Chris Pennington — Blog

Learning to Think Differently

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

More and more, I'm realizing that careful thinking and thoughtful direction is today's superpower. Here's how I've been trying to grow.

Pagefind: Static Search for Astro Sites

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Pagefind is a new static site search tool built in Rust and ideal for Astro sites.

Why Time Tracking Is The Secret To Productivity

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Until you know how long each task will take you, you can’t be predictably productive.

How Focus Led Me To YouTube

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT

My YouTube channel just hit 30,000 subscribers but no one was ever supposed to see it. Now more than ever, I’ve had to be intentional about my focus to keep the main thing “the main thing.” Here’s my story as it currently reads.

Safari Mobile is Ignoring My CSS

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Safari will upscale your text if it thinks text on your site is too small. Here's how to fix it.

Shortcut For macOS Save Dialog

Fri, 05 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Did you know you can enter a terminal-like save dialog option in macOS?

How to Create and Use Multiple VSCode Profiles

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

VSCode profiles are a great way to keep your work and personal projects separate. In this post, I'll show you how to create and use multiple VSCode profiles.

JavaScript Reduce Method

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:55:11 GMT

The reduce method is one of the most powerful array methods in JavaScript, but it can also be the most confusing. In this post, I'll explain how to use the reduce method in JavaScript.

VS Code Keyboard Shortcuts for Coding Productivity

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 16:55:11 GMT

VS Code is a powerful tool made more powerful and quick by a few key keyboard shortcuts. Here are VS Code keyboard shortcuts I use every day to be more productive while coding.

Introduction to Terminal Commands

Tue, 17 May 2022 20:30:43 GMT

When you’re first learning web development, the terminal can intimidating. Once you grasp the basics, however, you can move much more efficiently for most tasks through the command line. This post will introduce you to basic command line commands.

Templating Classes in Astro

Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:33:29 GMT

You can included templated language in Astro components to scaffold out dyanmic classes with the class:list directive.

Clear Mac Space Delete Adobe Cache

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:06:47 GMT

Adobe files can take up a ton of space on your mac, but you can limit how much cache they take up and/or remove the cache to clear up space on your hard drive if you know where to look.

Listing Array Items in Natural Language

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 02:17:00 GMT

When you have a list of name or items in an array, you can quickly convert the array into a string so they read in natural language (*, *, and *).

How to Update Npm Packages Safely With Npm Check Updates

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:25:04 GMT

When you come back to an old web dev project, it’s important to update your packages to get new features, bug fixes, and security patches. NPM Check Updates is a CLI that will help you safely make those updates.

Custom HTML Keyboard Maestro Prompt for Zendesk Support Articles

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 23:00:33 GMT

This Keyboard Maestro custom HTML prompt lets you query any Zendesk support center from your keyboard and allows for link pasting, previewing articles, and more.

How to Fix Logitech MX Master 3 Not Scrolling on Mac

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 23:16:52 GMT

When I transitioned to an M1 Mac, my Logitech MX Master 3 started acting oddly—sometimes not scrolling or letting me use the additional buttons or features. Here’s how to fix it.

ESV Bible Api Script for Raycast

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 19:36:41 GMT

I wrote a script that calls the ESV API using NodeJS and then copies the result to your system clipboard. It uses Raycast by default, but you could also adopt the script to work with another program or in another environment.

Custom HTML Prompt With Keyboard Maestro

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Keyboard Maestro’s Custom Floating HTML Prompt opens the door to endless automation with web languages and tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I wrote a custom HTML prompt script in Keyboard Maestro that let’s me quickly copy YouTube links from my channel.

Send iMessage With AppleScript

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 23:53:01 GMT

You can pass variables or arguments into an AppleScript to send custom messages to specific people.

Add Spacers in the macOS Dock

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 15:09:33 GMT

A short Terminal script on macOS can add either regular or small spacers to your macOS dock, which you can use to separate icons.

Add Styling to Keyboard Keys with CSS

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 22:07:26 GMT

You can style keyboard input keys with the element so it looks more like a physical keycap. Here’s the custom CSS I use on my site.

Create a Lazy Loading Custom Youtube Embed

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:13:03 GMT

Lazy load YouTube embeds and use the YouTube thumbnail as a cover. I’ll also show you how to add your own custom play button on the thumbnail image and (as a bonus) how to use the embed as a custom shortcode or partial in the Hugo SSG.

JavaScript new Date() Returns NaN or is Blank in Safari

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 19:19:36 GMT

Why is my JavaScript not showing in Safari? Are you trying to add dates in the wrong format? Safari does not allow for all date formats and trying to add new events may show blank or throw an error in Safari if you’re using the wrong format.

How Do You Write a Variable in JavaScript?

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 19:54:13 GMT

Learn how to write JavaScript variables for beginners. I’ll cover three variable keywords, naming conventions, and variable values.

Introduction to JavaScript

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 18:54:05 GMT

This guide offers tips for learning JavaScript, emphasizing the importance of focusing on concepts over syntax, building projects from scratch, embracing failure, and iterating to improve skills.

Compile and Minify SCSS with Gulpjs in Hugo

Sat, 19 Dec 2020 18:20:02 GMT

With GulpJS, you can automatically compile, prefix, minify, and rename your SCSS to CSS.

How to Crop a Gif to a Square

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 18:51:05 GMT

If you need to crop a gif to 1:1 or crop a gif to square, there's a great command line tool called gifsicle that can crop, resize, and adjust your gif in a bunch of different ways.

Git Icon Set

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 15:36:43 GMT

A free icon set for common Git commands for iOS Shortcuts, Omnifocus Perspectives, macOS folders, or any other needs.

Change Mac Output to Speaker or Homepod

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:10:20 GMT

Airplay to a HomePod from your Mac or switch to any speaker output without scripting—just a simple Keyboard Maestro macro.

Delayed Texts with Apple Shortcuts

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT

I created a system to scheduling out delayed text messages using Apple Shortcuts and Data Jar.

Git Commands

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 15:46:42 GMT

A basic guide to regular git commands I always forget…

Hugo Setup

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 21:04:03 GMT

A basic guide to setting up a Hugo site with GitHub and Netlify.