~hedy's blogroll - BlogFlock

Iced coffee in Spring - James' Coffee Blog

2026-05-24T00:00:00.000Z

Saturday was a busy day; I was on my feet for most of the day, and then came home to participate in the IndieWeb Zine meetup. Today, however, is comparatively quieter. I started my day reading manga in bed, and then had a slow start to the day – making breakfast, continuing to read Jane Eyre. Because the weather has been so nice this weekend, I knew I had to go out for a walk, which was most wonderful. This weekend has been twenty degrees Celsius. Oh! how much I love the warmer weather.

This year I have been mostly drinking tea, which has led me to be able to tell the joke that I have a blog nominally called “James’ Coffee Blog” and yet I now drink more tea than coffee. Perhaps my preference between tea and coffee will ebb and flow with time: I enjoyed tea for several years before I started drinking speciality coffee. One person told me that my drinking tea means only they will think about my blog in terms of “I will read James’ latest post whilst I drink a coffee”, a sentiment I really like.

With that said, I do drink decaf coffee when I am out and about. Today, with the warm weather and after a long walk, I got some iced coffee, decaf, and enjoyed it while I continued to walk around. Holding a cold drink was especially welcome; I held the cup for as long as I could before the ice had mostly melted.

I took a picture of the coffee, for no reason other than it felt right in the moment. I tend to take fewer pictures now than I once did, preferring to keep my phone in my pocket. But, I wanted to take a snapshot of the moment and did think “oh, this would fit well on my blog!” In a way, I could consider this a way of keeping up the coffee discourse on this website, but I see it more as a manifestation of what this blog is – a place to share the things I really love.

Indeed, there is something poetic about how I now drink more tea than coffee: the name of my blog is steeped (pun intended) in time; the name tells a story, and my changing relationship with coffee and tea tells one too.

Drinking the iced coffee made me think about how I’ll need to make a few iced mint mojitos at home over the summer, a drink that is, if I remember correctly, an iced latte but with mint leaves – that’s how I made it last year. The coffee takes a bit more preparation, but it is worth it – the best things are.

Here is my decaf iced coffee from today, exactly what I needed while out and about today:

ALT

An iced latte in a Starbucks cup held in front of two bushes: the lower bush is mostly green foliage, and the upper bush has white flowers growing.

iced mint mojitos IndieWeb Zine meetup

Joining the IndieWeb Zine Pop Up - James' Coffee Blog

2026-05-24T00:00:00.000Z

On Saturday I joined an IndieWeb pop up about zines, hosted by Morgan. The meetup was about both zines and the intersection of zines and personal websites – the affordances of each medium, how the mediums compare, where the mediums intersect, and more. I helped take notes (notes available on the community wiki) and, looking back, I realise it was hard to keep up with all the discussion: there was so much to explore!

Toward the beginning of the event, we had a discussion about how we found, and find, zines. This discussion made me realise that, firstly, I cannot remember exactly when I encountered zines, and second, zines seem to come to me.

I have found zines through people’s personal websites (i.e. Ava’s wonderful zine about personal websites and the law), through discussions with people who have websites and also like zines, by going into a bookstore (Typewronger in Edinburgh in particular) and seeing a shelf of zines for sale. Shortly after the meetup, I went to the Bear Blog Discover page and saw someone writing about zines, too.

On the call, I brought along two zines I have made – more booklets than zines, but in any case made with the intent that it felt there was no better medium to express what I wanted to than something physical you could hold. The first was called Quiet Edinburgh (see PDF of Quiet Edinburgh), which I made in 2021:

The city is changing now, as lockdown eases, but what I saw – and felt – will forever be a part of the history of Edinburgh. History needs to be documented by someone, hence the zine.

The second was about architecture in Edinburgh, there being so many buildings to see in the city that have a certain magnetism where you can’t help but look in wonder.

What I took away from the discussion is that zines have been on the periphery for me for a while, and I should probably try reading and making more. I took a first step by buying a zine I had wanted to buy for a few weeks, and also started jotting down ideas for what I could put in a zine. I realised I could make a zine with my typewriter too.

One of the highlights of the meetup was hearing everyone’s enthusiasm about the medium. We spoke about how a zine can take an hour or a day to make – you can put as much time into one as you want; equally, zines can be so short they can be read in a minutes, or read over hours. This flexibility is part of the inclusive culture that surrounds zines, a culture embodying myriad subject matters, stories, materials, and more.

One participant pointed out how zines, like any documentation material, can be used for the transmission of knowledge across generations. This really got me thinking, both about zines and about the web more broadly. We have websites – and archives of websites – that represent many eras of the web. We are so lucky to have that history. This makes me wonder: what does it look like for us to make a website and consciously hold in mind the idea that we are being stewards of the web, just as zines can document times and places and the knowledge in a community?

It is hard to summarise everything we talked about: there are entire essays that could be written about what we summarised as bullet points in the meeting notes. But that’s the joy of a pop-up event – everyone can bring what excites them, we can go in whatever direction the discussion takes us, and we can discuss a topic as deep as we want.

Thank you to Morgan for making the event happen, and to everyone who came and brought so many ideas to discuss. And thanks to Zachary for making the event banner image.

Also posted on IndieNews.

