I haven't yet created a blogroll. They are simple, but somehow, I am caught in a conundrum: What's the purpose?

Don't let the blogroll be the mechanism to exhibit that you read "intelligent" voices. That makes most blogrolls look the same. Make it a mechanism for discovering unique and diverse voices. There's no point in putting Seth Godin and Daring Fireball on the blogroll, as anyone who reads blogs would know them anyway.

In my early blogging days, I included blogs from my real-life and online friends on my blogroll, and they reciprocated. That was blogroll etiquette. The only intention behind this space then was to find new people that people I know know, if you know what I mean. Soon, however, it turned into a status game of flaunting one’s reading list rather than engaging with new voices and ideas. Discovery stopped being the purpose.

My blogroll should be a list of writers I want more people to read. They need not be the best writers. Not even the writers that I like reading from the most. Now that I think about it, that can be my blogroll. That should be my blogroll. Who's to stop?

Time to stop overthinking.

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I have meant to write this post for quite a while, where I spill all my thoughts. The title clicked, and here's the post, finally.

The last few weeks have been crazy busy, both personally and professionally. I had to handle a lot of things and make too many decisions. Life kept throwing curveballs, and dodging them was all I did. That meant all the plans, the routine, and the focus areas for the year were out the window. I could not focus on anything other than living.

Trudging along was productive enough.

For me, productivity is a sham. There is no definition of it, just as there is no definition of life. I am always productive—and never am. I might not be productive at the same thing every day or doing what I want, but I am productive because I produce a significant result—my life.

I am only as productive as my life allows me to be. Why, then, is being productive revered so much?

For the last month or so, I have been unable to do anything I wanted. But I was the most productive during this period because I’ve walked through it and emerged forged anew—stronger, sharper, and refreshed.

This period also reminded me that my child and family's well-being are paramount to me. No cost, monetary or otherwise, is too steep for that. Everything else is an afterthought. I don't feel burdened. Tired? Helpless? Sure.

But what's life when no one depends on you? When there's no one for you to depend on?

Why is there confetti in the title? Isn't spaghetti better? Well, spaghetti is a messy representation. I wanted to twist my mind—currently, it is a confetti tangle, scattered and impossible to sort neatly. Each thread is a tatter, but together, it's a celebration 🎉.

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I finished reading We Solve Murders by Richard Osman today. It's a quick read with an extremely weak plot. The story almost comes to a halt midway through, and hardly anything happens. The core plot does not progress; we only learn about some events in people's lives. It's not a good mystery for a book with "murders" in the title.

After The Thursday Murder Club, this is another Osman's book I didn't enjoy. They are rated well, but aren't for me.

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For the past few days, I have wanted to write a lot, but I have stopped so many times. I read views from many people I have learned to trust and have loved them for their opinions. Yet, while they discuss this particular situation, I see them steer themselves toward opposing sides with little room for agreement. I avoided reading through most of the threads to keep myself away from the negativity.

I do not deny the discourse's seriousness and applicability to all the people involved. But in my current state of mind, I lack the patience and drive to participate in any form whatsoever.

This also made me reconsider my decision to contribute to any online community—maybe I lack the courage they need.

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A while ago, I and a few others from the Micro.blog community did a weekly roundup of posts shared and discussed on the timeline. I was reminded of one such post from 6 years ago recently. What saddened me was that most links mentioned in that digest are unavailable today. The posts are either unreachable at the shared links or broken with missing content or images.

The link rot is painfully prevalent on the web today, as this statistic from early 2024 highlights.

Since January 2013, 66.5% of the links pointing to the 2,062,173 websites we sampled have rotted. We found another 6.45% with temporary errors. We don't know if they're still there or not.

This is unsurprising in a world where the internet constantly evolves, and new shiny things are launched daily.

Blogs are even more prone to this problem. The incentive to maintain the old posts is too small to overcome the effort required to keep all the links working. We like to believe blogs are part of the open web and revere the platforms that allow us to take our content and migrate it to a different platform. However, because of the way they handle permalinks and resources, many links get left behind.

