posted on: 11.april.2026

I had a surplus of eggs and what I like to do if that happens is boiling a handful of them. This time, it was four. After they cooled I used two to add to my salad. The other two I put where I've learned to put them from my mother: the cutlery drawer.

That is right: I put boiled eggs in the cutlery drawer. My mother apparently learned that from her mother in law. I do not know where my grandma has got it from, but thinking about it now I would really love to know. Sadly, I never asked and she has been dead for a long time now.

The thing I love so much about this, is that it is a family tradition. I love family traditions. There are so many unique and simultaneously perfectly reasonable ways to do the mundanest things! Like where to put yet to be eaten boiled eggs. Or, how to eat them.

I think most people eat them with salt. I know of some to eat them with mustard. What my family likes to do is sprinkle a few drops of Maggi sauce on them. Yumm! In my book, that's the best way to eat a single boiled egg. And one that has got me more than just a few weird looks from people. LOL I also like to slice them and put them on a piece of bread with some butter or mayo. That is just a simple egg sandwich, but I have got weird looks for that, too.

Do you have unique family traditions? Also, if you eat eggs, how do you like to eat them?

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 12.march.2023

This post is in reply to James' IndieWeb Carnival for March: Museum memories.

When I read the title I knew immediatly that I absolutely wanted to tell a particular story. One that is so absurd, I still can't believe this acutally happened. It's also connected to me developing a strange fascination with Joseph Beuys. But one thing after the other.

This is great art!

Years ago, on the yearly company outing, we went to the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart. It was my first visit there and one of the rare ones I have ever made to an art exhibition.

Shortly after entering and getting our tickets, everyone quickly disappeared in all directions and I found myself alone in the first room. I took a good look around, feeling a bit lost, and trying to find my way into the experience. Then I saw and was quickly very fascinated by Picasso's card board violin ¹. This piece is sitting in a closed showcase, which is hanging on the wall. I couldn't take my eyes off it, I tried to get a good look at it from all angles possible. I was so fascinated by it that, when I realised one co-worker was still close by, I called him over to show him the piece.

Now the absolutely absurd part: I still had my ticket in my hand and used that to point to all the cool parts. I admit, I was also very close to the glass, but I didn't touch anything. Anyway, it didn't take long and a guard came literally stomping towards us. He then said in a very upset tone: "This is great art you're looking at. Do not use your ticket to point at it! One does not point at great art with a ticket!"

I was so stumped, I didn't know what to say. It took me a while to process what exactly this man had just said. But when it had finally sunken in, we quoted him at every other artwork to remind one another to please absolutely not use our tickets to point at this great art that's exhibited here. The other guards looked at us funny all through the museum and I wonder to this day if they knew exactly what we were talking about, or if they thought we were idiots.

Understanding Beuys

Besides some more Picassos and other art I don't know anything about, there is also art by Joseph Beuys. I stood in front of this "Vitrine" for a long time. It is that kind of art that I used to have a lot of trouble with. Is that really art? True art? Why? And why is my dirty plastic bowl not art? I think it was there that I first started to really think about that.

Later, when I was sitting at a café close by with some colleagues, one of them an art teacher, I talked about that. She gave me the link to a site that is unfortunately no longer in existance. I tried to find it again, but it's gone. It was called "Beuys verstehen" (understanding Beuys), or something like that, and was an interactive site that explained Beuys and his art. I think it was a final exam project from someone doing their thesis about Beuys. It was like a mind map that unfolded as you clicked your way through it. Every node had an audio clip explaining the topic. It was beautiful and a good entrypoint for someone new to his work.

A favourite museum

One question James asks in his initial blog post is if we have a favourite museum. I haven't thought about that before. You see, I do not go to museums often. I live in a small city, we do not have many museums. We don't have any art museum for example. Ahem, of course we do have an art museum. We even have two! I'm such an idiot. Anyway, on with the post... However, the museum of natural history has several great photo exhibitions going every year. One of those is always the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition of the previous year. If you ever get the chance to see that one near you - please go!

But there is another one that I really like to visit whenever I am in Munich: Kunsthalle München. They do not have a resident exhibition, but instead have a new one twice a year. I think I have seen 3 so far. The topics have been very fascinating and the pieces they exhibit were always stunning.

Museums as places of connection

While I do not visit museums often, I have been incredibly lucky to see some amazing pieces². (Pieces that shouldn't be owned by European museums, but that I could not have seen otherwise. Except for one time when there was a touring exhibition, which is probably the only correct way of exhibiting such pieces in Europe.) Every time I stand in front of those and other historic pieces I feel a connection that is strong and almost not there at the same time. It's a connection through time to a different place and to the people who made them, who saw them, who lived with them at that different time and place. Other humans made these things thousands of years ago, some half way across the globe, some right here, and I am standing in front of them right now! I even got to hold an original stone age hand-axe at the British Museum once!! How absolutely incredible is this!? And how can anyone not feel this connection to our ancestors in these moments. Or ever.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 02.march.2026

Red Alarm: There are big fat spoilers ahead. Especially for Starfleet Academy, Enterprise, and Voyager. Continue at your own discretion.

I love Star Trek. I watch some form of it every week. I read the books. I listen to podcasts. I think a lot about it. I also have thoughts about some fans' reactions to things. These are some of those thoughs put into text. It's a bit random but can be put into two categories:

1. Canon and writing
2. Controversial or divisive episodes

Canon and writing

First things first: Star Trek is - yes, I'm going to say it - a tv show (*gasp*), and not a historical record. I am not a writer, so what do I really know, but I cannot imagine that the people in any Star Trek writers' room don't know what they are writing about, and I also don't think they don't know how to write a story.

Does that mean that everything they write is great? Of course not. Because it isn't. But accusing them of not knowing Trek is just stupid.

Yes, there are questions still unanswered after 8 of 10 episodes of the first season of Academy.

E.g. I still wonder why they never talk about "telepathy" when it comes to the Betazoids' abilities. They are always saying they are "empathic" or "sensing things".

I also wonder why we don't get to see Khionia proper or have a confrontation between Darem and his parents (who are actually there in the background, somewhere) in episode 7 "Ko'Zeine".

Or, how did the War Collage cadets deal with the death of B'Avi in episode 6 "Come, Let's Away"? Who are the Dar'Sha (Genesis' people)? What were the Jem'Hadar up to these past 800 years? And while we're at it, the Founders and Vorta? etc.

However, I am very sure there are reasons for this. Wether these reasons are story related or have to do with production or budget concerns, I do not know. But if they are about the story, we will eventually get to know. That's what's called a "story arc". Be patient! At least I hope there will be enough time for that. (Please let there be a third season! 🤞) And if the reasons are on the production side, there may be an explanation about that too sometime in the future. I just simply refuse the notion that the writers and producers do not know what they are doing. It's us who do not know what they are doing.

I wrote the majority of this post right before episode 8 "The Life of the Stars" came out. The question I had about why the Doctor did not seem to be very interested in SAM, even though we know from Voyager that he used to be very interested in other holograms, was originally part of the little list of questions above. But in that episode it was finally answered: It turns out he was still suffering from the loss of his daughter in Voyager's "Realy Life". This is such a deep cut that claiming the writers "don't get Star Trek" is plain idiocy. It also shows that story arcs are a real thing.

In any case: Half the fun, at least for me, in reading or watching stories is to fill in gaps with my own imagination. Some call it "head canon". I'm a big fan of that. It also helps to always remember that this is a tv show made my humans under certain circumstances and constraints.

Well, and if it turns out that the story is flawed, disappointing, and will not have any conclusion, or at least non that we would have hoped for, we'll simply have to live with it. That should not be too difficult to do. It's fiction, one story among hundreds and thousands, and no life depends on it.

Controversial or divisive episodes

There are quite a number of controversial episodes across the franchise. They tend to divide the fans into two factions: the ones who agree with whatever the character did, and the ones who disagree. It seems to be an "you're either with us or against us" situation. But why? I see these episodes a bit differently: For me, they are thought experiments.

Take Enterprise's "Damage" for example. Captain Archer decides to rob a peaceful and harmless group of people of their warp coil to repair the Enterprise. Doing that means that this group - a shipful of Illyrians - will take years to reach their destination instead of a much shorter time. Archer full well knows that he is crossing a line here, but still does it.

In another Enterprise episode, "Anomaly", Archer puts a prisoner in an airlock and by slowly removing the air inside forces him to give him a certain information.

Let's not forget Voyager's "Tuvix". Tuvok and Neelix get merged into Tuvix in a transporter accident. Tuvix is a completely new person. Tuvok and Neelix are essentially dead, though could be gotten back by killing Tuvix. Tuvix wants to live. But Janeway decides to kill him in order to get Tuvok and Neelix back.

There are many more, but I'll stop here.

I don't think it's the goal here to pick a side. It's Story, not real life. I do not have to actually make a decision like Archer or Janeway have to do in their stories. I do not have to pick a side. The purpose of Story, as I see it, is to make you think about the situation, the problem it presents for the characters, and how they deal with it. It is, as I said, a thought experiment. How do you feel about what is happening? How do you feel imagining to be either character? Why? What do you think would you do in that situation? The answers to these questions do not have to be definitive. You may find yourself thinking about them for a long time. Maybe even for the rest of your life. Maybe your answers to those questions even change over time. And that is not a flaw on your side.

All that does not mean that we have to like these scenes or episodes. We can discuss if it is ok to see Strafleet captains do these things, especially since we as fans like to see Starfleet and the Federation as a "socialist utopia", and our heroes to be almost flawless. But also that can be seen as a purpose of Story: To understand that no one, not even fictional characters in a better future, is perfect. That's uncomfortable, maybe even painful, or disappointing. It's ok to feel that way. Interesting then is to sit with that and think about why that is.

Story can be pure entertainment. But it can also be a prompt for introspection. In the end it's everyone's own decision how to react.

In addition, as I said above, since this is fiction and not fact, you are indeed allowed to build your own canon. What you see on screen is merely an offer. It's the universe the script writers are working in. But Star Trek is a multiverse - even in canon - and no one says you can't build your own.

BTW, I have written about canon and what to do with it before in the post Alpha Canon, Beta Canon, Head Canon. Or: Do we get robbed of stories and adventures with our heroes when they die seemingly unnecessary deaths on screen? So if you want a snarkier take on that, go read it.

Live long and prosper. 🖖 (And help manifesting that third season of Academy.)

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 28.february.2026

I first saw this on Manuel Moreale's blog as a "random list of silly things I hate", but it has popped up elsewhere as well.

I re-named the whole thing for this blog because I just like the phrase "pet peeve" so much. Anyway, here's the list:

• the skin that develops on hot milk or pudding 🤢
• all caps songtitles
• cleaning of any kind
• mosquitos
• geoblocked videos
• autoplay and OMG! autodubbing
• toxic fandom (haters, gatekeepers, etc.)
• people literally flexing muscles to show how awesome they are
• people who are late
• people caught red handed who are then not owning up to it
• people who jump the queue

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 25.february.2026

Axxuy recently posted his expenses for his blog, and I thought: Why not do the same? And use some tables for that. 😁

I pay the hosting fees in USD per month. Everything else is in EUR per year. Therefore I had to do some calculations, which lead to some rounding.

* last time I got charged, this is what I paid.

I do use an e-mail address with my own domain as a way to contact me through my site. For that I use my paid Tuta account. So let's add that, just to be more accurate.

I could use a free e-mail address, of course. Neocities is free as well, but you get some additonal features if you go the paid route, like using a custom domain. So if I didn't want my own domain (and e-mail using that) and be happy with a neocities subdomain I would have no costs.

Yes, blogging can cost money. It doesn't have to. Though then the question is: What else do you pay at least some of the "free" services with if not money? I assume we all know the answer to that, and I hate that answer.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 23.february.2026

I've been thinking about social media and the web, and how to be in it a lot recently. While in the shower, brushing teeth, combing hair, folding laundry, washing dishes, cooking, making coffee, on my way to work, at work, in the supermarket, in bed before falling asleep. I tried to form these thoughts and feelings I have into words and those words into coherent sentences. I tried to bring these sentences into some kind of order that made sense. I tried to find a through line. I wrote paragraphs after paragraphs, copy and pasted segments around, deleted parts or everything, started over and over and over. For weeks and weeks I tried to write a blog post that explained how I want to use social media and my website, and how I do not want to use it.

And then one moment, while brushing teeth btw, it hit me: I don't have to.

I don't have to.

I simply don't have to.

And then I stopped thinking about it.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 20.february.2026

Over the last week or so I've been digitising my CD collection. The vast majority of it I built in the 1990s and 2000s. After that I didn't buy many CDs anymore, and later mostly bought music digitally. Only recently I started to buy physical CDs again. Besides CDs that I bought myself back then, I also have a number of ripped albums and mix CDs that I got from friends and family members. Especially with the latter group it's been a fun dive into my past.

Some examples

• It's fun to see what my younger cousin loved 20 years ago and passed along to me: Bands like Bloc Party, Bright Eyes, Fleet Foxes, or The John Butler Trio. I haven't listened to those in about as long as I've had their songs in my possession. LOL She also introduced The Shins to me, and I went on to buy a few of their other albums afterwards. Though I haven't listened to them in a long time either.
• While at uni, a fellow student introduced me to albums by the label Putumayo. They publish compilations with music of musicians from around the world and of all kinds of genres, always put together around a theme. E. g. there are titles like "Acoustic France", "Global Soul", "Mali to Memphis" etc. Two of my favourite albums are "Music from The Tea Lands", and "Arabic Groove". It's good stuff!
  Their album art is very beautiful, the CDs used to come in digi packs, and the booklets were substantial with information about each artist. From their website I am not sure if they still sell CDs though, or if they turned to only selling digitally. Also, there isn't a back catalogue that I could find. All the albums I have from them do not seem to be available anymore at all. But it looks like they are still making new compilations.
• As a teenager I was a huge fan of Take That. I still kinda am, though I never really found back to them after their reunion. I only have their third album on CD (the first two I still got on cassettes!), but in addition I have a few Maxi CDs. Oh how much fun it was to listen and sing along to them again! Some re-mixes, some live versions, some other songs.
• Ripping the mix CDs was an adventure of itself. Some did not come with a track list and my ripping programme could not provide one either. So Shazam was once again my friend in those cases, in addition to some websites like Discogs and Wikipedia for further clarification.

Digital vs. physical

Though this isn't a thing of "what's better?" for me, I do think about it from time to time. Should I keep my CDs, especially now that they are digitised, or should I get rid of them? Sell them, recycle them, give them away, or find a better (= space saving) way to store them?

I buy media in physical form (CDs, DVDs, paper books), as well as in digital form. How I decide which form to buy, I cannot say. It's got little to do with artist or author, but more with... vibes, I guess. There are certain albums, films, or books I'd like to own in physical form, and others will do just fine in digitial form only. E.g. cookbooks I only buy in paper form, audiobooks however I only buy digitally.

I got rid of a good portion of my CD and DVD collections years ago in trying to reduce the amount of stuff I own, and I wanted to buy more digital from that time onward. But with how twisted some sellers' definition of "buying" and "owning" is, and with how streaming works on top of that, I found that there are good points to be made in favour of physical media, especially with films and tv-shows. While I still buy music, books, and audiobooks digitally, I do want to (re-)build physical collections of my favourite artists and films/ tv shows. All the while trying not to overdo it and keep to favourites. I do have a serious problem with stuff I own and I don't need to add to it more than neccessary. So that thinking about reducing the amount of physical media I own will continue.

