I have been interested in sharing more online, and decided to finally do a true deep-dive into the options out there to host a blog.

Background and Evaluation

I have been a happy Micro.blog subscriber but never really used it to the fullest for “blogging”. I am not a big writer by any means, but enjoy sharing interesting things I come across. Maybe it’s a link to an article, or an attempt to share a take on the latest tech thing in my life.

This eventually led me to evaluate the services in my life and how I use them. Previously I had my “homepage” which was just a link to this blog hosted on Micro.blog. I decided I wanted to change that up, and found that “hunsanger.blog” was available, and decided to move my blog content to that dedicated site, while moving my new “webpage” (omg.lol terminology) to be my home-base for my socials at hunsanger.com.

After seeing praises sung by Robb Knight, I decided to check out Eleventy which honestly I came very close to using. I liked that I could have a clean Obsidian → GitHub → Netlify workflow that would allow me to do most of my blogging in my current note-taking application of choice. The customization options were limitless, and there was certainly a level of freedom about it that did call to me. The #1 feature I loved was the ability to locally view and tweak my theme and then push changes to GitHub.

I also evaluated Weblog.lol (service offered through my omg.lol subscription) and it really is a good balance of functionality and convenience all while natively supporting markdown. I found the handling of templates to be a bit fiddly for my taste and customization was especially tricky but I’m anxiously going to check out Neato offered by Neatnik (who is behind omg.lol) when it is released.

How I landed on Micro.blog

• Responsive developer (I emailed Manton Reece about an issue I ran into with my theme and received multiple emails the same day answering my question)
• It jives with how I want to use this space, which is as a collaborative easy to use multi-platformed hub of content. For example, Manton was quick to add BlueSky and Mastodon posting and integration with Micro.blog which I already am using and enjoying.
• Great linkblogging support. Here is a great rundown on link-blogging from Manton that I came across when figuring out how to set this up with Micro.blog Linkblogging · Indie Microblogging
  • Solid input support
    • Does it have an app? Yes
    • Does it work with Drafts? Yes
    • Does it work with MarsEdit? Yes
    • Does it support Markdown natively for posts? Yes

Plans

• I want to post more, and specifically like the idea of doing more linkblogging in my admittedly limited free-time. I have four kids to entertain when I’m not working, and squeezing in time to write lengthy blog-posts just are not in the cards. Linkblogging with quick-takes feels doable.
• I’ll re-evaluate the long-term blog platform when Neato comes out. I do like the idea of having things even more customizable (like Eleventy) and I would say that is not off the table by any means.

For fun here are some blog screenshots I played around with during my evaluation period.

Eleventy

Weblog.lol

Below is my updated list of apps I use in various categories updated from 2024. I have excluded my strict work-usage-only applications.

Main Apps

• 📨 Mail Client: Mimestream (macOS) / Mail.app (macOS/iOS), Mail.app, and Gmail (search only) (iOS)

• 📮 Mail Server: Gmail, Fastmail, and some iCloud hosting with a custom domain

• 📝 Notes: Notes.app (ad-hoc/personal), NotePlan, and a late shift back to Obsidian (work). I still bounce between these apps but lately enjoy using Obsidian more for most notes.

• ✅ To-Do: OmniFocus, with some dabbling in Todoist

• 📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: iOS Camera

• 🟦 Photo Management: Lightroom, Photos.app, Google Photos

• 📆 Calendar: Calendar.app, BusyCal (included with SetApp)

• 📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive, Google Drive

• 📖 RSS: Feedbin + Reeder (I use both the new Reeder and Reeder Classic)

• 🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Contacts.app, Cardhop (for birthdays)

• 🌐 Browser: Safari and Vivaldi (when Chromium is required)

• 💬 Chat: iMessage, Telegram, Discord, Slack

• 🔖 Bookmarks: Raindrop.io

• 📑 Read It Later: Matter, Obsidian (using the excellent web-clipper)

• 📜 Word Processing: Paper (via SetApp)

• 📈 Spreadsheets: Excel

• 📊 Presentations: PowerPoint (occasionally dabble with Keynote)

• 🛒 Shopping Lists: Instacart/Meijer app or Walmart direct

• 🍴 Meal Planning: N/A (I use shopping apps to plan)

• 💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Monarch Money

• 📰 News: Apple News, RSS

• 🎵 Music: Apple Music

• 🎤 Podcasts: [[Apple Podcasts]]

• 🔐 Password Management: Keychain/Passwords.app (1Password is only used for licenses and secured notes)

• 👨‍💻 Code Editor: Nova

• ✈️ VPN: Tailscale

• ✨ AI Platform: ChatGPT (preferred model for API usage in other apps), with some dabbling in local LLMs

Other Apps I Rely On:

• Search/Utility: Raycast
• Screenshots: CleanShot X
• Clipboard Manager: Paste

Here is a link to my App Defaults 2023 post.

