Update webmention link

Content
Octothorpes fix
2026-08-06 14:32:49 -05:00 · 2026-08-06 14:32:31 -05:00 · 2026-08-05 14:42:19 -05:00 · 2026-08-05 14:19:13 -05:00 · 2026-08-05 13:26:51 -05:00 · 2026-08-05 13:26:41 -05:00
50 changed files with 808 additions and 287 deletions
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 TODO:
 ---------------------
+Add latest status and now burning to index page.
 Move hard-coded copy to metadata.
 Fix permanent snowing when user doesn't have JS enabled.
 Implement bold text style

+
 Quiz Ideas:
 ---------------------
 * How moral are you
@@ -417,6 +417,13 @@ export default {
 					description:
 						"Very informative blog from world-renowned incense maker KyaraZen.",
 				},
+				{
+					title: "Now Smell This",
+					feedUrl: "https://nstperfume.com/feed/",
+					url: "https://nstperfume.com/",
+					description:
+						"Now Smell This is a blog about perfume. We've been blogging since 2005. Up until about 2019, the blog was regularly updated and we posted lots of perfume reviews. Now, we do still have daily polls and new fragrance announcements, but it's less comprehensive than it was, and reviews are rare. Many pages (Perfume Houses, Perfumers, etc) are way out of date.",
+				},
 				{
 					title: "Olfactory Rescue Service",
 					feedUrl: "https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/feed",
@@ -587,6 +594,20 @@ export default {
 					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: "Brennan's Weblog",
+					feedUrl: "https://brennan.day/feed.xml",
+					url: "https://brennan.day/",
+					description:
+						"I write about tech criticism, Indigenous issues, the craft of writing, and whatever I can't stop thinking about.",
+				},
+				{
+					title: "Coyote's Blog",
+					feedUrl: "https://osteophage.dreamwidth.org/data/rss",
+					url: "https://osteophage.dreamwidth.org/",
+					description:
+						"Hi, I'm Coyote. I occasionally blog here about websites and works of fiction.",
+				},
 				{
 					title: "Dom Corriveau",
 					feedUrl: "https://blog.ctms.me/posts/index.xml",
@@ -231,6 +231,13 @@ export default {
 			linkDisplay: "Friendica",
 			iconSVG: `<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="192" height="192" viewBox="0 0 1920 1920"><path d="M40 371q0-136 98-234 98-97 234-97h1178q136 0 233 97 97 98 97 234v1178q0 136-97 234-97 97-233 97H372q-137 0-234-97-97-98-98-234Zm1510-258h-296v442H666v373l587-4 1 441H666v442h884q107 0 182-75 75-74 74-183V371q0-108-74-182-74-75-182-76" style="fill-opacity:1"/></svg>`,
 		},
+		{
+			customAttribute: `rel="me"`,
+			title: "GoToSocial",
+			linkURL: "https://blether.nathanupchurch.com/@nathan",
+			linkDisplay: "GoToSocial",
+			iconSVG: `<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1000 1000"><g style="display:inline"><path d="M472.748 108.12c-22.02-.877-48.676 16.158-63.555 52.312-81.247-60.337-162.44-.57-85.242 49.742-118.096 26.852-211.455 176.912-211.455 312.8 0 15.562 1.126 30.887 3.307 45.917-58.473 71.103-60.707 129.266-12.295 153.261-19.297 50.525 12.794 131.992 80.424 60.774 18.834 29.746 52.032 42.499 84.183 21.035 66.189 45.112 148.798 71.894 238.39 71.894 104.499 0 189.009-35.318 240.975-71.976 5.052 3.54 35.548 23.43 77.655-32.037 13.848 49.443 99.877 54.678 85.906-74.196 29.822-27.662 38.344-87.713-10.525-129.119-.346-115.222-13.058-168.26-44.202-220.691 52.89-41.429 27.198-94.878-22.546-97.176-41.032-1.895-76.222-18.134-105.323-33.383-53.253-27.905-112.725-67.554-219.521-65.828-.929-27.837-16.747-42.557-36.176-43.33M360.613 331.532c64.243.046 111.772 31.392 148.31 32.397 48.719-1.34 116.976-56.619 218.337-19.727 58.838 21.415 89.863 70.874 102.713 125.127-37.839-27.252-68.709-44.067-131.23-47.392a189 189 0 0 0-18.237-.11c-87.373 3.806-118.217 70.724-118.77 100.34-.638 34.185 13.607 53.966 39.35 68.187 29.743 16.432 91.907 19.157 109.254 18.903 43.392-.636 70.184-8.004 121.601-19.12-28.06 142-163.208 229.28-323.017 229.28s-294.956-87.28-323.018-229.28c51.424 11.117 78.217 18.488 121.612 19.124 17.347.254 79.51-2.47 109.253-18.903 25.743-14.221 39.988-34.004 39.35-68.19-.553-29.615-31.399-96.531-118.771-100.337-5.825-.254-11.9-.228-18.235.11-62.53 3.326-93.4 20.146-131.244 47.404v-.002c12.847-54.258 43.874-103.724 102.717-125.14 25.34-9.224 48.611-12.686 70.025-12.67m-4.558 146.477c34.272-1.626 62.078 29.191 61.97 53.314-.107 24.123-23.306 29.14-31.832 8.053-5.458-13.501-16.555-20.275-31.41-19.57-12.267.581-23.669 10.845-26.3 19.275-6.061 19.414-32.593 16.028-33.159-3.816-.8-28.095 26.459-55.631 60.73-57.256m305.888 0c34.266 1.76 61.418 29.403 60.506 57.494-.644 19.842-27.19 23.125-33.174 3.687-2.598-8.44-13.96-18.75-26.224-19.38-14.852-.764-25.977 5.965-31.489 19.445-8.608 21.054-31.786 15.945-31.798-8.178-.013-24.123 27.914-54.829 62.18-53.068m-153.02 92.246c-7.19 0-14.415.141-21.5 1.375-2.133.371-4.265.846-6.259 1.691s-3.856 2.083-5.197 3.783c-1.946 2.467-2.655 5.784-2.242 8.899s1.879 6.029 3.853 8.473c3.6 4.455 8.833 7.39 14.332 8.994s11.285 1.963 17.014 1.963 11.514-.359 17.014-1.963c5.499-1.605 10.731-4.539 14.332-8.994 1.974-2.444 3.44-5.358 3.853-8.473s-.296-6.432-2.242-8.899c-1.342-1.7-3.205-2.937-5.2-3.783-1.993-.845-4.124-1.32-6.257-1.691-7.084-1.234-14.31-1.375-21.5-1.375m0 56.853c-2.505 3.416-5.686 6.426-9.345 8.84-5.977 3.944-13.217 6.267-20.592 6.746s-14.864-.87-21.545-3.742c-1.661-.714-3.292-1.525-5.072-1.943-2.564-.602-5.382-.322-7.703.834-2.32 1.156-4.106 3.19-4.748 5.52-.693 2.51-.055 5.222 1.326 7.488 1.38 2.265 3.455 4.127 5.701 5.726 9.316 6.632 21.787 8.973 33.565 7.82 10.23-1 20.147-4.513 28.414-10.064 8.267 5.551 18.184 9.063 28.414 10.064 11.778 1.153 24.249-1.188 33.564-7.82 2.246-1.599 4.32-3.46 5.702-5.726 1.38-2.266 2.018-4.978 1.326-7.489-.643-2.328-2.43-4.363-4.75-5.52-2.321-1.155-5.138-1.435-7.701-.833-1.78.418-3.411 1.229-5.073 1.943-6.68 2.872-14.172 4.222-21.547 3.742s-14.613-2.802-20.59-6.746c-3.659-2.414-6.84-5.424-9.345-8.84" style="display:inline;stroke-width:1.43394"/></g></svg>`,
+		},
 		{
 			customAttribute: `rel="me"`,
 			title: "Keyoxide Identity Profile",
@@ -348,6 +355,12 @@ export default {
 			previousURL: "http://geekring.net/site/350/previous",
 			nextURL: "http://geekring.net/site/350/next",
 		},
+		{
+			name: "No AI Webring",
+			ringURL: "https://baccyflap.com/noai",
+			previousURL: "https://baccyflap.com/noai/?prv&s=nat",
+			nextURL: "https://baccyflap.com/noai/?nxt&s=nat",
+		},
 	],
 	wooModeOnByDefault: false,
 };
@@ -15,6 +15,6 @@

 <!-- Mochi -->
 <script
-	src="https://mochi.meadow.cafe/reaper/mochi@upchur.ch/embed/1.js"
+	src="https://mochi.meadow.cafe/reaper/EPTWIJ2Pbh_9aXGf493P9r2aWN5cfcje8CMVemnU9n4/embed.js"
 	async
 ></script>
@@ -19,6 +19,13 @@
 		{% if tags and tags.includes('tagList') %}
 		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/tags.css" />
 		{% endif %}
+		{% if (tags and tags.includes('posts') and not octothorpeExclude) or (enableOctothorpe) %}
+		<!-- Octothorpes: https://docs.octothorp.es/quickstart -->
+		<link rel="preload" as="fetch" href="https://octothorp.es/?uri={{ page.url | htmlBaseUrl(metadata.url) }}">
+		{%- for tag in tags | filterTagList %}
+		<link rel="octo:octothorpes" href="{{ tag | slugify }}" >
+		{%- endfor %}
+		{% endif %}
 		{% if tags and (tags.includes('posts') or tags.includes('now')) %}
 		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/audio-player.css" />
 		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/code.css" />
@@ -45,7 +52,7 @@
 		{% endif %}
 		<script src="/js/main.js"></script>
 		<!-- Mochi webmentions -->
-		<link rel="webmention" href="https://mochi-webmentions.meadow.cafe/webmention/mochi@upchur.ch/1/receive" />
+		<link rel="webmention" href="https://mochi-webmentions.meadow.cafe/webmention/EPTWIJ2Pbh_9aXGf493P9r2aWN5cfcje8CMVemnU9n4/receive" />
 		<!-- Indieweb profile links -->
 		{% if not excludeProfilesFromHead %}{% for link in metadata.socialLinks %}{% if not link.excludeFromHead %}<link {% if link.customAttribute %} {{ link.customAttribute | safe }} {% endif %} href="{{ link.linkURL }}" />{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endif %}
 		<!-- /Indieweb profile links -->
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ layout: layouts/base.njk
 					<a href="{{ tagUrl }}">#{{ tag }}&nbsp;</a>
 				{%- endfor %}
 			</p>
-			<h1>{{ title | markdownify | safe}}</h1>
+			<h1>{% if draft %}<mark class="draftMarker">DRAFT:</mark> {% endif %}{{ title | markdownify | safe}}</h1>
 			{% if synopsis %}
 				<p class="post-synopsis">
 					{{ synopsis | markdownify | safe}}
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@
 				class="home-link">
 				<svg class="logo" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 8.467 8.467"><path d="M23.248 20.452v6.444c0 1.12.902 2.023 2.023 2.023h4.421c1.12 0 2.023-.902 2.023-2.023v-4.421c0-1.12-.902-2.023-2.023-2.023h-6.444m1.516 1.924q.102.007.255.013a8 8 0 0 0 .848-.013l2.39 3.18V23.32q0-.313-.039-.478a.36.36 0 0 0-.165-.243q-.128-.076-.402-.095v-.128a18 18 0 0 0 .676.02 8 8 0 0 0 .567-.02v.128a.65.65 0 0 0-.312.095.36.36 0 0 0-.147.23 2.3 2.3 0 0 0-.032.44v3.638a1.712 1.712 0 0 0-.268 0l-2.734-3.715v2.753q0 .306.039.478.037.165.166.242.134.07.401.096v.127a3 3 0 0 0-.312-.013 11 11 0 0 0-.676 0q-.153 0-.255.013v-.127a.7.7 0 0 0 .312-.096.34.34 0 0 0 .141-.23q.038-.159.038-.44v-2.943q0-.236-.038-.344a.21.21 0 0 0-.14-.153.9.9 0 0 0-.313-.051zm5.092 3.671a.5.5 0 0 1 .357.128q.14.127.14.337t-.14.338a.5.5 0 0 1-.357.127.52.52 0 0 1-.363-.127.45.45 0 0 1-.134-.338q0-.21.134-.337a.52.52 0 0 1 .363-.128" style="fill-opacity:1;" transform="translate(-23.248 -20.452)"/></svg>
 				</a>
-			{% if tags and tags.includes('posts') and not tags.includes('quiz') and not hideBlogTitleFromHeader%}
-				<a class="blog-name" href="/blog">
-					{{ metadata.blogName }}
-				</a>
-			{% endif %}
 			<ul class="nav">
 			{%- for entry in collections.all | eleventyNavigation %}
 				<li class="nav-item" {% if entry.url == page.url %} aria-current="page" data-currentpage="true"{% endif %}><a href="{{ entry.url }}">{{ entry.title }}</a></li>
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 				<a href="{{ post.url }}" class="postlist-link">
 			{% endif %}
 					<h3>
-						{% if post.data.title %}{{ post.data.title | markdownify | safe }}{% else %}?{% endif %}
+						{% if post.data.draft %}<mark class="draftMarker">DRAFT:</mark> {% endif %}{% if post.data.title %}{{ post.data.title | markdownify | safe }}{% else %}?{% endif %}
 					</h3>
 				{% if not postListTypeMicroblog %}
 				</a>
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ structuredData: none

 <article data-pagefind-body>

-<h1>AI</h1>
+<h1>AI: Stop the Slop</h1>

 Certified generative AI hater here. This website and all content herein is 100% guaranteed AI slop free: code, prose images, music, et cetera.

