Replying to: Blaugust 2025: The Blog Questions Challenge
Why did you start blogging in the first place?
It all started when I stumbled across Gemini . I don’t remember exactly how that was. Geminispace is a separate, “secret” web, built on it’s own protocol. It’s a smaller, slower, space. I liked it and wanted to join in, so started my blog as a “capsule” there. Eventually I expanded to the normal internet. I don’t post there anymore, as my current software does not support the format it uses. Writing a tool to fix that has been in my backlog for a long time.
What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it? Have you blogged on other platforms before?
Currently this site is built with hugo . I used to use my own static site generator, but as things grew that turned into a horrible tangle of code. So I switched to something a little more sane—or at least something whose insanities I won’t have to deal with directly. For hosting I use a VPS. I like the little extra bit of flexibility that gives me over something like Netlify or Github Pages. Things are mostly static, but I can experiment with adding some fancier bits, like the brand new comments section down at the bottom of this page. I do still keep things simple. Even the cheapest, least powerful tier of server runs all this without the slightest bit of trouble.
I’m still relatively new to blogging, so my whole history so far is on this site. I’m happy with it, and it doesn’t require too much maintenance. Even so, I can imagine a future where I run out of time and patience for fiddling with it and move to a more managed platform.
How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?
I write all my posts sitting at my desktop computer. I’ve spent a long time intermittently switching back and forth between Emacs and Neovim . Right now I’m in a neovim phase. This does mean that I don’t have any options for writing blog posts when I’m away from home, but I don’t consider that a flaw. I don’t need to be able to blog from anywhere at any time.
When do you feel most inspired to write?
Mostly when I’m physically occupied and can’t write 😭. Other than that I have not noticedany consistent patterns in when I sit down to do a post. I don’t have any kind of schedule that try to follow either.
Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
I publish as soon as I finish. The only real delays are if I’m writing something in advance for a specific date. If I did drafts and edits and revisions nothing would ever get posted around here. This does mean that sometimes I publish posts that I am not happy with, or are doubtful about. Sometimes I’m not really sure if I’ve even made a real point in what I’ve written. But blog posts are cheap, and I can always write another.
What’s your favourite[sic] post on your blog?
I think it has be the one about the bench . Not so much because of the actual words I wrote, and more because it reminds me of the pleasure of that realization.
Who’s next?
I’m going to pass this along to Bee and Remy , or anyone else who wants to answer these questions.
And they have answered!