Repackaging CDs

My CD collection as it is today is not big. I haven't counted, but I don't think it's more than 100 CDs. They all (except for a few very new acquisitions and two big box sets) fit into a box, approximately the size of two shoe boxes, maybe a bit less. So after deciding to not get rid of them for now, and while having them out of the shelf, I wanted to use the opportunity to at least get rid of those big CD cases. Many of them are scratched at least, but a lot are also broken in various ways. I saw this video about a space saving way to store CDs and decided this is how I wanted to store my CDs, too. So I put all CDs that came in plastic cases in the plastic sleeves shown in the video. That some special editions and digipacks step out of line so to speak does not matter. They are beautiful and don't bother me at all.

I am now planning to do the same with most of my DVD collection. (There are some box sets that I'd probably like to keep as they are. At least for now.)

Looking forward by looking back?

Last year was very much about Italian pop music for me. Now that I have my whole CD collection digitised, this year could be all about what I listened to 20+ years ago. LOL

I also have a box with cassettes... But digitising those will not be so easy, and I wonder if it would actually be reasonable at all. I think buying those albums digitally or on CD, like I already did with the first two Take That albums, is probably the way to go in those cases.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 17.january.2026

Happy new year, dear blog reader! Let's kick this blogging year off with a questionnaire. This one is all about webmastering. I found it on Solaria's blog and thought it was fun. Here's a handy template.

1. Please introduce yourself.

Hi, I'm Elena and I'm making this site.

2. How long have you been making websites?

Since the early to mid 2000s. I have recently found some old website files and they date back to 2007 or so. But I think I must have started a bit before that. Then there was a big pause of ca. 15 years.

3. And what got you into the hobby?

I've always been curious about new tech. When we got internet at home I was glued to the computer and always online. It seemed to be a natural next step.

4. What kind of website are you most interested in?

Personal ones. Ones where people do what they want to do, where they express themselves however they like.

5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?

When I have an idea for a new page I do think about what I want it to look like, and then I go and try to achieve it or something similar. From there I go one step at a time. I change my mind. I get new ideas. I have to abandon those I don't know how to realise. Basically: I go in with a rough idea and see how it goes.

6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.

I couldn't definitively tell what my biggest inspirations are. The web itself. Music. Literature. Other people. Everything and nothing.

7. What's your favourite part about making websites?

Solving coding problems and learning new things. Putting things out there that I am interested in or proud of.

8. And the thing you struggle with the most?

Winning over my executive function disorder (or whatever is keeping me from starting).

9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?

Pretty much, yes. There are pages with grid/ flex tiles and ones without, and some other differences depending on what's son the page, but the general layout is the same throughout. So far at least.

10. How confident are you with CSS?

I am condfident enought to try and find solutions for my problems online or in books. I'm not afraid of CSS. But I am no expert and don't remember a lot of it off the top of my head.

11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?

No. I had to look it up when I copy and pasted this handy template and saw the markup. I'm just keeping the HTML as it is, add some CSS styling, and hope for the best. LOL I think I'll have a closer look at it at a later date though.

12. What is your favourite HTML element?

I've never thought about that before. Hmm... probably <a>. Because without links the web would be nothing.

13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?

Supposing I already know what to put on it, I hit "save as..." at one that is the closest to what I want, delete everything I don't need or want and add from there. For new blog posts I have a prepared file where I only need to add the actual blog post.

14. Do you know JavaScript?

No. Did that keep me from using it? Also no. I shamelessly copied code (that I was allowed to use) for the "top" button that appears on longer pages and the "last listened" box on the index page.

15. How about PHP?

Not a clue.

16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?

It has a style and I've stuck to it so far.

17. Are you more focused on content or design?

Both, I guess. I like to present my "content" in a pleasing manner.

18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?

Yes, I do. See address bar.

19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?

In general I think they're fun. Beyond that I have no opinion. You can do what you want. As long as you love what you're doing, it's all fine with me.

20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?

I think it is. I think I have checked it before, but I haven't in a long time.

21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?

If you love them have fun with them. I don't care much for them. So I don't have any and I probably never will. (I used to have one though, 20 years ago.)

22. What do you think of button walls in particular?

I'm starting to feel like a broken record. LOL If you like 'em, do 'em. If not, then don't.

23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?

When I started to make this site I did remember that I once had a website decades ago, but I didn't really remember what it looked like. As I mentioned above (see question 2), I recently found the files and it was so funny to see that the colours and overall look are pretty similar to what this site is looking like right now. I may upload them one day just for fun.

24. Are you envious of other people's websites?

No, not envious. I look at other people's sites with excitement and curiosity. But never envy. Coding is no witchcraft, so everything I see on a website is doable. Also for me if I sat down and put some time into it. So there's no reason to be envious of anybody's website.

25. What text editor do you use?

VSCodium for the code and KWrite for drafting my blog posts.

26. Why do you use that one?

I liked VSCode but when I learned of the existence of de-MSed VSCodium I switched. And for drafting posts or taking notes a simple text editor is enough, so I use the one that came with my OS/ desktop environment.

27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?

I host my images on the same server I also host my site: neocities.

28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?

I absolutely hate internet drama. I've had enough of it over the decades and I could not care less about this one. Seriously.

29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?

Before uploading this page it was 8.04 MB (according to neocities).

30. Do you keep local backups of your files?

Of course!

31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?

Whatever floats your boat. I care about what you have to say, no matter if that is text, images, sound, or your code. How you present it is part of it all, but I don't prefer one over the other just for the sake of it.

32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?

I'd say it's subconscious. See question 23.

33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?

Coding? No. My job? Every day.

34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?

I don't know any offline, if this is what this question is about.

35. Do people in your real life know about your website?

I hope not.

36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often"?

No. I sometimes do several updates within a short time, and then do nothing for weeks or months.

37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?

I haven't changed it much after initially uploading this design. Little tweaks here and there. That doesn't mean I'm not thinking about doing something else entirely. Because I do. And maybe someday I will change it all. It's just working well as it is right now. There is no need to change anything. And so I don't.

38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?

I don't think I can separate myself from my hobbies and interests. My site is about what I am interested in and care about. It's a form of expressing myself. Myself how I am, how I perceive myself, and how I stand in this world. I don't keep separate sites for separate things. My website is about who I am and how I choose to present myself.

39. Do you do web design professionally?

No.

40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?

I don't think I would want that. It's a hobby and I'm not the kind who make their hobby into their job. I am a trained social worker and am working as a teacher's assistant at a school.

41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?

Not very much, no. But I am open to it. If you like, feel free to send me one: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu.

42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?

I do. I'm in the fediverse and you can find me at @theresmiling@ibe.social. Feel free to say hi.

43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?

I have Threema and Signal and also use SMS/iMessage. None of those are open to strangers.

44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?

I listen to music a lot. But not neccessarily while working on my site. I need all the brainpower for writing and coding. Music would distract me. I have been thinking about writing a blog post about how I listen to music, but I'm not sure if it holds any substance really that would go beyond a social media post. (For me, a blog and social media serve different functions.) I have blogged about some of my music taste, which you can also have a look at on last.fm or ListenBrainz.

45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?

I do have this one site. But it's not limited in any way. I can add sections and subsections as I like it. E.g. I do have a very unmaintained and unupdated Star Trek section that has a different colour theme, but looks otherwise the same. One day I'll make something out of it. Hopefully.

46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?

I contain many topics and so does this site.

47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?

For me, the web is a kind of safe space, where I do not have to play a role. I often hold back in expressing myself fully in front of others offline. Online I feel I can be myself to the fullest, whatever that means in any given moment. So no, I do not keep a specificly constructed online persona.

48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?

Define the word "friend". I have made aquaintances, I have met nice people I like to keep in contact with. Though I am not in any close contact with any of them. If you would call them "friends", then they are.

49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?

I know way too little to comment on that. For me they both work fine so far.

50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?

Chasing numbers.

51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?

Doing what they like and not what some algorithm or "followers" demand.

52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?

Yes, I do. I think? I don't know all those fancy words man. 😅

53. Do you consider different browsers?

No. I use Firefox and that's what this site works with best. Sorry (not sorry).

54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.

I'm not your mother. Use what works best for you. I've been using Firefox for... well, a very long time and I don't have the expertise nor the energy to dive into that hot topic anytime soon.

55. And what OS are you on?

Fedora Linux.

56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?

Again, I'm not your mom. Use what works for you. Linux works great for me.

57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?

Yes. At least I think they are. I look at my pages on my phone, too and they seem to work fine.

58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?

I hate it.

59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?

I like the idea. I'd also like to be part of one. But I haven't found any I really want to be a part of. And I have looked at 100s of them.

60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?

No, I don't have any. I'm not the kind for shrines I guess. I like the idea though and whenever I stumble across one I enjoy it.

61. Are your websites "cliche", in your opinion?

I don't know and I don't care. I do with this place what I want and so I really absolutely don't care what other people think of it. That does not mean I'm not open for friendly (!!) critique. But it must be clear: This is my space and therefore my rules apply.

62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?

My ideal site is one where the person making it is expressing themselves the way they want. So yes, I am striving for that.

63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?

In the sense of Beuys, I guess I am? But no, I do not draw any "assets".

64. What are your favourite resource sites?

I keep a list of links you could call resources. My favourite is always the one that has the info I need.

65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?

In regards to coding? Trying everything because I want to know everything and then get stuck in decision paralysis and not making progress in anything. *sigh*

66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?

Learn HTML from scratch. Learn CSS form scratch. And don't let others tell you what you should and shouldn't do with your site. It's yours and yours alone.

67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?

Every styling that is not essential is done via a stylesheet. If I want emphasis on a word, I'll use the <em> tag, but that is essential and not pure styling.

68. What do you think of frameset layouts?

The what now? I have never heard that phrase before and therefore can't comment on it.

69. How about table-based layouts?

Oooh, the good old times. LOL That's how we did it decades ago. There are better methods today probably. But for getting to know how they work and what they do? Have fun with it!

70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column", "two-column" and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?

I subsribe to the idea of doing whatever the fuck you like. Don't let anyone ever tell you how you should build your own website. Espcecially if it is a hobby project.

71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?

That probably depends on what I'm trying to do. But I guess it's CSS I spend the most time with.

72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.

Yes, my naked page.

73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?

I only make layouts when the need arises.

74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?

I wouldn't call myself a beginner anymore, but I also don't think I'm super advanced.

75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?

Sometimes, when I want to know how something is made. But so much code is so full of convoluted divs and stuff I often give up very quickly. Is that what CMSs do?

76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?

I took a course at codecademy and bought a book, too. See links above at question 64. And then I just started to play and add one thing after the other and -bam!- I had a website.

77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?

I don't think I do.

78. Thoughts on floating elements?

No. Except for: Do what you like. (No need to ask me.)

79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?

That depends on the "stuff". I use rem for font sizes, and px for images and other elements, like margins, padding, and others. I probably have some % in there too somewhere.

80. Do you have a favourite font?

No. I like monospace fonts though.

81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?

That would depend on the topic or purpose. I think it could be interesting to cooperate on a website. We would need to talk about what to do and who does what etc. Or, it could also be interesting to not talk about it and have us react to what the other did. Like an art performance in the form of website coding. The evolution of a website through action and reaction.

82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?

I wouldn't say I do it "very often", but I do it form time to time.

83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?

Absolutely. I bookmark sites and follow RSS feeds. I would feel absolutely happy and excited if I knew other people bookmarked my site!

84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?

That I made it all myself. No kind of CMS, no premade templates. Just me, my laptop, and the text editor.

85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?

Sure! I'm interested in a lot of things. And yes, I do collect. Or have collected. Yarn and books on knitting and spinning, tarot and oracle decks, stationery (pens, stickers, washi tapes, stamps and ink pads, paper), etc. *bigsigh*

86. How often and for how long are you online?

Pretty much every day for way too long.

87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?

I am. If someone else stumbles upon it and likes it, and maybe even subscribes to the RSS of my blog, or sends me an e-mail or contacts me on social media, that's a fantastic bonus.

88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?

I'm interested in pretty much everything. But it's not on any to do list.

89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?

I started to learn Python. For Christmas I got an Arduino starter kit and will learn how to use that thing too. I have not written any kind of programme for my site.

90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?

If you want to use them, use them. I'm not interested in using them though. They seem to be too much for my little hobby project. Besides, for me the fun is building this site from scratch and not fiddling with pre-made themes.

91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?

No. I'm not doing this for any kind of numbers.

92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?

Currently, no.

93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?

I do write my blog posts in a simple text editor first. I have an easier time writing and editing there. I then copy and paste it into my HTML file and add the tags.

94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?

I'm too old to really care if I appear cool to others. I'm not here to please anyone. I don't remember off the top of my head if anyone has ever called me cool before. I'll take that compliment anytime though. And no, this is not contradictory. You can at the same time not care how you appear and still enjoy a compliment.

95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?

I think I'm also too old to be truly embarrassed. It's a past version of myself that did what they did. There was a reason for it. There's no need to be ashamed of that. We learn and grow as we get older. That doesn't mean that I'd want to show my old stuff to anyone, but it does have a right to existence regardless. I have deleted stuff because I didn't want to have them online anymore. But the reason was not shame or embarrassment.

96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?

I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet.

97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?

Both. There are things I don't say or show, but do offline, and vice versa.

98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?

I don't have someone I'd call a best online friend. I have lovely online aquaintances though.

99. And do you optimise the images on your website?

Optimise? I shrink them down, and adjust the white balance if neccessary etc. if that's what is meant here.

100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ....other than exhausted.

Wow, that were 100 questions already?

Who's still here? Well done! And now I want to read your answers to these 100 questions. What are you waiting for?

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 31.december.2025

I have never done a year in review post, but with all the handmade "wrapped" posts that have been popping up on various blogs, I wanted to do one, too. I want to concentrate on books and music, as I haven't consumed a lot of other media, oddly enough. There was a time when I would go to the cinema once a week, every week. But those have gone, unfortunately. And even though I do watch series and films at home, it's nothing I am really obsessed with or want to talk about. So books and music it is.

I picked personal highlights. If you want to see all the stats, have a look at my books at bookrastinating.com and my music scrobbles on last.fm or ListenBrainz. (Since my post about scrobbling I went and deleted all non-music listens on either site, which lowered my numbers significantly.)

Books

Let's start with books. I do read paper books, e-books, and listen to audio books. I also love audio dramas, though I do not count them as books. There'll be an honorary mention at the end though.

A re-discovery: Commissario Brunetti novels by Donna Leon

Earlier this year I got back into Italian, via my new Italian-German co-worker and my re-ignited love for Italian pop music (more on that further down). This lead into re-committing myself to learning the language and eventually starting a new course in October, after a pause of several years.

On the first day of the course I went into the bookstore and seeked out the shelf with all the crime novels. I was looking for something in particular: a Commissario Brunetti novel by Donna Leon. Any one of them, I didn't care which. I had started to read them about 25 years ago but after a few years I stopped and never kept up to date. I have several gaps in my collection and don't know if I even read all the ones I already owned. There was one single one of those novels in that shelf at the store: #32 "So shall you reap". I bought it and began to read immediately. I finished 4 days later. These books read so fast. I felt right back at home in the world of the commissario, but also realised that I have missed quite a bit of development of and between the characters. And I wanted more. So I started back at the beginning with book #1 "Death at La Fenice" and moved my way up to #9 "Friends in High Places", which I finished just before the end of the year. I have rarely read books as fast as I am reading these.

Even though I usually read books that are originally written in English in that language, I do read these in German. Back when I started to read them I hadn't gone that step yet. I also am a fan of the publisher, Diogenes, and their designs. Some may find it boring and monotone, but I find it oddly fascinating. I also simply like how these books feel in my hand.

