Undelete flying toasters theme song

Broken with new version of eleventy, and probably not necessary anyway.

.gitignore

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 _site/
 node_modules/
 package-lock.json
+.kateproject.notes

.kateproject.notes

@@ -1,20 +1,13 @@
 TODO:
-
-Integrate est. read time
-Integrate % done in article
 Investigate pagination for /blog/
 Integrate recipe structured data for recipe type articles
 No line breaks in inline code fences
 Style inline code fences with background
 Integrate ins plugin
 
-Fediring?
 Add "Now" to RSS feed.
 
 Performance / Accessibility:
 ---------------------------------------
 Lazy load images
-Remove unecessary fonts
-change font-display to "swap"
-Caching
 Add explicit image dimensions?

LICENSE

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 GPL3 License
 
-Copyright (c) 2023 Nathan Upchurch
+Copyright (c) 2023-2024 Nathan Upchurch
 
 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
 of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal

README.md

@@ -1,17 +1,33 @@
-# nathanupchurch.com
-My blog, based on the very helpful eleventy-base-blog v8.
+# My 11ty Blog
+My blog, originally based on the very helpful eleventy-base-blog v8, although it has come a long way from its humble beginnings. For documentation, check [the wiki](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com/wiki).
 
-![](https://upchur.ch/piwigo/i.php?/upload/2023/09/22/20230922131353-32037f24-la.png)
+## Features
+### Design
+* Fluid type and spacing systems for responsive pages with zero breakpoints
+* Dark mode
+* Graceful but unobtrusive page transitions
+* Pretty variable typefaces
+* Pretty 401 and 403 error pages
 
-## Documentation
+### Fediverse Integration
+* Mastodon [toot embedding](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com/wiki/Home#embed-a-toot-from-mastodon-using-the-toot-shortcode)
+* Link to post discussion on Mastodon
 
-### Metadata
-Site metadata such as author info, title, etc. lives in _data/metadata.js. Links on the /me page, and default post images are also configured here.
+### Indieweb
+* [Auto-generated linktree-style page](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com/wiki#me) for the blog owner with support for custom attributes such as: `rel="me"`
+* Built in support for [webring links](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com/wiki#webrings)
+* Auto-generated, **styled** RSS feeds
+	* All blog posts
+	* Each individual tag
+* /now page that nicely handles posts tagged with "now"
+* Blogroll generated from _data/blogroll.js, with an automatically updated .opml so that visitors can import every blog in the list
+* Image galleries
 
-### How to add a cowsay to a post with the custom nunjucks filter
-You can use the `cowsay` filter to output a captioned `<figure>` containing a copy of an output from the cowsay program. Instead of using the usual three backticks, this method is accessible to visually impaired users thanks to the automatic captioning. Here's how to do it:
+### Fun
+* Image galleries
+* Quizzes
 
-1. Add a copy of the cowsay output you'd like to display to _data/cowList.js. Be sure and escape any backslashes.
-2. Use the filter like this: `{{  cowList.name | cowsay | safe }}`.
-
-The `safe` filter is necessary so that Eleventy doesn't sanitize our HTML.
+### Quality of Life
+* Copyright notice, default post image, alt text, and author details defined in `metadata.js`.
+* "Read Next" highlighting the previous blog post at the bottom of every post
+* robots.txt tells AI scrapers to GTFO

_data/blogroll.js

@@ -0,0 +1,838 @@
+export default {
+	categories: [
+		{
+			name: "Climate Change",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Grist",
+					feedUrl: "https://grist.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://grist.org/",
+					description:
+						'Grist is dedicated to highlighting climate solutions and uncovering environmental injustices. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Collectives / Compilations",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Bear Blog Discover",
+					feedUrl: "https://bearblog.dev/discover/feed/?lang=en",
+					url: "https://bearblog.dev/discover/",
+					description:
+						"ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ Bear is a privacy-first, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging platform. Bear's discovery feed lists trending articles from the Bear blogosphere.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Freethought Blogs",
+					feedUrl: "https://freethoughtblogs.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://freethoughtblogs.com/",
+					description:
+						"Freethoughtblogs is an open platform for freethought writers. We are skeptics and critics of dogma and authoritarianism, and in addition, we recognize that the nonexistence of deities entails a greater commitment to human values, and in particular, an appreciation of human diversity and equality. We are for feminism, against racism, for diversity, against inequity. Our network of blogs is designed to encourage independent thinking and individual autonomy — freethoughtblogs.com is a vehicle for giving vocal secularists a venue for discussion of their values and interests.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Comics",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Graphic Rage with Aubrey Hirsch",
+					feedUrl: "https://aubreyhirsch.substack.com/feed",
+					url: "https://aubreyhirsch.substack.com/",
+					description:
+						"I’m a writer, illustrator, and creator of feminist comics! If you’re an avid reader, you may have seen my work in Vox, TIME or The Washington Post. I also write a monthly comic for Roxane Gay’s newsletter, The Audacity. In this space, I do a little bit of everything, but you can expect to see a lot of comics about gender, justice, aging, and life as a woman in America.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Incidental Comics",
+					feedUrl:
+						"http://www.incidentalcomics.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss",
+					url: "http://www.incidentalcomics.com",
+					description: "Nice comics about words, et cetera.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "XKCD",
+					feedUrl: "https://xkcd.com/rss.xml",
+					url: "https://xkcd.com",
+					description: "Does XKCD needs an introduction?",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Design",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Adam Silver",
+					feedUrl: "https://adamsilver.io/atom.xml",
+					url: "https://adamsilver.io/",
+					description:
+						"Adam Silver is a designer and frontend engineer from London, UK.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Autumn Kotsiuba",
+					feedUrl: "https://autumnkotsiuba.wixsite.com/portfolio/blog-feed.xml",
+					url: "https://autumnkotsiuba.wixsite.com",
+					description: "Autumn blogs about UX content design.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Abduzeedo",
+					feedUrl: "https://abduzeedo.com/rss.xml",
+					url: "https://abduzeedo.com/",
+					description:
+						"Abduzeedo is a collective of individual writers sharing articles about design, photography, and UX. It was founded by Fabio Sasso in 2006 as a personal blog, later growing to become a digital publication with several writers from all over the world, working independently.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Admire the Web",
+					feedUrl:
+						"https://feeds.feedburner.com/AdmireTheWeb-TheVeryBestWebDesignInspiration",
+					url: "https://admiretheweb.com/",
+					description: "Web design inspiration.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Alphabettes",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.alphabettes.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.alphabettes.org/",
+					description:
+						"Alphabettes.org is a showcase for work, commentary, and research on lettering, typography, and type design. Our loose network is here to support and promote the work of all women and nonbinary people in our fields.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Creative Review",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.creativereview.co.uk/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.creativereview.co.uk/",
+					description:
+						"Creative Review has been bringing the creative community together since 1980, first as a print magazine and now across more platforms than ever.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Dave Smyth",
+					feedUrl: "https://davesmyth.com/commonplace-feed",
+					url: "https://davesmyth.com",
+					description:
+						"Dave Smyth is a designer and developer interested in privacy, type and ethics.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Design By Women",
+					feedUrl: "https://designby-women.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://designby-women.com/",
+					description:
+						"Founded by graphic designer Mary Hemingway in June 2020, Design by Women aims to showcase and celebrate women, gender expansive and gender non-conforming creatives currently working in the design industry and to inspire emerging under-represented creatives to pursue a career in design.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "DIELINE",
+					feedUrl: "https://thedieline.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://thedieline.com/",
+					description:
+						"DIELINE is a creative platform dedicated to serving the global packaging community.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Friends of Type",
+					feedUrl: "https://friendsoftype.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://friendsoftype.com/feed/",
+					description:
+						"Friends of Type features original typographic design and lettering – fresh visual content – practically every day.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Grumpy Website",
+					feedUrl: "https://grumpy.website/feed.xml",
+					url: "https://grumpy.website",
+					description: "Grumpy takes on UI mistakes.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Identity Designed",
+					feedUrl: "https://identitydesigned.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://identitydesigned.com/",
+					description:
+						"Identity Designed is a website and book series devoted to the design of visual identities.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "It's Nice That",
+					feedUrl: "http://feeds2.feedburner.com/itsnicethat/SlXC",
+					url: "https://www.itsnicethat.com/",
+					description:
+						"Our mission is to inspire the global creative community. We share stories, offer insights and bring people together to help them make more of their creativity.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "I Love Typography",
+					feedUrl: "https://ilovetypography.com/feed",
+					url: "https://ilovetypography.com/",
+					description: "Talking about type.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Jamie Clarke Type",
+					feedUrl: "https://jamieclarketype.com/rss.xml",
+					url: "https://jamieclarketype.com",
+					description:
+						"I’m an independent type designer and lettering artist based near Bristol, UK. I draw letters for clients worldwide and have almost three decades of experience as a designer and typographer.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Libre Arts",
+					feedUrl: "https://librearts.org/index.xml",
+					url: "https://librearts.org",
+					description: "News on FLOSS creative software.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Logo Design Love",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.logodesignlove.com/feed",
+					url: "https://www.logodesignlove.com/",
+					description:
+						"Logo Design Love is a website and book devoted to logos, symbols, icons, and marks.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "PRINT Magazine",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.printmag.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.printmag.com/",
+					description:
+						"Where creative people gather to inspire and build design dialogue.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Print.pm",
+					feedUrl: "https://print.pm/rss",
+					url: "https://print.pm/",
+					description: "Daily inspiration for print lovers.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Siteinspire",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.siteinspire.com/websites/feed",
+					url: "https://www.siteinspire.com/",
+					description: "A showcase of the web’s finest design + talent.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Design Blog",
+					feedUrl: "https://thedsgnblog.com/rss",
+					url: "https://thedsgnblog.com",
+					description:
+						"The Design Blog is a carefully curated platform for design and creative inspiration featuring works of designers, studios, and creatives from around the world.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Toxel",
+					feedUrl: "https://feeds.feedburner.com/toxel",
+					url: "https://www.toxel.com/",
+					description:
+						"Toxel.com is a daily design, inspiration and technology blog dedicated to showcasing the best creative products and designs from all over the world.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "TypeOff.",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.typeoff.de/rss",
+					url: "https://www.typeoff.de",
+					description:
+						"A blog from Dan Reynolds, a design researcher based in Wuppertal, Germany.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "UX Daily",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.interaction-design.org/rss/site_news.xml",
+					url: "https://www.interaction-design.org",
+					description: "The World’s Largest Free Online Resource on UX Design.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Visuelle",
+					feedUrl: "https://visuelle.co.uk/feed/",
+					url: "https://visuelle.co.uk",
+					description:
+						"Graphic Design and everything in between. Curated by David Bennett Creative Director at opx.studio.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Food & Beverage",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "A Tea Addict's Journal",
+					feedUrl: "https://marshaln.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://marshaln.com",
+					description:
+						"This blog got started in 2006 on Xanga as an attempt to write down what I thought about the teas I was drinking. At that point I had been a serious tea drinker for at least six or seven years, but until then, I never really thought much about it. I thought that by writing down my thoughts, it would help me organize my ideas about tea, and in doing so, I hoped to reach an audience who were like minded tea drinkers. My hunch that there were a lot more tea drinkers out there in the West was right, and through this blog I have met quite a number of like-minded individuals, some of whom have become very good friends. I hope that, if nothing else, my musings here will help you find a better tea experience – life’s too short to be drinking bad tea.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Cocktail Doodle",
+					feedUrl: "https://cocktaildoodle.substack.com/feed",
+					url: "https://cocktaildoodle.substack.com",
+					description:
+						"A charming (but perhaps abandoned) blog from cocktail expert Luke Andrews.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Cwyn's Death by Tea",
+					feedUrl: "https://deathbytea.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
+					url: "https://deathbytea.blogspot.com/",
+					description: "Straight up tea talk.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Essence of Tea Blog",
+					feedUrl: "https://essenceoftea.com/blogs/blog.atom",
+					url: "https://essenceoftea.com/blogs/blog",
+					description:
+						"We are tea lovers - a couple, David Collen and Yingxi Chen, who shared a wish to make good teas available to fellow tea lovers around the world.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Sarah's Vegan Kitchen",
+					feedUrl: "https://sarahsvegankitchen.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://sarahsvegankitchen.com",
+					description:
+						"Sarah has years of recipes including complex staples like vegan cultured butter.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Tea DB",
+					feedUrl: "https://teadb.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://teadb.org/",
+					description:
+						"TeaDB is a website and podcast started by friends and tea lovers James Schergen and Denny Chapin. James and Denny are business partners professionally, running websites in tea-unrelated industries (AllTreatment, TheraThink). We invite you to learn alongside us in our tea journeys!",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "white2tea",
+					feedUrl: "https://white2tea.com/blogs/blog.atom",
+					url: "https://white2tea.com/blogs/blog",
+					description:
+						"white2tea was created by passionate Puer devotees with over two decades of experience.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "General Interest",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Big Think",
+					feedUrl: "https://bigthink.com/feed",
+					url: "https://bigthink.com",
+					description: "Big thoughts on big issues.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Clients from Hell",
+					feedUrl: "https://notalwaysright.com/tag/clients-from-hell/feed",
+					url: "https://notalwaysright.com/tag/clients-from-hell",
+					description:
+						"Cathartic stories about clients behaving badly from notalwaysright.com.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "kottke.org",
+					feedUrl: "https://feeds.kottke.org/main",
+					url: "https://kottke.org",
+					description: "Home of fine hypertext products since 1998.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Neatorama",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.neatorama.com/feed",
+					url: "https://www.neatorama.com/",
+					description: "Yep, Neatorama's still around!",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Pudding",
+					feedUrl: "https://pudding.cool/rss.xml",
+					url: "https://pudding.cool",
+					description:
+						"The Pudding is a digital publication that explains ideas debated in culture with visual essays.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Reframe",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.the-reframe.com/rss/",
+					url: "https://www.the-reframe.com/",
+					description:
+						"Essays on politics and narrative fiction from A.R. Moxon.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Webcurios",
+					feedUrl: "https://webcurios.co.uk/feed",
+					url: "https://webcurios.co.uk",
+					description:
+						"A regular(-ish) newsletterblogtypething all about stuff on the internet that its author finds interesting and thinks you might too.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Health",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "ADDitude",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.additudemag.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.additudemag.com/",
+					description:
+						"The world’s most trusted resource for families and adults living with ADHD and related conditions, and for the professionals who work with them.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Gauntlet",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.thegauntlet.news/feed",
+					url: "https://www.thegauntlet.news",
+					description:
+						"A newsletter covering the current science on, and commentary related to, the unmitigated spread of COVID.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Incense, Fragrance, and Perfumery",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Apothecary's Garden Blog",
+					feedUrl: "https://apothecarysgarden.com/blogs/blog.atom",
+					url: "https://apothecarysgarden.com/blogs/blog",
+					description:
+						"Explore the world of natural aromatics, and the communities that bring them to us.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Ayala Moriel Parfums - SmellyBlog",
+					feedUrl: "https://ayalamoriel.com/blogs/smellyblog.atom",
+					url: "https://ayalamoriel.com/blogs/smellyblog",
+					description:
+						"Ayala Moriel Parfums is an independent artisan perfume house dedicated to the art of natural perfumery.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "A whiff of Ambrosia",
+					feedUrl: "https://whiffofambrosia.wordpress.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://whiffofambrosia.wordpress.com/",
+					description: "Incense reviews and more. (Abandoned?)",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Dr. Incense",
+					feedUrl: "https://dr-incense.com/blogs/dr-incense-blog.atom",
+					url: "https://dr-incense.com/blogs/dr-incense-blog",
+					description:
+						"Traditional incense maker and founder of the Incense Culture Association of Singapore, and Nanyang Culture Academy.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Glass Petal Smoke",
+					feedUrl: "https://glasspetalsmoke.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
+					url: "https://glasspetalsmoke.blogspot.com/",
+					description:
+						"Decoder of flavors and fragrances. Creator of Smell & Tell programming.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Incense Apprentice",
+					feedUrl: "https://incenseapprentice.substack.com/feed",
+					url: "https://incenseapprentice.substack.com",
+					description: "Exploring incense making with Sara Gray.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Incense In The Wind",
+					feedUrl: "https://incenseinthewind.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
+					url: "https://incenseinthewind.blogspot.com/",
+					description: "Incense reviews, rankings, and information.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Justine the Incenseur",
+					feedUrl: "https://justinetheincenseur.substack.com/feed",
+					url: "https://justinetheincenseur.substack.com/",
+					description:
+						"I am Justine Crane, natural perfumer and incenseur. I created the course content at the Natural Perfume Academy online, and the owner/operator of the Scented Djinn Apothecary & Thurifercorum. I’m also half of the in-person teaching duo, The Rebel Perfumers, with my teaching partner, Cher Lynn of Essential Oil Apothecary. I’m using this space to write about everything natural perfume and incense related. There will be some shameless plugging of my businesses, as well as tons of information about NP and incense. Let’s do this.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Kikoh Incense",
+					feedUrl: "https://kikohincense.com/blogs/news.atom",
+					url: "https://kikohincense.com/blogs/news",
+					description:
+						"Detailed descriptions of incense listening sessions from the Kikoh Incense web store.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "KyaraZen",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.kyarazen.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.kyarazen.com/",
+					description:
+						"Very informative (but perhaps abandoned) blog from world-renowned incense maker KyaraZen.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Olfactory Rescue Service",
+					feedUrl: "https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/feed",
+					url: "https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com",
+					description:
+						"The ultimate retail incense resource providing incense writing and reviews.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Ratnagandh",
+					feedUrl: "https://ratnagandh.wordpress.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://ratnagandh.wordpress.com/",
+					description: "Short incense reviews.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Rauchfahne",
+					feedUrl: "https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/feed/",
+					url: "https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/",
+					description:
+						"Incense reviews and writing in German and English from incense maker, enthusiast, and industry insider Irene.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Reed's Handmade Incense Blog",
+					feedUrl: "https://reedshandmadeincense.com/blog/feed/",
+					url: "https://reedshandmadeincense.com/blog/",
+					description:
+						"Writing on incense, tea, and other topics from the Reed's Handmade Incense web store.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Parfum Apothecary - Learning & Culture",
+					feedUrl:
+						"https://www.theparfumapothecary.com/blogs/learning-culture.atom",
+					url: "https://www.theparfumapothecary.com/blogs/learning-culture",
+					description: "Writing on perfume and its history. (Abandoned?)",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "LGBTQ+",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Assigned Media",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.assignedmedia.org/?format=rss",
+					url: "https://www.assignedmedia.org/",
+					description:
+						"Mainstream coverage of transgender life is falling short, while transphobic propaganda on the right grows louder and more insistent every day. Assigned publishes factual, up to date, responsible coverage of trans issues, allowing trans people and our allies to separate the truth from the lies and build a response to anti-trans hate that achieves dignity and equality for trans people in the US and beyond.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Uncloseted Media",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/feed",
+					url: "https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/",
+					description:
+						"Uncloseted Media is a new Investigative media organization committed to providing you with objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism that examines America’s anti-LGBTQ ecosystem and elevates the voices of everyday American heroes.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "News: International",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Bellingcat",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.bellingcat.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.bellingcat.com/",
+					description:
+						'Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+				{
+					title: "openDemocracy",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/feed",
+					url: "https://www.opendemocracy.net/",
+					description:
+						"High-quality journalism which challenges power, inspires change and builds leadership among groups underrepresented in the media. (Predominantly U.K. focused)",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Rest of World",
+					feedUrl: "https://restofworld.org/feed/latest",
+					url: "https://restofworld.org/",
+					description:
+						"Rest of World is a nonprofit publication that challenges expectations about whose experiences with technology matter. We connect the dots across a rapidly evolving digital world, through on-the-ground reporting in places typically overlooked and underestimated.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Techdirt",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.techdirt.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.techdirt.com",
+					description:
+						"Started in 1997 by Floor64 founder Mike Masnick and then growing into a group blogging effort, the Techdirt blog relies on a proven economic framework to analyze and offer insight into news stories about changes in government policy, technology and legal issues that affect companies’ ability to innovate and grow.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Usermag",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.usermag.co/feed",
+					url: "https://www.usermag.co/",
+					description:
+						"We document the people and movements that shape the internet –  from weird online phenomena, to under-the-radar trends, to platform developments, to policy initiatives, to the powerful forces that shape our online world. It's about who has power on the internet and how that power is being wielded.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "News: U.S.A.",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Popular Information",
+					feedUrl: "https://popular.info/feed",
+					url: "https://popular.info/",
+					description: "News for people who give a damn.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Prism",
+					feedUrl: "https://prismreports.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://prismreports.org",
+					description:
+						"Prism is an independent and nonprofit news outlet led by journalists of color. We report from the ground up and at the intersections of injustice. Together, our journalists go where justice requires.	Activists, thought leaders, decision-makers, and all those who believe in justice for all come to Prism for deep reporting and honest insights on the most pressing injustices of our time—delivered through the lens of those who are most impacted.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting",
+					feedUrl: "https://revealnews.org/feed",
+					url: "https://revealnews.org/",
+					description:
+						"Democracy faces an unprecedented threat from an authoritarian movement built on lies and contempt for the rule of law. The first and most critical defense of democracy—a robust, independent free press—has been missing in action. Corporate and billionaire media owners have shied away from confrontation, engaged in false equivalence, and sought to curry favor with Donald Trump. It is hardly surprising that readers and viewers are fleeing from these outlets. Americans need an alternative. The Contrarian is that alternative: unflinching, unapologetic, and unwavering in its commitment to truth-telling.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The 74",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.the74million.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.the74million.org/",
+					description:
+						"The 74 is a nonprofit news organization covering America’s education system from early childhood through college and career.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Contrarian",
+					feedUrl: "https://themarkup.org/feeds/rss.xml",
+					url: "https://contrarian.substack.com/",
+					description:
+						'The Markup investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change our society. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Markup",
+					feedUrl: "https://themarkup.org/feeds/rss.xml",
+					url: "https://themarkup.org",
+					description:
+						'The Markup investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change our society. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Personal Blogs",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Andy Bell",
+					feedUrl: "https://andy-bell.co.uk/feed.xml",
+					url: "https://andy-bell.co.uk",
+					description:
+						"Designer, front-end developer and the founder of Set Studio and Piccalilli.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Bardo Burner",
+					feedUrl: "https://bardoburner.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://bardoburner.com",
+					description:
+						"Way back when blogs were called e-zines – the mid-90s – we made one called Bardo Burner… Sadly, our day-to-day lives got in the way of that labour of love and we jacked it in after a couple of years. Here we are again, reviving the old name just because, but this time primarily exploring issues related to healthy, sustainable living, which for us is strongly rooted in veganism… you’ll find articles here covering everything from cruelty-free cake and vegan restaurants to yoga and Pilates.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Darek Kay",
+					feedUrl: "https://darekkay.com/atom.xml",
+					url: "https://darekkay.com",
+					description:
+						"Front-end developer and an accessibility advocate, currently working at IBM.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Dom Corriveau",
+					feedUrl: "https://blog.ctms.me/index.xml",
+					url: "https://blog.ctms.me/",
+					description:
+						"Thoughts, opinions, wild speculation, and haphazard technical advice from Dom.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.wheresyoured.at/rss/",
+					url: "https://www.wheresyoured.at/",
+					description: " The Words of Ed Zitron, a PR person and writer.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Ellie Kennard",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.elliekennard.ca/feed",
+					url: "https://www.elliekennard.ca",
+					description: "Photography and thoughts in story form.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Garbage Collector",
+					feedUrl: "https://blog.zedas.fr/index.xml",
+					url: "https://zedas.fr/",
+					description:
+						"The little space of a writer, tinkerer, and a coffee addict.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Later On",
+					feedUrl: "https://leisureguy.ca/rss",
+					url: "https://leisureguy.ca",
+					description:
+						"Writing on wet shaving, politics, whole food plant based diets, and more.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Luke Andrews",
+					feedUrl: "https://world.hey.com/lukeandrews/feed.atom",
+					url: "https://world.hey.com/lukeandrews",
+					description: "A sparse (abandoned?) blog from Luke Andrews.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "MediaActivist",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.mediaactivist.com/rss/",
+					url: "https://www.mediaactivist.com/",
+					description:
+						"The website of Jay Baker (they/he), a long-time guerrilla journalist and documentarian.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Ploum.net",
+					feedUrl: "https://ploum.net/atom_en.xml",
+					url: "https://ploum.net/index_en.html",
+					description:
+						"Writing on tech and free / libre and open source philosophy.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Rosnovsky Park",
+					feedUrl: "https://rosnovsky.us/feed/feed.xml",
+					url: "https://rosnovsky.us/",
+					description:
+						"Writing on web development, hiking, and random hobbies from the venerable benefactor, founder, and admin of the lounge.town Mastodon instance.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Simone",
+					feedUrl: "https://simone.org/rss",
+					url: "https://simone.org/",
+					description:
+						"Explore modern life via thought-provoking essays, pictures, and conversations.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Steven Kennard : Turned Art, Sculpture and Photography",
+					feedUrl: "https://stevenkennard.com/blog/rss",
+					url: "https://stevenkennard.com/blog",
+					description:
+						"Steven Kennard is a woodturner, sculptor and photographer living and working in Nova Scotia, Canada.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Stories by Ellen Feinberg",
+					feedUrl: "https://ellensusie59.medium.com/feed",
+					url: "https://ellensusie59.medium.com",
+					description: "Uptown Chicago gal. Irreverent/Irrelevant/Sarcastic.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Thefoggiest.dev",
+					feedUrl: "https://thefoggiest.dev/feed",
+					url: "https://thefoggiest.dev",
+					description: "The personal blog of Diederick de Vries of Amsterdam.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Politics: U.S.A.",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Liberation News",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.liberationnews.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://www.liberationnews.org/",
+					description: "Newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "ProPublica",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.propublica.org/feeds/propublica/main/",
+					url: "https://www.propublica.org/",
+					description:
+						'ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Appeal",
+					feedUrl: "https://theappeal.org/theappeal",
+					url: "https://theappeal.org",
+					description:
+						"The Appeal is a nonprofit news organization that envisions a world in which systems of support and care, not punishment, create public safety. The Appeal’s journalism exposes the harms of a criminal legal system entrenched in centuries of systemic racism. We equip people with the information necessary to make change, and we elevate solutions that emerge from the communities most affected by policing, jails, and prisons in the U.S.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The 19th",
+					feedUrl: "https://19thnews.org/feed/",
+					url: "https://19thnews.org/",
+					description:
+						'An independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+				{
+					title: "The Marshall Project",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.themarshallproject.org/rss/recent.rss",
+					url: "https://www.themarshallproject.org/",
+					description:
+						'The Marshall Project seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. (Thanks to <a href="https://werd.io/2024/non-profit-newsrooms-that-speak-to-power">werd.io</a> for the recommendation.)',
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Tech",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "9to5Linux",
+					feedUrl: "https://9to5linux.com/rss",
+					url: "https://9to5linux.com/",
+					description: "Linux news, reviews, tutorials, and more",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Aftermath",
+					feedUrl: "https://aftermath.site/feed",
+					url: "https://aftermath.site/",
+					description:
+						"Aftermath is an independent, worker-owned website about video games and internet culture",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "It's FOSS",
+					feedUrl: "https://itsfoss.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://itsfoss.com/",
+					description: "Making You a Better Linux User.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "LinuxInsider",
+					feedUrl: "https://www.linuxinsider.com?rss=1",
+					url: "https://www.linuxinsider.com",
+					description: "Linux News & Information From Around the World.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "LOW←TECH MAGAZINE",
+					feedUrl: "https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/posts/index.xml",
+					url: "https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/posts/",
+					description:
+						"This is a solar-powered website, which means it sometimes goes offline.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Planet KDE",
+					feedUrl: "https://planet.kde.org/global/atom.xml",
+					url: "https://planet.kde.org/",
+					description:
+						"A feed aggregator that collects what the contributors to the KDE community are writing on their respective blogs.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Pluralistic",
+					feedUrl: "https://pluralistic.net/feed/",
+					url: "https://pluralistic.net/",
+					description: "Daily links from Cory Doctorow.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "TorrentFreak",
+					feedUrl: "http://torrentfreak.com/feed",
+					url: "http://torrentfreak.com/",
+					description: "Breaking File-sharing, Copyright and Privacy News.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Werd I/O",
+					feedUrl: "https://werd.io/feed",
+					url: "https://werd.io",
+					description:
+						"Writing at the intersection of technology, democracy, and society by Ben Werdmuller.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "We Distribute",
+					feedUrl: "https://wedistribute.org/rss",
+					url: "https://wedistribute.org",
+					description: "Connecting threads across the Web.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Veganism",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "Animal Justice",
+					feedUrl: "https://animaljustice.ca/category/blog/feed",
+					url: "https://animaljustice.ca/category/blog",
+					description:
+						"Read the latest news from the fight for stronger laws and better enforcement for animals in Canada.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Vegan Horizon",
+					feedUrl: "https://veganhorizon.substack.com/feed",
+					url: "https://veganhorizon.substack.com",
+					description:
+						"The vegan newsletter you've been waiting for! Brave, disruptive, to the point.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+		{
+			name: "Web Development",
+			blogs: [
+				{
+					title: "CSS Tricks",
+					feedUrl: "https://css-tricks.com/feed",
+					url: "https://css-tricks.com",
+					description:
+						"Tips, Tricks, and Techniques on using Cascading Style Sheets.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Chris Coyier",
+					feedUrl: "https://chriscoyier.net/feed/",
+					url: "https://chriscoyier.net",
+					description: "Web craftsman, blogger, author, speaker.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Jim Nielsen’s Blog",
+					feedUrl: "https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/feed.xml",
+					url: "https://blog.jim-nielsen.com",
+					description:
+						"20+ years at the intersection of design & code on the web.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Own Your Web",
+					feedUrl: "https://buttondown.email/ownyourweb/rss",
+					url: "https://buttondown.com/ownyourweb",
+					description:
+						"A newsletter by Matthias Ott about designing, building, creating, and publishing for and on the Web.",
+				},
+			],
+		},
+	],
+};

_data/cowList.js

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = {
-	onScience: `
-	_________________________________________
-	(  Once, when the secrets of science were )
-	( the jealously guarded property of a     )
-	( small priesthood, the common man had no )
-	( hope of mastering their arcane          )
-	( complexities. Years of study in musty   )
-	( classrooms were prerequisite to         )
-	( obtaining even a dim, incoherent        )
-	( knowledge of science.                   )
-	(                                         )
-	( Today all that has changed: a dim,      )
-	( incoherent knowledge of science is      )
-	( available to anyone.                    )
-	(                                         )
-	( -- Tom Weller, "Science Made Stupid"    )
-	 -----------------------------------------
-					o   ^__^
-					 o  (oo)\\_______
-							(__)\\       )\\/\\
-									||----w |
-									||     ||`
-}

_data/galleries.js

@@ -0,0 +1,363 @@
+export default [
+	{
+		title: "Pop Tart Flavor Memes",
+		description:
+			"One day, almost certainly when I ought to have been doing something more important, I discovered a meme format featuring Pop Tart boxes edited to have outlandish flavors on the packaging. Naturally, I had to collect as many as I could find. Here's what I've got:",
+		synopsis: "Some very unusual Pop Tart flavors…",
+		url: "/img/gallery/poptarts/",
+		date: new Date("November 26, 2024"),
+		galleryImage: "pop_tart_flavor_2.webp",
+		galleryImageAlt: "",
+		pictures: [
+			{
+				title: "Frosted New England Clam Chowder",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_1.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted New England Clam Chowder",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Tree Bark",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_2.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Tree Bark",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Boot Leather",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_3.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Boot Leather",
+				caption: "I've dropped this bad boy on a twitter thread or two.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Kermit",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_4.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Kermit",
+				caption: "Is it worth it?",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Bare Chest",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_5.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Bare Chest",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Lysol Wipes",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_6.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Lysol Wipes",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Mine Tarts",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_7.webp",
+				altText: "Minecraft Frosted Grass Block",
+				thumbAltText: "Minecraft Frosted Grass Block",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Earth Worms",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_8.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Earth Worms",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Ground Beef",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_9.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Ground Beef",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Black Coffee",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_10.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Black Coffee",
+				caption: "Unironically: I'd eat this.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Gasoline",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_11.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Gasoline",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Tide Pods",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_12.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Tide Pods",
+				caption: `I once saw a lady drop a container of Tide Pods in the supermarket; without thinking I blurted out: "Oop, five second rule!" and didn't even get a laugh. Brutal.`,
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Hot Dog Water",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_13.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Hot Dog Water",
+				caption:
+					"Frankly, I'd sooner have the frosted lysol wipe Pop Tarts. 🤮",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "NY Style Sewer Rat",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_14.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "NY Style Sewer Rat",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Caviar",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_15.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Caviar",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Elmer's Glue",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_16.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Elmer's Glue",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Crusty!",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_17.webp",
+				altText: "Crusty! Cement Flavor",
+				thumbAltText: "Crusty! Cement Flavor",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Nuclear Waste",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_18.webp",
+				altText: "Frosted Nuclear Waste: Made with real waste!",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Nuclear Waste: Made with real waste!",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Beans",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_19.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Beans",
+				caption: "I'd give it a shot.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Shower Pack",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_20.webp",
+				altText:
+					"Shower Pack, 3 in 1 formula! Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"Shower Pack, 3 in 1 formula! Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Limited Edition",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_21.webp",
+				altText: "Limited Edition: Just the Crust",
+				thumbAltText: "Limited Edition: Just the Crust",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted McDonald's Sprite",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_22.webp",
+				altText: "Frosted",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Fresh Cut Grass",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_23.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Fresh Cut Grass",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Windex",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_24.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Windex",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Popcorn Ceiling",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_25.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Popcorn Ceiling",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Sharkboy & Lavagirl",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_26.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Sharkboy & Lavagirl",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted The Sun",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_27.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted The Sun",
+				caption: "I don't know why, but I feel like these would be delicious.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Axe",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_28.webp",
+				altText: "Frosted Axe body Spray",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Axe body Spray",
+				caption: "I would simply die.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Miracle Whip",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_29.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Miracle Whip",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Water",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_30.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Water",
+				caption: "I'd give it a shot.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Encrusted",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_31.webp",
+				altText: "Encrusted Play-Doh",
+				thumbAltText: "Encrusted Play-Doh",
+				caption: "They'd smell delicious at least.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Aluminum Foil",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_32.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Aluminum Foil",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Frosted Orange Juice and Toothpaste",
+				filename: "pop_tart_flavor_33.webp",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "Frosted Orange Juice and Toothpaste",
+				caption: "Honestly, this may be the worst of them all.",
+			},
+		],
+	},
+	{
+		title: "Shots from April 2024",
+		description:
+			"Sol and I went out for a walk down the street with a couple of cameras.",
+		synopsis:
+			"Sol and I went out for a walk down the street with a couple of cameras.",
+		url: "/img/gallery/april2024/",
+		date: new Date("January 23, 2025"),
+		galleryImage: "april_2024_4.webp",
+		galleryImageAlt: "",
+		pictures: [
+			{
+				title: "Sol shoots some flowers.",
+				filename: "april_2024_1.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A person in a beanie staring down a camera viewfinder at some tulips.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A person in a beanie staring down a camera viewfinder at some tulips.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "We were being watched…",
+				filename: "april_2024_2.webp",
+				altText: "Some cats staring at us through a window screen.",
+				thumbAltText: "Some cats staring at us through a window screen.",
+				caption: "Somehow I don't mind these nosy neighbors.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "A pole.",
+				filename: "april_2024_3.webp",
+				altText: "A closeup of a black painted pole with stickers on it.",
+				thumbAltText: "A closeup of a black painted pole with stickers on it.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Love this storefront.",
+				filename: "april_2024_4.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A storefront painted vividly with lots of colors, dots and flowers.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A storefront painted vividly with lots of colors, dots and flowers.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Another pole.",
+				filename: "april_2024_5.webp",
+				altText: "A wide, beige painted pole covered in ads and notices.",
+				thumbAltText: "A wide, beige painted pole covered in ads and notices.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Can't get enough of that pole.",
+				filename: "april_2024_6.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A mushroom-like green canopy on top of the beige pole, with lettering spelling out Roscoe Village.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A mushroom-like green canopy on top of the beige pole, with lettering spelling out Roscoe Village.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "The infamous Chicago Rat Hole.",
+				filename: "april_2024_7.webp",
+				altText:
+					"An impression in the sidewalk of what is likely a squirrel; it is filled with coins and rocks left as tribute.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"An impression in the sidewalk of what is likely a squirrel; it is filled with coins and rocks left as tribute.",
+				caption: "That has to be a squirrel.",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "A courtesy to cyclists.",
+				filename: "april_2024_8.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A crusty old parking meter with a ghost sticker and graffiti on it. Inside of the meter window reads: Meter remains as a courtesy to cyclists. Please pay at pay box.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A crusty old parking meter with a ghost sticker and graffiti on it. Inside of the meter window reads: Meter remains as a courtesy to cyclists. Please pay at pay box.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "A brick building.",
+				filename: "april_2024_9.webp",
+				altText:
+					"The front of a red brick building with two potted plants in front of the door. The wall has many of those little square glass-tiles to allow in light while affording privacy.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"The front of a red brick building with two potted plants in front of the door. The wall has many of those little square glass-tiles to allow in light while affording privacy.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Weed.",
+				filename: "april_2024_10.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A closeup of a dandelion ready to have its seeds blown into the wind.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A closeup of a dandelion ready to have its seeds blown into the wind.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "Another creative storefront",
+				filename: "april_2024_11.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A storefront with painted illustrations of a woman giving a baby a bath, and several stylized women carrying baskets of fruit and flowers on their heads.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A storefront with painted illustrations of a woman giving a baby a bath, and several stylized women carrying baskets of fruit and flowers on their heads.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+			{
+				title: "A robin crossing the street.",
+				filename: "april_2024_12.webp",
+				altText:
+					"A robin runs across the street, casting a long shadow for such a small fellow.",
+				thumbAltText:
+					"A robin runs across the street, casting a long shadow for such a small fellow.",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+		],
+	},
+];

