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<title>P&B: Courtney</title>
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<p>This is the 105th edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Courtney and his blog, <a href="https://netigen.com">netigen.com</a></p>
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<hr />
<h2>Let’s start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?</h2>
<p>Hi, <a href="https://netigen.com/a-boy-named-courtney">my name is Courtney</a>. I’m a cishet white man and a perpetually tired netizen, a descriptor I’m confident hasn’t been used unironically in decades. While I don’t pay much mind to generational divisions, I’m of a particular age that witnessed a dramatic split growing up: childhood both before and after the internet.</p>
<p>I grew up in Queens, New York, which is both part of <em>the City</em>, and not really <em>the City</em>. In fact, my childhood home is a short walk from the “<em>Welcome to Nassau”</em> sign, which, for those unfamiliar, means Long Island, a place that I implicitly knew to reject growing up. Why? I’m still not sure. Despite geography, I was adamant that I didn’t live on Long Island for years, until decades later I wound up marrying a Long Island native, and my heralded transformation was complete.</p>
<p>I spent a good portion of my adult life working as a software engineer, but six years ago I took a chance and switched to a consulting role for a large tech company. It’d be a struggle to explain exactly what I do; just know that I’m doing my best at whatever it is, scary a thought as that might be at times.</p>
<p>I consider myself a beneficiary of privilege, both a result of the upbringing my parents worked hard to deliver my sister and me, and of institutional opportunities afforded as a product of my ethno-racial profile. I could take credit for all of my accomplishments, but critical thinking remains the greatest lesson I ever learned from school; ultimately, who I am today is thanks to a complex arrangement of good luck and diligent effort.</p>
<h2>What’s the story behind your blog?</h2>
<p>Before I dive into a tedious origin story, I have a long-held discomfort with the word “blog.” A negative connotation has been stuck in my craw for decades, one I can only explain as a once-youthful affectation toward counter-culture and an aversion to the burgeoning popularity of blogs. I was convinced that my writing was deep and important, unlike all those people “blogging” about their breakfast or whatever else tickled their fancy. In retrospect, I recognize that this is a completely unfair assessment, both of the quality of my own writing (<em>yikes!</em>) and of the blogging community at large. Nonetheless, I prefer to think of my site as a public journal rather than a blog. Does that distinction matter? Not really, but I digress.</p>
<p>I was fortunate enough to first go online in 1996, and a computer obsession quickly transformed into one focused on the internet. By 1997, I had a site hosted on <a href="https://netigen.com/thoughts-in-transit">GeoCities</a> that eventually became a modestly successful tech blog—I know, I know—at <a href="https://netigen.com">netigen.com</a> (1998). This was during high school, when too much free time meant I could post endless blurbs about Netscape Communicator and catalogue a plethora of Win32 freeware. My transition into college meant a complete transformation from technology into a far-too-personal journal, chronicling the emotional ravings of someone more comfortable in PHP than on LiveJournal. I kept writing there until around 2004, at which point I fell off the face of the earth and became wholly invested in a <a href="https://netigen.com/time-is-money-friend">terrible habit</a>. This activity left little room for writing, so while the domain remained registered, it fell into a long period of inactivity.</p>
<p><a href="https://netigen.com/the-war-within">Quitting</a> World of Warcraft in 2024 opened up a surprising amount of free time, much of which I spent exploring the indie web and checking in on people I hadn’t read in years. The internet, I quickly realized, had changed immensely during my absence. Though I had lived through many of the changes, I wasn’t an active participant, not nearly as when I lived and breathed during the early days. The space to think more freely lent itself to renewed interest in jotting down thoughts, and by mid-year, I had reinvested myself in an online presence. I returned to public journaling at netigen. Is this a mid-life crisis? Maybe, but better a digital home than a sports car. It’s hard to sort through existential dread in a two-seater. These days, I write about whatever comes to mind, often using <a href="https://netigen.com/dissonance-in-the-dark">too many words to say very little</a>.</p>
<h2>What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?</h2>
<p>I covered a lot of my process in a <a href="https://netigen.com/blog-questions-challenge">challenge post</a> last year. </p>
<p>I’m not a writer, and I certainly can’t speak to a <em>proper</em> creative process. Inspiration is typically elusive, then doggedly aggressive at the most inopportune moments. I’ll jot down thought starters that graze my mind and collect dozens of little blurbs, many of which still gather dust in a throwaway app on my phone. Most days, it’s a fleeting bit of nostalgia that slaps me on the nose. That should explain why I write so frequently about <a href="https://netigen.com/boys-dont-cry">past memories</a>—that, and I’m still trying to <a href="https://netigen.com/a-patchwork-of-truths">reinterpret</a> my history through an <a href="https://netigen.com/the-work-continues">ever-evolving</a> lens.</p>
<p>In truth, most of what I write first comes to me as a <a href="https://netigen.com/spasm-of-intent">spasm of thought</a>, all too frequently foisted upon me in the shower or whenever I’m trapped alone with myself. Next, the words spill out; a first draft forms, and I’ll sit with those for a time. Long ago, I used to write in a physical journal, but these days it’s all digital. I tried Obsidian briefly and found it created needless friction, so I switched back to the standard Notes app on my iPhone.</p>
<p>Once the initial burst is done, I’ll transfer the rough draft to Google Docs for review and editing. I’ll find a nice, quiet space and repeatedly reread my stream of consciousness. A critical component of this is reading aloud; it’s how I judge tone, flow, and overall word choice. Punctuation is secondary; I work through the rhythm in my voice. As ridiculous as that might sound, this is an intensely iterative process, even for the shortest of entries. I’ll reread something I’ve written dozens of times, often to myself while walking our dog. Countless errors will still make it past publishing, but I’ll keep rereading for a few days after to root most of those out.</p>
<p>Most of my writing is based on personal <a href="https://netigen.com/the-unhurried-moment">anecdotes</a> and lived experiences, so research isn’t widely necessary, though I’ll sometimes check dates to confirm my memory. Most recently, I’ve shared some pieces with a friend for initial review, but this isn’t a common practice.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, inspired by <a href="https://jeddacp.com/">Jedda</a>, I started to collect <a href="https://netigen.com/tags/week-notes">week notes</a>. I wanted a place to preserve more of the inner workings of my days without requiring the same kind of editing and effort that went into my other entries. I can’t say that this prescriptive weekly style has helped or hindered my other writing, but there’s something pleasant about forcing a bit of structure. Each week feels like a begrudging push to get to the gym when you’re feeling lazy. Before and during the effort, it might seem miserable, but afterward, I’m glad to have completed the ritual.</p>
<p>One additional topic I want to touch upon is POSSE, which is essentially syndication of your content to other spaces, primarily social media. When I first started writing again, this concept was very alluring—the promise of reaching an audience. It’s a strange feeling to believe you’re untalented, but still want people to read your words, to witness who you are, and to see you, perhaps even resonate with your doubt.</p>
<p>But that desire can quickly turn into a silly game, where those little bits of attention and resonance feel like highs to chase. I once wrote, “Is POSSE more about meeting people where they are, or yelling loudly enough so people notice you?” For me, personally, <a href="https://netigen.com/publish-once-syndicate-nowhere">I realized it was the latter</a>, and I became worried that whatever notion of truth I invested into my writing would be tainted by the bullhorn.</p>
<h2>Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?</h2>
<p>I find that I’m either easily distracted or hyper-focused to a fault. When writing, it’s incredibly difficult for me to accomplish anything if there’s too much background noise. I don’t recall it always being this bad—perhaps a function of age—but I need absolute silence in a private space, or I’ll quickly become ensnared by distraction.</p>
<p>As I mentioned previously, I haven’t written using physical tools in years. Though I used to pride myself on minuscule but legible handwriting, years of atrophy have left writing by hand an immense chore. As such, I prefer typing on a keyboard, though given sufficient inspiration and a lack of tooling, I’ll resort to quickly jotting things down on my phone. Speed over accuracy is more important, lest my thoughts dissolve into the next tangent, but I haven’t been comfortable using speech-to-text as of yet.</p>
<h2>A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?</h2>
<p>I’ve always preferred to roll my own when it comes to web development, so it shouldn’t be all that surprising to know that I’m still running a variation on the same kind of LAMP stack I was using back in 2004. It’s nginx now instead of Apache and MariaDB instead of MySQL, but the core here remains: I’m still storing site content in a database that’s rendered dynamically using PHP.</p>
<p>I haven’t bothered to introduce a full-featured CMS; instead, I rely on the default phpMyAdmin setup available on my host. I manually modify my text with the required Markdown and use a custom fork of <a href="https://parsedown.org/">Parsedown</a> for rendering. While I’m using modern PHP, there are no frameworks involved—just pure PHP lovingly crafted by a person with control issues.</p>
<h2>Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?</h2>
<p>I’d likely pick another name, presumably something I’d consider clever, and then grow to resent over time. Such is the paradox of <strong>Netigen</strong>. It was a name I coined in 1998 that sounded vaguely like a web or technology brand, back when I was concerned with that sort of thing. I never defined the term, and now, years later, I feel a strange attachment to a word with no meaning. As with my own name so many years ago, I’m too stubborn to even consider changing it now.</p>
<p>The only other change I’d make is to have been more persistent in activity. I regret not capturing any thoughts between 2006 and 2024. So many memories left to wither away.</p>
<h2>Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what’s your position on people monetising personal blogs?</h2>
<p>Nothing all that fancy here.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Domain</strong>: $12.99 USD per year </li>
<li><strong>Host</strong>: $12.95 USD per month (KnownHost)</li>
</ul>
<p>I don’t monetize my site and often question whether I’m sharing anything of actual value. I know that if I concerned myself with monetization, subscriber counts, or other metrics, it would ruin the experience for me. That said, I don’t have a strong opinion about other people who want to earn or supplement a living through their creative endeavors. I wish people would find other avenues than Substack, for example, but generally speaking, I don’t judge others for their approach. That’s unless your site is super-aggressive with solicitations about subscribing. If I see four subscribe options on a given page, then you might as well just incorporate actual advertising—you’re not doing any better.</p>
<h2>Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?</h2>
<p>This series has been going on long enough that many of the people I read regularly have already taken part. That said, here is a list of folks who I think would be great additions:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://lunamouse.bearblog.dev/">Dear Luci</a> – Heartwrenchingly raw entries delivered in the form of letters. </li>
<li><a href="http://drmollytov.dev">Drmollytov</a> – Wildly funny and irreverent, this librarian writes about everything from abandoning big tech to raising chickens. </li>
<li><a href="http://howdoyouspell.cool/forrest">Forrest</a> – Phenomenal storyteller with a vested interest in music and video games that transcends reason. </li>
<li><a href="http://fromemily.com">From Emily</a> – Unbound stream of consciousness from a creator rediscovering what it is to create and be seen. </li>
<li><a href="http://neatnik.net">Neatnik</a> – Impassioned community builder who challenges people to be better. </li>