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+title: 'Bhagwan Incense: Resins'
+description: >-
+  Taking a look at Dragon's Blood, Frankincense & Rose, King of Loban, Royal
+  Frankincense, Royal Myrrh, and Sacred Frankincense by Bhagwan Incense.
+date: 2026-07-31T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: >-
+  Taking a look at Dragon's Blood, Frankincense & Rose, King of Loban, Royal
+  Frankincense, Royal Myrrh, and Sacred Frankincense by Bhagwan Incense.
+imageURL: /img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/lighting-a-stick-of-bhagwan-absolute-oudh.webp
+imageAlt: ''
+mastodon_id: ''
+draft: true
+---
+## Dragon's Blood
+
+The unlit stick has a citrus / white-musk laundry detergent fragrance. In the burn, the stick is much sweeter, with warm, woody, and vanillic notes sitting beneath bergamot peel, white musk, and raspberry. Unlike some other dragon's blood sticks, I don't get much in the way of baking spice except for an anise-seed note. As the fragrance builds in the room, I do begin to get a sense of the metallic note mentioned in the incense description. Like the actual resin, this stick is complex and rather difficult to describe. Although the fragrance doesn't strike me as wholly similar to its namesake, I expect that it will be similarly divisive.
+
+## Frankincense & Rose
+
+A very true to life frankincense fragrance plus a well balanced hit of rose. The combination is juicy and fruity in the way that rose petals are when heated. There is a green-apple acidity that, with everything else, reminds me of sparkling wine or cider. The fragrance is otherwise relatively straightforward, beside a very subtle floral note that I only notice from up close. Also from up close, I keep thinking that there is something of a sandalwood oil note.
+
+## King of Loban
+
+Although the Bhagwan website states on the product page that this stick is "hand-rolled in a state of happiness and gratitude to the divine by women in rural India," these appear to be (as did sandalwood origins, although I didn't mention it) machine-extruded sticks. Whether or not sticks are hand-rolled—in happiness and gratitude to the divine or otherwise—is something I can not bring myself to care about. I do, however, care whether the information provided by a vendor is accurate and I really wish that Bhagwan would put more focus on this area.
+
+King of Loban is, typically for Bhagwan, soundly in composition territory. Alongside notes of baking spice, vanilla, and turbinado sugar, there is that hard to describe floral-woody complexity that makes Indian incense so unique. But while the stick has character and complexity, the benzoin note remains clear and recognizable. King of Loban is not a one-note reference stick for the material, but if you haven't smelled benzoin before you could absolutely learn to recognize it by burning this incense. The benzoin note isn't quite as vanillic as the benzoin Siam in my collection, so this is perhaps not the stick for you if you're looking for an absolute vanilla bomb. (I wonder whether this is due to the form of benzoin used—absolute, resin, or resinoid—the varietal, or just natural variation. I also have benzoin Sumatra in my collection, but I haven't worked with it nearly enough to be able to identify it from Siam in a burning stick of incense.)
+
+Benzoin is a tricky ingredient. When used in very low quantities, it's sweet, vanillic, and can contain notes of baking spice. When over-dosed, it smells something like burning plastic. (In my sticks, I rarely use more than 5% of the stuff, and I've gone up to 30% with other resins.) In my experience, benzoin-forward sticks often smell like the aforementioned combusting polymer, or they smell cloyingly sweet and artificially spicy, like a craft store near the holidays. Bhagwan's King of Loban steers clear of both avenues, resulting in a well-balanced benzoin stick. It's sweet, rich, powdery, a little spicy, and just complex enough to elevate it beyond a one-note stick while maintaining real benzoin character.
+
+## Royal Frankincense
+
+Smells like real sacra resin on the stick. In the burn, the frankincense comes through beautifully. The resin note feels complete in a way oil-based frankincense fragrances rarely do. Despite the description noting that no other aromatics were added, to me there is something of a buttery sandalwood oil note and a measure of that tart-floral complexity that you often find in Indian incense. It reminds me of Fred Soll's Frankincense and Sandalwood, only not quite as strong, and with the added interest and complexity that comes from Indian perfumery. A very, very nice stick.
+
+## Royal Myrrh
+
+Turpenous licorice, black pepper, and acetone on the stick. Burn is dry-woody, spicy cologne. Masculine. Spruce resin. Perfumey kua vibes, but not especially true to life.
+
+## Sacred Frankincense
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+---
+title: "A First Look at Bhagwan Incense"
+description: "Taking a look at Bhagwan Incense and the brand's Absolute Oudh, Oudh, Oudh Majestic, Royal Oudh, Royal Mysore Sandalwood, and Sandalwood Origins sticks."
+date: 2026-07-18
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: "Taking a look at Bhagwan Incense and the brand's Absolute Oudh, Oudh, Oudh Majestic, Royal Oudh, Royal Mysore Sandalwood, and Sandalwood Origins sticks."
+imageURL: /img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/lighting-a-stick-of-bhagwan-absolute-oudh.webp
+imageAlt: "A close up of a stick of incense being lit with a flame on a wick. The end of the stick appears wet with oil from the heat."
+mastodon_id: "116942744227037345"
+---
+When Eugene of [Bhagwan Incense](https://bhagwan-incense.com/) first reached out offering samples I was hesitant to accept them; my experiences with Indian style incense at that point had been less than stellar. After Irene of rauchfahne.de sent me some very nice Indian sticks, however, my mind was  opened, and I found myself keen to see what Bhagwan has to offer.
+
+Being an exporter rather than a manufacturer, Bhagwan's product range is fairly broad, spanning from classic sandalwood sticks to modern fragrances like guava. Today I'll start with my thoughts on some of those classic incense fragrances: agarwood and sandalwood.
+
+## Agarwood
+
+### Absolute Oudh
+
+Absolute Oudh is sweet, spicy, woody, and "masculine." Baking spice notes
+almost remind me of a Japanese sweet agarwood stick, but the sweetness is
+really ramped up here and there's no camphor lift. There is a vanillic aspect
+to this stick, which, coupled with the sweetness, evokes benzoin. There is also
+something of a Play-Doh note, a touch of anise in the room, and an accord
+reminiscent of cola. Amidst all of the sweetness and spice, there is an
+agarwood je ne sais quoi - that earthy, sticky fragrance that is close to
+impossible to describe unless you've smelled it. Buried in this fragrance is
+something rather true to life. While Absolute Oudh is certainly not in the same
+category as a single-origin agarwood-plus-binder stick, it is a pleasant,
+well-composed stick with a recognizable agarwood character.
+
+### Oudh
+
+The unlit stick is very sweet, woody, creamy, and spicy. For some reason this
+is a very nostalgic fragrance for me. Despite how luscious and creamy the unlit
+stick smelled, the character of the fragrance in the burn is lighter, with
+notes of smoke, roasting coffee, light spice, vanilla, coumarin, dried fruit,
+and blonde tobacco. It's one of the more genteel oud fragrances from Bhagwan
+that I've sampled. Up close, there is a whisper of a dry, sour, woody note that
+reminds me of low grade agarwood, but without the acrid note that comes with
+real wood. If I hadn't read "Oudh" on the packaging, however, I probably
+wouldn't have guessed that this was intended to be an agarwood stick. That
+said, I like this fragrance a lot more than most of the low-grade
+agarwood-forward senkō in my collection.
+
+[![A looped series of images showing a stick of incense bursting into flame before settling down with a smoking ember.](/img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/bhagwan-incense-absolute-oud-lighting-loop.webp " Lighting a stick of Absolute Oudh. Thanks to [this person](https://krita-artists.org/t/making-looping-animated-webp-files/9647) for the animated webp tutorial.")](/img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/bhagwan-incense-absolute-oud-lighting-loop.webp)
+
+### Oudh Majestic
+
+The fragrance of the unlit stick is interesting. It strikes me as
+gourmand—sweet and vanillic, with baking spice, banana custard, and white musk
+notes. When lit, the fragrance is light and sweet, with notes of turbinado
+sugar, vanilla, a floral aspect, and a grassy, cinnamon-coumarin warmth. I like
+this fragrance a lot, but I'm really not even being reminded of agarwood. This stick was also reviewed on [rauchfahne.de](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2024/10/05/bhagwan-oudh-majestic-en/) and [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2023/11/10/bhagwan-incense-balsamic-amber-frank-rose-garden-of-eden-oudh-majestic-woody-champa-notes-on-other-fragrances/).
+
+### Royal Oudh
+
+The unlit stick smells sweet, tart, and earthy, with notes of dried plum, white
+musk, and spikenard. In the burn, the fragrance leans more eathy, mineral,
+woody, and spicy, with metallic sandalwood and clove notes alongside damp soil
+and dried fruit. The combined effect is a rich, complex fragrance that is, for
+me, *somewhat* evocative of warming kynam on heater. This sweet, fruity, spicy,
+and earthy scent is something I imagine might be really pleasant on a rainy
+afternoon. This stick was also reviewed on [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2024/11/12/bhagwan-incense-amber-oudh-assam-agarwood-imperial-oudh-oudh-rose-royal-oudh/).
+
+## Sandalwood
+
+### Royal Mysore Sandalwood
+
+Buttery sandalwood on the stick, with fruity and white floral notes. The
+fragrance is much louder and more complex than putting sandalwood chips on a
+burner, but the sandalwood note is lactonic, warm, and woody with that
+distinctive metallic note that I often notice from S. album. Compared to
+heating sandalwood chips, the stick is much more lively, with a distinctive
+fruitiness[^1] coming through in the burn. This isn't something I've noticed
+from wood chips, but maybe this is a common feature of certain sandalwood oils,
+or sandalwood accords? In any case, I wouldn't call this a strictly one-note
+sandalwood fragrance; unlike, say, Shunkohdo's Sarasoju, it definitely has some
+additional complexity. It is very pleasant though, and I would say that if you
+are looking for a vivacious and moderately bright composition with a fairly
+true to life sandalwood core, you can't go wrong with this. This stick was also reviewed on [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2024/12/06/bhagwan-incense-imperial-sandalwood-royal-mysore-sandalwood-royal-sandalwood-sandalwood-origins/).
+
+### Sandalwood Origins
+
+The fragrance on the unlit stick is very perfumey. Another nostalgic scent,
+this one brings me right back to visiting Earthbound Trading Co. in the mall
+years ago. It's vanillic, floral, and woody, with a bright, soapy, white-musk
+note. The stick starts off very buttery, with some burning-oil off-notes up
+close that mostly disappear in the room. It's far sweeter than Royal Mysore
+Sandalwood, with a marked vanilla note. The floral fragrance from the unlit
+stick becomes somewhat subtle in the burn, with the very bright, soapy
+fragrance from the unlit stick transforming into something much more mellow.
+This is closer to a single-note stick; it reminds me of the super lactonic
+sandalwood note from Fred Soll's Frankincense and Sandalwood. I personally
+prefer this one over Royal Mysore Sandalwood as—in my opinion—it's closer to
+the wood itself. This stick was also reviewed on [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2024/12/06/bhagwan-incense-imperial-sandalwood-royal-mysore-sandalwood-royal-sandalwood-sandalwood-origins/).
+
+## Conclusion & Brand Impressions
+### Accuracy Vs. Composition
+I was once warming sandalwood on an incense heater, when my Indian
+houseguest—accustomed to agarbatti—mentioned that the genuine article didn't
+smell at all like sandalwood to her. If you're coming from the world of
+higher-end East Asian incense, or you're expecting natural, single-note wood
+fragrances, you may be similarly confused when lighting up one of these sticks
+from Bhagwan. They are each compositions, fairly far removed from the fragrance
+of the woods they are named after. This is not a knock; it's completely par for
+the course in the world of Indian incense. But I think it's worth mentioning
+that you're not going to be able to learn what actual woods smell like from
+these sticks. That said, the compositions are killer.
+
+### Strength
+If you're used to gentle Japanese sticks, you're in for a shock with Bhagwan.
+Not one stick I have tried so far could be described as remotely quiet. In the
+past, I've counted this as an unequivocal downside, but things have changed for
+me in that regard. I'm learning to modulate ventilation to make these sticks
+manageable. If, like me, you have a sensitive nose, you may want to burn them
+in front of an open window, in an adjacent room, and/or with lots of fans going
+to keep the fragrance from concentrating too much in one area. While I'm
+getting used to these workarounds, I still wish Bhagwan offered minis that
+produced a more manageable amount of fragrance. In addition, I sometimes like
+to burn a variety of sticks throughout the day, but that's tough when one stick
+is powerful enough to linger for up to multiple days (looking at you, *Guava*).
+
+### Ingredients & Transparency
+One thing I really would like to see improve is the way the "vegan" designation
+is used on the website. Descriptions often contain two points: "free
+from animal-derived ingredients," and "vegan incense sticks unless honey is
+mentioned in the description." This can be confusing, especially when honey or
+propolis notes are then mentioned in the description. The customer is left to
+wonder whether these are just notes, or reflect the inclusion of animal
+secretions in the product. As a vegan, clarity and confidence when making a
+purchasing decision is paramount.
+
+On ingredients, Bhagwan's
+[website claims](https://bhagwan-incense.com/our-story/) that the brand offers "only premium masala incense made using pure raw halmaddi, sandalwood powder,
+essential oils and attars," and continues: "if a supplier starts using chemical
+ingredients, we stop offering their incense." This may well be a reflection of
+my own ignorance, but I don't know how it is possible to offer some of the
+fragrances in Bhagwan's catalog without synthetics. The strength, clarity, and
+staying power of some of these fragrances[^2] is truly remarkable, and they are
+clearly fairly precise, complex, and professional compositions without the
+'muddiness' that you would expect from naturals—each containing thousands of
+fragrance molecules. To be clear: I don't care if the incense I burn contains
+synthetics. I'm under no illusion that Tennendo's *Kyara* or *Sumire* is made
+with ground-up herbs and spices[^3]. I guess what I'm saying here is that these
+sticks are, in my opinion, perhaps *suspiciously good* to meet the description on the website, such that I do wonder just how much of a handle
+Bhagwan has on what is actually going into them. But, then again, I'm
+just some guy with a blog.
+
+### Conclusion
+To be clear: the compositional nature and strength of these sticks are not marks against them; they're simply hallmarks of this style of incense. And if you can get past that (or if—like many—you *prefer* it), I think it's hard to go wrong with any of the sticks I've written about above. While Indian incense has a bit of a reputation problem here in the U.S.A., this incense is in an entirely different league than the bamboo-cored sticks you're likely to find in a US supermarket or gas station. For me, the sticks have been a nice change of pace from my (predominantly Japanese) incense collection, and I've been enjoying them quite a lot. It only makes sense that there should be something quite special about the work of a people who have had access to an abundance of aromatics for millennia, and it's nice to discover brands that seem to be doing a good job of curating what reaches our shores.
+
+[^1]:  The fruit note reminds me of the Supreme Sandalwood Science fragrance
+from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements.
+
+[^2]: Not to mention the color of the melnoorva / powder on some of the sticks.
+
+[^3]: "But Nathan, some of these chemicals are endocrine disrupt…" Cool, but
+I'm not freebasing them. I think I'll be okay.
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 eleventyExcludeFromCollections: true
 layout: layouts/base.njk
 hideBlogTitleFromHeader: true
+octothorpeExclude: true
 title: "The Stochastic Bletherist | The Personal Blog of Nathan Upchurch"
 tags:
  - metadata
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ tags:
 imageURL: /img/seitan.webp
 imageAlt: Two wee logs of seitan wrapped tightly in cheesecloth and kitchen twine on a piece of foil next top a pair of kitchen tongs.
 ---
-[![Two wee logs of seitan wrapped tightly in cheesecloth and kitchen twine on a piece of foil next top a pair of kitchen tongs.](/img/seitan.webp "Some homemade seitan, originally posted on [my pixelfed account](https://pixelfed.social/p/nathanu/395090346005279712).")](/img/seitan.webp)
-

 Seitan: carnists tremble at the sight of it, and sadly, due to the difficulty in its culinary execution, so do many of my fellow leaf-loving, tofu-eating, [nooch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutritional_yeast)-sprinkling vegans. Little known in the west, seitan is a food comprised almost entirely of wheat gluten that was invented hundreds of years ago by Buddhist monks as a protein-rich meat substitute. While fundamentally a simple dough of wheat gluten and water, then steamed or simmered, seitan is notoriously tricky to get right. Even here in Chicago where there are a wealth of vegan restaurants, some of which have been operating for decades, there is a dearth of good seitan; too chewy, not chewy enough, spongy, and flavorless seitan is endemic to the western vegan foodservice canon. Now, I'm no expert, but I've certainly picked up a few tricks over the years, and I prefer my seitan to just about any restaurant here in Chicago, with a single exception, *but I'll spill that tea at the end*.