Eye-opener: Begin Transmission. The trans allegories of the Matrix. by Tilly Bridges

I've seen the original "Matrix" in the cinema back in the day and was blown away as everyone was. I also went to watch "Matrix: Relaoded", which did not blow me away at all. It left me confused. I never watched "Matrix: Revolutions" until a few years ago, but went back into the cinema for "Matrix: Resurrections", which hit me right in the heart. It's probably my favourite of the four. The two middle films kept bugging me though. I wanted to understand them. I wanted to love them. And then I saw Tilly's book. And then I read it, re-watching the films alongside it. And then I fell in love with the middle two films, and with the series as a whole. It all makes sense now. These films are brilliant! Tilly Bridges' book is brilliant! Read it!!

Tear-jerker: Die Auferstehung. von Andreas Eschbach

This is a German book, about a German phenomenon: Die drei ???. Writing about it here, in English, may seem a bit odd, but I'm going to do it anyway.

This book is set in the world of the The Three Investigators. This is an originally American book series, which kind of got its own life in Germany. Both as a book series, but probably even more so as a series of audio dramas (the first of which has been published in 1979 and they are still going strong). And now there are even (new) films. These stories are all set around three teenaged boys solving crimes. This book however is set some 30 or 40 years in the future, where those three best friends have become estranged and only through the events in the story are slowly finding their ways back to one another.

For me, this was a book full of pain, a single midlife crisis. I cried so much. Which is just an indicator for how deeply it touched me. The crime they need to solve isn't bad either. Some fans think it's too dark. The case itself is not, I think. But due to the rift between the three it is not the usual light read. It is a good one though. I listened to the audiobook and the excellent narrator, actor and voice actor Matthias Koeberlin, did his part in making this book as impactful for me as it was.

Filling in the gaps: Star Trek: Kahn audio drama series

This is the honorary mention. As I mentioned above, I love audio dramas. And I looooove that there are Star Trek audio dramas now.¹

Star Trek: Khan is presented as a 9 episode podcast, available for free (with ads). It features Naveen Andrews as Khan and Wrenn Schmidt as Marla McGyvers, as well as Tim Russ as Lt. Tuvok and George Takei as Captain Sulu, and many other great voice actors. It's enganging, suspensful, and a good bridge between what we've got to see on screen. I really really hope that there will be more Star Trek audio dramas in the future.

Music

On to music. Oh, how I love music. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile, as I listen on my laptop or my phone. But I do love music. I listen to it pretty much every day.

Italian pop music

As I mentioned above, I've been on an Italian kick this year. Since Sanremo, and even more so since Eurovision, I dove deep into Italian pop music. Not so much in numbers, but in intensity. I went back to some old favourites, but also (re-)discovered a few others.

Diodato

I read him being described somewhere as an "intense" singer/ songwriter. And I think that's not wrong. He has some good songs about trying to grapple with the current state of things. Here's one of those: Un atto di rivoluzione.

Lucio Corsi

I learned about him through Sanremo this year and pretty much immediately fell in love with his music. Probably my favourite song of his is "Orme". It has brought me to tears. Here's a live version. But the song that I should actually call my favourite is his newest: "Notte di Natale". I am obsessed with this song. And I don't even know why. I don't even particularly like Christmas. But this song just feels like a wonderfully warm and comfy blanket, like a hug.

Baustelle

A band I do remember from their first album, but at the time I wasn't into them. That changed this year, 25 years later, with their latest album "El Galactico". I don't know how to describe their music. You have to listen for yourself. One of my favourites is Spogliami.

...and more

I have a few more favourites, like The Kolors and Tommaso Paradiso, and many more still to explore. I've written a blog post about some favourite songs in July: Obsession: Italian music. If you care for a playlist with my current favourites, here's the one I keep on Tidal: Conazoni italiane. I keep the same list on ListenBrainz, but not all songs are yet in their MusicBrainz database. (I'll add them eventually.)

Synth sounds and more

Even though this music year was absolutely mainly about Italian music, I did listen to a few others. Here's a selection:

• Die Fantastischen Vier -- a German hip hop/ pop band. I set out to listen my way through all their stuff, but got heavily side tracked. I want to finish that in the new year. I've been collecting my favourite songs in a playlist and will add to it until I'm through.
• David Bowie -- Do I need to say more?
• Daft Punk -- See above.
• The Midnight -- One of my favourite synth bands. They released a new album this year: "Syndicate".
• Maniac -- I have to mention this song by Carpenter Brut feat. Yann Ligner. Wow! This is such a great, dare I say intense, version of the Michael Sembello classic.

The return of the CD

Not only have I started to (re-)build my DVD collection, I have also started to buy CDs again, where possible. Streaming is simply not good enough. The artists don't get paid well, and products can simply disappear if it suits the production companies (see the fate of Star Trek: Prodigy, as only one example). Where it's not possible to get the physical medium, I buy the digital albums. For that I either use Bandcamp or Qobuz.

In addition I have also started to listen to more locally stored files again. The next step is either to get my old Creative Zen Mozaic to work again, or buy a new portable music player of some kind. (I'm miffed that I didn't buy a Tangara when they were still available.)

On to 2026

What did you listen to or read or watch in 2025 that was significant to you? Are you looking forward to a certain release in 2026? The new year is just about to start and I do not know what's in store mediawise. What will be released? What will I discover? I can't wait to find out.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 19.december.2025

I'm in my mid fourties now, and I think it's pretty safe to say that I am in the middle of my life, with one half lived and the other, if I'm lucky, still to live. So when I think about taking things slowly, I also always think about how I probaly won't have enough time for that.

Now, this coming from me of all people, the slowest ass ever, is a bit strange. But the fear, or what could become a fear anyway, is real. I am at least at the beginning of the second half of my life, I haven't achieved anything (not really), I have done and experienced very little, and time is running out. That is a bit scary.

And yet I am here, thinking and writing about taking things (more) slowly (again). Maybe these thoughts come automatically with getting older? Maybe as we approach the end of our lives we start to wish for (good) moments to last a little while longer, to move a bit more slowly?

Time and care

The world has been in the mode of "higher, faster, and more of everything" for a while now. I don't know these things, and I can be so wrong about this, but I always think about the starting point for that as the industrial revolution. I imagine (fantasise?) that before machines started to replace manual labour, things were allowed to take the time they needed. To make a dress, a pair of shoes, stockings, saddles, bread, beer, anything simply takes time -- and care. They go hand in hand. If you put care into things, you automatically take time to do so, because doing otherwise would not be careful.

E-mails are letters

A few months ago I received one of the rare e-mail responses to one of my blog posts. The writer closed that e-mail with the wish to keep this conversation going and keep exchanging e-mails. I was delighted. And then I procrastinated on actually replying. It took me about a month (I didn't check) to finally do so. And the other person took their time to reply in turn. We talked about this in these first e-mails. And since we're so slow at replying to each other, it was still a topic in my last e-mail.

I said that taking weeks to reply to an e-mail is like writing letters. Depending on how long they take to get from sender to receiver, it can be weeks between letters. And since we are on pretty much the opposite sides of the planet, that would actually be the case with us!

I don't think that just because e-mails take no time to reach their destination it means we have to reply immediately. It's like with instant messaging: Just because it's instantly delivered does not mean you have to instantly reply. You can if you are able and want to. But you do not have to. I send messages at a time that is convenient to me. And so should you.

I know it can be frustrating when you have to wait though. E.g. I hate that my brother never answers my questions about what to get his kids for their birthdays until a few days before their actual birthdays. But that's a different topic.

In the case of my e-mail exchange the waiting is not frustrating at all. I enjoy that this is a slow thing.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 11.november.2025

There are things I want to do, but don't. I literally can't. I think it may be an inhibition of control over my executive functions, but I've never been diagnosed, so what do I actually know. I do know that I've always had problems with getting started. Over the years I have relaxed a little and am not completely annoyed by it anymore. I came to realise that some things need the right time to happen. And this right time might come, or it might not. But there are also things that I should do in a timely fashion. Like housework. E.g. not vacuuming for a number of weeks is not especially preferable, don't you think? *sigh*

But this is not what I want to talk about. I recently read Joel's I wanna do it but then I don't, and also talked to him a bit about it. I especially referenced the 2-sentence journal he mentions in his post. I do have a beautiful 5-year journal by Japanese journal brand Hobonichi. These things are expensive, but with their simple design, wonderful paper, and extremely beautiful covers (here's mine), they are just a joy to look at and use. If you're actually using them that is. When I got mine a few years back I was still in the middle of my journaling and stationery phase. I knew that this phase could end anytime, but I still wanted to commit to this 5-year journal. Because it did not require anything but a single word, or a sentence or two a day. Easy, right?

For the first few weeks it kinda was. I picked up a differently inked fountain pen every day and wrote a few general, and not too personal sentences. Sometimes I had to catch up a few days, but that was ok. But then the stretches I had to catch up on got longer and longer, until I stopped catching up, until I stopped writing in it entirely. And so this beautiful, expensive journal sat unused for months, which turned into years. It's still sitting like that. I have taken it out and added a few things here and there. But for the most part it is empty. Every couple of weeks I think I should pick it up again. Why not today? Why not right now? But I don't.

Joel writes: "Committment [sic!] is kind of difficult. Even for something that should be easy like writing two sentences in a journal [...]"

Isn't that weird? Why is that so? I have no answer to that. At least not a scientific, or proven one. But I did think about it for me and my case: Why do I not pick up my journal again? Here are the reasons I came up with:

1. There are so many gaps already, so much empty space, it will be a sad empty journal no matter what.
2. My life is too boring.
3. I won't be able to pull it through anyway, so why bother.
4. I'd have to clean and ink my fountain pens first, that I didn't use for months, because of course I gave myself the rule to only use fountain pens in that journal.

Big facepalm! Because of course these are such stupid reasons for not using my journal again. LOL Let's have a closer look:

1. Not adding anything will not make it any more beautiful. This journal is there to be used. So use it!
2. No it's not. And even if, the mundane is what is truly special!
3. I can't pull it through if I don't try.
4. They are my rules, and I can always change them. There is no journal police. Perfect is the enemy of done, idiot! (I have to add though, that this is a point I have managed to overcome earlier this year, when I did journal for a week or so in spring. Of course I had forgotten all about it in the meantime. 🤦‍♀️)

The funniest bit is that these are all things I'd say to anyone else. Why is it so hard to follow your own advice?

While typing all this I've had an idea: I will, right now, pick a pen, open the journal to today's page, and write something down. -- And here's the proof. Half of what I wrote is nonsense and I hate it. LOL But it's done, and that's what counts. Fun fact: I do not usually journal in English.

So, will I keep it up now? Maybe even fill in some gaps? Who knows. But at least I wrote something for today. And that's better than not having written anything.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 02.november.2025

I finally subscribed to Noelle‘s blog! Why this took me so long I do not know. Sorry, Noelle! There‘s a post from August where she answers this question:

If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell?

I like Noelle's "bookstore and coffee shop that sells merchandise focused on local businesses and artists." I think I would go in a similar direction.

I can see myself selling used books and CDs, --and why not throw DVDs in as well. I‘d also love to have a board game corner. Yes, a rack with zines would fit right in there, too, don‘t you think? Imagining this shop I can also see second hand clothes. Maybe there‘s also a little repair station somewhere, with sewing supplies to fix small problems.

Which means I‘d basically be a second hand shop. One with a bit of community added to it with the repair station, and the games corner, because I can see board game nights happening every once in a while.

That all reminds me of the repair shop/ community centre I was planning for a text based role play that never got going… 🤔

What would you sell if you had a shop? Do you have a shop maybe, online or brick and mortar? Tell me all about it!

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 21.october.2025

Last year I read "How to Keep House while Drowning" by KC Davis. It's a small book, so it is quick and easy to read. It has changed my perspective on what a clean house is and how to deal with it a lot. (Here's a video where she talks about it.) In chapter 36 ("Oursourcing care tasks is morally neutral") the author says that "[s]ometimes just having someone to keep you company while you complete tasks is helpful." I agree! This thought then has sparked the following idea:

An online platform where people can find cleaning buddies.

Cleaning buddies?

Some people struggle with house work, or care tasks, how KC Davis calls them. (I so goddamn certainly do.) So through this platform/ service you would find a person who's there virtually, while you do said care tasks. That way it may be easier for you to actually get up and do the work. You could both work at the same time, or one person could just keep the other company.

I don't know if I'd actually use such a service myself. I would much rather have a friend on the telephone to be my buddy than a person I don't know, but I bet there are people out there who would.

I acutally wrote a very short summary about how this could look like. I am not posting it here though*, because it's not really something I want to build. Thinking about it however is fun. (Am I weird that I like to plan out stuff that will never be, just for fun?)

... and how to find them

Anyway, in the meantime I actually have started a weekly phone call with one and sometimes two of my best friends. And we do stuff while talking:

• dishes
• laundry
• cleaning
• cooking
• taking the trash out
• etc.

The cool thing was that when I talked to my friends about my struggles and the book, one of them immediately said that we should have calls every week. I thought that I may have to offer that idea and ask them to do it, but I was preaching to the choir. We started at the beginning of the year, and are still going. We sometimes have a few weeks where we do not talk for various reasons and then I tend to not do as many care tasks. But at the same time these calls have been motivating me to do them even before the call: I often start working an hour before.

Though the cleaning buddy system I've been building with my friends is working, let's be real here: My flat still is very messy. Just not quite as messy as before.

Bonus: I've never talked to my friends that often before. They are my best friends, we go on holidays together, but I never talked to them on a regular basis like that since the first Covid lockdown, or even before. (We held weekly digital "Covid Parties" during lockdown where we played silly games and just had a lot of fun together.)

Sometimes the "cleaning calls" take only an hour, sometimes they take three hours. It's simply a wonderful way to stay in contact, talk (and rant) about our week, have fun, and get a few things done that I wouldn't have done otherwise.

Another thing that has helped me getting stuff done is posting about it on social media. I simply publish a post saying that I need stuff to do, sometimes I even add a list with all the things. People quickly start liking or even commenting, which motivates me a lot. Even if they doubt I will cross everything off my list. (In good fun! I asked once in a poll if they thought I could finish all my tasks or not.) During the day I update my progress until I am done, or out of time. It's amazing how talking about my care tasks publicliy motivates me to start and continue doing them.

How do you motivate youself to do care tasks?

Do you have a buddy system like that going? Do you meet with friends for errand hangs? I recently learned about those, and was pretty surprised that some people think they show that you're not independent enough? Please, if you feel you could need a little help from your friends by having them hang out with you while doing care tasks, you are not not independent enough!! What you show in those moments is that you know what would help you do the thing. And a good friend will be willing to help you and spend quality time with you. Humans are group animals anyway. Most of us need company to feel good. So please do never ever feel bad about wanting company, no matter the reason.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 01.august.2025

I've been subscribed to a newsletter for many years. In the last couple of years, I admit, I haven't read it. But the other day I did - and when I arrived at the bottom of the letter I unsubscribed. Not because I realised I hadn't read it in a long time. Not because I'm not even really interested in the topic anymore. But because of the use of a very clearly "AI" generated image.

I am very much against "AI" programmes like Chat GPT and the like. They are harmful to our planet, to creatives, and therefore to humanity at large. I don't like the term "AI" either. While these programmes are artificial alright, there is nothing intelligent about any of them. It's a programme, not a thinking mind.

Anyway, I unsubscribed. I posted on social media: "You use AI generated images in your newsletter? I unsubscribe," and got a few responses that made me think about it a bit more. Am I too harsh in my refusal, not nuanced enough? But then I realised: What really pisses me off about "AI" generated output (besides the environmental and ethical implications) is when the people who use it don't seem to give a fucking shit about what they actually put out there. E.g. so many images are so very obviously "AI" generated that it jumps into your face immediately. If, say, a book in such an image looks like it comes straight out of an image by Escher, I actually do feel offended. Yes, offended.