For example, Micro.blog brilliantly handles the migration to the platform. It sets the redirects well so that none of the old links are broken. But if it provided an option to configure the permalinks, there would have been no need to set the alias or redirects in the first place. This also creates a massive problem while migrating away from the platform, as one needs to set new redirects to match the permalink format the new platform supports or you desire.

Another problem is how every blogging platform handles the resources or assets, as they are generally called. The ones necessary for the blog's functionality or look & feel, like Javascript and CSS files, are usually handled. But what gets left behind are the images. Every platform handles them differently and usually generates its peculiar image URLs. So, even if the post links aren't broken, posts generally are due to missing images.

CDNs can possibly solve a part of this problem, as highlighted in the discussion on this thread. But the fact that so many images continue to get lost through the cracks tells me it's not integrated well enough yet to be adopted generally.

Permalink and alias/redirect configuration should be critical to consider in the interoperability of blogging platforms. The larger open web pays the price when platforms neglect permalink and asset management during migration.

I acknowledge that it's not an easy problem to solve. But it is an important one.

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I released a minor upgrade to the Post Stats plugin, which fixes the incorrect count of posts with images. This release also introduces a setting to disable the year recap, removing the section from the stats page. This setting will be useful if you add the shortcode on a different page and don't want it included on the stats page. It will also allow you to remove the recap from the stats next year.

This completes the changes that I had initially planned.

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Today, I released a new version of the Posts Stats plugin for Micro.blog that adds a year recap section on the stats page. This section includes a summary of your posts in the year. Here's a snapshot of how the section looks.

I did not want to add too many details, crowding the overall page. Neither did I want a repeat of the whole section on overall stats, just from this year's perspective. Instead, I wanted to include key insights on the posting pattern.

I have also made the year recap available as a shortcode so you can include it on any other page (not post). Do not include the shortcode in any post, as it will cause the blog refresh to fail. To add the recap to any page, go to the Pages section on Micro.blog and create a new page or update the existing one. Include the shortcode below in the body.

{{< poststats/yearrecap >}}

This should include a similar year recap section on the page.

The upgrade should now be available in your plugins section. Please upgrade and let me know if you encounter any issues. Also, let me know if you want me to include something else in the section. I have tried to include as many aspects as possible from the original discussion.

Wish you all a very happy new year! 🎉

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I had listed down my app defaults last year for the first time. I am seeing this trend of doing so again this year. I want to contribute to the list -- mainly to document what has changed.

• Automation: Shortcuts
• Blogging: Kirby CMS Micro.blog
• Bookmarks: Raindrop
• Browser: Firefox Arc (Chrome at work)
• Budgeting and Personal Finance: Don’t use one anymore
• Calendar: Fastmail Calendar Google Calendar
• Chat: WhatsApp, Google Messages
• Cloud File Storage: Dropbox
• Code Editor: Visual Studio Code
• Contacts: Google Contacts
• Mail Client: Apple Mail HEY
• Mail Server: Fastmail HEY
• Mastodon: Ivory, social.lol
• Meal Planning: Don’t use one anymore
• Music: Spotify
• News: Techmeme / Hacker News / Indian Express InShorts
• Notes: Bear Notion / Keep Notes
• Password Management: 1Password
• Photo Shooting: Samsung Camera App
• Photo Management: Google Photos (+ Snapseed for basic processing)
• Podcasts: Don’t listen anymore
• Presentations: Google Slides
• Read It Later: Readwise Reader
• RSS: Readwise Reader Reeder
• Search: Kagi DuckDuckGo
• Spreadsheets: Google Sheets
• Shopping Lists: Don’t use one anymore (or Keep Notes)
• To-Do: Tick Tick
• Word Processing: Don’t use one anymore

PS: Robb maintains a website, where you can see all the posts from others listing their app defaults. It’s a nice collection!