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: The Trauma of Employment
+description: Power imbalances at work negatively impact human relationships and leave long-lasting scars. We can do better.
+synopsis: Power imbalances at work negatively impact human relationships and leave long-lasting scars. We can do better.
+date: 2026-06-30
+tags:
+  - Life
+  - Work
+imageURL: /img/trauma-of-employment/Venetian-Glass-Workers.webp
+imageAlt: "Venetian Glass Workers by John Singer Sargent, oil on canvas. This backlit view of a shop in Venice is dark and atmospheric except for the brilliant strokes of light green and silvery white paint that describe the canes of glass as tradespeople prepare to cut them into bead-sized pieces, which will then be polished and strung into jewelry."
+mastodon_id: "116842107464446750"
+---
+::: info
+Content warning: sexual assault.
+:::
+
+Every year, I receive a glowing review from my employer, effusive, even. But each year, I dread the review. 'This time, it's going to be bad,' I think. 'I'm sure my boss was annoyed with me by the tone of their last teams message'. 'I can sense that she wants to replace me'. 'It's been a good run, but I'd better refresh my resume'. My thoughts run away from me and before I know it I'm experiencing a full-blown stress response in my body as I imagine myself with a bindle slung over my shoulder because I can't afford to pay rent. I'm aware that this is utterly irrational. My current boss is almost certainly the best I've ever had, and there are no real signs of trouble. This anxiety stems from something deeper.
+
+My first 'professional' role was as a print broker and artworker. I was paid peanuts, but I loved it. It turns out that I was a total print nerd, and specifying, designing, planning, managing, and procuring print work was a bit of a dream job for me. It was a small office, and my boss kind of just let me do my thing and, beside the pay, treated me well. Over the years, I've come to learn that 'professional' jobs (or as I like to call them, 'short-pile-carpet jobs') where a person with ADHD can truly thrive are scarce as hen's teeth. The problem is rarely the work itself, but those charged with overseeing it.
+
+Back in the nineteenth century, a Russian prince by the name of Pëtr Kropotkin was hard at work annoying capitalists and authoritarian communists alike with a deluge of pointed critiques. Kropotkin's thought was largely concerned with *power*, and how best to distribute and use it in order to prevent oppressive systems from repeating themselves, whether or not this occurs under a banner emblazoned with a hammer and sickle. Kropotkin also espoused the traditional human gift economy. Despite gift economies being humanity's default state, chugging along nicely for thousands of years, the idea is often subjected to the critique that human nature simply won't allow good behavior under this sort of arrangement. So prevalent was this idea that in 1888, Kropotkin replied with the essay "Are We Good Enough?" in which he wrote:
+
+>  Men are not good enough for Communism, but are they good enough for Capitalism? If all men were good-hearted, kind, and just, they would never exploit one another, although possessing the means of doing so. With such men the private ownership of capital would be no danger. The capitalist would hasten to share his profits with the workers, and the best-remunerated workers with those suffering from occasional causes. If men were provident they would not produce velvet and articles of luxury while food is wanted in cottages: they would not build palaces as long as there are slums.
+>
+> If men had a deeply developed feeling of equity they would not oppress other men. Politicians would not cheat their electors; Parliament would not be a chattering and cheating box, and Charles Warren’s policemen would refuse to bludgeon the Trafalgar Square talkers and listeners. And if men were gallant, self-respecting, and less egotistic, even a bad capitalist would not be a danger; the workers would have soon reduced him to the role of a simple comrade-manager. Even a King would not be dangerous, because the people would merely consider him as a fellow unable to do better work, and therefore entrusted with signing some stupid papers sent out to other cranks calling themselves Kings.
+
+In this indictment of human nature, Kropotkin exposes the problem inherent to bosses: their human fallibility. In a sensible world, power would be better distributed; it would be impossible for one flawed human to accumulate sufficient power to ruin scores of lives. But today, despite our lip-service to democracy, millions of petty tyrants rule, unelected, over billions of others. They control minute aspects of the lives of the workers they employ with a sort of horrifying totalitarian control that books have been written about where it concerns similar behavior from nation states. I like my boss. She's pleasant, kind, intelligent, and has never done me wrong. But if she were a tyrant, or were to become one, there would be no recourse for me or my colleagues[^1], and the consequences could easily be life changing.
+
+In my twenties, through a convoluted and tragic series of circumstances, I wound up working in hospitality. Mostly bartending at first, but I went into coffee later. People often don't realize how awful this industry is, especially in the U.S.A. The reality is that, no matter what you do, if your job involves short-pile-carpet and a laptop, your worst day at work almost certainly pales in comparison to the average day for a waiter, bartender, bar-back, busser, line-cook, or barista. The work itself is grueling, the pay is usually minimal, health insurance is a rarity, customers treat you like a servant with shit on your face, and employers treat you like a cheap machine—with shit on its face. To this day, I tip profusely. In hospitality, people are fired at a moment's notice. Bosses are routinely insane. Screaming at workers in front of colleagues and customers, wage theft, threatening to fire workers, and sexual harassment and assault are—and I need you to take this literally—completely normal. There's a [Mario Batali](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/dining/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-lawsuits-settles.html) or a [René Redzepi](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-abuse-allegations.html) in most kitchens.[^2] I've worked for an operations manager known for grabbing the asses of the cocktail waitresses they employed. I worked for a man who—I kid you not—lived in the basement-office of the coffee shop he owned and would watch you on camera from his bed. He would scream at you over the phone if you didn't count the cash in full view of the camera at all times, and would also scream at you in front of customers if you didn't make espresso the way he did (which was wrong). I've personally been sexually assaulted by customers at work, multiple times. I've been fired. I've had customers threaten to have me fired because I refused to give them free product.
+
+In this line of work, people see you as something less than human. Your livelihood is worth less than their convenience. That stays with you. Mistreatment by your peers is unpleasant, but mistreatment by people who have the power to put an immediate stop to your ability to feed, clothe, and house yourself is an existential threat. When I feel such intense anxiety related to my employment today, years later, and despite working almost entirely from home, glowing performance reviews, meaningful pay increases every year, and a kind, reasonable boss, I realize that my time in hospitality hurt me in ways that are hard to heal.
+
+When you've experienced employment without that short-pile-carpet pretense and veneer of respectability, any sense of discomfort, dissatisfaction, or irritation from your employer feels dangerous. Because it is. No matter how good and reasonable they are, they are also fallible, and their bad mood could destroy your life. I've also been a boss, in charge of a couple dozen or so baristas, cooks, and store managers. I once walked into a café, and noticing that something was off, asked one of the workers to fix it in what I thought was a neutral 'by the way' sort of tone. I was later told that she burst into tears when I left. At the time I was hyper-aware that anything I said could be interpreted (or felt) as a threat, so I intentionally tried to ensure that I was as friendly and calm as possible. Still, the nature of the arrangement, the unjust power imbalance, made it impossible to take my words at face value. I was a threat to her livelihood, and nothing I could say or do could ever change that. They say that it's lonely being in leadership roles. It is. Workers are becoming friends and building genuine rapport, while you're always the 800-pound gorilla in the room, and you're kidding yourself if you think that you're an exception.
+
+Some six years into my current role, I still haven't decorated my office downtown. There's not a single item in a drawer anywhere that I'll need to collect when I eventually move on. I think escaping hospitality—even though I was head of the chain's Chicago operations at the time—felt too good to be true. It seems that I'm still afraid. This trauma is, I think, something that often goes neglected at the ballot box. It's so normalized that it seems a natural part of life. So while politicians are busy riling us all up over immigration and culture-war nonsense, we collectively forget that our employers exercise *infinitely* more power over us than any politician. We need to start demanding strong worker protections, right of first refusal, and other means of righting the power imbalance not because all bosses are bad, but because all bosses are human. And with this, we can slowly begin to build a world where work is carried out equitably, for the betterment of society, with respect and due care toward those who carry it out. Work doesn't have to be traumatic, and by turning our attention to these issues which affect our lives so intimately, we can see to it that it isn't.
+
+[^1]: And yes, you smarmy what-name, I recognize that technically you might consider it recourse to upend your life and find a new job, if you can, but that's a bit like saying "Yes, he fired an arrow at you, but could you not simply have moved out of the way?" "Yes, they kicked the fire-ladder away from the window, but could you not have simply knotted some bed-sheets?" What is possible and what is reasonable are often two very things, especially when your life, health, and well-being are at stake.
+[^2]: Remember that the next time you roll your eyes at the POS tip screen.
@@ -7,15 +7,16 @@ tags:
 structuredData: none
 h1: Blogroll
 includeTOC: true
+enableOctothorpe: true
 ---
-	<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="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>. If you like, you can <a href="https://octothorp.es/get/pages/linked/rss?s=https://nathanupchurch.com/blogroll/">receive updates to this list via RSS</a>.</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.url }}" rel="octo:octothorpes"><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">
@@ -6,6 +6,35 @@ h1: Changelog
 includeTOC: true
 ---
 ## 2026
+### August
+* 2026-08-06
+	* Updated [/links](/links).
+* 2026-08-05
+	* Updated [/links](/links).
+	* Updated [/ai](/ai).
+	* Updated [blogroll](/blogroll).
+	* Implemented [octothorpes](https://octothorp.es/).
+* 2026-08-04
+	* Updated [/links](/links).
+* 2026-08-03
+	* Implemented a drafts system so that I don't accidentally publish an unfinished post again.
+### July
+* 2026-07-30
+	* Updated [/incense](/incense).
+	* Updated [/not-amazon](/not-amazon).
+* 2026-07-28
+	* Updated [/links](/links).
+* 2026-07-18
+	* Updated [/me](/me) to include [GoToSocial](https://blether.nathanupchurch.com/@nathan).
+* 2026-07-17
+	* Updated [/incense](/incense).
+* 2026-07-10
+	* Updated [/links](/links).
+* 2026-07-02
+	* Updated [/incense](/incense).
+### June
+* 2026-06-28
+	* Updated site style.
 ### May
 * 2026-05-26
 	* Updated [blogroll](/blogroll).
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en
 ### Articles
 * [*Grinding Equipment Analysis*, Dave of The World Makes Scents](https://incensemakers.org/d/7-grinding-equipment-analysis-wip)
 * [*How to Make Incense*, incensemaking.com](https://incensemaking.com/how-to-make-incense/)
+* [*Incense “Gingerbread”*, Irene of rauchfahne.de](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2022/10/11/incense-gingerbread/)
 * [*Incense Stick Making – A Walk Through*, Kyarazen](https://www.kyarazen.com/incense-stick-making-a-walk-through/)
 * [*Making Incense: A Cursory Guide*, Nathan Upchurch](/blog/making-incense/)
 * [*Making Your Own Incense Sticks – Basic Knowledge and Useful Information*, Irene of rauchfahne.de](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2023/02/19/making-your-own-incense-sticks-basic-knowledge-and-useful-information/)
@@ -44,12 +45,18 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en
 ### Articles
 * [*A New Incense Bibliography Part 1*: History & Art, Incense Apprentice](https://incenseapprentice.substack.com/p/a-new-incense-bibliography-part-1)
 * [*A New Incense Bibliography Part 2*: Worldwide Incense Traditions, Incense Apprentice](https://incenseapprentice.substack.com/p/a-new-incense-bibliography-part-2)
+* [*About the Different Types of Incense*, Irene of rauchfahne.de](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2022/10/06/about-the-different-types-of-incense/)
+* [*Agarwood - The Hidden History of Scented Wood*, Eric Hansen](https://www.mermadearts.com/i/agarwood-the-hidden-history-of-scented-wood)
+* [*An Introduction to Japanese Incense*, Tezumi](https://www.tezumi.com/blogs/tezumi-insights/an-introduction-to-japanese-incense)
 * [Ancient Chinese kneaded incense recipes translated from Zhou Jiaxuan's *History of Incense* (香乘 / xiāng shèng)](https://web.archive.org/web/20230216230731/https://talesofincense.com/scent-materia/)
 * [*Bakhour (Turaren Wuta) In Nigeria*, Dr Ruqayya Abba Tofa](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Bakhour-Turaren-Wuta-In-Nigeria-21456.html)
 * [*Bakhour (Turaren Wuta) in Nigeria (Part 2)*, Dr Ruqayya Abba Tofa](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Bakhour-Turaren-Wuta-in-Nigeria-Part-2-21989.html)
 * [Chinese incense ingredient name translations](https://web.archive.org/web/20230216230731/https://talesofincense.com/scent-materia/)
 * [*Goose Pear Tent Incense*, Be-en-Foret](https://mermadearts.com/i/chinese-goose-pear-tent-incense)
+* [*Japanese Incense Glossary*, Sprays of Blossoms, Curls of Smoke](https://spraysofblossoms.wordpress.com/glossary/)
+* [Japanese Incense Ingredients, Japan Incense](https://www.japanincense.com/aboutincense.html)
 * [*Japanese Incense Types*, Kyarazen](https://www.kyarazen.com/japanese-incense-types-in-modern-day/)
+* [Post on the history of Koju as it relates to Nippon Kodo](https://www.reddit.com/r/Incense/comments/1pvwind/comment/nw1tl68/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
 * [*Pressed Incense Tablets*, Kyarazen](https://www.kyarazen.com/pressed-incense-tablets/)
 * [*The Wisdom of Traditional Processing Methods*, Dr. Incense](https://dr-incense.com/blogs/dr-incense-blog/the-wisdom-of-traditional-processing-methods)

@@ -66,27 +73,36 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en
 * See the [incense, fragrance, and perfumery section of my blogroll](/blogroll/#incense-fragrance-and-perfumery) for a list of blogs with writing on incense and related topics.

 ## Videos on Incense and Related Topics
-* [Baikundo's incense-stick making process (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbQ8sNcQdcg)
+### History
+* [The Frankincense Trail](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2056414/)—Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route from Oman to Palestine. I have linked to the IMDB page, but this documentary series is well worth sailing the high seas for.
+### Ingredients / About
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Agarwood (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVupYzrCjmM)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Bulgarian Rose Oil (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26pEG7Ghgpg)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Ceylon Cinnamon (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzOcZlmeaH0)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Frankincense And Myrrh (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LMioQGsFFw)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Jasmine Oil (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt16uOqImI0)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Sandalwood (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPRpWg_wU0A)
-* [*Fragrant China* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96m2WPGDJA&list=PLJeSQ7Rl5tC-bgdowqRLjFyAVowKYkOK-)
-* [*Incense Making in Hong Kong* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzzvi6Cqqu8)
-* [*Introduction to Japanese Incense | Types and Styles* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6G-azPGMcA)
-* [*Japanese incense made with a waterwheel* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy8nnTPQ5M0)
-* [*Nag Champa - A Documentary Film* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN3wLhZFXmQ)
-* [New China TV: *Traditional incense-making helps Tibetan villagers live better life* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDqGwKNCLfc)—a short look at traditional Tibetan incense making.
-* [*Sacred Tibetan Incense* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWEg7FtBLKw)
+### Ingredients / Convervation
 * [*Saving the scent that may soon disappear from Earth* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqqzdI0wVQc)—a documentary on New Caledonian sandalwood.
 * [*Scent From Heaven* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv69pYSm2oo)—a documentary from Al Jazeera on agarwood.
-* [Shoyeido Factory Works (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRxB4Gz-JM)
-* [The Frankincense Trail](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2056414/)—Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route from Oman to Palestine. I have linked to the IMDB page, but this documentary series is well worth sailing the high seas for.
-* [*The Scent of Heaven: Inside Vietnam’s Incense Village* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy8pDpIH31g)
+### Introductory
+* [*Introduction to Japanese Incense | Types and Styles* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6G-azPGMcA)
+### People & Culture
+* [*Da Ching Incense Making Factory* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1fzySbNUiA)
+* [*Explore 500 years of Tibetan incense making at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj0sy-RmubQ)
+* [*Fragrant China* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96m2WPGDJA&list=PLJeSQ7Rl5tC-bgdowqRLjFyAVowKYkOK-)
+* [*In the Heart of Shambhala Ep.2: Tibetan incense-making* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ3Xtt0Z794)
+* [New China TV: *Traditional incense-making helps Tibetan villagers live better life* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDqGwKNCLfc)—a short look at traditional Tibetan incense making.
+* [*Sacred Tibetan Incense* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWEg7FtBLKw)
 * [*'The Scent of Sakai' 堺の香り - Handmade incense stick craftsman* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4vOPSJYvX4)
+* [*Tibetan Incense Making | 香格里拉藏香制作* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Epjx5PBuEs)
 * [*Turf Peat Incense* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F7Xvdpq-GE)
+### Production
+* [Baikundo's incense-stick making process (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbQ8sNcQdcg)
+* [*Japanese incense made with a waterwheel* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy8nnTPQ5M0)
+* [*Nag Champa - A Documentary Film* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN3wLhZFXmQ)
+* [Shoyeido Factory Works (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRxB4Gz-JM)
+* [*The Scent of Heaven: Inside Vietnam’s Incense Village* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy8pDpIH31g)

