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2026-01-21 05:51:00

I recently migrated my blog from a Jekyll blog hosted on GitHub Pages to Bear Blog. Why?

It Just Works™

Good products make complicated things simple.

My girlfriend has almost no experience with HTML, CSS or JavaScript – and she's made an amazing site: jessveeb.bearblog.dev. That's because all you need to do to have a great-looking blog is:

1. Read the Markdown cheatsheet
2. Choose from the dozens of ready-made themes

If you want to delve deeper into the weeds of building your own website, you can. The HTML, CSS and JavaScript are there for those who want to play with them, but comfortably out of the way for those who don't. This is the best way to offer power user features, and Bear Blog does it really well.

Image Hosting

A lot of my hobbies (photography, creative coding, collages) involve making images.

I never found a workflow for hosting and sharing images on my Jekyll blog that I was happy with. On Bear Blog, it's been simple to add images to my site, set up a feed for my images, and get a photo gallery up and running.

The Discovery Feed

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do. I was worried that some of the issues I have with social media would also apply to the Discovery Feed:

• A feed of content
• Chasing likes

However, the feed doesn't feel like it's bringing out the same negative emotions that social media did. I'd guess that's down to the feed being curated. I've still turned off all analytics on my site, and this is the first post I've done with make_discoverable: true that introduces the upvote button. We'll see how I cope with that.

Notes on Migrating

I found this really easy. It helped that both use Markdown – and that I only had five posts. The migration guide covered everything I needed to make sure my URLs didn't break.

The Downsides

The main thing I miss from my Jekyll and GitHub Pages setup is version control. Using Git meant that if I made any mistakes, my changes were easy to revert. Bear Blog doesn't have an undo button. For now, I've made a Gist on GitHub to track my CSS – I just have to keep remembering to copy and paste the code across.

2026-01-21 03:03:44

The classic phrase uttered by anyone sitting through a typical department meeting. Mine was brutal today. Most are, but this one especially.

It just becomes a chance for everyone within our department (roughly 10 people) to boast recent accomplishments or make it look like they are extraordinarily busy.

Yawn.

These were my notes from today’s meeting.

2026-01-20 16:30:00

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

While I don't fully subscribe to the above quote, since I think it's important to continually improve things that aren't explicitly broken, every now and then something I use works so well that I consider it a solved problem.

In this post I'll be listing items and tools I use that work so well that I'm likely to be a customer for life, or will never have to purchase another. I've split the list into physical and digital tools and will try to keep this list as up-to-date as possible. This is both for my reference, as well as for others. If something is not listed it means I'm not 100% satisfied with what I'm currently using, even if it's decent.

I'm not a minimalist, but I do have a fairly minimalistic approach to the items I buy. I like having one thing that works well (for example, an everything pair of pants), over a selection to choose from each morning.

Some of these items are inexpensive and readily available; while some of them are pricy (but in my opinion worth it). Unfortunately sometimes it's hard to circumvent Sam Vimes boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness.

Digital

• Tuta mail — This email provider does one thing very well: Email. Yes, there is a calendar, but I don't use it. I use it for the responsive and privacy respecting email service, as well as the essentially unlimited email addresses I can set up on custom domains.
• Apple Notes — I've tried the other writing tools, and Apple Notes wins (for me) by being simple, and automatically synced. I use this for writing posts, taking notes, and handling my todo list for the day.
• Visual Studio Code — I've tried to become a vim or emacs purist, but couldn't commit. I've tried going back to Sublime, but didn't feel like relearning the shortcuts. I've tried all of the new AI-powered IDEs, but found it stripped the joy of coding. VSC works fine and I'll likely use it until humans aren't allowed to code anymore.
• Trello — This is where I track all my feature requests, ideas, todos, tasks in progress, and tasks put on hold across my various projects. I'm used to the interface and have never had a problem with it. I'm not a power user, nor do I work as part of a team, so it's just right for my use-case.
• Bear Blog — This goes without saying. I originally built it for me, so it fits my use-case well. I'm just glad it fits so many other people's use-cases too.