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I recently moved all my reading, including my RSS subscriptions, to Readwise Reader, which I now use as a feed reader and a read-later service. Many services do these two things far better than Reader, but separately. This service tries to merge these two usages into a seamless workflow and does it well enough for me to finally adopt.

I once used Feedly and Pocket but could never settle into a good workflow. My inability to form a habit of reading these two independently is as much to blame as the services themselves. I did move to more polished solutions—Feedbin, Reeder, Instapaper, and Reader (as Read Later)—but just changing the services was never enough.

So, if Reader isn't perfect, what makes it succeed when near-perfect services cannot? Well, there is one big reason. Reducing the cognitive overhead of deciding which app to open is transformative. The Readwise team identifies a key reason behind this pain in their announcement post.

You would think that the more you use one of these apps, the better it would get. Instead, the experience steadily degrades causing would-be power users to churn after a few weeks or months. Why? Because most of us save more things than we can actually get through. As a result, your inbox runneth over, turning your digital garden into a digital graveyard.

The workflow that the Readwise team refers to is working for me. I now just open Reader and triage through feeds, either reading a post or saving it for later. If I am through feeds and still have time, I jump to the library, highlighting bits I find inspiring.

The fact that Reader is seamlessly integrated with Readwise is a bonus. These highlights are available for me to revisit and even sync to Obsidian to share on my link blog. It's simple and well-stitched now.

Simplicity and perfection are generally two sides of a seesaw. One tends to take the other down.

My recent quest to eliminate every obstacle in my workflow instilled a newfound respect for the simplicity of solutions. I no longer look for perfect tools—they don't exist. Instead, I choose ones with minimum hops. This strategy seems to have worked for the past month.

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When my health is down, it becomes challenging to focus. I have been spending a few such days since last few weeks now. I have been unable to focus on my health; instead, I am stressed about everything. That invariably leads to the pressure of things that are yet undone. One of the things not done is to focus on health. It's a vicious cycle that I am not a big fan of.

It's time to correct that.

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I recently added a button on my website that allows me to edit the current post when logged in to the Kirby CMS panel. This change is part of my general effort to reduce friction between my intention to write and the editor. Here's how I implemented this - something much more straightforward than anticipated.

A built-in function links to the appropriate panel page. So, you only need to include a link somewhere in the post template to add the panel URL. Use the below snippet in your post.php or an appropriate template code.

<?php if(kirby()->user()): ?>
    <a href="<?php echo $page->panel()->url(); ?>">Edit Post</a>
<?php endif; ?>

The navigation bar at the bottom was the best place for me to add the button. You can decide where to add this link and how to style it based on your overall site theme. Once this is done, the link should be visible on the site when you are logged in to the Kirby CMS panel.

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Yesterday, I wrote about how this place intentionally lacks a content feed. No section has a reverse chronological list of posts, which is also due to the type of posts I write. I do not post multiple times a day, only a few times a week.

I did for a period, primarily when the micro posts originated on this blog and were syndicated to other social networks. Since I stopped doing that last year, I also stopped needing to give my blog a timeline view. If the posts become regular, a view that best supports a busy space is required, and a timeline view fits perfectly.

So, I have nothing against the content feed. What I write doesn't need one.

I know a few people who do this brilliantly well. One of them is Aaron Parecki -- the timeline view works perfectly on his blog. If I could write like him and be open about everything I do, I would have needed a place just like his blog. Today, I don't.

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I don't have a list of posts or a content feed anywhere here. Is this, then, even a blog? Many on the internet say no, and I find this extremely odd.

If general sentiment is to be believed, the structure with some form of chronological list of posts is one of the key ways that separates a blog from a website. But why does a blog need to have a content feed? I don't expect anybody to land on my homepage and read through all the posts in the order they were published. I rather steer them towards the posts that I am most proud of.

The homepage here does precisely that. I also have some specific sections with posts grouped by their kind—fiction, for example. Plus, each page has front and centre, an option to search or visit a random post. This is more useful than just a list of unrelated posts.

Listing posts in the order of when they were published serves neither the reader nor me. Why, then, should I do that?

