I.e., why I started this blog.

 

Before setting up this website, I considered a few other platforms where I could share my thoughts. Substack seemed like the obvious choice—everyone seems to have one these days. However, Substack has always struck me as being more suited to newsletters than to blogs.

 

The primary goal of this blog is to share what I’ve learned about software engineering and investing as my experience grows, while continuing to learn along the way. I have no plans to put my writing behind a paywall, and I certainly don’t intend to constrain myself to a regular writing schedule. This blog is meant to be experimental, playful, and occasional. More importantly, I want this medium to compel me to write out my ideas before I invest in any security. I’ve always found that writing significantly clarifies my thinking—it forces me to seek out complete and accurate information and it reveals blind spots I might otherwise miss.

 

Many of this site’s features are inspired by Blogger, whose simplicity resonates with me more than Substack’s growth-driven algorithms. Substack tries to boost growth through recommendations and endorsements, but I’d rather attract readers organically—perhaps because they stumbled upon one of my write-ups while researching some obscure security. I’m willing to trade off a bit of growth for quality, and I’m fine with that.

 

Moreover, as an engineer by trade, I prefer self-hosted solutions. Owning my own corner of the internet gives me full control over the design, layout, and style of my blog. Having complete ownership of my writing is a nice benefit as well. As a backend infrastructure engineer, I don’t often get to write frontend software. Setting up this blog felt akin to a fulfilling weekend hackathon project.