> This is a nice example of ‘premature optimization’ but I do hope that the users of the blog like the end result.

Is it really premature? You already had a blog that worked, saw a need (or challenged yourself?), and acted. Sure, this might have been a bit overboard, but I think that it was the right time for this optimization (not premature).

> Optimizing a thing like this is likely a bad investment in time but it is hard to stop doing a thing like this if you’re enjoying it and I really liked the feeling of seeing the numbers improve and the wait time go down.

You did a good job. And I like seeing those numbers go down, too!