Welcome.

Eons ago, when the Web was a new thing and people still capitalized Web, consarn it, ISPs tended to provide free file space for people to have little personal Web sites. Back in those days, one did so with whatever FTP client one could find, what we now know as static HTML files (but not CSS, not yet anyway), and lots and lots of dialup modem noise.

And, yes, I had one, back on what then was called GTE.net. In fact, I was a “Charter Subscriber” to that ISP.

Yet, as that free-file-space thing gradually went away, so, too, did many personal sites—mine among them.

Over the years, database-driven content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress appeared. They provide click-and-drag ease in building a personal site, but they tend to be security nightmares unless properly maintained, which many aren’t. They also introduce a great deal of technical overhead.

And then there are creatures like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which for all too many people have become the only Web-based locations for ordinary folks’ thoughts. Of course, all these platforms want is to grab your information, show you ads, and—particularly in the case of Facebook—contribute to the dumbing-down of your culture and the political polarization of your society. What’s the harm??!?

(Don’t worry. This site is, and will remain, apolitical by design unless we’re nearing World War III or something along those lines. Maybe even then, since I doubt my little ol’ site is going to stop The Really Big One.)

Anyway, it seemed a lot of the fun had gone out of puttering around on the Web and actually creating content. Then—first among the techno-cognoscenti and, more recently, among us ordinary folks—came Web sites powered by static site generators (SSGs) and written in Markdown. I found them a source of curiosity at first but gradually became more interested in the prospect, especially as I learned more about their technical advantages. I chose to build this one with the Hugo SSG; and, so, here we are.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you find this site a source of various little nuggets of helpful info, and occasionally a laugh or two—even if I hadn’t intended it, but especially if I had.

Again, welcome.

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