Ava’s wonderful zine about personal websites and the law IndieWeb pop up about zines event banner image notes available on the community wiki Quiet Edinburgh see PDF of Quiet Edinburgh Also posted on IndieNews Typewronger in Edinburgh Morgan Zachary

Life issues and practical philosophy with Amin Bandali - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

2026-05-23T00:00:00.000Z

The other day I met with Amin Bandali to talk about life issues and practical philosophy. Amin asked me if he could record the meeting and write about it, which I agreed to. You can find the recording on Amin’s website, together with an overview of what we covered: https://kelar.org/~bandali/life/thinking-with-prot.html. The video is 2 hours long.

Going off of my recollection of the talk, we covered at length the broad theme of rhythm using everyday examples. There are ups and downs to what we do, moments of intensity and of rest. We must be aware of them so that we do not try to push ourselves to unsustainable extremes. We do this, for example, when we do not check our feelings from time to time and instead keep overworking ourselves.

It is important at all times to be mindful of the distinction between descriptive and prescriptive statements. It is easy to fall in the trap of feeling guilty for our state of affairs, even when that is not clearly justified. For example, “I procrastinate” usually comes with a tscit judgement call along the lines of “and this is bad”. The prescription, then, is “do not procrastinate”. Whereas I point out that it helps to be descriptive and to suspend prior judgement. Using procrastination as an example, we may be doing it as an effective way to cope with an otherwise difficult situation.

Another topic was about loss or death in the literal as well as the figurative sense. We discussed the relevant topics in light of how things flow and how something changes into something else. In the case of physical loss, such as a loved one that is no longer with us, there is a sense in which they stay around as a guiding star or guardian angel. This happens because we remember their deeds and underlying values, the philosophy embedded in their actions, which we try to replicate. There is another aspect to loss and death which is about how we change as we go and how we adapt as we go.

Part of what I do is serious at some level. Though I comment on how I approach it with a sense of lightheartedness and humour. I am easygoing. My style at all times is to do something, not to merely talk about it, so I exhibit as much through timely jokes and moments of laughter. Understanding that each person is not one-sided is essential. I can be profound, but I have the deep-seated confidence in my abilities to also joke around because I know that my remarks will not lose their value in the process.

In our social affairs we have to conform with the expectations of other people. It is thus critical to do what we must in order to survive. Though we have to remember that this is a role-playing game, so that we do not overdo it. Setting boundaries is key in this regard. I suggest that we treat certain things as sacrosanct, so that we give them the value they require. Doing so allows us to maintain a sustainable rhythm.

Towards the end of the video, Amin asks me about my approach to philosophy, which is about doing instead of merely reading or thinking. I describe it as “situational awareness”. The world is consistent, so if we have a deep understanding of a part of it, we can apply those findings to other areas. This is something I do throughout our talk by drawing connections between the various topics.

Thanks to Amin for this discussion! I had a good time.

Piri - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

2026-05-22T11:00:00.000Z

This week on the People and Blogs series we have an interview with Piri, whose blog can be found at pketh.org.

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Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?

Hey, I'm Piri. I'm a software designer, engineer, and artist of sorts. I build Kinopio, and have been blogging about the craft of making software for 12+ years (:O).

I went to school in Toronto for biology and urban planning. There I learned that I liked illustration a lot more than writing boring reports and papers.

After school, I got a job at a startup as an illustrator, that turned into product design, when also turned into writing code so I could build the ideas in my head.

What's the story behind your blog?

I can't remember a time when I didn't have some kind of blog. In university, I met a lot of new friends around the world by doing more angst-y cringe-y livejournal-y style writing.

I started designing pketh.org while on a flight to SF, paid for by Yahoo, for a job interview at Flickr (times sure have changed).

If you’re curious about the green design, I was inspired by the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, which I still think has such a unique prototype race car shape.

What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?

My posts are usually long essays that take about a week or two to write and produce, so I try and make them timeless.

When I have an idea for a post, I'll make a Kinopio space for it and collect thoughts, images, and URLs in it for a while. If after weeks or months it’s still on my mind, I'll start connecting and organizing everything into a rough outline.

From there I'll start pasting things in and typing it up in either IA Writer or TextEdit. When the draft is done, I usually have someone proof-read it and use that feedback to make final edits. Then the final HTML formatting bits are done in my code editor of choice, SublimeText.

Writing is like a muscle that atrophies when you don't use it. Mine's out of shape so the process is quite painful. When I finally git push a new post out to the world, I just want to lie down and never get up again. Probably related, but I end up throwing away 1/2 to 2/3 of what I write in a blog post.

If I had the time to write more often I suspect it'd get easier. I think I could get pretty good at it.

Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?

I prefer different places and tools depending on where I'm at in the process. I collect notes, inspiration, and connect related ideas wherever I am, usually on my phone.

I like doing the early writing stage in a coffee shop or in bed. Anywhere that doesn't make me feel like I’m doing “Real Work™” yet.

When I get really into it, I like to type on a desk with a good keyboard (I'm a big HHKB fan), on a screen big enough for me to keep my context windows (dictionary.app, Kinopio spaces, related web pages) next to my writing window.

A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?

My blog uses Jekyll and is published on Github Pages. The domain stuff is done through Hover. It's quite basic.

Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?

I might use something newer and nicer than Jekyll, but it would probably be compiled from markdown files the same way.

The current design is a bit of a Ship of Theseus that I've been slowly and gently updating it over years, so it's kind of grown on me.

Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetizing personal blogs?

