Bones
This site runs on a small set of simple tools, chosen deliberately and kept for a long time. Here's how it's built.
Pages are written and assembled with Nordr, a static site generator I made. It values patience over noise: or at least, that was the idea.
The colors come from a deliberately limited scheme. Design steps aside when it can. The words do the work.
nginx serves the pages. It's quiet, unceremonious, and stays out of the way.
The text is set in Fira Mono. I chose it because it reads well in both prose and code, and its geometry feels calm without being precious.
No tracking. There are no analytics, no counters, no hidden requests. A visit here is a moment, not a measurement.
No ads. Space isn't rented, attention isn't harvested. Pages exist to be read by whoever shows up, in their own time.
Minimal JavaScript. Most pages work without it. When JavaScript does appear, it has a clear job and is marked. The site should be readable even as plain text and links.
No SSL. Some older machines can no longer speak securely, and I don't want to shut them out. Leaving the door open is a small risk I accept. Those old systems still carry memory, and I'd rather hear them than lock them away.
The machines keeping this online are ordinary, chosen for durability over spectacle. They're named, used, and allowed to age. I've written about them here.
The site costs almost nothing to run: just a domain name, renewed once a year for about fifteen dollars. There are no services to maintain, no tiers to justify, and no audience large enough to matter to anyone but me.
If that small cost ever stops making sense, the site can simply stop. Until then, it's light enough to carry, simple enough to leave behind.
It's grown slowly, piece by piece. More cairn than monument.