Does that person think their audience will not recognise the flaw? If so, they must think their audience pretty stupid. Or did the person not see the flaw themselves? Then they can't take their audience seriously enough to put actual effort into their product by taking the time to thoroughly examine the "AI" output. Further, does this person want my engagement, maybe even my money, but is not willing to put effort or money in creating their product or the marketing for that product? Whatever it is, their behaviour is offensive and they are not worth my time, let alone my money.

There are resources out there that offer free photos and graphics, made by humans, who give their work to the world to use. Sure, finding these resources is time consuming, and searching through them for the right image is even more time consuming. But again: Does this person want my engagement, maybe even my money, but is not willing to put effort or money in creating their product or the marketing for that product? If that is so, then why exactly should I care?

I do understand that owning a small business is not easy and money might be tight. But that is the case for other artists as well. Using harmful technology because it's easier and seemingly cheaper for you is bad behaviour. Interstingly, the person I mentioned above used to use images from Unsplash and other similar places. Why the switch to "AI" now?

People who use "AI" generated output make their decision, and they are free to do so. But so am I. They decide to throw bad "AI" output into my face, I decide to unsubscribe and not do business with them. No one has to like my decision, the same as I don't have to like theirs.

How are you handling "AI" content? Do you disengage as quickly as I do, or are you not quite so fast? There are (almost 😉) no wrong answers. I think everyone has their own reasons and pain barriers, and that's usually fine.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 08.july.2025

Over 25 years ago I fell in love with the Italian language. I had to pick a second foreign language at school, but had some weird experience with a French class two years before so that I did not want to pick that up again. Luckily, there was another language that was offered: Italian. So this one was it. And it was one of the better decisions I made in my life.

Over the years, as is my custom, I went back and forth between engaging with the language by taking a class and listening to a lot of music, and not doing any of it. For some months, starting with this year's Sanremo festival but really going off after Eurovision, I've been very deep into it again. I've been listening to Italian music exclusively for weeks and I don't know how to stop. My range is not exactly broad though. However, I thought I'd like to list some of my all-time and current favourites.

I am currently translating songs just for myself, so that I understand what they are about. And though I still don't understand everything completely (translating is complicated), it's a good exercise. I will not provide translations here, especially not mine, but give links to lyricstranslate.com instead. That site is a very good help when I have problems with certain lines. Most songs have English translations there, though unfortunately not all. But if you're interested I bet you know how to get them translated yourself. I will also link to song.link, a page that lists lots of places where you can listen to, watch a video of, or buy each song.

Here we go, in no particular order.

Francesco de Gregori - La donna cannone

This is one of my all-time favourite songs ever. It has a wonderfully melancholic tone and a beautiful story.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lucio Corsi - Volvevo essere un duro

The song he performed at Sanremo (and made second place), and to my utter delight also at Eurovision. The moment I first saw his performance at Sanremo I was in love. His songs are fantastic, whimsical, funny, and very very beautiful. He has such amazingly beautiful texts that it hurts at times! This one is no exception.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lucio Corsi - Un altro mondo

I love the first two lines a lot, as well as the chorus. I mean:

La pianta carnivora un giorno mi ha detto:
"Per avere la voce una bocca non basta."

And the chorus:

Che esista un altro mondo
io non ne dubito
Basta credere agli occhi
credere agli occhi
anche quando si chiudono

Wonderful, isn't it! And then there are the two very hot e-guitar solos. Oh my word! There was one week a while ago where I would listen to this song on rotation. For hours. I'm sure it was very unhealthy. LOL

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lucio Corsi - Nel cuore della notte

6 and a half minutes just the piano and his voice. So good! I love the tone a lot and how he adapts the structure of the song according to the story he tells. Like when he whistles after a train runs past whistling in the first stanza. Or how the one about the cat (my favourite stanza) gets some extra lines. This one is probably my favourite of Corsi's songs. And another one I listened to for an unhealthy amount of times in a row for days.

song.link ~ a nicer video ~ Unfortunately there is no English translation on lyricstranslate.com (yet).

Let's take a short break from Lucio Corsi now (there will be more later, don't worry), and turn to another of my favourite singers.

Diodato - Un'altra estate

Written during the first Covid summer, which hit Italy especially hard, this song carried me through 2020 and also through a good portion of 2021. Every time I go to the sea (which is only once a year, sadly) it plays in my head.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Diodato - Non ti amo più

I love the juxtaposition of the text and the music. The latter is so upbeat and happy, but the text is about not loving a partner anymore, being appalled by them really, and breaking up with them.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Diodato - Vieni a ridere di me

One of things he is really good at is writing these sad love songs. "Fai Rumore" and "Quello che mi manca di te" are two others. Here we find the protagonist completely lost after a breakup. Wonderfully melancholic and sad.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

And now let's travel back in time once more, into the good old 1990's.

Jovanotti - Serenata Rap

I don't know what to say about that one. It's a classic in my eyes. I do have difficulties watching the video though. LOL (Don't watch it if you've got fear of heights.)

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lùnapop - Niente di più

They only had one album, a few years after which the lead singer, Cesare Cremonini, embarked on a solo career. This song has been a favourite of mine for a loooong time, but it took me until a week or so ago to finally listen to that album ("...squérez?"). I actually listened to the 20th anniversary edition ("...squèrez?" - notice the different accent on the first e.) with lots of bonus songs. It was a lot of fun. The sound is so 90's/ turn of the century. I am loving it! Once I can get away form Lucio Corsi and Diodato for a bit longer I may have to dive into Cesare Cremonini's work.

song.link ~ Unfortunately there is no English translation on lyricstranslate.com (yet).

Back to this century with...

The Kolors - Tu con chi fai l'amore

They started out singing in English, but since they first participated at the Sanremo festival in 2018 they are singing in Italian. Which was a good decision in my opinion. This one is their entry at this year's festival.

What I like about The Kolors is that their songs are fun and often have a great synth/ disco sound. I'm not a dancer, but their songs make me want to move my body.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

The Kolors - Leoni al sole

I said above that The Kolors are fun. This song however is a bit different. Maybe because Tommaso Paradiso (more of him below) is a co-writer. It's beautiful and a bit melancholic. Like a summer day that was too hot and too long.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Tommaso Paradiso - Non avere paura

Before going solo he was the singer of the band Thegiornalisti. Do check them out also. (I really enjoy their "New York".)

This one is a beautiful love song. Watch the video! It's full of Italian musicians.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Tommaso Paradiso - I nostri anni

I don't even know what this song makes me feel like. It's a mix of melancholy and hope. It just speaks to me at this moment. It's a bit like a hymn, too. "Fanculo tutto, questi sono i nostri anni!"

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lucio Corsi - Situazione complicata

I promised I would get back to him. This one is funny, and also a bit sad. Poor protagonist.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lucio Corsi - Orme

When I said that some of his songs are so beautiful that it hurts, this is one of the top ones of those. I wanna cry, that's how beautiful it is. Especially the chorus:

Certe orme sono ferite sulla riva
che non spariscono con le onde
ma restano stampate sulla pelle a vita

Don't let the image distract you. It's the cover for a double single with the song "Magia nera", which has a beautiful text as well.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

Lucio Corsi - Tu sei il mattino

Ok, I swear this is the last one of his. I love this one so much. What a beautiful story! Don't watch the video though. It's disgusting and I don't I think I ever finished it because of it.

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

I have to close with another classic, a true hymn, something that seems to have gotten rare:

Toto Cutugno - Insieme: 1992

In 1990 Cutugno made second place at Sanremo with a different title. That year he went to perform at Eurovision instead of the winner, presenting this song. And he won!

It is one we should take to heart as Europeans once more. It's about a united Europe, about love without borders, about the stars on our one flag, about being one together. All this is currently being threatened by paranoia and right wing politics. Instead of open borders, Germany, my own country, has closed its borders again. What an utter shame! There are federal police officers with guns on every border crossing now. That's not what Europe should be like! Our strength is our unity, our friendship, our common values, our open borders. I want that back! And let those from outside Europe, who seek this freedom, peace, and unity for themselves too, take part as well. So let's all sing along: "Insieme, united, united Europe!"

song.link ~ English translation on lyricstranslate.com

I could have gone on and on. Yes, I know, there are a lot of songs by Lucio Corsi in this list. But what can I say that I haven't said before: I love his music so very much! Maybe I'll do a part two some time, one that will be a bit more diverse perhaps. We'll see.

And the word of this post is... melancholic/ melancholy. It seems to be the vibe I gravitate to. Make of that what you will.

Do you have a musical obsession, too? Tell me about it!

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 16.june.2025

This is a reply to Manuel Moreale's post "On corpses, selfishness, and ownership". Instead of replying directly via e-mail I thought I'd be a good blogger and reply publicly.

Mauel writes that with the new ID in Italy you have to say if you want to be an organ donor or not so that it can be included on your ID. That is not the case in Germany. I had to get a new credit card size ID a few years back (I guess it's an EU thing) and they did not ask me that question. We do however have an extra organ donor card that is entirely optional.

Before I continue I want to state that I agree with Manuel in that it is selfish to not be an organ donor. Even for religious reasons I do not understand if you aren't. What god would want you to not help another human to survive? (Hint: I am not religious.)

Back to the German organ donor card. It used to be a rather big card board card, but now is plastic credit card size, too. You can order one already filled in, or get an empty one and fill it in by hand, or register online. There are several options for if and what to donate:

• Yes, take what you need
• Yes, but don't take these organs
• Yes, but only take these organs
• No, don't take any organs
• This person should decide if yes or no [which is a pretty shitty option to tick as well]

Instead of having to carry an extra card, I would have liked to have it attatched to my ID as well. Since every German citizen has to have one (either an ID card or a passport), it would be so easy. On the other hand, what if you change your decision later, before you need a new ID?

So my proposal is this: Don't make organ donation opt-in, but opt-out. Every citizen is an organ donor, full stop. Excpet when they opt out. Way better for people waiting for an organ. Which I don't need anymore when I'm dead and decaying.

In Germany, on December 31, 2024 there were 8,575 people waiting for an organ donation. In all of 2024 there were 953 organ donors. We can do better! (Source: organspende-info.de)

I was curious to see how many people in Germany carry an organ donor card. The official website gives me the following numbers from a sample survey in 2024:

• 62% have made a decision
• 45% have documented this decision in an organ donor card, or a patient's provision, or both
• 16% have made a decision but did not document it anywhere
• 35% have not made a decision yet
• 85% think positively about organ donation

Ok, great that 85% percent think that organ donation is a good thing. But why haven't all of them filled out an organ donor card? Also, why haven't the 16% who have made a decision not documented it anywhere? All the reasons for an opt-out situtation for organ donation are right there in this survey!

If you are in Germany, here are some links for you if you are interested in organ donation:

• Get an organ donation card (Organspendeausweis), or register online: organspende-info.de
• Register as a bone marrow donor: dkms.de - This is really easy to do. You get a swab kit, take some saliva samples and send them back. Done.
• Donate blood, too!

If you are not in Germany, please inform yourself about the options available to you. Consider this: People die because they don't get a new organ. You can get into the situation of having to rely on organ donation any time yourself. And then you are happy if you can get the one you need. Why not be the one to give another human the chance to live, too?

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 06.june.2025

In April of this year I reactivated my last.fm account after 12.5 years. Yes, twelve and a half years. I've registered my account in 2005 and last scrobbled a song in 2012. During that time I scrobbled 13,900 tracks. Since re-activing my account (and until the time of publication of this post) I already scrobbled 4,020 tracks. (Actually more, but I deleted some.)

Wow! But that's no wonder, since I had to be on my computer listening to music for it to be scrobbled back in the day, when now I can have various apps on my phone hooked up to last.fm. So when in the past everything I listened to on my mp3 player or discman or CD player could not be scrobbled, I can now tell the whole world what I'm listening to wherever I am. I am not really listening to more music today than I did 15 years ago. I can just let last.fm know about it now.

But why scrobble in the first place?

Frankly, I do not know. Why, in the age of billionaire owned companies gobbling up all the data they can get their dirtly little hands on about each and every one of us, we are willingly blasting out into the world what we are listening to this very second, I never knew. And yet I did it then and am doing it again now. It's fun, I guess?

What I find interesting is, that very quickly after frist starting to track my music, I started to become very conscious about what I was listening to. I'm often very private in what I like, and presenting my listening habits to everyone felt like being stripped naked in public. I was careful what I would listen to. I don't think I was very consistent with it, though. Still, the question of "What do people think of me when they see I'm listening to XYZ?" always lingered in the back of my head. At one point then I stopped scrobbling. I probably couldn't see the point in it any longer. All the funnier that I have started again.

What's different now is that I don't give a shit about what other people think about what I listen to. I mean, let's be honest: Who looks at it anyway? Do you look at what people listen to?

Which of course brings us back to the question of why doing it at all. "It's fun, I guess" will be my final answer to that.

I have to admit though, that I do sometimes delete scrobbles. Not out of embarassment, though. I realised that Tidal, the music streaming service I am currently using, for some reason completely beyond my comprehension puts a whole album of a favourite audio drama series in a dedicated playlist - which somehow gets scrobbled as the same track over and over. So when I'm not careful about where I hit "play" that means that instead of as 40 different tracks, that album/ playlist gets tracked as 40 times 1 track. Yeah, not in my scrobble history. So of course I delete the whole wrongly scrobbled thing from my history. It would ruin my beautiful list otherwise. If (or rather when) I'm obsessing over a song, I want the right one to show up at the top of my list. It's only an audio drama anyway. I often play them to fall asleep to so I don't need them in my history anyway. I wished there was a way to automatically exclude them from being scrobbled.

Would I delete other tracks too? Maybe. Maybe not. If so it would be for my own vanity. Because as I said, I couldn't care less if you or anyone would judge me by my listening habit. That's your business.

Where I scrobble

In the years between when last.fm was new and now there have been other scrobbling services popping up. Besides last.fm I have recently signed up to ListenBrainz as well. The cool thing about the latter is that I can integrate it into my fedi account. Sharkey, the server software I'm using, allows for linking to your ListenBrainz account so that everytime you listen to something it shows up in your profile. You have to look at my profile either directly, or at least from another Sharkey/ possibly Misskey server. If you're looking at my profile through e.g. Mastodon you're not going to see it.

Do you scrobble your music?

If you want, feel free to befriend/ follow me on either or both of the following services and be surprised, amused, or unfazed by my frequent obsessions and wild mix of styles of music I listen to:

• last.fm
• ListenBrainz

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 31.may.2025

This is a very late response to something I read some years ago on social media in response to beloved Star Trek characters being killed off on screen.

The short answer:

No.

The long answer:

No, because there are books, and comics, and games, and audio dramas, and fan fiction, -- and what you dream up in your head. What's on the screen may be official, but it's not all there is. The tv series and films only show us one way a story can go. There are so many more. The screenwriters aren't the only people allowed to write stories. And even if you don't write stories, you can still imagine them. That's what your head is for. Use it.

The even longer answer:

I love Star Trek. The good, the bad, the guly. All of it. Slap "Star Trek" on it and I'm going to watch and love it. No matter what. Is it always perfect? No. Do I have nitpicks? Of course.

How I deal with these cases is as follows:

1. I know that Star Trek is story, not real life, and I treat it as such,
2. I ignore alpha canon and stay with the books,
3. Five words and a Hashtag¹: I refuse to accept that. #headcanon.