 ## Reputable Suppliers of Aromatics
 * [Apothecary's Garden (Canada)](https://apothecarysgarden.com/)—Absolutes, Extracts, Herbs, Tinctures, Oils, Resins, Woods
@@ -108,8 +124,16 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en


 ## Studies on Incense and Related Topics
-* [*Key Issues and Challenges in Spice Grinding*, HPramod P. Aradwad, Arun Kumar T V, P.K. Sahoo, Indra Mani (PDF, 3.7 MiB)](/documents/key_issues_and_challenges_in_spice_grinding.pdf)
+### Health
+* [*Reducing Air Pollutant Emissions from Burning Incense with the Addition of Calcium Carbonate*, Chi-Ru Yang, Ta-Chang Lin, Yen-Shun Peng, Sun-Zone Lee, Yih-Feng Chang (PDF, 262.3 KiB)](/documents/Reducing_Air_Pollutant_Emissions_from_Burning_Incense_with_the_Addition_of_Calcium_Carbonate.pdf)
+### Ingredients
 * [*Odor Tenacity of Perfumery Materials*, Hayato Hosokawa and Takayuki Shibamoto (PDF, 158.8 KiB)](/documents/odor_tenacity_of_perfume_materials.pdf)
+* [*The History of Tabu Powder as an Ingredient in Incense Sticks and Mosquito Coils (Machine Translated)*, Hiroaki Fujii (PDF, 1,011.3 KiB)](/documents/The_history_of_tabu_powder_as_an_ingredient_in_incense_sticks_and_mosquito_coils_machine_translated.pdf)
+* [*The History of Tabu Powder as an Ingredient in Incense Sticks and Mosquito Coils (Original Japanese)*, Hiroaki Fujii (PDF, 2.5 MiB)](/documents/The_history_of_tabu_powder_as_an_ingredient_in_incense_sticks_and_mosquito_coils.pdf)
+### Production
+* [*Key Issues and Challenges in Spice Grinding*, HPramod P. Aradwad, Arun Kumar T V, P.K. Sahoo, Indra Mani (PDF, 3.7 MiB)](/documents/key_issues_and_challenges_in_spice_grinding.pdf)
+### Use
+* [*The Scent of Time: A Study of the Use of Fire and Incense for Time Measurement in Oriental Countries*, Silvio A. Bedini (PDF, 6.8MiB)](/documents/scent-of-time.pdf)

 ## Forums / Discussion Boards
 * [Reddit (/r/incense)](https://reddit.com/r/incense)—Unfortunately, this is currently *the* place to discuss incense and incense making on the English-speaking internet. If you would like to avoid a platform that spies on you and uses your writing to train AI, you are welcome to help me bring some life to the following alternative option (currently pretty much only populated by me):
@@ -4,155 +4,211 @@ title: Nathan Upchurch | Links
 structuredData: none
 h1: Links
 includeTOC: true
+enableOctothorpe: true
 ---
-Here are some links to pages and resources that I believe are worth sharing.
-## Creative resources
+Here are some links to pages and resources that I believe are worth sharing. If you like, you can [receive updates to this list via RSS](https://octothorp.es/get/pages/linked/rss?s=https://nathanupchurch.com/links/).
+## Creative Resources
 ### General
-* [Creazilla](https://creazilla.com/)—A huge collection of media files under a Public Domain license including photos, illustrations, scanned art images, vectors, videos, and audio files.
-* [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/)—Free stock photos, illustrations, vector graphics, videos, music and sounds effects.
+* [Creative Commons Search Portal](https://search.creativecommons.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The Creative Commons (CC) Search Portal helps you search CC licensed works across multiple platforms. Includes music, web, images, 3D models, video, and more.
+* [Creazilla](https://creazilla.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A huge collection of media files under a Public Domain license including photos, illustrations, scanned art images, vectors, videos, and audio files.
+* [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Free stock photos, illustrations, vector graphics, videos, music and sounds effects.

 ### Graphic Design
+#### Cool Stuff
+* [Risograph simulator](https://www.inkdrum.app/)
 #### Education
-* [Butterick’s Practical Typography](https://practicaltypography.com/)
+* [Butterick’s Practical Typography](https://practicaltypography.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
 #### Reference
-* [Design Systems Gallery](https://designsystemsrepo.com/design-systems-recent/)
+* [Design Systems Gallery](https://designsystemsrepo.com/design-systems-recent/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
 #### Software
-* [Converseen](https://converseen.fasterland.net/)—A Batch Image Converter and Resizer Tool for Windows, Linux and macOS
-* [darktable](https://www.darktable.org/)—An open source photography workflow application and raw developer
-* [digiKam](https://www.digikam.org/)—Open-source digital asset manager and image editor
-* [DisplayCAL](https://displaycal.net/)—Display Calibration and Characterization powered by ArgyllCMS
-* [G'MIC](https://gmic.eu/)—A Full-Featured Open-Source Framework for Image Processing
-* [Glaxnimate](https://glaxnimate.org/)—An open-source vector animation and motion design desktop application
-* [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/)—A FLOSS vector graphics editor
-* [Krita](https://krita.org/en/)—A professional FLOSS painting and raster editing tool
-* [RawTherapee](https://www.rawtherapee.com/)—A free, cross-platform raw image processing program
-* [Scribus](https://www.scribus.net/)—The Go-To Libre Desktop Publishing Application
-#### Stock graphics
-* [Artvee](https://artvee.com/)—Browse and download high-resolution, public domain paintings, posters and illustrations
-* [CocoMaterial](https://cocomaterial.com/)—The Open Source hand-drawn illustration library with 3,293 images
-* [Free and open source icons](https://www.toools.design/free-open-source-icon-libraries)
-* [Getty Museum Collection](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/search?open_content=true)
-* [Getty Research Collections](https://www.getty.edu/research/collections/search?is_open_content=true)
-* [Museo](https://museo.app/)—A visual search engine that connects you with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rijksmuseum, the Harvard Art Museums, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the The Cleveland Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library Digital Collection
-* [National Gallery of Art](https://www.nga.gov/artwork-search?download=1)—Search and download from a collection of tens of thousands of artworks.
-* [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/)—The best free stock photos, royalty free images & videos shared by creators
-* [Public Domain Image Archive](https://pdimagearchive.org/galleries/all/random/desc)—The Public Domain Image Archive is a curated collection of more than 10,000 out-of-copyright historical images, free for all to explore and reuse.
-* [Smithsonian Open Access](https://www.si.edu/openaccess)—Download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images
+* [Converseen](https://converseen.fasterland.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A Batch Image Converter and Resizer Tool for Windows, Linux and macOS.
+* [darktable](https://www.darktable.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An open source photography workflow application and raw developer.
+* [digiKam](https://www.digikam.org/)—Open-source digital asset manager and image editor.
+* [DisplayCAL](https://displaycal.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Display Calibration and Characterization powered by ArgyllCMS.
+* [G'MIC](https://gmic.eu/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A Full-Featured Open-Source Framework for Image Processing.
+* [Glaxnimate](https://glaxnimate.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An open-source vector animation and motion design desktop application.
+* [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A FLOSS vector graphics editor.
+* [Krita](https://krita.org/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A professional FLOSS painting and raster editing tool.
+* [RawTherapee](https://www.rawtherapee.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A free, cross-platform raw image processing program.
+* [Scribus](https://www.scribus.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The Go-To Libre Desktop Publishing Application.
+#### Stock Graphics
+* [Artvee](https://artvee.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Browse and download high-resolution, public domain paintings, posters and illustrations.
+* [CocoMaterial](https://cocomaterial.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The Open Source hand-drawn illustration library with 3,293 images.
+* [Free and open source icons](https://www.toools.design/free-open-source-icon-libraries){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Getty Museum Collection](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/search?open_content=true){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Getty Research Collections](https://www.getty.edu/research/collections/search?is_open_content=true){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Museo](https://museo.app/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A visual search engine that connects you with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rijksmuseum, the Harvard Art Museums, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the The Cleveland Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library Digital Collection
+* [nappy.co](https://nappy.co/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Beautiful photos of Black and Brown people, for free.
+* [National Gallery of Art](https://www.nga.gov/artwork-search?download=1){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Search and download from a collection of tens of thousands of artworks.
+* [Old Book Illustrations](https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/)
+* [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The best free stock photos, royalty free images & videos shared by creators.
+* [Public Domain Image Archive](https://pdimagearchive.org/galleries/all/random/desc){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The Public Domain Image Archive is a curated collection of more than 10,000 out-of-copyright historical images, free for all to explore and reuse.
+* [Smithsonian Open Access](https://www.si.edu/openaccess){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images.
 #### Typefaces
-* [Badass Libre Fonts By Womxn](https://www.design-research.be/by-womxn/)
-* [Collletttivo](https://www.collletttivo.it/)—An Open-Source type foundry and a network of people promoting the practice of type design through mutual exchange and collaboration
-* [coolLabs Fonts](https://fonts.coollabs.io/)—A privacy-friendly drop-in replacement for Google Fonts
-* [Cyreal](https://cyreal.org/info/)—A Libre/Opensource foundry with expertise in Latin and Cyrillic scripts
-* [Font Library](https://fontlibrary.org/en)
-* [FontCDN](https://thomaspark.co/projects/fontcdn/)—A search tool for Google fonts
-* [Fontsource](https://fontsource.org/)—An updating monorepo full of self-hostable Open Source fonts bundled into individual NPM packages
-* [Fontspace](https://www.fontspace.com/)—Free downloads of 150,000+ legally licensed fonts
-* [google-webfonts-helper](https://gwfh.mranftl.com/fonts)—A hassle-free way to self-host google fonts
-* [Use & Modify](https://usemodify.com/)—A personal selection of beautiful, classy, punk, professional, incomplete, weird typefaces
-* [Open Foundry](https://open-foundry.com/fonts)
-* [Open Source Publishing Foundry](https://osp.kitchen/foundry/)
+* [Badass Libre Fonts By Womxn](https://www.design-research.be/by-womxn/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Collletttivo](https://www.collletttivo.it/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An Open-Source type foundry and a network of people promoting the practice of type design through mutual exchange and collaboration.
+* [coolLabs Fonts](https://fonts.coollabs.io/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A privacy-friendly drop-in replacement for Google Fonts.
+* [Cyreal](https://cyreal.org/info/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A Libre/Opensource foundry with expertise in Latin and Cyrillic scripts.
+* [Datatype](https://franktisellano.github.io/datatype/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A font that turns text into charts.
+* [Font Library](https://fontlibrary.org/en){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [FontCDN](https://thomaspark.co/projects/fontcdn/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A search tool for Google fonts.
+* [Fontsource](https://fontsource.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An updating monorepo full of self-hostable Open Source fonts bundled into individual NPM packages.
+* [Fontspace](https://www.fontspace.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Free downloads of 150,000+ legally licensed fonts.
+* [google-webfonts-helper](https://gwfh.mranftl.com/fonts){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A hassle-free way to self-host google fonts.
+* [Use & Modify](https://usemodify.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A personal selection of beautiful, classy, punk, professional, incomplete, weird typefaces.
+* [Open Foundry](https://open-foundry.com/fonts){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Open Source Publishing Foundry](https://osp.kitchen/foundry/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+
+### Sounds & Samples
+* [FreeSound](https://freesound.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [LooperMan](https://www.looperman.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [SampleSwap](https://sampleswap.org/index.php){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+
 ## Education
 ### Code
-* [freeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/)—Advance your career by learning in-demand skills in Programming, DevOps, Cybersecurity, AI Engineering, and English for Developers
-### Credit-bearing courses and degrees
-* [saylor.org Academy](https://learn.saylor.org/)—Learn new skills or earn credit towards a degree using free courses from Saylor Academy
-* [Sophia Learning](https://www.sophia.org/)—Online college-level courses for $99 a month, designed to transfer to 100+ partner colleges, reviewed for credit at 1,000+ other colleges and universities
-* [University of The People](https://www.uopeople.edu/)—A tuition-free online university, accredited by WSCUC and DEAC
+* [freeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Advance your career by learning in-demand skills in Programming, DevOps, Cybersecurity, AI Engineering, and English for Developers.
+### Credit-Bearing Courses and Degrees
+* [saylor.org Academy](https://learn.saylor.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Learn new skills or earn credit towards a degree using free courses from Saylor Academy
+* [Sophia Learning](https://www.sophia.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Online college-level courses for $99 a month, designed to transfer to 100+ partner colleges, reviewed for credit at 1,000+ other colleges and universities.
+* [University of The People](https://www.uopeople.edu/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A tuition-free online university, accredited by WSCUC and DEAC.
 ### GNU/Linux
-* [KillerCoda](https://killercoda.com/)—Interactive environments for tech you study, teach or present
-* [Linux Upskill Challenge](https://linuxupskillchallenge.org/)—Learn the skills required to sysadmin a remote Linux server from the command line
-* [SadServers](https://sadservers.com/)—Master Linux & DevOps troubleshooting on live servers
+* [KillerCoda](https://killercoda.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Interactive environments for tech you study, teach or present.
+* [Linux Upskill Challenge](https://linuxupskillchallenge.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Learn the skills required to sysadmin a remote Linux server from the command line.
+* [SadServers](https://sadservers.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Master Linux & DevOps troubleshooting on live servers.
 ### Open Textbooks
-* [LibreTexts Commons](https://commons.libretexts.org/)—The LibreText Commons hosts curated Open Educational Resources from all 16 libraries in the LibreVerse in one convenient location
-* [Milne Open Textbooks](https://milneopentextbooks.org/)—Milne Library Publishing at SUNY Geneseo manages and maintains Milne Open Textbooks, a catalog of open textbooks authored and peer-reviewed by SUNY faculty and staff
-* [OER Commons](https://oercommons.org/)—A public digital library of open educational resources
-* [Open Textbook Library](https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/)—Now offering 1739 open textbooks, the Open Textbook Library is supported by the Open Education Network
-* [openstax](https://openstax.org/)—The world’s largest publisher of open education resources
-### Scots language
-* [OpenLearn Create Scots language and culture](https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/index.php?categoryid=382)—This course teaches aspects of Scots, one of the three indigenous languages spoken in Scotland alongside English and Scottish Gaelic
-* [Scots Language Center](https://www.scotslanguage.com/pages/view/id/9)—Educational resources relating to the Scots language
-* [ScotsHoose Yaldi](https://www.scotshooseyaldi.com/)—Scots language learning and creativity resource for children, young people, teachers and parents
+* [LibreTexts Commons](https://commons.libretexts.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The LibreText Commons hosts curated Open Educational Resources from all 16 libraries in the LibreVerse in one convenient location.
+* [Milne Open Textbooks](https://milneopentextbooks.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Milne Library Publishing at SUNY Geneseo manages and maintains Milne Open Textbooks, a catalog of open textbooks authored and peer-reviewed by SUNY faculty and staff.
+* [OER Commons](https://oercommons.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A public digital library of open educational resources.
+* [Open Textbook Library](https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Now offering 1739 open textbooks, the Open Textbook Library is supported by the Open Education Network.
+* [openstax](https://openstax.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The world’s largest publisher of open education resources.
+### Scots Language
+* [OpenLearn Create Scots language and culture](https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/index.php?categoryid=382){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—This course teaches aspects of Scots, one of the three indigenous languages spoken in Scotland alongside English and Scottish Gaelic.
+* [Scots Language Center](https://www.scotslanguage.com/pages/view/id/9){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Educational resources relating to the Scots language.
+* [ScotsHoose Yaldi](https://www.scotshooseyaldi.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Scots language learning and creativity resource for children, young people, teachers and parents.


