📓 Captain TX filed this under operational truth-adjacent history

A Captain's Geek Out: Elevating Our Website to New Highs

2026-04-30

Captain TX shares his latest tech upgrades while confessing to a late-night epiphany about our website.

Serious Geek Out Time

As I lay in bed last night, I experienced a moment of inspiration that could possibly rival the brilliance of a Tiffany lamp. Or maybe it was just an epiphany. Either way, let’s dive into this week’s obsession: our website.

Speeding Up Our Flights

This week, I took a leap into the world of SQL servers—yes, I know, hold onto your aviator sunglasses! I transferred all the date imports over to a web server, and let me tell you, the speed increase in page loads had me channeling my inner 1995 geek with an array of awkward spaz moments. Anyone remember the thrill of making that first convoluted HTML code work?

Python and Database Magic

Realizing that working in Python meant I had to reload the script every time I made a tiny change, I decided it was time to make life easier. I migrated all the text and markers to the SQL database, allowing me to edit them on the fly. No more waiting for the script to reload; I can mix and match labels faster than a flight attendant serving pretzels.

Cookies, But Not the Edible Kind

In my quest for user-friendly features, I’ve added cookies to the site. Don’t worry, these won’t crumble your diet! They’ll simply notify you if there’s something new to explore. Just a reminder, the real-time data streams are fresh every 30 seconds, so you won’t miss a beat.

Operational Overview: The Good, the Bad, and the Confused

Buried deep in the ops page, there’s now an “Operational Overview” section that lets you peek at all sorts of aircraft, work orders, flights, and yes, even bulldogs—uh, I mean bulldfrogs. It's an avalanche of data that’s almost too much to handle!

However, a few indicators still need some tidying up. Apparently, some pilots are being identified as mechanics, and those who may have taken a quick snooze show up as 'in-flight.' I’ll be polishing this up today; I promise the systems won't start mistaking your coffee break for a maintenance check.