About a)

A story is a story is a story. Someone imagines it and tells it. And because that someone is a human, there may be parts of it that are not perfect or to our liking. And that's ok, because it's just a story, a work of fiction, something imagined. I cannot be robbed of anything by someone else's imagination. And therefore, if a beloved character dies, I am allowed to imagine a different turn of the story.

About b)

In Star Trek everything on screen is official and therefore "alpha canon". Only what you see on screen counts for everything that comes after. The stuff that happens in the books and comics, the games, and the audio dramas is officialy licensed, but not official canon. Not really at least. Or only until it is contradicted on screen. Or something in between. But who cares? I certainly don't. And the only people who actually should care are the screenwriters. Because for everybody else this "beta canon" is a great enrichment to the world we love so much. Just think about all the adventures our beloved characters and a whole lot of new ones can go on! There are novels and comics that continue storylines or even whole shows after they have been concluded on screen. There are stories that are set inbetween seasons or even episodes. I bet there are stories that are set during episodes. There are whole new series written. Star Trek in the novels is huge. There even was a whole "LitVerse" of interconnected novels that came to an end in an epic trilogy in 2021. In short:

• Sometimes books are written, but their stories get contradicted later by what happens on screen.
• Sometimes books are written to right the wrongs that happened on screen. (#TripLives)
• Most of the times both alpha and beta canons live happily alongside each other.

About c)

And sometimes, if neither screen nor book does our favourite hero justice, we can still dream up our own stories. We can write them down as fan fiction or just keep them for ourselves in our heads.

Onscreen, "alpha" canon is not everything. In the end, Star Trek is just² a story. A dream. And you, my dear reader, can be the dreamer. ;)

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 24.may.2025

When I read Joel's post I immediately started to answer the questions in my head. He later invited me to join. But it took me until today to finally put this post together. Sometimes things take time.

I do not watch a lot of series. Most definitely not the latest and hottest. Instead of following a hype, I tend to take a few steps backwards. But I do have my favourites. The biggest one of course being the entire glory that is Star Trek. So, spoiler alert, there's a lot of Star Trek in my replies to the following three questions. LLAP!

What TV character from a beloved show do you wish you could be best friends with in real life?

My first, pretty much immediate thought was Tilly of Star Trek: Discovery. She's amazing. We meet her as a pretty awkward cadet who's very intimidated by having to share a room with Michael Burnham, who's been convicted for mutiny. Over the course of the 5 seasons she grows into a confident, supporting, bad ass woman and friend, who's not afraid to speak frankly to her supperior officers if they need it. She's smart and a real party animal, which is all not what I am, so of course I want her to be my friend.

Another character coming to mind is Honda Tohru of Fruits Basket (2019). This show had a big impact on me when I first watched it a few years ago. This is such a special story.

If you could binge-watch an entire series again for the first time, which one would you choose and why?

I do not binge watch series. It's too much. I can watch maybe 2 "hour long" and 2-3 "half hour" episodes quite comfortably. My attention span is not much longer however, and after a while I want to do something else. Also, my head is full then with all the impressions. I have to process them and think about it first before I can continue watching.

That said, I think it would be cool to watch Star Trek: Deep Space 9 again for the first time. It is so deep and complex and the characters and story build over time. I am currently re-watching the show, and even though I do not remember every detail of every episode, I do remember a lot (it's not the first time I'm re-watching). Being able to watch those great characters and the whole story develop over time for the first time again would be pretty nice I think.

Name a TV show that changed your perspective on the world or taught you something valuable

Star Trek is always good for a valuable lesson. There are so many fantastic episodes that comment on the state of the world, or how this world should be. But I wouldn't necessarily say it changed my perspective. I think it much rather aligns with my values and that's why I love it so much.

Now you

As always I am inviting you to answer these questiong too, if you like. And if you do, please tell me about it so I can read them!

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 11.may.2025

Axxuy recently talked about how he drinks coffee and asked his readers to do the same.

Growing up and watching Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, I really wanted to like coffee, too, but didn't. I thought it was bitter and harsh. Over time I grew to love it though. I learned that if you have good quality beans and know how to prepare it, the coffee is not bitter at all. Buy good quality coffee, people!

When I make coffee at home, like I do every morning, I drink it black. I buy good quality beans that I grind fresh. My method of brewing is pour over. I grew up that way and like that I don't need a big machine for it. Just a kettle, a filter holder and filters. I neither weigh my beans, nor my water. I don't care about that. I pour the coffee directly into a thermos and take it to work with me.

In the afternoon at work I fill the same thermos with instant coffee. I know I know, blasphemy. But instant coffee for me is a different drink. It's fine, I'm fine.

When I'm out I usually never have black coffee, because oftentimes it's not good or to my taste. So I most often get a latte macchiato, sometimes a cappuccino or café au lait. Never ever do I have iced coffee, cold brew, or ice coffee (ice cream with coffee). Coffee has to be hot and black, or, as a specialty, come with milk or milk foam, and no sugar. Yes, a person drinking instant coffee probably shouldn't be so picky, but I am. LOL

Sometimes I have an espresso, too. But I never make that one myself either.

Any coffee lovers among my readers? If so, I'd love to read how you make and drink your coffee (or have it made).

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 6.may.2025

The only social media I'm using these days is the fediverse. I have several accounts on different software for different applications: I use Shareky for micro blogging (i.e. general chatting and blabbering things into the universe), Pixelfed for photos (though I don't really use it and am actually thinking about deleting my account), and BookWyrm for keeping track of my reading and for writing little reviews.

There are many great features about the fediverse. One of which is that you can migrate your account from one server to another. That's really cool. I have done that before. You can take your followers with you, the people you follow, and your personal block lists. I never did the "proper" migration process that redirects from your old to your new pofile, but exported .csv files and imported them into my new account on a different server by hand. So I do not know what exactly gets migrated automatically, and what you have to do by hand. Depending on which software you move away from and towards, things may be different anyway. One thing only Sharkey can do natively (as well as the no longer developed Firefish, and maybe other *key software), is migrating your post history.

A lot of the times when people think about switching servers, or even come from outside of the fedi, like X, Instagram, or Facebook, they mention that loosing all their many years worth of posts is hard and that they would like to take them with them. Fedi software developers have been offering the possibility to import your Intagram catalog to Pixelfed, or seem to be even working on implementing post migration into ActivityPub. There's also Slurp, with which you can move posts within the fediverse onto a GoToSocial server, and theoretically other fedi software as well.

So right now, in certain instances, it is possible to migrate/ import your post history. Nice I guess. But how often do you scroll back through those posts? Honestly, how often?

Me? Hardly ever. There has been one or two times in all the years I've been using social media, and even forum boards before then, when I wanted to find a post of mine again to look something up. But that's it.

I wonder, where does this fear of losing written conversations come from? We've been having oral conversations since humans developed speech. None of those were recorded. Talking is ephemeral. And so is social media. Or at least that's how I see it. What I post on social media is mostly only relevant in the moment. It's a thought I have, an observation I made, a question I have, a problem I need to solve, a rant about something that is anoying me right now.

Yes, meaningful connections can be forged on social media, insightful conversations can be had. But when they happen offline, we do not record them either and they still are as meaningful, aren't they?

And who do you think will read through that backcatalog of yours? I guess... pretty much no one. Not a single person. Because why whould they? Why should they? I for one have better things to do than to look up what you said a year ago, let alone 5 or 10. I do like to look at the recent posts someone made to get a feeling for who the person is that I just met online. But we are talking the last 10-20 posts or so.

All you do when you want to import thousands of messages and hundreds of photos is adding data to your server's storage. Instead, I would like to invite everyone to embrace the ephemera that is social media. Let it go. It's fine. You'll be fine.

And then go and make a website.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 25.april.2025

David at Forking Mad created a new blog questions challenge: 10 pointless facts about oneself. They are not very intimate, yet personal enough to get to know me a bit better. And they are fun. So, here we go.

Do you floss your teeth?

I'm afraid not.

Tea, coffee, or water?

All of them. I love coffe and always have one in the morning. I also like tea and infusions. And water throughout the day. Though I have to admit I don't drink enough on most days.

Footwear preference?

I love socks. And I have a lot of them. Many handknitted ones, too. So around the house it's either barefoot or socks.

For out of the house I switched to barefoot shoes years ago. Also in winter. Standing around is freezing cold then, but walk a few minutes and you get the toastiest feet.

But I also enjoy a nice comfy high heel every now and then. Though sadly I can't wear my most favourite ones anymore.

Favourite dessert?

Yes.

The first thing you do when you wake up?

Switch on the light on my night stand.

Age you'd like to stick at?

Late 20s, early 30s. I feel like I was old enough to know something about the world, but still young enough to... I don't know... make something with it.

How many hats do you own?

I own a lot of knitted hats for winter. (I used to knit like a mad woman.) I have some old basecaps, and a pretty, new one with floral fabric on the shield. And I have a propper hat, black felt, round crown, wide brim that I like to wear on a summer hike.

Describe the last photo you took?

Old electronic gadgets in a cardboard box. There are old phones, e-readers, my old Discman, my old mp3 player, cables, etc.

Worst TV show?

Probably soap operas.

As a child, what was your aspiration for adulthood?

When I was a child I thought adults had their lives in order and knew what they were doing. I thought that everyone would own a house or a nice flat and have a family. What a bag of bullshit. LOL

I'm not really sure I had any "aspiration" though. I've always been pretty aspirationless.

And now you!

Please join in, and if you do, tell me! And tell David, too. He says so in his post, that's why I am linking to his contact page here.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 17.april.2025

This is in reply to Joel's post about his name. Which is a reply to Alexandra Wolfe's post about names. Yes, I guess you could say this is another Blog Questions Challenge.

All the questions come from Alexandra, with the "Bonus fact" coming from Michael.

Do you like your name?

I do. It's a beautiful name. It's also not very common around here. When I grew up no one was called Elena. I have have come across a few others over the decades, though. Some spelled Ellena, some even pronounced like me.

Which leads perfectly to the next question...

Do people regularly misspell/ mispronounce your name?

Spelling doesn't seem to be a problem at all, but pronunciation? OMG let me tell you! My name gets mispronounced all the time. All. The. Time. It's been that way since forever. I gave up correcting people somewhere in high school. Even though, or maybe because I was so fed up with people mispronouncing my name even if I actually spoke it out loud, I just stopped. Only in recent years have I started to sometimes correct people again. I just want my name to be pronounced correctly, dammit.

You see, my name is pronounced with the stress on the second 'e'. A bit like the Spanish way. But most people stress the first 'e', which is more like the Italian way (and how many other Elenas I know about are pronounced). Some even stretch the first 'e' along with stressing it, which is the worst way you can pronounce my name. Seriously, don't do it!

I wrote about my name on the About page, and include phonetic scrpit as well as an audiofile with me pronouncing my name. (Yes, I'm gonna send you over there instead of repeating everything here.)

BTW, if for language/ dialect reasons you do not pronounce the letters/ sounds as I do, it's fine. As long as you stress the second 'e' all is good.

I also made it a policy to learn how to pronounce all my students' names correctly. Sometimes I need a long time and a lot of practice because my mouth is not used to certain movements, but that does not stop me. One of the saddest things kids say to me is: "In German my name is [insert German pronunciation of name], but in [insert language] it's [insert correct pronounciation of name]." And all I can think is: "No kid, it's ignorant people who don't give a shit about how to say your name correctly."

On the other hand... names are said to hold power. So maybe I should stop being annoyed and be glad people don't get it. If no one knows my real name (i.e. the correct pronunciation), no one can do me harm.

If you were going to change your name to anything else, what would you choose?

I'm not sure if I wanted that. I am pretty happy with Elena. However, I have picked another name for myself that I have used online for a bit. But I'll keep that to myself for now.

Do you go by your first name?

Yes. Though of course, some call me by my last name as well.

Do you have a middle name?

No. My parents say it was hard enough to pick that one name, that they didn't want to pick a second one. For a long time I was sad about it. My friends all had middle names, I thought that was so cool. But I'm ok with it now. I have a beautiful name and I don't need another one.

Do you have a nickname?

No. I always wanted one and even tried to nudge my friendds and family to use one when I was a kid. But the only thing I got was a nasty one from my cousin. Who's a great cousin! But I'll never forgive her that one.

Bonus fact

I like to believe I was named after the Spanish Infanta. But I think that's not really true. I have to ask my mom again.

And now you

I'd love to hear your thoughts on names, and your name in particular. Any name, your birth name, legal name, chosen name, internet name, etc. Please send me links to your replies.

This topic has been on my list for a long time. Because my name gets mispronounced so often, and because I see a lot of people not giving a damn about pronouncing other peoples' names correctly. It needed this challenge for me to finally write about it. So, thanks Joel!

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 24.march.2023

My dear English speaking readers: This blog post is written in German. It is a response to Annette's call for ideas for how we want the web to be.

Ich bin im Fediverse auf HerrTommis Blogpost #SoSollWeb: Wünsche für die Zukunft des Webs gestoßen und darüber dann auf Annettes Aufruf, doch darüber nach zu denken, wie ein gutes Web aussehen sollte. Normalerweise schreibe ich auf Englisch, aber das hält mich nicht davon ab, auch mal was auf Deutsch zu schreiben. Danke für den Impuls, Annette!

Erinnerungen

Ich habe schon ein paar Mal darüber geschrieben wie ich mir ein ideales Web bzw. Social Media vorstelle: in meinem zweiten Blogpost und in meinem neuesten. (Beide Artikel sind auf Englisch.)

Als ich in den sehr späten 1990ern das Internet entdeckte, kam es mir vor wie ein Ort der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten. Filme wie "Hackers" unterstützten dieses Gefühl. Es war ein Vibe.

Für mich war das Netz sofort ein Ort, an dem ich mich frei fühlte: Ich musste in kein Schema passen, keine Erwartungen erfüllen, ich konnte Dinge toll finden, für die ich offline schief angeguckt wurde, und ich konnte Gleichgesinnte finden. Es war die Zeit der Foren und persönlichen Webseiten. Es gab keine algorhitmisch gesteuerten Zeitleisten, es gab den RSS Feed, den man sich selbst zusammenstellte.

Natürlich gab es auch Arschlöcher und Ärger. Aber irgendwie hielt sich das in meiner Erfahrung in Grenzen. Gut moderierte Foren waren irgendwie normal. Und Diskussionen verliefen durchaus auch zivilisiert.

Das Web jetzt

Ist es pure Nostalgie, die mich und andere immer wieder an diese "guten, alten Zeiten" erinnern lässt? Waren wir einfach noch zu jung und unerfahren, dass wir die schlechten Seiten des Netzes und der Welt einfach noch nicht begreifen konnten und uns diese Zeit deshalb als so toll erscheint?

Vielleicht. Möglich sogar. Vielleicht aber auch nicht. Und was würde das auch schon ändern? Es ist trotzdem dieses alte Web, das ich mir zurück wünsche.

Und deshalb mache ich es mir selbt: Ich habe eine eigene Website, sehe mich als Teil der Personal Web Community (oder Small Web, Indie Web, etc.), nutze RSS um Blogs zu lesen und mein Social Media der Wahl ist das Fediverse.

Warum ist das Netz heute so wie es ist? Warum war es früher anders?

Ich glaube, vieles hat mit der Größe zu tun. Eine kleine Gruppe funktioniert oft ohne große Reibung. Konflikte können schnell gelöst werden. Aber je mehr Menschen zur Gruppe stoßen, desto mehr Reibungsflächen gibt es. Mehr Menschen können eine Bereicherung sein, aber nur bis zu einem gewissen Punkt. Dann passiert es irgendwann ganz unweigerlich, dass die Gruppe zerbricht. Das ist normal und ok. Offline finden diese kleineren Gruppen ihre Räume. Aber online scheint das anders zu sein. Denn wo soll ich schon anderes hin wenn es nur das eine X gibt?