-## Eleventy resources
-* [11tyBundle](https://11tybundle.dev/)—Learn how others are making the most of 11ty, an exceptionally simple, flexible, and performant, open-source static site generator
-* [11tyCMS](https://11tycms.com/)—A local, serverless, dependable, and FLOSS CMS for websites made with Eleventy
-* [Pagefind](https://pagefind.app/)—A fully static search library that runs after Hugo, Eleventy, Jekyll, Next, Astro, SvelteKit, or any other website framework
-* [Uncharted](https://uncharted.seanlunsford.com/)—A CSS-based chart plugin for Eleventy.
+## Eleventy Resources
+* [11tyBundle](https://11tybundle.dev/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Learn how others are making the most of 11ty, an exceptionally simple, flexible, and performant, open-source static site generator.
+* [11tyCMS](https://11tycms.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A local, serverless, dependable, and FLOSS CMS for websites made with Eleventy.
+* [Pagefind](https://pagefind.app/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A fully static search library that runs after Hugo, Eleventy, Jekyll, Next, Astro, SvelteKit, or any other website framework.
+* [Uncharted](https://uncharted.seanlunsford.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A CSS-based chart plugin for Eleventy.
+
+## Free/Libre Software
+* [Free Software Foundation](https://fsf.org){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom.
+* [GNU](https://gnu.org){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An operating system that is free software—that is, it respects users' freedom.
+* [KDE](https://kde.org){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An international community developing the world’s finest free and open-source software.
+* [switching.software](https://switching.software/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—switching.software aims to educate a non-technical audience on ethical and easy-to-use alternatives to well-known websites, apps and other software.

-## Free/libre software
-* [Free Software Foundation](https://fsf.org)—A nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom
-* [GNU](https://gnu.org)—An operating system that is free software—that is, it respects users' freedom
-* [KDE](https://kde.org)—An international community developing the world’s finest free and open-source software

 ## Friendly Sites (Those not linked elsewhere on this site)
-* [Davey Dynamite](https://daveydynamite.neocities.org/)
-* [Mercury Retro](https://calam.us/)
+* [Davey Dynamite](https://daveydynamite.neocities.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Mercury Retro](https://calam.us/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}

 ## Health / Medical
-* [smelltrainingapp.com](https://smelltrainingapp.com/)—A free tool from Stockholms Universitet and and Karolinska Institutet to help patients with hyposmia or anosmia improve their sense of smell.
+* [smelltrainingapp.com](https://smelltrainingapp.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A free tool from Stockholms Universitet and and Karolinska Institutet to help patients with hyposmia or anosmia improve their sense of smell.

-## Indieweb / personal web: discovery
-* [Akregator](https://apps.kde.org/akregator/)—A news feed reader available for GNU/Linux and Windows
-* [Alligator](https://apps.kde.org/alligator/)—A convergent, cross-platform feed reader, supporting standard RSS/Atom feeds available for GNU/Linux
-* [blogroll.org](https://blogroll.org/)—Because blogs are the soul of the web
-* [blogs.hn](https://blogs.hn/)—A directory of tech sites, primarily sourced from HackerNews
-* [blogscroll.com](https://blogscroll.com/)—An open directory of personal sites and blogs
-* [blogsearch.io](https://blogsearch.io/)—A search engine for personal blogs and independent websites
-* [Feeder](https://github.com/spacecowboy/Feeder)—An open source feed reader (RSS/Atom/JSONFeed) for Android
-* [Feedle](https://feedle.world/)—A search engine for blogs and podcasts
-* [FreshRSS](https://www.freshrss.org/cloud-providers.html)—A self-hosted RSS and Atom feed aggregator
-* [indieblog.page](https://indieblog.page/)—Discover the indieweb
-* [Kagi Smallweb](https://kagi.com/smallweb/)
-* [Marginalia Search](https://marginalia-search.com/)—Search that prioritizes non-commercial content
-* [Mire](https://mire.meadow.cafe/)—A minimal, no-bullshit web-based rss/atom feed reader
-* [Mwmbl](https://mwmbl.org/)—A crowd-sourced search engine
-* [Mydora](https://mydora.restorativland.org/)—A continuous streaming player that gives you a deep dive into the lost archives of Myspace Music
-* [ooh.directory](https://ooh.directory/)—A collection of 2,358 blogs about every topic
-* [Raven](https://ravenreader.app/)—A cross-platform feed reader
-* [RSS Guard](https://github.com/martinrotter/rssguard)—Feed reader (podcast player and also Gemini protocol client) which supports RSS/ATOM/JSON and many web-based feed services
-* [searchmysite.net](https://searchmysite.net/)—Search real content by real people from their personal websites
-* [Wiby](https://wiby.me/)—Search engine for the classic web
+## Indieweb / Personal Web: Discovery
+* [Akregator](https://apps.kde.org/akregator/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A news feed reader available for GNU/Linux and Windows.
+* [Alligator](https://apps.kde.org/alligator/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A convergent, cross-platform feed reader, supporting standard RSS/Atom feeds available for GNU/Linux.
+* [blogroll.org](https://blogroll.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Because blogs are the soul of the web.
+* [blogs.hn](https://blogs.hn/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A directory of tech sites, primarily sourced from HackerNews.
+* [blogscroll.com](https://blogscroll.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An open directory of personal sites and blogs.
+* [blogsearch.io](https://blogsearch.io/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A search engine for personal blogs and independent websites.
+* [Bubbles](https://bubbles.town/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}— Somewhere out there, someone wrote a really good blog post today. You'll probably never find it. Google won't show it to you. Social media buried it under engagement bait. Bubbles tries to surface it. Community voting applied to thousands of personal, independent blogs, with identity and discussion routed through the Fediverse.[^1]
+* [Bukmark Club](https://bukmark.club/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The BUKMARK.CLUB is a collection of websites from across the Internet.
+* [Early Web Links](https://earlyweblinks.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Before the internet went corporate, it was weird, wonderful, and deeply personal. People built websites just because they had something to share. This directory is full of sites that bring back that feeling.
+* [Feeder](https://github.com/spacecowboy/Feeder){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An open source feed reader (RSS/Atom/JSONFeed) for Android.
+* [Feedle](https://feedle.world/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A search engine for blogs and podcasts.
+* [FreshRSS](https://www.freshrss.org/cloud-providers.html){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A self-hosted RSS and Atom feed aggregator.
+* [indieblog.page](https://indieblog.page/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Discover the indieweb.
+* [Kagi Smallweb](https://kagi.com/smallweb/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [Marginalia Search](https://marginalia-search.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Search that prioritizes non-commercial content.
+* [Minifeed](https://minifeed.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Minifeed is a curated blog directory, reader, and search engine. The goal is to collect blogs written by real humans, make them discoverable and searchable.
+* [Mire](https://mire.meadow.cafe/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A minimal, no-bullshit web-based rss/atom feed reader.
+* [Mwmbl](https://mwmbl.org/)—A crowd-sourced search engine.
+* [Mydora](https://mydora.restorativland.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A continuous streaming player that gives you a deep dive into the lost archives of Myspace Music.
+* [Octothorpes](https://octothorp.es/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Discover websites by hashtag.
+* [ooh.directory](https://ooh.directory/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A collection of 2,358 blogs about every topic.
+* [PowRSS](https://powrss.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A public RSS feed aggregator built to support the open, independent web.
+* [Random Blog](https://randomblog.rocks/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Discover random blogs.
+* [Raven](https://ravenreader.app/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A cross-platform feed reader.
+* [RSS Finder](https://lwindolf.github.io/rss-finder/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Find RSS feeds from popular platforms, by scanning websites, and through search.
+* [RSS Guard](https://github.com/martinrotter/rssguard){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Feed reader (podcast player and also Gemini protocol client) which supports RSS/ATOM/JSON and many web-based feed services.
+* [searchmysite.net](https://searchmysite.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Search real content by real people from their personal websites.
+* [Webring List](https://brisray.com/web/webring-list.htm){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A list of 724 webrings containing a total of 30,918 websites.
+* [Wiby](https://wiby.me/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Search engine for the classic web.

-## Indieweb / personal web: resources
-* [88x31 Archive](https://hellnet.work/8831/)—An archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons
-* [88x31 Button Viewer](https://pilosophos.com/88x31-viewer/)—A searchable archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons
-* [90s Cursor Effects](https://tholman.com/cursor-effects/)
-* [blinkies.cafe](https://blinkies.cafe/)—Blinkie maker
-* [Blot](https://blot.im/)—A tool that turns a folder into a website (paid)
-* [Button / badge generator](https://88x31.datakra.sh/)—Generate your very own 88x31 buttons
-* [Button / badge generator (2)]https://hekate2.github.io/buttonmaker/)—Another 88x31 button maker
-* [Button / badge generator (3)](https://sadgrlonline.github.io/archived-sadgrl.online/projects/88x31-button-maker.html)—Another one!
-* [GIF Printer 2000](https://melonking.net/frames/pixelsea)
-* [GifCities](https://gifcities.org/)—The Geocities animated gif search from Internet Archive
-* [Gify Pet](https://melonking.net/frames/pet)—Who is there to watch over your site when you are gone? GifyPet will!
-* [goatcounter.com](https://www.goatcounter.com/)—An open source web analytics platform available as a free donation-supported hosted service or self-hosted app
-* [Guestbooks](https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/)—A free guestbook service for your website
-* [Guestbooks (2)](https://guestbooks.kamiscorner.xyz/)—Another free guestbook service for your website
-* [Hit counters](https://www.websiteout.net/counter.php)
-* [Kitty](https://kitty.meadow.cafe/)—A cozy, minimal content platform focused on helping you write & publish without fuss
-* [Mochi](https://mochi.meadow.cafe/)—Friendly analytics and webmentions for your little corner of the web
-* [Nekoweb](https://nekoweb.org/)—A free static website hosting service
-* [neocities.org](https://neocities.org/)—Create your own free website.
+## Indieweb / Personal Web: Resources
+### Analytics
+* [goatcounter.com](https://www.goatcounter.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An open source web analytics platform available as a free donation-supported hosted service or self-hosted app.
+* [Mochi](https://mochi.meadow.cafe/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Friendly analytics and webmentions for your little corner of the internet.
+### Code Generators
+* [Melon's Gallery Maker](https://melonking.net/melon?z=/free/software/gallery-maker){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—a micro-static site generator that makes it super easy to share your photos, make gif resource sites and showcase your artworks!
+* [MERP Feed Embed](https://merp.ichi.city/feed-embed/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Embed an atom feed within a static HTML page.
+* [Quiz Maker](https://kamiscorner.xyz/quiz-maker/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+### Discoverability
+* [Octothorpes](https://octothorp.es/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Octothorpes are hashtags and backlinks that can be used on regular websites, connecting pages across the open internet regardless of where they're hosted.
+### Effects
+* [90s Cursor Effects](https://tholman.com/cursor-effects/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+### Forms
+* [Guestbooks](https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A free guestbook service for your website.
+* [Guestbooks (2)](https://guestbooks.kamiscorner.xyz/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Another free guestbook service for your website.
+* [riku.miso.town](https://riku.miso.town/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Riku is a free and open-source software that lets you collect responses from forms on your site.
+### Graphics
+* [88x31 Archive](https://hellnet.work/8831/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons.
+* [88x31 Button Viewer](https://pilosophos.com/88x31-viewer/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A searchable archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons.
+* [GIF Printer 2000](https://melonking.net/frames/pixelsea){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [GifCities](https://gifcities.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The Geocities animated gif search from Internet Archive.
+* [Tile-able website backgrounds](https://tiled-bg.blogspot.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+### Graphics Generators / Tools
+* [blinkies.cafe](https://blinkies.cafe/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A blinkie maker.
+* [Button / badge generator](https://88x31.datakra.sh/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Generate your very own 88x31 buttons.
+* [Button / badge generator (2)](https://hekate2.github.io/buttonmaker/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Another 88x31 button maker.
+* [Button / badge generator (3)](https://sadgrlonline.github.io/archived-sadgrl.online/projects/88x31-button-maker.html){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Another one!
+* [Cool Text Graphics Generator](https://cooltext.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [MERP Draw](https://merp.ichi.city/draw.html){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Draw things.
+* [Pride button / badge generator](https://badge.les.bi/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Generate pride buttons.
+* [Textcraft](https://textcraft.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A minecraft + 8-bit style text and logo generator.
+* [Userbar generator](https://350x19.datakra.sh/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Generate 250x19 userbar graphics.
+### Hit Counters
+* [Hit counters](https://www.websiteout.net/counter.php){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+### Hosting Services
+* [Blot](https://blot.im/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A tool that turns a folder into a website (paid).
+* [Nekoweb](https://nekoweb.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A free static website hosting. service
+* [tilde.fun](https://tilde.fun/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A Linux machine on the internet where you can get a shell account.
+* [tildepages](https://tildepages.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Free & fast web hosting.
+### Pets
+* [Gify Pet](https://melonking.net/frames/pet){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Who is there to watch over your site when you are gone? GifyPet will!
+* [tamaNOTchi](https://tamanotchi.world/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—cute virtual pets you can customize, grow, and share on your blog or website.
+* [Pocket Bird](https://github.com/IdreesInc/Pocket-Bird){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A bird that hops around your website.
+### Publishing
+* [Bear](https://bearblog.dev/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A privacy-first, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging platform.
+* [ichi.city](https://ichi.city/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—a friendly little internet community where you can create your homepage, explore your creativity, and discover other people.
+* [Kitty](https://kitty.meadow.cafe/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A cozy, minimal content platform focused on helping you write & publish without fuss.
+* [neocities.org](https://neocities.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Create your own free website.
 Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
-* [Pride button / badge generator](https://badge.les.bi/)—Generate pride buttons
-* [tamaNOTchi](https://tamanotchi.world/)—cute virtual pets you can customize, grow, and share on your blog or website
-* [tilde.fun](https://tilde.fun/)—A Linux machine on the internet where you can get a shell account
-* [tildepages](https://tildepages.org/)—Free & fast web hosting
-* [Tile-able website backgrounds](https://tiled-bg.blogspot.com/)
-* [Userbar generator](https://350x19.datakra.sh/)—Generate 250x19 userbar graphics
+* [smol.pub](https://smol.pub/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Smol Pub is tiny blogging service accessible from Web, Gemini and Gopher.
+### Social
+* [imood](https://www.imood.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—imood helps you keep in touch with how you and your friends are feeling.
+* [piclog](https://piclog.blue/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—share your JPEG pictures with your friends.
+* [status.cafe](https://status.cafe/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—status.cafe is a place to share your current status.