For background, I was inspired by Hemispheric Views 097 - Duel of the Defaults! and this post by Robb Knight.

I was inspired by Hemispheric Views 097 - Duel of the Defaults! and this post by Robb Knight.

Below is the list I use in the various categories mentioned. I have excluded my strict work usage only applications.

📨 Mail Client: Mimestream (macOS) / Mail.app (macOS/iOS), Gmail (search only) (iOS)
📮 Mail Server: Gmail, Fastmail
📝 Notes: Notes.app (ad-hoc), NotePlan. I do still occasionally dabble with Bear and Obsidian.
✅ To-Do: Reminders, Things 3
📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: iOS Camera
🟦 Photo Management: Lightroom, Photos.app, Google Photos
📆 Calendar: Calendar.app
📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive, Google Drive
📖 RSS: Feedbin + Reeder
🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Contacts.app, Cardhop (for birthdays)
🌐 Browser: Safari, Arc (when Chromium required)
💬 Chat: iMessage, Telegram, Discord, Slack
🔖 Bookmarks: Raindrop.io
📑 Read It Later: Matter
📜 Word Processing: Ulysses
📈 Spreadsheets: Excel
📊 Presentations: PowerPoint, dabble with Keynote
🛒 Shopping Lists: Instacart/Meijer app direct or Reminders
🍴 Meal Planning: N/A (use Shopping apps to plan)
💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Copilot / Chronicle
📰 News: Apple News, RSS
🎵 Music: Apple Music, Tidal (via Vault subscription)
🎤 Podcasts: Apple Podcasts
🔐 Password Management: 1Password, but migrating slowly to Keychain
👨‍💻 Code Editor: Nova
✈️ VPN: Tailscale

Other Apps I rely on:

• Search/Utility - Raycast
• Screenshots - CleanShot X
• Clipboard Manager - Paste

• The 15 Pro Max seems (as of iOS 17.2 Beta)to run more warm then my previous iPhones. Definitely more noticeable to me than I ever remember with the 14 Pro Max.
• Titanium finish is fantastic. In fact, the feel of the device was so good, I decided to go case-less for a bit, and ended up dropping my phone on cement almost immediately after making this decision.¹
• The 15 Pro Max weight differences (and re-balancing of the device) are significant. The phone has a better balance in hand, and the albeit small differences in weight, do make a difference.
• I went with the Natural Titanium finish, and its fine. I think it’s the best of the overall even more toned down color palette for the Pro series.
• The fine woven cases are not great. I think if you are someone that enjoys the feel of suede this case may appeal to you.
• The action button is a cool inclusion, but I still do not feel like I have found a great daily use case for it (much like the action button on the Ultra).²
• The 15 Pro Max 5x lens is fantastic, and I am already getting a lot of use out of it for my kids soccer games.
• USB-C is… fine? I am glad to have nearly all of my primary Apple hardware with a few exclusions³. I do worry about lint buildup in the port which has been an issue with USB-C ports in the past on the Pixel phones I have owned, and USB-C is still a messy spec.

Overall, minus the heat issue, the iPhone 15 Pro max has been my favorite iPhone to date, bumped specs aside, it was nice to see Apple focus on the materials (titanium is fantastic), and find ways to reduce the weight/feel of the device in hand.

I have been testing out the new iOS 17 Podcasts app, and for the most part it gets me 90% of what I want in a Podcast app.

Biggest drawbacks:

• Missing trim silence/smart speed feature. I did not realize how many of my podcasts I regularly listen to had so much dead air.
• Additional incremental / custom per podcast speed settings People speak at different speeds, and it is really helpful to have custom settings per podcast
• Quick access to show notes The iOS 17 Podcast app has the show notes available, but they require multiple taps to access, which is an added frustration.

Favorite features:

• Cross device application support (macOS, Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS)
• Design aesthetic.

For now I am still bouncing between Overcast and the Apple Podcasts app, but I am happy to see Apple catching up in this space.