I think the domain name is $20~/yr and I think that's it.

I'm split on blogs with paid content:

If writing is your job, then monetizing somehow totally makes sense. Quality independent writing and journalism is really important and should be compensated (I like Craig Mod's approach).

But for basically everyone else, blogging is a thing they do on the side for fun, and I think it sucks when people feel pressured to turn everything they do into a passive-income side-hustle potential-business-empire.

Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?

Skimming the depths of my RSS feeds, I realized that I’ve subscribed to literally 1000s of blogs. But sadly most have withered away over the ages.

Funkaoshi has been around for even longer than I've been writing – I consider the author my Toronto blogging senpai.

I really enjoy Alexotos' in depth mechanical keyboard reviews.

It's really cool and encouraging to see newer people blogging the same way we did. Lilly Ashton’s blog is worth reading If you're looking for something more personal and cozy.

Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?

Since 2018, I've been building Kinopio, a spatial note-taking tool to collect and connect your thoughts, ideas, and plans. You can use it to make sense of your thorniest problems and grow your coolest new ideas into plans. I hope you enjoy it.

Keep exploring

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Background; foreground - James' Coffee Blog

2026-05-22T00:00:00.000Z

In a way, I carry my website with me wherever I go. Technically, my website is a few keystrokes away on my phone, but I think the presence of my website extends beyond the technical. Having a website encourages me to write, I think, because I know I have a place to put and share my writing. I take notes as I go throughout the world because I love writing, then I come home and ask “could I craft this into an essay?” ¹ And so over time my website has accrued stories of bird song and coffee shops and ice cream in Tesco.

My cadence for writing ebbs and flows. I often write in bursts; several days may pass where I mainly take notes, and then I start coalescing ideas into blog posts. In this way my blog moves from the background to the foreground and back – I take notes in the background, write for my blog, and then go back to taking notes.

Days may pass where I don’t do anything with my blog because I’m working on another project, or am otherwise preoccupied. This has been true of late where much of my creative energy has been focused on Wonders of Web Weaving. I want the conversations I have to be the best they can be so my mind has been more on “what questions can I ask?” than “what do I have to write?”

Hearing others’ perspectives on the web gives me so much energy, but right now I want to sit with that energy and let it propel the interviews rather than coming back to my blog. My blog is always here for me when I’m ready, like I am this Friday lunch time when I have connected enough dots to start writing.

This week and last I have also been reading Charlotte Brönte’s Jane Eyre for school. I am almost two thirds of the way through the book and it is already one of my favourites; the contrast between realism and the Gothic in the book is terrific, and my ability to appreciate this contrast has been much aided by reading about the book while I read the book itself. The book is long and gripping, and so my blog has been more in the background – it’s here when I am ready to write, but Jane Eyre has more of my attention at the moment.

I love that my website can sit in the background for a little while. It’s here for everyone who comes to read, and it’s here for me, too, both as a reference – I visit my website basically every day, often to look something up I have written – and as a creative space. Maybe I’ll make a web page. Or write a blog post. Or find a link to share with a friend. And then I keep doing all the other things I do: reading and thinking and walking and dreaming and chatting.

Maybe I overestimate the extent to which having a website and writing are intertwined. Would I write as much if I didn’t have a website? The way to find out would be to not have a website, and that’s not a world I want to live in. Indeed, my passion for the web is so great that despite all of the problematic parts, I am still excited about the future of the web. I want to keep making websites and show other people what is possible with websites because I know first hand how much having a little space to call your own on the World Wide Web can make a big difference.

[↩]

ice cream in Tesco coffee shops bird song 1 [↩]

Selfie: something a little bit more artistic - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

2026-05-22T00:00:00.000Z

Three pictures this time. Feels strange to pose like this, but it is nice to not be serious!

I feel your pain Sara - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

2026-05-21T16:20:00.000Z

I stumbled on this piece of code recently that made me laugh, cry, sigh in despair, and think of poor Sara doing her best to make the web a better place.

<div class="action-button button of-h mh-effect"
onclick=" window.open('https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&amp;fs=1&amp;to=redacted@email.com','_blank',)">

I guess people have forgot that mailto: is a thing that exists.

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Emacs: ef-arcadia and ef-atlantis are part of the ef-themes - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z

I have added two new themes to the current development target of my ef-themes package. Screenshots are available below. Remember that the themes are highly customisable: you can change practically everything about them.

ef-arcadia is a light theme with a verdant, humid aesthetic.
ef-atlantis is a dark theme with an aquatic feel.

Both deliver the familiar colourfulness and good legibility of the ef-themes.

Always click to enlarge the image for best results.

ef-arcadia

ef-atlantis

Coming in version 2.2.0 (next stable release)

The character of each theme is well defined. I may still make some refinements.

Remember that since version 2.0.0, the ef-themes are built on top of my modus-themes. This means that they are highly customisable, support a wide range of packages and face groups, and are extensively tested down to the finest details.

Enjoy!

The ef-themes are a collection of light and dark themes for GNU Emacs that provide colourful (“pretty”) yet legible options for users who want something with a bit more flair than the modus-themes (also designed by me).

Package name (GNU ELPA): ef-themes
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes
Change log: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-changelog
Sample pictures: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures
Git repositories:
- GitHub: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes
- GitLab: https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/ef-themes
Backronym: Eclectic Fashion in Themes Hides Exaggerated Markings, Embellishments, and Sparkles.

