It queries a Python microservice that's running on e.g. my desktop computer and displays whatever number gets returned. This allows me to easily change what the counter displays, without having to reflash it.
Over time, what this project represents has shifted in practice to be less about the Art Institute's data and more about my own workflows.
For example, yes, it can display artworks updated since 9 AM CT, but it can also display the current word count of a Markdown file.
