I hope this finds you well, reader. I know the odds of that aren’t that great. I don’t expect that there are many of you, anyway, but I hope that anyone finding this page will gain something from what I share here, even if nothing more than a sense that there are other humans still alive, seeing, thinking, and writing out there.
Primarily, I’m writing to collect and formalize my thinking about certain topics that interest me. So even if this shout into the void finds no ears, it will have had some value. I’m writing pseudonymously so that I can be as unfiltered and honest as possible.
By virtue of publishing this on Neocities, it is probably already clear that this isn’t a content mill or any kind of for-profit endeavor. No large language models, chatbots, or AIs are involved. I’ll write when I can. It’s fun to build a web page like it’s 1995! In that spirit, I am building the HTML and CSS from scratch, too. Expect some rough edges at first.
What I want to focus on
An overview: I spend a lot of time thinking about the condition of humanity under 21st century capitalism; I have a range of mental health experiences I’d like to digest into something useful for others; I worry pointlessly and fruitlessly about the climate apocalypse we’re facing; I look for ways to reconnect with the real world around me and the people that matter most to me.
Small-scale tech: I’m skeptical of modern technological offerings which inevitably present themselves as wonderful gifts from the powers that be but take the shape of a wooden horse full of men ready to plunder. I attempt to opt out as much as possible, from advertising to internet-of-things devices to recommendation algorithms to social networks. I mention this because I think I will write up some technical guides on how to assert control over your personal data and how it intersects with my philosophy, if that’s something you would like to do.
(Full disclosure: I’ve spent many years working as a software developer in some of the big tech companies you’ve definitely heard of. I spent those years doing my best not to work on anything evil. I’m currently taking a break from it and trying other things.)
In summary, I’ll attempt to write some useful essays, guides, and the occasional book review. Or whatever strikes my fancy.
Logistics
This is a static site, so there is no chat or comment functionality. I’m going to think about how best to be reachable, if for some reason you’ve found me and want to say hello. Let’s say contact info will eventually be found on the about page.