On people writing about their use of AI - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

2026-05-20T15:50:00.000Z

I find the trend of people posting about the way they use generative AI to be fascinating at an anthropological level. I do not remember the last time a piece of technology pushed so many different people into writing about the way they use it, or not use it, or abuse it, or misuse it. To me, this is way more interesting and intriguing than the technology itself.

I obviously do not know why so many people are doing so, and I suspect they must all have their own specific reasons, but I currently have three main theories but I’m sure there are more than that.

The first theory is that a good percentage is trying to capitalize on the trend in an attempt to become some sort of AI thought leader. Those people are insufferable. They usually hang out on LinkedIn, but sometimes they escape containment, and they remember that they do have a blog (and that’s often a Substack, unsurprisingly) where they can post these generic-looking blog posts filled with lists and it’s-not-this-it's-that statements.

The second theory is that techies are gonna tech. A lot of the people who have blogs are also into tech, and gen AI is an interesting piece of tech and so it’s natural that those people will end up writing about how they use AI.

The third and final theory is that there’s a group of people who feel the need to distance themselves from what AI represents. So those posts are not really about the technology itself, but rather a statement on the state of the world around them, and they want to make it clear if and how they participate in it.

This final group is to me the interesting one. Now, if you’re a techie, don’t be mad at me, I’m not saying you’re not interesting, because you are (if instead you’re an AI bro, click here. You're welcome.) I’m saying the last group is the interesting one because to me, it’s fascinating how people feel compelled to justify or explain to strangers on the Internet how they interact with a piece of technology. And it’s especially fascinating because it’s a completely pointless exercise in my opinion.

Let’s pretend you just landed on my blog for the first time (hi, welcome, nice to have you here) and you have no idea who I am. For all you know, I might not even be a real person. This entire website could be a psyop run by the Italian government. With that in mind, what’s the value of a post in which I tell you how I use or not use AI from a moral perspective? Would it make a difference if I were to tell you that I don’t use it? Or that I use it maybe once a day to answer a coding-related question? What if I told you that I don’t use AI at all, but in reality, this post was entirely generated by a swarm of AI agents while I was outside walking the dog, enjoying life? Unless you have prior knowledge of me and this blog, a post like that, in a vacuum, would be meaningless.

How about the opposite case, though? Let's now pretend you weren’t new here, and you had, in fact, been following this blog since 2017. If that was the case, you wouldn't even need me to write that blog post, because by this point, you’d have all the necessary information to make an informed judgment. And you’d also know that you could ping me via email or via DM and ask me directly if you had any doubt about anything related to this topic.

In both cases, a post stating my use of AI would have pretty much zero value. Which genuinely makes me wonder why so many people feel compelled to write about this stuff. If you wrote one of these posts, can I ask you why? Why do you feel the need to explain how you use this technology? Is there a specific reason? I’d love to know.

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Virtual OS Museum - Baty.net

2026-05-20T08:51:38.000Z

The Virtual OS Museum

Want to see the earliest resident monitors? The ancestor of all modern OSes (CTSS)? The earliest versions of Unix? The first OS with a desktop metaphor GUI (Xerox Star Pilot/ViewPoint)? Early versions of mainstream OSes? If you want to explore historical OSes and platforms without having to worry about configuring/installing emulators and OSes or corrupting emulated installations, you’ve come to the right place.

Amazed that this exists. I'm not an OS nerd, but maybe I will be after downloading this.

✍️ Reply by email

Emacs: Denote version 4.2.0 - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z

Denote aims to be a simple-to-use, focused-in-scope, and effective note-taking and file-naming tool for Emacs.

Denote is based on the idea that files should follow a predictable and descriptive file-naming scheme. The file name must offer a clear indication of what the contents are about, without reference to any other metadata. Denote basically streamlines the creation of such files or file names while providing facilities to link between them (where those files are editable).

Denote’s file-naming scheme is not limited to “notes”. It can be used for all types of file, including those that are not editable in Emacs, such as videos. Naming files in a constistent way makes their filtering and retrieval considerably easier. Denote provides relevant facilities to rename files, regardless of file type.

Package name (GNU ELPA): denote
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote
Change log: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-changelog
Git repositories:
- GitHub: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote
- GitLab: https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/denote
Video demo: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-06-18-denote-demo/
Backronyms: Denote Everything Neatly; Omit The Excesses. Don’t Ever Note Only The Epiphenomenal.

Below are the release notes.

Version 4.2.0 on 2026-05-20

This version brings several improvements to the core denote package as well as all the Denote extensions I maintain. The core package is stable, its feature set is rich, and the wider ecosystem of extensions is growing.

Most of the changes documented herein are of interest to experienced users who may be looking for ways to refine their workflow. I recommend that new users start with the basics, as I explained them in the original video demonstration of Denote or as they are documented in the manual’s section for newcomers:

Webpage: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote#h:c54bedb4-5377-4dbd-853c-5870ace6eb33.
Info manual: With the latest denote package installed, evaluate (info "(denote) Getting started with Denote").

Remember that the release notes are true only at the time of publication. The single source of truth is the official manual.

