Updated look, footer, nav links.

3 files changed, 95 insertions, 18 deletions

diff --git a/posts/2019-04-04-my-first-car-is-a-1953-hudson-hornet.md b/posts/2019-04-04-my-first-car-is-a-1953-hudson-hornet.md
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----
-title: My First Car Is a 1953 Hudson Hornet
-categories: ["Automotive"]
-tags: []
-published_date: "2019-04-04 21:24:33 +0000"
-layout: post.liquid
-is_draft: false
----
-Start writing already...
-![Ole Blue](https://nextcloud.53hor.net/s/5WxtSsq9Lws3Y93/preview)
diff --git a/posts/2019-04-06-why-have-a-web-site-in-2019.md b/posts/2019-04-06-why-have-a-web-site-in-2019.md
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+---
+title: Why Have a Web Site in 2019?
+categories:
+  - Technology
+tags:
+  - website
+  - self-hosted
+  - blog
+  - online presence
+published_date: "2019-04-06 15:12:16 +0000"
+layout: post.liquid
+is_draft: false
+---
+> Adam, why on earth do you have a website? Wait... Is this a *blog*? It's
+> 2019, why don't you just use Facebook?!
+
+I've wanted to have my own website for a long time mostly because I like
+playing with technology. I think it's cool that I can make a few files on a
+computer in my closet available for the entire world to see. The web has become
+a near-necessity in our daily lives and it's only been around for a couple of
+decades. That has always fascinated me enough to drive me to see if I can do it
+on my own. I started self-hosting my own web server about a year ago now and
+it's been an awesome study in the way all of the tech we use on the web works.
+
+A written website is also a good way to keep up on my writing skills. I've
+graduated college and won't be writing essays for the foreseeable eternity.
+Which is fine except that I have no reason to write creatively or formally
+anymore. Having this site encourages me to continue turning thoughts into
+words, even though it's more casual than a term paper. 
+
+This extends into the professionalism of a personal website. Normally you can't
+point your employer towards your Twitter profile as the distillation of your
+online footprint. Having a website, especially one that separates professional
+and personal interests, is ten times better than a resume, especially in the
+world of technology. It lets you tell people exactly who you are and what you
+do, without forcing them to navigate through an auth wall or a bunch of puppy
+photos. Your professional and personal lives don't bleed together quite as much
+and it makes for a kick-ass business card.
+
+Most importantly however, I enjoy the level of control that I gain with
+creating and operating my own website, something I have also sought for a long
+time. In high school I set up an old Dell from my school's recycling center
+with Windows XP and Microsoft Internet Information Services. It didn't have SSL
+or even a domain name but it was reachable over the WAN. I set up an upload
+system so that my friends and I could 'post' memes and funny messages for each
+other on raw html pages written with Microsoft Word. That was the extent of its
+functionality. It was slow, insecure, and went offline every time the router
+got a new IP assigned to it. But I didn't care. It was a site the school
+couldn't block. It had no name and no rules and nobody could tell us what to do
+with it because it was ours. And we called it the *Troll Nexus Center* because
+we were 15 and brimming with creativity.
+
+My reasons then for building the Troll Nexus Center still stand now. *Having
+your own website is having your own piece of internet property.* I first heard
+this wording from [Luke Smith over on his YouTube
+channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azkWYxyqh3Y) and it's one-hundred
+percent true. Tumblogs, Google Sites, Facebook profiles, and GitHub Pages are
+all like renting an apartment. Sure, there are some really nice apartments out
+there ([we love ours!](https://www.thecommonwealthapts.com)) but it's not the
+same as owning your own home. You have to pay rent obviously, and rent is
+subject to change once your lease is up. If anything breaks you text your
+landlord and wait to have it fixed. You aren't allowed to fix it yourself and
+sometimes it doesn't get fixed at all. And of course you're limited by how much
+you can customize things to your own liking. Whether it's painting walls or
+knocking them down. 
+
+These limitations may or may not apply to you. Whether you're paying for
+storage, server space, metrics, or watching an ad every five seconds, these
+services aren't free either. And you certainly can't fix everything that goes
+wrong with them. I started on Google Sites. It's a truly fantastic system.
+Building a site is like putting a PowerPoint slide together. I just plain
+outgrew it. There were too many things I wanted to do that I simply couldn't. I
+was also at the mercy of Google's constant change. After I finished
+constructing my first site, Google [announced they would be shutting down the
+old Google Sites in favor of an entirely new platform under the same
+name](https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2016/11/a-totally-rebuilt-google-sitesnow.html).
+Weeks of work got thrown out the window. You might also not care about ads or
+customization. You may be intimidated by doing things yourself and prefer that
+the landlord take care of everything. Personally, I like the challenge and the
+craftsmanship that comes with doing something oneself. And I like being in
+total control of my server, site, and content. Not from a tinfoil hat
+perspective but from a "gosh I really wish I could just share more than 15
+gigabytes of family video with my relatives in New York and Ohio" perspective.
+
+So that's why I created my own website. If you want to know *how* I host my own
+website, look for another post about my server setup where I'll explain
+everything I'm hosting and how I got it all hooked up. And that's a wrap. Now
+you know why I'm here instead of somewhere else online. Sure, I do have
+Facebook and YouTube accounts but I don't frequently update anything on either
+of them. This site is my home online. It's where I keep all of my interests,
+hobbies, and memories for sharing with others. 
+
+Now you know where to find me. If you want to keep up with me, subscribe to my
+RSS feed up top! 
+
diff --git a/posts/why-have-a-web-site-in-2019-aka-cobalt-rs-is-awesome.md b/posts/why-have-a-web-site-in-2019-aka-cobalt-rs-is-awesome.md
deleted file mode 100644
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--- a/posts/why-have-a-web-site-in-2019-aka-cobalt-rs-is-awesome.md
+++ /dev/null
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----
-title: Why Have a Web Site in 2019? AKA Cobalt.rs Is Awesome
-categories: ["Technology"]
-tags: []
-layout: post.liquid
-is_draft: true
----
-Start writing already...