_data/metadata.js

@@ -1,90 +1,160 @@
-module.exports = {
+export default {
 	title: "Nathan Upchurch",
 	logo: "/img/logo.svg",
 	url: "https://nathanupchurch.com/",
 	language: "en",
-	description: "The personal website and blog of Nathan Upchurch.",
+	description:
+		"The personal website and blog of Nathan Upchurch, where I write about incense, free and open source software, design, vegan cooking, music, and all sorts of other topics that I find interesting.",
 	author: {
+		givenName: "Nathan",
+		familyName: "Upchurch",
 		name: "Nathan Upchurch",
 		email: "blog@upchur.ch",
 		url: "https://nathanupchurch.com/me",
-		profilePic: "/img/CN20191025_301_Srt_SQUARE.jpg"
+		profilePic: "/img/CN20191025_301_Srt_SQUARE_crop.jpg",
 	},
-	copyrightNotice: "© Nathan Upchurch 2022 - 2024",
-	defaultPostImageURL: "/img/vasilina-sirotina-1NMPvajSt9Q-unsplash_copy.avif",
-	defaultPostImageAlt: "The default post image: a close picture of the dark green leaves of a plant.",
+	blogrollUrl: "/blogroll/nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml",
+	copyrightNotice: "© Nathan Upchurch 2022 - 2025",
+	defaultPostImageURL: "/img/logo_post.svg",
+	defaultPostImageAlt: "The logo for this blog: a capital letter N.",
 	mastodonHost: "lounge.town",
 	mastodonUser: "nathanu",
-	postlistHeaderText: "Latest Posts",
+	navigatorLinks: [
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/typewriter.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Blog",
+			linkURL: "/blog/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/view-list-text.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Blogroll",
+			linkURL: "/blogroll/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/view-preview.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Galleries",
+			linkURL: "/galleries/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/story-editor.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Guestbook",
+			linkURL: "/guestbook/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/news-subscribe.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Life Updates",
+			linkURL: "/now/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/burn.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Now Burning",
+			linkURL: "/now-burning/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/document-edit-sign.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Quizzes",
+			linkURL: "/quizzes/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/map-globe.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Sitemap",
+			linkURL: "/sitemap/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/tag.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Topics",
+			linkURL: "/tags/",
+		},
+		{
+			iconURL: "/img/icons/breeze/kstars_supernovae.svg",
+			linkDisplay: "Wishes",
+			linkURL: "/wish/",
+		},
+	],
+	postlistHeaderText: "Latest blog posts:",
 	socialLinks: [
 		{
 			title: "My Blog",
 			linkURL: "https://nathanupchurch.com",
 			linkDisplay: "My Blog",
-			iconURL: "/img/logo.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/logo.svg",
+		},
+		{
+			title: "Friendica",
+			linkURL: "https://friendica.world/profile/nathan",
+			customAttribute: `rel="me"`,
+			linkDisplay: "Friendica",
+			iconURL: "/img/friendica.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "Mastodon",
 			linkURL: "https://lounge.town/@nathanu",
 			customAttribute: `rel="me"`,
 			linkDisplay: "Mastodon",
-			iconURL: "/img/mastodon.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/mastodon.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "Email Me",
 			linkURL: "Mailto:blog@upchur.ch",
 			linkDisplay: "Email",
-			iconURL: "/img/envelope.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/envelope.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "Matrix",
-			linkURL: "https://matrix.to/#/@nathanu:matrix.org",
+			linkURL: "https://matrix.to/#/@nathan:upchur.ch",
 			linkDisplay: "Matrix",
-			iconURL: "/img/matrix-org.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/matrix-org.svg",
+		},
+		{
+			title: "Signal",
+			linkURL:
+				"https://signal.me/#eu/j-om4cfsGXtfKo0UX28EQfEL_Gd1KpJr8nQpI9Smhdsb-r98eT5F6obQ1BcYZCcW",
+			linkDisplay: "Signal",
+			iconURL: "/img/Signal-Logo-White.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "BookWyrm",
 			linkURL: "https://ramblingreaders.org/user/NathanU",
 			linkDisplay: "BookWyrm",
-			iconURL: "/img/book.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/book.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "Pixelfed",
 			linkURL: "https://pixelfed.social/@nathanu",
 			linkDisplay: "Pixelfed",
-			iconURL: "/img/pixelfed.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/pixelfed.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "Lemmy",
 			linkURL: "https://lemmy.ml/u/NathanUp",
 			linkDisplay: "Lemmy",
-			iconURL: "/img/Lemmy_logo.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/Lemmy_logo.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "PeerTube",
-			linkURL: "https://dalek.zone/a/nathan_upchurch/",
+			linkURL: "https://makertube.net/a/nathan/video-channels",
 			linkDisplay: "PeerTube",
-			iconURL: "/img/peertube.svg"
+			iconURL: "/img/peertube.svg",
 		},
 		{
 			title: "Keyoxide Identity Profile",
 			linkURL: "https://keyoxide.org/31E809FAEA1532AC91BBDCF1EC499D3513F69340",
 			linkDisplay: "Keyoxide Identity Profile",
-			iconURL: "/img/keyoxide.svg"
-		}
+			iconURL: "/img/keyoxide.svg",
+		},
 	],
 	webrings: [
 		{
 			name: "Fediring",
 			ringURL: "https://fediring.net/",
 			previousURL: "https://fediring.net/previous?host=nathanupchurch.com",
-			nextURL: "https://fediring.net/next?host=nathanupchurch.com"
+			nextURL: "https://fediring.net/next?host=nathanupchurch.com",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "Geekring",
 			ringURL: "https://geekring.net/",
 			previousURL: "http://geekring.net/site/350/previous",
-			nextURL: "http://geekring.net/site/350/next"
-		}
-	]
-}
+			nextURL: "http://geekring.net/site/350/next",
+		},
+	],
+};

_includes/footer.njk

@@ -9,5 +9,8 @@
 			{% if webring.nextURL %}<a href="{{ webring.nextURL }}">→</a>{% endif %}
 	</span>
 	{% endfor %}
-	{% endif %}</p>
+	{% endif %}
+		<a href="/sitemap/">Sitemap</a>
+		<a href="/special/flying-toasters" style="color: var(--background-color); text-decoration: none;">Fly</a>
+	</p>
 </footer>

_includes/gallerieslist.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<section class="postlist">
+<div class="postlist-item-container">
+	{% for gallery in galleries | reverse %}
+	{% if not numberOfGalleriesToShow or loop.index <= numberOfGalleriesToShow %}
+	<article class="postlist-item">
+		<a href="../gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}" class="postlist-link">
+			<div class="post-image-container">
+				<img class="post-image" {% if gallery.galleryImage %} src="{{ gallery.url }}{{ gallery.galleryImage }}" alt="{{ gallery.galleryImageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
+			</div>
+		</a>
+		<div class="post-copy">
+			<a href="../gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}" class="postlist-link">
+				<h3>
+					{{ gallery.title }}
+				</h3>
+			</a>
+			{% if not hideGalleryDescriptions %}<p>{{ gallery.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>{% endif %}
+			<div class="post-metadata">
+				<div class="post-metadata-copy">
+					<p>Posted on the&nbsp;<time class="postlist-date" datetime="{{ gallery.date | htmlDateString}}">{{ gallery.date | niceDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time></p>
+				</div>
+			</div>
+		</div>
+	</article>
+	<hr>
+	{% endif %}
+	{% endfor %}
+</div>
+</section>

_includes/header.njk

@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 <a href="#skip" class="visually-hidden">Skip to main content</a>
 <header>
-	<a href="/" class="home-link"><img class="logo" src="{{ metadata.logo }}" alt="{{ metadata.title }}"></a>
+	<a
+	href="/"
+	class="home-link">
+		<img
+		class="logo"
+		src="{{ metadata.logo }}"
+		alt="{{ metadata.title }}">
+	</a>
 	{% if not hideNav %}{% include "nav.njk" %}{% endif %}
 </header>

_includes/incenseList.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<section class="postlist microblog-list">
+	{% if postlistHeaderText %}<h2>{{ postlistHeaderText }}</h2>{% endif %}
+	<div class="postlist-item-container">
+		{% for post in postslist | reverse %}
+		<article class="postlist-item">
+
+			<div class="post-copy">
+					<h3>
+						{% if post.data.title %}{{ post.data.title | safe }}{% else %}?{% endif %}{% if post.data.manufacturer %}, {{ post.data.manufacturer | safe }}{% endif %}
+					</h3>
+
+				<div class="post-metadata">
+					<div class="post-metadata-copy">
+						<p>
+						<time datetime="{{ post.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ post.date | niceDate }}{% if post.data.time %}—{{ post.data.time }}{% endif %}</time>
+						</p>
+					</div>
+				</div>
+				{% if post.content %}
+				<div class="microblog-comment">
+					{{ post.content | safe }}
+				</div>
+				{% endif %}
+			</div>
+		</article>
+		<hr>
+		{% endfor %}
+	</div>
+</section>

_includes/layouts/base.njk

@@ -2,10 +2,9 @@
 <html lang="{{ metadata.language }}">
 	<head>
 		{% include "metadata.njk" %}
-		{#- Bundle CSS #}
-		{%- css %}{% include "public/css/index.css" %}{% endcss %}
-		{%- css %}{% include "public/css/webfonts/webfonts.css" %}{% endcss %}
-		<style>{% getBundle "css" %}</style>
+		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/index.css" />
+		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/webfonts/webfonts.css" />
+		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/code.css" />
 		{% include "structuredData.njk" %}
     {% include "umami.html" %}
 	</head>

_includes/layouts/home.njk

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 layout: layouts/base.njk
 showPostListHeader: yep
 ---
-<h1>Welcome to Nathan’s Website and Blog.</h1>
-<p class="nodropcap page-block">Hi there, I’m Nathan Upchurch. Welcome to my personal website and blog, where I write about tech, free and open source software, design, vegan cooking, incense, music, and all sorts of <a href="/tags">other topics</a> that I find interesting. Learn more <a href="about">about me</a>, see <a href="now">what I’ve been up to lately</a>, or have a look at my latest posts below.</p>
+<h1>I'm Nathan; welcome&nbsp;friend.</h1>
+<p class="nodropcap page-block">My name is Nathan Upchurch, and this is my personal website and blog, where I write about all sorts of <a href="/tags">things</a> that I find interesting. On this website, you can learn more <a href="about">about me</a>, sign my <a href="guestbook">guestbook</a>, see <a href="now">what I’ve been up to lately</a>, <a href="blog">read my blog</a>, look at some <a href="galleries">pictures</a>, or explore the <a href="sitemap">sitemap</a> to see what else you can do here.</p>
 
 {{ content | safe }}

_includes/layouts/links.njk

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 ---
-layout: layouts/baseBareBones.njk
-hideNav: please
+layout: layouts/linksPage.njk
 ---
-{%- css %}{% include "public/css/me.css" %}{% endcss %}
 <div class="links-container">
 	<img class="profilePic" src="{{ metadata.author.profilePic }}">
 	<h1 class="socialTitle">Nathan Upchurch</h1>

_includes/layouts/linksPage.njk

@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 <html lang="{{ metadata.language }}" class="barebones">
 	<head>
 		{% include "metadata.njk" %}
-		{#- Bundle CSS #}
-		{%- css %}{% include "public/css/index.css" %}{% endcss %}
-		{%- css %}{% include "public/css/webfonts/webfonts.css" %}{% endcss %}
-		<style>{% getBundle "css" %}</style>
+		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/me.css" />
+		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/index.css" />
+		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/webfonts/webfonts.css" />
+
 		{% include "umami.html" %}
 	</head>
 	<body class="barebones">

_includes/layouts/post.njk

@@ -1,34 +1,44 @@
 ---
 layout: layouts/base.njk
 ---
-{# Only include the syntax highlighter CSS on blog posts #}
-{%- css %}{% include "public/css/code.css" %}{% endcss %}
 <article class="post">
-<h1>{{ title }}</h1>
-
+<h1>{{ title | safe }}</h1>
+{% if not hideMetadata %}
 <div class="post-metadata">
 	{% if author %}
-
-	{% if author.url %}<a href="{{ author.url }}">{% endif %}
-	<p>{% if author.name %}{{ author.name }}, {% endif %}{% if author.url %}</a>{% endif %}<time datetime="{{ page.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ page.date | readableDate }}</time></p>
+	{% if author.profilePic %}
+	<img class="profilePic" src="{{ author.profilePic }}">
+	{% endif %}
+	<div class="post-metadata-copy">
+		<p>{% if author.url %}<a href="{{ author.url }}">{% endif %}
+		{% if author.name %}By {{ author.name }}{% endif %}{% if author.url %}</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;{% endif %}<time datetime="{{ page.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ page.date | niceDate }}</time></p>
 
 	{% else %}
-
-	{% if metadata.author.url %}<a href="{{ metadata.author.url }}">{% endif %}
-	<p>{% if metadata.author.name %}{{ metadata.author.name }}, {% endif %}{% if metadata.author.url %}</a>{% endif %}<time datetime="{{ page.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ page.date | readableDate }}</time></p>
+	{% if metadata.author.profilePic %}
+	<img class="profilePic" src="{{ metadata.author.profilePic }}">
+	{% endif %}
+	<div class="post-metadata-copy">
+		<p>{% if metadata.author.url %}<a href="{{ metadata.author.url }}">{% endif %}
+		{% if metadata.author.name %}By {{ metadata.author.name }}{% endif %}{% if metadata.author.url %}</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;{% endif %}<time datetime="{{ page.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ page.date | niceDate }}</time></p>
 
 	{% endif %}
 
 
-	<ul>
-		{%- for tag in tags | filterTagList %}
-		{%- set tagUrl %}/tags/{{ tag | slugify }}/{% endset %}
-		<li><a href="{{ tagUrl }}" class="post-tag">{{ tag }}&nbsp;</a></li>
-		{%- endfor %}
-	</ul>
+		<ul>
+			{%- for tag in tags | filterTagList %}
+			{%- set tagUrl %}/tags/{{ tag | slugify }}/{% endset %}
+			<li>
+				<a
+				href="{{ tagUrl }}"
+				class="post-tag">
+					{{ tag }}&nbsp;
+				</a>
+			</li>
+			{%- endfor %}
+		</ul>
+	</div>
 </div>
-
+{% endif %}
 {{ content | safe }}
 </article>
 {% include "mastodonComments.njk" %}
-{% include "nextLast.njk" %}

_includes/layouts/quizzes.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/post.njk
+structuredData: none
+---
+{{ content | safe }}
+<section class="quiz">
+	<form onsubmit="handleQuizSubmit(); return false">
+		{% for question in questions %}
+		{% set q = loop.index %}
+		<div class="questionBox">
+			<p class="quizQuestion">{{ q }}. {{ question.title }}</p>
+			{% if question.image %}
+			<figure>
+				<a href="{{ question.image }}">
+					<img src="{{ question.image }}" alt="{{ question.imageAlt }}">
+				</a>
+				{% if question.imageCaption %}
+				<figcaption>{{ question.imageCaption }}</figcaption>
+				{% endif %}
+			</figure>
+			{% endif %}
+			<div class="answersBox">
+				{% for answer in question.answers %}
+				<div class="answerBox">
+					<input class="answer" type="radio" value="{{ answer.points }}" id="q{{ q }}a{{ loop.index }}" name="{{ q }}" required>
+					<label for="q{{ q }}a{{ loop.index }}">{{ answer.name }}</label>
+				</div>
+				{% endfor %}
+			</div>
+		</div>
+		{% endfor %}
+		<script src="/js/quiz.js"></script>
+		<button>Submit</button>
+	</form>
+</section>
+
+{% for consequence in consequences %}
+<dialog class="consequence" data-points-threshold="{{ consequence.points }}">
+	<h2>{{ consequence.title }}</h2>
+  <p>{{ consequence.spiel }}</p>
+  {% if consequence.image %}
+  <img src="{{ consequence.image }}" alt="{{ consequence.imageAlt }}">
+  {% endif %}
+  <details>
+		<summary>Score Details</summary>
+		<p class="scoreDetails"></p>
+	</details>
+  <form method="dialog">
+    <button>Thanks</button>
+  </form>
+</dialog>
+{% endfor %}
+

_includes/mastodonComments.njk

@@ -1,98 +1,12 @@
 {% if mastodon_id %}
 <section class="" id="comment-section">
-	<h2>Comments</h2>
-	<div class="comment-ingress"></div>
-	<div id="comments" data-id="{{ mastodon_id }}">
-		<p>Loading comments...</p>
-	</div>
 	<div class="continue-discussion">
 		<a class="link-button" href="https://{{ metadata.mastodonHost }}/@{{ metadata.mastodonUser }}/{{ mastodon_id }}">
 			<button type="button">
-				Reply on Mastodon to comment &#187;
+			<img src="/img/mastodon.svg">
+				Discuss on Mastodon &#187;
 			</button>
 		</a>
+	</div>
 </section>
-
-<template id="comment-template">
-	<wc-comment
-	author_name=""
-	author_url=""
-	avatar_url=""
-	comment_content=""
-	publish_date=""
-	sharp_corner="">
-	</wc-comment>
-</template>
-
-<script>
-const monthMap = ["January", "February", "March", "April", "May", "June", "July", "August", "September", "October", "November", "December"];
-
-const dateSuffixAdder = (date) => {
-	if (date > 9 && date < 20) {
-		return "th";
-	} else {
-		let dateString = date < 10 ? "0" + date : "" + date;
-		if (dateString[1] < 4 && dateString[1] > 0) {
-			return dateString[1] == 1 ? "st" :
-				dateString[1] == 2 ? "nd" :
-					dateString[1] == 3 ? "rd" : null;
-		} else {
-			return "th"
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-const timeFormatter = (hours, minutes) => {
-		return `${hours < 12 ? hours : hours - 12}:${minutes < 10 ? "0" : ""}${minutes} ${hours < 12 ? "AM" : "PM"}`
-}
-
-const renderComment = (comment, target, parentIdm) => {
-  const node = document
-    .querySelector("template#comment-template")
-    .content.cloneNode(true);
-
-  const dateObj = new Date(comment.created_at);
-
-  const dateTime = `${dateObj.getDate()}${dateSuffixAdder(dateObj.getDate())} of ${monthMap[dateObj.getMonth()]}, ${dateObj.getFullYear()}, at ${timeFormatter(dateObj.getHours(), dateObj.getMinutes())}`;
-
-    node.querySelector("wc-comment").setAttribute("author_name", comment.account.display_name);
-    node.querySelector("wc-comment").setAttribute("author_url",
-    `${comment.account.acct == "{{ metadata.mastodonUser }}" ? "https://{{ metadata.mastodonHost }}/@{{ metadata.mastodonUser }}" : comment.account.acct}`);
-    node.querySelector("wc-comment").setAttribute("avatar_url", comment.account.avatar_static);
-    node.querySelector("wc-comment").setAttribute("comment_content", comment.content);
-		node.querySelector("wc-comment").setAttribute("publish_date", dateTime);
-
-  target.appendChild(node);
-}
-
-async function renderComments() {
-  const commentsNode = document.querySelector("#comments");
-
-  const mastodonPostId = commentsNode.dataset?.id;
-
-  if (!mastodonPostId) {
-    return;
-  }
-
-  commentsNode.innerHTML = "";
-
-  const originalPost = await fetch(
-    `https://{{ metadata.mastodonHost }}/api/v1/statuses/${mastodonPostId}`
-  );
-  const originalData = await originalPost.json();
-  renderComment(originalData, commentsNode, null);
-
-  const response = await fetch(
-    `https://{{ metadata.mastodonHost }}/api/v1/statuses/${mastodonPostId}/context`
-  );
-  const data = await response.json();
-  const comments = data.descendants;
-
-  comments.forEach((comment) => {
-    renderComment(comment, commentsNode, mastodonPostId);
-  });
-}
-
-renderComments();
-</script>
 {% endif %}

_includes/metadata.njk

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
 <title>{{ title or metadata.title }}</title>
 <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/img/logo_favicon.svg">
+<link rel="blogroll" type="text/xml" href="{{ metadata.blogrollUrl }}">
 <meta name="description" content="{{ description or metadata.description }}">
 <meta name="robots" content="noai, noimageai">
 <meta name="generator" content="{{ eleventy.generator }}">

_includes/nav.njk

@@ -2,14 +2,9 @@
 	<h2 class="visually-hidden">Top level navigation menu</h2>
 	<ul class="nav">
 	{%- for entry in collections.all | eleventyNavigation %}
-		<a class="nav-item" href="{{ entry.url }}"{% if entry.url == page.url %} aria-current="page" data-currentpage="true"{% endif %}>
-			<li>{{ entry.title }}</li>
-		</a>
+		<li class="nav-item" {% if entry.url == page.url %} aria-current="page" data-currentpage="true"{% endif %}><a href="{{ entry.url }}">{{ entry.title }}</a></li>
 	{%- endfor %}
-		<a class="nav-item" href="/feed/feed.xml">
-			<li class="subscribe">
-			{% include "rssLogo.njk" %}Feed
-			</li>
-		</a>
+		<li class="subscribe nav-item"><a href="/feed/feed.xml">{% include "rssLogo.njk" %}Feed</a>
+		</li>
 	</ul>
 </nav>

_includes/navigator.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<section class="navigator">
+{% for link in metadata.navigatorLinks %}
+	<div class="navigatorItem">
+		<a href="{{ link.linkURL }}">
+			<img alt="" src="{{ link.iconURL }}">
+			<p>{{ link.linkDisplay }}</p>
+		</a>
+	</div>
+{% endfor %}
+</section>

_includes/nextLast.njk

@@ -1,51 +1,62 @@
-{%- if collections.posts %}
-{%- set previousPost = collections.posts | getPreviousCollectionItem %}
-{%- set nextPost = collections.posts | getNextCollectionItem %}
-{%- if nextPost or previousPost %}
-<section class="links-nextprev">
-<h2>Read Next</h2>
-	<div class="postlist-item-container">
-		{%- if previousPost %}
-		<article class="postlist-item{% if post.url == url %} postlist-item-active{% endif %}">
-			<a href="{{ previousPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
-				<div class="post-image-container">
-					<img class="post-image" {% if previousPost.data.imageURL %} src="{{ previousPost.data.imageURL }}" alt="{{ previousPost.data.imageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
-				</div>
-			</a>
-			<div class="post-copy">
-				<a href="{{ previousPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
-					<p>Previous Article:</p>
-					<h3>
-						{% if previousPost.data.title %}{{ previousPost.data.title }}{% else %}<code>{{ previousPost.url }}</code>{% endif %}
-					</h3>
-				</a>
-				<time class="postlist-date" datetime="{{ previousPost.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ previousPost.date | readableDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time>
-				{% if previousPost.data.synopsis %}<p>{{ previousPost.data.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>{% else %}{{ previousPost.content | truncate(105) | safe }}{% endif %}
-			</div>
-	</article>
+{% if collections.posts %}
+	{% set previousPost = collections.posts | getPreviousCollectionItem %}
+	{% set nextPost = collections.posts | getNextCollectionItem %}
+	{% if nextPost or previousPost %}
+		<section class="links-nextprev">
+			<h2>Read Next</h2>
+			<div class="postlist-item-container">
+				{% if previousPost %}
+					<article class="postlist-item{% if post.url == url %} postlist-item-active{% endif %}">
+						<a href="{{ previousPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
+							<div class="post-image-container">
+								<img class="post-image" {% if previousPost.data.imageURL %} src="{{ previousPost.data.imageURL }}" alt="{{ previousPost.data.imageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
+							</div>
+						</a>
+						<div class="post-copy">
+							<a href="{{ previousPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
+								<p>Previous Article:</p>
+								<h3>
+									{% if previousPost.data.title %}{{ previousPost.data.title }}{% else %}<code>{{ previousPost.url }}</code>{% endif %}
+								</h3>
+							</a>
+							<time class="postlist-date" datetime="{{ previousPost.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ previousPost.date | readableDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time>
+							{% if previousPost.data.synopsis %}
+								<p>{{ previousPost.data.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>
+								{% else %}
+								<p>{{ previousPost.content | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>
+							{% endif %}
+						</div>
+					</article>
+					{% if not nextPost %}
+					</div>
+						</section>
+					{% endif %}
+				{% endif %}
 
+				{% if nextPost %}
+					<article class="postlist-item{% if post.url == url %} postlist-item-active{% endif %}">
+						<a href="{{ nextPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
+							<div class="post-image-container">
+								<img class="post-image" {% if nextPost.data.imageURL %} src="{{ nextPost.data.imageURL }}" alt="{{ nextPost.data.imageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
+							</div>
+						</a>
+						<div class="post-copy">
+							<a href="{{ nextPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
+								<p>Next Article:</p>
+								<h3>
+									{% if nextPost.data.title %}{{ nextPost.data.title }}{% else %}<code>{{ nextPost.url }}</code>{% endif %}
+								</h3>
+							</a>
+							<time class="postlist-date" datetime="{{ nextPost.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ nextPost.date | readableDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time>
+							{% if nextPost.data.synopsis %}
+								<p>{{ nextPost.data.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>
+								{% else %}
+								<p>{{ nextPost.content | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>
+							{% endif %}
+						</div>
+					</article>
+			</div>
+		</section>
 		{% endif %}
-		{%- if nextPost %}
-		<article class="postlist-item{% if post.url == url %} postlist-item-active{% endif %}">
-			<a href="{{ nextPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
-				<div class="post-image-container">
-					<img class="post-image" {% if nextPost.data.imageURL %} src="{{ nextPost.data.imageURL }}" alt="{{ nextPost.data.imageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
-				</div>
-			</a>
-			<div class="post-copy">
-				<a href="{{ nextPost.url }}" class="postlist-link">
-					<p>Next Article:</p>
-					<h3>
-						{% if nextPost.data.title %}{{ nextPost.data.title }}{% else %}<code>{{ nextPost.url }}</code>{% endif %}
-					</h3>
-				</a>
-				<time class="postlist-date" datetime="{{ nextPost.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ nextPost.date | readableDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time>
-				{% if nextPost.data.synopsis %}<p>{{ nextPost.data.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>{% else %}{{ nextPost.content | truncate(105) | safe }}{% endif %}
-			</div>
-	</div>
-</section>
 	{% endif %}
-
-</div>
-{%- endif %}
-{%- endif %}
+{% endif %}

_includes/postslist.njk

@@ -1,23 +1,63 @@
-<section class="postlist">
-{% if showPostListHeader %}<h2>{{ metadata.postlistHeaderText }}</h2>{% endif %}
-<div class="postlist-item-container">
-	{% for post in postslist | reverse %}
-	<article class="postlist-item{% if post.url == url %} postlist-item-active{% endif %}">
-		<a href="{{ post.url }}" class="postlist-link">
-			<div class="post-image-container">
-				<img class="post-image" {% if post.data.imageURL %} src="{{ post.data.imageURL }}" alt="{{ post.data.imageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
-			</div>
-		</a>
-		<div class="post-copy">
+<section class="postlist{% if postListTypeMicroblog %} microblogList{% endif %}">
+	{% if postlistHeaderText %}<h2>{{ postlistHeaderText }}</h2>{% endif %}
+	<div class="postlist-item-container">
+		{% for post in postslist | reverse %}
+		<article class="postlist-item{% if post.url == url %} postlist-item-active{% endif %}">
+
+		{% if not postListTypeMicroblog %}
 			<a href="{{ post.url }}" class="postlist-link">
-				<h3>
-					{% if post.data.title %}{{ post.data.title }}{% else %}<code>{{ post.url }}</code>{% endif %}
-				</h3>
+				<div class="post-image-container">
+					<img class="post-image" {% if post.data.imageURL %} src="{{ post.data.imageURL }}" alt="{{ post.data.imageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
+				</div>
 			</a>
-			<time class="postlist-date" datetime="{{ post.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ post.date | readableDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time>
-			{% if post.data.synopsis %}<p>{{ post.data.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>{% else %}{{ post.content | truncate(105) | safe }}{% endif %}
-		</div>
-	</article>
-	{% endfor %}
-</div>
+			{% endif %}
+
+			<div class="post-copy">
+			{% if not postListTypeMicroblog %}
+				<a href="{{ post.url }}" class="postlist-link">
+			{% endif %}
+					<h3>
+						{% if post.data.title %}{{ post.data.title | safe }}{% else %}?{% endif %}
+					</h3>
+				{% if not postListTypeMicroblog %}
+				</a>
+				{% endif %}
+
+				<div class="post-metadata">
+					<div class="post-metadata-copy">
+						<p>
+						{% if not postListTypeMicroblog %}
+							{% if post.data.author %}
+								{% if post.data.author.url %}
+								<a href="{{ post.data.author.url }}">
+								{% endif %}
+								{% if post.data.author.name %}
+								By {{ post.data.author.name }}
+								{% endif %}
+								{% if post.data.author.url %}</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;
+								{% endif %}
+								{% else %}<a href="{{ metadata.author.url }}">By {{ metadata.author.name }}</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;
+							{% endif %}
+						{% endif %}
+						<time datetime="{{ post.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ post.date | niceDate }}{% if post.data.time %}—{{ post.data.time }}{% endif %}</time>
+						</p>
+						<ul>
+							{%- for tag in post.data.tags | filterTagList %}
+							{%- set tagUrl %}/tags/{{ tag | slugify }}/{% endset %}
+							<li>
+								<a
+								href="{{ tagUrl }}"
+								class="post-tag">
+									{{ tag }}&nbsp;
+								</a>
+							</li>
+							{%- endfor %}
+						</ul>
+					</div>
+				</div>
+			</div>
+		</article>
+		<hr>
+		{% endfor %}
+	</div>
 </section>

_includes/structuredData.njk

@@ -1,19 +1,25 @@
-{% if title %}
+{% if title and structuredData != "none" %}
 <!-- Structured Data -->
 <script type="application/ld+json">
 {
 	"@context": "https://schema.org/",
-	"@type": "Article",
-	"headline": "{{ title }}",
+	"@type": "BlogPosting",
+	"articleBody": "{{ content | striptags }}"
 	"author": {
 		"@type": "Person",
-		"name": "{{ metadata.author.name }}"
+		"familyName": "{{ metadata.author.familyName }}",
+		"givenName": "{{ metadata.author.givenName }}",
+		"image": "{{ metadata.url }}{{ metadata.author.profilePic }}",
+		"name": "{{ metadata.author.name }}",
+		"url": "{{ metadata.author.url }}"
 	},
 	"datePublished": "{{ date }}",
 	"description": "{% if synopsis %}{{ synopsis}}{% endif %}",
+	"headline": "{{ title }}",
 	"image": "{% if imageURL %}{{ imageURL | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}{% else %}{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}{% endif %}",
+	"inLanguage": "{{ metadata.language }}",
+	"name": "{{ title }}",
 	"url": "{{ page.url | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}",
-	"articleBody": "{{ content | striptags }}"
 }
 </script>
 <!-- Open Graph -->

content/403.md

@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
----
-layout: layouts/403.njk
-permalink: 403.html
-eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true
----

content/404.md

@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
----
-layout: layouts/404.njk
-permalink: 404.html
-eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true
----

content/about-feeds.md

@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 ---
-layout: layouts/base.njk
+layout: layouts/post.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | About Feeds
+structuredData: none
+hideMetadata: yep
 ---
 # How to use feeds.
 <p><!-- a <p> just to stop the dropcap from happening --></p>

content/about/colophon/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | Colophon
+structuredData: none
+---
+
+# Colophon
+## What I used to build this website
+I built this website in plain-old HTML, CSS, and a touch of vanilla JavaScript using [Zach Leatherman](https://www.zachleat.com/)'s [11ty static site generator](https://www.11ty.dev/) and Mozilla's [Nunjucks templating language](https://mozilla.github.io/nunjucks/). I used free and open source variable typefaces [Fraunces](https://fraunces.undercase.xyz/), designed by Phaedra Charles and Flavia Zimbardi[^1], and [Manrope](https://www.gent.media/manrope), designed by Mikhail Sharanda[^2].
+
+The handy calculators on [utopia.fyi](https://utopia.fyi), created by James Gilyead and Trys Mudford, helped me implement fluid typography and spacing, which has allowed me to make this website responsive without using a single media query. The future is upon us.
+
+Icons on the index page navigator section are from the [Breeze icon set](https://develop.kde.org/frameworks/breeze-icons/) made by the fine folks at [KDE](https://kde.org/).
+
+If you'd like to inspect the source for this site, you can [find the repo here](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com).
+
+[^1]: With contributions by Ethan Cohen, and Andy Clymer.
+[^2]: With contributions by Mirko Velimirovic.

content/about/index.md

@@ -1,23 +1,25 @@
 ---
 layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | About
 eleventyNavigation:
   key: About
-  order: 3
+  order: 2
 ---
 <article>
-<h1>About me and this website I’ve built.</h1>
-<h2>All about Nathan</h2>
-<p>I’m a prolific vegan home cook, classical trombonist, a <abbr title="Free/Libre Open Source Software">FLOSS</abbr> enthusiast, daily GNU/Linux user and unabashed <a href="https://kde.org/">KDE</a> stan, speaker of subpar elementary Spanish, incense appreciator, writer, electronics hobbyist, designer, programmer, music producer, print lover, and human with too many interests and too little time.
+<h1>About me and my&nbsp;website.</h1>
+<p class="page-block nodropcap">I’m a prolific vegan home cook, classical trombonist, incense maker, a <abbr title="Free/Libre Open Source Software">FLOSS</abbr> enthusiast, designer, programmer, music producer, print lover, and human with too many interests and too little time.<br><br>
+This is my little corner of the internet where I talk about whatever I like without worrying about maintaining a ‘personal brand’, or constraining my writing to topics which might help advance my career or establish me as a ‘thought leader’. I’m here to express myself and have fun writing about topics I enjoy.<br><br>
+If you’d like to learn more about my professional accomplishments and work, I’ll link my professional website here when I get around to it.</p>
+<a href="./colophon/">
+	<button type="button">Colophon »</button>
+</a>
 
-This is my personal website and blog, a little corner of the internet where I can talk about whatever I like without worrying about maintaining a ‘personal brand’, or constraining subject matter to those topics which might help advance my career or establish me as a ‘thought leader’. I’m here to express myself as a human and have fun writing about topics I enjoy. If you’d like to learn more about my professional accomplishments and work, I’ll link my professional website here soon.</p>
+<a href="../me/">
+	<button type="button">Contact »</button>
+</a>
 
-<h2>About this website</h2>
-<p>This website is made with <a href="https://www.11ty.dev/">the 11ty static site generator</a>, free and open source variable typefaces <a href="https://www.gent.media/manrope">Manrope</a> and <a href="https://fraunces.undercase.xyz/">Fraunces</a>, along with plain-old HTML, CSS, and some vanilla JavaScript for the web components that I built to handle comments. I used the handy calculators on <a href="https://utopia.fyi">utopia.fyi</a> to help me implement fluid typography and spacing.
+<a href="./privacy/">
+	<button type="button">Privacy »</button>
+</a>
 
-I don’t collect any of your personal information, full-stop. All webfonts, icons, and images are hosted locally (these things can sometimes be used to <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/world/how-google-uses-fonts-to-track-what-users-do-online-and-sell-data-to-advertisers-12496552.html">track people across the internet</a> otherwise). I use <a href="https://umami.is/">umami</a>, an open source, privacy-respecting analytics tool, to see how many people visit this website.
-
-Miss when the internet was fun? Find more interesting personal blogs at <a href="https://blogroll.org">blogroll.org</a>, or <a href="https://ooh.directory/">ooh.directory</a>.</p>
-
-<h2>Contact Me</h2>
-<p>If you would like to say something nice, ask a question, or simply follow me on the fediverse, <a href="../me">here’s where you can find me</a>.</p>
 </article>

content/about/privacy/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | Privacy
+structuredData: none
+---
+
+# Privacy Statement
+
+## Data collection and use
+I don’t collect any of your personal information, full-stop. All webfonts, icons, and images are hosted locally (these things can sometimes be used to [track people across the internet](https://www.firstpost.com/world/how-google-uses-fonts-to-track-what-users-do-online-and-sell-data-to-advertisers-12496552.html) otherwise). I use [umami](https://umami.is), an open source, privacy-respecting analytics tool, to see [how many people visit this website](https://umami.upchur.ch/share/7P3yYsqAsvpdlb03/nathanupchurch.com).

content/ai.md

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | AI
+structuredData: none
+---
+# AI Statement
+
+## Is AI used for this website?
+Absolutely no prose, code, or image that comprises a part the content of this website, nor any code that comprises the website itself was generated from AI products, also known as 'ocean-boiling plagiarism machines'. You may rest assured that this will not change.
+
+## AI Permissions
+I do my utmost to ensure that my work is not hoovered wholesale and regurgitated by AI products by including an [ai.txt file](/ai.txt) and disallowing known crawlers in my [robots.txt file](/robots.txt), but just in case it will ever become meaningful in any legal sense, I'd like to make it clear here that I do not grant permission for any content on this website to be used as training data for any AI project, or for any portion of this website to be scraped by bots associated with AI projects.

content/blog.njk

@@ -1,14 +1,20 @@
 ---
 layout: layouts/base.njk
-eleventyNavigation:
-  key: Blog
-  order: 2
+title: "The Stochastic Bletherist | The Personal Blog of Nathan Upchurch"
+structuredData: none
+postlistHeaderText: "What’s New:"
 ---
-<h1>Nathan’s Blog.</h1>
+<h1>The Stochastic Bletherist</h1>
 