Core Denote

Overview of the new features

The command denote-dired-focus will filter the results of an existing denote-dired buffer. Use this to narrow down the results.
In Org files, the denote: link type can now be previewed using the built-in org-link-preview command, starting with Org version 9.8.0.
The command denote-link-or-create-with-command extends the existing convenience functions of the “do or create note” kind.
The denote-file-prompt uses completion metadata to sort by most recently accessed, group by directory or file extension, and cover packages that display cosmetic icons alongside completion candidates.
Denote now enforces a controlled vocabulary for keywords when denote-infer-keywords is set to nil, such that only the denote-known-keywords are provided as an option at the relevant prompts.
The mechanism for integrating Denote with org-capture now supports prompting for an signature via denote-org-capture-with-prompts (the signature is an optional, free-form component of the Denote file-naming scheme).
Several packages that extend Denote are documented in the manual. If you have a package for Denote, let me know and I will write a section about it.

Focus a `denote-dired` buffer with `denote-dired-focus`

The command denote-dired produces a Dired listing of file names that match the given regular expressions. Users can benefit from the Denote file-naming scheme to, for example, include all files that have the keyword _emacs. In the resulting Dired buffer, the new command denote-dired-focus can then be invoked to further narrow down the results, such as to only show files that have 2026 in their file (with default settings, the date is part of the Denote identifier).

I implemented this feature in response to issue 693 by 82Kang: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/693.

Improvements to the file prompt

Various Denote commands prompt for a file name: for instance, denote-link asks which file to link to. This file prompt is now augmented with completion metadata that transform how files look and how the information is organised.

Before, the prompt presented full file names like:

20220610T043241--initial-thoughts-on-the-zettelkasten-method__notetaking.org
20220610T062201--define-custom-org-hyperlink-type__denote_emacs_package.md
20220610T162327--on-hierarchy-and-taxis__notetaking_philosophy.txt

Those same file names are now transformed to look like this:

2022-06-10  initial-thoughts-on-the-zettelkasten-method  notetaking
2022-06-10  define-custom-org-hyperlink-type  denote_emacs_package
2022-06-10  on-hierarchy-and-taxis  notetaking_philosophy

The files will be grouped by file extension or directory (if they are in a subdirectory of the denote-directory). Furthermore, they will be sorted by most recently accessed.

The underlying file names are still available except that their presentation is modified. This means that input at the minibuffer prompt will still match everything they contain.

This completion metadata extends to the packages all-the-icons and nerd-icons, which are now instructed to add the correct file icons to the completion candidates: an Org file will have the unicorn icon beside it, for example.

Users who do not like the new style can revert to the plain presentation by setting denote-file-prompt-extra-metadata to nil.

Advanced users who wish to set up the completion-category-overrides may target the denote-file completion category or, anyhow, modify the denote-file-prompt-extra-metadata.

Link to a file or create a new note using a specific command

Denote provides many “convenience wrapper” commands that do something quickly which can also be achieved with minimal configuration. For example, the denote command may be modified to also prompt for a file type and so the denote-type command is like denote with the addition of the file type prompt. Users can look at the source code of denote-type to write their own small variations (the manual provides several examples as well).

The denote-open-or-create-with-command may then use those to implement its specified behaviour of “open an existing file or create it using a convenience wrapper command”.

Same principle for the new denote-link-or-create-with-command: it makes possible the workflow of “link to an existing file or create a new note with the given command”.

Convenience wrappers are listed in the value of the user option denote-commands-for-new-notes.

Thanks to Matthew Batson for building on top of existing functionality to contribute denote-link-or-create-with-command in pull request 674: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/674. Matthew has assigned copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Preview `denote:` links in Org files

Starting with Org version 9.8.0 custom link types such as denote: can implement their own preview mechanism. In practice, this means that denote: links pointing to image files will now work as expected with org-link-preview (remember that the Denote file-naming scheme can be applied to any file and is in no way specific to note-taking—I use it for documents and videos, for example).

Thanks to Samuel W. Flint for the original contribution in pull request 683: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/683, with further changes by me. The original contribution is small, meaning that Samuel does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Signature support in Org capture

The denote-org-capture-with-prompts function now supports the signature file name component as an additional parameter. This function is meant to be used in tandem with the org-capture mechanism, as shown in the manual.

Thanks to Tobias Lidman-Strauss for the contribution in merge request 2 on the GitLab mirror: https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/denote/-/merge_requests/2. The change is small, meaning that Tobias does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

The `denote-fontify-links-mode` is only relevant for `.txt` files

The denote: links are automatically highlighted as links in Org and Markdown bufers. Users who prefer to write notes in plain .txt files must enable the denote-fontify-links-mode to get the same effect.

I have revised denote-fontify-links-mode to only work with .txt as its other users were not necessary. In the process, I have deprecated the denote-fontify-links-mode-maybe function: just use the denote-fonftify-links-mode.

The keys RET and C-c C-o open the link (same keys used by Org and Markdown modes).

Growing ecosystem of Denote packages

In the Denote manual I mention packages that build on top of Denote. There is one section for each package. The manual now includes the following:

denote-agenda (by Samuel W. Flint): Use Denote notes as Org agenda files.
denote-journal-capture (by Samuel W. Flint): Enhanced journaling workflows.
denote-lint (Peter Smith): Checks for inconsistencies in Denote file names and front matter.
denote-project-notes (by Samuel W. Flint): Integrate Denote with Emacs’ built-in project support.
denote-regexp (by Samuel W. Flint): Search and link notes using regular expressions.
denote-review (by Matto Fransen): A package for reviewing notes over time.
denote-sections (by Samuel W. Flint): Manage sections within Denote notes.
denote-wordcloud (by Alexander Kuzmin): Generate word clouds from Denote notes.

