Linkroll

One of the only things I thought I would miss about Tumblr was how easy it was to just post links to other content. With or without commentary, Tumblr has always made it incredibly easy to share and repost links from around the web. That’s definitely harder to do when you’re self-hosting a blog.

So, after poking around, I decided to set up a linkroll using Raindrop.io. Raindrop.io is a bookmark manager which I already use for my personal bookmarks; rather than keep them in various browsers, using one tool has made it much easier to keep track of bookmarks across my various machines. However, they also have a “shared collections” feature, which I hadn’t tried before. 

The linkroll will be links to articles which I find interesting; I can add notes to them if I want to, as well. If you’re so inclined, you can follow my linkroll using rss as well.

I’m toying with the idea of linking it to my Mastodon account somehow as well, since I haven’t really used that, and microblogging seems generally better on Bluesky.

October 18, 2023

There was something that I didn’t anticipate when I moved my archives back to Tumblr

Tumblr seems focused on making the experience actively worse.

What they’re actually trying to do, of course, is make money. But in doing so they’re designing a site that is much harder to run an actual blog from. They disable custom themes by default, and by default the urls they give you now redirect you to a dashboard view, rather than your website.

They’ve made it so that you can no longer use a domain you actually own - and you can’t pay to use your own domain, either, you have to buy it through them.

They now force you to see “Tumblr Live”, a feature I have no interest in, within their app.

The ads they run are constant, which I understand and could forgive if the overall experience was better; but it isn’t.

In short, Tumblr isn’t what it used to be. So yesterday I started experimenting with running my own site off of Neocities, a web host that attempts to embrace the spirit of the old internet. To generate entries I’m using Publii, which is a very nice piece of software which allows you to write and create blog entries which are static html pages. It takes care of things like pagination, so that the entries are still easy to navigate. [Edit - in the end I moved back to Blot.im, because it’s cheaper. And I’m drafting using Bear, the best note taking experience on Mac.]

I’m still working on how to move my archives over - there’s a few ways I’m considering, one of which is just leaving them at my Tumblr url. Either way, I won’t be deleting the Tumblr - getting the archives over there was a lot of work, and I think it makes sense to keep it as a backup. I may cross-post there from time to time, we’ll see.

October 17, 2023

Back to Routine

On the weekend we went to see our friend run the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. And I couldn’t believe it had been a year since I ran the half-marathon. Where had the year gone? How did I get so out of shape in such a short time? 

So the next day, my husband and I signed up for the full marathon for 2024. I have 380 days to train and get in shape, which should be doable; so long as I go slow, and build up to it, so I don’t get injured. 

I ran for the first time in a while today, just 3.5km in half an hour. I ran in intervals of running and walking, and it felt good to be back on the treadmill! 

Anyway, some housekeeping notes - as previously mentioned this site now runs on blot.im again. I did a quick and dirty import of my old tumblr posts, from an old Blot backup. However, if you would like to browse the archives, I highly recommend using the Tumblr Archive Page, which is much prettier. (Although I think you have to be signed in to Tumblr to scroll the whole thing?? Another reason Tumblr is terrible now.)

October 17, 2023

Okay Here, Have a Selfie

Me at the Jay Game

July 20, 2023

Hot Dog Day

National Hot Dog Day

Photo of my Hot Dogs with Cheese Sauce

I had three

July 20, 2023

Adventure Time

Adventure Time - Click for Video

Adventure Time is this absolutely beautiful work of art that explores the deep meaning of life and what it means to be a hero and a child, and it’s a wonderful perfect show.

But let’s just take a moment to appreciate the absolute zaniness of the first season and the throw away gags like this one.

Driven by Cheese

July 10, 2023