<li><a href="http://jotternook.bearblog.dev">The Jotter Nook</a> – Quiet reflections from a gifted writer navigating change.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?</h2>
<p>A couple of thoughts in closing.</p>
<p>First, there’s more than just blogs and digital gardens on the indie web. Honestly, don’t even worry about boxing yourself into any particular framing. If you’re looking to create something, labels can become unnecessary barriers to your creativity. Build a website and let what you express carry itself. Your voice, whatever its form, is what makes you unique. <a href="https://netigen.com/your-canvas-awaits">The value</a> lies in what you’re sharing and the connections you build. True worth isn’t in your metrics or throwaway affirmations. Reclaim the word <em>content</em>.</p>
<p>Second, there’s no such thing as “no politics.” In truth, I doubt there ever was. There’s <a href="https://netigen.com/facing-the-fractal">silence</a>. There’s oppression. There’s ignoring the real plight of people who are struggling in a world that challenges their right to exist, their freedom to accept and reflect who they are. While you may not feel the need to make political statements, your lack of support for basic human dignity is implicit when you act to shut down people’s right to express themselves.</p>
<p>Those who complain about politics invading their spaces—whether it’s decrying “woke” media or <a href="https://netigen.com/the-descent">deflecting criticism</a> from those who promote hate and intolerance elsewhere—are doing the work of the oppressor, and their hands are not nearly as clean as they’d like to believe. Nobody is perfect. I am certainly not free from culpability, but we should keep our hearts and minds open, listen, and work toward being better, in whatever measure we can, even little by little.</p>
<hr />
<p>This was the 105th edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Courtney. Make sure to <a href="https://netigen.com">follow his blog</a> (<a href="https://netigen.com/rss">RSS</a>) and get in touch with him if you have any questions.</p>
<h2>Awesome supporters</h2>
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href="https://chadmoore.net/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ben.wf/">Benjamin Wittorf</a> (<a href="https://ben.wf/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://rkoziel.com/">Radek Kozieł</a> (<a href="https://rkoziel.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.hlplanet.com/">Marcus Richardson</a> — <a href="https://fromemily.com">Emily Moran Barwick</a> (<a href="https://fromemily.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://gosha.net/">Gosha</a> (<a href="https://gosha.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.manton.org/">Manton Reece</a> (<a href="https://www.manton.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.sistrall.it/">Silvano Stralla</a> (<a href="https://www.sistrall.it/en/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://benjaminchait.net">Benjamin Chait</a> (<a href="https://benjaminchait.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://caiwingfield.net">Cai Wingfield</a> — <a href="https://www.esgeroth.org/log/">Pete</a> (<a href="https://www.esgeroth.org/log/feeds/public">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/">Pete Millspaugh</a> (<a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://creativwork.org/">Martin Matanovic</a> (<a href="https://creativwork.org/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net">Coinciding Narratives</a> (<a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://arun.is/">Arun Venkatesan</a> (<a href="https://arun.is/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fourohfour.net">fourohfour.net</a> (<a href="https://fourohfour.net/feed?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://kemper.fyi">Jonathan Kemper</a> — <a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/">Bookofjoe</a> (<a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/index.rdf">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://marius.ink/">Marius Masalar</a> (<a href="https://marius.ink/feed.atom">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jimmitchell.org/">Jim Mitchell</a> (<a href="https://jimmitchell.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/">Simon Howard</a> (<a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/">Frederick Vanbrabant</a> (<a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com">Thibault Malfoy</a> (<a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://www.beradadisini.com/">Beradadisini</a> (<a href="https://beradadisini.com/?format=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://blog.x-way.org">x-way</a> (<a href="https://blog.x-way.org/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://vincentgeoffray.com">Vincent Geoffray</a> — <a href="https://taonaw.com">TAONAW</a> (<a href="https://taonaw.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com">Sebastián Monía</a> (<a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://grubz.net">grubz</a> (<a href="https://grubz.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sals.place/">Sal</a> (<a href="https://sals.place/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://bomburache.com">Bomburache</a></p>
<h2>Want to support P&B?</h2>
<p>If you like this series and want to help it grow, you can:</p>
<ol>
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>You will not believe what I just wrote</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/you-will-not-believe-what-i-just-wrote</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/VXTXHHUCckJaeDqw</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2025 16:15:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>Sorry for the title, but since the trend of clickbaity titles is spreading from YouTube and traditional media to the blogosphere, I felt left out and wanted to join the party.</p>
<p>Anyway, a post about quitting social media is what I wrote. Not very original, I know, and something I wrote about many times before, but I was catching up with the posts in my RSS reader and I stumbled on a few that were touching on various struggles related to social media, Mastodon setups, and all that stuff. And every time I read this type of post, I can help but both smile and shake my head.</p>
<p>These stupid sites are so goddamn good at hooking us that countless people out there are finding it genuinely hard to quit them. Which is absolutely bonkers if you ask me. Quitting social media is seen as some monumental step, and you’d think they’re about to embark on a journey to the moon by how they talk about it. </p>
<p>And I kinda get it. But, as someone who dumped social media many years ago, let me tell you: it’s not that hard. Life will continue just fine. It will probably feel strange for a week or two, and then your brain will adapt, and everything is gonna be ok. Sure, you’ll probably miss a few completely pointless updates from family and friends. That’s ok. That’s fine. Humanity has worked that way for most of its existence, and we’re still here, chugging along.</p>
<p>If you feel even the slightest of temptations to quit some of those stupid apps and sites, here’s my advice for you: do it. Don’t overthink it. Just delete your account, delete the apps from your phone, and start living a better life without them. And if you miss your friends, do something radical: pick up the phone you likely have in your pocket and give them a call. Or send them a text. Or go meet them in person if you can.</p>
<p>The important part about social media is not the media, but the social. And that can still be found outside of those apps.</p> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:hello@manuelmoreale.com">Email me</a> ::
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>P&B: Tom Critchlow</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/pb-tom-critchlow</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/AdUg3SJ0n5DbvDJX</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>This is the 104th edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Tom Critchlow and his blog, <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com">tomcritchlow.com</a></p>
<p>To follow this series <a href="https://peopleandblogs.com">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. A new interview will land in your inbox every Friday. Not a fan of newsletters? No problem! You can read the interviews here on the blog or you can subscribe to the <a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/feed">RSS feed</a>.</p>
<p>If you're enjoying the People and Blogs series and you want to see it grow, consider supporting on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Ko-Fi</a>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?</h2>
<p>Hey I’m Tom Critchlow. I grew up in the North of England and moved to NYC ~15 years ago. I live in Brooklyn with my partner and two kids (9 and 5). They’re like electric smudges. Full of crackling potential and never quite where you expect them to be.</p>
<p>I’m best known I think for being an independent consultant working in digital media - I worked for myself for 10 years and blogged my way through that whole journey. I wrote an annual recap for 9 years in my series <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/blogchains/on-the-road/">on the road</a> and I wrote a whole book about the practice of sustainable independent consulting which I serialized on my blog: <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/strategy/">The Strategic Independent</a>.</p>
<p>About a year ago I took a full time role which was a big narrative violation with my identity as an independent consultant but actually I’m also a deep nerd about organizational design and management theory so this has been a fun change of pace from being self employed and a chance to flex some different muscles.</p>
<p>My favorite color is Green.</p>
<h2>What's the story behind your blog?</h2>
<p>I’ve been writing online personally and professionally forever. As a teenager I wrote short stories and poetry online at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfwood">Elfwood</a>. Then in my early 20s, as a semi-professional poker player I’d post on the Two Plus Two poker forums. When I started working in SEO and digital media in the early ‘00s it was just kind of the done thing to blog - there was a culture of open sharing. We’d blog about stuff we were discovering, how Google worked, conferences we’d been to and so on.</p>
<p>But, after bouncing around various platforms like Tumblr, Medium and Svbtle, I eventually committed to <a href="http://tomcritchlow.com">tomcritchlow.com</a> somewhere around <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/2015/03/22/back-to-blogging/">2015</a>. That was the first year of going independent and so everything really started there. In 2016 I almost launched a brand for my consulting work but backed out and instead committed to <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/2016/08/01/brand/">blending my personal and professional writing</a> on my blog. In hindsight that was a pivotal moment when online writing started to really become important and a part of my identity.</p>
<p>I’ve always gravitated towards loose, iterative, messy writing. Some of my most popular writing has been <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/2019/02/17/building-digital-garden/">building a digital garden</a>, <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/2018/02/23/small-b-blogging/">small b blogging</a> and <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/2023/02/10/riffs/">writing, riffs and relationships</a>.</p>
<p>Among my friends I’ve long been “the blogging guy” but it’s taken me a surprisingly long time to realize exactly <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/2025/06/27/taking-blogging-seriously/"><em>why</em> blogging is so important to me</a> - it’s because it’s a form of creative expression that finds other people. Writing on the internet has always for me been in service of finding creative connections with others and I wish more people had an outlet for being themselves and finding other people.</p>
<h2>What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?</h2>
<p>No kind of routine or process has ever worked for me to write with any consistency - instead all of my writing either comes out of a random flash of inspiration or overdosing on coffee. Often both.</p>
<p>That said - maintaining a long list of drafts, post title ideas and quotes is kind of the raw materials from which inspiration comes. So I try and note down headlines, links and quotes when I find them that I might want to write about later. This is the “breathing in and out” of inspiration that <a href="https://sive.rs/io">Derek Sivers wrote about</a>.</p>
<p>This is also why I built <a href="https://quotebacks.net/">Quotebacks</a> with Toby Shorin - a tool and protocol for quoting writing online. I’d love to find time to build more micro-tools for bloggers and the online writing ecosystem.</p>
<h2>Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?</h2>
<p>Anywhere that has coffee will do.</p>
<h2>A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?</h2>
<p>My site is built using Jekyll and hosted on Github Pages. You can see the whole repo here: <a href="https://github.com/tomcritchlow/tomcritchlow.github.io">https://github.com/tomcritchlow/tomcritchlow.github.io</a></p>
