I use Zen Browser on Linux. While playing around with LazyVim (I know, I know) I learned about Tridactyl which is a plugin that let’s you manipulate Firefox (or Zen) using Vim-like key bindings.
It feels weird and I keep tripping over myself, but I feel like once I’m used to it, this is a great way to browse.
I spent all morning toying with a few different static blogging options that could replace Hugo.
Kev had generously sent me a head start on a Jekyll theme that mimics my WordPress theme at baty.blog. I installed Jekyll and (to my surprise) I didn’t hit any Ruby walls. While it was a great head start, I realized how much work remained, and I’m still not sure I want to use Jekyll.
The worst thing about Hugo is the templating language. It’s so weird to me. Weird enough that it prevents me from tweaking things the way I like. For kicks, I installed Zola, which I haven’t played with in years. It’s like a sensible version of Hugo (single binary, etc.). I failed to port the theme Kev gave me to Zola, so I installed a pre-existing theme, Tabi. I kind of like it, but it’s not really what I’m looking for, and I don’t think I want to learn enough about Zola to make it happen.
So it’s 2:00 in the afternoon and I’ve got nothing but dead ends to show for my day. Still in Hugo for now. It’s a beautiful day, so I think I’ll go for a nice walk.
You know what site of mine works just the way I like it? daily.baty.net. I tend to forget that. The problem is usually that it’s (currently) built using Kirby CMS and I kind of don’t want to stay sharp with Kirby. Maybe I’ll just use it as is until something breaks. If nothing ever breaks, I’m golden.
STATUS: Futzing with Zola and Jekyll in an attempt to pull away from Hugo but stay in SSG land.
It’s weird how I spend a few days relaxing in WordPress, then I wake up one day and think, “Maybe I’ll generate my whole website with Org-mode and Emacs!” I probably won’t do that, but I sometimes consider it.
I don’t want photography be just another way to generate files to play with on the computer.
The temperature dipped to freezing for the first time this year. This usually means it’s truly the end of summer. Blech.
STATUS: An entire day to myself with no other obligations. ::rubs hands together and laughs maniacally::
TODO: I’ll probably fart around more in Darktable. Maybe even hit the darkroom to make a few prints.
At some point, for some reason, Zen changed the New Tab behavior when opening new tabs:
NEW TABS HAVE BEEN REMOVED, instead we are opting for opening the URL bar and then pressing enter to open a new tab (‘zen.urlbar.replace-newtab’ to false in about:config to revert)
Thing is, I prefer using an SSG for my blog, but I’ve been posting using WordPress over at baty.blog for a few reasons:
I sometimes like a change of venue
I like the Twenty Twenty Five theme
It’s nice having built-in comments and analytics
If I wanted to change themes, it’s just a few clicks
Dragging images into the editor is so easy
Anything I might want to do is probably available as a plugin
But still, I would rather use an SSG like Hugo.
Instead of switching to WordPress, I think I would be OK if I had a new theme. Something with the following attributes:
Full posts on home page, with the option to use <!-- more --> or whatever for extra-long posts.
No dependency on featured images in order for it to look good. I’ll add an image to the post if I want one.
Need to pin the daily post each day.
Honestly, if I could find a theme that worked and looked like the Twenty Twenty Five theme but it was for, say, Jekyll, I’d consider switching to Jekyll. I just want to look at my blog and think, “Aah, that’s nice”. Currently, I don’t.
I thought about firing up Claude Code and having it help me, but I really don’t want to build and support my own theme.
I’m becoming a fan of this awkward kit. The F100 is such a sleeper and can be had relatively cheaply. I ended up with that weird-looking SB-20 flash as part of a local Facebook purchase. There might be something to this TTL flash, auto-focus, auto-exposure photography thing.
My therapist asked me why I thought it was a problem to have so many blogs/cameras/notebooks/etc. and I couldn’t give her a good answer. It often feels like a problem, but is it? Maybe not. Maybe I’m just having fun and that’s fine.
I’m using WordPress lately because it’s easy and I don’t have to think about anything but the typing. Images are easy to add and it can do fancy things when it needs to. Sure, it’s a bit bloated and janky, but if what I do most of the time is hit “New post” and write, who cares?
I swear to god if I see one more person accuse someone else of being “complicit” with one evil group or another because they happen to use a product that is somehow remotely tangental to that group I’m going to become complicit. Fuck off.
STATUS: Sleep: Up at 4:00 am, as usual. I’m trying to settle in to using WordPress for the daily posts. I don’t know if it will stick.
TODO: Visit daughter and grandson. Babysit for a couple hours.
READING: Continued “The Tools”
LISTENING: to my wife’s workout channel coming from the next room.
I have so many great cameras, and I have the free time to use them. Yet I’ve barely been taking any photographs. Why is that? I’d love to figure it out.
I wake up every day wondering who I’m going to be that day.
Both WordPress and Hugo have things to like about them, so I keep using both because I don’t want to miss out on the good things about one when I decide to use the other. It’s silly, but there we are.
STATUS: Weight: down. Sleep: Dunno, the Pebble said 1.5 hours which is a bit off
TODO: Therapy, groceries, maybe clean the closet
WATCHING: Bingeing the 3rd season of “The Diplomat”
I impulse ordered the new Pebble smartwatch as soon as it was announced. At the time, I was looking for excuses to stop wearing my Apple Watch, and this seemed as good as any.
The watch arrived yesterday. It’s very white :). There was no setup to speak of other than downloading the app so I can pick from thousands of faces. That should keep me busy for a while. I love e-paper screens.
I haven’t spent much time playing with everything, but I feel like we’ll get along fine. My only complaint is that there’s no way to rotate the display so that (as a lefty) I can comfortably use the watch on my right wrist.
The only thing I’ve done is to add a Timer app and assigned it to a long press of the middle button. Time, weather, notifications, and timers are my primary uses for a smartwatch, so I’m covered.