Miscellaneous

The command denote-dired (alias denote-sort-dired) is refactored to work as intended in all cases. Thanks to kilesduli for the contribution in pull request 666: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/666. Further changes by me, including the option to maintain many separate denote-dired buffers, which I did in response to issue 693 by 82Kang: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/693.
I have revised the denote-grep mechanism and all of its ancillary functions and variables are revised in the interest of consistency and maintainability. Thanks to gnuhack for contributing a macro that was meant to streamline some commands. This was done in pull request 697: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/697. I eventually changed lots of things so that the macro was not relevant anymore, though mine was a change with a wider scope.
The Org link storage mechanism (denote-link-ol-store) now works correctly within org-capture buffers, allowing for more flexible linking workflows.
Following non-Denote Markdown links no longer result in an error under certain circumstances. Thanks to bplubell for the contribution in pull request 685: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/685. The change is small, meaning that its author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.
Retrieving front matter is now more reliable, even when the buffer is unsaved. Thanks to kilesduli for the contribution in pull request 672: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/672. Also thanks to Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay for reviewing the change and for reporting a problem with an earlier version of the code in issue 670: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/670. Further changes by me.
The various Denote rename commands that affect the front matter in files no longer change existing spacing. I did this to address the comment posted by Morten Kjeldgaard in issue 703: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/703.
Updated the documentation to explain how to automatically encrypt new notes when using a custom file type.
Refined the internal helper functions for directory management and identifier validation.
Thanks to nescias for fixing three typos in the manual. This was sent to me as a patch, which I installed as commit c772378.

Changes to the extensions of Denote I maintain

This is about packages I maintain. Some of them were originally part of the denote.git repository, but I moved them out into their own packages to make everything easier to reason about.

`consult-denote` version 0.5.0

Package name (GNU ELPA): consult-denote
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/consult-denote
Change log: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/consult-denote-changelog
Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/consult-denote
Backronym: Consult-Orchestrated Navigation and Selection of Unambiguous Targets…denote.
References to the long-obsolete “denote-silo-extras-” prefix are replaced by “denote-silo-”. Thanks to IT Ascalium for the contribution in pull request 20: https://github.com/protesilaos/consult-denote/pull/20. The change is small, so its author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.
The consult-denote-file-prompt correctly handles relative file paths when denote-directory is set to a list of directories. This is what the underlying denote-file-prompt does (which I mentioned above about its metadata). Thanks to Kai von Fintel for the contribution in pull request 24: https://github.com/protesilaos/consult-denote/pull/24. The change does not require copyright assignment.

`denote-merge` version 0.1.0

Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-merge
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-merge
Backronym: Denote… Merging Eventually Reformats the Given Entries.

This is an optional extension to the denote package. It provides commands and relevant user options to streamline the work of merging contents from one Denote file to another. This is for users who periodically review their notes to add, remove, or otherwise consolidate their accumulated knowledge.

`denote-journal` version 0.3.0

Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-journal
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-journal
Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-journal
Backronym: Denote… Journaling Obviously Utilises Reasonableness Notwithstanding Affectionate Longing.
The user option denote-journal-keyword now supports a nil value, allowing users to create journal entries without a specific keyword. Thanks to nescias for sending me the patch via email, which I installed as commit d4cc501 in denote-journal.git. The change does not require copyright assignment.
Fixed an issue about how the function denote-directory-files was used. Thanks to Donald Brady for reporting the bug in issue 656 on the main Denote repository and to kamchy for confirming the problem: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/656. The approach was utlimately revised in denote.git courtesy of a change by Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay in pull request 661: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/661.

`denote-markdown` version 0.3.0

Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-markdown
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-markdown
Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-markdown
Backronyms: Denote… Markdown’s Ambitious Reimplimentations Knowingly Dilute Obvious Widespread Norms; Denote… Markup Agnosticism Requires Knowhow to Do Only What’s Necessary.
The package defines a markdown-obsidian file type which can be used by relevant note-creating commands, such as denote or the convenience wrapper denote-type. This file type is updated to be more robust, in accordance with some changes in core Denote (I am not even documenting those, as they are not intended for users).

`denote-org` version 0.3.0

Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-org
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-org
Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-org
Backronym: Denote… Ordinarily Restricts Gyrations.
The command denote-org-link-to-heading now supports linking to the current file when called with a prefix argument. This way, a file can have links between its headings. Thanks to Tonus for pointing out that it was impossible to create a link inside the current file. This was done in issue 17: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-org/issues/17.
A helper function for retrieving the backlinks of a heading is updated to return full file paths. Thanks to Vedang Manerikar for the contribution in pull request 20: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-org/pull/20. Vedang has assigned copyright to the Free Software Foundation.
Another helper function is updated to conform with changes to core Denote with regard to how the denote-link-description-format is handled. Thanks to Jung Han for reporting the bug in issue 21: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-org/issues/21.

`denote-silo` version 0.3.0

Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-silo
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-silo
Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-silo
Backronym: Denote… Silos Insulate Localised Objects.

The minibuffer prompt for silo directories uses the corrent completion category (consistent with what I mentioned above about completion metadata). Thanks to Wilf-bog for reporting an error with the completion prompt in issue 1: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-silo/issues/1.

