Z Space Blog - The Site

A New Direction

2014-07-10T12:51:11-07:00

My history of web development goes back a little over ten years. In that time, I've really not built things as well as I'd have preferred. One thing that never changed is that I continued learning and trying new things. But maybe I didn't try enough new things, and held onto older things simply because "Hey, I built that." Sporkblog is a part of that, despite it being the only project I've really stuck with. I've been questioning whether I should continue work on Sporkblog or if I should move onto something that can teach me more.

Does a carpenter hold onto the first thing that he built? That's doubtful; it's probably built with nails that are too large, there are dents where he missed the nail with the hammer, it's wobbly, and it's uneven. It's a shoddy example of craftsmanship. While the carpenter appreciates where he came from, he also realizes that he built that object poorly and learned from it. A simple picture would be good enough to remind him of his first project.

When I think about that and how it applies to me, I wonder if it's time to scrap Sporkblog, but hold onto some screenshots of it so I can look back and remember the things I learned. Maybe write a post-mortem and really dive into the details. I know I'd love to see that sort of stuff from other projects. At any rate, I do think it's time for a change. There are a number of changes that I have in mind:

Architecture

This blog's content is generated solely by me. I originally set out to make a general tool with Sporkblog, to make it easy to use and collaborate. I can only assume it works as advertised, as I've never collaborated with it. The only itch I wanted to scratch was a straight-forward publishing tool that has a lean layout. I ended up spending the majority of development time on the administration tools; post managers, tag managers, site settings and storage, user authentication, and so on. While these things were fun to learn at first, implementing them can be a royal pain in the ass. They're the bread and butter of a CRUD application, however, so that sorta comes with the territory. In my use and management of a Sporkblog installation, I realized I don't really want a CRUD website of my own. Editing posts and tags and whatnot can be convenient over the Web, but personally I want something simpler: a static site generator.

Why a static site generator? For starters, they're more secure. No user account to worry about, no cookies, no backend (beyond the web server). That also means a lot of backend software doesn't need to be written. The existing infrastructure (FTP) is enough: connect, upload, profit! A site update can be automated, too, if you have something like rsync available. I use an FTP client every time I interact with my server. Switching to a static site generator allows me to update the blog's content at the same time I make layout changes or add media files, etc. It makes it more friendly to put into git, too. Long story short, a static site generator is exactly what I've been looking for.

One of the cons to this, however, is my appreciation for commenting facilities. I'm very picky with those, too. It needs to be easy, simple, allow anonymous commenting, and if possible some editing and deleting (for one's own comments, at least). Oh, and no registration or silly, warped CAPTCHAs. I'd prefer no Javascript, too, since it's just comments; refreshing the page to read more should be expected since HTTP is stateless. So I have two choices:

Option 1: Static Site Generator

Assuming I can find a decent generator, I won't have to write any real code: just a template and some CSS. That's a huge plus, because I can't stand PHP. That alone makes me want to jump at it. However, if I go in that direction, I lose comment facilities, and I may be limited in what I can do with the blog. It comes down to the generator. If I'm forced to, I may have to build one myself. I have a feeling there are lots of options out there, though, and I shouldn't have a problem.

What's more important is the lack of commenting. I can setup a contact form, which could make use of the simple anti-CAPTCHA system I wrote, and people could use that to send an e-mail my way. It's only one page's worth of programming, and I'd learn a bit about e-mail headers. It could be fun, and still give people the means to contact me. There are also other avenues of discussion, like Reddit, Fark, Hacker News, etc. that people could use to discuss my posts. Of course, that's all assuming my content's worth talking much about. :P

Option 2: Generated content, dynamic commenting

This option is a little more accomodating for readers. I value commenting a lot, because there's little point in blogging if you aren't out there to start a conversation about something. I think that while comments typically have little value to them, they can be an avenue or catalyst to deeper discussion, which includes the author expanding on what they wrote about, corrections, or more. Getting that dialogue started is one of the hardest things, I think.

On the technical side, the backend would be very simple. You'd have a single-point-of-entry page, as is typical for a web application. The commenting system could be lifted from Sporkblog and improved a little, and a middle ground is achieved. The only reasons I can think of to avoid this are (A) I'll have to write PHP, and (B) it wouldn't be a purely generated, static site anymore. I haven't decided whether it's worth adding the comment system in yet.

Purpose

One of the reasons I started web development is I wanted to make things and share them with other people. I like the feeling I get when someone likes something I've made. I enjoy making things in general, but when someone else likes what you've made, there's a feeling of pride and satisfaction. Validation, one might argue. "Cool, someone else likes this. Maybe I should make more things." I soon learned that my work pales in comparison to the work of thousands, if not millions of others... but does that mean that I shouldn't make things and shouldn't share them? I'm inclined to believe that if I did shut things down, I would be unhappy. So that's not really an option.

