“caret navigation”
i’d been thinking about making a “search bar” journal cover for a while. it was another straightforward idea and workflow, so why not? i had imagined trying an 8-bit style, but knew that would take some time. i wanted to make something quick-and-dirty for proof of concept, it didn’t need to be perfect or the only version. the primary requirement was that it live outside of my head.
looked at a couple examples to start: Google, iTunes, Chrome, etcetera and the like. most of the search bars were rounded, either with half circles at each end or filleted corners. most had a magnifying glass icon, and several had “search” faintly written in the bar prior to typing. i like that approach: using graphics and text to signify use.
what i didn’t know was what the blinking text cursor was called. i was sure it had a name. if there was design or engineering involved it had to be called something.
this is exactly the sort of question i’d be too bashful to ask out loud in certain company. it isn’t elegant, but it’s what i could think of to get where i needed to go. i typed my question into Google and bam: turns out, it’s called “caret navigation”. asked and answered.
not far below the highlighted Wikipedia answer was a link to a blog whose author was also curious about cursors. i clicked through and was pleasantly surprised to find a “blog blog” — the old school kind with minimal formatting. i read the post about cursors and a few others. turns out the author, Paul, has several blogs in addition to the self deprecatingly eponymous one i had clicked on. some dedicated to niche interests like flipping the bird to routine inconveniences of life such as COVID-19 spam emails or cooking lasagna. i like his writing, but not all of it was to my taste — and that’s fine. for me, that wasn’t the point… *
in many cases when i’ve searched Google and clicked through to a suggested link the results have been severely underwhelming. it was serendipitous to find a human voice in the din of corporate jargon and sponsored content. i was excited to stumble across someone else’s reflections in the process of documenting my own and seeing where our curiosities overlapped.
*growing up in the states and on the internet, and given the current state of the world, i have come to expect horrific things from white men online. i read the posts with some tension, anticipating super offensive stuff. nothing found, also not digging too deep. just thought that was important context to keep in mind.
started cutting my hair today, and now it’s short. shorter than i was going for originally, i can say that for sure. “just a little bit” went in one ear and out the other. so far, i’ve shaped the sides and trimmed my bangs. now i need help with the back. i’m waiting for the work day to end so Sam can give me a hand. this isn’t my first rodeo at the DIY haircut corral, but it is the first time i’ve cut my own hair from shoulder length. glad it’s curly. relying heavily on the texture to hide any mistakes…
today’s writing was an exercise in processing some of the tangential moments that happen when i’m working, and oh are there tangents! i had started writing this last week, but took a break to give myself room to breathe through some other things. it was also in an effort to distract myself from returning to my “home salon” before i can get some assistance. i even gave the shears to Sam to hide — i can’t stop!
i’m doing my very best to remind myself that the mullet i have right now is temporary, and that it’ll be ok if my hair doesn’t turn out perfectly (i’m not a professional, it’s sort of a given that it won’t be). i just don’t want it to be totally f--ked up… ugh. *fingers crossed*
(p.s. the escape key in draft mode gets rid of all edits. try not to remember that the hard way… again.)