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Make your writing workflow frictionless if you want to blog more. That means eliminating every additional step between your thoughts and the words on the editor. Intending a new post should take you directly to a blinking cursor. I lacked that with my default blog platform, which has been bothering me for quite a while now. I corrected that today.

What it took to publish this post tells me I am on the right path. As much as I love the sophisticated writing interface, I am fascinated by plain, large textareas supporting Markdown.

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I have been writing a lot less recently, predominantly because I have to make a choice about where to write. Any hindrance between a thought and the place to put it down kills the post for me. So many posts have died a violent death in this urge to choose.

Kirby wants the title. I never thought it would be such a big deal, but it became a more significant issue than anticipated. I wish I could circumvent this forced restriction. I haven't explored whether I can—given all the control this platform provides on its different aspects, I won't be surprised if it does. But in my limited time reading around, I couldn't find an easy way to do that.

I have a Scribbles blog that hosts some of my thoughts. It can host most of my posts, but I always question whether the post I am writing fits well there. Or if I should write it somewhere else. Why do I do that? Why do I question my writing so much?

This is not the first time I have concluded that the tools don't matter. I should write the post anywhere I want and post it. What else is there to think about? Well, it is the reader.

I overthink about making the post visible to more folks. Should the fact that I cross-post to social media matter? Even if I do not cross-post, does it matter how many people read my posts? Ideally, it does not.

It does not matter how many people read what I write. It matters that some do. I sweat a lot (and unnecessarily) about that.

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I have been going through a lull phase on this blog. I am writing sporadically, queuing up a lot of drafts but hardly publishing any. Am I going through another writer's block? I doubt I am. Instead, I am just being lazy.

I recently heard Javed Akhtar talk about how writer's block forges writers.

There are many people who could be very good writers. But when you start writing, even veterans – I know very big literary writers who have been very close. They write a page and feel, “What is this that I wrote? It’s so childish. So disconnected. There is no flow in it, and disgusted, they throw the paper. Then again. And then again. So gradually you will know what you don’t have to write. So, the options will become narrower, and you ultimately come to the point of what you should write.

Most of the people get demoralised in this process and quit. You have to go through this block -- work humiliates you. Work is worship, maybe. But it humiliates you. It rubs your nose on the carpet and makes you feel like a cockroach. And slowly, things come into focus. And then comes the time when you feel like a god. I have experienced moments when I am watching myself writing, and I feel surprised at why and how and when I learned this word. That, too, happens. But it comes afterwards. In the beginning, you are made to feel very small, insignificant, and incompetent. Most of us quit there.

I agree with Javed Saab here. Writer's block is what comes before writing. To write is the best way I know to come out of writer's block. Write crap. Write nonsense. But write. I have drafts full of meaningless posts that I never intend to publish. I trash them during a cleaning session- the digital equivalent of throwing the paper away. But getting the words in is what matters.

Whether to publish the crap is an individual's choice. Some like to get better in public. Some don't. There is no right way to write.

So, my lull period is not writer's block. I am just not getting the words in.

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I have always loved the On This Day feature on my blog. But the fact that I had to visit it every day defeated the purpose of refreshing a page with posts from the past. It is for me to know what I was thinking back in time. I often miss out on the respective entries if I forget to visit the page on a particular day.

With recent changes to my blogging setup, I wanted to get this aspect right. I did. I created a script that collates the past posts that share today's date and mails them to me. So now I wake up every morning with thoughts from my younger self, going back more than 15 years.

Because this script sits outside my primary blogging platform, I made it parse posts from multiple sources—my current blog, the archives, and my social media accounts (mainly Mastodon). Now, I get a healthy mix of micro and long posts.

I love this new setup. Because what I mail myself is plain, simple HTML, I host it on a subdomain of its own so that I can also visit and reference it.

Can I make this subdomain a daily archive of all my posts? Sure, I can, but I don't want to complicate things unnecessarily for now.