<p>There’s a bunch of other things that play a part:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://buttondown.com/">Buttondown</a> for my email newsletter </li>
<li><a href="http://plausible.io/">Plausible</a> for analytics </li>
<li><a href="http://Hypothes.is">Hypothes.is</a> for annotations on blog posts </li>
<li><a href="https://commento.io/">Commento</a> for blog comments </li>
<li><a href="http://Are.na">Are.na</a> for saving links</li>
</ul>
<p>I write posts in VScode in markdown and push them to Github to publish. I’m not sure I’d recommend this “bare metal” approach to blogging but it’s kind of fun because I can play around with whatever I want very easily. I’ve tried <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/stories-test-old/">a tap stories format</a> for my blog posts, or <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/all-links/">an archive of every external link on the site</a> (1797 links at time of publish) or a <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/wiki/">digital garden</a> or a <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/feeds/">publicly accessible feed reader</a>.</p>
<p>This kind of “breaking the form” stuff is mostly just experiments but they’re always tons of fun.</p>
<h2>Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?</h2>
<p>I wish I’d figured out why blogging is so important to me earlier. And committed to riffs. And written more. And written weeknotes. And not stopped blogging for two years when I worked at Google. And never written on Medium. And started an email list earlier. And really committed to Hypothesis as a platform. And built my own annotation system for the web. And posted more photos. And done more blogpunk. And linked out more. And written more about my kids. And shared more of what’s not working in my life. And written more. And written that damn junkfeeds essay. And doodled more. And. And. And.</p>
<h2>Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetising personal blogs?</h2>
<p>I don’t monetize my blog directly though like many others it’s been a springboard for…. literally everything? I’m not exaggerating when I say that I don’t think I’d have been able to sustain a 10 year independent consulting career without my blog.</p>
<p>But more than financial rewards, the friendships, discussions and connections that have come from blogging have changed my life.</p>
<h2>Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?</h2>
<p>A lot of the people I’d recommend have already been mentioned! I’ll try and add a few I haven’t seen mentioned:</p>
<ul>
<li>Alan Jacobs ranges across topics but is always thought provoking: <a href="https://blog.ayjay.org/">blog.ayjay.org</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://wordsinspace.net/work/">Shannon Mattern</a> is one of the most prolific writers and thinkers in public that I think more people should really engage with! She posts blogs, syllabus, presentations and more all on her site. </li>
<li>Jarrett Fuller talks design, education, architecture and more: <a href="https://www.jarrettfuller.blog/">jarrettfuller.blog</a> and his excellent podcast: <a href="https://scratchingthesurface.fm/">scratchingthesurface.fm</a> </li>
<li>Henrik Karlsson is one of the most engaging writers out there right now: <a href="https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/">henrikkarlsson.xyz</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://erinkissane.com/">Erin Kissane</a> is a must read. Their <a href="https://erinkissane.com/meta-in-myanmar-full-series">series on Facebook and Myanmar</a> was excellent and important. And I’m enjoying their latest project: <a href="https://www.wrecka.ge/">wrecka.ge</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://sarahendren.com/">Sara Hendren</a> writes excellent pieces on architecture, the built environment, bodies and I’ve been reading her blog forever: </li>
<li><a href="https://frankchimero.com">Frank Chimero</a> is one of the greats and just redesigned his site, maybe more writing coming soon? His piece <a href="https://frankchimero.com/blog/2015/the-webs-grain/">the web’s grain</a> is one of my all time greats. </li>
</ul>
<p>For the business nerds:</p>
<ul>
<li>Will Larson writes some great business pieces: <a href="https://lethain.com/">lethain.com</a> </li>
<li>Cedric at Commoncog (mixture of free and paid) is writing the best business writing out there today: <a href="https://commoncog.com/">commoncog.com</a> </li>
<li>Dave Kellog posts some great stuff that is not the same business 101 advice you read elsewhere: <a href="https://kellblog.com/">kellblog.com</a> </li>
<li>Vaughn Tan has some excellent thought provoking bloggy pieces on business, uncertainty, Ai and meaning making: <a href="https://vaughntan.org/">vaughntan.org</a> </li>
<li>When <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/">Mandy Brown</a> writes I drop everything to read it, but in addition to A Working Library she’s got some great pieces focused on the world of work under her newer <a href="https://everythingchanges.us/">Everything Changes</a> site.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?</h2>
<p>I’m having a lot of fun writing a little series of provocations about near futures thinking with my friend Brian at <a href="https://littlefutures.club/">Little Futures</a>. We’re working on a print on demand recap soon so stay tuned for that.</p>
<hr />
<p>This was the 104th edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Tom. Make sure to <a href="https://tomcritchlow.com">follow his blog</a> (<a href="https://tomcritchlow.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) and get in touch with him if you have any questions.</p>
<h2>Awesome supporters</h2>
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Hedengren</a> (<a href="https://tdh.se/feed/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fabiensauser.ch">Fabien Sauser</a> (<a href="https://fabiensauser.ch/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://dizzard.net/">Maxwell Omdal</a> — <a href="https://numericcitizen.me">Numeric Citizen</a> (<a href="https://feedpress.me/numericcitizen-feeds.xml?ref=numericcitizen.me">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://heydingus.net">Jarrod Blundy</a> (<a href="https://heydingus.net/feeds">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://gwtf.it">Andrea Contino</a> (<a href="https://gwtf.it/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sebastiandedeyne.com/">Sebastian De Deyne</a> (<a href="https://sebastiandedeyne.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nicolalosito.it/">Nicola Losito</a> (<a href="https://nicolalosito.it/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://amerpie.lol/">Lou Plummer</a> (<a href="https://amerpie.lol/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lmika.org/">Leon Mika</a> (<a href="https://lmika.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a 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href="https://shime.sh/">Hrvoje Šimić</a> (<a href="https://shime.sh/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tschmeisser.com/">Travis Schmeisser</a> — <a href="https://doug.pub/">Doug Jones</a> — <a href="https://vincentritter.com/">Vincent Ritter</a> (<a href="https://vincentritter.com/feeds/all.json">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://shen.land/">Shen</a> — <a href="https://holzer.online/">Fabian Holzer</a> (<a href="https://holzer.online/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://netigen.com/">Courtney</a> (<a href="https://netigen.com/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://danritz.com">Dan Ritz</a> (<a href="https://www.danritz.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.ismailsevik.com/">İsmail Şevik</a> (<a href="https://www.ismailsevik.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jeremybassetti.com">Jeremy Bassetti</a> (<a href="https://jeremybassetti.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lukedorny.com">Luke Dorny</a> (<a href="https://lukedorny.com/rss?download=true">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tomeri.org/">Thomas Erickson</a> — <a href="https://herman.bearblog.dev">Herman Martinus</a> (<a href="https://herman.bearblog.dev/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://benny.bearblog.dev">Benny</a> (<a href="https://benny.bearblog.dev/feed/?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://anniemueller.com/">Annie Mueller</a> (<a href="https://anniemueller.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sekhmetdesign.thegeekcartel.com/">SekhmetDesign</a> — <a href="https://glbck.com">Gui</a> (<a href="https://www.glbck.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://longest.voyage/">Jamie</a> (<a href="https://longest.voyage/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.juhaliikala.com/">Juha Liikala</a> (<a href="https://www.juhaliikala.com/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://alongtheray.com">Ray</a> (<a href="https://alongtheray.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://chadmoore.net/">Chad Moore</a> (<a 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href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/">Pete Millspaugh</a> (<a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://creativwork.org/">Martin Matanovic</a> (<a href="https://creativwork.org/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net">Coinciding Narratives</a> (<a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://arun.is/">Arun Venkatesan</a> (<a href="https://arun.is/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fourohfour.net">fourohfour.net</a> (<a href="https://fourohfour.net/feed?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://kemper.fyi">Jonathan Kemper</a> — <a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/">Bookofjoe</a> (<a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/index.rdf">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://marius.ink/">Marius Masalar</a> (<a href="https://marius.ink/feed.atom">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jimmitchell.org/">Jim Mitchell</a> (<a href="https://jimmitchell.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/">Simon Howard</a> (<a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/">Frederick Vanbrabant</a> (<a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com">Thibault Malfoy</a> (<a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://www.beradadisini.com/">Beradadisini</a> (<a href="https://beradadisini.com/?format=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://blog.x-way.org">x-way</a> (<a href="https://blog.x-way.org/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://vincentgeoffray.com">Vincent Geoffray</a> — <a href="https://taonaw.com">TAONAW</a> (<a href="https://taonaw.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com">Sebastián Monía</a> (<a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://grubz.net">grubz</a> (<a href="https://grubz.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sals.place/">Sal</a> (<a href="https://sals.place/feed">RSS</a>)</p>
<h2>Want to support P&B?</h2>
<p>If you like this series and want to help it grow, you can:</p>
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>AI this, AI that</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/ai-this-ai-that</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/6ll0Y6hvczPa3Fce</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 17 Aug 2025 19:20:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>If someone manages to create a content blocker for MacOS/iOS that prevents all the content that mentions either AI or vibe coding to reach my screen, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. I am so goddamn tired of reading about AI, GPT models, and people vibe-coding. I get it, it’s fun tech, but it’s exhausting. It’s the crypto/NFT craze on steroids.</p> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>P&B: Loren Stephens</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/pb-loren-stephens</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/dQW7ajG5v7sroC2f</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>This is the 103rd edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Loren Stephens and his blog, <a href="https://ldstephens.net">ldstephens.net</a></p>
<p>To follow this series <a href="https://peopleandblogs.com">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. A new interview will land in your inbox every Friday. Not a fan of newsletters? No problem! You can read the interviews here on the blog or you can subscribe to the <a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/feed">RSS feed</a>.</p>
<p>If you're enjoying the People and Blogs series and you want to see it grow, consider supporting on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Ko-Fi</a>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?</h2>
<p>I'm Loren Stephens, and I recently turned 80. I'm originally from California, but now I live in central New Jersey with my partner, Lisa, our dog, Trix, and a flock of chickens (yes, they all have names) on our 10-acre property. We also have an abundance of wildlife roaming through.</p>
