So here we are. Finally a propper domain name for a propper blog!
Thank you for dropping in. I hope you like what you see. Those of you familiar with my previous blog What the…..? should feel right at home here, same old killer content posted by yours truly.
So why the move? Well, have a read here go on, I’ll wait…
OK, so whats new? Quite a lot actually! https://polarclouds.co.uk is hosted on Github and is powered by Jekyll.
What’s Jekyll I hear you cry.. Jekyll is actually pretty cool. Put quickly and simply Jekyll is a content engine that creates static html webpages from dynamic components such as templates, partials, liquid code, markdown, etc. Kinda like a polar cloud, something that appears static, yet is made of lots of tiny moving parts….
From my perspective Jekyll makes my blogging experience a whole heap better, thanks to is support of the markdown language. Take the source code of the paragraphs above. Prior to the Jekyll conversion the text I type into the post looks like this:
So why the move?
Well, have a read [ here ]( { { site.url } } /pages/about ) go on, I'll wait…
OK, so whats new? Quite a lot actually!
[ { { site.url } } ] ( { { site.url } } ) is hosted on [ Github ]( https://github.com )
and is powered by [ Jekyll ]( http://jekyllrb.com ). Pretty cool hey? Notice the brackets etc? Certainly a simpler blogging experience not having to faff about with html etc etc. Less faffing on my end means even more great content from you favorite tech blogger, yours truly (ah… you’re too kind!)
Other pros include:
- Jekyll is free
- Jekyll is opensource
- Github free hosting (blogger was free too)
- Github’s built in change tracking
- Speed – Static html pages should load quicker
- Compatability across a multitude of devices
Whilst the old template at What the…..? blog kinda worked on mobiles and tablets, it wasnt all that suitable. In short it was a bit of a cludge Well cludge no longer!
I’ve still got a bit of conversion to do to fully migrate 145+ blogger posts and all their associated images into github, clear down blogger and get the Disqus comment system up and running.
In the meantime, feel free to drop me a line on twitter @chall32 and whilst you’re there, don’t forget to follow @PolarCloudsUK to be the first to recieve blog post updates and all things https://polarclouds.co.uk related.
Welcome!
-Chris