I think what might be better is a refocus. That requires me to take a good look at the content on Sporkbox and decide which is the most important or most fulfilling. To that end, I think Sporkbox should become a place about video game design, programming, philosophy, and reviews. Artwork by me will still appear, but likely not on the blog itself. This reflects the kind of content that I enjoy reading and writing, so it only makes sense for my website to reflect the same. I think following this will lead to a better website, both for me to write and for people to read.

Tone

This is closely related to purpose. The tone of content can completely change the feel of it, thereby influencing what sort of audience you'll reach. It can influence the way you think about something and the way you react to it. In looking over the content on Sporkbox, I noticed that a not-insignificant amount of my content has a sort of provocative tone to it. While I feel no remorse or regret over what I expressed in those posts, I feel that they do a poor job of providing much in the way of quality content and bring negativity to a place that I originally intended to be positive. I want to be able to visit my website and think to myself, "I'm creating a fun and enjoyable place," not "People will totally see I'm right about X!" or "People need to know what's happening in Y situation!" Those messages can be valid and even important, but they're not what I want here anymore. Additionally, I want to avoid current events in my posts, since they're temporal in nature and generally serve little purpose beyond click bait.

Name

Lastly, I think a name change is in order for the future. I got the name "Sporkbox" from my computer's hostname, which comes from my cat, Sporky. The thing is, Sporky's going to be 13 this year. That's roughly the equivalent of 65 years for humans. So, while she'll likely live quite a bit longer, that's still not long compared to how long I may operate this site. Should this site outlive her, I don't think I'd have the heart to work on it. I love my cat very much, and she's an incredible influence on my life, but I'm not sure my website should be named after her anymore. I have no immediate plans to retire sporkbox.us or any Sporkbox-related things, since I don't have a replacement name yet. But keep in mind that a change is on the horizon.

Design

Simplicity is one of the core principles that I try to adhere to, whether it's in design, implementation, art, or life itself. It's a very powerful force that has done nothing but good things for me. Sporkbox's current design looks fairly good, but isn't all that simple. I want to aim for something more minimalist, functional, and responsive (so smartphone users can peruse it). This will rid the design of distractions and leave nothing but the content to speak for itself. I like the idea of that very much, and I'll work to make that a reality with the new design. That's likely months away, however, so there's nothing set in stone. Thankfully, with the lack of admin tools I need to build, it should be much easier and faster to produce a good-looking, responsive layout.

tldr

In short, this website has a lot in store for it in the coming year. I'm likely going to a static site generator, the topics and tone will be more refined and focused, and even the name is likely going to change. These things are happening in order to make my website a more pleasurable place to visit and to bring higher quality content to the forefront. The new design that's coming will bring that emphasis with it.

If anyone still visits this blog, I appreciate your viewership and hope to gain a few more eyeballs on this site. These upcoming changes should be an improvement for me and you. Thanks for reading.

2022-12-11 UPDATE: It's been a while since the transition happened, but the website was renamed to zlg.space. The name of the blog itself is subject to further changes, even today.

Car Repairs, Saving, and Upgrades, oh my!

2013-07-04T08:11:35-07:00

It's been a little while since I've posted. Much of my time has been spent on reddit, since I finally caved and got an account over there. I've also been working more on my K&R exercises and working my way through Metroid Prime 3 to get all the goodies. Hypermode is pretty tough, even for me! I died five times on the Mogenar drone battle, when Veteran difficulty didn't give me any real issues! It's certainly worth playing through if you enjoy a good challenge like me.

Car Repairs

As mentioned in an older post, my car started stalling back in December. I narrowed down the cause to the throttle position sensor. It's an itty bitty sensor that's affixed to the bottom of the throttle body and is responsible for telling the engine how much fuel to use. At least, that's how my cartarded self interprets it! Anyway, it's in a stupid place on my 1994 Buick LeSabre; too cramped to use a regular screwdriver to get it out, and there's a metal pipe right underneath it so I can't fit a small screwdriver in there, either. I had bought a gasket for the throttle body since I figured I'd have to take it off to get to the sensor a little easier... NOPE. There are a lot of bolts and nuts in some really strange places that made getting the throttle body off in a timely manner impractical with standard everyday tools.

I decided "screw it" and used a pair of pliers to (slowly) extract the screws from the old sensor, and used them to put the screws back into the new one... but not before going to the hardware store and buying nicer screws that were too large. Did I mention I was seeing my daughter that afternoon and was in a hurry? Yeah... what a peachy day that was. Since the skin on my hands is somewhat soft and thin, I didn't get through the ordeal without a few light cuts and a bruised thumb knuckle from using various tools all day.