<p>I retired in 2009, so it's been a while since I've had to get up and go to work every day. Before retiring, I spent 25 years in the automotive industry, 12 years in finance, and 8 years in advertising and media.</p>
<p>These days, I spend my time with Lisa and our animals, looking after our land (which is certified by New Jersey as a wildlife habitat). My routine is pretty consistent, I get my daily exercise, tinker with tech like Jack Baty, read a lot, and handle whatever needs doing around the property. Probably sounds boring, but it works for me.</p>
<h2>What's the story behind your blog?</h2>
<p>I've had several blogs over the years. The first one I remember was on Blogger, sometime after Google bought it in 2003. Honestly, I have no idea what I was writing about back then.</p>
<p>ldstephens.net started on WordPress.com in 2016, around the time I was switching from PC and Android to Apple. I was excited to learn how to use my new iPhone and Mac--and to figure out what apps I should be using. That's when I discovered <a href="https://www.relay.fm/mpu">Mac Power Users</a>. I listened to every episode from the start, and I'm still listening today.</p>
<p>I was learning so much that I wanted to share what I found. I started blogging in the hope that someone else might stumble across my posts and discover something helpful or interesting about using Apple gear. That's still a lot of what I write about today. But I also write for myself to think through ideas and document what I'm learning.</p>
<p>Last year, I started experimenting with the static site generator <a href="https://www.11ty.dev/">11ty</a> and found a WordPress importer. I migrated my blog, and now it's built with 11ty and hosted on <a href="https://www.netlify.com">Netlify</a>.</p>
<h2>What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?</h2>
<p>It's pretty straightforward. I write all my posts in Markdown with front matter, using Drafts on my Mac. Once the post feels ready, I save it to my Desktop and name the file with the post slug.</p>
<p>From there, I drag the file into a <a href="https://www.dropzone.dev/">Dropzone</a> action that moves it into the right folder in my local 11ty project. If needed, I'll open the project in VS Code to make any final edits. Then I use GitHub Desktop to commit and push the changes. Netlify takes care of publishing the site.</p>
<p>I like to keep the whole process simple and flexible.</p>
<h2>Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?</h2>
<p>Not really. Being retired, I write when I feel like it, with no schedule, and because I enjoy it. I usually write on my Mac, sitting somewhere quiet in the house. I try to keep things simple and low pressure.</p>
<h2>A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?</h2>
<p>My blog is a static site built with <a href="https://www.11ty.dev/">11ty</a>, using <a href="https://htmlforpeople.com/">HTML and CSS</a>, and deployed on <a href="https://www.netlify.com/">Netlify</a>. It automatically deploys whenever I push changes to the <a href="https://github.com/ldstep/ldstephensnet">public GitHub repo</a>.</p>
<p>For writing posts, tweaking the design, or adding features, I work in <a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/">VS Code</a>. I draft posts in Markdown using <a href="https://getdrafts.com/">Drafts</a>, then add them to the site in VS Code. I do it all on my M4 MacBook Pro.</p>
<h2>Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?</h2>
<p>Yes. If I were starting a blog today, knowing what I know now, I'd use a static site generator from the start. I've learned enough HTML and CSS to build and maintain a simple static site, and I like the control it gives me.</p>
<p>For someone who doesn't have the time or interest to mess with static site generators, I'd suggest starting with something simple like <a href="https://pika.page">Pika</a> or maybe <a href="https://bearblog.dev">Bear</a> if you want a little more flexibility. I'd recommend staying away from WordPress, it's too much overhead for a personal blog.</p>
<h2>Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetising personal blogs?</h2>
<p>My blog is free to run. 11ty, GitHub, and Netlify are all free to use, and I don’t track analytics. The only cost is $20 a year for the domain. As for making money from it, I’m not interested. It’s free and always will be for anyone to read.</p>
<p>I’m fine with donation buttons like Ko-Fi or Buy Me a Coffee on other people’s blogs. But if an indie blogger starts putting some or all of their content behind a paywall, I’m done. The real question is whether the income from these efforts actually makes a difference financially. I bet in 99.9% of cases, it doesn’t. By switching to a paywalled model, they probably annoy a lot of their loyal readers. So why bother?</p>
<h2>Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?</h2>
<p>Here are a few indie bloggers I enjoy reading, and I don't think they've been interviewed on People and Blogs yet:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://baty.net/">Jack Baty</a></li>
<li><a href="https://blakewatson.com/">Blake Watson</a></li>
<li><a href="https://nice-marmot.net/rss.xml">Dave Rogers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://chrishannah.me/">Chris Hannah</a></li>
<li><a href="https://thomasrigby.com/">Thomas Rigby</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bicycleforyourmind.com/">MacOS Guru</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?</h2>
<p>I don’t have much going on in the way of side projects right now; the blog is my main creative outlet. I still enjoy listening to Mac Power Users, which got me started down this path, and I keep up with a few other Apple-focused podcasts and indie blogs through RSS.</p>
<p>When it comes to websites I enjoy, I like simple personal blogs where people write about what interests them. I appreciate clean, distraction-free sites with thoughtful writing.</p>
<p>I just enjoy learning new things and writing about them.</p>
<p>PS: I don’t do social media, so the only place you’ll find me is on my <a href="https://ldstephens.net">blog</a>. </p>
<hr />
<p>This was the 103rd edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Loren. Make sure to <a href="https://ldstephens.net">follow his blog</a> (<a href="https://ldstephens.net/feed/feed.xml">RSS</a>) and get in touch with him if you have any questions.</p>
<h2>Awesome supporters</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.thingelstad.com">Jamie Thingelstad</a> (<a href="https://www.thingelstad.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://some.studio">Piet Terheyden</a> — Eleonora — <a href="https://carlbarenbrug.com">Carl Barenbrug</a> (<a href="https://carlbarenbrug.com/feed/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tangiblelife.net">Steve Ledlow</a> (<a href="https://tangiblelife.net/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.feadin.eu">Paolo Ruggeri</a> (<a href="https://www.feadin.eu/en/posts/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://thejollyteapot.com">Nicolas Magand</a> (<a href="https://thejollyteapot.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://robhope.com">Rob Hope</a> — <a href="https://chrishannah.me">Chris Hannah</a> (<a href="https://chrishannah.me/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://blog.pcora.eu">Pedro Corá</a> (<a href="https://blog.pcora.eu/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://softlandings.world/">Sixian Lim</a> (<a href="https://www.softlandings.world/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://mattstein.com">Matt Stein</a> (<a href="https://mattstein.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://winnielim.org">Winnie Lim</a> (<a href="https://winnielim.org/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://flamedfury.com/">Flamed</a> (<a href="https://flamedfury.com/feed.xml/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://skyhold.org">C Jackdaw</a> (<a href="https://jackdaw.weblog.lol/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tiv.today">Kevin Humdrum</a> (<a href="https://tiv.today/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.doc.cc/">Fabricio Teixeira</a> (<a href="https://www.doc.cc/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://rosalindcroad.com">Rosalind Croad</a> — <a href="https://www.elmikewalsh.com">Mike Walsh</a> (<a href="https://www.elmikewalsh.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://muhh.lol">Markus Heurung</a> (<a href="https://muhh.lol/notes.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://mwarrenarts.com/">Michael Warren</a> (<a href="https://mwarrenarts.com/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://cagrimmett.com/">Chuck Grimmett</a> (<a href="https://cagrimmett.com/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://bryanmanio.com/">Bryan Maniotakis</a> (<a href="https://bryanmanio.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://bjhess.com/">Barry Hess</a> (<a href="https://bjhess.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ivanmoreale.com">Ivan Moreale</a> — <a href="https://werd.io/">Ben Werdmuller</a> (<a href="https://werd.io/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://corygibbons.com">Cory Gibbons</a> — <a href="https://www.lkhrs.com/">Luke Harris</a> (<a href="https://www.lkhrs.com/blog/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lars-christian.com/">Lars-Christian Simonsen</a> (<a href="https://lars-christian.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.codyschultz.com">Cody Schultz</a> — <a href="https://bradbarrish.com">Brad Barrish</a> (<a href="https://bradbarrish.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://galaiko.rocks">Nikita Galaiko</a> — Erik Blankvoort — <a href="https://jagasantagostino.com">Jaga Santagostino</a> — <a href="https://andzuck.com/">Andrew Zuckerman</a> — <a href="https://www.mattiacompagnucci.com">Mattia Compagnucci</a> (<a href="https://mattiacompagnucci.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tdh.se/">Thord D. Hedengren</a> (<a href="https://tdh.se/feed/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fabiensauser.ch">Fabien Sauser</a> (<a href="https://fabiensauser.ch/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://dizzard.net/">Maxwell Omdal</a> — <a href="https://numericcitizen.me">Numeric Citizen</a> (<a href="https://feedpress.me/numericcitizen-feeds.xml?ref=numericcitizen.me">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://heydingus.net">Jarrod Blundy</a> (<a href="https://heydingus.net/feeds">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://gwtf.it">Andrea Contino</a> (<a href="https://gwtf.it/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sebastiandedeyne.com/">Sebastian De Deyne</a> (<a href="https://sebastiandedeyne.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nicolalosito.it/">Nicola Losito</a> (<a href="https://nicolalosito.it/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://amerpie.lol/">Lou Plummer</a> (<a href="https://amerpie.lol/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lmika.org/">Leon Mika</a> (<a href="https://lmika.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://surplusjouissance.com">Neil Gorman</a> (<a href="https://www.surplusjouissance.com/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://reaper.is/">Reaper</a> (<a href="https://reaper.is/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/">Matt Rutherford</a> (<a href="https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://aleemshaun.com/">Aleem Ali</a> (<a href="https://aleemshaun.com/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nikkin.dev/">Nikkin</a> (<a href="https://nikkin.dev/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://hansfast.net">Hans</a> (<a href="https://hansfast.net/everything.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.morelightmorelight.com/">Matt Katz</a> (<a href="https://www.morelightmorelight.com/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://iljapanic.com/">Ilja Panić</a> — <a href="https://odongo.pl">Emmanuel Odongo</a> — <a href="https://ruk.ca/">Peter Rukavina</a> (<a href="https://ruk.ca/rss/feedburner.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jsrn.net">James</a> (<a href="https://jsrn.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://therealadam.com">Adam Keys</a> (<a href="https://therealadam.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.alexeystar.com/">Alexey Staroselets</a> (<a href="https://alexeystar.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://saturnvalley.org">John L</a> — <a href="https://kangminsuk.com">Minsuk Kang</a> (<a href="https://kangminsuk.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nazhamid.com">Naz Hamid</a> (<a href="https://nazhamid.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ken.fyi">Ken Zinser</a> (<a href="https://ken.fyi/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — Jan — <a href="https://verticolabs.com/">Grey Vugrin</a> (<a href="https://verticolabs.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://mzll.it">Luigi Mozzillo</a> (<a href="https://mzll.it/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.alexhyett.com/">Alex Hyett</a> (<a href="https://www.alexhyett.com/feed/feed.atom.