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Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

tonsky.me

441–450 of 473 posts

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#441
post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what causes me absolute task initiation paralysis - the fear of not being perfect - even with my new attempt at adherence to "don't let perfection be the enemy of good enough" Does anyone else who comes into the house notice anything? Very unlikely unless they are craftspeople.

Here's how you do it, make everything so poorly in terms of fit and finish that it becomes hard to find things that are perfect (or even good). Embrace the aesthetic.

So you've seen my DIY attempts already? :)

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But that was an issue of philosophy that got trumped by practical needs Also very real issues like accessibility.

One thing I also seem to remember from the very old days, was that browsers wouldn't render the table until it was completely downloaded. So if your whole content was in a table, there would be nothing to see until the whole page was loaded and it could do the layout. But without tables you would see parts pop in as it was loaded.

I'm not sure what you're trying to imply acuut the accessibility of tables here.

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#445
post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are framesets even supported in modern browsers? They have been removed from the html standard.

They are still supported and works perfectly fine still. Remember that browsers supports different DOCTYPEs (HTML5, XML, HTML4 strict and non strict etc) and they are not going away anytime soon, probably thousands and thousands web sites out there that doesn't implement HTML5 and never will. Frameset is deprecated in HTML5, but your index page can be of the older frameset DOCTYPE and each frame valid HTML5 page with…

AFAIK no browser use the doctype for anything except for triggering quirks or standard rendering mode in css rendering.

But looking at MDN it seems you are correct, all mainstream browsers still support framsets.

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't built/done any of these and yet notice misalignments and it drives me nuts. Hundreds of thousands of dollars (equivalent in INR) spent to on buildings and they don't bother to align bricks; it's as if there's no value in aesthetics, visual beauty, symmetry etc., /rant

Which I find very interesting. I’ve seen that there are constructors in India that are very much capable of recognizing and correctly implementing the alignments, but you pay so so much more than the average constructors- and then you are often in a conundrum where you have to choose between paying market rate and getting equivalent precision, or to pay 5x market rate to get a very good standard.

I deal with tradespeople on and off and I have a feeling the work quality has drastically reduced from say 30 years so. There are a bunch of contributing factors which I'm a bit tired to list down here. The net result has been that the person who does the final actual work (brick laying, wood cutting, painting etc.,) is almost always poorly skilled, are constantly cutting corners. Even if I'm willing to pay more than the market rate there just aren't such workers anymore. And it shows in the things that's getting built.

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#447
post #126
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same happens when you: - Install flooring - Install trim in your own home - Build / install cabinets You will now see: - Odd flooring patterns and uneven floors - Know what it looks like when trim isn't coped - Uneven gaps between doors

I’m not entirely sure I agree with you on this. It’s hard for me to say because I really like the imperfections in things I build, for the most part. Like I’ll full spartle a wall (not entirely sure if this is the correct English description) and I’ll intentionally leave the finish less than “perfect” because I think it adds a little soul to it that will make me happy down the years. Then you have things like floorin…

Found the German? :)

"Spartle" = Spachteln? You may trowel your wall (with a trowel full of plaster). At least that's what I do here in Canada.

"Footlist" = Fussleiste? Leiste is not a list. Leiste translated can literally just be "trim" and "foot trim" is quite close - leave out foot and you have what it's actually called. Floor trim, baseboard, baseboard trim (to distinguish from 'baseboard' just meaning 'baseboard heating' if context isn't clear etc).

I think your parent, like you are saying in the end as well, was also less worried about seeing your own imperfections (tho that's of course a thing too) and more in line with the original comment about "not being able to unsee it" in general.

And that is definitely true. You see all the badly hidden imperfections from professionals. And you will also see all the well hidden ones but you still know they're there now while before you did it yourself, you never even noticed. It can also make your relationship with professionals worse because you will see the hiding but have trouble distinguishing the correct line between "well hidden but visible to the professional eye" and "bad job" :)

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#448

Don't read this article, if you are not in web dev. Once you start seeing it, you can't stop seeing it, and it will drive you crazy forever. It is the same for noticing misalignment, recognizing color oversaturation, high quality speakers/headphones, etc. (It is a good article!)

Hi I heard you might like to learn about keming.

Kern a man's letters, frustrate him for a day. Teach a man to kern, frustrate him for a lifetime.

Re: Hardest problem in computer science: centering things

#449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have this with spelling. Even a fractional glance at a poster/billboard/sign, without focusing my eyes on it, and certainly without reading a single word ... any misspelled word triggers a flag in my brain sort of "pinging" me with the precise location of the misspelled word.

The grocer's apostrophe (which I will argue should be called the grocers'(1) apostrophe, since there are many offending grocers) is the bane of my existence (1) My phone absolutely tried to correct that back to "grocer's"

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