I Need a Stack
Getting back to my rambling will be a lot better with a sandbox where I can experiment so I need a stack to build a local environment where I can build out updates for different layouts and features that I want to include. Before I can start to build a sandbox though, I spent some time today watching a double header, the Uncharted movie, and I started to get my Gaming Tournament prepared to get rolling.
The Rundown
- A Split
My Angels split a double header against the Athletics yesterday and it was somewhat disappointing. They were up 3-1 in the 9th inning of the first game and gave up a 3-run HR to lose. They made no doubt about the second game as they won 9-1 with a Grand Slam from Ward and Ohtani’s 100th Home Rune. It was a good game to watch.
- Marky Mark and the Spider-Man
Yesterday was also a movie watching day as I took some time to watch the Uncharted movie. Now, I’ve never played any Uncharted games before but I’ve certainly hear of them and there were definite places in the movie where I could see clear video game influences…namely the helicopter/Galleon battle, but is was a lot of fun to watch. I’m not sure how such an entertaining movie could receive a 45 on Metacritic with a 6.2 User Score – what do people expect from movies these days?
- First Wild Card
Tomorrow I am going to start my Rambling Redshirt Gaming Madness Tournament. The idea is based on the fact that I rarely complete games and I really want to have the joy of finishing something I started. So…I am going to run a tournament to determine a game for play to completion. I’ve laid out the competitors previously and will be kicking things off tomorrow with the Wild Card match between Forza Horizon 5 and Divinity Original Sin 2. My plan is to run each of the matches in 4 quarters, one a day for 4 days. Matches will be determined by RNG based on various factors such as Metacritic score, the number of twitch and youtube streams I can easily find, and the number of votes I get in comments for each of the games, and a bunch of other things. We’ll see how this goes.
The Goods
While I’ve decided to try to ramble more regularly, I’ve also taken a look at the way my blog looks and I think I am going to update it.
My plan is to use one of the new Full Site Editing themes that give a designer/blogger quite a bit of freedom with little requirement to know how to manipulate CSS and WordPress specific code. I know this will not be a simple and quick task, but I really think it could be a lot of fun.
My first step in this whole process is to backup Beyondtannhausergate.com and build a staging environment where I can play around. While backing up is easy and I’ve performed the action many times, I’ve never built a staging or testing area for site development so I headed to the interwebs.
The main thing I found that I will need is a WordPress installation…obviously. As part of that, I need a database and a web server that will handle the pages, images, and everything. I’ve discovered that I can run everything on my own local computer and by doing so, I can have full control over everything and not have to worry about storage requirements, having too many files, or having to reset back to a baseline build on a frequent basis. As a benefit, if I use my own computer as a sandbox, I can search through and easily find posts or content from anywhere on my blog even when I’m offline.
Anyway, I need what is called a stack. A stack is a set of tools, applications, and components that is standardized to be easily installed and fulfills a particular goal – in my case, to provide a working WordPress environment…and there are a bunch of these stacks out there.
MAMP, LAMP, Local, XAMPP, WAMP, and DesktopServer are all options available for WordPress development stacks. Of course there are pros and cons for each of these and they all contain slightly different things – different databases, different web servers – and they are built for different for different systems like macOS or Windows.
I’m used to programming for Windows or for the web but I’m not gonna be doing this for work, but rather as a learning and fun experience and with that as the goal, I think I’ll give a macOS environment a try.
That narrows things down a bit and I think I will give Local a try. Sure, there are stacks that have been around more and have more users, but I’ve read a few good things about Local that make me feel this could be a good fit…and hey, if it doesn’t work out, I can always switch to something else.
Local gives me a choice of web servers – Apache or NGINX, variable PHP versions, MySQL, and plenty of other choices. And it seems to be pretty easy to install.
I’ll get things moving in that direction and check back after I’ve got it installed and have my staging site up and running.
It’s a Wrap
So the bottom line is I need a stack for creating a staging environment where I can experiment and play around with new ideas for my blog. I think Local will be a good option and will get to work loading that up on my MacMini and checking what the requirements are. I’m pretty sure I will be good to go with it by the end of the weekend.
Beyond a local sandbox for testing, I was able to enjoy myself watching some baseball and the Uncharted movie, but while my Angels split their double header, they did stay technically tied for first place in the American League West.
Finally, I’m prepared to get started with my Gaming Madness Tournament and start the first quarter of my Wild Card matchup between Forza Horizon 5 and Divinity Original Sin 2. I’m looking forward to seeing how my tournament goes and if anyone wants to support one game or the other, just leave me a comment.
Ramble 140 | Elephant 1 | 2022.85 | I Need a Stack