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://andypiper.omg.lol/">Andy Piper</a> — <a href="https://shime.sh/">Hrvoje Šimić</a> (<a href="https://shime.sh/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tschmeisser.com/">Travis Schmeisser</a> — <a href="https://doug.pub/">Doug Jones</a> — <a href="https://vincentritter.com/">Vincent Ritter</a> (<a href="https://vincentritter.com/feeds/all.json">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://shen.land/">Shen</a> — <a href="https://holzer.online/">Fabian Holzer</a> (<a href="https://holzer.online/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://netigen.com/">Courtney</a> (<a href="https://netigen.com/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://danritz.com">Dan Ritz</a> (<a href="https://www.danritz.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.ismailsevik.com/">İsmail Şevik</a> (<a href="https://www.ismailsevik.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jeremybassetti.com">Jeremy Bassetti</a> (<a href="https://jeremybassetti.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lukedorny.com">Luke Dorny</a> (<a href="https://lukedorny.com/rss?download=true">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tomeri.org/">Thomas Erickson</a> — <a href="https://herman.bearblog.dev">Herman Martinus</a> (<a href="https://herman.bearblog.dev/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://benny.bearblog.dev">Benny</a> (<a href="https://benny.bearblog.dev/feed/?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://anniemueller.com/">Annie Mueller</a> (<a href="https://anniemueller.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sekhmetdesign.thegeekcartel.com/">SekhmetDesign</a> — <a href="https://glbck.com">Gui</a> (<a href="https://www.glbck.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://longest.voyage/">Jamie</a> (<a href="https://longest.voyage/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.juhaliikala.com/">Juha Liikala</a> (<a href="https://www.juhaliikala.com/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://alongtheray.com">Ray</a> (<a href="https://alongtheray.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://chadmoore.net/">Chad Moore</a> (<a href="https://chadmoore.net/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ben.wf/">Benjamin Wittorf</a> (<a href="https://ben.wf/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://rkoziel.com/">Radek Kozieł</a> (<a href="https://rkoziel.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.hlplanet.com/">Marcus Richardson</a> — <a href="https://fromemily.com">Emily Moran Barwick</a> (<a href="https://fromemily.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://gosha.net/">Gosha</a> (<a href="https://gosha.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.manton.org/">Manton Reece</a> (<a href="https://www.manton.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.sistrall.it/">Silvano Stralla</a> (<a href="https://www.sistrall.it/en/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://benjaminchait.net">Benjamin Chait</a> (<a href="https://benjaminchait.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://caiwingfield.net">Cai Wingfield</a> — <a href="https://www.esgeroth.org/log/">Pete</a> (<a href="https://www.esgeroth.org/log/feeds/public">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/">Pete Millspaugh</a> (<a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://creativwork.org/">Martin Matanovic</a> (<a href="https://creativwork.org/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net">Coinciding Narratives</a> (<a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://arun.is/">Arun Venkatesan</a> (<a href="https://arun.is/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fourohfour.net">fourohfour.net</a> (<a href="https://fourohfour.net/feed?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://kemper.fyi">Jonathan Kemper</a> — <a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/">Bookofjoe</a> (<a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/index.rdf">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://marius.ink/">Marius Masalar</a> (<a href="https://marius.ink/feed.atom">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jimmitchell.org/">Jim Mitchell</a> (<a href="https://jimmitchell.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/">Simon Howard</a> (<a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/">Frederick Vanbrabant</a> (<a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com">Thibault Malfoy</a> (<a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://www.beradadisini.com/">Beradadisini</a> (<a href="https://beradadisini.com/?format=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://blog.x-way.org">x-way</a> (<a href="https://blog.x-way.org/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://calebhailey.com">Caleb Hailey</a> (<a href="https://calebhailey.com/atom.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://vincentgeoffray.com">Vincent Geoffray</a> — <a href="https://taonaw.com">TAONAW</a> (<a href="https://taonaw.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com">Sebastián Monía</a> (<a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://grubz.net">grubz</a> (<a href="https://grubz.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sals.place/">Sal</a> (<a href="https://sals.place/feed">RSS</a>)</p>
<h2>Want to support P&B?</h2>
<p>If you like this series and want to help it grow, you can:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">support on Ko-Fi</a>;</li>
<li>post about it on your own blog and let your readers know about its existence;</li>
<li><a href="mailto:hello@manuelmoreale.com">email me</a> comments and feedback on the series;</li>
<li><a href="mailto:email@peopleandblogs.com">suggest a person</a> to interview next. I'm especially interested in people and blogs outside the tech/web bubble.</li>
</ol> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>First update on the August challenge</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/first-update-on-the-august-challenge</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/GSo4eEKGied4V5xM</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Aug 2025 07:45:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>It’s Sunday the 10th, the first full week of August is about to end, which means it’s time to check in on my totally arbitrary hiking challenge. As a reminder, the goal is to log at least 4810 meters of total ascent while hiking up the mountains, with two extra stretch goals set at 6961 and 8848 meters. </p>
<p>After 10 days (including a few rainy ones), I am sitting at 1804 meters (and also 42.8km walked), so I’m on pace for around 5500 meters, which is easily over the goal. Having said that, I am typing this at 7:40 in the morning, and I’m currently debating if I should go for another hike today.</p>
<p>The issue with this plan is that the hike I want to do has more than 1000 meters of ascent, and the forecast is saying temperatures can go up to 39°. The combination of these two things is not very appealing at the moment. But I am an idiot, and I’ve done things just as stupid in my life, so I might go for it anyway. I guess we’ll see.</p> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:hello@manuelmoreale.com">Email me</a> ::
<a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/guestbook">Sign my guestbook</a> ::
<a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Support for 1$/month</a> ::
<a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/supporters">See my generous supporters</a> ::
<a href="https://buttondown.email/peopleandblogs">Subscribe to People and Blogs</a></p>
]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>P&B: Alexandra</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/pb-alexandra</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/1ZImnejhZCx9Zqyh</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>This is the 102nd edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Alexandra and her blog, <a href="https://xandra.cc">xandra.cc</a></p>
<p>To follow this series <a href="https://peopleandblogs.com">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. A new interview will land in your inbox every Friday. Not a fan of newsletters? No problem! You can read the interviews here on the blog or you can subscribe to the <a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/feed">RSS feed</a>.</p>
<p>If you're enjoying the People and Blogs series and you want to see it grow, consider supporting on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Ko-Fi</a>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Let’s start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?</h2>
<p>this the hardest question! i’m alexandra! i’m in my mid-30s. i’m originally from the south but now live in the pacific northwest. i did the better part of a decade living in san francisco, and i can attest that leaving your heart there is inevitable when you move away.</p>
<p>i am trying to break myself from the habit of launching into work when describing myself, so i’ll start with these. i’m a bardic (level 1) druid in <a href="https://druidry.org/">OBOD</a> and deeply revere nature. i am a poet, a writer, and i dabble in visual arts. i am a legal marriage officiant. i have a boyfriend of three years who lives with me and our dog, pepper, in our home. i used to be a hardcore gamer, but i find myself playing cozy games these days. i am not very good at cooking, but i’m an excellent baker. i forget names constantly, but i never forget a face. i write lowercase-only in all of my personal work to distinguish it from my serious professional writing, which has always had rules and guidelines and policies that aren’t quite as flexible to be fun. i prefer to play with expectations of language, grammar, and wordplay in my writing, and doing that in traditional case feels … off.</p>
<p>i’ve been working on websites for over two-thirds of my life. i started in 1997/1998, just thinking the internet was complete magic. i ended up becoming a journalist with a coding problem, and that led me to working in tech- and tech-adjacent positions alongside my reporter role. (i eventually pivoted into digital content, and my consistent field for the last 10 years has been web content management.) i’d always just hopped on new tools as they emerged, becoming an early adopter of platforms like twitter, and with that came lessons in how people engaged with content and read/consume online.</p>
<p>i rejoined “this side of the web” during the pandemic, when i was feeling nostalgic and wondering where the internet “went” (turns out: nowhere). my latest personal site, <a href="https://xandra.cc">xandra.cc</a>, launched in 2021.</p>
<p>oh, and i’ve been called “incredibly verbose.”</p>
<h2>What’s the story behind your blog?</h2>
<p>i launched <a href="https://library.xandra.cc">the library of alexandra</a> after some egging on by <a href="https://flamedfury.com/">flamed</a>. i have always had a sour taste in my mouth related to being called a capital-b blogger left over from journalism school, but i thought it was important to have a place for me to be able to ramble as long as i’d like about the minute and perhaps boring details of my life in <em>addition</em> to commentary on things going on. i often see folks lament blogging because they don’t feel as if they do enough to “warrant” a blog entry, but i think having so-called “smaller” moments in these blogging spaces (that are often oversaturated with nazel-gazing about coding projects, software development, or careers–said lovingly, of course!) is important to see and read to understand others while navigating our lives outside of the internet. i enjoy reading others’ blogs because i do not think the way they do, and i want to understand their perspective and outlook. i truly believe we learn from each other through our personal websites and blogs, and hope more folks write more about their lives and less about their work. just trying to be the change i want to see!</p>
<h2>What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?</h2>
<p>usually, it looks like me rattling off about something to my partner too much. (not that he minds!) but i get tossed up between whether or not something belongs on mastodon versus my blog. i think i treat my blog a bit like assuming you’re searching out this type of content rather than on the fediverse, which can just put your posts in front of folks.</p>
<p>i write the entry all at once. it’s typically late at night before bed. i read it over once and, if it’s particularly spicy, i might send it off to a friend for reading over before publishing. after i publish, i’ll read it over once again to check for glaring errors. (i only seem to catch them <em>after</em> publication.)</p>
<h2>Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?</h2>
<p>i wish i was one of those people who could type away in a coffee shop, but i just get too distracted. my ideal creative environment is cool (not cold), alone, and either at night or from a vista i don’t mind daydreaming at, with one of my keyboards that sound particularly soothing when typing a long spell. different keyboards for different activities!</p>
<p>i do think physical space can influence my creativity. if my desk is messy, i tend to do more creative work but feeling overwhelmed and stressed. on the other end, if my desk is clean, i find myself doing more productive or organizational tasks.</p>
