Blog Questions

Jan 29, 2025

Wow, this post is hot cup of nostalgia. Remember the indie web? My pal Luke must have known that if he gently nudged me enough times, I’d buckle and write a new post, so after he tagged me in for this Blog Questions meme, here I am.

Why did you start blogging in the first place?
I’m pretty sure my first website was in 2001, but first time I started regularly posting was in 2003, when my wife and I moved to Alaska. We used it to keep our family and friends in the know with our adventures. I suppose the first time I started posting on this particular collection of bits was in 2004. I was keen to become a part of this world of design and web standards. Dean Allen had just released some early version of Textpattern, and I gave it a whirl. I figured I was, perhaps, a little late to the party, but the best way to learn about all this stuff is to do it. So, I did.

What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
Around 2013, I started using Kirby. I admire Kirby’s simplicity and lean middle layer. Due to the incredible amount of cruft that has accumulated through a variety of migrations over the years, along with my general lack of patience, I’m sure I do not use Kirby to its full potential. Every time I rebuild the site I try to make it lighter, simpler, and less rough around the edges. I believe I still have some work to do here.

Have you blogged on other platforms before?
Yes, of course. Prior to Kirby, this site ran on ExpressionEngine, Textpattern, and I even wrote my own terrible, hand-built nightmare of a CMS. Each time I upgraded, I learned a bit along the way.

How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?
I’m pretty sure I have Kirby’s panel installed, but I do not use it. I hand-write any posts in whatever editor is handy at the moment and then sync my posts up via SFTP.

When do you feel most inspired to write?
It’s rare these days. I became very disenchanted with publishing anything on the internet around 2016. I kinda stopped blogging, posting to Twitter or anything else really. What can I say? The internet felt a little broken to me for a while. I’m slowly creeping back, though. I post words on Mastodon and images on Pixelfed. And I podcast regularly on The Incomparable. Things are looking up! Perhaps this is a kick in the right direction to post here more. No promises, though.

Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
I usually post right away. If it’s a big thinker of a post, I’ll have a friend read it first, but once it’s out of my brain, I like to see it live as soon as possible.

What’s your favourite post on your blog?
There are a few that come to mind:

• On Criticism encourages people to take a beat to summon up some empathy before offering their unsolicited opinions.
• Learning to Ride is about a two-sentence dialog with my daughter makes me want to cry.
• The Process of Getting Better was about a multi-year long journey of trying to get a little bit stronger. It’s hard, but worth it.

Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
Look, I’m just trying to remember this thing exists and type on it more often than once every 10 years. I’ve redesigned it enough times to know that will not make me type more. If I redesign or rebuild it, I will look to simplify even more, but I’m not looking for a bonus hobby at the moment!

Who’s next?
Gosh, it took me long enough that most of my internet pals have done this already. Dan and I had some coffee last time I was in Boston, and we did lots of reminiscing about the old days of the web. Given the nostalgia of this post, I’ll take that as a sign to tag him in.