 <p class="page-block nodropcap">
-Looking for something in particular? Have a look at <a href="/tags/">this convenient list of post categories</a> to filter results by topic.
+The personal blog of Nathan Upchurch, where he writes about everything from <a href="/tags/storytime">personal stories</a> to <a href="/tags/gnu-linux">tech</a>, <a href="/tags/vegan-cooking">food</a>, and <a href="/tags/incense">incense</a>.<br />
+
+<a href="/tags/">
+	<button type="button">Topics »</button>
+</a>
+<a href="../blogroll/">
+	<button type="button">Blogroll »</button>
+</a>
 </p>
-<h2>What’s New:</h2>
 {% set postslist = collections.posts %}
 {% include "postslist.njk" %}

content/blog/Solving-SSG-Microblogging-Ergonomics-with-KDialog-for-Incense-Posting.md

@@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
+---
+title: "Poaster: Solving SSG Microblogging Ergonomics with Ruby and KDialog"
+description: "Trying to make it a little less brutal to make small, frequent posts on SSGs."
+date: 2025-06-08
+tags:
+ - Site Updates
+ - Eleventy
+ - KDE
+synopsis: "Trying to make it a little less brutal to make small, frequent posts on SSGs."
+imageURL: "/img/poaster/poaster_icon.svg"
+imageAlt: "An icon featuring a red toaster with the Ruby diamond on it popping out a sheet with the Markdown logo on it as though it were toast."
+mastodon_id: "114650833104413858"
+---
+
+Anyone familiar with my blog will know that I like to write about incense. A reader wrote to me some time ago asking about what sticks I've been enjoying lately, and it occurred to me that it might be a nice thing to have a "now listening" type feature on my website, so that fellow incense heads could get a sense of the types of incense I like. After all, while I write plenty of incense reviews, they represent only a small percentage of the sticks, cones, powders, woods, and resins I'm burning or heating from day to day. (If you're here for my incense content, feel free to skip this one and head to [/now-burning](/now-burning) to see the new feature!)
+
+## The issue of ergonomics
+
+While it would have been simple enough for me to build a microblogging feature into my [Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev/) website, the trouble was *wanting to use it* after it was built. Unlike using a {{ "CMS" | abbr("Content Management System") | safe }} such as WordPress to make a website, I knew of no nice interface for Eleventy, or for that matter any {{ "SSG" | abbr("Static Site Generator") | safe }}, that would help me create a post and publish it online without opening an {{ "IDE" | abbr("Integrated Development Environment") | safe }}[^1] and using the command line. Instead, the process looks something like this:
+
+[![A screenshot of a complicated looking text editor with a terminal widget at the bottom beside a copy of my website running on localhost.](/img/poaster/ergonomics_fail.webp "I don't necessarily want to feel like a [hackerman](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hackerman) every time I decide to make a tiny status update. Also, I just noticed that I totally screwed up the frontmatter for that post.")](/img/poaster/ergonomics_fail.webp)
+
+As big of a nerd as I am, I'm just not going to want to do that multiple times a day for what amounts to a status post. This lead me to *scour* the internet looking for a solution: something that I could run on my own desktop or laptop that could build my site locally and push changes to my website, hosted the old fashioned way: as a bunch of text files sitting on a server accessible via {{ "SFTP" | abbr("SSH File Transfer Protocol") | safe }}. No needless complexity like running Eleventy on the server, or using a host like Netlify.[^2] Surely there'd be something, right? Surely, the realm of SSGs can't be without at least one nice, local user interface that people can use without being a web developer?
+
+## An attempt to fix the problem
+
+In the end, I did find one answer to the problem:  [Publii](https://getpublii.com/). Publii seems to be made predominantly with end-users in mind, however. It's not just a local[^3] CMS, it's an SSG in its own right, which does me no good as I can't make it work with my website[^4]. So after coming up with nothing *I* could use, I gave the idea a rest for a while until I had the epiphany that I could solve the problem with a simple script using KDE's [KDialog](https://invent.kde.org/utilities/kdialog) to provide a rudimentary UI. So that's what I did.
+
+The idea was simple: a [wizard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_(software))-like experience that guides the user through the creation of a microblog / status post. Post types and the data they collect should be customized by the user via a JSON configuration file. After the post data is collected from the user, the script should execute a user-defined build command as well as a user-defined command to sync the static files to the server.
+## Building "Poaster"
+
+For some reason, I decided to write my script in Ruby, a language for which I once completed a course before promptly forgetting everything I knew about it. I would have had a much easier time using JavaScript and Node, which I am much more familiar with and have successfully used for similar purposes. Why I did not is anyone's guess. All this to say: please do not make (too much) fun of my shitty little script, which I have dubbed "Poaster."
+
+I started with the JSON configuration file, `/Poaster/config/config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+    "buildCommand": "npx @11ty/eleventy",
+    "postTypes": [
+        {
+            "name": "Now Burning",
+            "postUnitName": "incense",
+            "contentEnabled": true,
+            "frontMatter": [
+                {
+                    "name": "title"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "manufacturer"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "date"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "time"
+                }
+            ],
+            "postDirectory": "/post/output/dir"
+        }
+    ],
+    "uploadCommand": "rsync -av --del /local/path/to/site/output
+username@my.server:/remote/path/to/public/site/files",
+    "siteDirectory": "/local/path/to/site/repo"
+}
+```
+Here, the user can specify as many post types as they like, each with their own output directory. Each post type can also collect as many pieces of frontmatter as the user cares to specify.
+
+The first thing the script needed to do was ask the user which post type they want to create, so I referenced the [KDialog tutorial](https://develop.kde.org/docs/administration/kdialog/) and wrote a method to handle that `/Poaster/lib/spawn_radio_list.rb`:
+``` ruby
+def spawn_radio_list(title, text, options_arr)
+  command = %(kdialog --title "#{title}" --radiolist "#{text}")
+  options_arr.each_with_index do |option, i|
+    command += %( #{i} "#{option}" off)
+  end
+  `#{command}`
+end
+```
+I wrote a few more methods in `/Poaster/lib` to spawn toast notifications, input boxes, create directories if they don't exist, and write files:
+`/Poaster/lib/spawn_toast.rb`:
+``` ruby
+def spawn_toast(title, text, seconds)
+  `kdialog --title "#{title}" --passivepopup "#{text}" #{seconds}`
+end
+```
+`/Poaster/lib/spawn_input_box.rb`:
+``` ruby
+def spawn_input_box(title, text)
+  `kdialog --title "#{title}" --inputbox "#{text}"`
+end
+```
+`/Poaster/lib/ensure_dir_exists.rb`:
+``` ruby
+def ensure_dir_exists(directory_path)
+  unless Dir.exist?(directory_path)
+    FileUtils.mkdir_p(directory_path)
+    spawn_toast 'Directory Created', %(Poaster created #{directory_path}.), 10
+  end
+end
+```
+`/Poaster/lib/write_file.rb`:
+``` ruby
+def write_file(directory, name, extension, content)
+  post_file = File.new(%(#{directory}/#{name}.#{extension}), 'w+')
+  post_file.syswrite(content)
+  post_file.close
+end
+```
+All I had to do then was tie it all together in `/Poaster/poaster.rb`:
+``` ruby
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+require 'json'
+require 'fileutils'
+require './lib/spawn_input_box'
+require './lib/spawn_radio_list'
+require './lib/spawn_toast'
+require './lib/ensure_dir_exists'
+require './lib/write_file'
+
+config_data = JSON.parse(File.read('./config/config.json'))
+dialog_title_prefix = 'Poaster'
+
+# Populate types_arr with post types
+post_types_arr = []
+config_data['postTypes'].each do |type|
+  post_types_arr.push(type['name'])
+end
+
+# Display post list dialog to user
+post_type = config_data['postTypes'][Integer(spawn_radio_list(dialog_title_prefix, 'Select a post type:', post_types_arr))]
+
+# Set the word we will use to refer to the post
+post_unit = post_type['postUnitName']
+
+# Collect frontmatter from user
+frontmatter = []
+post_type['frontMatter'].each do |item|
+  frontmatter.push({ item['name'] => spawn_input_box(%(#{dialog_title_prefix} - Enter Frontmatter'), %(Enter #{post_unit} #{item['name']}:)) })
+end
+
+# Collect post content from user
+post_content = spawn_input_box %(#{dialog_title_prefix} - Enter Content), %(Enter #{post_unit} content:)
+
+# Make sure the output folder exists
+post_directory = post_type['postDirectory']
+ensure_dir_exists(post_directory)
+
+# Create post string
+post = %(---\n)
+post_id = ''
+frontmatter.each_with_index do |item, i|
+  post += %(#{item.keys[0]}: #{item[item.keys[0]]})
+  post_id += %(#{item[item.keys[0]].chomp}#{i == frontmatter.length - 1 ? '' : '_'})
+end
+post += %(---\n#{post_content})
+
+# Write post string to file and notify user
+post_file_name = %(#{post_type['name']}_#{post_id.chomp})
+post_extension = 'md'
+
+write_file post_directory, post_file_name, post_extension, post
+spawn_toast 'File Created', %(Poaster created #{post_file_name}#{post_extension} at #{post_directory}.), 10
+
+# Run build and upload commands
+`cd #{config_data['siteDirectory']} && #{config_data['buildCommand']} && #{config_data['uploadCommand']}`
+```
+
+## Burning now
+There is a lot that this script should do that it doesn't, but for now, it's still a handy wee utility for SSG users on GNU/Linux systems running KDE who want to make creating quick status-type posts a little less painful. Just make sure KDialog is installed (as well as Ruby, naturally), clone [the repo](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/Poaster), create `/Poaster/config/config.json` to meet your needs using the example as a reference and you're off to the races! I've even made a silly little toaster icon using assets from some of the KDE MimeType icons that you can use if you want to make a `.desktop` file so that you can click an icon on your app launcher to start the script.
+
+[![A screenshot showing Poaster in my app launcher.](/img/poaster/app-menu.webp "Isn't that nice?")](/img/poaster/app-menu.webp)
+
+My `poaster.desktop` file looks something like this:
+``` bash
+[Desktop Entry]
+Exec=/path/to/poaster.rb
+GenericName[en_US]=Create a post with Poaster.
+GenericName=Create a post with Poaster.
+Icon=/path/to/poaster_icon.svg
+Name=Poaster
+NoDisplay=false
+Path=/path/to/repo/
+StartupNotify=true
+Terminal=false
+Type=Application
+```
+Here's the script in action:
+<figure><div style="position: relative;"><iframe title="A video showing Poaster being launched from the terminal. The script brings up a series of text input boxes for each piece of frontmatter specified in the configuration file." width="560" height="315" src="https://makertube.net/videos/embed/p8oopZXaLNUXNpBQGY9q4k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-forms"></iframe></div><figcaption>The ease! The convenience!</figcaption></figure>
+
+To build the new "now burning" incense microblog feature, I created two new pages. [/now-burning](/now-burning) shows the latest entry:
+
+``` html
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: "Nathan Upchurch | Now Burning: What incense I'm burning at the moment."
+structuredData: none
+postlistHeaderText: "What I've been burning:"
+---
+{% raw %}{% set burning = collections.nowBurning | last %}
+
+<h1>Now Burning:</h1>
+<article class="post microblog-post">
+	<img class="microblog-icon" src="/img/censer.svg">
+	<div class="microblog-status">
+		<h2 class="">{{ burning.data.title }}{% if burning.data.manufacturer %}, {{ burning.data.manufacturer }}{% endif %}, {{ burning.date | niceDate }}, {{ burning.data.time }}</h2>
+		{% if burning.content %}
+		<div class="microblog-comment">
+			{{ burning.content | safe }}
+		</div>
+		{% endif %}{% endraw %}
+	</div>
+</article>
+<a href="/once-burned/">
+	<button type="button">Previous Entries »</button>
+</a>
+```
+…and [/once-burned](/once-burned) shows past entries:
+``` html
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: "Nathan Upchurch | Once Burned: Incense I've burning in the past."
+structuredData: none
+---
+{% raw %}{% set burning = collections.nowBurning | last %}
+
+<h1>Previous “Now Burning” Entries:</h1>
+{% set postsCount = collections.nowBurning | removeMostRecent | length %}
+{% if postsCount > 0 %}
+{% set postslist = collections.nowBurning | removeMostRecent %}
+{% set showPostListHeader = false %}
+{% include "incenseList.njk" %}
+{% else %}
+<p>Nothing’s here yet!</p>
+{% endif %}{% endraw %}
+<a href="/now-burning/">
+	<button type="button">Latest »</button>
+</a>
+```
+…using a post-listing include built specifically for microblogging:
+
+``` html
+<section class="postlist microblog-list">
+	{% raw %}{% if postlistHeaderText %}<h2>{{ postlistHeaderText }}</h2>{% endif %}
+	<div class="postlist-item-container">
+		{% for post in postslist | reverse %}
+		<article class="postlist-item">
+
+			<div class="post-copy">
+					<h3>
+						{% if post.data.title %}{{ post.data.title | safe }}{% else %}?{% endif %}{% if post.data.manufacturer %}, {{ post.data.manufacturer | safe }}{% endif %}
+					</h3>
+
+				<div class="post-metadata">
+					<div class="post-metadata-copy">
+						<p>
+						<time datetime="{{ post.date | htmlDateString }}">{{ post.date | niceDate }}{% if post.data.time %}—{{ post.data.time }}{% endif %}</time>
+						</p>
+					</div>
+				</div>
+				{% if post.content %}
+				<div class="microblog-comment">
+					{{ post.content | safe }}
+				</div>
+				{% endif %}
+			</div>
+		</article>
+		<hr>
+		{% endfor %}{% endraw %}
+	</div>
+</section>
+```
+And that's about it! There's a lot to do to make the script a little less fragile, such as passing along build / upload error messages, allowing for data validation via regex, et cetera. I'm sure I'll get to it at some point. If Poaster is useful to you, however, and you'd like to submit a patch to improve it, [please do let me know](../../me/).
+
+[^1]: Yes, I am aware that [Kate](https://kate-editor.org/) isn't *technically*
+an IDE.
+
+[^2]: At risk of sounding crabbit and behind the times, I don't know why web
+development has to be so damned complicated these days. Like, an entire fancy
+for-profit infrastructural platform that exists just to host static websites?
+It seems nuts to me.
+
+[^3]: Thank christ. Why does everything need to run in the cloud when we
+already have computers at home?
+
+[^4]: I did however use it to very quickly set up a nice looking blog site for
+my partner.
+

content/blog/a-breakthrough-incense-blend.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+---
+title: "Grand Dame: A Breakthrough Incense Blend?"
+description: "An attempt at a lavender incense stick goes remarkably well thanks to an unusual technique."
+date: 2024-07-28
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+synopsis: "An attempt at a lavender incense stick goes remarkably well thanks to an unusual technique."
+imageURL: /img/sending-incense-samples.webp
+imageAlt: An uncapped fountain pen on top of a pretty, gold-foiled pad of paper beside some envelopes with stamps featuring coffee drinks on them.
+mastodon_id: "112867886475498806"
+---
+I wrote two letters today, sealing each into a cotton envelope alongside a colorful cardboard straw, taped at both ends, containing two minuscule sticks of incense. I'm very excited about what's in those straws: incense sticks resulting from a blend I've dubbed *Grand Dame.*
+
+---
+*A quick note:
+You can [see everything I've written on incense here,](../../tags/incense/) or [subscribe to just incense posts via RSS.](../../feeds/incense.xml)*
+
+*Correction: When this article was first published, I wrongly attributed the suggestion that Yi-Xin's "Heart of Lavender" isn't likely to use lavender essential oil to Irene of [rauchfahne.de](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/) who has since let me know that it wasn't her who suggested this.*
+
+---
+
+[![An uncapped fountain pen on top of a pretty, gold-foiled pad of paper beside some envelopes with stamps featuring coffee drinks on them.](/img/sending-incense-samples.webp "If you're going to snail-mail, you might as well do it in style.")](/img/sending-incense-samples.webp)
+
+These sticks are interesting for a couple of reasons. First, they make use of ambrette seeds, which are mentioned in places such as [incensemaking.com,](https://incensemaking.com/aromatics/musk-seeds/) but there's precious little information available about people *actually using them* in incense. The sticks also involve an experimental technique that I used to try to achieve a lavender fragrance similar to that in Yi-Xin's *Heart of Lavender.*
+
+## Ambrette
+Ambrette seeds, or musk seeds, are used in perfumery as a natural alternative to animal musk. Far be it from me to deprive an innocent creature of any of its organs, no matter how fragrant, I have been curious about this ingredient for some time as a way to imbue incense with a measure of animalic depth and complexity.
+
+One of the factors that makes traditional incense making so difficult is that most plants reek to high heaven when burned unless you very precisely control the ratio of the ingredient and the temperature at which it burns. Knowing that tonka beans are notorious for smelling less than rosy when used in too high a concentration, I treated the ambrette seeds with a similar trepidation. Through experimentation, I've found that ambrette seeds make their presence well known at as little as two percent of a total blend.
+
+Ambrette seed really does need to be a part of a blend. Upon lighting, it's one of the first ingredients you'll notice, and as a stick of *Grand Dame* was burning while I wore a mask during a visit to Dave of [The World Makes Scents](https://theworldmakesscents.com/) in his workshop (a great time that I plan to write about soon - thanks Dave!), the ambrette was one of the few notes that made it through the tight fibers of a KN95. In isolation, the burning musk seeds aren't pretty, but I really think they add something special to the blend as a whole.
+
+## The Experiment
+I've been a bit obsessed with Yi-Xin's [*Heart of Lavender*](https://craft-incense.com/products/lavenwood) since I first tried it. You see, creating floral incense is notoriously difficult; burning flowers rarely produce a fragrance that's even remotely pleasant, and when they do, it's still tricky to get the blend right. As Ken of Yi-Xin wrote on the *Heart of Lavender* product page:
+
+>Blending lavender flowers into incense basically makes the scent quite herbaceous and sharp.  So it took a lot of tweaking and some special techniques to get correct.
+
+He also hints at one of these special techniques:
+
+>Firstly, the base ingredient is a specially processed Stanford Cedar material that integrated lavender in a very unique way
+
+Whatever Ken is doing to those ingredients, it produces a beautiful lavender stick which somehow circumvents the sharpness he describes altogether. It's practically *juicy* — floral, but fruity and tart like a plum. As an incense maker, how you could know that this is possible and *not* try to do it is beyond me, so I came up with an idea and tested my hypothesis in *Grand Dame.* The best guess I could muster as to how he'd managed to avoid that familiar scent of burning plant material that is usually part and parcel of, well, burning plant material, was that he must have either omitted it entirely or significantly reduced the quantity used. If I recall, someone mentioned to me at one point that *Heart of Lavender* didn't strike them as containing any significant quantity of essential oil, and I had forgotten that hydrosols exist, which left me with the idea that perhaps Ken had used a tincture.
+
+I started out by soaking whole dried lavender flowers in [Pisco,](https://catanpisco.com/) which smelled incredible. I soon did a little reading on tinctures, however, and found that I was going about it all wrong. The proof of the Pisco and the ratio of flowers to Pisco were both too low, and I'd need to wait several weeks to see how my tincture had turned out in any case. At this point, I bought an ounce of lavender tincture to experiment with. I combined the entire bottle with six grams of stunning powdered [Juniperus Virginiana from The World Makes Scents;](https://theworldmakesscents.com/products/premium-super-fine-red-cedar-powder-juniperus-virginiana) after stirring well and letting the mixture sit for twenty-four hours, I removed the lid from the jar and allowed the liquid to evaporate. The result of a quick burn test was thrilling: the trail of cedar produced the beautiful, fruity lavender fragrance that I'd hoped for.
+
+Now that I had some lavender fragranced wood, I decided to make some sticks from it. To the cedar, I added benzoin for sweetness and for its fixative properties, acacia gum to help modulate burn temperature and to strengthen the sticks, cinnamon, borneol, a small amount of powdered lavender, the ambrette seed, and guar gum to bind. In my opinion, the sticks turned out very well.
+
+Weeks later, I reflected on the original purpose of my tincture experiment while taking a look at the last of my *Heart of Lavender* sticks from Yi-Xin. As I did, I realised something: these sticks are *dark.* There had to be a significant amount of lavender flowers in them.
+
+[![A dark stick of "Heart of Lavender" seen through a printer's loupe.](/img/heart-of-lavender.webp "There's no way this doesn't contain a significant amount of lavender flowers.")](/img/heart-of-lavender.webp)
+
+Here is a comparison between *Grand Dame* and *Heart of Lavender*:
+
+
+[![The two sticks seen through a printer's loupe. Mine is significantly lighter in color.](/img/incense-stick-comparison.webp "Left: Grand Dame; Right: Heart of Lavender. Quite a difference. ")](/img/incense-stick-comparison.webp)
+
+With that, while it produces a lovely stick, I think my tincture idea is out of the window. Knowing that Ken was taught by [Kyarazen,](https://www.kyarazen.com/) who writes on traditional Chinese incense techniques as does his student [Dr. Incense,](https://dr-incense.com/) I wonder whether the cedar and lavender might have been processed by [steaming](https://dr-incense.com/blogs/dr-incense-blog/traditional-processing-of-aloeswood) them together. At any rate, despite my disappointment at failing to discover how Ken of Yi-Xin made his lavender incense so good, I did manage to find a way of achieving a similar result, and I'm keen to hear what some of my fellow incense-heads think providing those samples arrive in good condition. It continues to be an interesting line of enquiry as tinctures are expensive, even when you make them yourself, so I'd be grateful to discover a more frugal alternative. I've also started some more tinctures to play with, one with osmanthus and another using jasmine. I'll let you know how those work out.

content/blog/a-plebeians-review-of-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt.md

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+---
+title: "A Plebeian’s Review of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt"
+description: "I tried really, really hard to get into this game."
+date: 2025-05-04
+tags:
+  - Gaming
+  - Game Review
+synopsis: "I tried really, really hard to get into this game."
+imageURL: /img/witcher_3/witcher3_en_screenshot_screenshot_13_1920x1080_1433341624.webp
+imageAlt: "A screenshot of Geralt's scowling face."
+mastodon_id: "114451612149600574"
+---
+The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a fantasy RPG in which you play as ~~Ged~~ ~~Gerd~~ ~~Gerald~~ Geralt, a super masculine generic-white-man protagonist who grumbles everything he says like Batman. Hopefully you like Geribald, because you don't get to customize him in any way. You'll control Gabriel from a third-person perspective, awkwardly hovering over his right shoulder as he trudges around wherever it is that he lives. The map is large, so in order to spare you too much trudgery Giovanni has a horse that he can ride insofar as it doesn't get stuck on any rocks, stumps, shrubbery, or especially stout blades of grass. The horse is named after an insect of some kind.
+
+As he rides about the scenery, Grayson will run into all sorts of gurgling monsters that he will attempt to defeat by swinging one of his two swords at them: one silver, which is good for some monsters, and one steel, which is good for others, for some reason. He also has a crossbow with a fire-rate that may well be slower than his refractory period[^1]. Oh, and Gavin is also a witcher, not to be confused with something so compelling as a witch. This means that he can sometimes shoot different colored lights from his hand, and has some sort of smell-o-vision a la [Dog's Life for PS2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcHKPjCGAX4). Combat is mostly an exercise in clicking wildly while watching needlessly acrobatic sword-swinging animations play.
+
+I am told that the *proper* way to play this game is on the hardest difficulty, wherein the player will have the pleasure of milling about collecting various herbs and other ingredients in order to create a variety of potions and sword…oils…(?) without which completing the game is impossibly difficult. After repeatedly dying during an introductory mission escorting some sort of demon baby ten meters up a dirt path I chose instead to set the game difficulty to "Just the Story," which somehow still finds me killed time and time again on missions that the game recommends for players at or below my level.
+
+Unlike, say,  Skyrim, talking to NPCs rarely nets Gerardo more than a wet cough, so quests are to be found at job-boards posted at each human settlement. You might think that this would discourage exploration and lower the sense of immersion in the game, but after thirteen hours of game-play to date I can say with confidence that yes, in fact it does. So in a world seemingly devoid of any interesting discoveries to be made, if guiding Roach the horse from obstruction to obstruction across the landscape while vaguely sad music plays isn't enough to keep you interested in the open world of The Witcher 3, you can skip the rather beautiful scenery altogether via the fast-travel system.
+
+When the few of us who aren't utterly enamored with this game say anything to that effect, we're often dismissed as pedestrian and told that it's *all about the story,* so let's get into that. What I know so far is that Gideon's adopted daughter was nicked by some folk in hoods. Why? I couldn't tell you. I'm stuck trying to kill a werewolf in "Just the Story" mode so that I can progress the story. Maybe I need to craft a sword-oil or something. Honestly, I don't know that I can be bothered.
+
+[^1]: I hear we'll find out later in the game.

content/blog/an-evening-with-americas-best-incense-wild-berry.md

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+---
+title: "An Evening with “America’s Best Incense:” Wild Berry"
+description: "I review $40 worth of Wild Berry incense in an evening."
+date: 2025-08-09
+tags:
+ - Incense
+ - Incense Review
+synopsis: "I review $40 worth of Wild Berry incense in an evening."
+imageURL: "/img/wildBerry/wild_berry_incense_sticks.webp"
+imageAlt: "Several packs of incense sticks with a ruler on top showing a stick length significantly below eleven inches, as well as some three plus inches of uncoated bamboo stick."
+mastodon_id: "115007567342939989"
+---
+In a [recent post](https://incenseinthewind.blogspot.com/2025/08/rasbihari-lal-absolute-oud.html?sc=1754495465540#c8441585320216937517), our friend Steve of Incense in The Wind described those with an aversion to perfume-dipped incense sticks as *prejudiced*. This has invited some self reflection. Dear reader, I think I may have been called out[^1].
+
+It is true that I typically enjoy incense made out of, well, incense, but hell, maybe it's time to challenge this *blatant elitism*! After all, aren't incense sticks carefully constructed from sawdust, Elmer's glue, and various mysterious liquids named after [illicit substances](https://web.archive.org/web/20210910075942/https://www.stoutmonk.com/image/cache/data/Flute-Cannabish-250x250.jpg) and [public figures](https://web.archive.org/web/20250116044541/https://www.theculturalexchangeshop.com/details.php?id=4933) just as valid?! It's time to check my privilege, confront my prejudices, and find out. Yes, my friend, I've had the Ossetra caviar slapped out of my mouth, and no sooner than the blini landed on my Persian rug (crème fraîche down) have I set off to my nearest [Waffle House](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/waffle-house) for a real, honest, down-to-earth, working-man's meal. Folks, I am *excited* about this one. In this article we're putting down our highfalutin Japanese sticks and exploring “America’s Best Incense[^2]:” [Wild Berry](https://wild-berry.com/).
+
+Wild Berry sells an *incredible* variety of fragrances, and I've chosen six of them: some fruits, some resins, and some fragrances that I'd expect to be more like compositions rather than single notes. When placing the order, I noticed that the website sold resealable bags for a dollar or two. Not wanting to waste money, and figuring they wouldn't mind parting with ten cents worth of plastic for a $40 order, I entered a note asking whether they could throw in a few, provided the bags the incense came in by default couldn't be resealed.
+
+As I brought my laundry basket downstairs earlier today I checked the front porch for parcels. Jackpot. I've got the apartment to myself and nothing better to do, so I figure I'll order a takeaway, binge-watch some [Foundation](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/foundation), and try some of "America's Best" incense sticks while my laundry thumps around in the drier. I open the box, plonk it on the coffee table and began to rifle through the selection. Not a resealable bag in sight. Great; now the smell of this stuff is going to be slowly leeching into my apartment for time immemorial. I do however get a sticker and five sample sticks of "Mango Passion."
+
+[![Several packs of incense sticks with a ruler on top showing a stick length significantly below eleven inches, as well as some three plus inches of uncoated bamboo stick.](/img/wildBerry/wild_berry_incense_sticks.webp "Not a resealable bag in sight.")](/img/wildBerry/wild_berry_incense_sticks.webp)
+
+The "eleven inch" sticks all come markedly short of eleven inches, and they each have some three-plus inches of bare bamboo stick. Some appear to be machine extruded while others show a coating gradient typical with powder-coated sticks. Strange. I start with a strawberry cone:
+
+## Strawberry (Cones)
+I'm *sure* I had these before. I have a feeling they may have been among the incense I picked up from a gas station near my school that I used to frequent not only for [the drinks with the wee glass lizards on them](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Feaqi1o3yv2441.jpg)[^3], but for their gargantuan incense display. The cones have surprisingly little fragrance before they are burned. Upon lighting, they produce a large amount of smoke. There is a sweet, strikingly artificial, strawberry-like fragrance in the burn. It's reminds me of a strawberry juice-box or fruit snack that's 99% apple juice with a hint of strawberry essence. But mostly, I smell the charcoal and some accelerant. The smell is nostalgic, but not good by any stretch. My throat is already feeling slightly irritated; an inauspicious start. Moving on swiftly.
+
+## Coconut
+These have a very strong fragrance on the stick. It's sweet and acidic, almost more like a piña colada that coconut. It smells quite delicious. This fragrance is also inducing some nostalgia for me. On lighting, an aggressively sooty flame leaps to cover the first centimeter or so of the stick; oil appears to emerge from the stick directly beneath the flame. The fragrance upon extinguishing the flame is shocking. It's *foul*: vaporized wax, burning plastic, and some odd fishy note with a hint of artificial coconut. It's the kind of smell that makes you feel that your lifespan is being reduced. I put the stick out in short order.
+
+## Frankincense
+I was keen to try this one; I wanted to know how close it would be to its namesake. Not remotely, as it happens. You ever walk into a Joann or Michaels craft store around Christmas? That's what this stick smells like. Sickly sweet, artificially spicy—a bit like like rum-raisin ice-cream and men's spray-on deodorant with a hint of Play-Doh. Since that coconut stick put the fear of god into me, I've decided to start burning these sticks far, far away from where I'm sitting. The kitchen will do. I place the burner on wooden prep table in my kitchen. I hold my breath while lighting and quickly scuttle off back to the couch to watch Brother Day try to keep the empire afloat. I have no doubt the fragrance will find me there. To my surprise, this rather powerful fragrance actually comes through reasonably well in the burn; it's definitely not as abominable as the coconut. Still, I have to put it out before long.
+
+Around this point my takeaway arrives, so I decide to take a break. I cast my eyes onto the open package as I eat. It smells like someone's eating a fruit salad in a perfume shop. I consider moving it.
+
+## Dragon's Blood
+Like frankincense, my collection of something like 100 fragrant materials in various jars, bags, bottles, and tubes includes dragon's blood. That's the thing about resins: they're real substances that people own, and so if you name an incense stick after them, people are going to know when you're fibbing. This stick smells like baking spice and tart fruit, which is confusingly close to how I might describe actual dragon's blood resin, but it still somehow smells nothing like it. There is also a benzoin-like sweetness on the unlit stick. The fragrance in the burn is mercifully close to that of the unlit stick, but like the others, it comes along with a boat-load of off-notes. As with the Frankincense, this very strong fragrance quickly became too much.
+
+I'm feeling a touch dejected. I knew this incense was going to be bad, but I had hoped it would be bad in a fun way, like a fast-food hamburger, or a toy from a cereal box. So far it's just been a bit depressing.
+
+## Orange Creamsicle
+But, dear reader, hope springs eternal; the fragrance on this stick is fantastic. It's synthetic and too strong in a fun way, like candy. It's actually quite impressive—there's a sharp orange note, more orange oil than flesh, with a creamy, lactonic vanilla ice-cream note. As for the burn, well, if you buy these just stick them in a jar and pretend they're part of a reed diffuser. The off-notes are tremendous. Orange oil becomes bitter, burning pith. The experience is sickeningly underlined by an eerily unchanged vanilla ice-cream note like a music box playing sweetly amid artillery fire.
+
+## Opium (Sticks)
+Wow; this is bringing me right back to my teenage bedroom. The fragrance on the unlit stick is powerful: a trepidatious sniff draws a cough from my battle-worn lungs. By now, I'm too tired to attempt to work out the constituent notes of this composition, but it's not bad. It actually comes through surprisingly cleanly, at least compared to the others I've tried so far[^4]. I wonder whether the sheer strength of this stick isn't just overpowering any lurking off-notes waiting to soak into the carpet. In any case, I might go so far as to burn this one again on purpose. Outdoors, of course, but still.
+
+## Strawberry (Sticks)
+At this point, my nasal passages are beginning to feel as though I've [french-inhaled](https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbTVyeWJ3ZTI3aWlnbG9nOHR0eGdyM29hOTRzeW5rbGUxdnIwZmFtciZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xTiTnlbIZkWZDrKqgo/giphy.gif) my way through a pack of [menthol Newports](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_(cigarette)#/media/File:Newport_cigarettes.jpg). I steel myself; I will press on. Although disappointed by the strawberry cones, I somehow still have hope for the sticks. The smell is markedly more complex. It's a combination of strawberry candy and a rather uncanny impression of the sad, cucumbery strawberries they grow here in the U.S. I swear I can even smell the little green leaf at the top. When lit, however, this stick offers major off-notes with a hint of strawberry candy, like a fire in a sweet-shop.
+
+## Opium (Cones)
+Now so close to the end, my mind and body are crying out for rest. Like the sticks, this is a competent composition that has enough strength to overpower the stink that seems to be inherent in this brand. Beyond the smell, I find it interesting how wildly inconsistently these Wild Berry cones are shaped. From a company that puts out such volume, I expected production to be such an exercise in precision and efficiency that there would be no room for even the slightest deviation; I've seen more consistent output from even very small incense makers. I wonder why this is as I whisk away the censer containing the burning cone into another room.
+
+[![A bunch of wonky incense cones on top of the plastic bag they came in with a label reading "Opium (Type)"](/img/wildBerry/wild_berry_opium_incense_cones.webp "Helpfully labeled \"Opium \(Type\)\" in case you thought you were **really** getting your money's worth.")](/img/wildBerry/wild_berry_opium_incense_cones.webp)
+
+## Free Sample: Mango Passion
+As I reach my final task, my spirits are low; my nose a ragged wanderer on his sun-blistered belly, inching towards a verdant oasis after untold hours in the quivering heat, prostrate before the silent might of the dunes. I light a stick.
+
+How dearly I wish these sticks had been a handful of resealable bags. The fragrance of the unlit stick is pleasant enough: bright passion fruit and mango, per the name. It actually manages to come through relatively intact in the burn too, but all of those unpleasant smells we've come to expect alongside it really ruin the experience. This time the fire is in a Garnier Fructis production facility. With this out of the way, I am free.
+
+## Conclusion
+I don't expect you to believe me, but I *did not* intend this article to be a hit-piece. I had anticipated a [Review Brah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheReportOfTheWeek) style affair, where I got to sample some inelegant but fine enough incense sticks in fun fragrances. I had hoped that together we could take a dip into what would turn out to be the murky but cool waters of American commodity incense and emerge refreshed, if a touch muddy. Instead, I feel that we've come away with [brain-eating amobea](https://www.cdc.gov/naegleria/about/index.html).
+
+While Wild Berry's fragrances have left me distressed and unsatisfied, this experience has also left me with many questions. Beyond its products, I find that I've developed a lingering fascination surrounding the company itself. Wild Berry isn't just another big anonymous incense-maker, it has *lore*. From the company's [Duloc](https://youtu.be/p1zQHvvgXOs?si=CuLazpB9jRuXpNBW&t=31)-style [wooden puppet display](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Kf-ocYmBI), to zany antics such as [dragging employees around on pallet jacks](https://youtu.be/IJHtDyMV03o?si=pfMNMX6R6UYxrs_W&t=35), the more I learn the greater my curiosity. Why do precisely none of the [company vlogs](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJEWn3HV8JpN4MDB_srqcB8LQitKtEcBX) show anyone burning incense in their offices? What are they hiding in those five unavailable videos? What on earth is [going on here](https://www.youtube.com/@123WIldberry/), and what is a "[Buxom Busam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStV6vwjQYk)?"
+
+As for the incense itself, I'm flummoxed. How can something of such irredeemably poor quality be so ubiquitous? I admit I have come to deeply resent spending $40 on incense I've described in terms of war, but I also can't help but feel that this endeavor has made me party to one of the great mysteries of our time. Filled with a sense of both wonder and horror in the face of it, I've found myself staring at a [rotating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:8-cell-orig.gif) [tesseract](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesseract), beautiful in its incomprehensibility. And who knows? After a bout of therapy to overcome the trauma I've experienced tonight, I may eventually be able to put some of these sticks into service on the porch as bug-repellent.
+
+[^1]: Obligatory disclaimer assuring you that I'm being tongue-in-cheek and I am in no way salty at anyone.
+[^2]: The scare quotes are, I kid you not, included in their official branding.
+[^3]: I typically try not to make too much of a show of my impeccable taste, but I fear that may be impossible in this instance.
+[^4]: A very, very low bar.

