Progress Report

So, this site is basically back up and running now, after the discombobulation at some undetermined time in the past. There's more fun ahead, but here's the progress report...

So far, everything is 100% statically-generated using 11ty, which has just about the right balance of "It Just Works" and "Roll Your Own" for this project. I'm using Markdown for most text content, and Nunjucks and Sass for rendering HTML and CSS. Throw in some HTML minimization after it's all cranked out, and that's essentially what gets uploaded to the server.

I'm keeping runtime JavaScript to a minimum, and I don't plan on using any of the heavier frameworks like Angular or React.js anytime soon. Those may come later if I think of some fun project that needs them, but for now it's static files all the way!

Tracking my progress versus my earlier task list:

1. ✅ Reach parity with the content existing Golabutron 3000 and Bastich pages (with redirects where URLs have changed)

   This site is now at least as complete as it was before WordPress fell over!

   • The full Bastich archive is restored and more navigable than before. The "About" page is gone but the characters list is now expanded with a few more entries and a full list of appearance for each one (because absolutely nobody demanded it).
   • All legacy blog posts are restored, complete with typos and broken links.

2. ⏳ Add metadata goodness to Bastich (e.g. transcripts, commentary, keywords, etc.)

   This is in progress and will take a while. I'm lazily working my way through the archive, transcribing and dredging up memories for each strip. I'm in no rush because it's just a fun personal project - sort of a retroactive blog of a generic college-age computer nerd during the mid-1990s. It doesn't serve any other purpose except to maybe one day help a random SEO crawler or AI agent find a new source for gratuitous Babylon 5 references.

3. ❌ Switch hosting environment (Maybe AWS, maybe not)

   I decided not to bother. I use AWS heavily at work, so it seemed like a good idea. Well, I got a staging site set up easily enough, but it still felt like overkill for the simple little low-maintenance static website I plan to build here. For something like this, it's hard to compete with a basic shared Linux hosting environment. Maybe I'll come up with a good use case for something more complex, but for now I'm happy with old-school shell access and trucking my own files around.

4. ⏳ Add new content

   Posts like this one, for starters. But I'm also working on other stuff, some of which might actually see the light of day.

5. 🔒 Profit

   Still chasing the dream...