blogging

Posted November 14, 2024, last updated July 5, 2024 ‐ 3 min read

Micro Blog, Notes, Webmentions etc.

Learning Resources

Hashnode bootcamp III recordings
Workflow from Voice typing to publishing
- I get most of the features of the Hemingway App (mentioned in the article) from emacs like:
  - Fluff word detection
  - Passive voice
  - Word count
  - Autocompletion for prose, not sure if Hemingway app has that.
  - Spellcheck
  - Grade Level score (via M-x writegood-grade-level)

Blog Header Image Generator

Slickr

Using unsplash images into the blog

I don't want to download-and-reduce-size of the photo on my machine, just to upload it to the blog.
It is better that unsplash API take care of it.

Copy the last part of the URL for the photo you like i.e. part after https://unsplash.com/photos/<this-is-what-we-want>
Use source api to get the "direct" URL of the photo. Append the "last part" followed by the dimensions (like widthXheight) to create the URL
Now use this URL.

Using random images

Finding appropriate image can sometime take longer than writing the blog post itself.
Enter Lorem Ipsum for Photos - Seems feature complete, like define size in URL itself, select specific image etc.

Royalty Free Images, Audio and Video

Smithsonian Open Access
BBC Sound Effect
NASA Image and Video Library
Library of Congress Free to Use
Source

`mkdocs` site on netlify

I use pipenv for my normal workflow, but it may not work on Netlify.

Following worked for me (based on their documentation)

Create requirements.txt. I added same contents as my Pipfile
Created runtime.txt - added 3.6 to it. (Default is 2.7)
Created a separate branch netlify (I didn't want Netlify specific files in
master)
Rest is easy. Select git provider and branch name. The wizard recognized that this was mkdocs site, and automatically filled in build command and publish directory. Awesome !!

Custom domain on gitlab pages

(Oct 11, 2018)

This document is really detailed. I had some trouble getting the verification, but it may have been DNS propagation issue. (Also, I think gitlab is generally slow)