content/blog/black-metal-fraught-genre-incredible-tunes.md

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+---
+title: "Black Metal: Fraught Genre, Incredible Tunes"
+description: Learning to appreciate extreme metal, problems in the scene, and some killer black metal tunes.
+date: 2024-11-12
+tags:
+  - Music
+synopsis: Learning to appreciate extreme metal, problems in the scene, and some killer black metal tunes.
+imageURL: /img/black_metal.webp
+imageAlt: A very creepy picture of a priest in the dark holding a bible with his hand on the head of a man lying on a table wearing a gas mask and a straitjacket.
+mastodon_id: "113472856465004642"
+---
+The beauty of extreme metal genres eludes many a music lover. I was one of them, until in 2007 a friend and I were able to snag some free tickets to Ozzfest by drinking far too many cans of Monster. I'd been into some slightly heavier music; I'm still a big Rammstein fan, but I just didn't *get* all of that screaming nonsense… until I saw it live.
+
+The power of music is its ability to make you feel: opening you up like a tin can, cramming you full of new emotions and bolstering existing ones, allowing them to override the habitual suppression you've long since stopped noticing; more than mere entertainment, in this way, listening to music becomes a means of exploring, experiencing, and feeling themes and emotions on your terms. As the bass from those gargantuan sub-woofers tears through your body like the drums of a pipe band alongside amplified human screams, growls, and gurgles—the sounds of anger, fear, anguish, and death: seeing a metal act in the flesh *does* something to you.
+
+On that summer day in Texas, I was stricken with an appreciation for metal that I've had ever since. Black metal and death metal populate my music collection alongside tenor trombone concertos, DJ Screw, and drum and bass bangers to this day.
+
+## The big problem with black metal
+
+If you're new to the genre it's important to know, however, that black metal is not without controversy. It's common knowledge that much extreme metal is anti-religious (a position to which I am not unsympathetic) and deliberately provocative to the faithful, as you will see below (Christians: you have been warned), but it is often an unpleasant surprise to those new to the scene that black metal has, to put it frankly, a nazi problem.
+
+Devastatingly satirized by [Neckbeard Deathcamp](https://neckbearddeathcamp.bandcamp.com/), the problem is so widespread that [reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/tncgjc/metalheads_how_do_i_find_out_if_the_band_i_found/) [is](https://www.reddit.com/r/MetalForTheMasses/comments/17dt56y/best_nonnsbm_black_metal_bands/) [laden](https://www.reddit.com/r/musicsuggestions/comments/w2rdfl/black_metal_thats_not_racist/) [with](https://www.reddit.com/r/MetalForTheMasses/comments/198cmzz/what_are_some_non_nazi_black_metal_bands/) [threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/MetalForTheMasses/comments/1e0krm6/what_are_some_black_metal_bands_that_dont_have/) started by people looking for safe picks to listen to. While you may, somehow, be able to "separate the art from the artist," it is especially important to avoid supporting white supremacist black metal groups in any way: mere word of mouth leads to revenue, and neo-nazis in the black metal scene use those funds to directly support recruitment and violence.[^1] Seriously, don't even talk about these bands with people; they don't deserve the attention, and [giving it to them can be dangerous](https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2000/arrest-german-neo-nazi-reveals-growing-internationalization-white-power-music-scene).[^2]
+
+With all that said, there is plenty of black metal made by good people, and it isn't especially hard to find. Reddit's [/r/rabm subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/rabm/) highlights explicitly leftist bands, so check there for some *definitely* safe choices, and before you go booking tickets to see that cool new band you found on Spotify[^3], it might be worth looking them up on [the metal archives](https://www.metal-archives.com/), specifically checking the "themes" section, reading their lyrics, and sniffing around reddit a bit.
+
+## Is it worth the effort?
+Absolutely. Extreme metal as a whole is known to host some of the most incredible musicians of the modern era; they say that the best drummers in the world either play jazz or death metal; metal guitarists are conspicuously excellent, and vocals that might sound like the consequence of some terrible disease require a great deal of skill to reproduce safely. A wide range of subgenres means that there's something for everyone in the world of extreme metal, whether you'd prefer to visit your city's orchestra or a basement math-rock show. Here are some killer black metal tunes that I'm rather fond of:
+
+### Blacker Than Black - Mora Prokaza
+{% audio "Blacker Than Black", "Mora Prokaza", "/audio/black_metal/session_Blacker Than Black.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/mora_prokaza_by_chance_album_cover.webp" %}
+The most normal track on Mora Prokaza's incredibly bizarre album *By Chance*, *Blacker than Black* is a gentle introduction to the rapped vocal style of the album, without the unique instrumentation and distinctly un-metal song structures found in other tracks.
+
+### I'm Not Yours - Mora Prokaza
+{% audio "I'm Not Yours", "Mora Prokaza", "/audio/black_metal/session_I'm Not Yours.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/mora_prokaza_by_chance_album_cover.webp" %}
+This is what Mora Prokaza's *By Chance* is all about: 808 sub bass, repetitive rapped black metal vocals compressed into percussive triplets, instrumentation incongruous with either black metal or trap: this album is nuts, and I'm here for it.
+
+### The Thousand Tombs of Western Promise - Wayfarer
+{% audio "The Thousand Tombs of Western Promise", "Wayfarer", "/audio/black_metal/session_The Thousand Tombs of Western Promise.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/wayfarer_american_gothic_album_cover.webp" %}
+A distinctly American take on the genre, Wayfarer integrates blues with black metal in a way that's immensely satisfying and brings a sweeping musicality to their songs that can often be found missing outside of classically influenced, orchestral-leaning acts.
+
+### Tyrannical - Rotting Christ
+{% audio "Tyrannical", "Rotting Christ", "/audio/black_metal/session_Tyrannical.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/rotting_christ_sanctus_diavolos_album_cover.webp" %}
+From one of my favorite albums of all time, *Tyrannical* is a fine example of one of the qualities I appreciate most in the Greek black metal genre mainstay Rotting Christ; the group is capable of creating music without ego. This track is pure vibes — individual musicians are always secondary to the goals of the composition, and the results are magical.
+
+### Athanati Este - Rotting Christ
+{% audio "Athanati Este", "Rotting Christ", "/audio/black_metal/session_Athanati Este.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/rotting_christ_sanctus_diavolos_album_cover.webp" %}
+Athanati Este is a sludgy soundscape of staccato riffage punctuated by religious sounding chants and traditional percussion. The layering and treatment of the vocals, alongside the bells, really contributes to a nicely filled frequency range, which I appreciate.
+
+### The Perpetual Horrors - Naglfar
+{% audio "The Perpetual Horrors", "Naglfar", "/audio/black_metal/session_The Perpetual Horrors.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/naglfar_pariah_album_cover.webp" %}
+Finally, a more traditional black metal tune. Just listen to that double bass pedal go, those impeccable vocals… there are those who will deride anything that doesn't sound like passing traffic recorded through an inch of styrofoam as metalcore; I am not among them. The musicality here is incredible; *The Perpetual Horrors* brings you along for a ride in a five-minute track that never gets boring.
+
+### VI - Au-Dessus
+{% audio "VI", "Au-Dessus", "/audio/black_metal/session_VI.mp3", "/audio/black_metal/au-dessus_end_of_chapter_album_cover.webp" %}
+Starting with a droning vocal harmony, a repeating guitar riff, and gently syncopated drums, *VI* undulates between a more traditional black metal track, and a dramatic hard rock tone a la the chorus of Hurt's *Rapture*. Emphasis stays with the instrumentation, the vocals kept low in the mix as though they're coming from somewhere else. The effect is a full slow-moving soundscape that is, like Rotting Christ's *Tyrannical*, simply a vibe.
+
+[^1]: This applies for supporting any sort of bigot: buying or even indirectly encouraging the purchase of anything that puts money into the hands of a bigot supports not only their lifestyle, but their activities, and amplifies their reach.
+[^2]: So if you know something I don't about any of the bands I've featured here, do let me know so that I can remove them.
+[^3]: It's better to buy music outright than use streaming services that barely pay artists, restrict how you use the music you pay for, and stand in the way of the preservation of music as a part of human culture. See [defectivebydesign.org/spotify](https://www.defectivebydesign.org/spotify) for more information.

content/blog/blog-questions-challenge.md

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+---
+title: "The Blog Questions Challenge"
+description: Why I do this whole blogging thing.
+date: 2025-03-12
+tags:
+  - Meta
+synopsis: Why I do this whole blogging thing.
+---
+If you haven't seen this going around the internet, you might be spending too little time on [the indieweb](https://indieweb.org/)! The blog questions challenge asks bloggers to talk about how and why they do what they do. Here's mine.
+
+## Why did you start blogging in the first place?
+As is common among those with ADHD, I've long felt that I have quite a lot to say and not enough people in my life who have the patience and willingness to sit through endless lengthy monologues; I have a lot of thoughts on a lot of things! Years ago I had a website where I published some of my ghastly teenage poetry—I think I write now for the same reason I did then: sometimes it just feels like I'll burst if I don't.
+
+## What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
+I'm using [Eleventy, AKA 11ty](https://www.11ty.dev/), which is a static site generator. A static site generator is a program that lets you code templates for your website, describe how it should work, and then it spits out pages based on your setup so that you don't have to code each new page or post. Static sites don't rely on a server running a content management system; they're literally just a bunch of files that you can host anywhere. They're fast and unhackable.
+
+I chose Eleventy specifically because it's very flexible, and because I'm comfortable with JavaScript.
+
+## Have you blogged on other platforms before?
+I've used WordPress in the past, and I use it at work. It makes the editing experience nice and simple (something that is not true with Eleventy), but it also feels fragile and unwieldy to me so I try to avoid it where I can.
+
+## How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that's part of your blog?
+I am a big fan of [KDE](https://kde.org/)'s [Kate](https://kate-editor.org/) text editor. No Electron bloat or Microsoft spyware, lots of great tools and plugins, and it's fast as all get out. Honestly, I'm a bit of a Kate evangelist, because I want to see more people working on plugins and language support for it rather than VS Code.
+
+I must admit, I don't always want to use a code editor for blog posts, especially for longer, more involved posts and essays. So when this mood takes me, I'll use [Ghostwriter](https://ghostwriter.kde.org/). Another fabulous KDE project, Ghostwriter is a simple Markdown editor with neat features like distraction-free and fullscreen modes, and writing statistics like word-count and reading-ease.
+
+## When do you feel most inspired to write?
+Honestly, I can never predict when the urge will take me, or when hyperfocus will drive me onwards into the wee hours. Sometimes I'll have something cooking for a while, and I'll get swept away with it when I happen upon a text file where I've outlined the idea. Historically, I'm more productive in every way in the evening, but as I've been fiercely battling my circadian rhythm now for several years in the hopes of adapting to a more workplace friendly schedule, I'm occasionally raring to go in the morning provided I've had a good 9-12 hours of sleep.
+
+## Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
+Usually, finishing a post has me feeling like I've just run the gauntlet, so I'm itching to upload as soon as possible. If it's a longer piece or I've noticed my focus failing, I'll sometimes either have my partner give it a read or I'll sleep on it and re-read before running my `update-website` Zsh alias.
+
+## What are you generally interested in writing about?
+Lately mostly incense and computer stuff, but I'd also like to write some longer pieces on some of my core beliefs and opinions. For instance, I'm working on an essay about my feelings toward religion and spirituality. These types of posts are long, involved, and have to be done with some delicacy as they always carry the possibility of upsetting people, so it's going to take some time to get them out.
+
+## Who are you writing for?
+In general, I don't think I'm writing for any person or group in particular, including myself. With some posts, I'm just trying to put out a viewpoint that I haven't seen others write about, such as my [post on a tool that allows people to strip the storytelling from recipe blogs](https://nathanupchurch.com/blog/let-us-waffle/). When I write things like that, I'm writing to add what I think is a unique view to an ongoing conversation. For other things, I'm writing because [I think it's important that the information is made available](https://nathanupchurch.com/blog/making-incense/), or to [show support to a project or cause](https://nathanupchurch.com/blog/scribus-1-7-0-from-strength-to-strength/).
+
+I think that writing [incense reviews](https://nathanupchurch.com/blog/maroma-incense-of-auroville-sandalwood-cedarwood/), however, is mostly for myself. I was once [a cocktail bartender](https://makertube.net/w/boNV8AQcufwtaZVg9vUh1Q). When I started out at a high-end Chicago cocktail lounge, the beverage director would ask the bar-back to bring us two Glencairn glasses, each containing a pour of one of the 500+ spirits on the wall behind the bar. He'd then ask me to write down what the spirit was, how long it had been aged, the proof, and five tasting notes. Once you've tasted enough spirits it's not terribly hard to do, so I became quite good at it, but I always found the process quite stressful nonetheless. I worked in coffee for some time after that, and I found coffee cuppings even more anxiety-inducing[^1] because the strong fragrances would burn my nose out almost immediately. When swishing spirits around in my mouth, I don't ever feel that my ability to distinguish flavor notes diminishes, but fragrance can be fleeting as the brain compensates for the presence of whatever aromatics are floating into your sniffer. For the same reasons, I find reviewing incense quite difficult. Posting reviews gives me a reason to keep at it, to keep learning and expanding my 'olfactory library,' and to improve at picking out and identifying notes. It also helps me to be more objective and analytical when testing my own incense.
+
+## What's your favourite blog post?
+I'm quite proud of *[What Do We Expect from Fragrance? Natural Incense in an Unnatural World ](../what-do-we-expect-from-fragrance/)*. It sums up my views on how fragrance is used and abused in our time, and where incense fits into all of this.
+
+## Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
+I never actually sat down and planned out a design for my website; I just started writing code, so I'm forever self-conscious of the design of my site. At some point I may sit down and actually put together a concept and execute on it. Will that satisfy me? Who knows.
+
+## Who's next?
+To avoid unduly burdening anyone individually, I'm going to do as [Alistair Shepherd](https://alistairshepherd.uk/writing/blog-questions-challenge/) did and say that if you haven't done one of these yet and you'd like to: you're up!
+
+[^1]: Coffee is harder than cocktails full stop. Once you've got the hang of the basic cocktail categories and their builds, you're singing, whereas coffee is temperamental, and more technically difficult on every level. I promise you that the job of your favorite barista at any decent shop is much more difficult than that of any fancy cocktail bartender.

content/blog/blog.11tydata.js

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-module.exports = {
+export default {
 	tags: [
 		"posts"
 	],

content/blog/cedar-frankincense-incense.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+title: "Red Cedar & Frankincense"
+description: I make a simple, three-ingredient, red cedar and frankincense batch of incense sticks.
+date: 2024-05-08
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+  - Incense Builds (Recipes)
+synopsis: I make a simple, three-ingredient, red cedar and frankincense batch of incense sticks.
+imageURL: /img/cedar_frank.webp
+imageAlt: A bunch of coreless incense sticks on top of some cedar planks next to a pile of frankincense tears.
+mastodon_id: "112409293978326719"
+---
+I've seen a recurring theme on the internet among (all three of us) incense makers: sometimes you just get tired of relegating [not-quite-combustible](../gourmand-sandalwood-incense-a-perplexing-failure/) sticks to the 'use on the incense heater' pile, or making sticks that *almost* smell nice, but don't quite. After a few knock-backs like this, going back to basics and making something simple really keeps your ego from getting too bruised. That's partially why I decided to make these red cedar and frankincense sticks. In addition, I'm a huge fan of [Yi-Xin Craft Incense's](https://craft-incense.com/) white cedar and frankincense, and I'd also read that resins can really sing when used in surprisingly low quantities, so I was keen to try this out.
+
+[![A bunch of coreless incense sticks on top of some cedar planks next to a pile of frankincense tears. The cedar planks have part og the Whole Foods logo branded on them.](/img/cedar_frank.webp "Yes, dear reader, those are pieces of a Whole Foods cedar grilling plank.")](/img/cedar_frank.webp)
+
+If you know me in meat-space, you'll likely know that I'm an avid classical trombonist. While it is obviously true that [playing Rimsky-Korsakov's *Flight of the Bumblebee* on a tenor trombone](https://inv.tux.pizza/watch?v=dfTHNpOge0Q) isn't easy, sometimes the most difficult pieces are [those that](https://inv.tux.pizza/watch?v=xKCcFxBP2o0) look [quite simple](https://inv.tux.pizza/watch?v=tcbFpgkHNc0) on paper. It's surely a feat of technical prowess to play many short notes in rapid succession, but to play even a single note in a tone quality that people will want to listen to for several seconds at a time takes an entirely different set of skills — also honed over years — and if jazz music and small-town brass bands have taught us anything, it's that technical prowess in a brass player is no guarantee of tone quality.
+
+So it is with simple incense. In a two or three ingredient build, all flaws are laid bare for insufflation and observation. While I'm pleased with this batch overall, there are some problems with these sticks. But first:
+
+## The Build
+
+|Ingredient|Grams|% of Build|
+|----------|------|-----------|
+|Western Red Cedar|8|58%|
+|Hojari Frankincense Resin (Boswellia Sacra)|2.2|16%|
+|Joss Powder (Litsea Glutinosa)|3.5|26%|
+
+As I mentioned earlier, I'd read somewhere that using smaller quantities of resins can bring out their best; this held true. At 16%, the Hojari Frankincense really presents well after two weeks of curing. With B. Sacra, you know you've done well when those citrus and eucalyptus notes you're used to on the heater come out in the burn. At the ratios listed above, the cedar and frankincense are pretty well balanced: neither takes precedence over the other. If anything, I would prefer that the frankincense tip the scale ever so slightly in its favor; I might try 17-18% next time.
+
+## Problems
+
+Whoever fooled the world into thinking that [joss powder](https://scents-of-earth.com/joss-powder-litsea-glutinosa-superior-vietnam/) was "near odorless" is either hyposmic, a liar, or a hyposmic liar. It's not just the frankincense that sings in this build, so too does the joss. Admittedly, 26% is rather a large chunk of the total build for joss powder, so I only have myself to blame here.
+
+[![A flat round censer filled with ash. Atop the ash, a shaped trail of incense powder is burning.](/img/incense_seal.webp "A Chinese style incense seal made with unfortunately coarse powder.")](/img/incense_seal.webp)
+
+When you burn a properly executed Chinese style incense seal, the lack of binder leaves you with a very pure fragrance; one of the hallmarks of Yi-Xin's work is the near absence of any detectable binder, which gives the it that clean quality, as though you're burning an incense seal instead of a joss stick. I haven't managed to achieve this with my cedar and frankincense, largely because instead of patiently cutting slivers from my cedar plank and putting them through my hand-crank flour mill, I dumped a big chunk of it into my Vitamix dry container and let 2.2 peak horsepower of blender handle the matter. This resulted in a very fluffy cedar powder which was difficult to bind and even more difficult to extrude. (It's also bad practice in general because when you introduce heat via machine processing you begin to lose aromatics.) I do wonder whether the joss powder could by further reduced by using it in combination with a gum binder, such as tragacanth.
+
+Irene of [Rauchfahne](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/) recommends resting your incense dough after hydration, which I also did not do. It seems that [patience](../patience/) does not come naturally to me.
+
+## Conclusion
+I'd burn this stuff on purpose. Problems aside, these sticks are plesant, good even, but they are not *great* in the same way as those made in middle-of-nowhere Hawaii by Yi-Xin's [onewheeling artisan](https://www.instagram.com/kencannata/reel/C5hslbrL9tB/). Feel free to give the build a try; get that binder down a bit, grind your cedar sensibly, and you may wind up with something special.

content/blog/cowsay_2024-01-02.md

@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
----
-title: Cowsay of the Day – Science
-description:  An ASCII cow postulates on the state of science education in the modern world.
-date: 2024-01-02
-tags:
-  - Cowsay of the Day
-synopsis: An ASCII cow postulates on the state of science education in the modern world.
-imageURL: /img/cowsayOfTheDay.avif
-imageAlt: An ASCII cow with a thought bubble containing the word wut
-mastodon_id: "111688829907363670"
----
-As a big-old nerd, I spend a lot of time in the terminal on my computer. When you spend a lot of time somewhere, you want it to be comfortable. As a part of making my terminal more homey, I've set it up to give me a random quote each time I start a new session, delivered, of course, by a cow. Here's today's cowsay of the day:
-
-{{  cowList.onScience | cowsay | safe }}

content/blog/floss-and-smes.md

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ title: Free Software is the Future for SMEs and Small Nonprofits
 description: Tech giants aren't meeting the needs of SMEs and nonprofits. Combined with digital privacy concerns, a perfect storm is brewing for increased adoption of free and open source software for these organizations.
 date: 2022-10-28
 tags:
+  - Essays
   - FOSS/FLOSS
   - Digital Privacy
 synopsis: Tech giants aren't meeting the needs of SMEs and nonprofits. Combined with digital privacy concerns, a perfect storm is brewing for increased adoption of free and open source software for these organizations.

content/blog/galleries.md

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+---
+title: Adding Image Galleries to My Website
+description: At last, I've gotten around to implementing image galleries.
+date: 2024-12-02
+tags:
+  - Site Updates
+  - Eleventy
+synopsis: At last, I've gotten around to implementing image galleries.
+imageURL: /img/isabella-fischer-X2l9M6jsS7E-unsplash.webp
+imageAlt: Some very tasty looking pop tarts with pink icing and sprinkles.
+mastodon_id: "113586087349853099"
+---
+I've been meaning to add an image gallery feature to this website for ages, and I'm happy to finally announce that I've done it! If you'd like to see my very first image gallery in action, [here's a gallery of PopTart memes I've collected](../../gallery/pop-tart-flavor-memes/). If you're a massive nerd and would like to read about how I implemented this feature on my [Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev/) website, read on.
+
+Note: this is a fast and loose description of the process. It should be helpful if you're trying to do this yourself, but don't expect to be able to copy and paste my implementation. See [the repo](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com) to copy and paste my spaghetti.
+
+## Specifying new galleries
+First of all, I had to decide how new galleries would be specified so that Eleventy could work its magic. There are a few approaches here, such as utilizing template frontmatter, directories of images, or using a data file in my site's `_data` directory. After weighing up the pros and cons, I decided to use the latter option, even though it's not the most ergonomic. So I created `_data/galleries.js`, which looks like this[^1]:
+
+``` javascript
+export default [
+	{
+		title: "",
+		description: "",
+		synopsis: "",
+		url: "",
+		date: new Date(""),
+		galleryImage: "",
+		galleryImageAlt: "",
+		pictures: [
+			{
+				title: "",
+				filename: "",
+				altText: "",
+				thumbAltText: "",
+				caption: "",
+			},
+		],
+	},
+];
+```
+
+## Gallery index pagination
+Now that I know how I'll go about specifying my galleries, I need to paginate the gallery index pages; the pages that feature thumbnails of each image in the gallery and allow the user to navigate to the images. To do this, I created `content/galleries.njk`:
+``` html
+---{% raw %}
+pagination:
+	data: galleries
+	size: 1
+ 	alias: gallery
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+tags: gallery
+eleventyComputed:
+	title: "{{ gallery.title }}"
+	permalink: "/gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}/"
+	description: "{{ gallery.description }}"
+---
+<h1>{{ gallery.title }}</h1>
+<p>{{ gallery.description }}</p>
+<section>
+	{% for picture in gallery.pictures %}
+	<a href="/gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}/{{ picture.filename | slugify }}/">
+		<div>
+			<img alt="{{ gallery.thumbAltText }}" class="gallery-image" src="{{ gallery.url }}{{ picture.filename }}">
+		</div>
+	</a>
+	{% endfor %}{% endraw %}
+</section>
+```
+By ensuring that each gallery index page is tagged "gallery," they will automatically be grouped into a new collection by that name, which is important so that I can filter galleries out from post lists and other things throughout my site.
+
+## Generating image pages
+I considered using a lightbox / modal sort of arrangement for viewing images, but I decided against it as it can be tricky to get accessibility right for these patterns, and I wanted to avoid using JavaScript if possible. What I chose to do instead was to create a page for each image, which would feature buttons to navigate to the next / previous image, and to return to the gallery. The first step was to create a collection containing all gallery images in my Eleventy config file:
+
+``` javascript
+// Collections
+	eleventyConfig.addCollection("galleryImages", (collection) => {
+		const galleries = collection.getAll()[0].data.galleries;
+		let galleryImages = [];
+
+		galleries.forEach((gallery) => {
+			gallery.pictures.forEach((picture, i, arr) => {
+				picture.containingGallery = `${gallery.title}`;
+				picture.baseUrl = `${gallery.url}`;
+				i ? (picture.previousImage = arr[i - 1].filename) : null;
+				i + 1 != arr.length ? (picture.nextImage = arr[i + 1].filename) : null;
+				galleryImages.push(picture);
+			});
+		});
+```
+You may notice that I did a little jiggery-pokery in that callback function to provide information about each image that isn't included in `_data/galleries.js` because it would have been a pain to include or would have unecessarily inflated the tile size, specifically: the filenames of images before and after the current image (should they exist), and the URL of the gallery that the image belongs to. We can use this information to have our image pages generated in the same directory as their parent gallery index, and to generate next / previous buttons to help the user navigate through the gallery. This information is added to the `galleryImages` collection object in memory so that we can use it when we paginate the image pages using `content/galleryImage.njk`:
+
+``` html{% raw %}
+---
+pagination:
+  data: collections.galleryImages
+  size: 1
+  alias: picture
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+eleventyComputed:
+  title: "Image: {{ picture.title }}"
+	permalink: "/gallery/{{ picture.containingGallery | slugify }}/{{ picture.filename | slugify }}/"
+	description: "{{ picture.title }} from gallery: {{ picture.containingGallery}}"
+---
+<article>
+	<h1>{{ picture.title }}</h1>
+	<div>
+		{% if picture.previousImage %}
+		<a href="../{{ picture.previousImage | slugify }}">
+			<button type="button">Previous</button>
+		</a>
+		{% endif %}
+		<a href="/gallery/{{ picture.containingGallery | slugify }}/">
+			<button type="button">Gallery</button>
+		</a>
+		{% if picture.nextImage %}
+		<a href="../{{ picture.nextImage | slugify }}">
+			<button type="button">Next</button>
+		</a>
+		{% endif %}
+	</div>
+	<figure>
+		<a href="{{ picture.baseUrl }}/{{ picture.filename }}">
+			<img src="{{ picture.baseUrl }}/{{ picture.filename }}" alt="{{ picture.altText }}">
+		</a>
+		{% if picture.caption %}
+		<figcaption>
+			{{ picture.caption }}
+		</figcaption>
+		{% endif %}
+	</figure>
+</article>{% endraw %}
+```
+
+Et voilà; we have galleries! But before we can call this project done, it would be nice to have a page that lists all galleries on the site for the benefit of visitors. For this, I created `/content/galleries/index.njk`:
+
+``` html{% raw %}
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+eleventyNavigation:
+  key: Pics
+  order: 4
+---
+<h1>Image Galleries</h1>
+<p>
+Some pictures I thought would be worth posting.
+</p>
+<section>
+<div>
+	{% for gallery in galleries %}
+	<article>
+		<a href="../gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}" class="postlist-link">
+			<div>
+				<img {% if gallery.galleryImage %} src="{{ gallery.url }}{{ gallery.galleryImage }}" alt="{{ gallery.galleryImageAlt }}" {% else %} src="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL }}" alt="{{ metadata.defaultPostImageAlt }}"{% endif %}>
+			</div>
+		</a>
+		<div>
+			<a href="../gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}" class="postlist-link">
+				<h3>
+					{{ gallery.title }}
+				</h3>
+			</a>
+			<time datetime="{{ gallery.date | htmlDateString}}">{{ gallery.date | readableDate("LLLL yyyy") }}</time>
+			<p>{{ gallery.synopsis | truncate(105) | safe }}</p>
+		</div>
+	</article>
+	{% endfor %}
+</div>
+</section>
+```{% endraw %}
+
+Note that `readableDate()` and `htmlDateString` are custom filters that came with the [Eleventy Base Blog template](https://github.com/11ty/eleventy-base-blog) that I based my website on. They require Luxon:
+``` javascript
+eleventyConfig.addFilter("readableDate", (dateObj, format, zone) => {
+		// Formatting tokens for Luxon: https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/formatting?id=table-of-tokens
+		return DateTime.fromJSDate(dateObj, { zone: zone || "utc" }).toFormat(
+			format || "dd LLLL yyyy",
+		);
+	});
+
+	eleventyConfig.addFilter("htmlDateString", (dateObj) => {
+		// dateObj input: https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/common-microsyntaxes.html#valid-date-string
+		return DateTime.fromJSDate(dateObj, { zone: "utc" }).toFormat("yyyy-LL-dd");
+	});
+```
+You may be thinking that this all seems a convoluted, and I agree! If you know of a simpler way to accomplish this functionality, do feel free to let me know, but for now, I'm just happy that I finally have the ability to add image galleries to this website.
+
+[^1]: Thanks to those who answered [my cry for help](https://lounge.town/@nathanu/113574428382435982)!

content/blog/gourmand-sandalwood-incense-a-perplexing-failure.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+---
+title: A Perplexing Failure
+description: Failing to make the most delicious batch of incense ever.
+date: 2024-04-13
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+  - Incense Builds (Recipes)
+synopsis: My grand designs crumble as I fail to make the most delicious batch of incense ever devised.
+imageURL: /img/_DSC0079_copy.avif
+imageAlt: A small pile of short smooth brown incense sticks on a piece of MDF.
+mastodon_id: "112266582201922869"
+---
+This January, I had grand visions for a sweet, gourmand batch of incense sticks. I'd start with a creamy base of sandalwood, combine it with plenty of guggul resin for that touch of caramel, a dash of warm cinnamon, and a sprinkling of sweet, vanillic tonka bean; these things were going to smell like dessert, like baking cookies, like your high-school English teacher's classroom when her most cloyingly sweet scented candle had been burning for the past four hours.
+
+Things seemed to be going well while making the sticks; the dough smelled incredible, and extrusion was a dream — long, straight noodles that could be manipulated without breaking came one after another. I didn't sense that something might be wrong until I saw the sticks after they'd dried overnight, when I noticed that they were very smooth, compact, and *hard.* They didn't burn, either, which [isn't necessarily the death-knell](../patience) for a batch of incense sticks, but neither is it a good sign.
+
+[![A small pile of short smooth brown incense sticks on a piece of MDF.](/img/_DSC0079_copy.avif "The sticks in question.")](/img/_DSC0079_copy.avif)
+
+It's now three months since the sticks were extruded; they haven't shown any signs of improvement, and I'm left scratching my head. The ingredient ratios in the build I used were based on those of a successful batch; by all estimations, this batch had everything it needed to combust! It may or may not smell nice, but surely, I thought, the batch will burn! Alas, my hubris was met with disappointment. Here's the build I used:
+
+|Ingredient|Grams|% of Build|
+|----------|------|-----------|
+|Tonka Bean|0.3|5%|
+|Cinnamon|0.75|11%|
+|Guggul Resin|1.5|23%|
+|Sandalwood|3|46%|
+|Joss Powder (Litsea Glutinosa)|1|15%|
+
+My best guess as to why this build didn't work out has to do with the cinnamon. I know that some cinnamon varieties are mucilaginous, producing a mucilage (plant slime), when mixed with water. Knowing that gum binders, such as xanthan gum, can cause combustion issues in incense when used in higher concentrations, I suspect that the combination of 15% joss powder plus another 11% of the mucilaginous cinnamon somehow bound the sticks too tightly, preventing combustion.
+
+[![A tiny MHP30 circuit board heater with a little tin of incense powder on top. The heater is shown beside a mostly used blackwing pencil and a fountain pen; it's barely wider than the length of the blackwing ferrule and eraser.](/img/_DSC0014_copy.avif "This dusty wee MHP30 circuit board heater makes a great warmer for incense powders, woods, and resins. The pencil beside it may give you some idea as to just how small it is.")](/img/_DSC0014_copy.avif)
+
+Hypotheses aside, I may never know why exactly this build failed. It's always a shame when a batch turns out to be a complete flop after you've put so much time into carefully grinding and sifting precious aromatics, then kneading, extruding and drying neat little noodles of incense — waiting weeks or months to see whether your hopes for them have come to fruition. But all is not lost after all: when I break up the sticks into small pieces and put them on my mini ~~circuit board,~~ erm, *incense* heater, the fragrance is everything I had thought it might be. I'll content myself with that as I wait for yesterday's batch of rose and myrrh to cure.
+

content/blog/hono-sandalwood-incense-review.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+title: "Incense Review: Hono Sandalwood"
+description: "Checking out some sticks from a local store selling Japanese incense."
+date: 2025-04-19
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: "Checking out some sticks from a local store selling Japanese incense."
+imageURL: /img/hono_sandalwood/hono_sandalwood_square.webp
+imageAlt: "A closeup photo of the small hono Sandalwood box atop a neat row of incense sticks, beside a small shiny white ceramic burner. The burner is plain, and square, with a small hole in the middle in which to insert an incense stick."
+mastodon_id: "114367576630950761"
+---
+I'm forever keeping my eyes peeled for brick-and-mortar stores in my city that sell decent incense, particularly Japanese incense. As such, I was delighted to discover [Five Elements Home](https://www.fiveelementshome.com/) in the beautiful Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville. On my first visit to the store, I darted right past the beautiful imported Japanese ceramics and textiles to the incense section.
+
+My taste in incense is fairly traditional. I tend to enjoy incense that makes use of natural, whole-plant ingredients, and compositions based around classic aromatic woods, spices, herbs, and resins. I did feel a touch let down then upon discovering that the collection at Five Elements Home is decidedly modern. On display are hibi incense matches, paper incense, and sticks with fragrances such as coffee, citrus, and white peach, which are impossible to make with traditional ingredients and processes. As a result, while my partner and I have visited on a few occasions since to buy tea, it was only recently that I decided to take a gamble on some of the incense on offer. I picked up a couple of boxes, including an adorable wee box of hono Sandalwood.
+
+The box, which folds open like a tiny carton of cigarettes, contains thirty little sticks and a small ceramic burner not unlike the ones that come in various Nippon Kodo offerings. Only eight centimeters long apiece, the short sticks are very fragrant out of the box: spice, sandalwood, and a hint of something rather cool—camphor, perhaps? The sticks smell like everything you want in a traditional Japanese style incense stick, but the pungency gives me pause.
+
+[![A closeup photo of the small hono Sandalwood box atop a neat row of incense sticks, beside a small shiny white ceramic burner. The burner is plain, and square, with a small hole in the middle in which to insert an incense stick.](/img/hono_sandalwood/hono_sandalwood_w.webp "I do enjoy the packaging format, and the little burner is a nice inclusion.")](/img/hono_sandalwood/hono_sandalwood_w.webp)
+
+In the burn, Hono Sandalwood opens with an unfortunately powerful hit of burnt sugar. I always try to withhold judgment on a stick until the first ash has fallen; off-notes upon lighting are not at all uncommon.[^1] Still, the strength of this off-note stunned me for a moment. What followed was was mostly spice (predominantly clove, to my nose) and a strong creamy note of Indian sandalwood.[^2] The cooling aspect of the unlit sticks was lost, which came as no surprise as the amount of camphor needed to come through in the burn, although still minuscule, tends to make unlit sticks sing of that characteristic 'frozen-onions' fragrance that borneol imparts.[^3] There is a subtle sweetness present, which I assume is just from the sandalwood as I don't detect the round, vanillic complexity of benzoin.
+
+This is not a stick I want to sit next to as it burns. The fragrance is powerful, and accompanied by the sort of off-notes I'd expect from a cheaper oil-based incense. That burnt-sugar note I mentioned earlier continues quietly throughout the burn also. The fragrance easily fills my office, and it lingers in the room for a while after the stick is extinguished. From a distance, it's not unpleasant; the fragrance itself is inoffensive. I'm actually quite happy to have one of these burning at the far end of the room; my qualm is only that if I was happy to contend with all of these off-notes, I could achieve a similar result by burning a centimeter of a much cheaper Indian style sandalwood stick, rather than paying eighteen US dollars for a very small box of very small sticks of Japanese incense.
+
+One of the gentlemen manning the store mentioned to me that everything in in stock was imported directly to the store from Japan, and is otherwise largely unavailable in the U.S. I love this idea, but still—while these hono sticks aren't going to gather dust in my incense drawer—I expect I may find myself wishing I could have just picked up a box of Shunkohdo Sarasoju for my sandalwood fix instead.
+
+[^1]: For example Baieido's Kobunboku, a favorite at the moment, emits a brief note when lit that reminds me of cigarettes.
+[^2]: Reminiscent of Nippon Kodo's Kayuragi Sandalwood sticks, which are also almost certainly oil-based, but I very much enjoy nonetheless.
+[^3]: Looking at you again, Kobunboku.

