hrbrmstr's Daily Drop

  • Drop #768 (2026-02-05): Docs & Diagrams

    Today’s Drop covers the release of Pandoc 3.9, whcih features a WASM build for client-side document processing, enhanced PDF support and configuration flexibility with JSON. It also pokes at mermaid-rs-renderer, a Rust-based tool for rendering Mermaid diagrams in various formats, and introduces Pretty Mermaid Skills which allows LLMs to generate and render Mermaid syntax into…

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  • Drop #766 (2026-02-03): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s Drop features the 2025 Web Almanac’s font section which reveals that 88% of websites use web fonts, with self-hosting at 72% being the leading delivery method. Additionally, fontdata.com offers a practical tool for checking font name availability, while the featured POI Aeronaut font provides unique stylistic alternates.

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  • Drop #758 (2026-01-15): Typography T̶u̶e̶s̶Thursday

    The late-on-so-many-levels post covers Emily Sneddon’s essay on the Fran Sans typeface, which chronicles its origins from SFMTA’s destination displays; Oliver Schöndorfer’s talk on how typography affects usability in conversion rate optimization; and a feature on the Ductile Display font by Titus Homei.

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  • Drop #755 (2026-01-08): Let’s Get Visual

    Today’s Drop discusses two projects enhancing data storytelling: Lumino, a high-performance JavaScript framework for building complex web applications, and HPCC Systems, an open-source platform offering a versatile visualization library built on D3.js. Additionally, the Pew Research Center highlights effective 2025 data visualizations, emphasizing appropriate chart types for various data narratives.

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  • Drop #754 (2026-01-06): Typography Tuesday

    The first Typography Tuesday Drop of 2026 covers two presentations. The first is from the 39th Chaos Communication Congress and explores the complexities of real-time text rendering while the second introduces a font that features built-in TeX syntax highlighting. Additionally, Google Sans Flex, a versatile open-license font, is highlighted for its adjustable design attributes.

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  • Drop #753 (2026-01-05): Monday Morning Grab Bag

    Today’s Drop discusses advancements in scrollytelling using CSS rather than JavaScript, the CSVW/FDP standards for enhancing CSV files with structured metadata, and Craig Silverman’s new OSINT media venture, Indicator, aimed at teaching verification skills amid rising disinformation.

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  • Drop #745 (2025-12-23): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s Drop covers the RFSL’s “Human Writes” font designed to evade Meta’s ad ban, allowing messages deemed political to be visually obscured. It also covers David Jones “pay-what-you-want” bundle of fourteen fonts, “Advent of Type 2025.” And, shows how to “hack” Adobe to use their fonts without breaking the bank.

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  • Drop #741 (2025-12-08): Monday Afternoon Grab Bag

    Today’s Drop covers three main topics: Euporie, a terminal-focused suite for working with Jupyter notebooks featuring various applications; Alan, a macOS utility for outlining active windows; and the intriguing voyage of Argo float 7900904, which collected crucial ocean data near East Antarctica during an unexpected journey beneath ice shelves.

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  • Drop #740 (2025-12-02): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s edition of the Drop focuses on typography, nostalgia, and tools of the past. It features John D. Berry’s essays that celebrate the history of typography, Letraset’s origins as a tactile tool, and introduces Glina Script, a versatile handwritten typeface.

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  • Drop #739 (2025-12-01): Web-Slinging Monday

    Today’s Drop discusses the growing problem of excessive web page weight, highlighting a median size of 2.6 MB that impacts load times and accessibility. It features two lightweight web development resources: Pure Web Bottom Sheet for building efficient UI components and PicoStitch’s method for creating responsive bar charts using minimal CSS.

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