`denote-sequence` version 0.3.0

Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-sequence
Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-sequence
Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence
Backronym: Denote… Sequences Efficiently Queue Unsorted Entries Notwithstanding Curation Efforts.

This package deserved its own release notes, as I did a lot of work on it. But as this file is already long, I will focus on the essentials:

The denote-sequence-scheme used to support a numeric and alphanumeric option. There now is a third one called alphanumeric-delimited. It combines features from the other two and may be better suited for especially long/intricate sequences.
The denote-sequence-reparent command now works recursively to produce the desired consequences to all descendants of a given sequence note. Thanks to Peter Prevos for the contribution in pull request 13, which further changes by me: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/pull/13.
The command denote-sequence-view-hierarchy produces a bespoke buffer with all the sequence notes that form a hierarchy. The buffer displays file titles, the concomitant sequence, and file keywords. Each level of depth is expressed by a number of spaces, controlled by the user option denote-sequence-hierarchy-indentation. In the hierarchy buffer, there are commands that move to the next/previous item, or forward/backward at the same level of depth. RET opens the file at point, TAB folds/unfolds the tree. The user option denote-sequence-hierarchy-move-and-open controls whether motion commands should automatically open the file, which by default happens in the other window (users who modify the variable denote-open-link-function will get the specified behaviour in this context as well). The denote-sequence-view-hierarchy can be called with one or two prefix arguments to limit to a given sequence prefix and/or level of depth (something that denote-sequence-dired also supports). In short, this is a way to visualise your sequence notes in a buffer that has a different presentation than Dired.
Thanks to alan-w-255 for renaming and refining a prompt that is also used in the hierarchy feature. This was done in pull request 15: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/pull/15. The change is small, meaning that its author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation. Further refinements by me.
Thanks to Nicolas Semrau for binding q to quit-window in the denote-sequence-hierarchy-mode-map. This was done in pull request 20: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/pull/20. The change is small, meaning that Nicolas does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.
The denote-sequence-file-prompt-extra-metadata is the functional equivalent of the aforementioned denote-file-prompt-extra-metadata.
Thanks to liyingzhi for pointing out an inaccurate comment in the docstring of denote-sequence-scheme. This was done in issue 18: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/issues/18.
The denote-sequence-dired is updated to align with the modalities of denote-dired, as noted above. Thanks to juh for reminding me about the need for changes in issue 14: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/issues/14.
Thanks to Stefan Monnier for pointing out a stylistic mistake in an older version of denote-sequence-dired. This was done on the emacs-devel mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2025-11/msg01119.html. Also thanks to Stefan for telling me about some other compiler warnings: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2025-11/msg01119.html.

Git commits

~/Git/Projects/denote $ git shortlog 4.1.0..4.2.0 --summary --numbered
Protesilaos
duli
Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay
Matthew Batson
alvmts
gnuhack
Alvin Hsu
Matto Fransen
Samuel W. Flint
Tobias Lidman-Strauss
bplubell
gvalson
nescias

The Emacsification of Software - Baty.net

2026-05-19T09:39:22.000Z

The Emacsification of Software — Quarrelsome

If you look at /r/emacs, it’s 0% Product Hunt, 100% show-and-tell.

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Wonders of Web Weaving, Episode 2 - James' Coffee Blog

2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z

The second episode of Wonders of Web Weaving is out:

In Episode 2, I chat with Alexandra, the author of xandra.cc, a founder and barista at the 32-Bit Cafe. We talk about, among other things, building indie web communities, communicating the possibilities of having a personal website to new audiences, and more.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Wonders of Web Weaving has an RSS feed you can use to follow along from wherever you get your podcasts.

32-Bit Cafe The second episode of Wonders of Web Weaving is out Wonders of Web Weaving has an RSS feed Alexandra xandra.cc

Monday, May 18, 2026 - Baty.net

2026-05-18T10:42:18.000Z

Scooter (2009). Leica M6 TTL

It's getting to the point where many of the blog posts I read all say the same things. Whether it's about A.I. being good/evil, how everything is being enshittified, using the word "enshittified", that film photography slows me down and feels more real, how the "Smol web" will save us (It's spelled "small" btw), that Apple isn't what it used to be, billionaires are terrible, and so on. I often stop reading posts the minute I recognize a trope. It's not fair to the authors, really, but for now I've had my fill.

Hurray: elfeed: Fix compatibility with latest elfeed (#73). Elfeed-protocol stopped working after recent Elfeed updates. It's been fixed.

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A phone battery experiment - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

2026-05-18T06:40:00.000Z

I’ve done all sorts of experiments over the years when it comes to my phone usage. From cutting down my screen time as low as possible, to not using the phone at all, to running it in black-and-white mode, and many others. But this morning I woke up, unplugged my phone from the charger, and I thought «I wonder if I can only charge my phone once a week».

That was a thought half-asleep me had without realizing that what I was actually thinking about was charging it twice a week, not once. So starting the week with a fully charged phone and only plugging it in once until the next Sunday night.

I believe it can easily be done, and it might even be doable to use one full charge for the full week, so not plugging my phone at all this week. Experiments are fun, and there's only one way to find out, so I’m going for it.

I have a Pro Max with a healthy battery that is currently sitting at 100%, and I have put it in low power mode to give myself the best chance. We’ll see how far into the week I’ll make it before I have to charge it again.

Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.