content/blog/incense-cigarettes-reviewing-boy-vienna-11-11.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+title: "Incense Cigarettes? Reviewing Boy Vienna’s 11:11 Incense Sticks"
+description: "Taking a look at Boy Vienna's viral cigarette incense sticks."
+date: 2025-05-08
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+imageURL: /img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_2.webp
+imageAlt: "What appears to be a pack of cigarettes labeled 11:11. There is also a card featuring the brand name Boy Vienna and a temporary tattoo featuring an image of a lipstick-print and the brand name."
+synopsis: "Taking a look at Boy Vienna's viral cigarette incense sticks."
+mastodon_id: "114462578542598320"
+---
+[Boy Vienna](https://boyvienna.com/) is a brand from fashion designer and multi-media artist [Afaf Fi Seyam](https://www.instagram.com/zeopatra) that has been receiving attention on [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@boyvienna/video/7366977382508514603) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/zeopatra/reel/DAyIy2Lv0RQ/) for its incense cigarettes. I knew I was going to have to try these sticks the minute they found their way onto my screen—it would seem that [everyone else felt the same way](https://www.instagram.com/zeopatra/p/DJHP0a3NnlI/), as when I made my way to the web store most of Boy Vienna's incense varieties were sold out. For 35 {{ "USD" | abbr("United States Dollars") | safe }}, I was able to snag a box of the 11:11 variety, listed as containing a blend of sage, lavender, and rosemary.
+
+[![What appears to be a pack of cigarettes labeled 11:11. There is also a card featuring the brand name Boy Vienna and a temporary tattoo featuring an image of a lipstick-print and the brand name.](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_2.webp "The pack also came with a wee temporary tattoo. Fun!")](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_2.webp)
+
+Knowing what I do about incense making, I didn't expect much from these fragrance-wise; I'm not too proud to admit that the novelty of the format and packaging was the main draw here, and barring some qualms about the typesetting, I'm here for it. It's cute. The box looks good on my coffee table, and the format is fun. But speaking of appearances, I do wish I could have gotten my hands on a box from Boy Vienna's [collaboration with athletic apparel brand Wolven](https://web.archive.org/web/20250506164206/https://wolventhreads.com/cdn/shop/files/Incense_0001_IMG_99913_1080x.jpg?v=1705074215), which reminds me of the [Sobranie Black Russian](https://web.archive.org/web/20250506164824/https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0786/5205/products/pin_514254851190026968_grande.jpg?v=1535441863) and [Djarum Black Kretek clove cigarettes](https://web.archive.org/web/20220216044852/https://www.ciggiesworld.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Djarum-Black-Kretek-Clove-Cigarette-Wallpaper.jpg) I once (regrettably) enjoyed using to rupture my alveoli.
+
+[![A scan of a page from an old book, showing several illustrations of incense cigarettes made from reeds and decorated with string and woven textiles.](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_1.webp "While this is a novel form of incense today, there is actually a history of incense cigarettes in the Americas, per Walter Hough's Censers and Incense of Mexico and Central America.")](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_1.webp)
+
+The cigarette format also comes with some distinct advantages. If you do happen to have an ashtray laying around, these sticks will be very convenient. Not having an appropriate burner on hand can be a problem for even those who use incense regularly. Because all of my burners are meant for much smaller Japanese and Chinese style sticks, on the odd occasion I have an Indian-style agarbatti stick to burn I inevitably find myself scrambling around the house looking for some way to secure it. The cigarette-format sticks also light easily, burn consistently, and the ash falls within a small area which helps to keep things clean.
+
+[![A lit incense cigarette held by a pair of ceramic-tipped tweezers.](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_4.webp "Unfortunately(?), I don't have an ashtray handy.")](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_4.webp)
+
+I was impressed with the fragrance from the trio of herbs immediately upon opening the package; they are clearly high quality ingredients. The lavender especially sings—it's downright juicy. As for the burn, well it turns out that much of that characteristic cigarette smell comes from the paper. This hit me as soon as I lit a stick (which felt very strange without putting the cigarette to my lips). If you've ever burned a bundle of sage, burning a stick of 11:11 is not far removed from the experience. Sage is the predominant note, with occasional bursts of lavender and a good measure of rosemary, with a screaming acrid note of burning-plant matter and cigarettes. Far too much for my small living room, these sticks are very smoky, both in terms of the smell and the literal smoke output, while also being bright, turpenous, and somehow leathery. It reminds me at once of the tail-end of a long night out after one too many pints, while also evoking a cruise down a sunny Texan country road in a hot car with leather seats alongside a friend who indulges too often in both cigarettes and perfume. A good time in both cases, only you're feeling a bit sick.
+
+[![A deconstructed cigarette-format stick, showing the paper, filter, and the contents of the stick separately on a white plate.](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_5.webp "I sacrificed a stick in order to take a look at the herbs inside.")](/img/boy_vienna_11_11/boy_vienna_11_11_incense_cigarette_sticks_5.webp)
+
+While I'm not generally in favor of introducing ingredients into incense—such as paper or large amounts of wood binder—that don't somehow add to, enhance, or improve the fragrance, I recognize that the format is the key selling point here, so I don't expect it to change. What I would like to see, however, is some sort of temperature regulation in these sticks. Like putting a chunk of apple in your tobacco pouch, any number of strategies would go a long way towards reducing the harshness of these sticks: a little resin added to the mixture; using a little more pressure when loading; including a fairly oily or resinated fragrant wood as a base; or grinding ingredients more finely. I have a feeling that those used to less controlled methods of burning incense (charcoal, herb bundles, lighting Palo Santo sticks, et cetera) likely won't mind the smoky, acrid notes of plant-matter burning very quickly, but as for myself, I don't imagine I'll light one of these indoors again. I can appreciate a smoky Tibetan stick as much as anyone, but 11:11 was just a bit much for me. That said, when my partner came into the living room after I had burned a stick, they noted that the room smelled nice, so there you go.
+
+Overall, do I regret spending $35 on eighteen Boy Vienna's 11:11 cigarette incense sticks? I don't think so, although it does smart a little that for nine dollars less I could have picked up a box of Minorien's very good [Jinko Fu-In](https://kikohincense.com/collections/minorien-incense-kikoh/products/jinko-fu-in-aloeswood-incense?variant=39598350762072) sticks. Will I be buying them again? Probably not, but I had fun trying them, and that's really all I was after.

content/blog/introducing-the-stochastic-bletherist.md

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+title: "At Last, My Blog Has a Name!"
+description: "New name, who dis?"
+date: 2025-07-13
+tags:
+  - Site Updates
+synopsis: "New name, who dis??"
+mastodon_id: "114848297332289745"
+---
+
+Since I started writing here in earnest, I've been enchanted by the idea of having a proper name for my humble blog. I didn't dare put too much thought into it until recently; the task seemed too intimidating. There's a lot to think about after all: Do you choose something dry and professional, at risk of sounding pompous or grandiose? Something pithy, at risk of sounding too cutesy? Or something funny, at risk of not being taken seriously? Well, dear readers, by combining a five dollar word, a play on words, and some perhaps lightly distasteful humor, I've somehow managed to encapsulate all three options in arriving at a name for my blog that is, perhaps unfortunately, very *me.* Introducing: *[The Stochastic Bletherist](/blog)*!

content/blog/kde-plasma-side-panel.md

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+---
+title: Setting up a Toggleable Side Panel in KDE Plasma 6
+description: Creating a Raven-like side-panel in KDE Plasma 6 that can be toggled with a click using native plasma panels and Scriptinator.
+synopsis: Creating a Raven-like side-panel in KDE Plasma 6 that can be toggled with a click using native plasma panels and Scriptinator.
+date: 2024-03-18
+tags:
+  - GNU/Linux
+  - KDE
+imageURL: /img/sidePanel/sidePanel_copy.avif
+imageAlt: A cropped screenshot of my plasma desktop showing a side-panel on the right side of the screen containing the clipboard history widget and the media player widget. On the bottom panel is the Scriptinator plugin, showing a tooltip the following title: "Show Panel," and body text: "Show the hidden right panel."
+mastodon_id: "112119633092992081"
+---
+Since a brief tryst with [Ubuntu Budgie Edition](https://ubuntubudgie.org/), I've dearly missed its Raven side-panel, a special panel on the side of the screen that can be opened and closed with a click. As someone who *needs* a clean, minimal desktop, the workflow is just too perfect — when you have two or three widgets that you use frequently, but not frequently enough that they warrant permanent homes on a main panel, just stuff them into a disappearing side-panel that can be called with a quick key-combination or by clicking on an icon; It's a great way to keep things out of the way, but within reach, without having a permanently cluttered system tray that you might want to keep clear for things like email notifications.
+
+[![A cropped screenshot of my plasma desktop showing a side-panel on the right side of the screen containing the clipboard history widget and the media player widget. On the bottom panel is the Scriptinator plugin, showing a tooltip the following title: "Show Panel," and body text: "Show the hidden right panel.](/img/sidePanel/sidePanel_copy.avif "My side panel, and the widget that launches it.")](/img/sidePanel/sidePanel_copy.avif)
+
+There are some drawbacks; this workflow isn't well supported on KDE Plasma, so it's a bit of a faff to set up, and only a few widgets will display nicely on a wide side-panel. For instance, it would be a dream to have the KDE weather widget automatically take advantage of the horizontal space and display the information that would usually be in its dropdown, but what you get instead is a giant icon, for now at least. I use my side-panel for my clipboard history and the media player widget, both of which play nicely with a side-panel. Another niggle I have with it is that, as far as I know, there's no way to disable activation of the panel when your mouse pointer makes contact with the screen edge. This is a mild to moderate inconvenience when you're working with applications that have toolbars on the sides of the window, like design applications often do.
+
+For me, personally, the drawbacks aren't so severe as to put me off of the workflow.
+
+## Creating and configuring the panel
+First, you'll need to create a panel. To do this, right click on an empty section of your desktop, and select "Add Panel > Empty Panel." When the panel appears, right click it and select "Enter Edit Mode." Set up your panel however you like, but you will need to set "Visibility" to "Auto Hide" and may want to give it a width of at least 400px or so.
+
+[![](/img/sidePanel/panelSettings_copy.avif "The panel settings configuration window.")](/img/sidePanel/panelSettings_copy.avif)
+
+## Setting up the script
+Now, if you wanted to show and hide your panel with a keyboard shortcut, you can set up a focus shortcut in the panel settings window and stop here. If, like me, you want to toggle your panel by clicking on an icon somewhere, we're going to have to use a wee script, but don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds and I'll take you through it step by step.
+
+Before we can put our script together, we're going to need to know what the ID of our panel is. Open up KRunner with Alt+F2 or Alt+Space and run `plasma-interactiveconsole`. This will launch KDE's Desktop Shell Scripting Console. In the console, type `print(panelIds);` and click "Execute." Assuming you entered that in correctly, what you should see now in the output console beneath the text editor is a series of numbers — the ID numbers of our panels. Keep a note of these numbers.
+
+[![The interactive console showing a series of panel IDs printed to the console.](/img/sidePanel/printIDs_copy.avif "Look at those IDs.")](/img/sidePanel/printIDs_copy.avif)
+
+Clear the text editor and enter the following:
+
+```javascript
+let panel = panelById(401);
+
+panel.hiding === "autohide" ? panel.hiding = "windowsgobelow" : panel.hiding = "autohide";
+```
+This will check if our panel is set to auto-hide; if it is, the script will set the panel to "windows go below" mode, otherwise it will set the panel to auto-hide.
+
+Now to make use of those panel ID numbers. Which number corresponds to your new side-panel? While I can't be sure, chances are it's the last number on the list as we've just made the new panel a moment ago. So in the script above, where I have entered 401, enter the last number in your ID list and click "Execute." At this point, if the ID number is correct, your panel should appear; click "Execute" once more to hide it.
+
+## Setting up the Scriptinator widget
+Alright, we've got our script ready, so we just need one more thing in place: a button or icon that we can click on to show and hide the panel. Fortunately, we can use a widget called "Scriptinator" to provide just this. Right click on an empty area of your desktop or a panel, click "Add Widgets," and "Get New Widgets."
+
+[![A cropped screenshot of the widgets panel with the "get new widgets" button at the top.](/img/sidePanel/getWidgets_copy.avif "Let's get that widget.")](/img/sidePanel/getWidgets_copy.avif)
+
+From here, find and install Scriptinator. Once installed, simply drag it where you'd like it to live, either on your desktop, or on a panel. Once you've done that, right click on the widget and choose "Configure Scriptinator." Here, enter the path of the icon you'd like to use in "Custom icon full path;" I used `/usr/share/icons/breeze-dark/actions/22/sidebar-expand-right-symbolic.svg`. In "OnClick Script," enter the following:
+
+```bash
+qdbus org.kde.plasmashell /PlasmaShell evaluateScript ''
+```
+and between those single-quote marks, paste in the full script we put together in the Desktop Shell Scripting Console, like this:
+```bash
+qdbus org.kde.plasmashell /PlasmaShell evaluateScript 'let panel = panelById(401);
+
+panel.hiding === "autohide" ? panel.hiding = "windowsgobelow" : panel.hiding = "autohide";'
+```
+
+[![](/img/sidePanel/Scriptinator_copy.avif "The Scriptinator configuration window.")](/img/sidePanel/Scriptinator_copy.avif)
+
+Set up a tooltip if you like, hit apply, and test out your toggle button.
+
+## Success!
+If you've done everything correctly, you should see your side-panel appear when you click the widget and disappear when you click a second time. You may need to restart to see your icon applied to the widget; if you don't want to wait, you can drop the file path into "OnClick icon full path" in your Scriptinator configuration.

content/blog/kheouns-blend.md

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+---
+title: "Incense Review: Kheoun’s Blend"
+description: Reviewing Kheoun’s Blend by The World Makes Scents.
+date: 2024-06-23
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: Reviewing Kheoun’s Blend by The World Makes Scents.
+imageURL: /img/kheouns-blend-incense-sticks.webp
+imageAlt: A partially opened box of incense sticks
+mastodon_id: "112668846624633338"
+---
+There is a reason that much incense on the market makes extensive use of fragrance oils: it's simply easier. As returning readers [will know,](https://nathanupchurch.com/blog/gourmand-sandalwood-incense-a-perplexing-failure/) blending combustible incense made with plain old plants is extraordinarily difficult, even when only using two or three ingredients. [The World Makes Scents](https://theworldmakesscents.com/) is a Chicago-based incense maker that does just that. Their Kheoun's Blend incense sticks are based on a unique blend of plants introduced to the team by Kheoun, [a traditional incense maker based in Cambodia](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2023/07/18/the-world-makes-scents-en/).
+
+[![A partially opened box of incense sticks labelled "Keoun's Blend"](/img/kheouns-blend-incense-sticks.webp "Kheon's Blend incense sticks.")](/img/kheouns-blend-incense-sticks.webp)
+
+The twelve sticks in my order came extremely well packaged, in a sturdy paper-over-board box with with a layer of batting both on top and beneath the sticks to prevent breakage in the post. The back of the box describes the product within as "Incense as it was made for thousands of years before industrialization and greed." I'm all for it. The hand-extruded, coreless sticks are light brown in color, roughly 185mm long, very thick at around 3.5mm, and just a little wiggly. There is a sweet, baking-spice fragrance on the unlit sticks.
+
+I've long felt that you can't get a proper impression of the character of a stick of incense before the first ash has fallen. Often, incense briefly smells quite harsh when initially lit. Interestingly, in that first half-second of lighting, these sticks briefly emit a rather pleasant campfire / wood smoke scent. As the stick begins to burn in earnest, however, I'm met with an almost Tibetan herbaceousness, a stevia-leaf like sweetness, notes of cinnamon, anise, and sage, with occasional wafts of something bright and camphorous.
+
+Overall the fragrance is very pleasant. Subdued baking-spice notes sit alongside a sage-like herbaceousness atop a mellow, ever-present sweetness, which is lifted by a blink-and-you'll-miss-it camphor note. Excellent temperature modulation keeps this blend very fragrant throughout; smoke production is modest for a stick of this size, and the fragrance in the burn is very much like that of the unlit stick. This is a very interesting stick unlike anything I've burned before; absolutely worth experiencing, and a great incense to burn in the living room when you have company.

content/blog/learning-to-love-myrrh-by-making-a-myrrh-and-rose-incense.md

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+---
+title: "Learning to Love Myrrh: Myrrh & Rose Incense"
+description: "I finally figure out how to make myrrh work in a composition."
+date: 2024-08-05
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+  - Incense Builds (Recipes)
+synopsis: "I finally figure out how to make myrrh work in a composition."
+imageURL: /img/pexels-david-roberts-940521-8323579.webp
+imageAlt: A beautiful light-pink dog rose, rosa canina.
+mastodon_id: "112909867440319574"
+---
+Myrrh can be a challenging note. I've seen the resins collected from various members of the Commiphora genus described as everything from loamy, bitter, and mushroomy, to reminiscent of cleaning fluid or a dental clinic; whatever impression you take from the fragrance of myrrh resin, there's no denying that it's unique; there is no mistaking myrrh. While I'm rarely a fan of myrrh alone, or as the predominant note in a sparse composition, I've always felt that there is something compelling about it. Despite its overall unpleasantness, I find heated myrrh resin to produce a dark, mysterious, and somehow sexy fragrance. When balanced well, such as in *Mystic Jade* from Shoyeido's *Magnifiscents* collection, it adds a wonderful, earthy warmth to a composition that's hard to beat.
+
+For some time I've struggled to incorporate myrrh into a stick that I can be proud of; it isn't a resin that you can just drop into a composition with the expectation that it'll work. My experiments with commiphora kua, opoponax, and wightii have all ended in disappointment… until recently.
+
+I've long had an inkling that myrrh would pair well with rose. It's challenging to incorporate flowers into combustible incense; some say it's close to impossible to do without winding up with an incense that smells of acrid burning plant material with, if you're lucky, a touch of whatever flower you've added. Certainly, I have realized that often other methods of incorporating floral fragrances work best. Recently I have discovered, however, that if you start with very good material, and methodically try varying ratios in a series of trail-burning tests, you may wind up surprised by how close a fragrance you can achieve to the fragrance of fresh flowers while minimizing acrid notes. For instance, in my testing, I found that a combination of 30% Rosa Canina and 70% Santalum Spicatum, both very high quality powders given to me by [Dave of *The World Makes Scents*,](../visiting-chicago-incense-maker-dave-of-the-world-makes-scents/) smells absolutely wonderful.
+
+[![A beautiful light-pink dog rose, rosa canina.](/img/pexels-david-roberts-940521-8323579.webp "Rosa Canina in bloom, by [David Roberts on Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-dog-rose-in-bloom-8323579/)")](/img/pexels-david-roberts-940521-8323579.webp)
+
+
+With that knowledge, I composed a stick featuring myrrh, rose, and sandalwood. While the build isn't perfect, I'm already really enjoying the small batch of sticks that I made only a few days ago. The fragrance is gentle and powdery, with a hint of smoke, a soft rose note and that fruitiness that occurs when rose petals are heated. Benzoin lends a subtle sweetness alongside the sandalwood, while the myrrh adds it's unmistakable fragrance and a bittersweet molasses note. The whole ensemble is lifted and brought together by a smidgen of borneol camphor. The myrrh reduces the need for binders, so I've gone with a weak binder, acacia gum, which also helps to firm up and strengthen the extruded sticks once dried.
+
+## The Build
+Note that this is a test build that produces less than four grams of dough; you may want to double the amount.
+
+|Ingredient|Grams|% of Build|
+|-|-|-|
+|Myrrh Resin (Commiphora Kua) |0.2|5.6%|
+|Rose Petal  (Rosa Canina)|1|27.9%|
+|Sandalwood (Santalum Spicatum)|2|55.9%|
+|Benzoin Siam|0.14|3.9%|
+|Acacia Gum|0.2|5.6%|
+|Borneol Camphor|0.04|1.1%|
+
+## Thoughts
+
+I really like this stick, but I do think that it could stand some improvement. Some spices might round out the profile a little, maybe a little clove and cinnamon. It's not the *cleanest* fragrance in the world, likely due to both the myrrh and the high ratio of flowers, but I have been finding it incredibly moreish nonetheless. I hope someone will try to make this and let me know their thoughts!

content/blog/making-incense.md

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+---
+title: "Making Incense: A Cursory Guide"
+description: A quick how-to on making Japanese style incense.
+date: 2024-12-16
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+synopsis: A quick how-to on making Japanese style incense.
+imageURL: /img/siftinsagesquare.webp
+imageAlt: A sieve containing fluffy ground green sage beside a small pile of fine green powder.
+mastodon_id: "113666537272260557"
+---
+While I like to post incense builds, I haven't yet posted on exactly how to go about turning raw ingredients into Japanese style incense sticks. Here's a 1,000 mile overview of the process to accompany a video I recently uploaded to my new PeerTube instance on that very topic. For more info, you can check out [IncenseDragon](https://www.youtube.com/c/IncenseDragon) on YouTube, read this [very useful article](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2023/02/19/making-your-own-incense-sticks-basic-knowledge-and-useful-information/) by Irene of Rauchfahne.de, peruse [incensemaking.com](https://incensemaking.com), and look through some [posts flaired with "incense making"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Incense/?f=flair_name%3A%22Incense%20Making%22) on the [incense subreddit](https://reddit.com/r/incense). Making incense is a difficult, involved process, and this is only a shallow overview; I highly recommend looking through these resources for more in-depth information.
+
+<figure><div style="position: relative; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe title="Japanese Style Incense Making Process" width="100%" height="100%" src="https://makertube.net/videos/embed/8864549d-204b-4f48-884e-ca912cf4235c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-forms" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px;"></iframe></div><figcaption>More or less the full process of making incense. It didn't go perfectly, but I think it's important to show that too. This is also the first time I've attempted to make a video like this; making incense is hard as is, let alone while trying to film the process!</figcaption></figure>
+
+## What you'll need: the bare minimum
+1. A scale
+2. A mortar and pestle
+3. A 140 mesh sieve
+4. An extruder
+5. A drying screen
+6. A respirator
+
+### A scale
+If you can, get something quite fine, like a milligram scale. This will help you make very small test batches before you commit to a build.
+
+### A mortar and pestle
+You can't get all your ingredients pre-powdered, so you're going to need something to crush resins and grind herbs. It's a labor intensive method, but it produces very little heat - perfect for delicate aromatics. At some point, you'll likely want to expand your grinding capabilities, especially if you want to grind your own woods, but that's a topic for another time.
+
+### A 140 mesh sieve
+100 microns seems to be the magic number for incense powders; ingredients reduced to this size perform better in terms of fragrance, and ease of extrusion. Your sticks will burn more slowly, and you'll be able to use less binder in the dough. Sieve carefully, allowing only the finest particles to pass through.
+
+### An extruder
+I use [one of these (not an affiliate link)](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804509917099.html). There are many options available, but try to find an extruder that gradually comes to a point rather than one that takes interchangeable plates - they'll produce rough sticks. Also avoid anything made of plastic; I promise you it won't be strong enough.
+
+### A drying screen
+Again, there are many options, some of which you may have already laying around. I use [one of these (also not an affiliate link)](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806230786054.html).
+
+### A respirator
+I almost forgot to mention this, but [as Irene points out](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2023/02/19/making-your-own-incense-sticks-basic-knowledge-and-useful-information/) this is an important piece. Inhaling fine powders of any kind is very very bad for you. Don't mess about with this one: use a proper respirator, or at least a well-fitted n95 mask.
+
+## Coming up with a build
+If you don't have a build / recipe to go by, it can be a challenge to work out what ingredients to use and in what proportions. While you can find builds in many places, eventually you're going to have to sit down and do some testing. Fundamentally, incense is comprised of three key components: base, binder, and aromatics. Some ingredients can occupy more than one of these categories. It's difficult to give even rough ratios for these components, because they will differ wildly with the specific ingredients used. What I recommend is combining ingredients in different ratios and burning them as a trail on a bed of ash, little by little. For instance, try burning a trail of 70% sandalwood and 30% frankincense. How does it burn; does it stay lit? Which fragrance is more prominent? Is it aromatic, or mostly smoky? How does this build change when 10% of the sandalwood is exchanged for lavender, or patchouli? Once you've got a fragrance you're happy with, incorporate some binder and try to burn again.
+
+I could write extensively on this piece alone, but for now, here are some general rules to get you started:
+
+* Herbs and flowers quickly become acrid unless used in low percentages. In [my Silver Tip build](../silvertip/), for example, I can only get away with 10% osmanthus flowers before my build begins to smell bad.
+* Oily woods such as mid to high quality sandalwood, palo santo, and agarwood can be used at high percentages without smelling too smoky.
+* Resins are good not only fragrant, but some can be used for binding and temperature regulation. Too much will prevent your sticks from burning, so work your way up slowly with resins.
+* Less is more. It's always tempting to cram as much of an aromatic material into a stick as you can. Instead, try to see how little you can get away with for a more refined profile.
+* Gum binders such as guar gum, xanthan gum, and tragacanth can be used at very low percentages — I've seen as low as 3%. Wood binders such as litsea glutinosa can require much larger percentages. After you've successfully incorporated a binder into the sample you used for a trail-burn test, try adding a drop or two of water and rolling a small stick by hand to see how the dough performs.
+
+## Grinding
+Possibly the most difficult aspect of incense making, the key to grinding quality powders is to keep things cool. Use electric grinders in short bursts, allowing ample time to cool, or use methods that generate less heat. Not only does heat release aromatics that you want to retain, resins get sticky. If using a mortar and pestle, it can help to freeze resins along with your mortar and pestle to keep from gumming up the works. It may be easiest to buy pre-powdered woods at first; while resins and herbs aren't especially difficult to powder at home, grinding wood is another beast altogether.
+
+## Sieving
+Sieve slowly and gently, being careful that only the finest particles pass through the screen. The best advice I can give here is to try to enjoy the time you spend sieving as best you can, because you're going to be spending a lot of time this way.
+
+## Forming a dough
+First thoroughly blend together your dry powdered ingredients, then add water with great trepidation while stirring until a dough begins to come together. As soon as you are able, knead this dough with your hands, adding water as necessary to form a smooth dough that doesn't crack when rolled into a ball. Too much water will result in a difficult extrusion and more warping during drying; too little will result in an even more difficult extrusion. Aim for the consistency of clay.
+
+## Extrusion
+Load the dough into your extruder, being very careful to avoid introducing any air bubbles. Carefully extrude the incense either onto a board, or directly onto your drying screen.
+
+## Straightening and drying
+Trim your sticks into even lengths while wet, and gently roll them with either a board, or your fingers, until they are straight. Carefully lay them side by side on your drying screen, and place a board against the length of the sticks to prevent too much horizontal warping as they dry. Cover the sticks with another board to prevent vertical warping, and allow the sticks to dry slowly over the course of a day or two.
+
+## Curing
+Although your incense may appear dry, it can take some time for much of the moisture to work its way out. Ingredients also benefit from time for the aromatics to settle and meld together into a cohesive composition. Give your sticks a couple of weeks before you judge them too harshly; you may notice changes in fragrance for up to a year.
+
+## Conclusion
+This is how I make my sticks, which I extrude to ~2mm and about 10" long to be broken into 5" lengths after drying. Hopefully, any builds I post here ought to work when extruded to this size in the way I have described; all sorts of factors affect incense fragrance and its ability to burn, so I can't make any guarantees as to how your incense will turn out if you follow one of my builds for a different extrusion diameter.
+
+Incense making is a dying art even in cultures with strong incense traditions; it's a laborious exercise that requires extensive trial and error, but the results can be beautiful in ways that no other art-form can emulate. Unfortunately, incense makers tend to be opaque with their practices, and information is scarce in the English speaking world, so it is my hope that this guide can be a useful launching point for someone wishing to start down the fragrant path.

content/blog/making-quizzes-using-eleventy.md

@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+---
+title: "Building a Quiz System With Eleventy"
+description: "Remember when internet quizzes were a thing? I wanted to bring them to my website."
+date: 2025-02-04
+tags:
+ - Site Updates
+ - Eleventy
+synopsis: "Remember when internet quizzes were a thing? I wanted to bring them to my website."
+imageURL: ""
+imageAlt: ""
+mastodon_id: "113948404881440370"
+---
+You might seen my [recent toot](https://lounge.town/@nathanu/113936929893588739) about the [fancy new "How Much of a Linux Nerd are You?" quiz](/quizzes/how-much-of-a-linux-nerd-are-you/) on my website. Some time ago, I realized that I missed taking fun internet quizzes and decided to implement a quiz system on my own site that would allow me to easily make fun quizzes to share. Here's how I built it with [Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev/).
+
+## The plan
+First, I had to decide what sort of quizzes I wanted to be able to make. Some quizzes are designed to score the quiz-taker in order to place them into a category at the end, like those fun Buzzfeed quizzes that used to be so popular. Other quizzes are designed to test the quiz-takers knowledge of a subject, with each question having a definite right answer. I wanted to be able to do both, and I wanted my quizzes to be fairly flexible.
+
+I decided to arrange things so that the quiz-author can enter any number of questions, answers, and consequences. While any number of answers can be entered for a given question, only one answer can be selected at a time, and every question must be answered. Each answer is assigned a number of points by the quiz author: positive, negative, or zero, and consequences each have a certain points threshold after which they are eligible to appear.
+
+A consequence is a result that appears in a modal when the quiz-taker clicks the "submit" button at the end. It shows text defined by the quiz author, an image if the author chooses to include one, and it contains a "Score Details" dropdown that shows the number of points scored on each question.
+
+I decided that I didn't want to use a global data file, not only because it isn't terribly ergonomic, but also because it's much simpler to take advantage of Eleventy's tag/collection system when possible, and frankly,  I hoped to avoid some of the faffing about I had to do when [implementing image galleries](/blog/galleries/).
+
+## Setting up the content directory
+As I was going to use markdown files to build my quizzes, I needed to set up a content directory, `/content/quizzes/`, and set some defaults in `/content/quizzes/quizzes.11tydata.js` to make sure that everything I put inside of it was automatically tagged as a quiz, and would use the correct layout.
+```javascript
+export default {
+	tags: ["quiz"],
+	layout: "layouts/quizzes.njk",
+};
+```
+By tagging these files as quizzes, a new [collection](https://www.11ty.dev/docs/collections/) containing all of my quizzes will be created, and I can add this collection to the `filterTagList` filter in my config file that allows me to easily omit everything that isn't a blog post from post-lists on my site, but that's out of scope for this article.
+
+## Quiz Structure
+YAML (or in fact any markup or programming language that respects whitespace) is no fun, but at least I won't wind up with a gargantuan JavaScript data file like I have [for my galleries](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com/src/branch/main/_data/galleries.js). Here's what `/content/quizzes/my-quiz.md` might look like:
+``` yaml
+---
+title: ""
+description: ""
+date: 2025-02-04
+imageURL: ""
+imageAlt: ""
+consequences:
+ - title: ""
+   points: 0
+   spiel: ""
+   image: ""
+   imageAlt: ""
+questions:
+ - title: ""
+   image: ""
+   imageAlt: ""
+   imageCaption: ""
+   answers:
+   - name: ""
+     points: 0
+---
+This is a great quiz that I'm sure you'll have fun taking.
+```
+This results in a nice JavaScript object we can iterate through. In the body of the markdown document, beneath the front matter, is the text that can be injected via `{% raw %}{{ content }}{% endraw %}`. You'll see in a bit that this will go at the top of the quiz, beneath the title, which is injected with my post layout. This is so that it's easy to use markdown to style this part of the content, include images, et cetera, without worrying about trying to get that working while including it in the YAML.
+
+## The quiz layout
+Alright! Now that we have the quiz structure nailed down, we can write `/includes/layouts/quizzes.njk` which will iterate through the data and spit out an HTML form for us. I'm using the loop index number as the question number, which I can also use to set the `name` attribute for each of the answer `<input>` elements related to a given question. By doing this, the browser knows that the answers beneath a question are all related and will only allow the quiz-taker to select one of them.
+
+I'm going to add a link to our yet-to-be-written script here and set the form to call `handleQuizSubmit()` on submit (`return false` prevents the page from refreshing when the submit button is clicked). Don't ask me why I put the script there precisely; as it isn't called until the submit button is clicked, I suppose it could go just about anywhere.
+
+The points threshold for each consequence is stored in the [dataset](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLElement/dataset) `data-points-threshold` so that we can use these numbers in our JavaScript.
+
+The answers are assigned an ID that looks like this: `q[questionNumber]a[answerNumber]`. Beyond using this to also populate the `for` property of their respective labels, you could use this to link to individual answers too.
+```html
+---
+layout: layouts/post.njk
+structuredData: none
+---{% raw %}
+{{ content | safe }}
+<section class="quiz">
+	<form onsubmit="handleQuizSubmit(); return false">
+		{% for question in questions %}
+		{% set q = loop.index %}
+		<div class="questionBox">
+			<p class="quizQuestion">{{ q }}. {{ question.title }}</p>
+			{% if question.image %}
+			<figure>
+				<a href="{{ question.image }}">
+					<img src="{{ question.image }}" alt="{{ question.imageAlt }}">
+				</a>
+				{% if question.imageCaption %}
+				<figcaption>{{ question.imageCaption }}</figcaption>
+				{% endif %}
+			</figure>
+			{% endif %}
+			<div class="answersBox">
+				{% for answer in question.answers %}
+				<div class="answerBox">
+					<input class="answer" type="radio" value="{{ answer.points }}" id="q{{ q }}a{{ loop.index }}" name="{{ q }}" required>
+					<label for="q{{ q }}a{{ loop.index }}">{{ answer.name }}</label>
+				</div>
+				{% endfor %}
+			</div>
+		</div>
+		{% endfor %}
+		<script src="/js/quiz.js"></script>
+		<button>Submit</button>
+	</form>
+</section>
+
+{% for consequence in consequences %}
+<dialog class="consequence" data-points-threshold="{{ consequence.points }}">
+	<h2>{{ consequence.title }}</h2>
+  <p>{{ consequence.spiel }}</p>
+  {% if consequence.image %}
+  <img src="{{ consequence.image }}" alt="{{ consequence.imageAlt }}">
+  {% endif %}
+  <details>
+		<summary>Score Details</summary>
+		<p class="scoreDetails"></p>
+	</details>
+  <form method="dialog">
+    <button>Thanks</button>
+  </form>
+</dialog>
+{% endfor %}{% endraw %}
+```
+All of the consequences are rendered as `<dialog>` elements that we can open as a modal later with our script. And look, I know people have opinions about JavaScript, but I really didn't fancy the extra build time, bandwidth, and effort it would have taken to avoid fourty lines of simple JavaScript, and to be honest, I *like* JavaScript. I think it's useful and fun to write, so there.
+
+## The quiz script
+As far as logic goes, in `/js/quiz.js` we first want to calculate the score, and get the data to populate the `<details>` elements in our consequence modals. This is handled by `score()`, which will return an object containing the total number of points scored and an array containing the points scored on each question. When we have that, we'll go ahead and `populateDetails()` and finally use `dishOutConsequences()` to launch the freshly updated `<dialog>` as a modal via `showModal()`.
+```javascript
+const score = (answers) => {
+	let total = 0;
+	let scores = [];
+	for (let i = 0; i < answers.length; i++) {
+		const questionNumber = answers[i].name;
+		if (answers[i].checked) {
+			total += Number(answers[i].value);
+			scores.push({
+				questionNumber: questionNumber,
+				points: answers[i].value,
+			});
+		}
+	}
+	return { totalPoints: total, scores: scores };
+};
+
+const dishOutConsequences = (consequences, points) => {
+	for (let i = consequences.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+		if (points >= Number(consequences[i].dataset.pointsThreshold)) {
+			consequences[i].showModal();
+			return;
+		}
+	}
+};
+
+const populateDetails = (detailsElement, scores, total) => {
+	detailsElement.innerHTML = `Total Score: ${total} points<br />`;
+	for (let i = 0; i < scores.length; i++) {
+		detailsElement.innerHTML += `<br />Question ${scores[i].questionNumber >= 10 ? scores[i].questionNumber : "0" + scores[i].questionNumber}: ${scores[i].points} points`;
+	}
+};
+
+const handleQuizSubmit = () => {
+	const answers = document.getElementsByClassName("answer");
+	const consequences = document.getElementsByClassName("consequence");
+	const details = document.getElementsByClassName("scoreDetails");
+	const totalPoints = score(answers).totalPoints;
+	const scoreDetails = score(answers).scores;
+	for (let i = 0; i < details.length; i++) {
+		populateDetails(details[i], scoreDetails, totalPoints);
+	}
+	dishOutConsequences(consequences, totalPoints);
+};
+```
+And with that, our quiz ought to be operational! After this, I went ahead and listed my latest quiz on my index page, but that's beyond the scope of this article. It took me some time to get around to finishing this, but as you can see, it wasn't terribly difficult at all. I hope you enjoyed reading about how I built my quiz system. Please let me know if you decide to implement something similar!