<p>i’m also in the process of moving all of my productivity tools over to a self-hosted <a href="https://nextcloud.com/">nextcloud</a> instance, and setting all of that up does feel like it’s keeping me on track with my creative projects.</p>
<h2>A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?</h2>
<p>hell yeah, broseph! i really like supporting independent web projects if i can, so i opt to use services and projects specifically made by small teams or individuals: <a href="https://bearblog.dev">bearblog</a> for my blog, <a href="https://notes.xandra.cc">chyrp lite</a> for my microblog, and <a href="https://xandra.cc">neocities</a> for my personal website.</p>
<h2>Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?</h2>
<p>i would absolutely not try to pigeonhole my content into specific buckets. i thought it’d help me with coming up with essay ideas, but i find myself limited by not really wanting to create additional categories. i’d also change the CSS theming sooner; i used default link styling and the font family used in the theme i picked, but it was really irking me for a while since i enjoy long link text.</p>
<h2>Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what’s your position on people monetising personal blogs?</h2>
<p>i pay $50/year for bearblog’s paid subscription, $5/month for neocities, and $10/month for my shared hosting on dreamhost for my side projects.</p>
<p>honestly, i think the future of content work and content creation is centered around supporting individual and small team creators individually rather than paying for streaming services or legacy media companies. you see this already with <a href="https://www.404media.co">404 media</a>’s flourishing; patreon, onlyfans, ko-fi, <a href="https://ghost.org">ghost</a>… the amount of tools that are being streamlined and improved upon is exploding for bloggers, content creators, and independent developers to make their living essentially crowdsourced. i think anything we can do to gain independence and self-sufficiency outside of a system that is designed to rule/control/manipulate us (e.g. big tech platforms) is a net positive.</p>
<h2>Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?</h2>
<p>the <a href="https://bearblog.dev/discover">bearblog discovery feed</a> is one of the coolest feeds i’ve seen in a while–just the variation of content is so nice to see. and being able to see so much written by real humans feels really, really nice. i recommend going through and finding your next favorite blogger there. there’s something for everyone.</p>
<p>suggesting someone new is so hard because you’ve already interviewed so many of my friends! i’ll throw these 32-bit cafe members out whose blogs i really enjoy:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://caffeineandlasers.com">cameron</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thefrugalgamer.net/blog/">bekah</a></li>
<li><a href="https://delovely.neocities.org/writing/">misty</a></li>
<li><a href="https://rosariadelacroix.neocities.org/blog">rosaria</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.concretelunch.info/">bob</a></li>
</ul>
<p>amazing people and amazing writings! :)</p>
<h2>Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?</h2>
<p>yeah! you’re so cool for doing this! p&b is definitely a gem in the indieweb. :)</p>
<p>if you want to follow more of my stuff, here’s what i’ve been working on lately:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://xandra.cc">the museum of alexandra</a>, my personal website</li>
<li><a href="https://library.xandra.cc">the library of alexandra</a>, my blog</li>
<li><a href="https://32bit.cafe">the 32-bit cafe</a>, a dope community celebrating its 3rd birthday this year that i founded</li>
<li><a href="https://goodinternetmagazine.com">good internet magazine</a>, a biannual print and digital magazine for the non-corporate web that i curate</li>
<li><a href="https://visitriverton.com">riverton</a>, a browser-based virtual pet life simulation game (think neopets but with horses!)</li>
<li><a href="https://persephone.studio">persephone.studio</a> to learn more about my work and hire me</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>This was the 102nd edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Alexandra. Make sure to <a href="https://library.xandra.cc">follow her blog</a> (<a href="https://library.xandra.cc/feed/?type=rss">RSS</a>) and get in touch with her if you have any questions.</p>
<h2>Awesome supporters</h2>
<p>You can support this series on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Ko-Fi</a> and all supporters will be listed here as well as on the <a href="https://peopleandblogs.com">official site</a> of the newsletter.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thingelstad.com">Jamie Thingelstad</a> (<a href="https://www.thingelstad.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://some.studio">Piet Terheyden</a> — Eleonora — <a href="https://carlbarenbrug.com">Carl Barenbrug</a> (<a href="https://carlbarenbrug.com/feed/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tangiblelife.net">Steve Ledlow</a> (<a href="https://tangiblelife.net/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.feadin.eu">Paolo Ruggeri</a> (<a href="https://www.feadin.eu/en/posts/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://thejollyteapot.com">Nicolas Magand</a> (<a href="https://thejollyteapot.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://robhope.com">Rob Hope</a> — <a href="https://chrishannah.me">Chris Hannah</a> (<a href="https://chrishannah.me/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://blog.pcora.eu">Pedro Corá</a> (<a href="https://blog.pcora.eu/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://softlandings.world/">Sixian Lim</a> (<a href="https://www.softlandings.world/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://mattstein.com">Matt Stein</a> (<a href="https://mattstein.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://winnielim.org">Winnie Lim</a> (<a href="https://winnielim.org/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://flamedfury.com/">Flamed</a> (<a href="https://flamedfury.com/feed.xml/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://skyhold.org">C Jackdaw</a> (<a href="https://jackdaw.weblog.lol/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tiv.today">Kevin Humdrum</a> (<a href="https://tiv.today/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.doc.cc/">Fabricio Teixeira</a> (<a href="https://www.doc.cc/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://rosalindcroad.com">Rosalind Croad</a> — <a href="https://www.elmikewalsh.com">Mike Walsh</a> (<a href="https://www.elmikewalsh.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://muhh.lol">Markus Heurung</a> (<a href="https://muhh.lol/notes.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://mwarrenarts.com/">Michael Warren</a> (<a href="https://mwarrenarts.com/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://cagrimmett.com/">Chuck Grimmett</a> (<a href="https://cagrimmett.com/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://bryanmanio.com/">Bryan Maniotakis</a> (<a href="https://bryanmanio.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://bjhess.com/">Barry Hess</a> (<a href="https://bjhess.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ivanmoreale.com">Ivan Moreale</a> — <a href="https://werd.io/">Ben Werdmuller</a> (<a href="https://werd.io/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://corygibbons.com">Cory Gibbons</a> — <a href="https://www.lkhrs.com/">Luke Harris</a> (<a href="https://www.lkhrs.com/blog/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lars-christian.com/">Lars-Christian Simonsen</a> (<a href="https://lars-christian.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.codyschultz.com">Cody Schultz</a> — <a href="https://bradbarrish.com">Brad Barrish</a> (<a href="https://bradbarrish.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://galaiko.rocks">Nikita Galaiko</a> — Erik Blankvoort — <a href="https://jagasantagostino.com">Jaga Santagostino</a> — <a href="https://andzuck.com/">Andrew Zuckerman</a> — <a href="https://www.mattiacompagnucci.com">Mattia Compagnucci</a> (<a href="https://mattiacompagnucci.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tdh.se/">Thord D. Hedengren</a> (<a href="https://tdh.se/feed/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fabiensauser.ch">Fabien Sauser</a> (<a href="https://fabiensauser.ch/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://dizzard.net/">Maxwell Omdal</a> — <a href="https://numericcitizen.me">Numeric Citizen</a> (<a href="https://feedpress.me/numericcitizen-feeds.xml?ref=numericcitizen.me">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://heydingus.net">Jarrod Blundy</a> (<a href="https://heydingus.net/feeds">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://gwtf.it">Andrea Contino</a> (<a href="https://gwtf.it/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sebastiandedeyne.com/">Sebastian De Deyne</a> (<a href="https://sebastiandedeyne.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nicolalosito.it/">Nicola Losito</a> (<a href="https://nicolalosito.it/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://amerpie.lol/">Lou Plummer</a> (<a href="https://amerpie.lol/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lmika.org/">Leon Mika</a> (<a href="https://lmika.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://surplusjouissance.com">Neil Gorman</a> (<a href="https://www.surplusjouissance.com/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://reaper.is/">Reaper</a> (<a href="https://reaper.is/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/">Matt Rutherford</a> (<a href="https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://aleemshaun.com/">Aleem Ali</a> (<a href="https://aleemshaun.com/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nikkin.dev/">Nikkin</a> (<a href="https://nikkin.dev/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://hansfast.net">Hans</a> (<a href="https://hansfast.net/everything.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.morelightmorelight.com/">Matt Katz</a> (<a href="https://www.morelightmorelight.com/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://iljapanic.com/">Ilja Panić</a> — <a href="https://odongo.pl">Emmanuel Odongo</a> — <a href="https://ruk.ca/">Peter Rukavina</a> (<a href="https://ruk.ca/rss/feedburner.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jsrn.net">James</a> (<a href="https://jsrn.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://therealadam.com">Adam Keys</a> (<a href="https://therealadam.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.alexeystar.com/">Alexey Staroselets</a> (<a href="https://alexeystar.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://saturnvalley.org">John L</a> — <a href="https://kangminsuk.com">Minsuk Kang</a> (<a href="https://kangminsuk.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://nazhamid.com">Naz Hamid</a> (<a href="https://nazhamid.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ken.fyi">Ken Zinser</a> (<a href="https://ken.fyi/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — Jan — <a href="https://verticolabs.com/">Grey Vugrin</a> (<a href="https://verticolabs.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://mzll.it">Luigi Mozzillo</a> (<a href="https://mzll.it/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.alexhyett.com/">Alex Hyett</a> (<a href="https://www.alexhyett.com/feed/feed.atom.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://andypiper.omg.lol/">Andy Piper</a> — <a href="https://shime.sh/">Hrvoje Šimić</a> (<a href="https://shime.sh/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tschmeisser.com/">Travis Schmeisser</a> — <a href="https://doug.pub/">Doug Jones</a> — <a href="https://vincentritter.com/">Vincent Ritter</a> (<a href="https://vincentritter.com/feeds/all.json">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://shen.land/">Shen</a> — <a href="https://holzer.online/">Fabian Holzer</a> (<a href="https://holzer.online/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://netigen.com/">Courtney</a> (<a href="https://netigen.com/rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://danritz.com">Dan Ritz</a> (<a href="https://www.danritz.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jeremybassetti.com">Jeremy Bassetti</a> (<a href="https://jeremybassetti.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://lukedorny.com">Luke Dorny</a> (<a href="https://lukedorny.com/rss?download=true">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://tomeri.org/">Thomas Erickson</a> — <a href="https://herman.bearblog.dev">Herman Martinus</a> (<a href="https://herman.bearblog.dev/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://benny.bearblog.dev">Benny</a> (<a href="https://benny.bearblog.dev/feed/?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://anniemueller.com/">Annie Mueller</a> (<a href="https://anniemueller.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sekhmetdesign.thegeekcartel.com/">SekhmetDesign</a> — <a href="https://glbck.com">Gui</a> (<a href="https://www.glbck.