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 deliberately. Each rebuild teaches something that applies to client work.

Why Rebuild?

This site has been Next.js, Remix, vanilla React. Each rebuild teaches something new. The current stack is Next.js 15, React 19, MDX for writing, Tailwind CSS 4, deployed on Vercel.

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.

Defaults work. Modern frameworks ship with sensible defaults. Fighting them makes things worse. Accept the conventions, ship faster.