Als das Internet noch klein war, war alles übersichtlicher, ruhiger, freier. Je mehr Menschen aber auf einer einzigen Plattform aufeinander trafen (wie Facebook, Twitter), desto heißer ging es her. Es wird eben schnell unübersichtlich und unmöglich gut zu moderieren.

Wie das Web sein kann - und schon ist

Das Netz, das ich mir wünsche, ist dezentral und besteht aus vielen kleinen unabhängigen Orten: Webseiten, Blogs, Foren, kleine bis mittlere Fediverse- oder andere Chat-Server. Kleine Gruppen können sich so vernetzen, bilden aber nicht gleich eine neue, einzelne, größere und damit irgendwan schwieriger zu moderierende Gruppe.

Das Tolle ist: Das gibt es schon. Für Menschen, die gerne selber aktiv werden möchten, d.h. vielleicht eine eigene Webseite bauen oder einfach persönliche Seiten und Blogs finden wollen, liste ich in meinen Links ein paar solcher Orte und Ressourcen auf. Das ist aber wirklich nur ein Startpunkt. Es gibt so viel mehr da draußen.

Was ich mir zusätzlich wünsche sind Anleitungen für absolute Anfänger, für Leute, die nicht aus dem Techniksegment kommen und keine der oft verwendeten Fachbegriffe kennen. Ich wünsche mir, dass z.B. Wissen über Git nicht als selbstverständlich angenommen wird und mehr an die wirklichen Neulinge gedacht wird. Ich zähle mich selbst auch dazu, obwohl ich einige Dinge schon kann. Diese Webseite zum Beispiel schreibe ich komplett von Hand. Aber wenn mir jemand sagt, "Schreib doch 'nen Pullrequest" bin ich raus. Auch das Einrichten einer eigenen Domain kann echt kompliziert sein, wenn man sich nicht auskennt und Tutorials die Fragen, die aufkommen, nicht behandeln.

Eine eigene Webseite haben ist einfach oft noch zu schwierig, ganz zu schweigen von einem eigenen Fediverse- oder E-mail-Server. (Wobei Managed Hosting da die Hürde ein wenig niedriger macht.) Und natürlich ist das auch nicht für jeden was. Nicht jeder will eine eigene Webseite betreiben und das sollte auch nicht unser Ziel sein. Wir sollten es aber allen, die mitmachen wollen, so einfach wie möglich machen. Da ist definitiv noch Luft nach oben.

Wie ich soziale Medien nutzen will

Oben habe ich meinen neuesten Blogpost schon verlinkt. Darin beschreibe ich, was ich konkret mache, um auf Social Media (für mich das Fediverse) eine gute Zeit zu haben. Dabei ging es mir hauptsächlich um das Ausschließen von Politik und Nachrichten aus meiner Timeline, ohne wichtige Stimmen zu blockieren oder ihnen zu entfolgen. Diese Themen belasten mich und ich möchte selbst entscheiden, wann ich mich mit ihnen beschäftige. Ich möchte hier nicht den ganzen Artikel übersetzen, aber eben diese oben erwähnen konkreten Schritte auflisten:

• meine Wortstummschaltungsliste erweitern und optimieren, um entsprechende Posts auszublenden
• selbst weniger politische Posts boosten, v.a. wenn keine Hashtags, Schlüsselwörter oder Inhaltswarnungen benutzt werden
• selbst mehr Inhaltswarnungen und bessere Hashtags nutzen

Das ist natürlich ein Prozess. Aber in den Wochen, seit ich damit angefangen habe, sehe ich eine Verbesserung und werde selbst auch besser in der Nutzung von Inhaltswarnungen und Hashtags. Ich wünsche mir, dass noch mehr Menschen an entsprechende Hashtags in ihren Posts denken. Z.B. #dePol wenn es um deutsche Politik geht.

Das gute Web beginnt offline

Es gibt Dinge, die jeder selbst umsetzen kann, um das Netz zu einem besseren Ort zu machen. Es gibt aber auch Rahmenbedingungen, die verändert und verbessert werden können. Wie so oft sind wir alle gemeinsam gefragt. Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass jeder seinen Ort im WWW finden kann.

Am allerwichtigsten scheint mir aber insgesamt, darüber zu reden. Offline. Mit Menschen, die wir kennen. Sie darauf aufmerksam machen, was es alles bereits gibt, wo sie es finden können und wie es geht. Bei Fragen und Problemen Hilfe anbieten. Das gute Web beginnt eben offline.

-Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 13.march.2025

This text is based on a social media post. I updated and expanded it into the blog you're reading now.

I am using a few terms that you may either not be familiar with, or may usually use differently. Here's a short explanation:

• "Boost" means to share a post into your own feed for all your followers to see. As I understand it, it's what Twitter people call a "re-tweet".
• "CW" is short for "content warning". Your post will be hidden behind a button and you can describe the content of your post so that readers can decide for themselves if they want to reveal it or not.

I have always used social media for fun, never for getting news or talking current affairs. I had a "no news, only fun" policy. For many years it worked. I mainly hung out in specialised forums and on Instagram. On Instagram I only followed people in certain niches, who, including me, all stuck to posting within those niches. So everything I ever saw was stuff in those niches. Even when ads and sponsored posts started to flood and eventually drown the timeline.

A few years ago though I came to the fediverse. It is famous for showing you only and all the posts and boosts of the people you follow in your main timeline. There is no automatic way to show you posts from other people. (Actually there are, but those are not relevant here and to explain them would go beyond the scope of this blog.) I came there with the same "no news, only fun" policy I've had for years. But not everyone wants to avoid news and politics and so posts about it started to slip into my timeline. In addition I started to find interesting accounts talking about certain parts of politics (social, cultural, environmental, these things) that I find important. I started to follow these people and boost a lot of their posts too. It somehow just happened. It took months for me to realise that I stopped enacting my own policy.

Which I took as a sign to act on it. You see, I work in a school in the city. I see and have to work with all the problems in my daily offline life. I need peace and fun in my private life. And the number one space to get that has always been the internet for me, ever since I first discovered it in the very late 90s. I want that back.

(That's why I like to ask for comfy, cozy stories. I do not shy away from conflict and drama, that is what makes a good story. But I want hope. So much more hope. I want hopeful endings. I want to know that there is something to live for after all the hardship.)

But back to social media... So I had to change things a little. However, I didn't want to unfollow all those people who do great work, and I also didn't want to mute them. Here's what I've been trying instead:

• adding (key)words to my word mute list and see how that changes my timelines,
• boosting less political content, especially when there are no keywords (for people to mute) or CWs,
• and being more conscious about using CWs myself, should I post about newsy stuff.

I've been doing this for some weeks now. Some things are working well. When keywords are used in a post, these get filtered out. I also boost less political stuff. Though that gives me a bad conscience. Which it shouldn't.

Unfortunately not everyone is using hashtags or (good) keywords. I wished more people would. If you do not like to use content warnings, then using hashtags would be really nice. It would help me to build the feed I'd like to have. And others too.

Of course you could say: "But Elena, why are you following these people if you don't want to see what they have to say?" I understand that. But here's the thing: I do want to see what they have to say, but at a time that suits me. I do want to read the news, but at a time when I feel ready for it.

I've not been the biggest user of hashtags, but I do see how they are helpful in making sure that my posts can be filtered out. I am starting to see hashtags less as a tool for discovery only, but more as a tool for filtering. That goes in both directions: filter for what you want to see, and filter for things you do not want to see.

I have to adjust my habits when composing posts as well. I am not always successful and forget to add certain hashtags or CWs. It's a process. But one I am certain is worth it.

-Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 21.february.2025

Some weeks ago I posted my answers to the Blog Questions Challenge that's been making the rounds. Now it's time for the Music Question Challenge. I can't remember where I read abou it as I didn't bookmark that post. But through a little link hopping I found out that TakenVaullt is the author of this challenge.

Where available the links to songs or albums go to the official Youtube playlist or video. Otherwise they go to another official website.

What are 5 of your favourite albums?

When I listen to music, I listen to music. Wether it's a playlist or an album, I don't really care. What I mean by that is, that I don't really pay attention to which album I am listening to. For the most part at least. There are a few exception, however, which I list below.

• "Che vita meravigliosa" - Diodato

  "Fai rumore" is the first song I consciously connected to Diodato. He won the 2020 Sanremo festival with it and should have competed at the Eurovision Song Contest that year. It remains one of my favourite of his songs.

  "Non ti amo più" is another favourite. I love the juxtaposition between lyrics and music.

  My favourite lines of the whole album come from "Quello che mi manca di te":

  Oppure quando vuoi vedere un bel film
  ma è soltanto una scusa
  per dormirmi addosso
  

  Translation:

  Or when you want to watch a nice film
  but it's always an excuse
  for sleeping snuggled against me
  

  And then there came "Un'altra estate", which Diodato wrote during the first phase of Covid, which hit Italy brutally. That song carried me through 2020 an also through 2021. It was added to the album after it had come out.

• "Subspace Rhapsody" - Tom Polce, Kay Hanley, Strange New World Cast

  Star Trek's first, but hopefully not last, musical episode got its own album release. All songs, including the title song are included. I listen to it regularly. For months I would listen to it while showering. TMI? *shrugs* But it's a great album to sing along to in the shower.

  My favourite song will forever be La'an's (Christina Chong) "How Would That Feel".

• "Discovery" - Daft Punk

  My first Daft Punk album. I realised then that I loved electronic music. The more synth the better. A hard and dirty techno makes me just as happy as a good snyth pop song. Just give me all that your syntheziser has.

  I loved that the videos to the singles were anime and telling a continuous story. Which then became a full length film for the whole album: "Interstella 5555". I recently rewatched it. It's not the best film ever, but what I love about it is that you do not need spoken words/ dialogue to tell a story.

• "The Great Escape" - Blur

  My first Blur album back in the day. So many great songs! Along with Parklife Blur's best album if anyone would ask me.

• "The Platinum Collection" - David Bowie

  It feels like cheating to mention a best of album. But it's one of my favourites. It is a good mix of Bowie's music and was my entry point into getting to know his work better. Whenever I want to listen to Bowie, but don't have something specific in mind, I play this one. It's three CDs worth of great music.

What are five of your favourite songs?

Ask me another time and I would list a different set. But today they are

• "Into the West - Annie Lennox
• "Un'altra estate" - Diodato
• "Absolute Beginners" - David Bowie
• "Imagine" - John Lennon
• "The Universal" - Blur

Favourite instrument(s)

I am a sucker for the piano, and for pipes & drums. If you wanted me to like you, play one of those. 😉

Oh! And the synthesizer.

What song or album are you currently listening to?

When I initially sat down to answer these questions a week ago or so, I was at work, so I couldn't listen to anything.

But I had watched the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" the day before and had been having Johnny Flynn's "Queen Bee" in my ear all day.

While finishing up this post I was listening to Blur's "The Great Escape".

Do you listen to the radio? If so, how often?

No. I can't stand the stupid talking and the music is seldom my style.

However, if I have to, like riding in someone's car, I prefer German "90s 90s Radio". A low talk station where they play the good stuff. They also have specialty channels.

I am currently discovering internet radio stations, but that is more a once every couple of weeks thing than anything regular or deep.

How often do you listen to music?

Pretty much every day.

How often and how do you discover music?

In the past years I have often discovered new music by listening to playlists. I am not using Spotify anymore, for reasons, but when I was still using it I really loved the playlists. There are so many great ones on there and they are easy to find and browse.

I am currently subsribed to Apple Music and I miss the good playlists. How do you find them there??? (Yeah, I know. Apple isn't great either. My goal is to eventualy stop subscribing to a streaming service.)

Sometimes I get sucked into a rabbit hole, where I then spend a fews days or weeks only listening to one artist. I listen to a lot of new to me songs that way too.

What’s a song or album that you enjoy that you wish had more recognition?

I have no idea how much recognition anything has. Absolutely none whatsoever. I only listen to the music. I don't read interviews, or reviews, or anything to that effect. So... any good piece of music deserves the widest possible recognition.

What’s your favourite song of all time?

That is a question I don't know how to answer. It depends on my mood and state of... everything. There are so many fantastic songs that I love, that touch my soul (I have a whole playlist of those). I could not pick just one favourite. For a selection of my favourites see above under question 2, "What are 5 of your favourite songs?".

But if I must, let me mention Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)". The story is basically "Space Oddity", with melody and musical style being completely different. I've been loving this song ever since I was a little kid. There's also an English version "Major Tom (Coming Home)"".

Has your taste in music evolved over the years?

Oh, absolutley. Although I still like most of what I ever loved, my taste - or interest - flows in waves. I often have phases. Like one time I almost exclusively listened to Italian pop music for months.

Tag, you're it

Wanna play? Please do! If you wish, drop me a line when you did so I can read your answeres.

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 01.february.2025

A few weeks ago I saw fLaMEd post about this challenge in the fediverse. His blog about it is here. I wanted to take part as well, so here are my answers:

Why did you start blogging in the first place?

Hmm, this question is not as easy to answer I you might think it is. I don't know why I started blogging really. I always thought blogs were cool, personal websites were cool. But I never knew what to write about. I didn't think I had anything to say, to contribute. That didn't keep me from having my own little websites back in the late 90s though, and some blogs in the early 2000s. But they all died rather quickly and none of them exists anymore. I don't even remember where exactly I hosted some of them and I don't seem to have saved the files.

I started again about 2 years ago after finding the fediverse. I found a lot of people who do have their own website and blog. Most of them are professionals in the realm of webdesign or adjacent topics, so very very far away from what I do and know. But still, their posts inspired me to make my own website, and I started to learn HTML and CSS. After a while I added a blog to my site.

What Platform Are You Using To Manage Your Blog, And Why Do You Use It?

I write my blog (and my whole website) in VSCode with totally rudimentary and unprofessional HTML and CSS. That includes the RSS. I do everything by hand.

I am using this simple setup because I think anything else would be too much for my purposes. I have heard of static site generators, but don't really know how they work. And right now I am not interested.

My site lives on Neocities.

Have You Blogged On Other Platforms Before?

In the past I have used Blogger, Jimdo, and Tumblr for my blogs.

How Do You Write Your Posts?

I write them in a simple text editor on either my iPad (at work), or my laptop. Then I copy and paste them into VSCode and do the HTML around it. I have a blog post template for that.

When Do You Feel Most Inspired To Write?

Mostly at work. I have a lot of time to think there and the possibility to type up thoughts in between.

Do You Normally Publish Immediately After Writing, Or Do You Let It Simmer?

Writing a lot at work means that I do not publish immediately after writing. Mostly at least. I have to interrupt my writing a lot (because I'm at work after all), so it often takes a while to finish it. Which also gives me time to think some more about a topic, which sparks re-writes -- and sometimes I even scrap an article completely.

I think writing for my blog sometimes is like journaling for me: Sometimes thoughts just need out of my body and that's all.

What's Your Favorite Post On Your Website?

I only publish texts that I am really happy with. So, all of them?

However, I do want to share "Times are a-chinging", in which I talk about daylight saving time and why I don't like it. I really do not like it.

And also maybe "Summer List Check: I hand sewed an 18th Century Petticoat and Pockets", in wich I show some photos too. Don't look too closely at where the photos sit on the page though. How to get them where I want them to be is still on my list to learn.

Oh wait! I also wrote about "Why I have my own website", for which I got a really nice comment recently. So maybe you'd like to read it, too.

Any Future Plans For the Website? Maybe a redesign, changing the tag system, etc.?