 ## Literature
-* [Standard Ebooks](https://standardebooks.org/)—A volunteer-driven effort to produce a collection of high quality, carefully formatted, accessible, open source, and free public domain ebooks that meet or exceed the quality of commercially produced ebooks.
-* [TypeLit.io](https://www.typelit.io/)—Test your typing online by practicing on your favorite literature
-* [Wee Windaes—A continuum o the Scots Leid](https://wee-windaes.nls.uk/)
+* [LibriVox](https://librivox.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world.
+* [Queer Liberation Library](https://www.queerliberationlibrary.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Queer Liberation Library (QLL) is fighting to build a vibrant, flourishing queer future by connecting LGBTQ+ people with literature, information, and resources that celebrate the unique and empowering diversity of our community.
+* [Standard Ebooks](https://standardebooks.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A volunteer-driven effort to produce a collection of high quality, carefully formatted, accessible, open source, and free public domain ebooks that meet or exceed the quality of commercially produced ebooks.
+* [TypeLit.io](https://www.typelit.io/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Test your typing online by practicing on your favorite literature.
+* [Wee Windaes—A continuum o the Scots Leid](https://wee-windaes.nls.uk/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+
+## More Links
+* [Coyote's Link Hub](https://osteophage.neocities.org/links){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Useful links, essays, compilations and more.

 ## Music
-* [Free Music Archive](https://freemusicarchive.org/home)—Free Music Archive (FMA) offers free access to open licensed, original music by independent artists around the world.
-* [Musopen](https://musopen.org/)—Musopen is a 501(c) 3 non-profit working to increase access to music education by providing free music recordings, sheet music, apps, and educational materials.
+* [Free Music Archive](https://freemusicarchive.org/home){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Free Music Archive (FMA) offers free access to open licensed, original music by independent artists around the world.
+* [Musopen](https://musopen.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Musopen is a 501(c) 3 non-profit working to increase access to music education by providing free music recordings, sheet music, apps, and educational materials.

-## Privacy-respecting tools and services
-* [Autistici](https://www.autistici.org/)—A collective offering free digital services, including:
+## Privacy-Respecting Tools and Services
+* [Autistici](https://www.autistici.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A collective offering free digital services, including:
 	* Anonymity services
 	* Blogging
 	* Chat
@@ -160,7 +216,7 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Mailing lists /newsletters
 	* Videoconferencing
 	* Web hosting
-* [De-google-ify Internet](https://degooglisons-internet.org/en/)—A project from [Framasoft](https://framasoft.org) offering access to:
+* [De-google-ify Internet](https://degooglisons-internet.org/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A project from [Framasoft](https://framasoft.org) offering access to:
 	* Chat
 	* Cloud storage
 	* Collaborative office tools
@@ -176,7 +232,7 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Petitions
 	* Video search
 	* Videoconferencing
-* [Disroot](https://disroot.org/)—A platform providing (mostly French-language) online services based on principles of freedom, privacy, federation and decentralization, including:
+* [Disroot](https://disroot.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A platform providing (mostly French-language) online services based on principles of freedom, privacy, federation and decentralization, including:
 	* Calendar
 	* Chat
 	* Collaborative documents
@@ -195,8 +251,8 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Translation
 	* Videoconferencing
 	* Voice chat
-* [LibreDNS](https://libredns.gr/)—a public encrypted DNS service from [LibreOps](https://libreops.cc/)
-* [nolog.cz](https://nolog.cz/en/)—Free and open-source alternatives to common tools from an activist IT collective, including:
+* [LibreDNS](https://libredns.gr/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—a public encrypted DNS service from [LibreOps](https://libreops.cc/)
+* [nolog.cz](https://nolog.cz/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Free and open-source alternatives to common tools from an activist IT collective, including:
 	* Chat
 	* Collaborative markdown editor
 	* Encrypted office tools
@@ -208,14 +264,14 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Search
 	* Video hosting
 	* Videoconferencing
-* [opendesktop.org](https://www.opendesktop.org/)—a libre platform providing:
+* [opendesktop.org](https://www.opendesktop.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—a libre platform providing:
 	* Calendar
 	* Chat
 	* Cloud storage
 	* Git forge
 	* Libre product publishing
-* [searchengine.party](https://searchengine.party/)—Web page for comparing popular search engines across some privacy-centric data points
-* [sp-codes.de](https://sp-codes.de/en/)—Services run by an individual for general use, including:
+* [searchengine.party](https://searchengine.party/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Web page for comparing popular search engines across some privacy-centric data points.
+* [sp-codes.de](https://sp-codes.de/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Services run by an individual for general use, including:
 	* Badges
 	* Captive portal check
 	* Chat
@@ -226,7 +282,7 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Notifications
 	* Video hosting
 	* Videoconferencing
-* [systemli.org](https://www.systemli.org/en/)—Non-commercial provider of communication services, including:
+* [systemli.org](https://www.systemli.org/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Non-commercial provider of communication services, including:
 	* Chat
 	* Cloud storage
 	* Email
@@ -240,7 +296,7 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Videoconferencing
 	* Voice chat
 	* Web hosting
-* [tchncs.de](https://tchncs.de/en/)—A collection of free services run by an individual, including:
+* [tchncs.de](https://tchncs.de/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A collection of free services run by an individual, including:
 	* Blogging
 	* Chat
 	* Encrypted office tools
@@ -258,7 +314,7 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Video hosting
 	* Videoconferencing
 	* Voice chat
-* [weho.st](https://weho.st/)—A non-profit internet service provider, including:
+* [weho.st](https://weho.st/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A non-profit internet service provider, including:
 	* Chat
 	* Cloud storage
 	* Diagramming
@@ -268,10 +324,8 @@ Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
 	* Microblogging
 	* Search
 	* VPN
-## Random cool stuff
-* [intertapes.net](https://intertapes.net/)—An updating collection of found cassette tapes from different locations. The audio fragments include: voice memos, field recordings, mixtapes, bootlegs and more.
-* [Pocket Bird](https://idreesinc.itch.io/pocket-bird)—A pet bird that flies around web pages as you browse. Collect feathers to unlock different birds, and find hats for your bird to wear.
-## Sounds & Samples
-* [FreeSound](https://freesound.org/)
-* [LooperMan](https://www.looperman.com/)
-* [SampleSwap](https://sampleswap.org/index.php)
+## Random Cool Stuff
+* [intertapes.net](https://intertapes.net/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An updating collection of found cassette tapes from different locations. The audio fragments include: voice memos, field recordings, mixtapes, bootlegs and more.
+* [Pocket Bird](https://idreesinc.itch.io/pocket-bird){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A pet bird that flies around web pages as you browse. Collect feathers to unlock different birds, and find hats for your bird to wear.
+
+[^1]: It turns out that the developer behind Bubbles.town [used an LLM to categorize blogs](https://brennan.day/floating-up-an-interview-with-the-creator-of-bubbles-town-benjamin-behnke/), even when AI crawlers were specifically disallowed in a blog's [robots.txt](/robots.txt). He has since owned up to the mistake and apologized, but… [oof](/ai).
@@ -4,131 +4,132 @@ title: "Nathan Upchurch | Not Amazon"
 structuredData: none
 h1: Not Amazon
 includeTOC: true
+enableOctothorpe: true
 ---
-Mostly for my own use, this is a list of U.S.-based online shops that are not Amazon. If you are looking to stop paying for J-Beezy's yacht maintenance while his workers piss in bottles, and you're based in the U.S.A., you might find this list useful too. Vegan and small independent brands get priority, of course. I do not receive any sort of commission or kick-back from any of the below stores. If you do want to buy something that I get a kick-back from, check out my (sparse) [referrals](/referrals) page. I haven't personally tried all of these retailers, so use judgment before purchasing.
+Mostly for my own use, this is a list of U.S.-based online shops that are not Amazon. If you are looking to stop paying for J-Beezy's yacht maintenance while his workers piss in bottles, and you're based in the U.S.A., you might find this list useful too. Vegan and small independent brands get priority, of course. I do not receive any sort of commission or kick-back from any of the below stores. If you do want to buy something that I get a kick-back from, check out my (sparse) [referrals](/referrals) page. I haven't personally tried all of these retailers, so use judgment before purchasing. If you like, you can [receive updates to this list via RSS](https://octothorp.es/get/pages/linked/rss?s=https://nathanupchurch.com/not-amazon/).

 ## Clothing & Apparel
-* [Bombas](https://bombas.com/)—Decent socks.
-* [Suavs](https://www.suavshoes.com/)—Very comfortable ultra-casual shoes with a nice wide toe-box.
-* [Means Workwear](https://www.meansworkwear.com/)—Clothing, patches, and hats that may get you put on a list.
-* [Very Cool](https://shirtz.cool/)—Ultra casual clothing.
-* [Will's Vegan Store](https://www.wills-vegan-store.com/)—Vegan faux-leather[^1] shoes, mostly smart-casual and up, plus some nice coats, jackets, and bags.
+* [Bombas](https://bombas.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Decent socks.
+* [Suavs](https://www.suavshoes.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Very comfortable ultra-casual shoes with a nice wide toe-box.
+* [Means Workwear](https://www.meansworkwear.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Clothing, patches, and hats that may get you put on a list.
+* [Very Cool](https://shirtz.cool/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Ultra casual clothing.
+* [Will's Vegan Store](https://www.wills-vegan-store.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegan faux-leather[^1] shoes, mostly smart-casual and up, plus some nice coats, jackets, and bags.

 ## Electronics
-* [CircuitMess](https://circuitmess.com/)—STEM kits.
-* [Handheld Legend](https://handheldlegend.com/)—Retro handheld console mods and upgrades.
-* [Micro Center](https://www.microcenter.com/)—Computers and computer components, maker products, networking equipment, and more.
-* [Minis Forum](https://www.minisforum.com/)—Mini PCs.
-* [KPRepublic](https://kprepublic.com/)—Keyboards and keyboard accessories.
-* [Retroid](https://www.goretroid.com/)—Handheld retro game emulation devices.
-* [Slimbook](https://slimbook.com/en/)—Laptops made for GNU/Linux.
-* [StarLabs](https://us.starlabs.systems/)—Computers made for GNU/Linux.
-* [System76](https://system76.com/)—Computers and accessories made for GNU/Linux.
-* [Tindie](https://www.tindie.com/)—Buy unique electronics directly from makers.
-* [Tuxedo Computers](https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en)—Laptops made for GNU/Linux.
-* [X-Tronic USA](https://xtronicusa.com/)—Soldering stations and related items.
+* [CircuitMess](https://circuitmess.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—STEM kits.
+* [Handheld Legend](https://handheldlegend.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Retro handheld console mods and upgrades.
+* [Micro Center](https://www.microcenter.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Computers and computer components, maker products, networking equipment, and more.
+* [Minis Forum](https://www.minisforum.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Mini PCs.
+* [KPRepublic](https://kprepublic.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Keyboards and keyboard accessories.
+* [Retroid](https://www.goretroid.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Handheld retro game emulation devices.
+* [Slimbook](https://slimbook.com/en/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Laptops made for GNU/Linux.
+* [StarLabs](https://us.starlabs.systems/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Computers made for GNU/Linux.
+* [System76](https://system76.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Computers and accessories made for GNU/Linux.
+* [Tindie](https://www.tindie.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Buy unique electronics directly from makers.
+* [Tuxedo Computers](https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Laptops made for GNU/Linux.
+* [X-Tronic USA](https://xtronicusa.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Soldering stations and related items.

 ## Emergency Preparedness
-* [Sparrows Lock Picks](https://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/)—Lock picks, sets, and escape and evasion tools.
-* [Veggie Mush](https://www.veggiemush.com/)—Dried plant-based meals for camping or emergencies.
+* [Sparrows Lock Picks](https://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Lock picks, sets, and escape and evasion tools.
+* [Veggie Mush](https://www.veggiemush.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Dried plant-based meals for camping or emergencies.

 ## Entertainment
-* [Abe Books](https://www.abebooks.com/)—Books, fine art, and collectibles.
-* [itch.io](https://itch.io/)—Indie video games.
-* [Perfectly Acceptable](https://www.perfectly-acceptable.com/)—Independently published books and zines.
-* [Means TV](https://means.tv/)—A TV subscription that may get you put on a list.
+* [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}
+* [itch.io](https://itch.io/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Indie video games.
+* [Perfectly Acceptable](https://www.perfectly-acceptable.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Independently published books and zines.
+* [Means TV](https://means.tv/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A TV subscription that may get you put on a list.

 ## Food & Beverage
 ### Baked Goods
-* [Little Moon Bakehouse](https://littlemoonbakehouse.com/)—Vegan mooncakes and pastries.
+* [Little Moon Bakehouse](https://littlemoonbakehouse.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegan mooncakes and pastries.

 ### Groceries
-* [Anthony's Goods](https://anthonysgoods.com/)—Pantry staples: flours, sugars and sweeteners, nuts and seeds, spices, and more.
-* [Canaan Palestine](https://canaanpalestine.com/)—Premium olive oils from Palestine's 2,000 year old olive trees. They also carry a small selection of tapenades and other pantry items.
-* [Nuts.com](https://nuts.com/)—Nuts, chocolate, sweets, trail mix, teas, flours, spices, dried fruit, and more. Don't blindly trust their vegan filter.
-* [Weee!](https://www.sayweee.com/en)—America's largest online Asian supermarket. Great for vegetables and interesting stuff you won't find anywhere else.
+* [Anthony's Goods](https://anthonysgoods.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Pantry staples: flours, sugars and sweeteners, nuts and seeds, spices, and more.
+* [Canaan Palestine](https://canaanpalestine.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Premium olive oils from Palestine's 2,000 year old olive trees. They also carry a small selection of tapenades and other pantry items.
+* [Nuts.com](https://nuts.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Nuts, chocolate, sweets, trail mix, teas, flours, spices, dried fruit, and more. Don't blindly trust their vegan filter.
+* [Weee!](https://www.sayweee.com/en){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—America's largest online Asian supermarket. Great for vegetables and interesting stuff you won't find anywhere else.

 ### Non-Alcoholic
-* [The Zero Proof](https://thezeroproof.com/)—Non-alcoholic beer, wine, spirits, cocktails, amaros, aperitifs, and digestifs, and more.
+* [The Zero Proof](https://thezeroproof.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Non-alcoholic beer, wine, spirits, cocktails, amaros, aperitifs, and digestifs, and more.

 ### Sweets
-* [Alegio Chocolaté](https://www.alegio.com/)—High-end chocolate grown in São Tomé.
-* [No Whey Foods](https://nowheychocolate.com/)—Vegan and kosher chocolates free from common allergens.
-* [Rose City](https://rosecitychocolates.com/)—Has a wide array of (very nice) vegan chocolates.
-* [Shrivers](https://shrivers.com/)—Salt water taffy that you'll actually want to eat.
+* [Alegio Chocolaté](https://www.alegio.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—High-end chocolate grown in São Tomé.
+* [No Whey Foods](https://nowheychocolate.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegan and kosher chocolates free from common allergens.
+* [Rose City](https://rosecitychocolates.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Has a wide array of (very nice) vegan chocolates.
+* [Shrivers](https://shrivers.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Salt water taffy that you'll actually want to eat.

 ### Tea
-* [Spirit Tea](https://spirittea.co/)—Farm-direct loose leaf tea. Based in Chicago.
-* [Yunnan Sourcing](https://yunnansourcing.us/)—A wide array of high quality teas and tea resins, including puerh.
+* [Spirit Tea](https://spirittea.co/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Farm-direct loose leaf tea. Based in Chicago.
+* [Yunnan Sourcing](https://yunnansourcing.us/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A wide array of high quality teas and tea resins, including puerh.

