What I’m Doing Now

Updated May 22 2025

I’ve been my Mom’s caregiver since 2017. Mom’s 100+. She broke her hip in 2020, and since then, taking care of her has of necessity been my primary activity.

Projects

• I’m still trying to blog about technology at IT:, and Celtic and Medieval Studies at DigitalMedievalist.com. Sadly, the updating of late is mostly repairing link rot, and lost images.
• My primary project since January of 2025 has been converting my sites from the bloat and Gutenberg annoyances of WordPress to static sites or to newer, simpler platforms. So far floccinaucical.com and somethingdowneast.com have been converted to Pika.page and Posthaven.com, respectively.
• I am slowly moving Something Pacific to Posthaven.com.
• I’ve started preparations for moving my last two WordPress.org sites to Ghost; checking images in particular. The sites are better than twenty yeas old, so there’ a lot to check.
• I plan to try Ghost via PikaPods.
• I’m also watching Adam’s Neato CMS as a possible alternative for a site I’m currently hand-coding. I like Adam’s omg.lol project.

Technology Changes

• I have been off all major social media for a while. I'm still checking in on two Slacks, a forum, and a few Discords. I am ditching Discord next, I think.
• I’m ruthlessly reducing my podcast subscriptions from around ten to (probably) three.
• Since my DVDs and CDs, like my books, are in storage (or have been usurped) on the other side of the country, I have been slowly replacing the media I consider important. I’m mostly buying used CDs and Blu-Rays.
• I have also been buying printed books, mostly via Thriftbooks, to replace printed books I consider crucial, since my printed books are inaccessible.
• Thriftbooks.com is super for used books and media; here’s a referral link to thriftbooks.com. When you spend $30.00, we each get a free book.
• I have found my last must-have printed book: Braunmuller and Orgel’s The Complete Pelican Shakespeare.
• Apple has (again) silently removed media I paid for. I understand why, but I’d like a warning before it happens.
• I’ve been downloading legal MP3s as well as streaming music via Freegal’s Website, and app, thanks to public libraries who subscribe to Freegal. I’ve loaded those downloaded MP3s into the Vox player. Vox Premium includes support for streaming radio as well.
• I created a separate Apple Music library for music I ripped from CDs, or obtained from sources other than Apple, like Freegal and, more than a decade ago, Amazon.
• I am contemplating not renewing my Apple Music subscription. I’d rather give my money to public libraries and NPR, and rely on CDs.
• I am learning to use Alfred on my Mac via an online class, and lots of reading and experimenting. I think Alfred will help me a lot in terms of avoiding more/worse RSI.

Current Media

So far nothing I’ve read in 2025 has really stood out. I’m still working my way through various “productivity“ books as research for my own writing. I mostly hate them.

I have been looking forward to the AppleTV production of Martha Wells’ Murderbot books. While the show does depart from the books, so far (two episodes in), I am enjoying Apple TV’s Murderbot.

Current Obsessive Passions

Stationery, still, particularly notebooks, fountain pens, and ink, and both woodcase and mechanical pencils. Current favorites:

• Woodcase Pencil: While I still love theMusgrave Tennessee Red, I’m currently using my other Favorite Pencil, the Mitsubishi 9852EW HB Master Writing pencil. Yes, I have a preference for natural wood pencils.
• Mechanical Pencil: The Mitsubishi Pure Malt, running slightly ahead of the very similar Pilot Legno.
• I have newly acquired a Lamy CP1 fountain pen in black with a Fine nib, currently inked with Diamine Red Dragon. I like it very, very much. I bought it as a pen that will fit in various notebook pen-loops.
• Other currently inked pens include a Lamy 2000 F with Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai, and a Pilot Custom 74 in Teal with Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku.
• Paper: I’ve been using this EMSHOI A4 Spiral Notebook College Ruled (affiliate link), 11.2" X 8.27", 150 Sheets/300 Pages, 100 gsm Thick Lined Journal for disposable notes and rough drafts.
• I’m using a Field Notes “The Chicago Look” graph-ruled notebook for my Alfred class notes.

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