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://longest.voyage/">Jamie</a> (<a href="https://longest.voyage/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.juhaliikala.com/">Juha Liikala</a> (<a href="https://www.juhaliikala.com/rss/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://alongtheray.com">Ray</a> (<a href="https://alongtheray.com/feed.rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://chadmoore.net/">Chad Moore</a> (<a href="https://chadmoore.net/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://ben.wf/">Benjamin Wittorf</a> (<a href="https://ben.wf/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://rkoziel.com/">Radek Kozieł</a> (<a href="https://rkoziel.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.hlplanet.com/">Marcus Richardson</a> — <a href="https://fromemily.com">Emily Moran Barwick</a> (<a href="https://fromemily.com/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://gosha.net/">Gosha</a> (<a href="https://gosha.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.manton.org/">Manton Reece</a> (<a href="https://www.manton.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.sistrall.it/">Silvano Stralla</a> (<a href="https://www.sistrall.it/en/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — Mario Figueroa — <a href="https://benjaminchait.net">Benjamin Chait</a> (<a href="https://benjaminchait.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://caiwingfield.net">Cai Wingfield</a> — <a href="https://www.esgeroth.org/log/">Pete</a> (<a href="https://www.esgeroth.org/log/feeds/public">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/">Pete Millspaugh</a> (<a href="https://www.petemillspaugh.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://creativwork.org/">Martin Matanovic</a> (<a href="https://creativwork.org/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net">Coinciding Narratives</a> (<a href="https://www.coincidingnarratives.net/feed/">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://arun.is/">Arun Venkatesan</a> (<a href="https://arun.is/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://fourohfour.net">fourohfour.net</a> (<a href="https://fourohfour.net/feed?type=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://kemper.fyi">Jonathan Kemper</a> — <a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/">Bookofjoe</a> (<a href="https://www.bookofjoe.com/index.rdf">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://marius.ink/">Marius Masalar</a> (<a href="https://marius.ink/feed.atom">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://jimmitchell.org/">Jim Mitchell</a> (<a href="https://jimmitchell.org/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/">Simon Howard</a> (<a href="https://sjhoward.co.uk/feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/">Frederick Vanbrabant</a> (<a href="https://frederickvanbrabant.com/index.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com">Thibault Malfoy</a> (<a href="https://thibaultmalfoy.com/posts_feed">RSS</a>) — <a href="http://www.beradadisini.com/">Beradadisini</a> (<a href="https://beradadisini.com/?format=rss">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://blog.x-way.org">x-way</a> (<a href="https://blog.x-way.org/rss.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://calebhailey.com">Caleb Hailey</a> (<a href="https://calebhailey.com/atom.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://vincentgeoffray.com">Vincent Geoffray</a> — <a href="https://taonaw.com">TAONAW</a> (<a href="https://taonaw.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com">Sebastián Monía</a> (<a href="https://site.sebasmonia.com/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://grubz.net">grubz</a> (<a href="https://grubz.net/feed.xml">RSS</a>) — <a href="https://sals.place/">Sal</a> (<a href="https://sals.place/feed">RSS</a>)</p>
<h2>Want to support P&B?</h2>
<p>If you like this series and want to help it grow, you can:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">support on Ko-Fi</a>;</li>
<li>post about it on your own blog and let your readers know about its existence;</li>
<li><a href="mailto:hello@manuelmoreale.com">email me</a> comments and feedback on the series;</li>
<li><a href="mailto:email@peopleandblogs.com">suggest a person</a> to interview next. I'm especially interested in people and blogs outside the tech/web bubble.</li>
</ol> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:hello@manuelmoreale.com">Email me</a> ::
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>Sticking with it</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/sticking-with-it</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/JDAnOcNyPvhkPVUh</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 22:25:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>Contrary to what many people seem to be doing, especially in the digital world, I don’t often change the tools and services I use. When I find something that works, I’m happy to stick around for the long run. Well, at least unless something major happens that forces me to reconsider my choices.</p>
<p>And I can’t really tell you why I find that approach appealing to me. Maybe because it spares me from constantly having to reconsider my choices. It’s probably the same reason why, for years, I was wearing the same set of clothes: when all you have are white t-shirts, you don’t have to waste time thinking about <em>how</em> to dress; you just get dressed.</p>
<p>I started my career developing sites on WordPress back in 2011. Around 2016 or 2017, I found myself spending so much time fighting against the CMS (and the new Gutenberg editor was coming) that I decided it was time to look for an alternative: I found Kirby and never had to look for alternatives since. I coded this blog on Kirby back in 2017, and it’s still on it, 8 years later. </p>
<p>I’m writing this blog post using IA Writer, an app I’ve been using since April 2012. That’s more than 13 years ago. And the same story applies to pretty much all the apps I use the most: I’ve been using Sublime Text since 2013, Transmit since 2016, and Codekit since 2014.</p>
<p>And the thing I love the most about sticking with tools for the long run is that you get to know the people behind them, and you learn to appreciate those individuals and what they do. That is especially true in my case because most of the tools I use are built by either small teams or single developers.</p>
<p>When I have an issue with Buttondown, a service I’ve been using since 2019, I don’t open a ticket inside a soulless Zendesk portal and get an automated email: I email <a href="https://jmduke.com">Justin</a>. When I stumble on a bug inside Codekit, I email <a href="https://codekitapp.com/about/">Bryan</a>. And I absolutely love it, I love when I know who are the people on the other side, doing things that allow me to be creative and have fun doing my job.</p>
<p>I also love when I get to be involved. One of the things I love the most about Kirby, for example, is how amazing the community is and has been throughout all these years. It’s also why I was so stoked the other day when I got a message letting me know I got accepted as a <a href="https://more.ko-fi.com/ko-fi-ambassadors">Ko-fi Ambassador</a> because I love when I have the chance to give my contribution and help improve the tools I use.</p>
<p>Sticking around is fun, it’s enjoyable, and seeing products evolve and improve over time is both exciting and rewarding, which is why it always makes me happy when I get to contribute something back to the products I use. It’s why I’m happy to pay for good software, it’s why I’m happy to support creators I enjoy. I want good and quality things to exist in this world, and doing my small part to help that cause fills me with joy.</p> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:hello@manuelmoreale.com">Email me</a> ::
<a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/guestbook">Sign my guestbook</a> ::
<a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Support for 1$/month</a> ::
<a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/supporters">See my generous supporters</a> ::
<a href="https://buttondown.email/peopleandblogs">Subscribe to People and Blogs</a></p>
]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>P&B: Emma Goto</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/pb-emma-goto</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/d2MrsIHGODkebDW7</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>This is the 101st edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Emma Goto and her blog, <a href="https://www.emgoto.com">emgoto.com</a></p>
<p>To follow this series <a href="https://peopleandblogs.com">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. A new interview will land in your inbox every Friday. Not a fan of newsletters? No problem! You can read the interviews here on the blog or you can subscribe to the <a href="https://manuelmoreale.com/feed">RSS feed</a>.</p>
<p>If you're enjoying the People and Blogs series and you want to see it grow, consider supporting on <a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">Ko-Fi</a>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Let's start from the basics: Can you introduce yourself?</h2>
<p>Hi, I'm Emma! I'm half-Japanese and half-Australian, and was born and raised in Sydney before moving to Tokyo in 2022.</p>
<p>Growing up, I was a huge PC gamer. Spending so much time on my computer is what led me down the path to studying computer science at university, and then getting a job as a software engineer. I work remotely for an Australian software company and do <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/four-day-work-week/">a 4-day work week</a>, which gives me more time to enjoy hobbies like my blog.</p>
<p>Although I grew up as a super introverted person who liked to stay indoors, I tried out hiking for the first time when I moved to Japan and was immediately hooked. My current goal is to complete the <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/hyakumeizan/">hyakumeizan</a>, a list of Japan's 100 most famous mountains. After 3 years, I'm just over halfway at 55/100. I expect the remaining half to take a lot longer though, since a lot of the remaining mountains are far away and/or require hiking longer distances to complete.</p>
<p>Outside of hiking I also like to <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/books/">read</a> and on the rare occassion, play <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/airsoft-in-japan/">airsoft</a>. I'm trying to learn Mandarin so that I can speak to my partner's grandparents, but I'll admit that that's pretty slow-going at the moment.</p>
<h2>What’s the story behind your blog?</h2>
<p>Early on in my career, I didn't have much confidence in myself as a programmer. When I first started learning how to code at university, it felt like everyone around me already knew what they were doing, and I was playing catch-up. It took a couple of years for things to start to click, and as I settled into full-time work I knew I wanted to become a "better" programmer but at the same time I didn't really know where to start. I'd often heard the advice that you should start a blog to share what you learn, since being able to explain a topic to someone else requires you to know it really well. And so that's how I started blogging!</p>
<p>In 2020, I commited to <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/16-week-streak/">writing a post every week</a> which I managed to end up sticking with for <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/review-2020/">the entire year</a>. When I moved to Japan in 2022, programming outside of work took a backseat as I tried to find new hobbies and make friends, and so my blog fell by the wayside a bit as well. It was around this time that I got super into <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/hiking/">hiking</a>. </p>
<p>At first I didn't feel like hiking was worth blogging about, but by 2024 I started to write up a post after each new mountain that I climbed, like when I climbed <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/mt-fuji/">Mt Fuji</a>. Although there's a lot of information on hiking in Japanese, there's not as much out there for English-speakers, so the more I wrote about hiking, the more I felt like I had something that was worth sharing.</p>
<p>Although I started emgoto.com off as a programming blog, it's been a really fun realization for me there's really no constraints on what I should write about. I own the blog, so I make the rules! I expect that one day I might start hiking less, or run out of mountains to blog about, in which case I'm sure I'll be able to find something new to start blogging about too. </p>
<h2>What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?</h2>
<p>I write all of my posts in a text editor called Obsidian. I try not to be too much of a perfectionist about things. I think that even if my writing isn't perfect, it being out there on the internet for someone to read is better than it lingering in my drafts forever. I don't have a specific writing process - generally I just start with a rough outline and add in random unfinished sentences or thoughts and then come back to it later to make it a little bit more coherent. </p>
<p>I'm also a big fan of the <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/my-digital-garden/">digital garden</a> approach to blogging, and so I don't necessarily see publishing a post as the end of it. Probably 90% of the views I get on a post will come months after it's released as it starts to show up in Google searches. So I tend to keep an eye on my analytics and if I see the views are starting to trickle in on an older post, I take that as an opportunity to go back and see if there's anything I can improve about it.</p>