 ### Vegan / Vegetarian Alternatives
-* [All Vegetarian Inc.](https://veganforall.com/)—Vegan substitutes for bacon, shrimp, eggs, and more.
-* [Fake Meats](https://www.fakemeats.com/default.asp)—Vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes, snacks, seasonings, sauces, jerky, and more. Seems like this store isn't totally vegan: check ingredients before buying.
-* [vegefood.com](https://vegefood.com/)—All sorts of weird and wonderful vegan and vegetarian meat alternatives. Not totally vegan: check ingredients before buying.
-* [WebstaurantStore](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/vegan.html)—If you're willing to buy by the case, you can get all sorts of vegan alternatives here on the cheap.
-* [Yang Kee Trading](https://yangkeetrading.com/)—Large dried TVP chunks, slices, and strips, vegan pork floss, teas, and more.
+* [All Vegetarian Inc.](https://veganforall.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegan substitutes for bacon, shrimp, eggs, and more.
+* [Fake Meats](https://www.fakemeats.com/default.asp){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes, snacks, seasonings, sauces, jerky, and more. Seems like this store isn't totally vegan: check ingredients before buying.
+* [vegefood.com](https://vegefood.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—All sorts of weird and wonderful vegan and vegetarian meat alternatives. Not totally vegan: check ingredients before buying.
+* [WebstaurantStore](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/vegan.html){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—If you're willing to buy by the case, you can get all sorts of vegan alternatives here on the cheap.
+* [Yang Kee Trading](https://yangkeetrading.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Large dried TVP chunks, slices, and strips, vegan pork floss, teas, and more.

 ## General
-* [Public Goods](https://www.publicgoods.com/)—Simple products within the bath and body, cleaning, kitchen and dining, and home decor categories.
-* [GoodEarth Products](https://goodearthproducts.com/)—Office supplies, cleaning, food service, medical, and industrial goods. Also sells the very economical 40-pound buckets of Boardwalk laundry detergent. I have hardly managed to put a dent in my bucket after sixteen months.
-* [Grove](https://www.grove.co/)—Products across home and kitchen, garden, cleaning, bath and body, and more. Also sells a very affordable 3-ply bamboo toilet paper.
-* [Ten Thousand Villages](https://www.tenthousandvillages.com/)—Fair trade kitchen items, soaps, handwoven baskets, games and puzzles, jewelry, and more from artisans across the world.
+* [Public Goods](https://www.publicgoods.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Simple products within the bath and body, cleaning, kitchen and dining, and home decor categories.
+* [GoodEarth Products](https://goodearthproducts.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Office supplies, cleaning, food service, medical, and industrial goods. Also sells the very economical 40-pound buckets of Boardwalk laundry detergent. I have hardly managed to put a dent in my bucket after sixteen months.
+* [Grove](https://www.grove.co/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Products across home and kitchen, garden, cleaning, bath and body, and more. Also sells a very affordable 3-ply bamboo toilet paper.
+* [Ten Thousand Villages](https://www.tenthousandvillages.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Fair trade kitchen items, soaps, handwoven baskets, games and puzzles, jewelry, and more from artisans across the world.

 ## Home
 ### Art
-* [Prints: The Public Domain Review](https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/fine-art-prints/)—The Public Domain Review prints shop offers custom-made Giclée prints from a selection of more than 900 public domain images. All proceeds from sales go back into The Public Domain Review (a not-for-profit project).
+* [Prints: The Public Domain Review](https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/fine-art-prints/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The Public Domain Review prints shop offers custom-made Giclée prints from a selection of more than 900 public domain images. All proceeds from sales go back into The Public Domain Review (a not-for-profit project).

 ### Cleaning Supplies
-* [Friendswood Brooms](https://friendswoodbrooms.com/)—Handmade corn brooms.
-* [Meckley Brooms](https://www.meckleybrooms.com/)—Handmade corn brooms.
+* [Friendswood Brooms](https://friendswoodbrooms.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Handmade corn brooms.
+* [Meckley Brooms](https://www.meckleybrooms.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Handmade corn brooms.

 ### Furniture
-* [Joybird](https://rigbyhandcraft.com/ornaments)—Decent quality furniture (not flat-pack) that doesn't cost the earth. They have a decent warranty, too, but do be prepared to go to battle if you intend to use it.[^2]
+* [Joybird](https://rigbyhandcraft.com/ornaments){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Decent quality furniture (not flat-pack) that doesn't cost the earth. They have a decent warranty, too, but do be prepared to go to battle if you intend to use it.[^2]

 ### Holiday Decorations
-* [Rigby Handcraft](https://rigbyhandcraft.com/ornaments)—Reproductions of antique tin Christmas tree ornaments.
+* [Rigby Handcraft](https://rigbyhandcraft.com/ornaments){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Reproductions of antique tin Christmas tree ornaments.

 ### Incense
-* [Exotic Incense](https://www.exoticincense.com/)—Sells a wide array of incense from India, Tibet, Japan, and more.
-* [Fred Soll](https://www.fredsoll.com/)—An independent U.S. incense maker who pioneered the "resin on a stick" category.
-* [Goyo](https://www.goyo.space/shop)—Incense by artisan Hyungi Park.
-* [Japan Incense](https://www.japanincense.com/)—Japanese incense shop with a huge selection.
-* [Kikoh](https://kikohincense.com/)—Japanese incense shop that packages every order very nicely.
-* [Mermade Magickal Arts](https://www.mermadearts.com/)—High-end incense from a number of independent artisans.
-* [Nippon Kodo](https://nipponkodostore.com/)—The official U.S. web-store for Nippon Kodo.
-* [Shoyeido](https://shoyeido.com/)—The official U.S. web-store for Shoyeido.
-* [The World Makes Scents](https://theworldmakesscents.com/)—A Chicago-local independent incense brand focusing on Cambodian-style natural, whole-plant incense.
+* [Exotic Incense](https://www.exoticincense.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Sells a wide array of incense from India, Tibet, Japan, and more.
+* [Fred Soll](https://www.fredsoll.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—An independent U.S. incense maker who pioneered the "resin on a stick" category.
+* [Goyo](https://www.goyo.space/shop){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Incense by artisan Hyungi Park.
+* [Japan Incense](https://www.japanincense.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Japanese incense shop with a huge selection.
+* [Kikoh](https://kikohincense.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Japanese incense shop that packages every order very nicely.
+* [Mermade Magickal Arts](https://www.mermadearts.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—High-end incense from a number of independent artisans.
+* [Nippon Kodo](https://nipponkodostore.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The official U.S. web-store for Nippon Kodo.
+* [Shoyeido](https://shoyeido.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—The official U.S. web-store for Shoyeido.
+* [The World Makes Scents](https://theworldmakesscents.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A Chicago-local independent incense brand focusing on Cambodian-style natural, whole-plant incense.

 ### Kitchen
-* [John Boos & Co.](https://www.johnboos.com/)—High quality cutting boards, butcher blocks, carts, kitchen islands, tables, and more.
-* [Made In](https://madeincookware.com/)—5-ply stainless clad cookware, cutlery, plates, bowls, and more.
-* [Oxo](https://www.oxo.com/)—Kitchenware, cleaning and organization products, and more.
-* [WebstaurantStore](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/)—Commercial kitchen equipment from freezers to disposable cups and janitorial supplies. This is where I got my [Boos Block prep table](https://www.johnboos.com/products/1-1-2-thick-wood-top-work-tables-with-galvanized-shelf-24-wide?Size=36%22+x+24%22+x+1-1%2F2%22) on the cheap.
+* [John Boos & Co.](https://www.johnboos.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—High quality cutting boards, butcher blocks, carts, kitchen islands, tables, and more.
+* [Made In](https://madeincookware.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—5-ply stainless clad cookware, cutlery, plates, bowls, and more.
+* [Oxo](https://www.oxo.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Kitchenware, cleaning and organization products, and more.
+* [WebstaurantStore](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Commercial kitchen equipment from freezers to disposable cups and janitorial supplies. This is where I got my [Boos Block prep table](https://www.johnboos.com/products/1-1-2-thick-wood-top-work-tables-with-galvanized-shelf-24-wide?Size=36%22+x+24%22+x+1-1%2F2%22) on the cheap.

 ### Organization
-* [North Mountain Supply](https://www.northmountainsupply.com/)—Jars, bottles, and supplies for beer making, wine making, distilling, and more.
+* [North Mountain Supply](https://www.northmountainsupply.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Jars, bottles, and supplies for beer making, wine making, distilling, and more.

 ## Office
 ### Stationery
-* [Blackwing](https://blackwing602.com/)—Home of the legendary Blackwing pencil.
-* [The Goulet Pen Co.](https://www.gouletpens.com/)—Fountain pens (the environmentally friendly option!), ink, paper, stationery sets, and more.
+* [Blackwing](https://blackwing602.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Home of the legendary Blackwing pencil.
+* [The Goulet Pen Co.](https://www.gouletpens.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Fountain pens (the environmentally friendly option!), ink, paper, stationery sets, and more.

 ## Personal Care
 ### Bath & Body
-* [Ethique](https://ethique.com/)—Shampoo and conditioner bars from Aotearoa New Zealand.
-* [Dr. Jen](https://drjennatural.com/)—Nano-Hydroxyapatite toothpaste. They also sell a strawberry flavor for those sensitive to mint.
-* [HiBAR](https://hellohibar.com/)—Vegan and plastic free deodorant, body wash, hair care, and more.
-* [J•R•Liggett's](https://jrliggett.com/)—All natural shampoo bars.
-* [Palestinian Soap Cooperative](https://palestiniansoap.coop/)—Olive oil soap from Nablus, Palestine, made using a traditional process practiced for well over four millennia.
-* [Phoenix Shaving](https://phoenixshaving.com/)—A wide array of razors, aftershaves, brushes, and other wet-shaving products, including the fantastic [CK-6 line of vegan shaving soaps](https://phoenixshaving.com/collections/ultra-premium-formula-ck-6).
-* [Smart Life Co.](https://www.smartlifeco.com/)—Floss picks and other oral hygiene products.
-* [The Earthling Co.](https://theearthlingco.com/)—Shampoo and conditioner bars.
-* [TNG Worldwide](https://tngworldwide.com/)—Bulk vegan soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and more from the Ginger Lily Farms brand. They also sell spa supplies and salt lamps. Ignore the "Available at Amazon" buttons.
-* [Triple Bristle](https://www.triplebristle.com/)—Neat three-sided toothbrushes that really get every surface of your teeth with little effort.
+* [Ethique](https://ethique.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Shampoo and conditioner bars from Aotearoa New Zealand.
+* [Dr. Jen](https://drjennatural.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Nano-Hydroxyapatite toothpaste. They also sell a strawberry flavor for those sensitive to mint.
+* [HiBAR](https://hellohibar.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegan and plastic free deodorant, body wash, hair care, and more.
+* [J•R•Liggett's](https://jrliggett.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—All natural shampoo bars.
+* [Palestinian Soap Cooperative](https://palestiniansoap.coop/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Olive oil soap from Nablus, Palestine, made using a traditional process practiced for well over four millennia.
+* [Phoenix Shaving](https://phoenixshaving.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—A wide array of razors, aftershaves, brushes, and other wet-shaving products, including the fantastic [CK-6 line of vegan shaving soaps](https://phoenixshaving.com/collections/ultra-premium-formula-ck-6).
+* [Smart Life Co.](https://www.smartlifeco.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Floss picks and other oral hygiene products.
+* [The Earthling Co.](https://theearthlingco.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Shampoo and conditioner bars.
+* [TNG Worldwide](https://tngworldwide.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Bulk vegan soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and more from the Ginger Lily Farms brand. They also sell spa supplies and salt lamps. Ignore the "Available at Amazon" buttons.
+* [Triple Bristle](https://www.triplebristle.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Neat three-sided toothbrushes that really get every surface of your teeth with little effort.

 ### Supplements
-* [Complement](https://lovecomplement.com/)—Vegan multivitamins and supplements.
-* [vivanaturals](https://vivanaturals.com/)—Supplements, beauty, and food items.
+* [Complement](https://lovecomplement.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Vegan multivitamins and supplements.
+* [vivanaturals](https://vivanaturals.com/){rel="octo:octothorpes"}—Supplements, beauty, and food items.

 [^1]: I know what you're thinking, but I have not once had any issues with peeling or damage on the faux-leather uppers from this brand (most intentionally vegan brands have this handled). In fact, they last and look good for longer than animal-skin shoes because the material is not damaged by moisture or road salt. If you really want a true buy-it-for-life option, though (and if they have them in your size), go for the Goodyear welt options so that the shoes are properly resoleable at a cobbler.

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Dragon's Blood
+manufacturer: Bhagwan Incense
+date: 2026-06-29 10:43:50
+time: 10:43 AM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Patchouli Queen
+manufacturer: Bhagwan Incense
+date: 2026-07-10 16:55:34
+time: 4:35 PM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Sapphire
+manufacturer: Shoyeido
+date: 2026-07-15 9:39:19
+time: 9:39 AM
+---
+One of the better sticks in the Jewel range, if you ask me, and it's discontinued. Typical!
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Violet Tanka
+manufacturer: Daihatsu
+date: 2026-07-15 15:51:48
+time: 5:51 PM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Reiryokoh
+manufacturer: Kunmeido
+date: 2026-07-20 11:45:41
+time: 11:45 AM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: King of Loban
+manufacturer: Bhagwan Incense
+date: 2026-07-30 10:49:05
+time: 10:49 AM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Tokusen Kobunboku
+manufacturer: Baieido
+date: 2026-07-30 12:19:27
+time: 12:19 PM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Azusa
+manufacturer: Kyukyodo
+date: 2026-07-30 14:01:59
+time: 2:01 PM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Koin
+manufacturer: Gyokushodo
+date: 2026-08-03 11:57:37
+time: 11:57 AM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Suzaku
+manufacturer: Gyokushodo
+date: 2026-08-03 16:18:22
+time: 4:18 PM
+---
+
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Myokaku—Enlightenment
+manufacturer: Shoyeido
+date: 2026-08-06 13:30:59
+time: 1:30 PM
+---
+
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ tags:
 {% set postsCount = collections.now | removeMostRecent | length %}
 {% if postsCount > 1 %}
 <h2 class="postlist-header">Previous Entries:</h2>
-{% set postslist = collections.now | removeMostRecent %}
+{% set postslist = collections.now | removeMostRecent | reverse %}
 {% set showPostListHeader = false %}
 {% include "postslist.njk" %}
 {% endif %}
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ title: Me Time
 description: "Taking time off for the holiday, incense stuff, leisure, and displacement."
 synopsis: "Taking time off for the holiday, incense stuff, leisure, and displacement."
 date: 2025-11-28
+imageURL: /img/maroma_sandalwood.webp
+imageAlt: An incense stick protruding from a round blue ceramic censer.
 ---
 Not much of tremendous interest has been going on lately; I took the week off because I forget to take time during the year, and thanksgiving is as good excuse as any to cram in some PTO at the end of the year. I've also been taking Fridays off lately. Sol and I had planned to spend thanksgiving day with their folks, but we unfortunately had to cancel the day before due to some medical stuff. Instead, we had a nice wee dinner just between the two of us: a [nut roast](https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-nut-roast/), mashed potatoes, and gochujang-glazed carrots, all with lashings of gravy. Nut roasts are one of those foods that more people ought to eat. I think people avoid it because it sounds like too-healthy hippie food, but it's genuinely lovely. It's good hot as part of a roast dinner; it's also fantastic cold on sandwiches.

