J's Blog

Against Content Churn

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:43:02 +0000

There is a pervasive societal pressure to produce content on a schedule. A blog post every day. A newsletter every week. A video every month. The creators who “make it” are the ones who grind, who hustle, who treat creativity like a factory assembly line. Let us be perfectly clear: there is no reason to make a blog post other than the desire to voice something to the world.

Think of a blog post as a pamphlet that you hand out. Do you want to hand out a pamphlet every day? Or do you want to hand out a meaningful pamphlet every few weeks, every month, or even once a year?

My Political Beliefs

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 +0000

When people ask me what I believe politically, I tell them I am a civil socratic epistemologist. They usually blink. Then I explain: I believe civilization is a question that never got answered properly, and the only way to fix it is to keep asking—while refusing to accept “because” as a response.

I did not arrive at this through a college seminar. I arrived at it by reading the Constitution after I had already sworn an oath to defend it, and realizing that large portions of it were being ignored by the very institutions claiming to uphold it. The coining of money, for instance, was delegated away to a private banking system despite the document being fairly explicit about who holds that power. Once you see one crack in the facade, you start seeing them everywhere. And once you see them everywhere, you have two choices: pretend you did not notice, or start asking why everyone else is pretending.

Why I Made a Blog

Sun, 10 May 2026 20:22:00 +0000

I made a blog because I want blogs to come back.

The web was supposed to be a place to share ideas, to stumble across something neat, to feel human curiosity rewarded. Now it is a playground for oligarchs and oligopolies. The corporate web is stale, curated by algorithms that keep you scrolling instead of thinking, and utterly devoid of genuine human interaction. When was the last time you found something online and thought, “That is genuinely neat”? It is a rare occurrence. It should be common.

How to Use a Blog in 2026

Fri, 08 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Blogs come in many shapes and sizes. But how do you consume content without surrendering your privacy? How do you read without feeding the algorithmic beast that decides what you see based on what keeps you angry or scrolling?

A blog is much more than a simple tool for publication. It is a tool for one’s mind, a tool for one’s creativity, and a tool for one’s connection to the world. It is a direct line between the writer and the reader, bypassing the middleman that traditionally curates, filters, and monetizes that attention. If you want to reclaim your connections, you must also reclaim your reading list. The way you consume information is just as critical as how you publish it.

About J

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

I am J. I am in Pittsburgh, PA.

I have spent a significant portion of my life obsessing over the “why” of things. I do not just want to know how a system works; I want to understand the logic—and the failures—that built it. This curiosity is less about a hobby and more about a fundamental refusal to accept “that is just how it is” as an answer.

Digital Sovereignty

To me, digital sovereignty is not a technical checklist; it is a baseline for freedom. It means you fully control your technology. If it breaks, it is your duty to fix it. If it does not do what you want, you force it to.

Beginner Edition | How To Make A Blog

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Comfort Levels

Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to Making a Blog. Of the free ways to make a blog that require minimal setup and technical knowledge, this is the way that gives you the most control and sovereignty over your content and data.

This guide works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Where keyboard shortcuts differ, all are listed: macOS / Windows \& Linux.

Before We Start: Terminology

The tech world loves jargon. Here is what the words actually mean—read this now, refer back when you hit a term you do not recognize.

How To Make A Blog - Advanced Linux Edition

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Editions

Welcome to the linux edition of How To Make A Blog in 2026.

How To Make A Blog - Advanced macOS Edition

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Editions

Welcome to the macOS edition of How To Make A Blog in 2026. There are many different ways to start making a blog, but we are going to use Hugo to make our blog.

This is part guide, part tutorial, part explanation. It is intended to be a guide for someone who has never made a blog or opened a terminal, but who is willing to learn. The explanations are intended to give the reader a basic understanding of the concepts and tools we are using. We will be making this blog using markdown and publishing it using git and github or gitlab. If these terms go over your head, do not worry; we will explain them as we go. In the end, you will have a working blog that you can use to share your thoughts and ideas with the world.

How To Make A Blog - Advanced Windows Edition

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Editions

Welcome to the Windows edition of How To Make A Blog in 2026.

How To Make A Blog - Intermediate Linux Edition

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Editions

Welcome to the linux edition of How To Make A Blog in 2026.

How To Make A Blog - Intermediate macOS Edition

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Editions

How To Make A Blog - Intermediate Windows Edition

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Editions

Welcome to the Windows edition of How To Make A Blog in 2026.

Newbie Edition | How To Make A Blog

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:27:14 -0500

↩ Back to Comfort Levels

You want a blog that you actually control—not some bullshit on a platform that can disappear tomorrow because a billionaire got bored. This is the easiest way to get there.

Before we start, here is the vocabulary these people use:

Forestry.md: The service that gets your writing onto the internet.
Obsidian: Where you actually write. It is a markdown editor, which sounds scary but just means “text with some formatting shortcuts.”
Domain: Your address on the web. Like yourname.com.
Domain registrar: Where you buy that address.
Garden: What Forestry.md calls your blog. Pretentious, but whatever.
Vault: What Obsidian calls your folder of notes.

This guide uses Forestry.md, which costs money eventually, but has a free tier generous enough to get you started. Think of it as training wheels. You will outgrow it, but it will teach you what matters.