content/blog/maroma-incense-of-auroville-sandalwood-cedarwood.md

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+---
+title: "Incense Review: Maroma Sandalwood and Cedarwood"
+description: "Whole Foods replaced Shoyeido with these sticks from Auroville. I cannot fathom why."
+date: 2025-02-22
+tags:
+ - Incense
+ - Incense Review
+synopsis: "Whole Foods replaced Shoyeido with these sticks from Auroville. I cannot fathom why."
+imageURL: "/img/maroma_packaging.webp"
+imageAlt: "Two paper incense sleeves on my couch. One is yellow and the other is orange."
+mastodon_id: "114050541028761876"
+---
+Some time ago I as I perused the incense display of a nearby Whole Foods, hoping to see the Shoyeido sticks that once graced the shelves, I noticed a range of Indian-style sticks, their otherwise matching packaging in a variety of colors. Listed prominently on each package was the text: "Incense of Auroville." This caught my attention. Auroville is an intentional community I've had a passing interest in since I discovered that some shampoo bars I had purchased were made there[^1]. Often, Indian-style incense makes *heavy* use of oils, which I'm [not a great fan of](/blog/what-do-we-expect-from-fragrance/). The sandalwood and cedarwood varieties, however, listed fairly harmless looking ingredients. According to the packaging, both contained a bamboo stick, wood powders, macchilus macaranth (tree bark powder), with the addition of either sandalwood, or cedarwood, pine, and juniper, respectively. With all of this in mind, I snagged a couple of sleeves.
+
+## Humor me while I appreciate the packaging
+As a former print broker and a current designer and print nerd, I first have to take a second to admire the packaging.
+
+[![Two paper incense sleeves on my couch. One is yellow and the other is orange.](/img/maroma_packaging.webp "I know they're not terribly exciting visually, but hear me out.")](/img/maroma_packaging.webp)
+
+Sure, it's not cutting edge design, but this packaging was produced by someone who knows what they're doing. The sleeves appear to be litho printed on colored card-stock (between 200 and 250 g/m2[^2] if I were to guess) in four opaque inks[^3], with a nice metallic silver ink on the cedarwood sleeve. The sleeves are comprised of a single die-cut and scored piece that folds over on itself and is glued together, which would explain the large peg-hole[^4] that would accommodate for potential registration issues when glued and folded. The card-stock is also embossed with a subtle texture: linen for the sandalwood sticks, and a pebbled texture for the cedarwood.
+
+I need you to understand that *hardly anyone* designs print like this anymore. In today's world of digital presses and cheap, mass-produced CMYK printing a la [Vistaprint](https://www.vistaprint.com/), this is not a cheap job. While many outsourced print work for SMEs goes to these large budget printers who run hundreds of jobs at once as quickly and cheaply as they can on standard house stocks, for these sticks, an honest-to-god clunking metal press was set up specially for each sleeve variety. This mode of production used to be standard, but is now largely  considered higher-end. While Maroma's packaging is not quite on the same level in terms of process and materials, it does remind me of the kind of print I used to produce for clients like [Reid & Taylor](https://bondwiththebest.com/home/), or [Torrance Yachts](https://torranceyachts.com/). You love to see it. Not every product needs to be printed in full-color on bright-white gloss coated card-stock like a damned cereal box!
+
+## Sandalwood
+Now, on to the actual incense. Despite the ingredients list, the fragrance on the unlit sticks leads me to suspect that some oil may have been used. If this is the case, it has been used sparingly as this is not a strongly scented stick, neither before nor after it has been lit. During and after the burn, I don't detect any of the off-notes that mark the presence of large quantities of burning oils. The mild sandalwood fragrance smells more Australian than Indian to my nose; it's on the dry side, with little to none of that butteriness you might expect from santalum album.
+
+[![A stick burning in a blue ceramid censer from Shoyeido on my coffee table. In the background you can see a pair of glasses, a mug, and a brass tealight incense warmer on a pile of glass coasters.](/img/maroma_sandalwood.webp "Fortunately, the fragrance of this stick will not soak into your soft furnishings. I can't say the same for the next one…")](/img/maroma_sandalwood.webp)
+
+There is a wood-smoke note that comes through just as much as the sandalwood does, rendering the fragrance not a particularly clean one, especially when compared to something like Shunkohdo's delightful Sarasōju sticks. It's hard to say whether this comes from the "wood powders" mentioned in the ingredients list, the bamboo stick, a high burn-temperature due to stick thickness or the coarse grind of the ingredients, or all of the above—not that I mind a bit of smokiness in incense—I often quite enjoy this quality in Tibetan and Cambodian style sticks, but it really isn't what I'm looking for in a sandalwood stick.
+
+Overall, Maroma's sandalwood sticks offer a mild, sweet, and earthy wood-smoke and sandalwood fragrance that is more inoffensive than pleasant; nonetheless, the sleeve I purchased is now empty.
+
+## Cedarwood
+Despite listed ingredients, this stick is very clearly oil-based. As opposed to the sandalwood sticks, which are wrapped in paper inside their card-stock sleeve, the cedarwood sticks come wrapped in plastic, presumably so as to prevent porous wrapping-paper from wicking up any oils.
+
+The fragrance on the stick is very strong, soapy, and turpenous—even lavender-like. The experience of smelling the unlit stick reminds me a bit of using those pungent [inhalers for nasal congestion](https://www.amazon.com/Benzedrex-61023-Nasal-Decongestant-Inhaler/dp/B000X76K04); it's not exactly a pleasant experience, but you somehow want to keep doing it anyway. The fragrance upon lighting is bright, acidic, and juniper-forward. As the scent builds in the room, the cologne-like fragrance becomes increasingly sharp; after only a few minutes of burn time in my reasonably large office with a tall cathedral ceiling, it has utterly saturated the room and now evokes an under-ripe granny-smith apple. There is a moderately strong 'burning oil' off-note, as well as a spicy wood-smoke, similar to the that in their sandalwood stick. I am sure that the fragrance would be pleasant absent those off notes and its eye-watering strength, but as it is, it smells more like someone's lit a cigarette in the supermarket cleaning-chemical aisle.
+
+## Conclusion and further reading
+While I didn't mind having a sandalwood stick from Maroma burning, the cedarwood variety could not be further from the style of incense that I typically enjoy. [Like Irene of Rauchfahne](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2024/11/23/pema-of-tibet-faircense-sandelholz-en/), my recommendation would be that those wanting a plain sandalwood fragrance look to Japanese style sticks, and unless you have a cathedral to fill with fragrance, I'd avoid the cedarwood too (and even then I'd prefer a thurible of frankincense).
+
+If you'd like to read more, [Irene](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/category/reviews-en/reviews-sorted-by-brand/auroville-mereville-trust/), [Mike (?) of Olfactory Review Service](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/sampler-notes-maroma-scented-mountain/), and [Steve of Incense in the Wind](https://incenseinthewind.blogspot.com/search?q=auroville) have written about a number of sticks that also appear to have been made in Auroville.
+
+[^1]: My impression of the place, from the couple of videos I've watched about it, is that it's another landing site for wealthy, predominantly white, people who have a vague sense that something isn't quite right with western society / capitalism, but rather than confront this idea intellectually, investigate any sort of political theory, and organize / engage in mutual-aid, they choose to settle like kombucha sediment into some nebulous, ill-defined form of spirituality involving psychedelics and loose-fitting trousers. I could be wrong though.
+[^2]: See [grammage](https://www.neenahpaper.com/resources/paper-101/glossary-of-terms#G) on Neenah Paper's online glossary.
+[^3]: The two on the front, plus black and white ink on the back.
+[^4]: Get your mind out of the gutter!

content/blog/new-audio-component-ballin.md

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+title: "A New Audio Web Component; Ballin’"
+description: "I've gone and built a not-so-fancy audio component for my blog."
+date: 2024-10-23
+tags:
+  - Music
+  - Site Updates
+synopsis: "I've gone and built a not-so-fancy audio component for my blog."
+imageURL: /audio/covers/ballin.webp
+imageAlt: An uncapped fountain pen on top of a pretty, gold-foiled pad of paper beside some envelopes with stamps featuring coffee drinks on them.
+mastodon_id: "113360498256457079"
+---
+Fresh from [my text editor](https://kate-editor.org/) comes a neat little web component that packages the native HTML `<audio>` tag inside a `<figure>` with a song name, title, and a graphic — an album cover perhaps. Here's what it looks like, featuring a very catchy drum and bass tune, "Ballin'," by Vibe Chemistry:
+
+{% audio "Ballin’", "Vibe Chemistry", "/audio/ballin.mp3", "/audio/covers/ballin.webp" %}
+
+It's pretty basic for now; it doesn't even truncate an over-long title, but it'll do the job for the moment. My hope is to use this to play short song snippets so that I can talk about and review them. I think this falls pretty squarely under "fair use" in the United States, and there's no admin for litigious record companies to complain to but myself anyway; coincidentally, direct all copyright complaints to [me](/me/) to have any decent snippets of your IP replaced with samples of significantly lower quality.

content/blog/obligatory-site-updates-post.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+---
+title: Obligatory Site Updates Post
+description: All the new stuff I've done on this website lately.
+date: 2024-09-29
+tags:
+  - Site Updates
+synopsis: All the new stuff I've done on this website lately.
+mastodon_id: "113222650648457852"
+---
+Here are a few new (and not-so-new, but good to know) features I've built for my humble website:
+
+## A Sitemap for Humans
+I now have a (human readable) [sitemap](/sitemap), linked in the footer of each page, for easier discovery of the pages that  aren't listed in the menu at the top, such as [colophon](/about/colophon), and [privacy](/about/privacy) pages, which are now separate from the [about page](/about).
+
+I haven't automated this yet, mainly because I'm not sure how to best go about it; if any [Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev/) enthusiasts out there have any suggestions, please let me know by commenting below using Mastodon!
+
+## New Buttons
+Some pages now have buttons beneath their spiel that link to relevant pages that a reader may find useful. For instance, [colophon](/about/colophon), and [privacy](/about/privacy), and [contact](/me) pages, are linked from the [about page](/about); [/blog](/blog) now links to [tags](/tags), and…
+
+## My Blogroll
+If you've been on the internet for a while (and I mean a *while*), you may remember the humble [blogroll](/blogroll): a list of blogs followed by the author of the blog you're reading, provided both as a benefit to readers and to help share traffic with other people who write interesting stuff.
+
+As I am close to entirely removed from corporate social media, I get my news predominantly from my [newsreader](/about-feeds), which I very much enjoy going through each morning, often with a warm cup of tea. My [blogroll](/blogroll) contains most of the feeds I subscribe to, and it even provides a [convenient and very neatly formatted .opml file](/blogroll/nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml), which you can (in theory) use to subscribe to my entire blogroll at once by importing it into your feed reader. (I very much hope it works as I haven't actually tested it, but do let me know if you try it.)
+
+The [blogroll](/blogroll) links to both the main website and the feed for every entry, and contains a short description for each. Please bear in mind that I have been adding these as I discover them, so if it turns out I've listed the blog of someone who says mean things to kittens or something, please tell me so that I can remove their entry.
+
+The [blogroll](/blogroll) and [.opml](/blogroll/nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml) *are* automated, because there are an awful lot of feeds there and I have no interest in writing all that markup myself. If you'd like to know how that's done, you can [check out the repo](https://upchur.ch/gitea/n_u/nathanupchurch.com).
+
+## A Feed for Everyone
+I write about all sorts of things, and I fully recognize that people who come here for posts such as [*The Secrets of Scrumptious Seitan*](/blog/the-secrets-of-scrumptious-seitan/) may not be especially interested in posts like [*How to Transfer Files Securely with the “scp” Command*](/blog/scp-command/), so I configured individual feeds for each tag.
+
+What this means is if you go to the [blog](/blog) page, click on "Topics" to reach the [tags](/tags) page, and click on a tag, you'll find an RSS icon next to the title linked to a feed that only contains posts marked with that tag. Convenient, right?

content/blog/patience.md

@@ -5,13 +5,16 @@ date: 2024-01-10
 tags:
   - Quick Thoughts
   - Incense
+  - Incense Making
 synopsis: Learning about patience through an incense-making miscalculation.
 imageURL: /img/dragons_blood_incense_copy.avif
 imageAlt: A small piece of a coreless, Japanese-style incense stick burning in a black cast-iron burner.
 mastodon_id: "111732713202024407"
 ---
-Some time ago, maybe a year or so, I extruded a batch of incense sticks from some ingredients I thought might go well together: sandalwood, cinnamon, dragon's blood resin, a touch of Hojari frankincense for acidity, and some tonka bean for sweetness, if I recall correctly. After leaving the sticks to dry overnight, I was disappointed to see that they didn't stay lit; the stick would shrink behind the ember, and it would fizzle out in short order. Even worse, the little scent I was able to detect during the short burn was terrible: acrid and smoky. Dejected, I put the sticks away, returning to attempt to burn a small fragment every few days or so before I lost interest entirely. A few months later, the tube of crooked red incense sticks caught my eye, and I once again attempted to burn a stick. To my surprise, it stayed lit throughout the entire burn. The fragrance had transformed also, from leafy-campfire to a simple, warm, slightly sweet, and medicinal fragrance. While this was enough of an improvement to encourage me to light one every now and then, I remained disappointed that the fragrance was so far from what I'd hoped to achieve. After half-heartedly burning each stick in the little plastic tube that housed them over a period of weeks, the tube disappeared into a basket on the shelf beneath my coffee table amidst a mess of bundled cables and game-controllers, never to be seen again – until just a few days ago.
+Some time ago, maybe a year or so, I extruded a batch of incense sticks from some ingredients I thought might go well together: sandalwood, cinnamon, dragon's blood resin, a touch of Hojari frankincense for acidity, and some tonka bean for sweetness, if I recall correctly. After leaving the sticks to dry overnight, I was disappointed to see that they didn't stay lit; the stick would shrink behind the ember, and it would fizzle out in short order. Even worse, the little scent I was able to detect during the short burn was terrible: acrid and smoky. Dejected, I put the sticks away, returning to attempt to burn a small fragment every few days or so before I lost interest entirely.
+
+A few months later, the tube of crooked red incense sticks caught my eye, and I once again attempted to burn a stick. To my surprise, it stayed lit throughout the entire burn. The fragrance had transformed also, from leafy-campfire to a simple, warm, slightly sweet, and medicinal fragrance. While this was enough of an improvement to encourage me to light one every now and then, I remained disappointed that the fragrance was so far from what I'd hoped to achieve. After half-heartedly burning each stick in the little plastic tube that housed them over a period of weeks, the tube disappeared into a basket on the shelf beneath my coffee table amidst a mess of bundled cables and game-controllers, never to be seen again – until just a few days ago.
 
 [![A small piece of a coreless, Japanese-style incense stick burning in a black cast-iron burner.](/img/dragons_blood_incense_copy.avif "The last fragment.")](/img/dragons_blood_incense_copy.avif)
 
-While rustling around in search of a controller, I discovered the thin plastic tube, noticing two small fragments of incense sliding about as I lifted the tube from the basket. As I lit the first fragment this morning, I was met with a wonderfully clear impression of dragon's blood, uplifted by the bright citrus of Hojari frankincense, on a sweet, warm, woody base; my incense had turned out well after all. Unfortunately, the recipe, written on the tube in dry-erase marker, had long worn off; thinking the batch was a failure, I hadn't recorded it anywhere else. Burning those last two fragments today was bittersweet; all I had needed to do was wait. I'm frustrated about a number of things here, but there is something oddly gratifying about the situation. By failing to record the recipe, I got to experience something rare and unique today. In those peaceful, fragrant moments, I experienced something lovely for the first and last time – and I learned a thing or two about patience.
+While rustling around in search of a controller, I discovered the thin plastic tube, noticing two small fragments of incense sliding about as I lifted the tube from the basket. As I lit the first fragment this morning, I was met with a wonderfully clear impression of dragon's blood, uplifted by the bright citrus of Hojari frankincense, on a sweet, warm, woody base; my incense had turned out well after all. Unfortunately, the recipe, written on the tube in dry-erase marker, had long worn off; thinking the batch was a failure, I hadn't recorded it anywhere else. Burning those last two fragments today was bittersweet; all I had needed to do was wait. I'm frustrated about a number of things here, but there is something oddly gratifying about the situation. By failing to record the recipe, I got to experience something rare and unique today. In those peaceful, fragrant moments, I experienced something lovely for the first and last time — and I learned a thing or two about patience.

content/blog/perfumery-islamophobia.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+title: "On the Recent Controversy Surrounding a Certain Perfumery. "
+description: "The difference between critique and denigration."
+date: 2025-07-13
+tags:
+  - Quick Thoughts
+  - Incense
+synopsis: "The difference between critique and denigration."
+---
+Someone recently shared with me transcripts and audio recordings that have been going around of comments that are alleged to have been made by the owner of a well-regarded perfumery. This owner also recently published a video on the matter. I am not going to mention names, but I am sure many in the fragrance and incense community are already aware of the situation. I'm seeing a lot of anger online, as well as a number of people coming to the owners' defense. Having seen what I have, here are my thoughts.
+
+First of all, I'm an anti-theist. I don't believe that *any* religion is inherently deserving of respect, let alone beyond critique or reproach. As this situation involves religion, I was expecting to see yet another case of hypersensitive believers becoming upset at a simple criticism. But there is a difference between criticism and denigration, and while ideas may not be owed respect simply because they exist, I believe that people are. What I saw and heard was not critique. It was outright insult and denigration in the most inflammatory terms possible.
+
+There is a key difference between innocent commentary on a particular worldview (even if contentious), and outright insulting an entire group of people, their beliefs, their cultures, and their countries of origin. The language and talking points I saw, in particular the parroting of right-wing anti-immigrant rhetoric aimed at Muslims, struck me not as critique, but racism. Further, to harbor the beliefs espoused in these recordings and transcripts regarding a demographic while also directly marketing products to them seems especially contemptible.
+
+In the video addressing the situation, the individual concerned pointed out that these statements were taken out of context. It is difficult to imagine how context could possibly excuse the statements I read and heard, but they were indeed presented without context. Regardless, rather than make a genuine apology which includes an acknowledgement of the harm caused, they opined on how unfortunate it was that their remarks were made public, and chose to shut down comments when people began to share some of the remarks that are alleged to have been made.
+
+We all make mistakes. Sometimes people make remarks in anger that they don't mean, or we phrase our arguments in ways that are hurtful and unproductive. In my mind, there's still room for that to be the case here. But the first step towards growth and forgiveness is a sincere apology: naming your mistake openly, acknowledging the harm it caused, and taking steps to rectify that harm. While I am not in the group harmed by this situation, the rhetoric purported to have been espoused here does harm individuals who I respect and care for. Thus, while it's not my place to offer forgiveness, I will not be purchasing anything from this individual until such time as an earnest apology has been offered, and steps have been taken to rectify the harm caused. If I do not see this effort, I must believe that this individual stands by the statements they are alleged to have made, and as we have come to learn, [funding people funds their beliefs](https://www.advocate.com/news/jk-rowling-anti-trans-organization).

content/blog/poison.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: "Poison"
+description: "Reflecting on eating, and cooking, habits in light of Pete Wells' stepping down from his role as Times restaurant critic."
+date: 2024-07-16
+tags:
+  - Quick Thoughts
+  - Restaurants
+  - Vegan Cooking
+synopsis: Reflecting on eating, and cooking, habits in light of Pete Wells' stepping down from his role as Times restaurant critic."
+imageURL: /img/pexels-davideibiza-1771809.webp
+imageAlt: Amber glass bottles with poison warnings.
+mastodon_id: "112798801312124662"
+---
+I recently happened across the article in which Pete Wells [announces that he will be stepping down](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/dining/pete-wells-steps-down-food-critic.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k0.R2zu.sGv5x7hNrfba) from his role as Times' restaurant critic. Health stood tall among the reasons behind the decision:
+
+> My scores were bad across the board; my cholesterol, blood sugar and hypertension were worse than I’d expected even in my doomiest moments. The terms pre-diabetes, fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome were thrown around.
+
+I've been having a similar reckoning. In 2013 I turned vegan. At the time, this meant that you had better either learn to cook or learn to love whatever meager offerings you were lucky enough to find in the miniscule corner of your local grocery store reserved for you and the other crusties: gluten deniers; allergy sufferers; and so on. Rather than endure the pasty, sour blocks of potato starch that then passed for 'vegan cheese', I started to develop my cooking skills in earnest, and not just at home; I would work in kitchens, never as a cook, but as a cocktail bartender and later a barista, both at places upscale enough to warrant cocktail or coffee stations in the kitchen. I learned a lot from those places, especially in the cocktail bar where the chef and I practically stepped on each others toes. From the talented people in that kitchen, I learned what it was to deglaze a pan, how to balance salt, fat, and acid in a dish, and that a dish is over-seasoned when you can *feel* the salt on your tongue. Through these experiences, and through consistent practice at home, I became a very competent home cook.
+
+Using what I've learned in kitchens and from my own practice and research, I can make a Beyond Meat / Impossible style ground beef analogue at home. I can make a competent béchamel sauce with home-made cultured vegan butter, throw together a romesco, red sauce, or salsa verde at a moment's notice, and whip up fresh falafel, tamales, mushroom stroganoff, a Thai green curry, or South Indian sambar on a weeknight without so much as looking at a recipe. All of it poison, I increasingly realize.
+
+Restaurants are places where the preparation of food, necessary to sustain life, meets with a profit motive. In order to retain custom, restaurant dishes are designed with aspirations of meeting the zenith of human tastes, forged thousands of years ago when scraping together sufficient calories of plant and animal matter to see one through the day was no mean feat. If you are among the lucky sliver of the human population that can participate in today's world of plenty, however, restaurant food doesn't only fill those key nutritional silos that drive the most intense of cravings; it utterly overwhelms them, and the consequences from overindulging can be dire.
+
+Learning to cook this way has done me a tremendous disservice. The talented people who I've learned from over the years have inculcated into me, as gospel truth, techniques to create food that delights the palate and utterly destroys the body.
+
+Since giving up smoking, I've learned that the craving never really leaves you entirely. As I glance down at my beautiful little marble pinch-bowl piled high with large white crystals of kosher salt, I wonder whether this craving will never truly leave me also?

content/blog/rammstein-incense-cones.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+title: "Rammstein Incense Cones: A Review"
+description: "It's only natural that the pyrotechnics obsessed neue deutsche härte act would release a line of incense cones. Today I'm taking a look."
+date: 2025-02-02
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: "It's only natural that the pyrotechnics obsessed neue deutsche härte act would release a line of incense cones. Today I'm taking a look."
+imageURL: /img/rammsteinShow_copy.webp
+imageAlt: A shot from a Rammstein stadium tour showing the stage and great plumes of smoke from the pyrotechnics.
+mastodon_id: "113936913424530239"
+---
+The German neue deutsche härte group Rammstein is known for many things. From their [controversial lyrics (NSFW)](https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/rammstein-album-banned-from-display-in-germany-idUSTRE5A90ZK/) and [legally dubious stage antics (NSFW)](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/see-rammsteins-infamous-1998-family-values-show-landed-members-jail/), to their [over the top live performances](https://metalinjection.net/news/rammsteins-pyro-guy-discusses-the-insanity-of-his-job-how-much-fuel-the-band-uses), one thing the group is certainly *not* known for is conventional merchandise.
+
+Far from the usual assortment of posters and t-shirts, the band's merch has ranged from [medical supplies](https://www.rammsteinshop.us/en/catalog/wound-plaster-rammplast.html) to [kitchen tools](https://www.rammsteinshop.us/en/catalog/cookie-shape-zerdrucken.html), [furniture](https://shop.rammstein.de/en/catalog/kreuztisch-oak.html), [torches](https://shop.rammstein.de/en/catalog/fire-torch-funkenstoss.html), and [*very* special editions of their albums (NSFW)](https://www.rammstein.de/en/news/rammstein-deluxe-2/). Despite this, I was inexplicably surprised to discover that the group had released official, Rammstein branded incense cones for sale on the band's online shop.
+
+At $5.00 for a box of 24, I didn't have high expectations. The picture on [the website](https://www.rammsteinshop.us/en/catalog/incense-candles-rammstein.html) showed a handful of crudely formed black cones, the color likely due to a high charcoal content, which often indicates that the fragrance is constructed from oils rather than whole plant ingredients. Realistically, I wouldn't expect anything else at this price point. The website lists cedar, sandalwood, juniper wood, rosemary, juniper berries, myrrh, frankincense, and benzoin as components of the perfume.
+
+The cones are manufactured by [KNOX](https://www.knox.de/), a large German manufacturer of incense cones and those delightful little wooden [incense "smokers"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0t-mlg2SoA) that I'm told are popular around the holidays in Germany. Steve of the [Incense in The Wind](https://incenseinthewind.blogspot.com/) blog recently wrote a number of reviews for a variety of KNOX cones; I must admit that after reading them I was steeling myself for the arrival of my Rammstein *Räucherkerzen*.
+
+[![A cone burning in a cast iron burner beside the box of cones.](/img/rammstein_incense_cones.webp "They do look pretty metal.")](/img/rammstein_incense_cones.webp)
+
+When the two small packages of cones arrived, they were identical in appearance to the images on the website. Despite being inside of a mailing box, a paper bag, a cardboard carton, and finally sealed inside of a small plastic bag, I could smell the cones before I even opened the outer box. The fragrance was woody; it was juniper-forward with a sharp, turpenous edge, all tied together with a *big* hit of sweet, creamy benzoin. I didn't detect much of the other resins mentioned, but that may be because I'm more used to the actual resin rather than extracts and imitations. I am not usually fond of highly concentrated scents, but I must admit I enjoyed this, even though even the outer packaging of the cones seems to contaminate everything it touches with fragrance—I'll often catch a whiff of these cones in their packaging while just walking around my apartment.
+
+Upon lighting, I'm briefly met with the scent of burning paper and those off-notes typical of charcoal + oil incense, which is not exactly pleasant, but it does make me nostalgic for some of the cheap incense I used to burn as a teenager. Most of the fragrance that was present on the unlit cone has disappeared, leaving mellow cedar and sweet benzoin notes. As [Steve found in his review of KNOX' vanilla cones](https://incenseinthewind.blogspot.com/2025/01/knox-vanille-raucherkerzen-vanilla.html), these also burn hot and fast, with a large ember characteristic of a high charcoal content. Cones predominantly based on wood tend to have an ember that travels down the cone, but here the ember seems to just increase in size until it envelopes the entire cone at once beneath a thin layer of ash. The cones don't put out much smoke. The mild, sweet fragrance in the burn does linger in the room for some time, but it is so diminished from the powerful scent of the unlit cones that I'm not terribly worried about it soaking into the carpet, which is often a concern with cheaper, oil-based incense.
+
+I didn't at all expect to say this, but I enjoy these cones. They are not an example of a high-quality incense, but I enjoy the fragrance despite it all. I suppose the beauty of cones that use highly concentrated fragrances is that they don't last long; I don't know whether I could tolerate an eleven-inch bamboo-cored stick of this, but I can absolutely enjoy a little cone. In addition, despite the off-notes that charcoal introduces, I wonder if it doesn't overcome one of the key challenges of the format: when making traditional incense cones with actual plants, the temperature increases as the ember grows, so by the time you get to the base, the scent can be quite coarse indeed. With these charcoal cones, it seems as though they start *hot* and stay that way, eliminating the challenge of dealing with a dramatic temperature increase over the course of the burn. Yea, somehow, I like these.

content/blog/scribus-1-7-0-from-strength-to-strength.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+title: "Scribus 1.7.0: From Strength to Strength"
+description: "Scribus has always been about substance. With 1.7.0 style, usability, and designer-focused features take the front seat."
+date: 2025-02-13
+tags:
+  - FOSS/FLOSS
+  - Libre Graphics
+  - Underrated Apps
+synopsis: "Scribus has always been about substance. With 1.7.0 style, usability, and designer-focused features take the front seat."
+imageURL: /img/scribus_splash.webp
+imageAlt: "The new Scribus splash screen featuring a fountain pen drawing a stream with koi fish. The splash screen is surrounded by printer marks."
+mastodon_id: "114000796038604843"
+---
+Looking around the internet, you could be forgiven for thinking that Scribus is dead. These days, FLOSS[^1] developers debate the merits of merge requests in public chat rooms, track bugs through GitHub issues, and announce releases through widely-circulated blog posts or sleek landing pages. In contrast, the Scribus developers work seemingly cloistered far away from popular modern conveniences like Matrix and, erm, *git*. Despite their hermetic reputation, however, it is quite possible to glean what's going on in the Scribus project. The SVN repository [is mirrored on GitHub](https://github.com/scribusproject/scribus), the [bug tracker](https://bugs.scribus.net/changelog_page.php) shows clear signs of activity, and the official website reveals a fairly [steady pace of development](https://www.scribus.net/news/). Hell, LibreArts reported on the release of 1.7.0 [just last week](https://librearts.org/2025/02/week-recap-2-feb-2025/#scribus-170).
+
+To be fair, most casual users of the FLOSS desktop-publishing mainstay aren't sniffing around the bug tracker, and for the past few years it sure didn't seem as though much had changed judging by the clunky, dated interface and pixelated icons you'd be met with upon launch. This is likely what has driven many a would-be user to pen an expletive-ridden Reddit thread instead of diving in and gaining enough experience with the program to know what die-hard Scribus fans have known for years: that Scribus is a blisteringly competent piece of software.
+
+## The trouble(?) with Scribus
+The major pain point of Scribus is, ironically, one of its key strengths. Designers used to working in InDesign and the ilk are used to being able to throw together a document on the fly, using their desktop publishing program as more of a freeform creative tool than a tool to denote and apply structure. This is not how Scribus works best. Simple things like choosing a color on the fly aren't possible in Scribus; rather than flicking your mouse over to a color-wheel, in Scribus, you'll go to Edit > Colors and Fills, where you'll select and add a color to your document's color list. Only then can you apply that color to a fill or stroke. Working without paragraph or character styles applied to type can be done, but it's sub-ideal; you'll set up some styles to stop the pain long before your work is done. When working with Scribus, you need to come in with a plan. Designers who regularly churn out pretty but poorly prepared files (and let's admit it, that's most of us[^2]) are in for a bit of a hard time. But if you stick it out, when you realize that you're simply going to *have to* set up your files methodically and properly, Scribus begins to feel like a weapon.
+
+## Enter 1.7.0
+Despite what the denizens of Reddit have to say, Scribus has been suitable for professional work for *years* now, and naysayers have had even less to complain about since Adobe announced that Pantone colors would, like Scribus, [no longer come baked into their software](https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/1/23434305/adobe-pantone-subscription-announcement-photoshop-illustrator). With the release of 1.7.0, Scribus finally looks and feels like the mature, feature-rich, professional tool that it has been for some time.
+
+[![](/img/scribus_color_dialog.webp "The new color dialog.")](/img/scribus_color_dialog.webp)
+
+The user-interface has been completely overhauled, with new icons, a proper window docking system, and more intuitive controls throughout the program. [Customizable optical margins](https://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=10539) have been introduced, allowing for [hanging punctuation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_punctuation). A unique new feature that I'm quite excited about is the white space review mode that allows you to check for typographic rivers while avoiding the risk of displacing your contacts through repeated squinting. [The full release notes](https://www.scribus.net/scribus-1-7-0-released/) detail what truly feels like a milestone release.
+
+[![A Scribus document with all text covered in black bars, exposing the white space between the words.](/img/scribus_white_space_preview.webp "White space preview in action.")](/img/scribus_white_space_preview.webp)
+
+By highlighting these user-facing improvements in Scribus 1.7.0, I don't mean to diminish the tremendous work that has been done behind the scenes, not least the years of work getting Scribus ready to move to QT6. That work is important, but what excites me so much about this latest release is the change in direction it could represent for the project: these features are not the sort that would be imagined by developers and built for their personal convenience, these features clearly represent the needs of *designers*.
+
+[![The new Scribus splash screen featuring a fountain pen drawing a stream with koi fish. The splash screen is surrounded by printer marks.](/img/scribus_splash.webp "Look at that fancy splash screen!.")](/img/scribus_splash.webp)
+
+Counterintuitively, this isn't a natural consequence of building software that might be used by design professionals. Take Inkscape, for example. There will be those in the project who see their work solely as creating a tool that implements the SVG specification; this is a fundamentally different point of view from that held by someone like [Martin Owens](https://www.youtube.com/@doctormo) who sees it as his job to create features that make Inkscape users happier, more productive, and to make Inkscape a tool that better suits their needs. This is where you get features like the shape builder tool, and upcoming CMYK support, both very much unnecessary if your goal for the project is a technical one, but critical tools for users who want to use the program in a professional setting where time is at a premium and output may be going to print.
+
+Inkscape's [duplicate transform](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qsyrBrg4DT8) and Scribus' white space preview features are prime examples of the unique, needs-focused capabilities that emerge when users, designers, and developers come together on equal terms in FLOSS projects; magic happens. So let's hope this trend continues. Scribus is *the* FLOSS option for professional desktop publishing, a cornerstone of the libre-arts landscape. Combined with Scribus' wide feature-set and dedication to solid, dependable PDF output, it's easy to see why I've long been an outspoken fan of the project, even back when it was ugly 😉.
+
+## A bright FLOSS future
+It's a good time to be a [GNU/Linux](/quizzes/how-much-of-a-linux-nerd-are-you/) user. With the amazing work being done by [KDE](https://kde.org), and Linux gaming hitting the mainstream, a killer release like 1.7.0 from a FLOSS project that has (somewhat unfairly) garnered a reputation for being stodgy and slow-moving, if not (utterly unfairly) outright abandonware, feels like icing on the cake. Alongside the major advancements made by the [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org) and [Krita](https://krita.org/en/) teams, it's a beacon of hope to the small number of intrepid designers and artists who rely on FLOSS to do their work—our options are few, but they are mighty.
+
+[^1]: Free / Libre Open Source Software
+[^2]: As a working-file neat-freak, I was uniquely positioned to switch to Scribus.

content/blog/silvertip.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+title: "Silver Tip: an Incense Build Featuring Osmanthus and Mastic"
+description: "I make a fresh, sweet, and green incense build reminiscent of the flavor of white tea"
+date: 2024-09-20
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+  - Incense Builds (Recipes)
+synopsis: "I make a fresh, sweet, and green incense build reminiscent of the flavor of white tea."
+imageURL: /img/testAsh.webp
+imageAlt: "A small tin labelled 'test ash' beside a small glass jar containing matches."
+mastodon_id: "113173725532729481"
+---
+If my memory serves me, some time ago I tried a stick from [Yi-Xin](https://craft-incense.com/) that contained osmanthus flowers and mastic gum. I recall enjoying the combination, so when I found a bag of dried osmanthus on sale while [doing some online grocery shopping](https://www.sayweee.com), I set out to make something using these ingredients.
+
+Having read that osmanthus, like lavender, was one of those few flowers that could be used successfully in incense, I was brimming with confidence as I ground them finely and made an attempt at a batch of sticks containing 19% of the powder. The result was ghastly. At this percentage, alongside that characteristic beautiful fruity fragrance was a proportionate helping of the acrid scent of burning plant matter. Following this failure, I put aside my hubris, opened my tin of 'test ash'[^1] and began testing incense powders comprised of differing ratios of osmanthus and base-wood in a series of trail-burning tests, eventually finding that a ratio of 10% osmanthus to base wood seemed to return a reasonably good fragrance in the burn.
+
+[![A small tin labelled "test ash" beside a small glass jar containing matches.](/img/testAsh.webp "My test ash; a very convenient way to perform a quick trail burn.")](/img/testAsh.webp)
+
+Armed with this knowledge, I put together a build. The star aromatics sit atop a woody base of sandalwood and juniper sweetened by a touch of benzoin; the composition is slightly lifted with a minuscule amount of camphor, bound with guar gum and a little acacia gum. While also acting as a weak binder, the acacia gum is present to lower the burn temperature and strengthen the sticks.
+
+## The Build
+|Ingredient|Grams|% of Build|
+|----------|------|-----------|
+|Juniperus Virginiana|2.6|35.62%|
+|Santalum Spicatum|2.6|35.62%|
+|Osmanthus Fragrans|0.73|10%|
+|Mastic Gum|0.5|6.85%|
+|Acacia Gum|0.3|4.11%|
+|Benzoin Siam|0.25|3.42%|
+|Guar Gum|0.25|3.42%|
+|Borneol Camphor|0.07|0.96%|
+
+As with all of my incense, I extruded the dough into 2-2.5mm coreless sticks which I then dried on a mesh screen at room temperature and left to cure for a number of weeks.
+
+## Conclusion
+The sticks this build produces offer a [quiet listen](https://kikohincense.com/pages/listening-to-incense), but I find it very pleasant. Something about the combination of juniper, mastic, and osmanthus forms a fragrance that's at once green and fruity, with a bright, peachy, stone-fruit note, all atop a woody base. After a couple of months, the camphor is barely there on the stick; whether it is present in the burn is difficult to say without trying a build sans borneol.[^2]
+
+My partner has a small wood-burning backpacking stove they like to use to make tea while camping. While I haven't yet had the pleasure, I have to imagine that making a cup of white tea on such a stove in a juniper forest would smell similar to the fragrance of this stick.
+
+
+[^1]: I use the stick of a cotton swab to create a divot in the ash bed, which I carefully fill with incense powder to be tamped down, lit, and evaluated. When I'm done, I simply close the lid, shake the container, and drop it once or twice on a flat surface to smooth the ash and prepare it for the next use.
+[^2]: Such a tricky ingredient, camphor. The tiniest amount can seem utterly overwhelming when blending or on a fresh stick, and as incense cures and ages, it seems as though it may or may not mellow out in the burn.

