Getting my ass in gear to make at least one post on the blog before the year is out. I started with trying to "debug" a problem where a post was missing images, only to realize the bug was me--I hadn't included the images in the referenced folder, or even created the folder itself! What's more, I couldn't find the referenced image file names anywhere, despite having a distinct memory of creating them by screenshotting! That was sure a trip.
Fortunately, once I resigned myself to the fact that the images either didn't exist or I couldn't find them in reasonable time/effort, it was easy to recreate them by running the org-habit-stats package commands and screenshotting the visualization again. Another reminder that any derivative information can be recreated as long as the original data is there.
With that problem sorted and no technical barrier with displaying images other than apparent PEBCAK (problem exists between chair and keyboard), I've moved onto reworking an old post made to a now-defunct website. This is a major reason to have a personal blog, after all, gathering up writings that are scattered, hard to access, or no longer available elsewhere. First editing pass done, just need an image or two and to cite my sources.
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
Additional, possible technical tasks for the blog in order of priority:
- Set up Dreamwidth crossposting.
I'd like to use my DW a bit more, but I dislike working with the web editor and prefer to have all my files at hand. I've set up Markdown-based posting on DW before back when this computer was on Mac OS. On the current computer Hugo has already created Markdown files out of my Org file, I just need to set up a script to email the files to DW--maybe at some kind of time interval so I don't overwhelm the timelines of any followers I still have on there. Just need the time and hyperfocus to do it, maybe something fun to work on at start of year.
- Change Hugo theme, or personalize PaperMod.
I like the PaperMod theme but it's so... monochrome and I have an itch to make it more "me," maybe make the background a warmer color and add a few splashes of color without being too distracting. Or maybe find another theme, but I love the simplicity of PaperMod and the single-column layout. I may also get rid of the "go to top" button, as this is evidently an accessibility hazard for users who magnify the screen a lot.
- Add a "series" taxonomy to keep related posts together.
Hugo accepts custom taxonomies to organize posts in addition to the default categories and tags, and I kind of want to try that with post series. I mean they're arguably another kind of tag, but I think series are distinguished by a more cohesive structure and subject matter, such as being read in order and covering a narrower subject matter than tags. They can be displayed in different ways, too, such as displaying "next" and "previous" links for other posts in the series and maybe even a full or partial list of links to posts in the series.
It'll take a little digging to get to all this, but there are lots of helpful posts out there and I look forward to immersing myself in the task once I have the mindspace for it.
- Add a comments section.
This one is way down in the list of priorities and I might never do it, but it could be one way to add interactivity to the site. The easiest way to get comments in my current Github Pages setup is probably Disqus, which I'm not terribly keen on. Maybe moving the blog to my own hosting will let me implement better options such as Web Mentions, but it's firmly in the realm of Not Worth It for now because I don't see any form of commenting/interaction gaining much traction unless and until I post more regularly and publicize the blog a bit more. And that itself isn't high on my list of priorities, since I use it more as a useful repository/archive than a platform. Crossposting to Dreamwidth may well be the lower-effort way to get reactions than having a separate comments section on my own site.
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@ljwrites i still follow you on Dreamwidth! Your markdown auto-emailer sounds like a neat trick—I think DW does have some native crossposting support but afaik it’s only outbound. Which is a shame bc they do have support for collecting inbound RSS already, they just don’t let personal accounts syndicate that way
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@ljwrites yeah that’s true! They’re almost finished redoing their web editor btw (one can turn it on in beta now but it’s getting pushed site-wide soon)—tho I imagine posting via email will still be best for your setup
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@Satsuma Yeah I'm unlikely to switch to web editor (too much of an Emacs cultist), but with the complaints I've been hearing about the direction Wordpress is going with the editor I'm curious where Dreamwidth is taking theirs. I imagine it's more media-friendly, that seems pretty inevitable.
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@ljwrites biggest change is that the backend is no longer old enough to drink I think haha — a lot of site improvements they want to make have been blocked by the need to bring the site into the 21st century aparently
No obvious media improvements yet but the new page is modular so I’m sure adding one in is high on their list
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@Satsuma lol yeah, part of DW's charm is its old Web feels, but the backend of things must have been seriously limiting! xD Denise going "Please don't tell me if my website's source code is older than you are; I already feel old as hell just thinking about it" is such a Mood, but it feels so positive that the site is still plugging on and there are younger users on it--it may be the most major platform that hasn't gone down the enshittification slide.
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@ljwrites yeah I am v glad they’re getting so much refactor work done, even though I can’t see most of it! Or really especially because I can’t see most of it
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@Satsuma Basically with backend work, the less users can feel it the better probably 
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@ljwrites yeah dreamwidth users are way to old and crotchety for visible changes unless its like, an Extremely obvious improvement
nerdy blog stuff (long, maybe this should be a blog post itself?)
@Satsuma Oh yeah, it was pretty good--the auto-email part was a bit of a struggle and I had to mess with Apple Script and stuff to get it to work, but it was nice once it did. Unfortunately the setup still had some unworkable bugs, but I think I can make a better version with bash scripting. I'm grateful DW has some option for external/automated posting at least, and email is a pretty flexible option for those of us who publish from local files.