Right now the CSS is very basic. I am dreaming of a navigation bar where when you scroll over an item a list of sub items rolls out. I want more columns than just the one I'm having now. I want to integrate images in blog posts and throughout the site in a way that is smoother and more beautiful than it is now. For that I need to learn much more CSS. It's a very slow process though. And that's ok. It's my little hobby. I'm not doing any of this for a living or to reach some big goal. I am doing this for myself and for the sheer fun of it. So please keep that in mind when you look at all of this.

I also want to re-structure the whole site a bit and add more and more pages over time, not just blog posts.

Tag, you're it

I understand it is common to invite other people to do challenges like these. I don't think these kinds of things should rely on personal invitations though. Anyone who would like to participate should do it. I did, too. So take this as my invitation to you to copy the questions and answer them on your blog. Feel free to tell me if you do!

-Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 20.october.2024 - updated on: 24.october.2024

I am not a web developer. I am not particularly clever or know great things. I don't make art that I'd like to show or even sell. I don't have projects, nor side projects. I don't offer any service. Technically I do not need a website. But I still have one. Why?

Just for fun.

Ok, maybe not just for fun. Yes, I do like to be creative, and to express myself creatively. I do like to try all the things, learn all the things, do all the things, and HTML and CSS are simply two of those things. But there's another point: I can do what I want with a website. I am not confined by what a (social media) platform allows me to do. I am not limited by character count or image size. No random moderator or algorithm will block my "content" work for arbitrary reasons. I am free to express myself however I want, as long as I abide by the laws under which I and my website exist. Common sense and decency should be a guide too.

The only limitations I have are my knowledge about how a website works, and what my hosting service is offering.

For example, I know basic HTML and CSS. My knowledge of those languages is so basic that I have to look up tags all the time and can't yet do what I would like to do eventually. Also, neocities.org, where I host my site, does not allow for PHP, which would turn this static site into a dynamic one. But those limitations are ones I could get over if I wanted to: I could learn and practice more HTML and CSS, and I could change where I host my website.

I understand that it can be a huge hurdle for people who have never written a single HTML tag to start their own website. How do I do it? How do I get it online? An .html file looks so complicated and doesn't make much sense if you don't know what it all means.

But if you have the interest and the time to learn these things, owning your own website is one of the coolest things.

There is a great new free online resource available if you want to try this website making thing: HTML for People by Blake Watson. Blake takes you step by step through the process. You will see how easy it is to make and publish your first website. You don't even need special programmes, a simple text editor is enough.

Other resources could be:

HTML & CSS

• Codecademy - They offer free courses on all kinds of programming languages. I started with going through their beginner HTML course.
• Books, e.g. Learning Web Design by Jennifer Niederst Robbins. This book comes with course material that you can download from the website to do the excercises with.

Personal Websites, etc.

• Neocities directory - All the websites hosted on neocities.org. There are a lot of great ones. They are great for inspiration and to see what is possible with a static website.
• Webrings - Remember them? If you have a website you can become a member in one or more webrings. If you don't have a website (yet), or don't want your site to be part of a webring, you can surf the ring and find inspiration. For example, here's the main page for a webring called Fediring.
• If you want your own domain, this is a good beginner, non-techy article. The whole website might be interesting to you.

Also take a look at my Links page for even more, well, links.

Have you ever had your own website? Tell me about it! What was it about? How did you build it? Is it still online? Please share a link!

Are you interested in creating your own website? What has you kept from doing it? Does any of the resources I list give you the impulse to try it now? Please share a link once your site is online!

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 15.october.2024 - updated on: 16.february.2025

I am not the worlds biggest cook. I don't even love to cook. But I do it anyway because I love to eat. That's why I really love easy recipes that still make tasty dishes -- and soup is exactly that. It's also a wonderful heart warmer, especially on cold days.

I do not give any amounts in this recipe. I never cook by weighing or counting ingredients. That's for baking. Therefore no two batches of soup I make taste the same. And why should they?

So this recipe is a guide. Use whatever you have, season to your taste, do what you like. Experiment. Have fun!

Ingredients:

• Onion
• Cooking Oil (I like olive)
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Veggies like squash (I love Hokkaido), potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, beet root (red or yellow), leek, etc.
• Fresh ginger
• Boiling water
• Granulated veggie stock
• Pepper and other spices that you like
• Herbs like parsley or others that you have and like

Tools:

• Pot
• Spatula
• (Stick) blender

Instructions:

1. Cut all veggies into bite sized pieces.
2. Put a bit of oil in a large pot and heat it. Sweat the onions in the oil until glazed.
3. Add minced garlic and tomato paste. Stir until mixed.
4. Add the veggies and the minced ginger, mix well, and let it sweat for a few minutes.
5. Add granulated veggie broth to boiled water, mix well, and add to the veggies. Depending on the amount of veggies, a litre or so should be a good starting point. The veggies do not have to be fully covered. Of course you can also use ready made liquid broth.
6. Close the pot with a lid, get everything to a boil and let simmer until the veggies are done.
7. Puree with a (stick) blender. How fine you blend it is up to you. Add more hot water if neccessary to get the consistency that you desire.
8. Add pepper to taste. Add other spices if you like.
9. Chop the herbs. You can stir them under after blending, add them to serve, or even add them before blending. Just as you like.

Enjoy!

If you love vegetable soup like this one as much as I do, I can recommend the book "Seasonal Soups" by Fraser Reid. It seems there's a rather new edition out. Unfortunately it seams he only has Facebook and Instagram accounts for his shop "Fraser's Fruit & Veg", so I cannot provide any neutral link. But you found your way here, so I'm sure you will find your way to a book store if you're interested.

Do you have a favourite autumn recipe? I would love to know what it is.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 28.august.2024 - updated on: 08.february.2025

This is a post about an item on my summer list.

Recently I fell down a rabbit hole. I do that from time to time. See my list of interests. They have been rabbit holes of various depths at one time or another. This time it was the one of historical costuming and sewing. There are great YouTube channels on that topic, of which those I linked are only a fraction and my current top favourites.

Anyway, it all started with this video (YouTube) by Ash L G about a no-waste, no-pattern, adjustable skirt. Since my weight has been shifting quite a bit in recent years and most of my skirts no longer fit me, this is perfect. But I fell deeper and deeper and found out about pockets, 18th century style: big ass pockets that tie around the waist. I wanted that skirt and I wanted those pockets.

My mother gave me an old turquoise half linnen that my grandfather probably produced (he was a master weaver (the industrial kind, not a hand weaver)) and I made a skirt. Of course I hand sewed it, "properly" with waxed linnen thread. I really enjoyed the process.

For the pockets I used some cut off from that half-linnen for one. The lining is fabric from old cotton pyjama pants of which I also used the draw string -- as a tie for the pockets. (You can see it in the photos where I wear the pockets over the skirt. This is only to show you how they look and where they sit when they're under the skirt. No ties are visible then.) The second pocket I made with very old scraps that I sewed to the lining fabric like Ash L G shows in this video about Victorian crazy patchwork. (You should go and follow Ash.)

I am so happy with how everything turned out! The only thing I might change is to tack the pockets to the tie. Right now they can slide along the band, which I thought could be good for adjusting their position. But when they are loaded they move around my waist while walking. I will have to wear them for a while and see how it goes before I do that though. I only wore them for one day so far.

Of course I am dreaming about more hand sewing projects now: a shift, a kirtle, a waist coat, a shirt. If I'll ever actually make any of them is yet to be seen though. Who knows when I fall into the next rabbit hole...

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

PS Pardon the formatting. I have not incorporated more than one image in one blog post before. I am doing this all by hand and do not know how to make images and text do what I want yet. I will keep fiddling with this post. Until then please excuse my dilettante HTML and CSS. Thank you.

Update: I have learned a bit more CSS! Grid, media queries, that kind of stuff. This page looks way better now. Thanks, Kevin Powell and his excellent "HTML & CSS for Absolute Beginners" YouTube series!

posted on: 25.july.2024 - last updated on: 11.september.2024

The summer holidays are here and I have plans. So yeah, this is a simple to-do list of big and small things. Maybe posting it to my blog will keep me more accountable. We'll see how that goes... Definite WIP.

To Do

• e-mail landlord with photo of water meter
• re-watch Star Trek: Prodigy
• repot plants

Done

• make doctor's appointment
• set up air dehumidifyer
• plan hand sewing an 18th century petticoat (YouTube) and a pocket or two (research fabrics and threads, and where to buy them etc.). - Not only did I plan and research it, I got all the supplies I still needed and I sewed it all too!
• order and install kitchen faucet
• pack and send happy mail
• make and document a Star Trek: Discovery related craft project
• clean terrace
• clean desk
• clean out fridge
• finally get second ear lobe piercing
• go to the repair café in August and finish fixing jeans -- I did not work on my jeans, but I did made progress darning a sock.
• go to the bike shop and get info about pedelecs
• fertilise tomato plant (regularly)

Final update

Summer is over and my list is looking quite good. I am pretty happy with what I got done and made. Having this list on my blog did help me, so I may repeat this over Christmas and New Year.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 13.july.2024

This is part of IndieWeb Carnival July 2024 on the topic of Tools.

I'm a lefty. When I was in kindergarten, my teacher there wanted me to use lefty scissors. I refused. Vehemently. Why, I am not sure. I was a weird kid. Maybe because I was extremely uncomfortable when being the centre of attention, and walking through the whole building to another group to get special scissors was too much attention for my taste and it was freaking me out. Plus, while the handles on righty scissors are coloured the same, the ones on lefty scissors are each a different colour. One could argue that that made them way cooler, but for me this felt like a stigma. Though I never found my being left handed to be a stigma. I've always been ok, if not proud about it. At least that's how I remember it. I told you I was weird kid. I also remember that when my kindergarten teacher showed me those stupid lefty scissors I had already learned how to use scissors: righty scissors in my left hand. It worked. Why in the world would I need those other ones?

Oh, stupid ignorant 5 year old me! Yes, I could cut shapes out, but it was never something I was really precise at. How could I've been? The way the blades are arranged in righty scissors, you can only see where you cut on the left side of the blades. As a lefty, cutting precisely is uncomfortable and unnecessarily complicated that way.

My scissors epiphany finally came a few years ago. I had gotten into stationery and journaling and wanted to cut out characters and flowers and other images on PET tapes or from magazine pages. My skills with the righty scissors finally reached their boundaries. I just couldn't easily and comfortably cut around sharp angles, I often even cut into the image I wanted to free of exess material!

So after decades of using scissors, I bought my first lefty scissors: A tonic studios Tim Holtz 7" Micro Serrated Titanium Snip. What a revelation! It took a while of getting used to. At first it was like I had to re-learn how to use scissors. And I actually had to! You have to hold the scissors at a different angle, and instead of craneing your neck to the outside, i.e. the left side of your scissiors, your eyes are now on the other side, to the right of the blades. But the reward is priceless: I can finally cut out any shape I want easily, comfortably, and precisely.

There are lefty products out there, that are unnecessary at best. But lefty scissors are not that. If you use your left hand for cutting, do yourself a favour and use lefty scissors!

BTW, scissors that claim to be made for both left-handed and right-handed people, are not true lefty scissors. They merely have handles that are shaped to fit both hands. It's the position of the blades that make scissors right- or left-handed. With lefty scissors it's the left hand blade that goes up when you open the scissors. With righy scissors it's the right hand blade that goes up.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 04.may.2024 - updated on: 04.may.2024

Here's a list with all the things I have been interested in so far in my life. (Though I probably forgot some.) Some of them I participated in extensively for many years. Some are just topics of interest, meaning that I like to learn about them instead of practicing them.
Basically, I would love to know everything. Everything. Learn all the things, know all the things, do all the things. That's me. Of course that leads to a flat full of equipment and supplies, me not being very knowledgeable on any of them, and not having enough time and brain power for any of them. Big sigh.

• History/ Cultures
  • Ancient Egypt (with a special interest in Cleopatra and Nefertari)
  • Tibet
  • Ancient Rome
• Food
  • Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Eastern European
  • Mediterranean
  • all the cuisines really
• Languages
  • English
  • Italian
  • Russian
  • DGS (Deutsche Gebärdensprache - German Sign Language)
• Fibre arts
  • Knitting
  • Spinning
  • Crochet
  • Wool dyeing
  • Weaving
  • Coss stitchig
  • Embroidery
  • Sewing/ Patchwork/ Quilting
• Bonsai
• Astronomy/ Space stuff
• The Woo
  • Tarot
  • Astrology
  • Witchcraft
• Herbs
• Essential Oils
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Journaling
• Stationery
  • Pens (Fountain and otherwise)
  • Stickers and washi tape
  • Note paper
  • Journals
• Visual art making
  • Painting
  • Drawing
  • Urban sketching
  • Collage
• Photography
  • Analogue
  • Digital
  • Instant (Polaroid)
• Star Trek
• Film/ Cinema
• Music
  • Country
  • EDM (Techno/ House)
  • Synth-everything
  • Italian Pop
  • 80s pop
  • 90s Eurodance
  • Take That
  • David Bowie
  • The Beatles/ John Lennon
  • So. Many. More
  • Playing the recorder and tin whistle
• Books/ Reading
  • Sci Fi (mainly space stuff)
  • Urban fantasy
  • Cook books
  • Jane Austen
• Bookmaking
• HTML/ CSS
• Softball
• Games
  • Jig saw puzzles
  • Crossword puzzles
  • Sudoku
  • Board games
  • P&P RPGs
  • Tetris (on my original grey Game Boy)

Do we have some overlapping interests?

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 17.february.2024

If you want to do something creative, do it!
It's as easy as that. Or is it?
Of course it is! Of course it isn't!

There are so many things that can hold us back:

• No materials
• No clue where to start
• No time
• No skills
• No talent
• No confidence

How can we tackle them and finally do the things we've been wanting to do for so long?
I am no professional expert, and no professional artist. I am just a normal person who doesn't know what she's doing most of the time. Everything I'm going to write down here is coming from my head and my heart and my experience. Please take what resonates with you and leave the rest.

The most important thing when it comes to creativity is: There is no wrong way to do it.
There is no wrong way to sketch, draw, paint, write, sing, make music, make art, express yourself. No. Wrong. Way.
If you feel good about it, it's good. (Of course, and this should go without saying, your borders end where those of others begin. Don't be an ass.)

So e.g. when you look at the wonderfully creative, artsy, pretty, amazing bullet journal spreads of some people, please don't think that that is the way a bullet journal has to look. And please don't think that because you can't or don't want to do what they are doing, you can't keep a bullet journal. Because you can.
Ryder Carroll invented the Bullet Journal method to stay organised and focused and productive. Watch this video (YouTube video via Invidious) where he explains it. You will see that there is no single drawing, not even a doodle in his journal. It's just a pen, paper, and words.

The materials

And that's basically all you need: pen and paper. You don't even really need that to express your creativity. But say you want to keep a journal, either written or art, paper is the thing you probably want to use.
If you do not have a journal, or sketchbook, or can't afford one, there are other options you can explore:

• Take a sheet of paper of any size and make a one page zine.
• Take a couple of sheets, fold them in half and stitch or staple them together in the fold.
• Take an old book and prepare the pages with a medium like gesso, or paint, or use as is.
• Take a newspaper or magazine and use a combination of the above to make your journal.
• You can also use loose sheets of paper. There is no need to bind them at all.

For mark making you can use a variety of things: pencils, biros, coloured penicls, crayons, felttip pens, highlighters, fountain pens, your fingers, a stick, brushes, etc.
You can use inks, paints, mud, charcoal, pastels, etc.

Ok. You have some paper and some mark making implement...

What now?