Physical

• Apple Airpods Pro — This is the best product Apple makes. I could switch away from the rest of the Apple ecosystem if necessary, but I'd have to keep my Airpods. The noise cancelling and audio fidelity is unlike any other in-ear headphones I've used, and while they'll probably need to be replaced every 5 years, they're well worth the sleep on long-haul flights alone.
• New Balance 574 shoes — New Balance created the perfect shoe in the 80s and then never updated them. These shoes are great since they were originally developed as trail running shoes, but have become their own style while being rugged enough to tackle a light trail, or walk around a city all day. They also have a wide toe box to house my flappers.
• CeraVe Moisturising Lotion — I didn't realise how healthy my skin could be until Emma forced this on me. My skin has been doing great since switching and I'll likely keep using it until CeraVe discontinues the line.
• Eucerin sensitive protect sunscreen — Similarly, all sunscreens I've tried have left my face oily and shiny. This is the first facial sunscreen that I can realistically wear every day without any issues. It's SPF 50+, which is great for someone who loves being outdoors in sunny South Africa.
• Salt of the Earth Crystal deodorant — This may sound particularly woo-woo, but I've been using this salt deodorant for the past 8 years and since it doesn't contain any perfume, I smell perfectly neutral all of the time.
• House of Ord felted wool hat — I love this hat. It keeps me cool in the sun, but warm when it's cold out. This is due to wool's thermoregulatory properties that evolved to keep the sheep cool in summer and warm in winter. While it's not the most robust hat, I suspect it'll last a few years if I treat it well.

Under consideration

These are the products I'm using that may make the cut but I haven't used them long enough to be sure.

• Lululemon ABC pants — These are incredibly comfortable stretch pants that pretend (very convincingly) to be a semi-casual set of chinos. The only hesitation I have with them is that they pick up marks and stains incredibly easily.
• Merino wool t-shirts — I bought my first merino wool t-shirt recently after rocking cotton for my entire life, and I'm very impressed. These shirts don't get smelly (there are instances of people wearing them for a year straight without issue) and are very soft and comfortable. I'm a bit worried about durability, but if they make packing lighter and are versatile I may slowly start to replace my cotton shirts once they wear out.

I like to be very intentional with my purchases. We live in an 84m^2 apartment and so everything has to have its place to avoid clutter. I understand how possessions can end up owning you, and so I try to keep them as reasonable as possible. A good general rule of thumb is that new things replace worn-out and old things, not add to them. This applies both digitally and physically, since there's only so much mental capacity for digital tools as there is for physical items.

Make things as simple as possible but no simpler.
— Albert Einstein

This list was last updated {{ post_last_modified }} ago.

2026-01-20 15:01:00

TLDR: a slice of the people that did not vote trump hold perhaps more blame for what is going on.

The geopolitical situation right now is absurd.

The US, after being the world police for 75 years, have decided to demand territory from their allies on the pretext that they need such territory for defense, despite the fact that they have free reign to set up whatever bases and equipment they want in Greenland already.

The 'not my president' fallacy

What I really want to talk about though is that many US citizens are now flooding the net with their "not my president". There is a heavy implication that this is not their fault. They did not vote for Trump.

Many of the people that did not vote for trump hold as much blame as people that did vote for him. Bear with me.

The absolute failure of the Democratic Party

MAGA is not 50%+ of the voting population in the US (at most, it was 60% of republicans) . So MAGA alone could not have gotten to elect Trump.

The democrat party's own campaigns rode the polarisation wave rather than pushing for sensible positions against the absurdity and demagoguery of Trump [source].

Kamala Harris was widely disliked well before the elections by democrats too [source]. Despite this fact, she was picked artificially, without a primary vote within the party [source].

By polarising the discussion, by dehumanising MAGA, promoting woke policies and by just going along with Kamala Harris being their candidate not only allowed trump to succeed but pushed otherwise center leaning people to vote for Trump too.

If you have called people idiots over their political views, you are part of the problem

People that scream obscenities to republicans are to blame just as much as republicans for this mess.

People on the left that are still screaming obscenities and cheering at people getting shot are even more to blame for this mess.

Stop blaming everyone else than yourself and look for the blame (not the whole blame, but definitely a considerable amount) within.

2026-01-20 13:53:41

it's been more than a week since i made the attempt of screaming to the void about the fact that i miss the old times. i wasn't expecting more than a dozen of readers, but i did put my email there, so maybe three or four people would reach out to me? if that.

little did i know that over fifteen people would actually take the time to write to me! and for that i'm thoroughly overjoyed and grateful. (if you're one of them and i haven't gotten back to you, i will, i promise! i keep thinking to myself that i should write a reply as soon as i receive a message, but that's literally the opposite of what i was looking for in pen pals: slow, deliberate communication—and so i'm trying to take my time.)

it's been such a joy to rediscover slow and deliberate communication, but more importantly, i've forgotten the feeling of getting to know people for what they are. there's really no need to write to impress, because each of us has our own thing that makes us unique, that makes us interesting. what seems to be mundane to you may be compelling to others. sharing what you did yesterday could inspire someone else to start a new hobby, or to do the thing they've been putting off. what you consider an everyday occurrence could open up a whole new world for someone else, because they've never considered or even heard about it. and what's more fun than discovering new things and realizing that there's always so much more to life?

