Site

Static Site CMS

Why is it that there are very few file based, git backed, content management systems (CMS) out there? I see all over people using Hugo, Gatsby, 11ty, Jeckyll, and more to run their static site. The common denominator on all of these? They prioritize the use of .md files and flat-file systems to house their content. Although most of these can operate by pulling remote data from an API, this wasn’t the primary function.

Personal Websites

I’m currently working to update my website. It is really fun to find things and rebuild…but that’s for a different post. I’ve found it pretty difficult to build the front-page content for this one though. My current page is full of me and my life, from showing tweets, links, television, and the like. I really like this type of lifestreaming approach, I even worked with this topic on the lifestreamblog website.

One issue I have is the shear quantity of information on the front page and the overwhelming presentation if provides. I love looking at it, but not sure anyone else really does. So in this rebuild I wanted to explore what’s out there to see if there’s some inspiration I can take in making a new site.

Website Builders

My son mentioned to me he wants a website. I’m all about that! I would love to offer him a place to call his own. But I don’t want to half-ass it. Growing up we had sites like GeoCities, Tripod, and others that allowed us complete freedom over the sites we made. And we had great tools to get us there. Where did all these tools go?

As I said, I didn’t want to skimp on him and get him something that extremely formulaic. Sure, I could fire up a WordPress bucket and give him the capability to build with that, but WordPress has become so bloated and so full of fluff it’s not that easy anymore to get things looking like you want them to. There are great HTML templates out there to start from to give him something amazing to work with, but he’s just starting out and understanding HTML, CSS, JS syntax in order to get the design he wants is a large uphill battle.

This Year, This Notebook

Not 100% sure what I wanted to do with this site. I’ve let it languish for a couple years and not sure why. Just had other things that have gotten in the way. So maybe this year will be different. Maybe not.

What I want to try is just dumping some stuff on here. My original vision for the site was to spend a good amount of time writing something meaningful. Some serious thoughts about what I wanted to say. But I spent too much time editing those and therefore completely losing my drive to write. That’s what I’m hoping to change this year.

New Look and Feel

It’s the COVID isolation theme… A bit more svelte and easier to handle, but still in the vein of what I’ve established as my style. Right about now, is when I start talking about how I wish I would write more and that I will probably do it from now on…then the site sits still for months and months. So I won’t be saying that.

I would like to write more, but time is not on my side. So that’s why things stay stale. I have some ideas, but seems like I always do. Trying to work through the logistics of my plans and then go from there. But drink in the new look and love all the new fun stuff on the homepage.

Now in Color!

So what tends to happen this time of year is that I rebuild my site for whatever reason I can come up with. It’s what keeps me engaged, finding cool things to do, solving problems, and playing around. This time, I kept most of the basic style of my previous site but amped it up a notch with more flash.

There are 5 main updates that I want to highlight:

I Got A Newsletter!

So I’ve been tossing around the idea of starting a newsletter but didn’t really like any of the options out there in circulating one. Yes, Mailchimp and other services aren’t difficult, yes things like TinyLetter make it even more simple…but what I really wanted to do is basically share links. I never really wanted to create content for a newsletter. Digging up all that content for a quality letter is a pain and what I really wanted is a simple way of curating links I find across the net for the week and sharing those.

Why Don't I Post

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted much since getting the site up and running. That’s common. It happens on most people’s sites as they run out of time. I haven’t completely abandoned writing…but typing things out on the site has had its hurdles.

So What’s Up?

Time has gotten away from me. Yes, it’s an obvious excuse, but it’s true. But writing and time aren’t 100% what is going on. I have had time to write other things. I have a notebook filling up full of religious thoughts, emails full of political ramblings, and other things just lacking any completeness. I do have time to put thing down….just not much time to put it here.

Data Driven Site

I’m quite proud of my homepage. As I said before, I used to use services like Flavors.me and About.me for my main page because they did something particular…that gathered my info in one place. From social sites to image sites, these tools did that easily. But I started to realize I wasn’t showing what I really wanted…additionally I was having a hard time keeping those connections up as well. So it was time to make my own.

New Site!

I did it! I once again threw off the shackles of the old skin and slapped a new one on. This one is bigger, bolder, better, beautifuler, boomier, ballsier, boisterous, blistering, boilermaking, and bombastic. At least I like to think so. What do you think?

Notebook

The notebook is my new blog. I have cover images, large titles, and embeds. The “hamburger” icon [ ], yes…that’s really what it is called and I’m not a fan either but it’s a convention, will get you to all my personal links.

Wheres the Old Content?

So if I have a new site, new style, new domain…you’d think I’d scrub all my old content. But that’s not exactly true.

Where’s all my old content?

No worries, it is safely tucked away. Due to the site refactoring, the old content remains in it’s old domain: http://blog.traeblain.com/. All your old links will work, and it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

Below I am including all the links for posterity’s sake.

Digital Garden

What is this? This is my digital garden, it’s like a notebook but curated more like a garden is built. Unlike the standard chronological order that is a blog norm, this is organized by complimentary objects. Things are near each other that compliment each other. Also, this shows my drafts that I’m currently working on. By displaying the drafts, you can see the post as it grows. Check out some of the top posts, or browse the various topics…Enjoy.