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++++
+title = "Hello, Blog!"
++++
+
+This is my blog's first post. I'd like to describe a little of how this site is
+set up and how I got everything online. Much of this is very standard, but as
+they often say, "there are many sites, but this one is _mine_".
+
+## Hosting
+
+My requirements for a host are simple.
+
+1. I need to be able to understand and change it to suit me.
+2. It needs to be transferable. That is, I have to be able to stand up the
+ sites in minutes should I decide that my sites need to move.
+3. I'm in control of the software I run.
+
+For now, my sites are hosted on one tiny DigitalOcean droplet. It's currently
+the right line between cost and usability. I'm open to alternative
+infrastructure, but am unsure what the options are or where to start.
+
+## Setting Up
+
+### Domain Registration
+
+As far as I know, there's not really much to say about this. I'm using Hover for
+my domains right now, which is almost certainly more expensive than other
+options. However, hey are currently the most important thing which is, _paid up
+and working_.
+
+I admit that I didn't remember the fact that google owns the registry for the
+`.dev` TLD, and so if de-googling was a goal of this whole exercise{{fn(id=1)}},
+it can't be now, *shrug*. I chose `vittal.dev` because I liked how it sounded,
+and the only other domain I cared for, `vittal.net`, is my uncle's, and I'm not
+going to try to steal his domain, that's rude.
+
+### Host Configuration
+
+This will probably always be a spare time project, so I wanted to keep system
+administration to what I know. My daily driver is Arch Linux{{fn(id=2)}} so I got
+my droplet up and running, then promptly nuked it with
+[this](https://github.com/gh2o/digitalocean-debian-to-arch) handy script from
+gh2o. It worked like a charm and I had my system up and running. After that,
+there was a little playing around with nginx configuration, setting up certbot
+for TLS{{fn(id=3)}} and we were online. Only took a few hours since I hadn't
+done that before.
+
+## The Site
+
+This site is probably the simplest thing I could get working quickly, with the
+requisite time taken for styling neuroticism. All the setup for the text you're
+reading now is available [here](https://git.sr.ht/~cdv/chris.vittal.dev). I'm
+using [Zola](https://www.getzola.org) for the site generation. While not having
+much experience with static generators, or templating, we primarily use jinja2
+templates for services at work and the syntax was familiar enough that I could
+get started quickly. It's also written in rust, my favorite programming
+language, and supporting its ecosystem means a lot to me.
+
+## Acknowledgements
+
+Before I sign off on this post, I'd like to thank a few people. First and
+foremost, my family, for always fostering curiosity. I would have never put this
+all together without them. It's also the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the
+ARPANET, the predecessor to the internet this site is on today. There's also
+a personal connection there. My father is John Vittal{{fn(id=4)}}. He
+coauthored [RFC733](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc733.html){{fn(id=5)}}.
+There's a whole post on my feelings about this, and this isn't it.
+
+I'd also like to thank [Drew DeVault](https://drewdevault.com), who is the
+person most directly responsible for my writing this blog, and not just because
+of [#makeablog](https://drewdevault.com/make-a-blog), but because I believe in
+my understanding of what he's building. There's yet another post on my feelings
+and perspectives on sourcehut and why it's important and why you should pay for
+it if you're a hacker.
+
+{{renderfootnotes(items=[
+ "It was.",
+ "_btw, i use arch._",
+ "`.dev` domains are part of the [HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Strict_Transport_Security) preload list. Compliant user agents will only connect via TLS, so having a correct TLS setup is required for this site to be online.",
+ "Hi dad.",
+ "Standard for the format of ARPA network text messages (AKA email).",
+])}}