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My my how things have changed since I first moved this blog to AWS hosting. For one thing, my previous Hugo Theme is no longer compatible, and hugo itself moved from YAML to TOML for configuration language. So that’s been a fun afternoon.

I’ve been following these excellent instructions that should automate the full deploy from checkin to push. Syncrhonizing the Github action will be interesting, but that’s just it–it’s INTERESTING.

Once I get this sorted, look for updates on the regular.

Well, that didn’t take long.

So earlier, I mentioned trying to make the deployment workflow easier.

Yeah, Hugo already did that.

The steps go:

1. install the AWS CLI
2. Do aws configure with your bucket details, locally.
3. follow the steps to setup. Here’s what I had to do in my config.yaml

   • order: [".jpg$","$.gif$"]
     targets:
       - name: "aws"
         URL: s3://www.devharryc.com?region=us-east-1
     matchers:
       - pattern: "^.+\\.(js|css|svg|ttf)$"
         cacheControl: "max-age=31536000, no-transform, public"
         gzip: true
       - pattern: "^.+\\.(png|jpg)$"
         cacheControl: "max-age=31536000, no-transform, public"
         gzip: false
       - pattern: "^.+\\.(html|xml|json)$"
         gzip: true
     

4. do hugo deploy

Hugo Deploy takes care of doing a smart diff/deploy so you don’t breach yours S3 free tier.

Let’s get this out of the way: Social media killed the blog.  Before 2007, there was a cacophony of individual ‘Blogs where people shouted their unvarnished opinions into the aether.  Some had quite a following, especially in tech.

The concept was strikingly simple:  Use a blog engine (like this one, Blogger) or bootstrap your own site on Wordpress and make your content accessible to anyone with an internet connection.  This was the internet at its purest:  Content and hyperlinks all “webbed” together, with idea building upon another free-flowing idea.

Dynamics?  Yes, dynamics.

1. In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc.) or functional (velocity). The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicatedynamics.

 I’ve read Peter Egan obsessively for years:  I have dead-tree copies of 2 of 3 Side Glances compilations, and one edition of Leanings that stoked a motorcycle obsession I’ve had since 2008.  Prior to that, I’d pick up copies of Road & Track in the Winn-Dixie in my hometown, read the Egan article and then place it back on the shelf above the sign, “IF YOU READ THEM BUY THEM. THIS AIN’T A LIBRARY [sic].”

It’s all fun and games until your audience starts forwarding your blog posts to your boss.

I’m tired of shooting myself in the foot by over-sharing.  So, this is over.  Haven’t decided yet whether the whole blog goes dark, gets deleted, or what (if any) content I’ll post here in the future.

I’d like to keep it as a place my kids can see their Dad struggle through his self-entitlement and selfishness to find the path to redemption (yes, over and over).  At this point, the whole thing is just a liability, and that makes me sad.

Yes, the blogging fad is over.

When it was invented, blogging was a giant leap beyond “creating your own website” by hand-coding HTML or using a program to ‘publish’ your site. Suddenly, you could type out your thoughts, embed images and let some other program handle all the layouts, storage, archiving, and hosting. Blogging exploded.

However, blogging is lonely, hierarchical. Comments made it better, allowing you to engage with other people. Still, it’s not a *conversation*. It’s like standing in a room with one person yelling statements and thoughts, then yelling ‘Whatta ya think of that?’

I know, I know…hypocrite! Still, I have some readers, and you never know who might drop-in.

Random thought I had in church yesterday: Lawyers and their derivatives (Judges, etc.) are the apex people of our society. There is no one more powerful, ultimately, than a lawyer in American society, because these are the people who mediate disputes between two or more equal parties. Without lawyers and a judiciary, democracy couldn’t exist with our current code of laws–people would get frustrated and start killing one another, and society would break down.

My blog used to be so interesting…I was reading through the posts from last year, and holy cow was it a fun read.

Was that ME writing those entries?

So sleepy…

A shout-out to my mom, the illustrious Dottie, who sent me this in response to my tongue in cheek blog entry below:

Write what you are feeling!  Is that not what a blog is all about?

Love ya, mom!

And I always *will* write what I want.

Didn’t realize my tongue-in-cheek post about Bill’s criticism of all the “car crap” on my blog would cause such an uproar.

Report from some of my faithful readers:

Bill and his Mom are both tired of reading the tripe that currently passes for deep thought in my blog. They’re tired of car-based topics, ramblings about pop-culture that are of no significance, and other topics not so funny as konichiwaffle.

Henceforth, my blog shall be devoid of such drivel.

…most of the time.

[AMENDMENT] Bill is just tired of the car stuff. The other stuff can remain :-D

Pretty decent discussion on Slashdot today about metaphors for software development. One of the more cogent posts:

_
Frankly, I always hated the whole cathedral vs bazaar metaphor. I don’t think it portrays well the virtues and faults of open source and proprietary software. I use proprietary software (MacOS + some closed apps) for the same reason I prefer to “dine out” rather than cook my own meals. I just want to choose something delicious from the restaurant’s menu - and I don’t care that my choices are limited. Yes, if you cook in your own kitchen, you can customize you meal the way you like it - as it is with open source software. But this will consume you a lot of time and effort, so most people would rather avoid it - unless they really enjoy cooking, have really to much spare time or are really short on cash. It’s similar with Free Software - you use it if you really like to ’tinker’ with everything or are really short on cash. But if you don’t like the former and are not limited by latter, you will rather go to a store with proprietary solutions - where your choices are obviously limited, but you’re saving time and effort. So I think restaurant vs kitchen is a better metaphor for proprietary vs free/open._

On Blogs with comments enabled:

(or “Harry’s Blog Comment Manifesto”)

Some blogs allow readers to comment on the articles. Mine does not, and will not. I can’t say this in a way that doesn’t come off as mean: I think they’re stupid. (er…‘silly’, for those households that have banned the use of stupid.)

Why do you ‘Blog? I think in essence, it’s to get your views on life out there for others to see, and to express yourself, be introspective, practice your writing, and comment on the course of your life and the world in general. (and given that last sentence, it also allows one to be highly redundant…)

“For Some, the Blogging Never Stops”

That’s right, cyber-citizens! Put down that laptop with the wireless connection, stop recording your thoughts, and back away slowly with your hands in the air! The intelligensia are freaked-out by people expressing themselves en masse.

While blogging is a great, cleansing, theraputic thing, it can be uncomfortable for your friends to read about the machinations of your current relationship, sexual escapades, personal trials and troubles, and your co-workers. So, it’s good to have more than one ‘blog, I think. One you can give to your friends and comrades in arms. Something that’s more like a journal and less like a diary.

This one’s named after ‘Harvid’, my personality with the most book sense. The other parts of me are fun and interesting, but not necessarily for public consumption (at least by those people who know me and/or have to work with me.)