Well, what do you want to do? Write? Draw?

If you want to keep a written journal, there are many ways to do that. Even when you struggle with handwriting, either because you haven't practiced it in a while and feel shakey, or because you are generally displeased with how it looks, you absolutely can keep a written journal.

• Start with one word a day. It could be a word that summarises your day, or a word you learned that day, or your favourite word, or any other word you feel compelled to write down.
• Write one sentence a day.
• Write a list with three good things that happened that day. Or one. Or five.
• Write what you have accomplished that day.
• Write a quote you like.
• Write a poem or the lyrics of a song.
• Write a to do list.
• Write a not to do list.

Take one step at a time. Do what feels good and then go one step further if you feel like it.

If you want to keep an art journal, there are equally as many ways to do it:

• You can sketch, draw, doodle.
• You can paint.
• You can collage.
• You can combine some or all of the above.
• You can draw a flower.
• You can draw shapes and patterns.
• You can draw your coffee cup.
• You can draw your food.
• You can draw your living room, or what you see outside your window.
• You can draw self portraits.
• You can cut or rip images out of newspapers and magazines.
• You can use lables, wrapping paper, notepaper, sticky notes, stickers, tape, ribbon, etc.

Basically, use what you have. Look around you. I am sure you have many bits and pieces that you would otherwise throw away. Cut or rip shapes. Collage them in any way you like. Stick your bits on your paper with glue or tape, use staples or paper clips. Remember: There is no wrong way to do it.

Making time

Journaling, or being creative in general, does not have to take a lot of time. You do not have to set away an hour every day for it. How long does it take you to write one word? That is the time you need. If you care about it, add the time it takes to write the date. That's it.
Also, you don't have to do it every day. Do it once a week. Once a month. On your birthday, on New Year's, whenever you feel like it. Write it as an appointment in your calandar or be spontaneous about it. There is no wrong way to do it.
I have however one suggestion: Don't overdo it from the start. When you try to establish a new habit, or when you have a new hobby that excites you, it is easy to want to do it every day for as long as possible. But after a while the newness fades and the hour you set aside every day starts to feel like a chore. Change it then. Take a pause. Adjust.

Some people love writing morning pages. Others like to journal in the evening. Some like to do it at work. Some with a nice hot cuppa. Some at a desk, some in a comfy chair. In the café, at the park, on the train, during lunch break. Try out what works for you.

The skills

Many great artists throughout history were not natural born geniuses. They did apprenticeships and learned their skill from sratch. Don't expect yourself to be a natural genius. Learn your skills from scratch. Take a class. There are terrific online classes. Maybe there's one at your local community centre. Youtube is your friend. Your library may have a selection of books as well. Practice, practice, practice. Learn the techniques. In my experience, art is much more technique then talent. Really. Believe me. I have drawn portraits I never thought I could. I used techniques I had learned in a class and they worked.
If you find that one medium or art form is not yours, choose another one. Try out all the things.

Confidence

Confidence builds over time. Start small. Like with only one word, or one shape, or one colour. Repeat that over and over and over. When you're happy with it, choose another one and repeat that. Build from there. The confidence will come.

Showing others your work

The most important thing about being creative is that there is no wrong way to do it.
The second most important thing is that you do not have to show what you do or make to anyone. Nobody is entitled to see your journal, or art in general! If you want to show your work, you can decide what of it you want to show. You can show all of it, parts of it, the work in process, the finished piece, or a combination thereof. You decide.
You also decide whom you want to show your piece. You can post a photo on your social media, or show it only to your best friend. All is ok. Nothing is wrong.

I post my decorated journal pages every week on my fediverse account @theresmiling@ibe.social. If you're curious, I invite you to take a look. Look for #JournalDeco. At this moment I seem to be the only one using it. Join in if you like!
I usually never show my journals with any writing on the pages. That is personal.
Do keep in mind that when you see other people's art, they chose what to show you. Just because every photo of their art is pretty and stunning, doesn't mean that all their art is. Because it sure is not.

Be kind to yourself and have fun! That's the third most important thing.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu

posted on: 29.october.2023

I orgininally posted this text on an old blog of mine on 13 October 2019. For this blog I updated it and erased some typos.

I used to think that autumn was my favourite time of the year. I came to the realisation that that is actually not true. However, I still think the light is beautiful in autumn, especially on the changing leaves, the days are still warm, and yet it is time to put out the cozy (in my case often handknit) scarves and pullovers that have been sleeping in the closet all summer.

Another great thing that happens: We're going to return to normal time and dial our clocks back by one hour. In Germany that always happens on the last Sunday in October, which this year is today, the 29th.

It's not hard for anyone reading the intro to guess that I am not a fan of daylight saving time (DST). From talking to people I know, and reading articles in the newspapers every year, I seem to be pretty much alone with this. And I absolutely do not understand why.

Why do we have daylight saving time?

The history of daylight saving time is long and complex. Originally proposed in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin in a satirical (!) letter, implemented by a single city (Port Arthur in Canada) in 1908, it would be first established on a national level by the German Empire in 1916 in order to save energy during the war. Other countries followed. After the war some countries went back to normal time, some didn't. The same happened during and after World War 2. Some countries re-established DST decades after the war during the oil crisis in the 1970s. Germany followed in 1980 to align with neighbour states, who were observing DST again, and to make sure that the then still separated country was not further separated by time differences. And then no-one thought about dis-establishing it again.

Arguments in favour of DST always seem to point out the saving of energy. Studies seem to not really support that though, since effects seem small and vary depending on the type of energy (electricity, fuel, etc.) and location. There are of course many arguments for and against DST. I will not go into them all, but instead will highlight a couple that I support.

The problems I have with daylight saving time

As a kid I hated nothing more than having to go to bed when it was still light outside. It is light outside longer in summer anyway, but due to DST it's light even longer. I wasn't very tired when I had to go to bed, which made falling asleep more difficult than it was anyway.

It's the same still today. I tend to get tired when it's getting dark outside. I also naturally wake with dawn. The problem with DST is that it's not only getting dark later, but that I still have to get up at the same time in the morning.

Following that thought, don't you love it when in spring you recognize that the sun is rising earlier again? The promise of summer, longer days, more sunlight... - And then bang! the clocks are turned one hour forward and it's dark in the morning once more. Who needs this? It's frustrating.

Thirdly, there are so many different regulations and laws around DST around the world. Different countries have different rules and days where and when they turn the clocks. Some countries don't even observe DST in all their parts, but only in some. It's a mess. (Looking at the map in the upper right hand corner though is making me hopeful: There are so many countries who once observed DST, but aren't anymore. It shows that it is doable.)

No Changes in the EU

Back in 2019, when I first wrote this blog post, a change was close. So close. We couldn't be farther from it today.

In 2019, the EU parliament decided to end the changing of the clocks in 2021. Though what seemed to be a great thing at first glance could have proven to be a disaster. While the changing between normal time and DST was about to cease to exist, the single EU countries could have all decided for themselves if they wanted to continue to only use normal time, or DST. In the end, it didn't come to any of that, because the EU Council could not come to an agreement and the whole thing was postponed. Every now and then, someone comes forth with an initiative to get the topic back into discussions (see last link), but nothing ever happens.

So for the forseeable future I'll rejoice on the last Sunday in October, when we finally go back to normal time, and be all grumbly on the last Sunday in March, when DST gets forced upon me once again.

Should the topic be discussed in EU Parliament and Council again, there's one thing I hope for, besides them actually deciding to stop the time change: That they are clever enough to ditch DST, and not have us all suffer under it all year around. There are several countries who have gone that route, and went back to normal time after only a few short years. Because imagine what it means if DST would also be effective in winter: It would be dark out for a whole hour longer in the morning. This sounds way worse than "loosing" an hour of light in summer evenings, when it's light out long enough anyway.

-Elena.

What do you think about daylight saving time? Do you like it? Do you wish to get rid of it? Do you like to switch times twice a year? Or do you wish there was only one time all year around? Leave a comment in the Fediverse

posted on: 18.june.2023

It's been a while since I've published a blog post. It's not that I have nothing to say anymore. I do. And I do write. But nothing passes the stage of rough first draft.

Why is that? Why don't I work on these drafts?

One explanation might be that once the thoughts have left my brain, are out there on paper, physical or digital, they are said and kind of processed. I'm done with them. On to the next thing!

And that may lead to another explanation: I have 100 interests and often I find myself almost paralysed by all the things I want and need to do. There's housework. There are hobbies and interests. So many interests. I haven't knitted or spun in years. I'm almost never reading. (Except on holidays.) All the stationery I have collected like a crazy woman over the last year or two is just sitting there. When I look at all my hobby stuff I sigh and feel sad. And bad too.

When I find a new thing I tend to dive in head first and deep. For weeks, months even, all I do in my spare time is that new thing. Right now I'm obsessed with bonsai. Or more precisely, with this youtube channel: The Bonsai Zone. I binge watch for hours. I'm lost. I do not want to start a bonsai collection at all. I would love to, but I do not have the time, nor the energy, nor the space for one. But regardless, for now I am obsessed.

So, is my blog dead?

Obviously not, as I have just published this post. But I don't think I'll have any sort of regular schedule - and that has never been my intention to begin with. And yet, I don't want to not post anything for months either.

How can I make it a more regular thing then?

I do have down time at work sometimes. That's when I take out my notebook and jot down thoughts. I usually don't develop whole texts just then. But I have often thought that it would have been nice to have my laptop with me so I could just start typing. So I think I'll take my laptop to work next week to try this out.

-Elena

Leave a comment in the Fediverse

posted on: 11.april.2023

Inspired by 99% Invisible's "The Lost Cities of Geo" and Maggie Appelton's "A Brief History & Ethos of the Digital Garden". Thank you, Lost Letters for the link to the latter.

I like the idea of looking at the internet as a city or cities. There are tiny villages, small towns, big cites. And they each have different neighbourhoods, borroughs, quarters, etc. The internet also has its many and very different areas: There are personal websites, porfessional websites, company websites, websites maintained by governments and political parties, forums, websites to share photos, videos, music, books. There are apps you load on your phone. You can see a doctor via the internet, you can talk to friends and family, have job interviews, online courses, webinars. You can even marry online.

I imagine the internet starting out and growing and changing like cities do. Or did. A settlement forms, often by a river. It's small at first, but it slowly grows. Streets aren't planned in girds, everyting grows to look very organic. Settlements grow into villages grow into cities. Cities burn down in large fires or are destroyed by wars. In those cases the rebuilding may follow "cleaner" lines, streets are streighter, wider (to allow for more lanes for more cars), buildings get taller, and/or are designed after modern standards. It's just how it goes. Decades go by, old buildings are modernised or broken down and rebuilt.

The change is slow, you don't really realise it. But one day you walk through your city, take a wrong turn--and find yourself in an old part of it, where the streets are narrow and winding, the buildings are low and of an older style. And there are poeple there, going about their business and it's looking gorgeous! And you're turning to look at where you just came from and it is like you're seeing your city for the first time. It's only then that you realise how it has all changed, how it no longer is this old, organically grown place it once was, but instead has become this slick and grey place that seems to be owned by huge corporations sitting in their skyscrapers that all look the same. And even though it may be a cold and rainy day, this other place, the one you just discoverd, looks so much more invinting. And you step in and wonder how you never came here. And then it strikes you: You were so caught in the new part of town, all the shiny, modern areas, that you actually forgot it existed. Infact, you wouldn't think it could have survived even if you remembered. And you feel a little ashamed of yourself.

That's how I felt when I found my way back into what's now called the indie web, the internet of before Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The internet of the glittery, pastel coloured, midi infested personal homepages. Glorious times!

The wrong turn that brought me into this world was not a wrong turn at all. It was one I took because I was curious to see what was there behind that corner. Twitter had been bought by Elon Musk and was starting to fall apart, news were talking about alternatives and the name "Mastodon" was mentioned more and more often.

I had two brief stints with Twitter: One very early on that lasted maybe a week or so. And one at the beginning of 2021, when the pandemic was finally starting to pull me down and I had just found my way back into the Star Trek community. I had heard Twitter was where it's at and I joined. But no, both times I couldn't really figure this place out. I had been super into forum boards for many years and many hobbies. So a thing like Twitter, where you shoot short messages out into the void, was not something that made any sense to me.

In a forum every user sees the same layout and set up as everybody else, it's easy and streight forward to navigate, read, and comment. It was something I could grasp. Twitter however felt like a slip box, where your message could be lost easily and forming connections that lasted more than a comment were very rare for me. Maybe I didn't try hard enough, maybe I was just either too early or way too late to that party.

Anyway, the talk about Mastodon made me curious. I sat down, did some reading, watched a video or three, picked a server to join (which took me a couple of days to make my mind up about)--and signed up.

And there I stood, at the edge of that neighbourhood I didn't know existed anymore. I took a couple steps into it and here I am, still exploring this space, its various corners, neighbouring quarters and places outside--and yet within. Mastodon was my entrance into the Fediverse--a big network of different platforms, some similar to, some very different from Mastodon, but all connected and interoperable. And the Fediverse is my portal into the world of the indie web, which led me to neocities.org, to wanting to learn HTML and CSS, and ultimately to making this website.

But it is only the beginning, I feel. I want to see as much of these new old places as possible, find connections, build my own place (this one!), and keep this spirit of the old web alive. Let's leave the big tech jungle and build digital gardens. Neat ones and wild ones. Let's start small. Get out your garden gloves, put some soil in a pot and start planting.

PS, I love the glittery, pastel coloured, midi infested, personal homepages. I really do. Keep them coming! (Even if they hurt my brain.)

-Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse

posted on: 05.april.2023

This is not my first blog. I have had a few. They all have two things in common:

1. They were short-lived with only a few posts and not many ideas; and
2. They were pretty much unread. Or at least no one ever left any comment.

I quickly started to wonder what the point was after all, if I had anything to say to begin with. I thought I hadn't. I still don't think I have anything important to say. But I do like to think, and ponder, and think some more. And then comes a point where my head is so full of all my thoughts going in all kinds of directions, spawning new trails of interesting topics to think about, that I don't know where to continue thinking. Those thoughts need to get out of my head and onto... well, paper? I do journal, sometimes, but that doesn't quite make sense here and it's a story for another time anyway. No, some thoughts are so complex that I need to type them, copy and paste them around, delete whole paragraphs and insert new ones. Quickly. So typing it is. But unlike my journaing, which I keep pretty private, I do want to share these thoughts with others.

Sounds perfect for a blog, doesn't it? Exactly. So here I am. Typing away in a text editor, wrapping my (not quite) first blog post into HTML tags.

I'm not a writer though.

I don't have formal writing training beyond what I learned in school 30 years ago -- and forgot along the way. I don't know how to structure an essay in a meaningful way. I have no idea how to put my often complicated, because long and wild and convoluted thought strings into sentences that make sense. Or how to form readable texts out of those sentences.

I am just someone who wants to put thoughts into text.

Maybe you want to read that text. I would be glad if you did.

I do not have, nor do I want to have, a publishing schedule, a certain set of topics I want to cover, or any other plan whatsoever. There's only one rule: To write when I want, and about whatever topic I want. Though I guess that are two rules. He!

So, how long do you think I'll stay motivated to do this? How long until this blog goes the way all the blogs I had before went? I do not know. And I think it's best not to think about it. I should just take one step at a time and see where it'll take me.

PS, I actually do think that because I'm writing, I am a writer. ;)

PPS, English is not my native language, so there will be grammar and spelling mistakes. If you spot one and it is bothering you, either say nothing, or be kind and point me towards it so that I can fix it. I prefer BE spelling, but I am sure some AE spelling will slip in. Just accept it. ;)

-Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse