If you’ve visited my blog before, you probably are noticing that things are a bit different all of a sudden. I’ve migrated from my old Wordpress setup over to a Jekyll-based site. I did this for a number of reasons, one of which being my love of writing entirely in markdown. I also hoped to achieve something that was not only more aesthetically pleasing, but also more legible and pleasant to read. I’m hopeful that this new minimalistic setup will encourage me to post more in the upcoming year.

That said, those reasons aren’t my primary motive for switching. I had been using the same setup, more or less, since the first day I set up a blog when I was 13 years old. Since 2008, I’ve been sharing my thoughts and rambling on about things such as new Eminem albums, my hatred of fluorescent lighting (that is still an ongoing grudge), my review of Twilight (not a very positive review, I must say), and an exceptionally snarky critique of Apple’s tepid 2010 keynote.

Of course, I’ve written about more substantive things as well. I’ve written many posts begging for DRM-free video downloads, a war I will continue to wage until my demands are met. I’ve written about copyright reform, free culture, digital rights, open source, and other issues important to me. Those beliefs have grown stronger over the years and fuel much of what I do, and I hope if anything to write more relentlessly about such topics in the future. As those of you who know me might expect, I’ve written a lot about software. I detailed the first time I tried Ubuntu, my decision to switch to some relatively unknown (at the time) distribution called elementary OS, and the various pieces of software that I have enjoyed using over the years (these include Geary, which elementary forked earlier this year, and Birdie, which I took over development for much earlier in 2015. Of course, they also include, God help me, the Windows Live suite for Windows 7, so some things do certainly change).

The old blog is a historical account of so much of my life, like high school graduation, my decision to create a new podcast app, the births of my nephews and niece, and in general, my philosophical changes and personal growth.

Unfortunately, those posts also weigh me down. They represent versions of myself that I no longer am. I have grown substantially since age 13. I have learned, I have adapted, I have strived to be better. I don’t want the essays that I wrote when I was a young teenager to be what people read when they visit my site. They are, to be frank, embarrassing, and while they are important to me for sentimental reasons, they no longer belong out in the public.

So this new blog is a fresh start. In the coming days I hope to restore some of the important blog posts, such as the ones detailing my trip to System76 and the original Vocal announcements, but more than anything, I want a blank slate. I want a new canvas that I can fill. I hope that will lead to me writing much more and help me develop my ideas better. I hope to share posts about the things that I’m studying, the books I’m reading, and the thoughts that I’m mulling over. I also hope to write about the things going on in my life because, it occurs to me as I look back over the past seven or eight years of blog posts, that they provide a historical account of my life, and will undoubtedly mean a great deal to me in the future.

But for now, on New Year’s Eve, as I listen to my playlist and wait to greet 2016 with you all, I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone for making 2015 amazing. It was the year I put out my first stable release of my app. It was the year that I got to visit new places and develop new friendships. To everyone in the free software world, especially those either involved with or fans of the elementary OS project, you have all meant so much to me. I’m looking forward to what the future holds and can’t wait to watch it unfold with you all.

I thank you all for an incredible 2015, and wish you nothing but the very best 2016.


The feature image is by John Haslam and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.