<h2>Do you have an ideal creative environment? Do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?</h2>
<p>To get out of a rut, I like going to a fancy cafe to help get me in the zone. I used to live near a Sarutahiko Coffee, which is a bit of a fancy coffee chain that I would recommend if you're ever visiting Japan. There's something motivating about having other people around you working on their laptops.</p>
<p>Other times an idea might come to me while I'm zoning out on a train ride, so I'll just word-vomit out my thoughts into a text file on my phone. The time I spend hiking is also another great source of inspiration. I find being disconnected from your phone for a full day gives your mind a lot of time to wander and just <em>think</em> which is generally rare for me when the internet is a quick phone swipe away.</p>
<h2>A question for the techie readers: Can you run us through your tech stack?</h2>
<p>I'm currently using Astro, after making the switch from Gatsby late last year. The build times are definitely an improvement, and the overall dev experience feels much nicer as well. I use React for the frontend, since that's what I use at my day job. </p>
<p>All my blog posts are organized as MDX posts (i.e. fancy Markdown that lets you insert components into your posts). I was previously using Markdown with my Gatsby blog as well, and so that made it really easy to port all of my content over.</p>
<p>You're all probably familiar with frontmatter, which lets you add metadata to your posts. At a minimum, each of my Markdown files will have a title, date and tags, but I do like to use this feature quite extensively with my hiking posts. For example, I have a map with all the mountains on my <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/hyakumeizan/">hyakumeizan</a> page so inside of the frontmatter for my hiking posts I also note down the latitude and longitude, elevation and other relevant data for the mountain.</p>
<p>One fancy hack I have is scheduling when my posts are published. After I write a new post, I'll raise it as a pull request on my site's Github repo. I then have a Github action that automatically merges the pull request on a certain day of the week. And merging the code triggers a new deploy of my site, so it's a really handy way of staying consistent with my publishing schedule. I find it's a lot less stressful than rushing towards a deadline to try and get out a new post every week. </p>
<p>For hosting, I use Netlify. I also use Cloudflare CDN, which caches about half of the requests, and so thankfully I still have a fair bit of leeway on Netlify's free tier.</p>
<p>Since I cover very different topics on my blog (<a href="https://www.emgoto.com/books/">books</a>, <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/programming/">programming</a>, and <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/hiking/">hiking</a>), I have different designs and layouts for the 3 sections. Part of the fun of running a blog for me is the design aspect of it, so I spend a lot of time procrastinating on the actual writing by tinkering with the blog's code.</p>
<h2>Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?</h2>
<p>I wouldn't say I regret it too much, but I did have a full 2-year break on my blog when I first moved to Japan. At the time it was very programming-themed (it's still the same design you can see today on the <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/programming/">programming</a> section of my site) and so although I wanted to blog about Japan, it just felt <em>weird</em> to do that on my programming blog. </p>
<p>I was able to do a redesign to make the different sections of my site clearer, but in hindsight I wish I had continued to blog a bit during that time. I learned how to drive in Japan, actually, so even a post about the driving school experience would have been pretty interesting I think.</p>
<p>I'm definitely glad though that I named the blog after myself, since it did give me that flexibility to keep on writing about whatever I wanted to. As long as I'm the one doing the writing, anything goes! Maybe I would have gone with emmagoto.com instead of shortening it to emgoto.com - at the time I bought the domain I thought having less characters sounded cooler.</p>
<h2>Financial question: How much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate revenue?</h2>
<p>I pay 17 USD a year for my domain name using NameCheap. This is the only real expense for my blog since the hosting is free.</p>
<p>I don't generate any revenue. For a while, I did have Carbon ads on my programming posts as they are quite non-intrusive, but it was only bringing me in a couple of dollars a month and I felt I'd rather have no ads in that case, so I removed it.</p>
<p>Financially the blog has no benefit, but I do feel like it gives me a sense of purpose, and it's nice knowing that someone out there (even if it's just one person) has gotten value from the stuff that I've written. And even if no one reads some of my more niche hiking posts, I like being able to go back and read them for myself too.</p>
<h2>Time for some recommendations: Any blog you think is worth checking out? And who do you think I should interview next?</h2>
<p>If you're interested in reading more about hiking in Japan, I recommend <a href="https://ridgelineimages.com/">ridgelineimages.com</a> which is run by a fellow Aussie. And if you're looking to get super niche, <a href="https://onehundredmountains.blogspot.com/">One Hundred Mountains</a> can provide a bit of an interesting deep-dive into the history of Japanese hiking as well.</p>
<p>I also love discovering new blog designs - some of my recent favourites have been <a href="https://www.nicchan.me/">Nic Chan</a>, <a href="https://www.iamrob.in/">iamrobin</a>, <a href="https://antfu.me/">Anthony Fu</a> and <a href="https://ellesho.me/page/">elle's homepage</a>.</p>
<h2>Final question: Is there anything you want to share with us?</h2>
<p>Come hike in Japan! If you're not sure where to start, I have a round-up post with some of my <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/japan-best-hikes/">favourite hikes in Japan</a> as well as some recommendations for <a href="https://www.emgoto.com/tokyo-day-hikes/">day hikes from Tokyo</a>. And of course feel free to reach out to me on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/emgoto.com">Bluesky</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/emmago.to/">Instagram</a> if you have any questions.</p>
<p>I'd also like to plug <a href="https://hardcover.app/@emma?referrer_id=15017">Hardcover</a> which is a book tracking app that is turning out to be a pretty good replacement for Goodreads. They have an API you can use to query on your books (which is I'm sure music to any dev's ears) and they're planning on going open-source too!</p>
<hr />
<p>This was the 101st edition of <em>People and Blogs</em>. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Emma. Make sure to <a href="https://www.emgoto.com">follow her blog</a> (<a href="https://www.emgoto.com/rss.xml">RSS</a>) and get in touch with them if you have any questions.</p>
<h2>Awesome supporters</h2>
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<h2>Want to support P&B?</h2>
<p>If you like this series and want to help it grow, you can:</p>
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<li><a href="https://ko-fi.com/manuelmoreale">support on Ko-Fi</a>;</li>
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<li><a href="mailto:email@peopleandblogs.com">suggest a person</a> to interview next. I'm especially interested in people and blogs outside the tech/web bubble.</li>
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]]></description>
<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
</item>
<item>
<title>August Challenge</title>
<link>https://manuelmoreale.com/august-s-challenge</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/ifxYtkpARJzfkTaU</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2025 20:45:00 +0200</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[
<p>After the experiments of June and July, I say it’s time to switch gears, do something a little bit different and take my ass away from the screen and up the mountains. As part of my year-long plan to get back into proper shape, I decided to take hiking seriously again and what better way to kickstart this than a fun challenge to myself during the month of August.</p>
<p>Back in 2022, I set myself the goal of walking at least 1000km—which I did—so this time, rather than focusing on distance, I’ll go for total gained elevation. But rather than having an all-or-nothing goal, I decided to set three targets in increasing order of difficulty.</p>
<p>The base target is gonna be <strong>4810 meters</strong>, or a bit more than 52 American football fields for the non-metric friends across the ocean. That’s the height of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc">Mont Blanc</a>, the tallest mountain in Europe. Spread across 31 days, it’s a bit more than 155 meters of elevation gained each day, which is super duper doable, if I get good weather.</p>
<p>After that, the next target is set at <strong>6961 meters</strong> (roughly 75 statues of liberty), aka the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconcagua">Aconcagua</a>, the tallest mountain in the Americas.</p>
<p>The final target, unsurprisingly, is gonna be set at <strong>8848 meters</strong> (4731 Obamas), which is the height of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest_mountains_on_Earth">when measured at sea level</a>).</p>
<p>Those are the three targets; we’ll see where I land after 31 days. Feel free to place your bets. No need to say that this whole challenge can be completely derailed by weather, but I’m confident I’ll make it at least to the top of Mont Blanc. I’m going to track all my hikes, and I’ll share progress along the way. My plan is to do daily short-ish hikes and then go for one big hike every weekend. We’ll see how long it's gonna take for the plan to go off the rails.</p>
<p>If you’re a hiker and want to join me in this challenge, that would be awesome! Ping me via email, and we can figure out how to do this or post on your site if you have one and send me the link.</p>
<p>And if you’re one of those super athletes who hikes 8000 meters just to go to work, feel free to set your target on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Mons">Olympus Mons</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p>Since I’m gonna spend likely more time than usual outdoors, I decided to also try something else in August: my first pop-up newsletter! And since I like to do things my way, I decided to do this in collaboration with <a href="http://codyschultz.com">Cody</a>, which means this is gonna be, quite possibly, the first four-hands-two-continents pop-up newsletter.</p>
<p>It’s called <a href="https://buttondown.com/naturalconversation">Natural Conversation</a> and it’s gonna be loosely centred on the topic of nature. The goal is to send 1 photograph and about 500 words each day. You’ll hear from Cody on odd days and from me on even ones. Which means you’ll get awesome pictures and great writing on odd days and my usual ramblings on even ones. </p>
<p>As per the rules of pop-up newsletters, the entire list will get deleted at the end of the month, and there will be no archive. You have this chance and this chance alone to get this content so <a href="https://buttondown.com/naturalconversation">subscribe now, before it’s too late</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p>A few words on Cody. If you clicked on the link I included a few paragraphs above, you might have noticed that he doesn’t have a proper site, which is odd considering he’s a photographer and a writer. That is entirely my fault, not his. I’m working on a new site for him, and it’s taking me forever for reasons I’m not going to get into. But I promise that by the end of this challenge, he will have a new site up, and you’ll be able to follow his digital journey if you decide to do so. <a href="https://buttondown.com/codyschultz">He does have a newsletter though</a>, so maybe subscribe to that in the meantime?</p>
<p>See what I did Cody? I managed to public-shame myself into finishing your site, and you’re also now screwed because people will expect content from you if they sign up to your newsletter (go sign up to Cody’s newsletter).</p>
<hr />
<p>Ok, enough with the ramblings, let me wrap this up. This is what you’ll get from me in August: lots of hiking, lots of nature. We’ll go up the mountains, hopefully gain a lot of elevation and lose some weight in the process (I need to get back to my ideal weight of 85kg, currently sitting at 88). And every other day, you’ll hear from me in your inbox if you decide to <a href="https://buttondown.com/naturalconversation">sign up for the pop-up newsletter</a>.</p> <hr>
<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
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<author>hello@manuelmoreale.com (Manuel Moreale)</author>
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