content/blog/switching-to-gnu-linux-mentally.md

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+---
+title: "Switching to GNU/Linux: Mentally"
+description: The mindset shift that produces happy users of GNU/Linux and other Free/Libre and Open Source Software.
+date: 2024-06-11
+tags:
+  - Essays
+  - GNU/Linux
+  - FOSS/FLOSS
+  - KDE
+synopsis: The mindset shift that produces happy users of GNU/Linux and other Free/Libre and Open Source Software.
+imageURL: /img/pexels-ds-stories-9228363_copy.webp
+imageAlt: A very cute photo by DS stories on pexels.com of a little pink brain-shaped candle on a light blue background.
+mastodon_id: "112615355114722806"
+---
+[Stallman was right;](https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/06/39219971/edward-snowden-echoes-richard-stallmans-warnings-on-proprietary-software-after-user-says-adode-can-n) in the wake of Microsoft's announcement of its [much-maligned](https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-recall-off-default-security-concerns/) Recall feature and widespread public backlash to the [terms and conditions](https://www.benzinga.com/top-stories/24/06/39209804/it-is-time-to-cancel-adobe-new-photoshop-terms-conditions-spark-outrage-among-professionals) for Adobe Creative Cloud products, it's clear that trust in big tech and the software it produces is rapidly eroding. Under the circumstances, it's no surprise that Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) is seeing an uptick in interest from the public at large. So as ever more average users consider "switching to Linux," it strikes me that while there exist tomes on the technical aspects, there seems to be much less written on the shift in thinking that is part and parcel of every experienced and well-adjusted FLOSS user. So if you're making the switch or know someone who is, here's some advice to make the most of the transition.
+
+[![A rather beautiful picture of a young Richard Stallman playing the recorder to a large pink butterfly perched on some beige computer equipment.](/img/rms.jpg "He was right. [CC BY-NC-ND 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)")](/img/rms.jpg)
+
+## Welcome
+
+First of all: welcome to GNU/Linux! You've chosen the operating system [that powers](https://www.vrogue.co/post/linux-is-everywhere-infographic) bullet trains, the world's fastest supercomputers, U.S.A. air traffic control, CERN's Large Hadron Collider, and Google, Amazon, and Microsoft's cloud services, [used by](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_adopters) NASA, the People's Liberation Army, the Turkish government, whitehouse.gov, the U.S.A. Department of Defense, France's national police force, ministry of agriculture, and parliament, Iceland's public schools, the Dutch Police Internet Research and Investigation Network, Burlington Coat Factory, Peugeot, DreamWorks Animation, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, and [Stephen Fry.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_adopters#Celebrities)
+
+As you've no doubt inferred by now, GNU/Linux users span from your everyday cat-video viewer to large institutions and organizations where operating system reliability and performance mean the difference between life and death. No matter where you are on this spectrum, with a little humility, open-mindedness, and perseverance, I promise that you can find your self every bit as happily at-home with GNU/Linux as you were with whatever OS you've been using up to this point. This may mean giving up a long-trusted piece of software for something new and different, but for many new users the most hard-won battle is a change in mentality.
+
+## You're not a power-user anymore
+
+I've heard it said that the most "computer literate" people often find it especially arduous to adjust to GNU/Linux. I've been there; it's a frightening thing to go from the person family, friends, and neighbors call to help with problems with any device that has so much as an LED on it to feeling like that clueless relative with a dozen toolbars installed on their outdated version of Internet Explorer. The reality is that while you've gotten very good at navigating the operating system that you've been using for the past twenty years, very little of that knowledge is useful in GNU/Linux. This is something you're going to have to accept early on: no matter what distro you choose, it's going to be different to Windows or MacOS in very fundamental ways.
+
+This means that, no matter your mastery of Windows keyboard shortcuts, or how convoluted your [AutoHotkey](https://www.autohotkey.com/) config may be, it's going to take you some time to grasp the basics. Beyond that, the bar to become a GNU/Linux power-user is much, much higher than it is on proprietary operating systems. In case you're feeling intimidated, know that this comes with some serious advantages. GNU/Linux systems come with a practically limitless potential for mastery, efficiency, and customization. In time, you'll be able to customize your GUI to your exact specifications, automate system maintenance, and knock out common tasks with a speed you wouldn't have thought possible on your old OS.
+
+## Embrace the new
+
+Switching to GNU/Linux is, in some ways, much more convenient than switching from, say, MacOS to Windows. Chiefly, most distros can be configured to run a wide range of software built for MacOS, Windows, or Android with minimal fuss. That said, I strongly encourage new users to explore FLOSS alternatives built on and for GNU/Linux. FLOSS projects often get a bad rap among users of proprietary operating systems because while a piece of software may run on these systems, the experience is rarely as good as it is on the system is was designed for: usually, GNU/Linux. FLOSS mainstays such as [LibreOffice,](https://www.libreoffice.org/) [Krita,](https://krita.org/en/) [Inkscape,](https://inkscape.org/) [Scribus,](https://www.scribus.net/) [Kdenlive,](https://kdenlive.org/en/) and [Ardour](https://ardour.org/) are at their best on GNU/Linux in terms of appearance, performance, and features. There are professionals of every stripe who do their work with an exclusively FLOSS toolset, from graphic design to video editing, audio production, data analytics, and more. If they can do it, so can you! Don't let the one piece of proprietary software that just won't work put you off of your new operating system when there's a whole new ecosystem of incredible software to explore.
+
+[![A screenshot of Scribus.](/img/scribus_copy.webp "The latest development version of Scribus running on EndeavourOS. I guarantee you it doesn't look this good on Windows.")](/img/scribus_copy.webp)
+
+New users of FLOSS projects often complain that the user interface or workflow of the tool they're trying is "unintuitive." Occasionally, these complaints hit on an area that genuinely could use some improvement, but more often, new users are simply expressing frustration that the workflow of a FLOSS project is different from what they are used to. These applications are not mere clones of their proprietary counterparts; they are projects in their own right, with unique goals, ideals, features, and workflows. Getting through a work project a little more slowly at first is not necessarily a flaw in the tool, it likely just means that you need a bit more practice. In time, you'll come to learn and appreciate killer features that go above and beyond the capabilities of software produced by even the largest tech companies.
+
+## As a GNU/Linux user, you're part of a community
+
+When you switch to GNU/Linux, you're not a customer any more. FLOSS projects are largely build by communities of volunteers who work on what they find interesting or important for their own reasons. There's no support line to call, no one to complain to if something breaks, and no one is losing anything by you choosing not to use their software. If you need help, or if you want to help make a FLOSS project better, you're going to have to engage with the wider community. Every project has a forum, a Matrix or IRC channel, or some other means of connecting users and developers. If you have a problem you can't solve on your own, these are the places to go to get help. Sign up and make a good faith effort to learn the rules and etiquette of the community, and chances are someone will be more than willing to help you find a solution out of sheer civic-mindedness.
+
+There is likewise a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction to be gained by returning that kindness: by being an active participator in the communities you join, you'll help others overcome the stumbling blocks you once faced and foster connections with others who share your interests. Beyond the community alone, there is something wonderful about using software that you've helped shape; contributing well written bug reports, monetary donations, writing documentation, or testing new releases makes a direct positive impact on the tools you rely on each day. It's one thing to use FLOSS projects for reasons of ethics, privacy, or mere utility, but seeing a page of documentation you've written go live for anyone in the world to learn from, seeing a bug you reported vanish after an update, [a theme you created get added to a game,](https://nathanupchurch.com/blog/new-kmines-themes/) or experiencing your feature request given form in a release *really* draws you in. You're no longer at the mercy of some large tech company who only cares about profit; you're part of a community that cares about people, ideas, and making its software better, more efficient, more usable, and more useful for everyone.
+
+## The FLOSS mindset
+
+To distill what I've said above: Things are going to be different, and you may feel disempowered and frustrated for a while until you catch up again. The solution to this, beyond simple patience, is to embrace the fact that by using FLOSS projects, you become a part of the process of making them. Join the community with respect and humility, allow yourself to receive help and kindness from others, and you'll begin to once again remember how it feels to earn your skills. In time, you'll be the one offering help, you'll dance circles around any Windows power-user, and you'll be using tools that you've helped make better. Again I say: welcome. With these small shifts in your thinking, you're going to be in for a good time.

content/blog/tech-wizard.md

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+---
+title: "The Office Tech Wizard"
+description: "Knowing how to operate a PDF viewer does not a tech wizard make; what it means to be good at your job."
+date: 2024-09-21
+tags:
+  - Quick Thoughts
+  - Rants
+synopsis: "Knowing how to operate a PDF viewer does not a tech wizard make; what it means to be good at your job."
+mastodon_id: "113178005978869507"
+---
+
+I came across [this submission to *Not Always Right*](https://notalwaysright.com/pdf-pretty-darn-futile-part-2/) today, and it got me thinking about some of the attitudes towards technology I've seen over the years. There is a contingent of people in many workplaces who believe they can do a perfectly good job without investing the time in learning about the tech they use each day; after all, their work gets done, doesn't it? We've all encountered this sort; the sort of person who's so far removed from a basic understanding of the tools they use each day that they'll brand you the office tech-wizard for knowing how to use the zoom function in a PDF viewer, copy and paste with the keyboard alone, or *(gasp!)* googling how to restart the print spooler when a job gets stuck. And sure, many of these folks do manage to get things done, but a problem arises when you consider *how.*
+
+Early career folk don't have the luxury of being bad at their tools; it's sink or swim. So when older colleagues or those later in their career don't know how to use a particular piece of software, guess who has to pick up the slack? This isn't necessarily a problem in and of itself; there's nothing wrong with not knowing something and needing a bit of assistance, but this quickly becomes a problem when people decide that they are exempt from learning because of their age, position, workload, et cetera. At this stage, one individual's job becomes a team effort; because of someone's attitude towards technology, another person who also has their own tasks and responsibilities is *doing their job with them.*
+
+In considering what it is to be good at one's job, let's leave outcomes off the table for a minute. If someone has to rely on a team to do their job, no matter the result, can they seriously claim to be good at it? Surely knowledge and experience are moot if someone cannot actually perform their work. What sort of value does this individual provide an organization when they systematically reduce the productivity of their more capable colleagues each day? Further, in what other industry can people get away with this attitude? It's unthinkable that there might be a mechanic who refused to learn to work a hammer, a writer who refuses to sharpen a pencil, or a microbiologist who can't operate a microscope and is just 'too swamped' to learn how to prepare a slide. To me, a white-collar worker not knowing how to use the zoom function in a PDF viewer is equally ridiculous when working with PDFs is something they do on a regular basis.
+
+So when we consider whether we are good at what we do, atop knowledge, experience, and outcomes, let's include a few new criteria:
+
+1. Do we create or reduce work for others?
+2. Do we truly understand the tools that we use every day?
+3. Can we perform basic maintenance and troubleshooting on our tools?
+
+…or do we rely on a wizard?

content/blog/that-time-i-drew-my-ex.md

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+---
+title: That Time I Drew My Ex
+description:  The tale of the time I made my best effort to draw my live-modeling ex. Also some not-very-good art.
+date: 2024-08-20
+tags:
+  - Storytime
+  - Quick Thoughts
+synopsis: The tale of the time I made my best effort to draw my live-modeling ex. Also some not-very-good art.
+imageURL: /img/doodle.webp
+imageAlt: A wiggly vector ice cream cone with a wee smiling face and colorful sprinkles. The cone is holding two smaller ice cream cones in its long, wiggly arms, one of which is wrapped around its body.
+mastodon_id: "112996800811207774"
+---
+At the start of the pandemic, I had just begun a relationship with an artist who had the occasional gig doing a bit of nude live modeling.
+
+[![A wiggly vector ice cream cone with a wee smiling face and colorful sprinkles. The cone is holding two smaller ice cream cones in its long, wiggly arms, one of which is wrapped around its body.](/img/doodle.webp "Not my ex")](/img/doodle.webp)
+
+When he invited me to join a session via zoom, I was apprehensive. Drawing has never been my strong suit. I can *doodle,* but I can't *draw.* But hey, I thought, I'm not completely devoid of artistic skill. I *have* been doing design work for years; while graphic design is not art, it's at least art-adjacent. Hell, when I sit down and take my time, I can produce something that's downright fridge-worthy!
+
+[![A crude oil pastel ocean-scape featuring a sunset. Wee boats bob about on the waves and little birds fly above them.](/img/pastel.webp "I'd put that on my fridge!")](/img/pastel.webp)
+
+Prepared to do my best, I settled down with my laptop, some pencils, and a pad of paper. What I was not prepared for, however, was how quickly the poses would change. There I was, expecting a good chunk of time to carefully render my new boyfriend in loving detail, only to have the pose end before I'd even managed an outline! And so I changed my strategy: I decided to prioritize *speed.* That didn't work either. Here are some of the results:
+
+[![A very speedily drawn cat, with what I think is my ex behind it. It looks like a sack of potatoes.](/img/quicklydrawncat.webp "I'm fairly certain this was supposed to be his cat.")](/img/quicklydrawncat.webp)
+
+[![This drawing, honest to god, looks like a rotisserie chicken with a perm.](/img/chicken.webp "I really don't know what happened  here.")](/img/chicken.webp)
+
+After much scribbling, I did begin to improve, eventually turning out this:
+
+[![A half decent drawing of what is quite clearly a human sitting on the floor.](/img/notbad.webp "I stopped while I was ahead here.")](/img/notbad.webp)
+
+I put the pencil down after that.

content/blog/the-skinny-on-incense-stick-extruders.md

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+---
+title: "The Skinny on Incense Stick Extruders"
+description: "The good, the bad, and the ugly of manual incense stick extruders."
+date: 2025-01-23
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+synopsis: "The good, the bad, and the ugly of manual incense stick extruders."
+imageURL: /img/extruders/extr3_3x_tip_compressed.webp
+imageAlt: "A close shot of an incense extruder tip with three extrusion holes."
+mastodon_id: "113879431946665708"
+author:
+ url: "/me/"
+ name: "Nathan Upchurch"
+ profilePic: "/img/CN20191025_301_Srt_SQUARE_crop.jpg"
+---
+::: info
+Update 2025-06-24: You can buy the final extruder, replacement nozzles, and accessories from outside of China via [SuperBuy](https://www.superbuy.com/en/page/buy/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdetail.1688.com%2Foffer%2F750437159209.html). For a side by side comparison of some of the extruders, see [this picture](/img/extruders/comparison1.webp) and [this picture](/img/extruders/comparison2.webp): the aluminum and stainless extruders are near identical in diameter, but the aluminum model is shorter.
+:::
+
+Given that hobbyist incense making hasn't exactly been all the rage since the tang dynasty, finding good incense-making equipment for small-scale home production can be a bit of a tribulation. If you make Chinese or Japanese style coreless incense, one of the first hurdles on the way to kitting out your very own mini incense workshop is choosing a manual extruder. Now that I finally feel confident that I've overcome this particular hurdle, here's what I've learned:
+
+## Where to Find a Suitable Extruder
+When searching for manual extruders, the first thing you'll likely come across is something like a [Makin's](https://www.makins-usa.com/products.jsp?prod_catg_id=7) clay extruder. This style of extruder often comes with a series of small discs designed to extrude clay noodles of different diameters. These are best avoided; other incense makers have found that extruding incense through these flat discs tends to create noodles with [a coarse texture](https://youtu.be/snvDZbxHnU8?si=ap7oiw0iC_HQJhCy&t=245) that must be rolled smooth after extrusion. Omitting this style of extruder from your search *drastically* narrows your options, but searching "incense extruder" on the website of any major online retailer that dropships or stocks a large number of products from China is likely to net you results featuring extrusion tips better suited to incense making. If you are willing to wait a bit for delivery, however, rather than paying Walmart, Amazon, or Ebay a convenience tax, you will have no trouble finding manual extruders on AliExpress directly for much less of your hard-earned coin. Carl "The Incense Dragon" Neal also sells a [Makin's style extruder](https://www.theincensedragon.com/tools/p/incense-extruder-20) that includes a series of 3D-printed extrusion tips allowing smooth incense extrusion.
+
+## Extruders I've Tried
+
+### The Syringe-Style Extruder
+The internet is riddled with [syringe-style incense extruders](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804771983263.html). Despite [Carl's warning regarding plastic extruders](https://youtu.be/snvDZbxHnU8?si=p59DxZMXcw64BHfi&t=278), I had to give one a go just to see for myself how they performed.
+
+[![A syringe-style clear plastic incense extruder with a metal tip.](/img/extruders/extr1_compressed.webp "Just say no.")](/img/extruders/extr1_compressed.webp)
+
+I cannot recommend this style of extruder. When making incense dough, it's important to use as little water as possible to avoid excessive warping during the drying stage. When attempting to extrude dough of the usual level of hydration through a 2mm tip, I was physically unable to coax any dough whatsoever beyond the extrusion tip, and I am not a weak man. This extruder was a complete bust.
+
+[![A small metal extrusion tip.](/img/extruders/extr1_tip_compressed.webp "I'm sure this would be great if you could get anything through it.")](/img/extruders/extr1_tip_compressed.webp)
+
+There are a range of metal extrusion tips readily available for these extruders, so someone must be using them for *something,* but I found them completely unsuited for my purposes.
+
+### The Aluminum Option
+Also relatively easy to find, [these aluminum extruders](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807354775579.html) are well-made and effective:
+
+[![An aluminum incense extruder, similar to the Makin's clay extruder, but with a longer tip for incense extrusion.](/img/extruders/extr2_compressed.webp "Truly a good, affordable option.")](/img/extruders/extr2_compressed.webp)
+
+So long as you keep the o-ring on the piston lubricated and your dough doesn't have any large chunks, the extrusion tip produces a nice, smooth noodle of incense dough, and the turning action greatly reduces the hand-strength required to operate the device.
+
+[![The tip for the aluminum incense extruder.](/img/extruders/extr2_tip_compressed.webp "Various tips are also available.")](/img/extruders/extr2_tip_compressed.webp)
+
+ There are a couple of small issues, namely that the caps on the turning rod can come unscrewed mid-batch if they aren't firmly screwed on, and the soft metal is prone to damage if you aren't careful. Despite these nitpicks, however, I have no hesitation in recommending this style of extruder to any incense maker focusing on thin coreless sticks.
+
+### My First Stainless Steel Extruder
+As I've been working on scaling up my production to a level that would allow me to sell a few orders of incense here and there, my interest was sparked in [this stainless steel extruder on AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806453629799.html):
+
+[![A heavy-duty looking stainless steel incense extruder, with a black grip around the center tube.](/img/extruders/extr3_compressed.webp "Looks good, doesn't it? Well it isn't.")](/img/extruders/extr3_compressed.webp)
+
+Specifically, I hoped that the optional extrusion tip with three outlets and the vise accessory would allow me to speed up the extrusion process. I also liked the idea of a heavy-duty item that would last for many years. I bought the "high order style," which comes with four extrusion tips, a grip, some o-rings and small cleaning tools, and the extruder itself. I also ordered the three-outlet extrusion tip, and the "sucker holder," AKA a vacuum-base vise.
+
+[![The three-outlet tip.](/img/extruders/extr3_3x_tip_compressed.webp "Not as useful as you might think.")](/img/extruders/extr3_3x_tip_compressed.webp)
+
+To start, the three-hole extrusion tip worked, but as anyone who works with [larger manual extruders](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807859213019.html?utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A) knows, the flow rate from each hole isn't necessarily even. This is less of a problem when you're extruding, say, six to twelve sticks at once at a proper station with a waste bucket and a stack of boards to catch the extruded incense, but when you're hand-cranking three sticks at a time and one is firing out like billy-oh, another is extruding at the usual rate, and the last seems frightened of daylight, you realize that you would have been better off just using a normal single-outlet tip.
+
+[![A single-outlet tip.](/img/extruders/extr3_tip_compressed.webp "The large tips that fit this extruder also retain rather a lot of dough that doesn't get extruded.")](/img/extruders/extr3_tip_compressed.webp)
+
+The vise *was* useful, however; it's much more efficient to be able to keep the extruder in one place and have a free hand to catch the sticks on a board. The problem I faced with it was that in order to get the extruder to fit within the vise, I had to fasten an included aluminum ring around the main body of the extruder using two grub-screws. These grub screws cut into the grip on the tube, which eventually tore from the force applied during extrusion.
+
+[![The vise alongside the aluminum ring that allows it to hold an extruder.](/img/extruders/vise_compressed.webp "Genuinely pretty useful, just not with the grip on the extruder it is sold alongside.")](/img/extruders/vise_compressed.webp)
+
+The extruder itself appeared to be assembled from mostly off-the-shelf parts, and not especially good ones. The rings that held the turning-rod in place rusted immediately after I got them a little wet, the threads were crunchy and coarse, and the interior of the dough-tube was very dirty. Perhaps most strangely of all, the piston, or plunger, that actually pushed the dough down the tube was not attached to the threaded rod at all, unlike the aluminum extruder.
+
+[![A little plunger.](/img/extruders/extr3_plunger_compressed.webp "Note the scoring on top; it didn't come like that.")](/img/extruders/extr3_plunger_compressed.webp)
+
+The plunger is made of mostly brass parts that screw together and a rubber o-ring. It's very thick, reducing room for dough, and the soft brass is rapidly worn away by the stainless steel threaded rod as it spins loosely down the dough tube during extrusion, leaving sparkly grit to get mixed into your next batch of incense. It continued to wear even after I had filed and sanded down the raised parts on the end of the threaded rod.
+
+As a result of all this, the plunger becomes more worn with every use, the dough tube becomes covered in grime, and the extrusion action is crunchy and rough. I was *very* disappointed in this extruder, and I cannot recommend it. The silver lining here is the vise, which will work with any of the metal extruders listed; in my opinion it's a worthwhile purchase.
+
+### My Current Extruder
+[This extruder](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP3H8CCL) was an enigma. I hadn't seen it anywhere before it surfaced several pages deep into an Amazon search.
+
+[![A stainless steel incense extruder that looks much better made than the last one.](/img/extruders/extr4_compressed.webp "Could this be the one?")](/img/extruders/extr4_compressed.webp)
+
+I tried to find a Chinese source through a reverse image search. Tineye, Google, Bing, and Yandex turned up nothing. Only when I began to search the sales copy in the Amazon listing did I find the item for sale elsewhere ~~but I still never managed to find a single instance of this product being sold on AliExpress (if you manage to find one, [do let me know](/me/))~~.[^1]
+
+It *looked* great: stainless steel; a knurled dough tube; various accessories included. The Amazon listing didn't show it, but when I looked at other listings I saw that the piston appeared to be attached to the threaded rod. Jackpot!
+
+When it arrived, I noticed a few things immediately. The knurling was shallow and not especially neat, as though it had been etched twice over and the etchings didn't quite align. The tips shown weren't included; instead of five tapered tips in different sizes, I received three flat 2mm tips. That might be a deal-breaker for some, as I don't even know where you'd begin to find additional tips for this thing, but as I extrude 2mm sticks almost exclusively, I don't mind. I'm also not bothered by the ugly knurling either, because the performance of this extruder is great.
+
+To begin with, the threaded rod isn't some industrial looking piece of hardware like the last stainless extruder; it looks more like a high-quality leadscrew you'd expect to see on a laser cutter or some other piece of CNC equipment where precise, measured movement is critical. This keeps the extrusion action exceptionally smooth. The threads on all of the other caps are also nicely machined, and the small extrusion tips have minimal space to accumulate wasted dough after a batch is extruded.
+
+[![The tip for my current extruder.](/img/extruders/extr4_tip_compressed.webp "Perfect!")](/img/extruders/extr4_tip_compressed.webp)
+
+Fitted into my vise, this extruder is a dream. The smoothness and consistency of the extrusion makes one-handed operation a breeze. I did add some o-rings to the turning rod to reduce noise, and while I do find myself wishing it didn't fit quite so loosely inside the cap on the leadscrew, these really are nitpicks of the best extruder I've used to date.
+
+[^1]: I have since found what appears to be the same item on [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807712368107.html?utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A), [Taobao](https://vn.world.taobao.com/item/858074002289.htm), [Wepost](https://www.wepost.com.my/shops/taobao-items/554179126072.html?sku_properties=1627207:2846750301) (which has a [very dramatic video](https://cloud.video.taobao.com/play/u/719156502/p/2/e/6/t/1/440842077674.mp4) showing the extruder in operation), and [1688.com](https://detail.1688.com/offer/750437159209.html). Accessories also appear to be available through these sources.

content/blog/till-lindemann-has-finally-done-it.md

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+---
+title: "Meine Welt: It May be Time For Till Lindemann to Retire"
+description: "You always hope that your favorite musicians will retire before they do anything too embarrassing."
+date: 2025-03-28
+tags:
+  - Music
+synopsis: "You always hope that your favorite musicians will retire before they do anything too embarrassing."
+imageURL: /img/till.webp
+imageAlt: A black and white photo of Till Lindemann looking sad.
+mastodon_id: "114270477560168817"
+---
+::: info
+Content Warning: Misogyny; Mention of sexual assault.
+:::
+Over his storied career, Till Lindemann has been given a lot of grace. Both he, as a lyricist, and the Neue Deutsche Härte powerhouse he fronts, have made some questionable decisions over the years. Many of these missteps might perhaps be chalked up to the era, such as the unfortunate fat-suits in Rammstein's *Keine Lust* music video. We might also see the red-face in *Amerika* as ignorance rather than malice, given it was donned by a group some 5,000 miles away from the peoples being insulted, and in 2004,  no less. Likewise, as a queer Rammstein fan I always saw *Mann gegen Mann* as a statement on the ridiculousness inherent in the rabid homophobia that was common at the time. The trouble with satire, however, is that you can never be perfectly sure whose side is being satirized, and Lindemann's later work threatens to cast an unflattering light upon lyrics written decades ago.
+
+In 2015, you didn't have to be on the bleeding edge of contemporary thought on matters of social justice to recognize that *Ladyboy* and *Fat* of Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren's *Skills in Pills* was, to put it mildly, problematic. Still, Rammstein has never taken itself too seriously; it didn't seem terribly incongruent or damning that Till would opt to play the clown in an ill-advised politically-incorrect shock-rock album that, let us admit, did contain the odd banger. Till's attempts at a contemporary *Leah Sublime[^1]*  certainly ring hollow compared to much his lyrics for Rammstein—which, while also often juvenile and shocking, explore themes of love, lust, obsession, gender, and the body in interesting and compelling ways—but never have I felt that they betray anything more insidious than a blurry view of the boundaries of poor taste. Further, Rammstein detractors have so long 'spent spouting the tide'[^2] of satanic-panic style criticism and speculation as to the group's messaging and politics, that it was eventually forced to be quite frank on the matter. As Lewis Twilby reported in Edinburgh University's history, classics, and archaeology magazine, *[Retrospect Journal](https://retrospectjournal.com/2019/10/20/deutschland-by-rammstein-a-look-at-cultural-memory-in-germany/)*:
+> in a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone Lindemann said that he is a socialist and that ‘We used to be either punks or goths – We hate Nazis!’. This is highlighted by their song ‘Links 2,3,4,’ which is a direct reference to the labour movement song Einheitsfrontlied.
+
+Famously refusing to provide almost any detail whatsoever on the meaning of Rammstein's lyrics, it's hard to glean much about the mind behind them unless they are quite explicit. For this, Lindemann's *Meine Welt* was all the more shocking. The video, released hours ago, opens with a gagged Lindemann, wearing a cross and being pushed in a wheelchair by an angry mob of women wielding signs featuring slogans such as "Kill Till," "Toxic Masculinity," and "Female Revenge." A melancholy piano solo plays as the camera closes in on the women's scowling faces as they yell and chant. Particular focus is placed on those in the crowd with piercings, or shaven heads. As the beat picks up, the video transitions to AI generated slop: gory and alien-looking childbirth imagery. The first verse begins[^3]:
+
+> Naughty, unabashed<br />
+Unknown and unshaven<br />
+Unteachable, clueless<br />
+Insatiable, unpunished<br />
+Immovable, so unspeakable<br />
+Shameless and unbearable<br />
+Useless, uncovered<br />
+Unaesthetic, unlicked
+
+The chorus follows:
+> Somehow, someday<br />
+We'll start over from scratch<br />
+Somehow and somewhere<br />
+Life laughing, senses happy<br />
+I'll show you my world<br />
+A place for lost souls<br />
+When a person falls from heaven<br />
+They won't count the stars
+
+Knowing the history of Till's work with Rammstein, you *might* argue that this is a *Mann gegen Mann*-esque parody of the embarrassing "men's rights" crowd who seriously argue that women attempting to protect themselves from sexual assault and lift impunity from the men who commit it is a mysandrist witch-hunt, if it were not for the  mewling chorus and, oh yes, the fact that Till [was himself accused of sexual misconduct a couple of years ago](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66646096). Due to a lack of evidence, the investigation was dropped, and while this says nothing about whether or not Till committed the acts he was accused of, when these sorts of accusations occur, we have a unique opportunity to learn something about the individual to whom they are directed. Of course a range of emotions might be expected under the circumstances, but I think it's fair to say that releasing a music video two years later portraying oneself as a Christ-like figure while characterizing women as an angry, "unaesthetic," "unshaven," "unteachable," and "unlicked," mob is neither a decent nor reasonable response—even if allegations were false, or indeed, malicious.
+
+This is a deeply embarrassing moment for Till Lindemann, or at least it ought to be. If we were to stretch the benefit of the doubt to encircle the earth, it would be difficult to believe that this release is parody, and it would remain in egregious taste in any case. In addition, the martyr act from these famous figures accused of god-knows-what is consistently pathetic—are we to feel sorry for these multimillionaires who suffer no legal consequences and fail to miss a single wayward drop of revenue following the release of the shocking allegations leveled toward them? While we don't tend to expect better from public figures, when they are known to espouse leftist beliefs, we certainly hope for it, and it's a tremendous disappointment every time. As lyricist for Rammstein, Till's behavior also threatens to cast aspersions on the band's entire body of work, potentially eroding the good faith that gave the writing an air of irony, exploration, and at times a sense of literary value as it straddled the line bordering outright vulgarity. A poetic exploration of sexual violence can sometimes be useful and cathartic for those affected—Rammstein fans have been known to write in to the band to say as much—but the work takes on a different tone entirely when its author is accused of sexual misconduct and uses the experience as an excuse to express outright misogyny *via music video* while playing the martyr.
+
+The release also says something about where Till is (or rather, isn't) artistically. Rammstein songs have historically been replete with references to classic literature, German culture, and wordplay, their videos visually arresting and multifaceted in their storytelling—barring the odd *Pussy* affair, but the lyrics, message, and egregious quantities of AI slop in *Meine Welt* indicate to me that either Till is losing touch with both the zeitgeist and his eye for quality simultaneously, or that perhaps someone else had been reigning him in all along. In either case, the man is sprinting towards self-parody, and the teenager in me desperately wishes he had retired first.
+
+[^1]: If you don't get this reference, count yourself lucky and don't investigate further.
+[^2]: Forgive me.
+[^3]: Lyrics via [genius.com](https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-till-lindemann-meine-welt-english-translation-lyrics).

content/blog/vegan-and-alternative-diets-in-foodservice.md

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ title: ADGs - Alternative Diet Guests and Foodservice
 description: Breaking down the alternative-diet restaurant experience to offer some perspective and advice to foodservice professionals and proprietors.
 date: 2023-10-03
 tags:
+  - Essays
   - Vegan Cooking
   - Restaurants
 synopsis: Breaking down the alternative-diet restaurant experience to offer some perspective and advice to foodservice professionals and proprietors.

content/blog/visiting-chicago-incense-maker-dave-of-the-world-makes-scents.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+title: "Visiting Chicago Incense Maker Dave of The World Makes Scents"
+description: "I had the pleasure of meeting Dave at The World Makes Scents studio in Bridgeport, Chicago."
+date: 2024-08-04
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Chicago
+synopsis: "I had the pleasure of meeting Dave at The World Makes Scents studio in Bridgeport, Chicago."
+imageURL: /img/pexels-harris-rigorad-478484242-25261413.webp
+imageAlt: The Chicago flag.
+mastodon_id: "112906515155787958"
+---
+Whether due to trauma inflicted by gas-station sticks laden with synthetic patchouli oil or the stigma unfairly landed upon the fragrant sticks by association with generations of teenagers seeking to obscure the olfactory remnants of their smoky intemperance, in the part of the world that I currently occupy, incense remains a niche interest — not only with respect to those who enjoy it; fewer yet ever attempt the art of incense-making. Western incense makers seem to huddle together into whatever dusty corner of the internet they can occupy, often knowing each other by handle and legal name alike, where together they scratch and scrape into one small pile whatever little crumbs of knowledge regarding this ancient craft are to be had in languages written with Latin-script alphabets. You can imagine, then, how thrilled I was to be invited by Dave of [The World Makes Scents](https://theworldmakesscents.com/) to see the studio that he shares with his wife, Raksmey.
+
+The workshop is situated in an arts complex: part gallery, and part studio and event space. The walls are lined with pieces from the artists who let space there; as your footsteps echo across the lacquered wooden floors, you can't help but allow your attention to be arrested every few steps by some piece or another. In particular, I recall several striking pieces not far from The World Makes Scents' small studio featuring large nude figures at the fore of a shallow depth of field, a lenticular effect making the images appear to shift and change as you walk by them.
+
+When we reached the studio a stick from a recent test batch was burning; coated with coarsely ground orange zest, it emitted an impressively clear and sweet note of orange oil. Dave told me the story of how Raksmey learned to make incense from women at a Buddhist temple near her home in Cambodia, how the two met, traveled through Vietnam together, rescued their pet dog from perilous circumstances, and disembarked from a plane in the U.S. right as the pandemic was entering the American collective consciousness. It's not my story to tell, so I'll leave it there, but the tale of how the pair came to be making such lovely incense in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood is nothing short of miraculous, and likely the most compelling pandemic hobby success story I've heard.
+
+Since first sampling their incense through [the incense exchange subreddit,](https://www.reddit.com/r/IncenseExchange/) I had been impressed with how clean the fragrances were from their cones. I had chalked this up to the cones' golf-tee shape, which keeps the ember from becoming too large, and consequently, the burn temperature from becoming too high; seeing how the materials were processed, however, showed me how much more there was to the story. As if sourcing high quality fragrant materials wasn't enough of a challenge, processing them when they arrive is fraught.
+
+Incense materials should, ideally, be reduced down to a particle size of 100 microns or less. The fastest methods of grinding introduce heat, which breaks down fragrant oils, and renders resins sticky and impossible to work with. Most small incense makers throughout history have thus resorted to processes such as stone grinding or the even more agonizingly slow filing of fragrant woods. Quietly humming in the background was Dave's solution to this conundrum: an array of ball mills, like giant rock-tumblers designed to carefully mill heat-sensitive materials such as black powder for firearms and pyrotechnics; the machines each consist of a rubber-lined drum atop a pair of motorized rollers that turns the drum continuously. The material to be ground is loaded into the machine alongside a series of stainless-steel balls that collide with material inside the spinning drum to break down everything from dried rose petals to cedar wood into a stunningly fine powder. The process takes hours, sometimes days, but at least it's hands-off. Following this, the ground plant matter is run through a series of increasingly fine sieves stacked atop a machine that shakes them so violently that it will soon be bolted to the floor of the studio. Suitably fine material will be used to produce incense; the rest will undergo the process once more.
+
+The results of this procedure are striking; among the samples I left with was a bag of ground patchouli leaf, the texture of talcum powder, so redolent with its natural oils and aromatics that it almost smelled of fresh mint and myrrh resin. Once ground, ingredients are blended together with a small amount of binder; water is then added to form a dough. If destined to become cones, the dough is loaded into a sort of caulking-gun, which is used to extrude a long sausage which will be cut at regular intervals and shaped by hand into those signature golf-tee cones. To make sticks, the dough is packed into a large hand-cranked extrusion machine, capable of extruding some eight to ten noodles of incense at a time which are collected onto a wooden board before being straightened and transferred to a screen for drying. When the cones or sticks have dried completely, they are packaged by hand, labeled, and sent out to incense appreciators world-over.
+
+Of course, the recipes that result in various fragrant doughs to extrude don't spring from nowhere; research and development is an area for which Dave clearly has a great interest and affinity. A whirlwind in the workshop, he produced innumerable ingredients, from wormwood to various frankincense varieties, sprinkling them atop a burning coal to give an impression of the fragrance of each as it burns. The small space housed many drawers and shelves of powders, tinctures, and oils, experiments both successful and otherwise. Vanilla was present in every form and variety as a part of the development process for an upcoming product, from simple extracts to pastes and a high end powdered variety that smelled rich, complex, and tobacco-like. Boxes of incense samples were produced from makers across the globe, from independent makers to large incense houses; all styles were represented, from Tibetan rope incense to bakhoor.
+
+Very much in-line with the brand's emphasis on transparency, Dave's openness regarding processes and ingredients was impressive in an industry where players keep secrets close to their chests. Further, scaling up incense making into a viable business is no mean feat when you're not willing to compromise on quality. Even the famed Singapore incense maker [Kyara Zen wrote](https://www.kyarazen.com/incense-stick-making-a-walk-through/) of this difficulty:
+
+> The truth is, I’ve not been able to scale up production as everything’s still very much purely hand made, from converting the raw material into powder, to the ingredient blending, to the extrusion, drying, collection etc.
+
+Outside of large incense houses that use industrial hammer mills to break down whole aromatics, it's a painstaking endeavor to produce even small amounts of incense for personal enjoyment, let alone managing to increase output and reduce labor time such that it's viable to sell the incense you make. There is a reason quick and easy to make "hand dipped" incense is seen so often in stores despite its clear inferiority to its traditionally made, non-synthetic counterpart. What Dave and Raksmey have achieved in such a short time is nothing short of remarkable.
+
+I'm very grateful to Dave for the invitation, for showing me the studio, offering a fascinating insight into The World Makes Scents' incense production methods, and for all of the incredible samples and goodies I left with. It's a wonderful thing to be able to meet with another incense maker and share knowledge and enthusiasm over the topic, and hopefully we'll be able to meet again soon; I'll no doubt have some samples to share myself when that time arrives!

content/blog/washing-frankincense.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: "Washing Frankincense"
+description: Reducing off-notes and improving resin fragrance in combustible incense by dissolving gum content.
+date: 2024-12-09
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+synopsis: Reducing off-notes and improving resin fragrance in combustible incense by dissolving gum content.
+imageURL: /img/frankincense_washed_ground_dried_ground.webp
+imageAlt: A sieve containing frankincense powder.
+mastodon_id: "113626197934900329"
+---
+Plant resins come with varying amounts of water-soluble gum content. Beyond the temperature-reducing aspect innate to resins in combustible incense, these gums can further affect how much of a given resin you can include in a build. As anyone who has burned resins on charcoal can attest, with resins high in gum content, the burning gum can introduce off-notes. Gums also serve as binders in incense sticks; while a little is helpful for producing a performant dough that extrudes well and a more rigid, break-resistant incense stick, too much can prevent combustible incense from remaining lit.
+
+Naturally, I've been curious for some time as to how dissolving and discarding resin gums might impact the performance of a resin in combustible incense. Given all of the considerations I mentioned earlier, using resin in combustible incense is trickier than you might at first imagine, yet incense artisans like Yi-Xin manage to produce [very clean sticks](https://craft-incense.com/products/white-magic) using resins with a high gum content. Could dissolving the gum be the answer? When a fellow member of an incense chat group mentioned this type of processing, she unknowingly gave me the final push I needed to give it a go.
+
+## The "washing" process
+1. Grind your resin as finely as you are able.
+2. Stir the ground resin into a large quantity of water in a container.
+3. Let the resin and water sit overnight in the fridge.
+4. When the solids have all settled beneath the water, pour the water off the top, while being careful not to lose the solids.
+5. Spread the resin solids onto a sheet of wax paper and let dry.
+
+## How it went
+In my first attempt I utilized a paper coffee filter to separate the remaining resin from the gum-containing water; it took an eternity and resulted in a sticky mess on my kitchen floor, so I don't recommend it. That disaster is the reason why I moved to the method above wherein the water used to dissolve the gum content is poured off of the solids. This is based on a technique I used back in [my days as a cocktail bartender](https://makertube.net/w/boNV8AQcufwtaZVg9vUh1Q) to make ginger syrup[^1]. I do plan to attempt filtration again later with a lab vacuum filtration kit. After washing and drying the remaining material, I was left with a pleasantly crumbly mass adhered to the wax paper, which I gathered up into a container.
+
+[![A closeup of a pile of crumbly looking chunks of frankincense in a small plastic deli container.](/img/frankincense_washed_dried.webp "Very satisfying to crumble between your fingers.")](/img/frankincense_washed_dried.webp)
+
+Once dried, re-grinding the resin was incredibly quick and easy. I passed the ground material through a 140 mesh sieve and was met with a very fine, fragrant, and free-flowing white powder:
+
+<figure><div style="position: relative; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe title="Washed Hojari Frankincense" width="100%" height="100%" src="https://makertube.net/videos/embed/e387a29a-dc61-4e3a-80a5-ccb1c1b3fda0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-forms" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px;"></iframe></div><figcaption>Hojari frankincense resin after being ground, washed, dried, ground once more, and sieved through a 140 mesh screen. The tiny spoon is for making Chinese incense seals.</figcaption></figure>
+
+I tested the processed frankincense against an unprocessed powder in a trail-burning test at 30% resin to 70% sandalwood. While I was hardly scientific about it, my impression was that the processed frankincense was significantly improved in fragrance quantity and quality when burning compared to the unprocessed powder.
+
+Needless to say, I'm pretty happy with the result. I'm very keen to give this a go with some of the myrrhs I've collected, and I am excited to have a greater degree of control as to just how much gum is used in a build. Following this experiment, I processed all of the Hojari frankincense I had in preparation for a bright frankincense-forward build that I'll share soon.
+
+
+[^1]: First we peeled fresh ginger with a spoon to preclude any bitterness that might be introduced by the papery skin, then we would juice the ginger, let the starches settle in the fridge overnight and pour the clarified juice off of the top the following day, after which we'd combine the juice 1:1 by volume with water; et voilà, we have ginger syrup.