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: Getting Old
+description: "Life updates and thoughts on moving, aging, doing human stuff, and work."
+synopsis: "Life updates and thoughts on moving, aging, doing human stuff, and work."
+date: 2026-06-29
+imageURL: /img/Still_Life_with_Lemons_Oranges_and_a_Pomegranate_about_1620–1630_Jacob_van_Hulsdonck.webp
+imageAlt: A still life painting by Jacob van Hulsdonck of lemons, oranges, and a pomegranate.
+---
+It's been a while since my last update; I wanted to finish refreshing the style of my website before writing anything. The update took quite some time. At first, I implemented a design with big full-width header images on blog posts, and it looked pretty good. But, for some reason, after putting in all of the effort to accomplish my design I found that I lacked any motivation to keep going. I eventually realized that I just wasn't keen on the design. There was nothing wrong with it per se; I think it was just too loud. After some more time in Inkscape, I settled on the current look and worked feverishly to complete it. It's not terribly different: just a little tidier, more green, with some type tweaks.
+
+## Moving on
+
+Kicking-out time approaches for my apartment. I knew the new landlord was fibbing when she said she hoped that I, and the other residents, would stay on as tenants. It just isn't tenable without huge rent increases. For a first-time property owner it seems like she's already got the slum-lord routine down; no contact whatsoever unless rent is remitted ever so slightly later than usual (honestly, I don't mind this). She also opted not to pay a professional to replace the water heater, and simply left the broken unit taking up space in the basement after installing the new one. I realize I sound salty, but I'm not. For a man with lots of big feelings, I find it extremely difficult to hold a grudge. I recognize that she has done something awful by forcing six people from their home irrespective of their attachment to the place or ability to bear the cost of a move financially. I also don't have to hate her for it. In fact, I'm close to incapable.
+
+## Getting old
+
+But beside all of that, I've been feeling pretty vulnerable in other ways too. It's impossible to save money in this economy, and I'm starting to really internalize what a tenuous position this puts me in unless I can escape the U.S. before I'm old and decrepit. The driving force behind this awakening is that I have health stuff to consider these days. Nothing remotely serious, but, lord, It seems not so long ago that I was a twenty-something running around the city utterly uninsured, working too much, drinking too much, recklessly re-using old contact lenses, and sowing my wild oats without so much as a thought to donning a pair of dungarees. Don't get me wrong—I'm as strong and lively as ever—but you sure do start to acknowledge that you're merely a squishy machine when you have to fire up an electronic breathing box so that you don't hold your breath too long in your sleep. At the ripe old age of 36 I'm beginning to feel a bit like a monk; my only remaining vices are drinking tea, burning incense, and pondering my mortality.
+
+## Human stuff
+
+This is a good phase of life for me too, however. I'm no longer filled with the acute sense of existential dread that hits you when your life suddenly becomes more stable. Only a little of that these days, [as a treat](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cats-can-have-little-a-salami). I'm starting to regain that rich appreciation of beauty that I had too many feelings for as a teen and too little time for as a twenty-something. I've started buying the chocolate bars with love poems inside the wrappers, for the wrappers. I'm slowly remembering how to not worry too much about things I can't change. I've really come to relish small treats. I know what it's like to love someone, and be loved by someone, for close to a decade. In a world where everything seems to be going to pot and nobody has any money, I've been retreating into what it is to be a human, and it's been pretty cozy. Drinking tea, making and appreciating incense, playing music, reading and writing more prose and poetry. All really nice, really human things to do.
+
+## A big work event
+
+We had our big annual event at work not long ago. This year, Hillary Clinton was one of our speakers, so there was a big to-do with secret service, et cetera. It's par for the course for VIPs to be present at these events, so it's not uncommon for attendees and speakers alike to have private security. But this was another matter entirely and it required a lot of work from everybody involved. Despite some sleepless nights for our events director, it went very well and got quite a lot of news coverage. I didn't speak to her but I hear that Hillary had a nice time as well, which is great. You want your speakers to enjoy themselves. I rather enjoyed the conversation too.
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-06-29 13:28:40
+emoji: 🤖
+comment: I wish that before companies bolted-on AI assistants to their products, they first considered whether they have been neglecting basic quality of life features like fuzzy search, trimming whitespace from inputs, good info hierarchy and discoverability, etc. Like, if your software is a labyrinth full of foot-guns, of course people are going to want a magic lamp.
+---
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-07-02 11:44:38
+emoji: 🌡️
+comment: I've had enough of this heatwave, thanks. You can stop now.
+---
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-07-02 17:01:49
+emoji: 🇺🇸
+comment: Apparently [the vast majority of republicans do not see me as american](https://www.ctinsider.com/columnist/article/philip-bump-family-history-what-makes-american-22326156.php) despite the fact that I was born a citizen. Considering how I've been treated in predominantly republican areas, I can't say I'm surprised. And honestly, like, what are they even gatekeeping? Compared to many first world countries, the quality of life here is ghastly. No interest in improving anything, either. The attitude is if you don't like it, you should leave.
+---
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-07-18 10:33:49
+emoji: 🪵
+comment: I love the “oud from Mozambique” line from [Pete & Bas](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GBuTTz1-IQU). I crave more creative flexes in rap lyrics; I'm so bored with Ferraris. But a sapele Boos Block? Now you've got my attention!
+---
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { DateTime } from "luxon";
 import emojiReadTime from "@11tyrocks/eleventy-plugin-emoji-readtime";
 import markdownIt from "markdown-it";
+import markdownItAttrs from "markdown-it-attrs";
 import markdownItFootnote from "markdown-it-footnote";
 import markdownItContainer from "markdown-it-container";
 import markdownItAnchor from "markdown-it-anchor";
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ export default async function (eleventyConfig) {
 				level: [1, 2, 3, 4],
 				slugify: eleventyConfig.getFilter("slugify"),
 			})
+			.use(markdownItAttrs)
 			.use(markdownItFootnote)
 			.use(mdfigcaption, figoptions)
 			.use(markdownItContainer, "info");
@@ -100,6 +102,14 @@ export default async function (eleventyConfig) {
 		return arr.slice(1, arr.length);
 	});

+	// Preprocessors
+	// Exclude drafts from full build
+	eleventyConfig.addPreprocessor("drafts", "*", (data, content) => {
+		if (data.draft && process.env.ELEVENTY_RUN_MODE === "build") {
+			return false;
+		}
+	});
+
 	// Transforms
 	eleventyConfig.addTransform("prettier", function (content, outputPath) {
 		if (outputPath && outputPath.endsWith(".html")) {
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 	"dependencies": {
 		"@11tyrocks/eleventy-plugin-emoji-readtime": "^1.0.1",
 		"eleventy-plugin-nesting-toc": "^1.3.0",
+		"markdown-it-attrs": "^5.0.1",
 		"markdown-it-container": "^4.0.0",
 		"markdown-it-footnote": "^3.0.3",
 		"markdown-it-image-figures": "^2.1.1",
@@ -168,9 +168,9 @@ p.isso-input-wrapper {
  border-top-left-radius: 0;
 	color: var(--background-color);
 	padding: var(--space-l) calc((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12) var(--space-2xs) calc((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12);
-  margin-left: calc(((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12) * -1) !important;
+  /*! margin-left: calc(((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12) * -1) !important; */
  margin-block: 1lh 1lh;
-  width: calc(((100cqw) / 12) * 14);
+  /*! width: calc(((100cqw) / 12) * 14); */
 }
@container (width < 460px) {
 	.isso-postbox {
@@ -223,6 +223,12 @@ textarea.isso-textarea {
 	width: 100%;
 }

+/* reply form */
+.isso-root > .isso-comment > .isso-text-wrapper > .isso-postbox {
+	width: 100%;
+	margin-left: auto;
+}
+
@media (max-width: 900px) {
 	.isso-postbox {
 		margin-left: auto !important;
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
 	--span-grid: 1 / span 12;
 	--color-metadata: var(--contrast-color);
 	--font-family-metadata: var(--font-family-ui);
-	--line-height-metadata: calc(var(--step--2) * 0.25 + var(--step--2));
+	--line-height-metadata: calc(var(--step--2) * 1.25);
 	--font-size-metadata: var(--step--2);
 	--letter-spacing-metadata: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
 	--text-transform-metadata: uppercase;
@@ -125,11 +125,11 @@
 	:root {
 		--color-gray-20: #253848;
 		--color-gray-90: #dad8d8;
-		--card-color: rgb(0,50,40);
+		--card-color: rgb(0, 50, 40);
 		--contrast-color: rgb(4, 196, 158);
 		--contrast-color-tint: rgb(21, 58, 56);
 		--contrast-color-translucent: rgba(4, 196, 158, 0.5);
-    --nav-footer-color: rgb(0,50,40);
+		--nav-footer-color: rgb(0, 50, 40);
 		/* --text-color is assigned to --color-gray-_ above */
 		--text-color-link: var(--text-color);
 		--background-color: rgb(24, 27, 32);
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ body {
 html {
 	font-size: 13px;
 	height: 100%;
+	scroll-padding-top: var(--space-2xl);
 }
 abbr {
 	cursor: help;
@@ -240,7 +241,6 @@ body {
 	font-size: var(--step-0);
 	height: 100cqh;
 	padding-inline: var(--grid-gutter);
-	/*! width: 100vw; */
 }
 button {
 	align-items: center;
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ footer {
 	& p {
 		font-size: var(--step--1);
 		grid-column: var(--span-grid);
-		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.25 + var(--step--1));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.25);
 		margin-bottom: 0;
 	}
 	& .webring {
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ h1 {
 		"wght" 400,
 		"SOFT" 20,
 		"WONK" 1;
-	line-height: calc(var(--step-5) * 0.25 + var(--step-5));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-5) * 1.25);
 	padding-bottom: var(--space-l);
 	text-wrap: balance;
 }
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ h2 {
 	font-size: var(--step-0);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 450;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 0.25 + var(--step-0));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 1.25);
 	margin-block: 0 0.5lh;
 	text-transform: uppercase;

@@ -402,12 +402,12 @@ h3 {
 	font-size: var(--step--1);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 700;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.5 + var(--step--1));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 	text-wrap: pretty;
 	&::before {
 		color: var(--contrast-color);
-		content: "🢒";
+		content: "▸";
 		margin-left: calc(1em * -1);
 	}
 }
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ h4 {
 	font-size: var(--step--2);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 600;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 0.5 + var(--step--2));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 1.5);
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 	text-wrap: pretty;
 }
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ ul:not(.taglist) {
 		color: var(--contrast-color);
 	}
 	& li {
-		line-height: calc(var(--step-1) * 0.5 + var(--step-1));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step-1) * 1.5);
 		padding-left: 0.5em;
 	}
 }
@@ -448,6 +448,17 @@ main > p > a > img {
 	width: 100%;
 	padding-top: var(--space-l);
 }
+
+mark {
+	color: var(--background-color);
+	&.draftMarker {
+		font-family: var(--font-family-metadata);
+		font-style: normal;
+		letter-spacing: var(--letter-spacing-metadata);
+		text-transform: var(--text-transform-metadata);
+	}
+}
+
 pre {
 	grid-column: var(--span-grid);
 }
@@ -457,7 +468,7 @@ p:not(.quizQuestion, .isso-input-wrapper) {
 p,
 li {
 	font-size: var(--step-0);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 0.5 + var(--step-0));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 1.5);
 	text-wrap: pretty;
 }
 figure {
@@ -600,7 +611,7 @@ thead tr th:last-child {
 	> li,
 	> li > p {
 		font-size: var(--step--1);
-		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.25 + var(--step--1));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 	}
 }
 .footnote-item::marker {
@@ -640,6 +651,7 @@ article > .post-image,

 .post-synopsis {
 	font-size: var(--step-1);
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-1) * 1.5);
 }

 .post-time-author,
@@ -707,7 +719,7 @@ article > .post-image,
 		font-family: var(--font-family-ui);
 		font-size: var(--step--2);
 		font-variation-settings: "wght" 400;
-		line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 0.25 + var(--step--2));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 1.5);
 	}
 }

@@ -715,6 +727,7 @@ article > .post-image,
 nav {
 	background-color: var(--nav-footer-color);
 	border-bottom: var(--border-header-footer);
+	height: var(--space-xl);
 	left: 0;
 	margin-left: calc(var(--grid-gutter) * -1);
 	margin-right: calc(var(--grid-gutter) * -1);
@@ -841,7 +854,7 @@ sup {
 					font-size: var(--step--1);
 					font-variation-settings: "wght" 700;
 					letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-					line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.5 + var(--step--1));
+					line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 					text-transform: uppercase;
 					&:before {
 						content: "";
@@ -889,7 +902,7 @@ h3.postlist-link {
 	font-size: var(--step--1);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 700;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.5 + var(--step--1));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 }

@@ -1056,24 +1069,6 @@ ul.taglist {
 		display: flex;
 		justify-content: center;
 		width: 100%;
-	}
-	nav {
-		& > .nav-elements-grid-container {
-			& > .nav-elements-container {
-				& > .blog-name {
-					font-size: var(--step-0);
-				}
-				& > .home-link {
-				}
-				& > ul.nav {
-					flex-flow: column nowrap;
-					gap: 0;
-					& li {
-						line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 0.25 + var(--step-0));
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		}
 	}
 	.postlist {
 		& .postlist-item-container {
@@ -1111,7 +1106,6 @@ ul.taglist {
 	}
 }

-
@container (width < 540px) {
 	.footerContainer {
 		& p {
Author	SHA1	Message	Date
n_u	e1e9152425	Update webmention link	2026-08-06 14:32:49 -05:00
n_u	a693c23c20	Content	2026-08-06 14:32:31 -05:00
n_u	47594ec24f	Octothorpes fix	2026-08-05 14:42:19 -05:00
n_u	5c25b5fdca	Firther integrate octothorpes	2026-08-05 14:19:13 -05:00
n_u	11cfe924fa	Implement Octothorpes	2026-08-05 13:26:51 -05:00
n_u	e254c9ff7a	Content updates	2026-08-05 13:26:41 -05:00
n_u	6f5394010b	Implement draft system	2026-08-04 11:16:57 -05:00
n_u	42cee91016	Content updates	2026-08-04 11:16:47 -05:00
n_u	8692770d41	Update notes	2026-08-04 11:16:30 -05:00
n_u	49e3feb204	Content updates	2026-08-04 11:16:22 -05:00
n_u	e85e51402d	Content	2026-07-18 15:12:37 -05:00
n_u	bcd17b7ab7	Add GoToSocial	2026-07-18 15:12:26 -05:00
n_u	0c7b35ed2d	Tweak line height	2026-07-18 15:12:09 -05:00
n_u	49417dc4e9	Update mochi analytics url	2026-07-15 15:04:43 -05:00
n_u	6b4aee1ca6	content	2026-07-15 15:04:27 -05:00
n_u	a25a4b15c7	Content	2026-07-10 16:53:16 -05:00
n_u	968c5045c0	Add no ai webring	2026-07-01 16:44:08 -05:00
n_u	ddf9bb79e2	Add scroll padding	2026-07-01 13:57:05 -05:00
n_u	6acc56e87c	Content	2026-07-01 13:56:53 -05:00
n_u	894939a55f	Minor fixes	2026-06-29 19:13:54 -05:00
n_u	05f3c171a6	Content	2026-06-29 19:13:45 -05:00
n_u	55b52a41f9	Content	2026-06-28 22:58:48 -05:00
n_u	2aca078dac	Remove blog name	2026-06-28 22:57:58 -05:00
n_u	91be5213ce	Merge pull request 'NewStyle2026' (#6 ) from NewStyle2026 into main Reviewed-on: #6	2026-06-28 21:20:51 -04:00