—

there's a word in korean, 소확행, which is an abbreviation for 소소하지만 확실한 행복. small, but definite, happiness. happiness that you find in the small things—things that might not matter much to others but bring you certain joy. this of course can look different for everyone, but it can be something as simple as drinking a cup of good coffee in the morning, listening to the sound raindrops when it pours, rediscovering a playlist that brings back good memories — whatever it is that makes you smile and allows you to say to yourself at the end of the day: it was a good day after all.

lately, i've been somewhat struggling with finding joy in the small things. i haven't accomplished anything that (i think) is worth being proud of in the past few months, and it makes me hesitate whenever i want to feel happy about something.

but right now, being able to write emails to my pen pals and rediscovering slow and deliberate communication has slowly becoming a new 소확행 of mine. and i have all of you to thank for it. i never expected the post to be in the trending section of bear's discovery feed, yet it stayed there for more than a few days and it allowed me to meet and chat with a bunch of new people!

not going to lie, i feel a bit of pressure whenever i see that i have some emails i have to respond, because i've come to associate unread emails with work to do, and work always comes with certain pressure and expectations. but i'm here to remind myself too that this is not work—it's just an outlet for me to get to know people better and in a more personal way, something i've been wanting to do because i'm tired of seeing curated social media posts.

okay, i think it's time for me to get back to replying some emails. i hope january has been nothing but kind to you <3

2026-01-20 08:20:00

every month, like clockwork, i wish i'd been born biologically male instead. gender is a weird, wonderful and malleable thing (i'm good w/ any pronouns!), but this is not about that. well, it's a little bit about that, since feeling like my insides are constantly a hair's breadth away from imploding serves as a not-so-great reminder of how i came assembled in the box. but it's moreso about the loss—of time, of momentum, and what feels like incremental attempts at progress.

nsaids truly are the working woman's faustian bargain: i trade my soul (and healthy, functioning gastrointestinal tract) in exchange for not wanting to hollow myself out with a soup spoon for a week out of each month, with varying degrees of success. at my best, i show up to prior commitments with a slightly pinched-looking expression, my responses blunt and taciturn. i grit my teeth and run through my rolodex of well-worn plausible explanations until the pain becomes unbearable and i have no choice but to leave. it's either that or collapse on the floor, writhing like a person possessed...not exactly appropriate behavior in polite company.

this is going to sound like gross exaggeration, but menstrual cramps are (without a doubt) the worst pain i've experienced in my twenty-odd years of life. broken bones, blistering burns, and blows to the face do not even come close. it runs in my mother's side of the family, along with heart disease, hypertension, and breast cancer, so it seems particularly cruel that my generation of the [redacted] clan is almost entirely comprised of 独生女. ibuprofen¹ and a hot water bottle can only do so much to alleviate symptoms of genetically pre-disposed suffering.

at my most fanciful, i'd imagine that i'd come pretty close to the sensation of having my liver repeatedly torn out by a particularly spiteful eagle. but even then, all prometheus had to do was sit tight and lay prone, helpless to resist zeus' divine retribution. he didn't have to haul himself up to cover a 5 am opening shift, give a thesis defense, or replace a flat tire on the side of a highway while his mutilated innards spilled out between his fingers.

over the years, i've developed some practices to mitigate my suffering wherever possible, and i've found that mindful consumption throughout my cycle has made a noticeable difference. in the week leading up to armageddon, i try to avoid spicy foods, cold drinks, and caffeine; once d-day arrives, i make sure to dress warmly (regardless of weather) and consume copious amounts of hot tea (white tea and 유자차 are tried-and-true staples, although honey w/ ginger² is fantastic too), congee, and noodle soup. steaming and brothy is the way to go, even at the height of a texas-typical heat wave.

there will always be days when the waves of pain are unavoidable, no matter how careful or diligent i am with taking care of my body, but i think it's still worth the effort of doing what i can to swim against the current and resist the onslaught whenever possible. radical self-care doesn't have to look like early-morning reformer pilates or curated hobonichi techo layouts—it can simply be the act of making yourself a hot cup of tea and resigning yourself to an evening of mind-numbing conlaw readings...the 14th amendment certainly isn't going to analyze itself.

manageably,

t