Hey friends,

I try not to tell dad jokes.

But when I do, he thinks they’re really funny.

(Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!)

Thinking Too Hard

Web Components are weird.

I REALLY want them to be a thing. I love the promise of 'it works everywhere!'... but in almost every instance that I've worked with them, they've been a pain.

Dave Rupert had some thoughts a few years ago on why they haven't taken over the internet. These all add up to a certain friction when trying to implement them. They're slow, arcane, and can be implemented poorly, leading in some cases to mountains of JavaScript that start to make you question why you're using them at all.

But it's not all bad. Nolan Lawson reminds us they're exceedingly good for client-rendered leaf components, for agnostic-all-the-things drop-ins. People often cite design systems as a good use case as well, which I agree with in theory. I would argue that they are the harder path for a design system, only useful if you TRULY need the encapsulation and portability.

I like this quote that Nolan surfaces from Ryan Carniato:

"[I]n a sense, there is nothing wrong with Web Components as they are only able to be what they are. It’s the promise that they are something that they aren’t, which is so dangerous."

They're not a framework replacement. They have their problems, but they have strengths too.

I'm still rooting for web components.

Interesting Web Bits 🍜

Web Stuff

• Adam Argyle has made a 'runtime state for CSS' called Prop for That. If nothing else, it's a nice demo of JS-to-CSS-variable possibilities.
• Every frame matters in animation.

Other Stuff

• I, too, love the computer. I can still remember the feel of the floppy disks and the white-and-green display of the family Apple II...
• Oof. A little too real: the quiet grief of adult friendship.
• The smol web is beautiful, I love looking through personal websites.
• Huh. I get motion sick... I wonder if this would work for me?
• Julia Evans reminds us to write for one person.

👽 Weird, 📺 Watch, and 🎮 Play

• 🎮 Sail around as a pixel pirate
• 🎮 If you haven't had enough pirates, you can play this homage to Sid Meier's Pirates (the original one, not the remake).
• 🎮 A Putt-A-Day keeps the boredom away.