Blog Posts

Quick update on the recommendations/picks page today.

I have added in a Top Picks section that will be visible at the top. These will, obviously, be the ones I find to be top tier. I wll keep this number small. At this time, I only put a couple there, and will probably rotate things out over time. This is just a good way to draw attention to some of the best things. Note that this section will go away, by design, upon filtering by a category.

Additionally, I populated several additional picks to include books and more YouTube channels. I did drop in some additional games as well.

The challenge I am running into with recommendations, such as books, is that often it will be a series. Do I want to list every book, in this case, individually or just the first book in the series, as I have done for now. The same thing can apply to games, tv, movies, music, etc. Does it make sense for me to list (almost) every Metallica album, for example? I may need to revisit how these are handled and add some additional option for a collection, not just individual recommendation. For now, with some of the books I started linking to additional ones in the series. If anyone has any feedback on a preferred way to handle this feel free to let me know however you talk to me or via the contact page.

Made a few more small updates and bug fixes, primarily focused around the history page.

• Fixed syncing adding incorrect and old raids
• Fixed sequence getting reset on sync
• Fixed main status getting reset on sync
• Added class color to character names in the raids
• Added additional management controls behind the scences

Also made some minor tweaks to the about page tonight.

Additionally, I have recently resolved the sitemap not being updated properly, fixed some contact page issues, and added an rss feed. Sure there is a bunch of other minor stuff I forgot to mention.

I have mostly been working on getting the forums on my old Age of Conan guild site updated, cleaned up, and open again, not that I expect anyone to use them going forward.

Been thinking about some actual topics to post besides site updates here, so I hope to start doing something with that soon.

More updates...

I am still working at updating the site to modernize and add additional functionality. Keep an eye out for new changes, and please let me know if you run into a problem. That can even be done through the new contact form if you choose!

What is new since last time?

• The previously mentioned contact form is available with cloudflare protection.
• Added a Picks page with recommendations that are filterable by category. The description area is small, so be sure to click the pick for a pop up with more information!
• Revamp of YouTube videos section (not that there is anything new there at this time) to clean up the view.
• Updated the Twitch banner to match the site and provide a live (muted) preview on the side.
• Added API integration to automatically update my WoW history, so that should be updated automatically going forward. Some minor tweaks may be required, and I had to go back in and remove incorrect raid clears from later farm runs based on Warcraft Logs history.
• Updated About page with additional information including a link to my linktree style socials page.
• Uploaded more photos of games and cats.
• Optimized image sizes and formats for banners to improve loading speed.
• Updated thumbnail styles to behave in a similar way with a zoom on hover animation and red border.
• Various other quality of life on the CMS side of things for me maintaining the content.
  • Added multiple image upload support.
  • Added drag and drop image uploads.
  • Added dragging of raid history to reorder.
  • Fixed issue where some modals were not accessible when adding tags on certain pages.
• More I am sure I am forgetting...

I have been working on adding some functionality and modernizing the site, some things that have been long over due. Feel free to provide me any feedback or suggestions on things. Still a lot more to potentially do, but I think this is a good start.

A quick overview of the changes made includes:

• Revamped the theme: colors, fonts, spacing, etc
• Added a filterable gallery section to share photos and screenshots
• Added an about page with some details
• A bunch of behind the scenes tools for managing these and existing functionalities to make continuing to add and modify content easier

Keep in mind the history and downloads are not very up to date at this time, but as I add more tools for managing these I hope to made additional updates.

Site Update

• Finally made some long over due upgrades to libraries and frameworks running the site.
• Added Bluesky link for the best social to follow me on.
• Removed Mastodon link as I rarely use it now (though still better than most other alternatives).
• Updated to consume the newer Twitch API to display my live banner at the top. Also added a viewer count and modified how the hide button works.