 THIS SITE'S ENGINE 

SCATTER TEXT ENGINE

 SCATTER TEXT ENGINE IS THE SYSTEM RENDERING EVERY WORD ON THIS SITE.
IT CAME FROM WANTING TWO THINGS AT ONCE: A PORTFOLIO THAT FELT
SPECIFIC TO ME, AND A PAGE THAT STAYED PLAIN AND EASY TO READ. 

ROLE: CREATOR

THE CONSTRAINT

 I DID NOT WANT A BUSY PORTFOLIO. THE CONTENT HAD TO BE EASY TO SCAN, AND
NOBODY SHOULD HAVE TO FIGHT AN INTERACTION JUST TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO. 

 AT THE SAME TIME A COMPLETELY PLAIN PAGE FELT WRONG FOR A PORTFOLIO. THE
SCATTER TEXT GAVE ME A NARROW PLACE TO BE EXPRESSIVE, WHERE THE WORDS AND
IMAGES COULD HAVE TEXTURE WHILE THE LAYOUT STAYED SIMPLE. 

WHY IT BECAME AN ENGINE

 THE FASTEST VERSION WOULD HAVE BEEN A SINGLE COMPONENT WITH ALL THE
ASSUMPTIONS BAKED IN. THAT WOULD HAVE WORKED EXACTLY ONCE, AND EVERY USE
AFTER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PATCH ON TOP OF A PATCH. 

 SO I SPLIT IT INTO PROPER PIECES: THE TEXT ENGINE, THE BROWSER LAYER, REACT
AND ASTRO BINDINGS, AND AN IMAGE COMPILER. THAT MADE THE IDEA PORTABLE
ENOUGH TO CARRY THE WHOLE SITE INSTEAD OF DECORATING ONE HERO SECTION. 

THE BORING PARTS THAT MATTER

 THE VISUAL EFFECT IS THE EASY PART. WHAT KEEPS IT FROM BEING A FRAGILE DEMO
IS THE REST: SEMANTIC FALLBACK SO THE CONTENT SURVIVES WITHOUT JAVASCRIPT,
SSR SNAPSHOTS, HYDRATION UTILITIES, RENDERER SELECTION, AND COMPILED
IMAGE ARTIFACTS LIKE THE HOMEPAGE PORTRAIT. 

 IF I AM GOING TO PUT A CUSTOM RENDERING SYSTEM IN FRONT OF MY OWN CONTENT,
IT HAS TO DEGRADE WELL, LOAD PREDICTABLY, AND STAY MAINTAINABLE AFTER THE
NOVELTY WEARS OFF. THAT IS WHERE MOST OF THE ENGINEERING WENT. 