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After being sick for over a week, I feel slightly better today, allowing me to catch up on the stuff I am interested in. This period of slight calm was after multiple consultations and blood tests. Thankfully, every test came out negative. My illness turned out to be a severe viral infection. However, it impacted my platelet count, making me feel fatigued. Overall, though, I am on the path to recovery.

I am still resting when I am not feeling my best. Sleeping. Reading. Watching. When I feel better, I have a good time chatting with my family. It is so heartening to have yourself surrounded by your loved ones in such times. I am sure it speeds up the recovery.

This low period also abruptly halted the period of stress-filled days, which was definitely a positive. I recently read this stoic wisdom, which I could no doubt take inspiration from.

Don’t fight with reality, but bring your will into harmony with it, and focus on where your power lies.

As I look back at the week that has passed, I am glad I have put it behind me. As I look ahead to the coming week, I know I need to summon all the positivity to face the struggles that lie ahead. It is time to buckle up once again.

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I love to read about people's writing workflows and get inspired by their choice of tools to capture thoughts. At the same time, I have a very simple workflow for publishing my posts. I write the thoughts quickly and save them as a draft. I then come back to the saved draft, review it, and publish it.

I generally like to do all this from a single interface but multiple machines. Hence, web-based editors are my preferred interfaces for writing my posts. This has been the case since the early days of my blogging. I open the dashboard and start writing a post. Sometimes, it is ready in a single sitting. When I feel it isn't, I save it as a draft to pick up later.

I have experimented with blogging platforms that don't have a good interface on the web, but I generally gravitate back towards ones that do. Micro.blog has been the platform I have used the longest, even though it had an interface I disliked. I wrote about my struggles with its writing interface a couple of years ago.

I wonder if no one on Micro.blog creates any type of long-form posts using the web editor. I can’t be the only one who finds this interface too limiting. It is suitable only for short updates. The goal of keeping things simple shouldn’t hamper the experience of writing posts. Whenever I attempt to write a long post with this interface, I instantly look for other options. Sure, I don’t switch. But I would love to avoid having this feeling.

This wasn't the first time I had complained about the editor. Although I had a few gripes about it, I was generally able to convince myself not to worry about the web editor.

Saving and building on a draft is unnecessarily complicated. Keyboard shortcuts do not work consistently – undo/redo often messes up the post. This is exasperated by the already small editor window. In addition, the experience is not consistent between writing a new post and editing a draft.

Unfortunately, a lot hasn't changed since then. These continue to be the issues with the platform, and I didn't want to keep running other setups on the side just to access a usable interface to write posts. My aversion to its web editor was one big reason for my recent switch away from Micro.blog as my blogging platform of choice.

I have a soft spot for this platform and respect how Manton runs the business. However, I cannot continue to use it when it does not suit my simple writing workflow. I love writing long-form posts and want to write them on a web-based editor. Unfortunately, the platform does not prioritize this need, as is evident with the recent upgrade to the editor. For now, I am glad I am done compromising.

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I am a coder and a writer. And it is excruciating to have these two conflicting personalities live within me.

When the coder wants to code, the writer checks his choice of words, the structure of comments, or the depth of documentation—the writer wants the coder to write an essay. The coder wants to bloody put bullet points and commands followed by commands. What ends up happening is that I take minutes to name one method because the writer didn't like my choice of verb. Urghh!

On the other hand, the coder makes life miserable for the writer in me. All the writer wants to do is focus on penning words together. Get coherent and impactful. And all the writer is whispering in his ears is, "Look at that font and the colour scheme of the editor. That doesn't look nice, right? What if there is a better editor? What if you make one?"

All the writer wants to do is read intently, and the coder shouts at him, "Why isn't your website this beautiful? Look how efficiently it uses JavaScript. Or doesn't use it at all?" Anything and everything can get the coder excited.

Boy, given the pain this causes, I'm surprised I am still a coder by profession and a writer by hobby. I, at times, feel they could very well kill each other one day.

This is a rehash of a post I wrote about three years ago. The feelings remain, and the two identities still live within me—fighting but healthy.

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