Matt Langford

After a few long weeks of health-related issues (everyone is ok), unexpected changes to plans, and a variety of curveballs being thrown at us, we decided to take a few days off for a family vacation. We did it old school style…loading up the car and hitting the road.

With Atlanta, GA, as our final destination, we began the trek. On the way, our first stop was Montgomery, Alabama, where we ate more BBQ than we should’ve (especially our 5 year old). We decided to stay the night and continue the drive the next morning.

Once we made it to Atlanta, it was time for lunch. We visited the excellent Ponce City Market to kill some time, shop, and eat. I don’t think we ended up buying anything outside of lunch, but it was a worthwhile visit. The kids got pizza while Kalena and I went with lamb entrees.

We knew we needed the visit the excellent Georgia Aquarium. We’ve been before in years past, but our daughter was too young to remember. She’s been begging to go and there’s no way we could’ve passed it by. Thanks to Kalena’s research and planning, we knew the perfect time to arrive. We had quite a few of the tanks/exhibits to ourselves before the crowds appeared.

If you know anything about us, you know a trip to Atlanta most likely centers around the Braves. We know the Truist Park/Battery area well and chose a hotel close by. The Braves aren’t currently playing their best ball, but it was nice to take the kids once again (photos at end). We knew where to sit (good views for kids, shady, cost effective) which helps when you’re dealing with Atlanta heat and kids.

On the way home, we decided to take a different route, this time through Jackson/Pearl, MS. The AA Affiliate (Minor Leagues) of the Braves organization is currently in its final year in the state, and we wanted to catch a game there before they move. Thanks to their version of a going-out-of-business sale, we managed to snag a large amount of goodies (jerseys, hats, shirts, bats, balls, etc). They were also giving away 1,000 jerseys that night. Somehow, we managed to snag numbers 995, 996, 997, and 998 before they ran out.

As with most trips, you get to a point where you’re ready to be home. Fortunately, I’m sitting at our dining room table writing this while the kids are sleeping in their own beds. Normal life starts back up tomorrow, but it was nice to step away for a few days to change things up.

In one photo drop, here are a few of us enjoying some baseball.

As the developer of Tiny Theme for Micro.blog, I’ve had a unique seat as the platform has grown. As Micro.blog has added features, changed, and matured, so have the many great themes available. The popularity and community acceptance of Tiny Theme has consistently overwhelmed me. It has always been a great theme for people who want high level control over the look, feel, and layout of the site. Tiny Theme will continue to be supported and actively developed. But let’s talk about something new…

Today, I’m excited to introduce a new theme called Sumo. It uses a lot of the codebase of Tiny Theme, supports many of the same features, but is significantly more opinionated than Tiny Theme.

• Documentation and Demo
• Install on Micro.blog

Opinionated?

Using Hugo and Micro.blog, you have the ability to manipulate and mold any theme into what you want. If you have a clear vision of where you want your site to go and the technical chops to get it there, use Tiny Theme.

I designed Tiny Theme with OTHERS in mind. I wanted to make it as flexible and functional as possible. I wanted others to be able to bend it to their liking. And I’ve been amazed at the results.

I designed Sumo Theme with ME in mind. This is a full package theme designed how I’d choose if you paid me and walked away from the computer. But, ya know, it’s free.

It’s Not Customizable?

Well, let’s not go that far. Sumo Theme is built with 3 easy customization possibilities.

1. Skinning
2. Font Choices
3. Microhooks

Skinning allows you to choose your own color scheme. I’m not talking about choosing a main color and an accent color and going home. I mean you can color all kinds of stuff using CSS.

Font Choices include all stacks created by Modern Font Stacks. This mirrors the feature on Tiny Theme.

Microhooks were developed for Tiny Theme and adapted for Sumo Theme. Every Microhook works on BOTH themes.

But Can I Do More?

Of course you can, as with all themes available on Micro.blog. You can even fork it on Github if you’d like. However, this theme is not built with that in mind. The ideal user of Sumo Theme will activate it, color it, perhaps use a microhook or 2, and roll with it.

Are There More Features?

Well, of course there are. We could talk about things like speed, codebase, microhooks, font choices, and skinning for hours, but let’s leave those behind for now. Here’s a good old fashioned list of some of the other features available at launch.

• See images (and other elements) full-width on smaller devices
• Support for Tinylytics
• Support for FontAwesome (no scripts or plugins needed)
• Full suite of Typography options such as multiple blockquote styles, multiple paragraph styles, and page folds
• Full comment system support
• Supports popular plugins by default
• Frequently Updated
• Responsive Developer
• And a lot more!

What If I Need Help?

If you need help, have a problem, or would like to report a bug (this is a 1.0 release after all), you can contact me via Micro.blog or email.

Sumo Theme is launching as version 1.0. More features and tweaks are on the roadmap, including a 1.1 release before the middle of August 2024.

How Much Does it Cost?

It’s free, of course. But you can always feel free to chip in to support development.