this site is a playground

date: January 12, 2024

This site is a breakable toy. I rebuild it, swap tech stacks, and try new patterns so now and then. Each rebuild teaches something that applies to client work.

Why Rebuild?

This site has been Next.js, Remix, vanilla React, and now Astro. Each rebuild teaches something new. The current stack is Astro, MDX for writing, React islands where needed, Tailwind CSS 4, and Cloudflare-ready static assets.

The testing focus: shipping speed with modern tools, framework upgrade patterns, production patterns that matter. Not theoretical knowledge. Practical experience with what breaks and what doesn’t.

The Learning

Speed matters. Rebuilding this site takes a few hours now. Tools improved, and I know what not to build. The fastest code is the code you don’t write.

Complexity is a choice. No database. No auth. No analytics dashboard. Just markdown files and simple deployment. Most sites don’t need more. The constraint forces clarity. Modern frameworks ship with sensible defaults, and fighting them makes things worse.