly apply a set of transformations to text.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/eZrzbK/PROJECT_TYPELABSat, 16 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Astronomie & Astrophysique]]>Small canvas demo using Lissajous curves.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/PNPVmK/PROJECT_ASTRONOMIE_12_ASTROPHYSIQUESun, 06 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Mechanical waves]]>Possible header for “Mechanical waves and sound” for Khan Academy’s new content redesign.

Includes a few variations.

]]>https://codepen.io/collection/XWQERV/PROJECT_MECHANICAL_WAVESThu, 25 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[whoami.py]]>My contribution to a collection of poems.

From the project page: “there is confusion in the mixed layers of metaphors. This is not an obfuscated code repository; not really. In some ways, it is the opposite.”

]]>https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eliawry/poetics/master/whoami.pyPROJECT_WHOAMI_PYThu, 31 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Dark Theme Everywhere]]>A forcefully applied dark theme for the web.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/dark-theme-everywherePROJECT_DARK_THEME_EVERYWHEREThu, 29 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[XOXO Bingo]]>Bingo cards generated from the attendance list of XOXOFest. The first person to meet enough attendees “won” the party.

Built hastily between speakers on the last day of the festival; requires login with Twitter to protect attendees’ identity.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/xoxo-bingoPROJECT_XOXO_BINGOSun, 13 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Touchtone math facts]]>A math facts app that you can play from a payphone.

Used to live at the epic phone numbers +1.480.360.MATH (US) and +1.647.360.MATH (Canada).

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/touchtone-math-factsPROJECT_TOUCHTONE_MATH_FACTSSat, 13 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Shepard-Risset Glissando]]>Auditory illusion of a tone that continually descends in pitch. It has been described as a “sonic barber’s pole”.

Implemented with the Web Audio API using custom oscillators.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/pen/OPwROr?editors=001PROJECT_SHEPARD_RISSET_GLISSANDOTue, 03 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Challenger]]>Pop-up programming challenges in your browser.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/challengerPROJECT_CHALLENGERThu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[28 Hour Day]]>A Pebble watchface that divides the week into six 28-hour days instead of the standard 24/7.

]]>https://apps.getpebble.com/en_US/application/54cadfd211e375bdc5000048PROJECT_28_HOUR_DAYThu, 29 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Hackers.cool]]>Retro command line emulator using my TinyTerm library.

Type “help” for command list.

]]>http://hackers.cool/~rileyjshaw/PROJECT_HACKERS_COOLThu, 08 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Fingerprint]]>In-browser keystroke dynamics demo using Tappy.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/tappy-fingerprintPROJECT_FINGERPRINTTue, 09 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Tappy]]>A JavaScript library for recording and comparing rhythms

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/tappyPROJECT_TAPPYSun, 23 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Folding tutorial concept]]>UI experiment for line-by-line tutorials. Annotations can be turned off to expose a complete code example.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/raNLdL/PROJECT_FOLDING_TUTORIAL_CONCEPTThu, 13 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Tic Attack Toe]]>Rapidfire, turnless tic-tac-toe with a custom websocket lobby.

Inspired by Kung-Fu Chess.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/tic-attack-toePROJECT_TIC_ATTACK_TOEMon, 03 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reaction]]>Reaction game that steals your history*. It exploits alpha-rounding to create an n-input OR gate for CSS :visited states, then probes links in sequential binary trees.

*This is a proof-of-concept and won’t actually steal anything.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/visited-vectors/reactionPROJECT_REACTIONMon, 27 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Tappy game]]>Tap the rhythm of the lyrics displayed.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/tappy-gamePROJECT_TAPPY_GAMEMon, 13 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Film-grain effect in 117B of JavaScript]]>Warning: contains a blocking loop that may cause browsers to hang briefly.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/pen/enfkcPROJECT_FILM_GRAIN_EFFECT_IN_117B_OF_JAVASCRIPTSun, 12 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Super slinky]]>No jQuery dependency, section progress shown in headers, click to scroll, resizable with scrollbar on window. Inspired by Slinky.js and DesignWall.

Currently doesn’t work on iOS < 8 since they mess with scroll events. If you use this in production, look into iScroll.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/pIFly/PROJECT_SUPER_SLINKYSat, 04 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Pairjam]]>Realtime web-based collaborative coding.

]]>https://github.com/neerajwahi/pairjamPROJECT_PAIRJAMMon, 15 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Placid tab]]>A minimal New Tab page for Chrome

]]>https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/placid-tab/mjcblgoejhkkkhgeadejhkpldglnfmcjPROJECT_PLACID_TABMon, 25 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Linescapes]]>An audiovisual experiment that generates landscapes from sound waves.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/linescapesPROJECT_LINESCAPESFri, 15 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Graphing depth]]>Pretty images from math.

Supports my blog post of the same name.

]]>https://codepen.io/collection/amDJo/PROJECT_GRAPHING_DEPTHThu, 31 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Sweep]]>A JavaScript library for smoother color transitions

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/sweepPROJECT_SWEEPMon, 24 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Own this website]]>An experimental online game of King of the Hill, on this very website.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/own-this-websitePROJECT_OWN_THIS_WEBSITEWed, 19 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Tiny boxes]]>Chat through happenstance. The interface adapts to meet demand.

]]>https://github.com/rileyjshaw/boxesPROJECT_TINY_BOXESWed, 19 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[terra]]>A JavaScript library for simple biological simulations and cellular automata.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/terraPROJECT_TERRASun, 09 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[CSS slope illusion in <140 characters]]>Are the base lines straight or at an angle?

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/pen/vzwsu/PROJECT_CSS_SLOPE_ILLUSION_IN_1O140_CHARACTERSWed, 20 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Planets]]>Pure Sass animated solar system.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/pen/yenLwPROJECT_PLANETSFri, 15 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[2p Snake]]>Snake for 2 players on the same keyboard?! Saucy.

]]>https://rileyjshaw.com/2p-snakePROJECT_2P_SNAKEMon, 11 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Sass animation grid]]>Collection of Sass animations.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/full/zGnlqPROJECT_SASS_ANIMATION_GRIDMon, 11 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Long-shadow input series]]>An attempt to give flat buttons some depth. Collection of inputs including radio buttons, checkboxes, and text inputs.

]]>https://codepen.io/collection/EJveuPROJECT_LONG_SHADOW_INPUT_SERIESMon, 28 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Worst practices]]>Some Javascript that I threw together for a friend to 1) solve his problem, 2) explain some hacky JS tricks, and 3) attempt to show him that they aren’t always great to use since they obfuscate your code.

There’s actually some cool stuff going on in here, so I’ve commented it thoroughly.

]]>https://codepen.io/rileyjshaw/pen/cKiDn?editors=0010PROJECT_WORST_PRACTICESSun, 13 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Zenwall]]>A depth-sensing grafitti wall for touch-screens & pen tablets.

Demo built for web browsers and Wacom tablets. Installation involved creating a large infrared plane behind a flexible display and sensing deformations using Community Core Vision.

]]>https://youtu.be/zQ5tKU3z1fcPROJECT_ZENWALLFri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT