That's intentional. The site changes what it says when it thinks you're not looking. Switch away, switch back. It has a few things it might say. None of them are alarming. A couple of them are a little nerdy.

I've been rebuilding this site from the ground up over the past several months. Somewhere along the way it stopped being just a website and started being a bit of a addiction. When you're writing all the code yourself or with Claude's help, and with no ticket queue and no product manager, it's hard not to have a little fun.

The tab title thing is the one you're most likely to find by accident. There are others. Some are easy to easy to find, others are not.  Some require knowing a very specific sequence of inputs that had its cultural peak sometime around 1986. One only shows up on a particular day each May, though I might have left a back door in case you don't want to wait.

A couple of them live on pages that aren't in the navigation and aren't linked from anywhere. They're just there, if you know where to point your browser. One of them is very aware that you weren't supposed to find it. The other one knows exactly what stardate it is.

I'm not going to spell them all out. That's the whole point. But if you're the kind of person who reads source code, checks robots.txt out of habit, or just types random paths into address bars to see what happens - you'll find them. The 404 page might have opinions and may or may not offer a nudge if you wander in the right direction.

Personal sites are one of the last places on the web where this kind of thing still makes sense. No security scans or page test is going to flag it.  It's just something that's there for the people who look.

May the syntax be with you.

The site got a full refresh. And I'm genuinely pretty happy with it.

The visual overhaul was the obvious starting point. Everything got cleaned up, tightened up, and given a look that actually feels like me — not just whatever the default theme happened to be. Colors, layout, the whole deal. It's sharper, it's more intentional, and it loads without making you question your internet connection.

Speaking of loading — the old WordPress setup had gotten rough. Like, "go make a sandwich while the page thinks about it" rough. That's gone. The new site is fast. Genuinely, actually fast. I don't even have caching fully enabled yet, and it's that fast!  Turns out when you're not dragging along seventeen plugins and a theme built in 2014, things tend to move a little quicker.

But the speed wasn't even the most exciting part.

The bigger news is the blog — which, yes, you are currently reading, so clearly that part is working. Writing has always been something I've wanted to do more of, and now I kinda feel a little more inspired to do it. I mean, not a lot, but its more then it was..  Tech stuff, gaming, random thoughts, life in Minnesota — if it's on my mind, it'll probably end up here at some point.

Oh, and dark mode. Obviously. Because it's the right thing to do and I will not be taking questions. Light mode is there too, for those of you who apparently enjoy staring into the sun. No judgment. Much judgment. Ya bunch of maniacs!

There are also some new features baked in that I think people will actually find useful. Nothing I need to over-explain right now — half the fun is poking around and finding them yourself. Let's just say the site does a little more than it used to.  I mean a little, like maybe one or two tops.. I swear.

Is it perfect? Not yet. It probably never will be — that's kind of the nature of a personal site. But it's alive, it's functional, and it's a place I'm actually excited to send people to now.

So, if you're new - welcome. If you're revisiting, welcome back!  Poke around. And if you've got thoughts, the feedback is always welcome. 

— Chris

Just because I'm selfish, and I want everyone to know what I'm doing, i'm publicly announcing that I am taking some time off.  Not really my favorite vacation..  My wife and I are packing up the kids, and heading to FL to visit the blasted Hell heat! The kids are looking forward to it, and that's what really matters! I hope to have some interesting stories and pictures to share along the way.

Have a great weekend, and I'll be back when I get back!

Chris