content/blog/what-do-we-expect-from-fragrance.md

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+---
+title: "What Do We Expect from Fragrance? Natural Incense in an Unnatural World"
+description: How our expectations influence the way we experience fragrance and where natural incense fits in.
+date: 2024-12-18
+tags:
+  - Essays
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+synopsis: How our expectations influence the way we experience fragrance and where natural incense fits in.
+imageURL: /img/incense_seal.webp
+imageAlt: A burning incense seal in a flat brass censer.
+mastodon_id: "113677779325283607"
+---
+Smoke was the first breath of early civilization, its rising plumes a synonym for human presence. This byproduct of life-sustaining flame has been constant companion to our evolution as a species, changing not only human lives, but [human bodies](https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/where-theres-smoke-and-mutation-there-may-be-evolutionary-edge-humans). As the ubiquity of smoke rendered transparent to our ancestors' noses the once harsh notes of burning plant matter, there must have been a sense of magic when our forebears happened to toss a well-resinated tree branch or a fragrant herb upon the coals. It is little wonder, then, that the word "perfume" [stems from the Latin "perfumare,"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/perfume) translating to "through smoke."
+
+## A rose by any other… chemical composition?
+In these ancient times, the mention of a rose might have brought two fragrances to mind: that of a freshly blossomed rose in the bush, and that of the petals on the coals of a fire or burned in a censer. Later, enthusiasts of nerikoh or other forms of non-combustible incense would also become familiar with the fruity, acidic notes of gently heated rose petals. The situation is much changed today; for most people, the idea of the fragrance of rose is in no way related to incense-making traditions. Beautiful but aromatically impotent roses stuffed into plastic grocery store bins year-round aren't much help either. Today, synthesized ingredients like rose oxide, citronellol, or geraniol inform the average person's perception of how a rose smells; for those with expensive tastes, this perception may also be derived from a "natural" concentrate such as rose essential oil, wherein vast quantities of flowers are shoveled into a device and divested of volatile aromatic compounds via an industrial steam distillation process, which can result in [tiny yields, such as, for example: one part oil for every 3,000 parts roses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_oil#adulteration).[^1]
+
+In the incense making world, the siren song of these convenient ingredients is ever-present, with some even claiming that it's outright impossible to express the delicate fragrance of flower blossoms in combustible incense without them. While it is true that some fragrances cannot be expressed at all in this way, I do not believe that rose is among them, especially if we are willing to adjust our expectations and consider *what it means* to smell a rose. While there are many who would assert that the true fragrance of a material is to be found in its concentrated derivatives, given that a perfume might contain the strength of hundreds of roses while containing only a fraction of the many compounds that comprise the fragrance of a living rose, can it really be said that it effectively emulates what it is to smell a rose?
+
+## Too much of a… thing
+There have been many articles written on the field of "scent marketing," or "[sensory branding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_branding#Smell)," in which marketers manipulate the emotions of their customers through fragrance, with aim to bolster sales or steer brand perception through a medium that speaks to humankind on a most intimate and primal level. From perfumed love letters, to the occasional baker realizing that keeping something in the oven at all times certainly doesn't *hurt* sales, this is not a new phenomenon. What is new, however, is the ease with which shallow replicas of even the worlds scarcest aromatics can be whipped up with alacrity by a worker in a lab coat, and fragrance imbued into any material, any space, and any setting with little more than a few pumps of a spray bottle. This influences not only the way we think of aromatic ingredients and how their scents become known to us, but how we perceive fragrance itself: where once the acrid notes of burning wood were rendered transparent, now it is bright floral terpenes evocative of sunny spring mornings and bumblebees that fade into the periphery of our qualia; the fragrance of fresh citrus peel comes to evoke fluorescent lights and shiny tiled floors, that of vanilla becomes, well, *vanilla.*
+
+Fragrance chemistry, the ability to synthesize compounds that speak directly to human emotion, must be among the most powerful of the cheat codes made available to us through the [Game Genie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Genie#NES) of industrialization. While at first glance it seems too good to be true, you soon realize that the excitement of receiving a [P-Wing](https://www.mariowiki.com/P-Wing) is lost when you can simply spam the A-button to fly past a level; it's just not special any more—further, it loses its utility. Today there is no escape from fragrance. Your average American leaves the house with minty teeth, hair styled with wax scented with a synthetic approximation of eucalyptus and lime peel, wearing clothing washed with a "fresh laundry" fragranced detergent and dried with a lemon fabric softener; after bathing with sandalwood soap, they apply "sea salt and cedar" deodorant and a cologne featuring dozens of compounds, including a handful intending to approximate agarwood and bergamot (what the cologne adds here I struggle to imagine). In this veritable cacophony, most people fail to notice much of anything at all unless it's utterly redolent, and those who do are often those with sensory issues for whom fragrance is, more often than not, a special form of torture, inescapable so long as they wish to occupy a public space.
+
+## Expecting redolence
+In the noisily fragrant environment in which most of us live, it is interesting to consider those notes that do cause us to take notice: the humming of a cherry lip balm; the undulating tenor of a fresh bar of hand-soap; the [death metal pig-squealing](https://youtu.be/hCFBrQWYe3o?si=TWc0qzSkxNp_aOaw&t=50) of a Glade PlugIn®. In each case, our attention is arrested—violently seized and detained as hundreds of volatile organic compounds fight for access to our olfactory receptors like so many tired workers scrambling for a square foot of floor-space on the train during rush hour, only this time they compete in teams. Like music, fragrance has been demoted from something precious and closely associated with those things that we considered to be sacred—reduced to a dollar-store simulacrum stuffed into a mascot costume and made to flip a sign beside countless products that would otherwise fail to vacate store shelves on the merit of their performance alone. Certainly, some would point to the cheap ubiquity of fragrance as a sign that access has improved; after all, did the average medieval tradesman have a passing familiarity with the fragrance of sandalwood? I would rebut: do we?
+
+In such a world, the fragrance of natural incense, incense free of unnaturally synthesized or concentrated aromatics, can be to our environment as the tune of a songbird is to the roar of passing traffic. In our homes, we can largely retreat from the soundtrack of daily life and create quiet, as far as noise is concerned. Creating quiet from fragrance, however, requires a greater degree of effort. Irrespective of our environment, much of the difficulty newcomers face in "listening to" natural incense stems from their expectations, warped by the ceaseless atonal chorus of fragrance around them. Chiefly, the hurdle that must be overcome is the idea of fragrance as a background element—a sort of olfactory elevator music; incense is, and deserves to be seen as, an activity in and of itself. When we adopt this mindset and listen with intention, it is remarkable what we are able to parse in even quite unsuited environments. Incense doesn't have to compete with the pumpkin-spice wax-melts of the world; these things serve different purposes.
+
+## Fortissimo
+Adding to their similarities, fragrance and music share a common loss: that of dynamics. The modulation of volume was historically an important piece of the emotional pull that music can have on its listeners; modern production largely omits this technique, barring a grand pause or two, in favor of a [loudness war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war). As in classical music, classical fragrance employs this tool, creating one of the great points of pleasure of the incense format. Natural incense moves and changes, undulating in fragrance and strength, floating on the minute air currents of the room. Here, subtlety is as much an asset as is strength. I'm always disappointed to light a stick only to find that it spews a steady stream of oil-based fragrance into my living space, whether or not synthetics are involved. To be clear, I'm not inherently against the use of concentrates in incense, or even synthetics, which are often chemically identical to compounds found in natural materials. That said; for those seeking a sharp, cologne-like fragrance with unnatural clarity and strength, I believe incense is a poor choice.
+
+While natural incense can indeed have plenty of fragrance, as an incense maker, I leave reaching for that 'beaten with a pillowcase of cinnamon sticks' projection to makers of scented candles and exfoliating bath soaps. If I intended to add to the cacophony, I'd reach for simpler means: a reed diffuser perhaps. Instead, what I aim to do is create an opportunity for respite, to create something beautiful that asks for attention rather than steals it. This approach respects the material realities of the ingredients that comprise incense, as well as the format itself. When one takes this approach, it's not long before one reaches the realization that rose petals carefully expressed in the smoke of a burning stick of incense do indeed smell of rose. So too do petals warming on a heater. So does rose oil, as well as burying your face in a fragrant blossom.
+
+[^1]: To put this in more comprehensible terms, taking this ratio as gospel: if a quantity of rose petals equivalent to the weight of the average man living in the U.S.A. were to be distilled, the resulting essential oil would amount to *30 grams* of extremely concentrated oil.

content/blog/what-ive-been-going-with-incense-lately.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+title: "What I’ve Been Doing with Incense Lately"
+description: "New sticks, faster build development, percolating, and something coming soon?"
+date: 2025-07-12
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Making
+synopsis: "New sticks, faster build development, percolating, and something coming soon?"
+imageURL: /img/what_ive_been_doing_with_incense_lately/dropper.webp
+imageAlt: "A brass incense powder dropper with a bamboo lid and a tapered nozzle beside a brass hammer, a spoon, and a tray filled with white ash and several burned trails. All of this is on top of my messy work table."
+mastodon_id: "114848206538212433"
+---
+It's been a while since I've written about incense making; to be honest, things have slowed down a little. It's been pretty hot in Chicago lately—I find that my sense of smell is dulled as the temperature and humidity rises. Unfortunately my apartment is very poorly insulated, so I've been burning, testing, and experimenting less as a result. The heat hasn't put me off entirely though; here's what I've been up to.
+
+## Speeding up the creative process
+I've picked up a device[^1] designed to help you make Chinese incense seals, whereby a design, or seal, of incense powder is burned atop a layer of ash. The kit I ordered came with a bag of ash, a ceramic tray, a brass dropper, and a small brass hammer with a detachable plastic tip.
+
+[![A brass incense powder dropper with a bamboo lid and a tapered nozzle beside a brass hammer, a spoon, and a tray filled with white ash and several burned trails. All of this is on top of my messy work table.](/img/what_ive_been_doing_with_incense_lately/dropper.webp "You whack the thing with that wee hammer to make incense powder come out.")](/img/what_ive_been_doing_with_incense_lately/dropper.webp)
+
+I didn't buy this for casual incense burning, but to speed up the process of creating an incense build, or blend. Rather than painstakingly making an impression in a bed of ash and filling it with incense powder using a tiny spoon, I have taken to using the dropper to quickly lay a trail of incense powder down for rapid iteration.
+
+## Beau Soir
+With six one-gram iterations using this technique, I managed to develop a new build for a stick I'm calling "Beau Soir," after the [utterly beautiful melody](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCcFxBP2o0&list=RDxKCcFxBP2o0). The fragrance is designed to evoke a walk through a garden on a cool evening: moist soil; cool air; greenery; gentle floral notes. In addition to being the first build I've developed with my swish new dropper (an excellent experience), I am using some new and exciting ingredients: namely musk root, plus a type of rhubarb. This is also another effort on my part to incorporate *actual flowers* into incense. This is a difficult task without introducing a bundle of off-notes, and as a result, it's something not many Japanese-style incense makers do. I have Dave of [The World Makes Scents](https://theworldmakesscents.com/) to thank for this. He put in the work of figuring out a particular species of rose that actually works well in incense, then processing it into an extremely high quality powder using a ball mill so that none of the fragrance is lost to heat. This powder doesn't confer a rose-oil or rose-water-like strength, but it does add a subtle, hard to describe (almost fluffy? marshmallowy?) floral note that adds something special to a build. I'm fairly pleased with Beau Soir, with a couple of positive reviews in already. But at this point, I'm just about burned out on smelling the stuff, so I'm going to send out some samples soon to gather some more opinions before I do anything more with it.
+
+## Percolating
+It is a fact, though, that some ingredients simply do not play nicely in the burn, at least less some obscure Chinese processing techniques that I am not privy to. For instance, I recently ordered a bag of chamomile to try; a trail of ten percent chamomile to ninety percent sandalwood was already acrid, with only a subtle chamomile note. What is a humble incense maker to do? Well, I've had some success with tinctures; soaking six grams of Juniperus virginiana in a fluid ounce of lavender tincture and letting the liquid evaporate results in a *very* fragrant wood powder with a clear lavender note even a year later. Tinctures are expensive to buy though, and they take forever to make, so I've decided to give percolation a try. Instead of macerating a material for months like a traditional tincture, you can make a percolated extract in around 24 hours. They are meant to be much stronger too.
+
+[![A close-up shot of the bottom part of my new dropping funnel suspended on a lab stand. It is full of sediment with a visible layer of liquid. The device tapers down to a thin tube, the drip speed controlled by a plastic stopcock.](/img/what_ive_been_doing_with_incense_lately/percolator.webp "It's like making a coffee. Very slowly.")](/img/what_ive_been_doing_with_incense_lately/percolator.webp)
+
+The procedure begins by hydrating your material in whatever menstruum you've chosen (190 proof Everclear for me), adding just enough so that the texture becomes like wet sand, and letting it absorb for an hour. Then you load it into a device called a "dropping funnel," which is functionally an upside down bottle with the bottom cut off. After gently packing the material evenly, you carefully pour in the rest of your menstruum and let it reach the bottom of the funnel before sealing off the stopcock and letting the mixture macerate for 24 hours. When this step is complete, you allow the liquid to drain into a container, only opening the stopcock enough for a single drop to fall every one to three seconds.
+
+My first clumsy attempt with 200g menstruum and 100g chamomile netted me ~100ml of potent chamomile extract, which I was pretty pleased about, so I've got some rose root in the drop funnel as we speak—another ingredient that doesn't smell especially nice when you set it on fire.
+
+## Drop soon?
+Some time ago, I had an offer to sell some of my incense in a friend's webstore, a very kind offer that I'd like to take advantage of, but I just haven't been set up for it. Well, I've been working on that. I've now got a {{ "DBA" | abbr("Doing Business As: an officially registered name for a person or a business other than their full legal name or business name.") | safe }}[^2], and I'm working on the branding to match. I know this all sounds very official, but my intention is only to do a drop every now and then rather than making a real enterprise out of incense making[^3], something that is simply out of reach at the moment. While I intend to keep things small, I still want to set things up to the best of my ability. That said, don't get too excited; it'll likely be a while yet!
+
+[^1]: I managed to dig up the link to buy the thing too: [here's where to go if you want one](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806931365339.html). It looks like you have to purchase the hammer and tray separately. Kin Objects [also sells one](https://kinobjects.com/products/incense-powder-dropper-kit?variant=41578587193367).
+[^2]: And no, I'm not saying what it is yet!
+[^3]: Honestly, I don't know whether I'd want to; I want to be sure that something I do for joy and artistic expression doesn't become a source of stress.

content/blog/yi-xin-pikake-jasmine-review.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "Incense Review: Pikake Jasmine from Yi-Xin Craft Incense"
+description: "Florals are a notoriously difficult incense category. Today I'm taking a look at Yi-Xin Craft Incense's Pikake Jasmine sticks."
+date: 2025-04-08
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: "Florals are a notoriously difficult incense category. Today I'm taking a look at Yi-Xin Craft Incense's Pikake Jasmine sticks."
+mastodon_id: "114303689771167166"
+---
+In June of 2024, I purchased Pikake Jasmine of Yi-Xin Craft Incense's floral *Faces in Bloom* collection. I was immediately impressed with it, but I was suspicious about how the Jasmine fragrance was achieved, and so wanted to see if the fragrance diminished over time before penning a review. I am happy to report that, close to a year later, Yi-Xin's Pikake Jasmine remains as impressive as ever.
+
+The packaging describes these sticks as follows: "Our custom processed 'Stanford' Cedar material blended with sustainable sandalwoods and Pikake jasmine flowers." True to its name, there is a pronounced jasmine note on the unlit stick. Interestingly, actual jasmine flowers (at least the varieties that I am familiar with) are very finicky and do not work well in combustible incense.[^1] When jasmine buds are processed in India, they have to be picked at precisely the right time, and the essential oil must be distilled within hours before the buds lose their fragrance entirely. All of this in addition to the fact that fragrance of jasmine is prominent on the unlit stick[^2] makes me wonder whether an absolute or essential oil was used, or some other process such as [resin enfleurage](https://mermadearts.com/i/enfleurage-an-esoteric-and-ancient-art) (brought to my attention by Sara of [Incense Apprentice](https://incenseapprentice.substack.com/)). Of course, it might be that Pikake Jasmine is simply a varietal that works well when combusted. Who knows? Ken is infamously secretive with his processes, so we may never find out.
+
+In the burn, the stick opens up with a beautiful sandalwood note: creamy, and slightly sweet. The cedar is quiet but present, accentuating the jasmine with light turpenous notes. This incense is less jasmine-forward than you might be led to believe from smelling the unlit stick, where the flower is prominent. When lit, the fragrance is more of a well-rounded composition, where each element is enhanced by the others. The gentle sweetness of sandalwood forms a fine base for the sharper cedar and jasmine notes, all coming together in a composition that is warm, woody, and markedly floral, while neither 'cooking' the jasmine nor beating you over the head with it. It's very pleasant.
+
+Typical of Ken's work, this stick is also very clean, with no notable binder notes, smokiness, or acrid off-notes, even when you are sitting very close to the lit stick. Incense makers of any ilk will know how difficult this can be to achieve. I also appreciate the balance here; the fragrance doesn't even approach that sharp, cloying place that less expertly prepared floral incense tends to go. Building up in the room, the impression is predominantly that of a slightly cooler, floral sandalwood. While some sticks tend to undulate between notes, staving off olfactory fatigue, these are quite consistent and so greatly benefit from decent air circulation in the room; in fact, I rather prefer to have them burning in a room that I'm going in and out of frequently during what is quite a short but very enjoyable burn time.
+
+Overall, Yi-Xin's Pikake Jasmine is an excellent entry into the notoriously difficult floral category of incense. As is often the case with Ken's work, this incense could serve as a reference for incense makers exploring what floral incense can be, and for those who simply enjoy burning incense, it's about as good of a floral expression as you can get in combustible incense, built on top of high-quality aromatic woods. Simple, approachable, and well-executed, I'd be happy to recommend this incense to anyone. My only regret is that I've run out.
+
+ [^1]: The last trail-burn test I performed with jasmine flowers smelled more like Marmite than jasmine!
+ [^2]: Many non-extract incense ingredients such as actual powdered woods, flowers, and resins don't have much fragrance until the stick is lit. It's not uncommon for natural, whole-plant based incense to have close to no fragrance at all before lighting, especially after it has aged.

content/blogroll/blogroll.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+permalink: /blogroll/nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml
+---
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<opml version="2.0">
+	<head>
+		<title>nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml</title>
+		<ownerName>Nathan Upchurch</ownerName>
+	</head>
+	<body>{% for category in blogroll.categories %}
+		<outline text="{{ category.name }}">{% for blog in category.blogs %}
+			<outline
+				text="{{ blog.title }}"
+				description="{{ blog.description }}"
+				htmlUrl="{{ blog.url }}"
+				title="{{ blog.title }}"
+				type="rss"
+				version="RSS2"
+				xmlUrl="{{ blog.feedUrl }}"/>{% endfor %}
+		</outline>{% endfor %}
+	</body>
+</opml>

content/blogroll/index.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | Blogroll
+structuredData: none
+---
+<h1>Blogroll</h1>
+<p class="nodropcap">Here are some blogs and independent news outlets I like to read. You can click the RSS icon next to each to subscribe using <a href="../about-feeds/">your newsreader</a>, or import all of them at once by downloading and importing this convenient <a href="./nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml" download>.opml file</a>.</p>
+<p class="page-block">
+<em>Skip to category:
+{% for category in blogroll.categories %}
+<a href="#{{ category.name | slugify }}">{{ category.name }}</a>{% if loop.last %}.{% else %},{% endif %}
+{% endfor %}
+</em></p>
+
+{% for category in blogroll.categories %}
+<section class="blogroll">
+	<h2 id="{{ category.name | slugify }}">{{ category.name }}:<a class="header-anchor" href="#{{ category.name | slugify }}">#</a></h2>
+		{% for blog in category.blogs %}
+		<div class="blogroll-category-group">
+			<a href="{{ blog.url }}"><h3>{{ blog.title }}</h3></a>
+
+			<a href="{{ blog.feedUrl }}">
+				<svg class="tag-feed-icon small" viewBox="0 0 155 155" width="153.349" height="152.909" version="1.0" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
+					<title>RSS feed for {{ blog.url }}</title>
+					<g transform="translate(-427.323 -373.814)">
+						<ellipse style="opacity: 1; fill-opacity: 1; fill-rule: nonzero" transform="matrix(.86996 0 0 .86996 135.156 330.529)" cx="360.357" cy="200.643" rx="24.643" ry="23.929"></ellipse>
+						<path style="fill-opacity: 1; fill-rule: evenodd" d="m427.835 455.057-.073-30.273c64.706 3.375 100.619 49.673 101.5 101.94h-30.318c-.503-45.942-31.74-69.996-71.11-71.667z"></path>
+						<path style="fill-opacity: 1; fill-rule: evenodd" d="m428.201 404.571-.878-30.757C526.75 378.43 580 450.582 580.67 526.724l-31.197-.44c1.365-48.704-34.665-120.267-121.273-121.713Z"></path>
+					</g>
+				</svg>
+			</a>
+			<p>{{ blog.description | safe }}</p>
+		</div>
+		{% endfor %}
+	</section>
+{% endfor %}

content/changelog.md

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | Changelog
+structuredData: none
+---
+# Changelog
+* 2025-08-14
+	* Implemented a [guestbook](/guestbook/).
+* 2025-07-29
+	* Added [The 74](https://www.the74million.org/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-07-14
+	* Added [Assigned](https://www.assignedmedia.org), [Prism](https://prismreports.org), [Rest of World](https://restofworld.org), and [The Appeal](https://theappeal.org/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+	* Updated the [blogroll](/blogroll), adding a "skip to category" section, and adding direct links to all section headers.
+	* Removed "id" attribute from categories in [blogroll](/blogroll) [OPML](/blogroll/nathanUpchurchBlogroll.opml).
+	* Updated [/wish](/wish).
+* 2025-07-13
+	* Renamed the [blog](/blog), updated [/about](/about), and added [Bardo Burner](https://bardoburner.com/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-07-10
+	* Added [Toxel](https://www.toxel.com/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-07-02
+	* Added [A Tea Addict's Journal](https://marshaln.com), [Bear Blog Discover](https://bearblog.dev/discover/), [Essence of Tea Blog](https://essenceoftea.com/blogs/blog), [Tea DB](https://teadb.org/), and [white2tea](https://white2tea.com/blogs/blog) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-06-26
+	* Added [Justine the Incenseur](https://justinetheincenseur.substack.com) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-06-24
+	* Implemented info boxes.
+* 2025-06-09
+	* Added [Freethought Blogs](https://freethoughtblogs.com/) and [Cwyn's Death by Tea](https://deathbytea.blogspot.com/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-06-06
+	* Implement [/now-burning](/now-burning/) and [/once-burned](/once-burned/).
+* 2025-04-19
+	* Improve post list image sizing on mobile.
+* 2025-04-08
+	* Updated the [index page](/) with a new "navigator" feature, and removed the post lists for a cleaner look.
+	* On the individual [tag](/tags/) pages: got rid of the big RSS logo, tweaked the text a little, added a "subscribe" button, and moved the buttons above the post list.
+	* Updated the [colophon](/about/colophon/).
+* 2025-04-03
+	* Added [Graphic Rage with Aubrey Hirsch](https://aubreyhirsch.substack.com/) and [Usermag](https://www.usermag.co/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-03-28
+	* Updated header on [/tags/](/tags/).
+* 2025-03-27
+	* Added [Adam Silver](https://adamsilver.io/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-03-20
+	* Added a bunch of design blogs to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-03-12
+	* Removed [Kevin Drum's blog](https://jabberwocking.com/) from the [blogroll](/blogroll) in light of [his passing](https://jabberwocking.com/health-update-100/) on the seventh of March, 2025. Rest in peace, Kevin.
+* 2025-03-11
+	* Updated [/wish](/wish).
+* 2025-02-21
+	* Updated [/wish](/wish) again as my mum bought me some incense sticks for my birthday.
+* 2025-02-20
+	* Updated [/wish](/wish).
+* 2025-02-17
+	* Added [Incense Apprentice](https://incenseapprentice.substack.com) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-02-11
+	* Add [Signal](https://signal.me/#eu/j-om4cfsGXtfKo0UX28EQfEL_Gd1KpJr8nQpI9Smhdsb-r98eT5F6obQ1BcYZCcW) to [/me](/me).
+	* Remove [Loops](https://loops.video/) from [/me](/me).
+* 2025-02-06
+	* Add [Friendica profile](https://friendica.world/profile/nathan) to [/me](/me).
+	* Deprecate cowsay of the day.
+* 2025-02-04
+	* Re-implement support for Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata because [I'm an idiot](https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/33812#issuecomment-2635441141) and didn't realize that you can't use the `<meta>` tag for images and there appears to be no officially supported way to do this except for appropriating the mechanism reserved for app icons and favicons.
+* 2025-02-02
+	* Implement [quiz features](/quizzes/) and add [first quiz](/quizzes/how-much-of-a-linux-nerd-are-you/).
+* 2025-02-01
+	* Remove support for Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata because A. bloat, and B. screw Musk and Zuck.
+	* Add "image" meta tag for all pages, using either the image specified for the page / post, or my smiling face as a default.
+	* Fix issue with metadata output on gallery image pages.
+	* Stopped bundling CSS and injecting it into pages as I was sick of 1,000 lines of CSS on *every single page* (My build times are now a third of what they were).
+* 2025-01-31
+	* Update the copyright notice in the footer.
+* 2025-1-29
+	* Add [The Contrarian](https://contrarian.substack.com/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2025-1-24
+	* Add buttons / update [/now/](/now/).
+* 2025-1-23 - Simplify, simplify, simplify
+	* Styling updates to text, figures, and post lists
+	* Removed Mastodon comment embedding in favor of a simple button.
+	* Removed "Read Next / Read Previous" cards beneath articles.
+	* Prettier date formatting throughout.
+* 2025-1-13
+	* Added [Popular Information](https://popular.info/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2024-12-16
+	* Update PeerTube instance on [/me](/me).
+* 2024-12-15
+	* Added a link to site stats on the [privacy](/about/privacy) page.
+	* Added [Uncloseted Media](https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2024-12-14
+	* Implemented [/wish](/ai) a la [taylor.town/wish-manifesto](https://taylor.town/wish-manifesto).
+	* Added [Dom Corriveau](https://blog.ctms.me/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+* 2024-12-11
+	* Removed [Inverse](https://www.inverse.com/) from the [blogroll](/blogroll) due to excessive and annoying Amazon affiliate link articles.
+	* Added [Aftermath](https://aftermath.site/) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
+	* Implemented [/changelog](/changelog) 🎉.
+	* Implemented [/ai](/ai) a la [slashai.page](https://slashai.page/).
+

content/error/403.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/403.njk
+permalink: error/403.html
+title: Nathan Upchurch | 403
+structuredData: none
+eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true
+---

content/error/404.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/404.njk
+permalink: error/404.html
+title: Nathan Upchurch | 404
+structuredData: none
+eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true
+---

content/error/error.11tydata.js

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+export default {
+	layout: "layouts/post.njk",
+};

content/feed/feed.11tydata.js

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-module.exports = {
+export default {
 	eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true
 }

content/feeds.njk

@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ pagination:
     - post
     - posts
     - tagList
+    - gallery
+    - galleryImages
+    - nowBurning
   addAllPagesToCollections: true
 eleventyComputed:
   title: “{{ tag }}”
@@ -27,6 +30,7 @@ permalink: "/feeds/{{ tag | slugify }}.xml"
 		<email>{{ metadata.author.email }}</email>
 	</author>
 	{%- for post in postslist | reverse %}
+	{% if post.url %}
 	{% set absolutePostUrl %}{{ post.url | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}{% endset %}
 	{% if post.data.imageURL %}{% set imageURL %}{{ post.data.imageURL | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}{% endset %}{% endif %}
 	{% set defaultImageURL %}{{ metadata.defaultPostImageURL | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}{% endset %}
@@ -43,5 +47,6 @@ permalink: "/feeds/{{ tag | slugify }}.xml"
 		</image>
 		<content type="html">{{ post.templateContent | transformWithHtmlBase(absolutePostUrl, post.url) }}</content>
 	</entry>
+	{% endif %}
 	{%- endfor %}
 </feed>

content/galleries.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+pagination:
+  data: galleries
+  size: 1
+  alias: gallery
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+tags: gallery
+structuredData: none
+eleventyComputed:
+  title: "{{ gallery.title }}"
+  permalink: "/gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}/"
+  description: "{{ gallery.description }}"
+---
+<h1>{{ gallery.title }}</h1>
+<p class="page-block nodropcap">{{ gallery.description }}</p>
+<section class="gallery-images">
+	{% for picture in gallery.pictures %}
+	<a href="/gallery/{{ gallery.title | slugify }}/{{ picture.filename | slugify }}/">
+		<wc-card class="gallery-image-container">
+			<img alt="{{ gallery.thumbAltText }}" class="gallery-image" src="{{ gallery.url }}{{ picture.filename }}">
+		</wc-card>
+	</a>
+	{% endfor %}
+</section>

content/galleries/index.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+---
+<h1>My image galleries.</h1>
+<p class="page-block nodropcap">
+Photography trips, memes, and other pictures I thought would be worth sharing.
+</p>
+{% include "gallerieslist.njk" %}

content/galleryImage.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+---
+pagination:
+  data: collections.galleryImages
+  size: 1
+  alias: picture
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+structuredData: none
+eleventyComputed:
+  imageURL: "{{ picture.baseUrl }}/{{ picture.filename }}"
+  title: "Image: {{ picture.title }}"
+  permalink: "/gallery/{{ picture.containingGallery | slugify }}/{{ picture.filename | slugify }}/"
+  description: "{{ picture.title }} from gallery: {{ picture.containingGallery}}"
+---
+<article>
+	<h1>{{ picture.title }}</h1>
+	<div class="buttonContainer galleryButtons">
+		{% if picture.previousImage %}
+		<a href="../{{ picture.previousImage | slugify }}">
+			<button type="button">Previous</button>
+		</a>
+		{% endif %}
+		<a href="/gallery/{{ picture.containingGallery | slugify }}/">
+			<button type="button">Gallery</button>
+		</a>
+		{% if picture.nextImage %}
+		<a href="../{{ picture.nextImage | slugify }}">
+			<button type="button">Next</button>
+		</a>
+		{% endif %}
+	</div>
+	<figure>
+		<a href="{{ picture.baseUrl }}/{{ picture.filename }}">
+			<img src="{{ picture.baseUrl }}/{{ picture.filename }}" alt="{{ picture.altText }}">
+		</a>
+		{% if picture.caption %}
+		<figcaption>
+			{{ picture.caption }}
+		</figcaption>
+		{% endif %}
+	</figure>
+</article>

content/guestbook.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: Nathan Upchurch | Guestbook
+structuredData: none
+---
+<h1>Sign My Guestbook</h1>
+<!-- Guestbook Script -->
+<script async src="https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/resources/js/embed_script/835/script.js"></script>
+
+<!-- Guestbook Form -->
+<div id="guestbooks___guestbook-form-container">
+  <form id="guestbooks___guestbook-form"
+        action="https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/guestbook/835/submit"
+        method="post">
+
+		<label for="name">Your name:</label>
+    <div class="guestbooks___input-container">
+      <input type="text"
+             id="name"
+             name="name"
+             required>
+    </div>
+
+    <label for="website">Your website (optional):</label>
+    <div class="guestbooks___input-container">
+      <input type="url"
+             id="website"
+             name="website">
+    </div>
+
+    <div id="guestbooks___challenge-answer-container"></div>
+
+    <label for="text">Your message:</label>
+    <div class="guestbooks___input-container">
+      <textarea id="text"
+                name="text"
+                rows="4"
+                style="width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; resize: vertical;"
+                required></textarea>
+    </div>
+
+    <button type="submit">Sign Guestbook</button>
+    <div id="guestbooks___error-message"></div>
+  </form>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Attribution (optional but appreciated!) -->
+<div id="guestbooks___guestbook-made-with" style="text-align: right; margin-top: 10px;">
+  <small>Powered by <a href="https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe" target="_blank">Guestbooks</a></small>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Messages Section -->
+<hr/>
+<h2 id="guestbooks___guestbook-messages-header">Messages</h2>
+<div id="guestbooks___guestbook-messages-container"></div>

content/index.njk

@@ -3,19 +3,5 @@ layout: layouts/home.njk
 eleventyNavigation:
   key: Home
   order: 1
-numberOfLatestPostsToShow: 5
 ---
-{% set postsCount = collections.posts | length %}
-{% set latestPostsCount = postsCount | min(numberOfLatestPostsToShow) %}
-{% set postslist = collections.posts | head(-1 * numberOfLatestPostsToShow) %}
-{% set postslistCounter = postsCount %}
-{% include "postslist.njk" %}
-
-{% set morePosts = postsCount - numberOfLatestPostsToShow %}
-{% if morePosts > 0 %}
-<a class="link-button" href="/blog/">
-	<button type="button">
-		See {{ morePosts }} more post{% if morePosts != 1 %}s{% endif %} in the blog
-	</button>
-</a>
-{% endif %}
+{% include "navigator.njk" %}

content/me.md

@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: Nathan Upchurch
 layout: layouts/links.njk
+eleventyNavigation:
+  key: Contact
+  order: 3
 ---

content/now-burning.njk

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+layout: layouts/base.njk
+title: "Nathan Upchurch | Now Burning: What incense I'm burning at the moment."
+structuredData: none
+postlistHeaderText: "What I've been burning:"
+---
+{% set burning = collections.nowBurning | last %}
+
+<h1>Now Burning:</h1>
+<article class="post microblog-post">
+	<img class="microblog-icon" src="/img/censer.svg">
+	<div class="microblog-status">
+		<h2 class="">{{ burning.data.title }}{% if burning.data.manufacturer %}, {{ burning.data.manufacturer }}{% endif %}, {{ burning.date | niceDate }}, {{ burning.data.time }}</h2>
+		{% if burning.content %}
+		<div class="microblog-comment">
+			{{ burning.content | safe }}
+		</div>
+		{% endif %}
+	</div>
+</article>
+<a href="/once-burned/">
+	<button type="button">Previous Entries »</button>
+</a>

content/now-burning/Now Burning_1.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: "Moss Garden (Nokiba)"
+manufacturer: "Shoyeido"
+date: 2025-06-06 19:12:00
+time: 7:12 PM
+---
+Love this stick. Absolute classic.

content/now-burning/Now Burning_A chunk of Palo Santo that I lit on fire__2025-06-08 22:40:00_10:40 PM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: A chunk of Palo Santo that I lit on fire
+manufacturer:
+date: 2025-06-08 22:40:00
+time: 10:40 PM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Agarwood, Hmarkhawlien_Rising Phoenix_2025-06-19 17:08:00_5:08 PM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Agarwood, Hmarkhawlien
+manufacturer: Rising Phoenix
+date: 2025-06-19 17:08:00
+time: 5:08 PM
+---
+Thanks Bonnie!

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Assam_Yi-Xin Craft Incense_2025-07-17 14:22:00_2:22 PM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Assam
+manufacturer: Yi-Xin Craft Incense
+date: 2025-07-17 14:22:00
+time: 2:22 PM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Awaji Island Koh-shi Coffee_Kunjudo_2025-06-08_5:00 PM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: "Awaji Island Koh-shi Coffee"
+manufacturer: Kunjudo
+date: 2025-06-08 17:00:00
+time: 5:00 PM
+---
+As Sol pointed out, it smells like burnt kettle corn, but I've got a lot of it to get through.

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Beau Soir_Myself_2025-06-08_10:00 AM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Beau Soir
+manufacturer: Myself
+date: 2025-06-08
+time: 10:00 AM
+---
+A blend I've been working on containing some interesting ingredients like Musk Root and Turkey Rhubarb.

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Beau Soir_Myself_2025-06-10 16:58:00_4:48 PM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Beau Soir
+manufacturer: Myself
+date: 2025-06-10 16:58:00
+time: 4:48 PM
+---
+Still trying to understand the character of this one. I'm fairly certain I like it though.

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Cherry Blossoms (Kyozakura)_Shoyeido_2025-06-15 11:16:00_11:16 AM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Cherry Blossoms (Kyozakura)
+manufacturer: Shoyeido
+date: 2025-06-15 11:16:00
+time: 11:16 AM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Christmas Tree_The World Makes Scents_2025-06-28 11:50:00_11:50 AM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Christmas Tree
+manufacturer: The World Makes Scents
+date: 2025-06-28 11:50:00
+time: 11:50 AM
+---
+Love this stuff.

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Christmas Tree_The World Makes Scents_2025-08-07 11:06:00_11:06 AM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Christmas Tree
+manufacturer: The World Makes Scents
+date: 2025-08-07 11:06:00
+time: 11:06 AM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Compassion_Espirit de la Nature_2025-07-17 11:21:00_11:21 AM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Compassion
+manufacturer: Espirit de la Nature
+date: 2025-07-17 11:21:00
+time: 11:21 AM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_Everyday Aloes_Yi-Xin Craft Incense_2025-06-12 17:05:00_5:05 PM.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Everyday Aloes
+manufacturer: Yi-Xin Craft Incense
+date: 2025-06-12 17:05:00
+time: 5:05 PM
+---
+