hrbrmstr's Daily Drop

  • Bonus Drop #99 (2025-10-04): Duly Noted

    THE DROPS ARE BACK! Today, we tackle three note-taking tools: Blinko, Piles, and Memos. Blinko is an AI-integrated self-hosted system with features for task management and Markdown support. Piles is a minimal web clipper lacking organization tools, while Memos offers a lightweight, self-hosted knowledge base focused on simplicity and data privacy.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #713 (2025-09-19): AVAST ME HEARTIES!

    Today’s Drop discusses accessing and utilizing U.S. maritime safety data, focusing on Anti-Shipping Activity Messages, while highlighting challenges faced due to changes in data accessibility. It describes a method to retrieve piracy-related datasets using R and DuckDB, emphasizing the need for continual data scraping to maintain a comprehensive dataset.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #712 (2025-09-18): Toss-Up Thursday

    Today’s Drop discusses diverse topics including readability tools to enhance writing clarity, the challenges of obtaining structured JSON from LLMs, and Apple’s introduction of a private CSS property for Liquid Glass effects.

    hrbrmstr

  • Bonus Drop #98 (2025-09-14): Observable Notebooks Data Loaders Example

    This week, the Bonus Drop features a practical example of using Python data loaders in Observable Notebooks 2.0. Data loaders enhance notebook performance by executing code in advance, facilitating access to diverse data formats. Observable currently supports Node.js and Python for data loaders, requiring Python 3.12+ and self-managed dependencies.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #708 (2025-09-11): Toss-Up Thursday

    More is less, in today’s Drop since it’s most-ly featuring pagers, SQL tutorials, and a bonkers number of drop-in CSS themes to make you looks like a CSS, SQL, and terminal genius.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #706 (2025-09-08): Idle

    Today’s Drop sits idly by while you learn about various “idle” items. (You’ll have to click into this one for the deets.)

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #704 (2025-09-04): Toss Up Thursday

    This unplanned anti-“AI” themed Drop covers: FreshRSS, a powerful self-hosted RSS aggregator; Compromise, a JavaScript NLP library for practical text analysis; and “Clankers Die on Christmas,” a satirical take on artificial intelligence.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #703 (2025-09-02): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s Drop discusses some spiffy syntax highlighting hacks using OpenType features, shows how to de-Google your fonts, and intros the unexpected journey of “@” into our everyday lives.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #701 (2025-08-28): Thursday Morning Grab Bag

    Today’s Drop discusses advancements in CSS, highlighted by the calc() function, and its surprising applications, particularly regarding infinity in calculations. It also examines vulnerabilities in AI image scaling as reported by Trail of Bits. Lastly, it mentions Yamanotes, a music box featuring JR Yamanote Line melodies.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #700 (2025-08-26): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s typography-centric edition of the Drop showcases 3 notable typefaces: Areal, a modernized version of Arial optimized for the web; Another Man’s Treasure, a TrueType font honoring the TRS-80’s character sets; and Myra 4F, a decorative Ukrainian display font. Each highlights unique design goals and cultural significance.

    hrbrmstr