Email me :: Sign my guestbook :: Support for 1$/month :: See my generous supporters :: Subscribe to People and Blogs

Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Baty.net

2026-05-17T11:20:14.000Z

Me in Fire Chief wagon (1970s)

I made a few improvements to the home page layout. Earlier attempts at distinguishing post types only made things worse and more cluttered. Now, spacing and typography is similar for all types. I think it looks less staggered. I moved metadata beneath titles and made tag links more subtle. Removed the date on Journal posts, since it was redundant. It's fun making little tweaks like this.

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Unsocial Sundays - Baty.net

2026-05-17T09:57:50.000Z

Thinking of starting a routine of "Unsocial Sundays" during which I avoid all social media. Today is Sunday, it's 05:52 AM, and I'm already twitchy about it. Worth a try, though.

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Stick with it - Baty.net

2026-05-16T13:49:26.000Z

A link from an earlier note lead me to:

you can stick with it | ava's blog

Trying out new tools and things is generally cool and I love reading the hands-on experiences, but in this case, I just see people running through things anxiously with no direction seeming stressed and sad.

The behavior Ava describes fits me, but only to a point. I'll tell you why.

Sure, I try new tools and things all the time, but my motivation is different. I don't try them because I'm unhappy and looking for the perfect tool. OK, sometimes that's part of it, but mostly I do it because I'm curious and I enjoy the process of learning about new software, processes, etc. I go in knowing it may only last a few weeks. So what? I learned something and had fun doing it.

There's also the boredom factor. Since "retiring", I have a lot of time on my hands, much of which is spent staring at a computer screen and wondering, "Hmmm, what should I play with, today?" Then it begins.

A side effect of all this causes me to say, "Where did I write/post/record/put that?" many times a day. It does get frustrating. Fumbling around with keyboard shortcuts because every app is different can be crazy-making. Things break because I changed them again. It's everything but productive.

I must think that switching things up regularly is worth the trouble, since I keep doing it.

Honestly, I often wish I wasn't like this. My ideal self is someone who started using Emacs in 1995 and has never tried anything else. I wish I was still posting on a Wordpress blog from 2005 that never changes. I wish I kept my original Leica M camera, used it for everything all the time, and never considered others. I wish I'd have used the same form of journaling since high school.

But, I am like this, and haven't done any of the things my ideal self wants. Who knows what's next!?

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Dave Gauer on Ascetic Computing - Baty.net

2026-05-16T13:39:40.000Z

Ascetic Computing - ratfactor by Dave Gauer resonated with me. I have been unable to "Reduce & Simplify" or "Use What I Have", even after years of trying. My definition of what "simple" means changes daily. Still working on it.

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Saturday, May 16, 2026 - Baty.net

2026-05-16T11:30:30.000Z

Snout (2007)

I changed the body font here to Instrument Sans. For some reason, I find that serif fonts in blog posts feel pretentious. It's not me.

I asked Claude Code to convert my entire denote directory to use Org-roam style links. I wanted to try Org-roam again, but without losing work. Took Claude 20 minutes.

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~hedy's blogroll - BlogFlock

Iced coffee in Spring - James' Coffee Blog

Joining the IndieWeb Zine Pop Up - James' Coffee Blog

Life issues and practical philosophy with Amin Bandali - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

Piri - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?

What's the story behind your blog?

What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?

Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?

A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?

Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?

Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetizing personal blogs?

Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?

Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?

Keep exploring

Background; foreground - James' Coffee Blog

Selfie: something a little bit more artistic - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

I feel your pain Sara - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

Emacs: ef-arcadia and ef-atlantis are part of the ef-themes - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

ef-arcadia

ef-atlantis

Coming in version 2.2.0 (next stable release)

On people writing about their use of AI - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

Virtual OS Museum - Baty.net

Emacs: Denote version 4.2.0 - Protesilaos Stavrou: Master feed with all updates

Version 4.2.0 on 2026-05-20

Core Denote

Overview of the new features

Focus a denote-dired buffer with denote-dired-focus

Improvements to the file prompt

Link to a file or create a new note using a specific command

Preview denote: links in Org files

Signature support in Org capture

The denote-fontify-links-mode is only relevant for .txt files

Growing ecosystem of Denote packages

Miscellaneous

Changes to the extensions of Denote I maintain

consult-denote version 0.5.0

denote-merge version 0.1.0

denote-journal version 0.3.0

denote-markdown version 0.3.0

denote-org version 0.3.0

denote-silo version 0.3.0

denote-sequence version 0.3.0

Git commits

The Emacsification of Software - Baty.net

Wonders of Web Weaving, Episode 2 - James' Coffee Blog

Monday, May 18, 2026 - Baty.net

A phone battery experiment - Manuel Moreale RSS Feed

Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Baty.net

Unsocial Sundays - Baty.net

Stick with it - Baty.net

Dave Gauer on Ascetic Computing - Baty.net

Saturday, May 16, 2026 - Baty.net

Focus a `denote-dired` buffer with `denote-dired-focus`

Preview `denote:` links in Org files

The `denote-fontify-links-mode` is only relevant for `.txt` files

`consult-denote` version 0.5.0

`denote-merge` version 0.1.0

`denote-journal` version 0.3.0

`denote-markdown` version 0.3.0

`denote-org` version 0.3.0

`denote-silo` version 0.3.0

`denote-sequence` version 0.3.0