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Kind: Notes

Short content: a post or status update with just plain content and typically without a title.

  • Here's a neat trick. I've got a web page with many HTML popovers, styled as modals to create a no-JS gallery/lightbox. But LCP suffers because the browser tries to reserve space for the images within (even though they're within not-yet-shown popovers).

    This CSS one-liner saved the day. It basically says "skip over not-yet open popovers on initial page render" -

    [popover]:not(:popover-open) {
      content-visibility: hidden;
    }

    I appreciate that Lighthouse isn't the last word in performance metrics, of course. But this change alone bumped an affected page's score from 76 to 100, so it's not nothing either!

    • Note
    • posted 25 September, 2026
  • Every time I see Sainsburys comparing the value-for-money of different brands of toilet roll, the abbreviation they use catches me out and I think they're telling me how much paper I should be "using".

    Full image of Online supermarket showing several brands of toilet paper with the price displayed alongside a breakdown showing the price (in pence) per hundred sheets (of toilet paper), but "sheet" is abbreviated to "sht" which looks like... a different word I associate with the product.
    Alt

    Online supermarket showing several brands of toilet paper with the price displayed alongside a breakdown showing the price (in pence) per hundred sheets (of toilet paper), but "sheet" is abbreviated to "sht" which looks like... a different word I associate with the product.

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 17 September, 2026
  • F-Day plus 214

    It's been 214 days since I had to evacuate my house following a flood, and repair work is (intermittently) underway. And there are so-many moving pieces to this dance that... it's little wonder that people are getting confused.
    Like:
    Our insurance company appointed a relocations specialist to handle our temporary accommodation needs (moving …

    Read more (384 words)

    • Note
    • posted 15 September, 2026
  • Pixel Area (@pxlarea@mastodon.social) launched a couple of weeks ago, and DanQ.me was selected to be one of the initial "seed" blogs that were there at the outset (I'm at https://pxlarea.com/x38y34).

    I'm... honestly not sure what to make of it. Organising personal websites spatially seems like a strange idea (although there's a list view available too). And 'pixel' seems to be a strange name (at my desktop resolution, my 'pixel' comprises... 169 pixels). It's got a little bit of a "million dollar homepage" (remember that) feel to it... though at least it's not operating commercially. In fact, the best thing about it seems to be that it's home-grown indie/smolweb content.

    I guess it's a bit like a webring? (Maybe it needs an embeddable component that lets a site show it's "space" and hop to neighbours?)

    So... yeah; I'm undecided on this one. But, as always, I love when people do cool, random and experimental stuff with the Web!

    Full image of Screenshot from Pixel Area, showing a blue 'pixel' representing Dan Q.
    Alt

    Screenshot from Pixel Area, showing a blue 'pixel' representing Dan Q.

    • Note
    • posted 10 September, 2026
  • That moment when you realise that you forgot your sunglasses but figure you'll just squint.

    Full image of A fawn-coloured French Bulldog sits on the wooden decking outside a back door, squinting as she looks towards the sun (evident from the direction of the shadows).
    Alt

    A fawn-coloured French Bulldog sits on the wooden decking outside a back door, squinting as she looks towards the sun (evident from the direction of the shadows).

    • Note
    • posted 10 September, 2026
  • Needed to renew my driving license. My new one doesn't have an EU flag on it. The sad reminders of Brexit just keep coming. 🇪🇺💔

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 9 September, 2026
  • I descaled the coffee machine yesterday. We live in an exceptionally hard-water area and this maintenance was long overdue.

    This morning I turned the machine on and something felt unfamiliar and wrong. I couldn't put my finger on what, until I realised...

    ...I'd gotten so-used to seeing the "descaling needed" light illuminated that I'd subconsciously forgotten that it wasn't supposed to be always-lit! Turns out that a warning left long enough becomes not just invisible but normalised!

    (Next, maybe I should do something about the 'check engine' light in the car. It's been on for a while too...)

    Full image of Close-up of the buttons on an automatic/beans-to-cup coffee machine.
    Alt

    Close-up of the buttons on an automatic/beans-to-cup coffee machine.

    • Note
    • 2 comments
    • posted 1 September, 2026
  • Letter with headline/subject "Your new 'simplified' Pension Annual Benefit Statement", with quotation marks around the word 'simplified' added for emphasis but giving the impression that it's not simplified, that's just what they're calling it.

    'Simplified'

    Well 'thanks' for the 'simplified' statement, I guess?

    Read more - about 1 minutes (8 words)

    • Note
    • posted 24 August, 2026
  • The clasp on my 'bi pride' watch strap is failing because, in an ironic twist, part of it needs to be made a little bit more straight.

    Full image of Close up of the buckle end of a worn, grimy watch strap in 'bi pride' colours.
    Alt

    Close up of the buckle end of a worn, grimy watch strap in 'bi pride' colours.

    • Note
    • posted 22 August, 2026
  • I'm a little fishsmith,
    Short and stout.
    Here's my anvil,
    Here's my trout.

    • Note
    • posted 21 August, 2026
  • I guess it's the laptop and the pile of towels that cause the confusion, but people keep asking me questions (usually in Spanish) about where to get towels from and whether they can use the pool at this hotel.

    Full image of Dan, a white man with a goatee beard and a blue ponytail, sits at a poolside table in a hotel roof terrace, using his laptop alongside a pile of towels.
    Alt

    Dan, a white man with a goatee beard and a blue ponytail, sits at a poolside table in a hotel roof terrace, using his laptop alongside a pile of towels.

    And I have to keep explaining that nope, I don't work here, I'm just watching my kids play while I catch up on my RSS reader!

    • Note
    • posted 19 August, 2026
  • Well that was pretty spectacular. 🤩

    Full image of Over the silhouette of hills, a total solar eclipse is just coming to an end, with a 'diamond ring' effect resulting from the sun's reappearance visible.
    Alt

    Over the silhouette of hills, a total solar eclipse is just coming to an end, with a 'diamond ring' effect resulting from the sun's reappearance visible.

    • Note
    • 3 comments
    • posted 12 August, 2026
  • A Roman aquaduct spans a forested valley.

    L'Aqüeducte Romà de les Ferreres

    Of all the architecture with which the devil is (per legend) credited with the construction, L'Aqüeducte Romà de les Ferreres might be the most impressive.

    Nice work, Satan.

    Read more (29 words)

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 12 August, 2026
  • No green and only two black wine gums in this bag? Feeling robbed.

    Full image of On a desk, a packet of Maynards' Wine Gums has been emptied out and its contents sorted by colour: there are five orange, two black, and ten red sweets.
    Alt

    On a desk, a packet of Maynards' Wine Gums has been emptied out and its contents sorted by colour: there are five orange, two black, and ten red sweets.

    • Note
    • 2 comments
    • posted 5 August, 2026
  • Sainsburys grapes confuse me.

    500g of white grapes are £2. 500g or red grapes are £2.20. So you'd expect 500g of half-red, half-white grapes to be... £2.10, right? But no, that's £2 too.

    So buying 500g of white grapes and 500g of red grapes is cheaper if you buy the mixed packs and then separate them. Why!?

    Full image of Online shopping screenshot showing four packets of seedless grapes. 500g red grapes are £2.20; 500g white grapes are £2.00; 500g red & white grapes are £2.00; 900g mixed (red, white and black) grapes are £3.95.
    Alt

    Online shopping screenshot showing four packets of seedless grapes. 500g red grapes are £2.20; 500g white grapes are £2.00; 500g red & white grapes are £2.00; 900g mixed (red, white and black) grapes are £3.95.

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 3 August, 2026

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