I learned that day why mechanics tend to curse a lot. But hey -- at least I did it! My sister's husband and a friend helped me as well, but they let me do most of the work. It felt good to basically fix my car on my own. Oh yeah, the sensor ran me about $60. For something so small, there's no way it cost that much to manufacture and test. Oh well, it doesn't stall anymore. Now it needs tires and probably brakes!

Saving Moolah

Before Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan came out, I preordered it. Because I'm a sucker for preorder bonuses and Atlus is pretty badass. There's a catch to this: I don't own a 3DS! So I've begun saving for the 3DS XL. I've culled my game collection to afford things in the past, but as a result my collection today is less than half what it was; I'm running out of games to sell! Work's been picking up, but it's still not enough to let me venture out and just pick up a 3DS XL. I need to find a better job... Oh yeah, I also bought the new Animal Crossing because it was on sale. Stop me, I'm buying games I can't play yet! :/ Maybe I can sell a few more games or get a Web project commission or something. Anyways, I should have a 3DS XL by my birthday. If not, I'm going to be angry. Etrian Odyssey and Animal Crossing need me!

Upgrades, anyone?

Sporkblog 2.2 is in the last-minute testing phase. The new version should be live by the weekend and introduces a few logical and visual changes. Now I can cut off posts anywhere I want in list view. This will result in a little "Read more" link so it clutters up the interface less and allows you to focus on the article. This won't be used for all posts, but I think it's a usability enhancement that'll be appreciated.

Another upcoming change is comment editing. There have been a few discussions on here where my inability to edit comments produced a few confusing comments. When 2.2 goes live, I'll be auditing every comment for requests to correct information or clear up any typos for people. Commenters still will not be able to edit, as that requires setting a cookie for each comment they make (or session variables), and I don't agree with that sort of design. It also can lead to changing a comment after someone's responded to it. Kinda dishonest. That said, there's more that I want to add to better the experience. We'll see what the future holds!

On a semi-related note, I've taken to updating my Gentoo GNU/Linux system on a monthly schedule. This allows me to isolate the cause of breakages and if I plan them for a weekend, I have time to work kinks out. Since this is my only computer at the moment, it's important for me to always have it working. I've been meaning to shop around for a laptop, but nothing out there speaks to me. I want modest specs so I can code, write, and browse, with a long battery life and strong keyboard design. I'll probably be using my Typematrix 2030 most of the time, but still... I wish they made Dvorak laptop keyboards! If you have a laptop to recommend that's friendly to Linux or BSDs, please let me know in the comments! I'm hoping to spend less than $400 if possible. This is obviously a long-term wish since I can't even afford to fix my car now, but it's important to have goals!

Say hello to my new rig!

2011-06-15T05:24:04-07:00

The build is finished! I built it on May 28th and have spent most of my computer time configuring it ever since. Here's a rundown of what's under the hood:

ASUS M4A88TD-M, AM3 880G, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, USB 3.0
G.SKILL Sniper DDR3 1333 (2x4GB)
2TB HITACHI Deskstar 5K3000 SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 3.5"
AMD Phenom IIx6 1090T Black Edition 3.2 GHz, hexcore

The mobo has an onboard AMD Radeon HD 4250, so it will hold me over until I buy a graphics card for it. I'm aiming for the $100-150 price range, which puts me between a Radeon HD 6770 or a GeForce GTX 550 Ti. I don't do any heavy PC gaming, so I have no need for insane graphic capability. Even the 6 cores are more than enough.

I want to try some new software with this build once my main apps get setup. Thankfully I only have a few more apps to setup before I can start exploring. I've already switched from GNU screen to tmux, however. The switch was very smooth. What took me a day or two to configure in screen could be achieved with an hour or two with tmux and its great manpage. I'll be sharing it via my cgit installation soon. I'll likely be getting rid of screen, but will hang onto the configuration file so people who decide to use it have a configuration that's nice or gives them ideas.

2022-08-29 UPDATE: This rig is still going! It's mostly for some mid-tier PC gaming from time to time, but there's an AMD RX580 6GB powering the graphics now. Whatever I build next won't need a new card for a little while. :)

Why Review Scores are A Bad Idea™

2009-08-24T11:31:42-07:00

I suspect some people may take notice of this some time, so I decided to answer the question pre-emptively:

Why don't any of your reviews contain scores?

Short Answer

Scores defeat the point of writing a review. My thoughts are not easily shoved into a numeric mold.

Long Answer

When you read a review for something, what matters? If you answered "score," you're wrong. Someone could post a negative review with a top score, or a positive review with an abysmal score. There are two primary questions that should be answered in every good review:

Would you recommend this product to someone else?
What reasons do you have to support your opinion?

It's really that simple. That's why a lot of sites have gone to "Yay" or "Nay" systems; they're simple and they allow for greater expression instead of mulling over which specific number to assign to it.

My reviews follow this principle. I urge readers to follow this elegant simplicity and do the same for their reviews.