I have been tagged by Katherine and Jamie in the Blog Questions tag / challenge – thank you so much for thinking about me 💓

Why did you start blogging in the first place?

On the posts index page I wrote “writing things down so that I won’t forget them later” and that is still the main reason. I used to think that I should only write posts about novel things that no one else has written about, but now I think that even if something already exists on the Internet, it’s still good to rewrite it using my own words – maybe I can add a tiny useful detail, or maybe the original thing will go down or get lost. That was the case with the toothbrush thing, which ironically is the one post that I wrote that made it to the front page of Hacker News.

What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it? Have you blogged on other platforms before?

I use Eleventy, which I really like because it’s essentially a directory with files in Markdown with optional metadata in Front Matter. I host it on a Raspberry Pi that’s in my living room.

As a child I started many blogs on a site called blox.pl (defunct since 2019). I just checked on Wayback Machine and my first blog, which I started when I was 8, has actually been archived, which is mortifying. The blogroll consisted of:

• three websites with Flash games,
• the website of my primary school,
• two websites with world news,
• a website for finding out what your IP address is,
• a link to a poll asking “do you like my blog”, the results of which have not been preserved.

I remember that one year during a flu season I posted lesson notes for my classmates.

Later I used Blogger (aka Blogspot). As a teenager I used tumblr a lot but I’m not sure if that counts as blogging.

How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?

I write them in VS Code. Sometimes (right now for example) I start drafts in the Notes app on my phone, especially the non-technical parts.

When do you feel most inspired to write?

Usually the process is:

1. I try to do something.
2. I can’t find anything about it online, or everyone is wrong, or my issue is so specific that no one in the whole world has ever come across it.
3. I figure it out, somehow, and if I am particularly proud of myself then I feel inspired to write a post about it.

Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?

The simmering takes place during the writing because that usually takes some time, but once I’m done I usually publish it immediately.

What’s your favorite post on your blog?

Definitely the one about my keyboard because it’s just such a weird story.

Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?

Occasionally I have an idea for a post that would make more sense in Polish, so I was thinking of adding internationalization, but I’m not sure.

I definitely want to resurrect only.sometimes.digital, maybe when the spring comes.

I was also thinking of creating a resume of sorts, or a portfolio, or a showcase of my skills because I realise that my page is very minimalist (maybe too minimalist).

Who’s next?

I think Jamie already tagged Tomoe but I’m going to tag you again, also James if you see this, aaand anyone who sees this and wants to participate.