Hi, I'm Harris Lapiroff.

I’m starting a blog (again)! Why do I want to have a blog?

1. I used to write. I was reasonably good at it, I think. I’m rusty now. I spent the past decade or so focusing on other things, but I always told myself I could get back to writing someday if I wanted to.
2. I want to document things I know and learn and think. I want a place to point when someone asks me questions like “What kind of CO₂ monitor do you use and do you like it?” or “Why do you think contra dances should have mixers?”. I want this for sharing, but I also want it for Future Harris’s reference. My brain is leaky. Hopefully my blog is not.
3. I love a technical playground. Professional work can be limiting, especially as I do more management and less code as my career develops. I’ve been a web developer and designer most of my life and I enjoy it. This can be more than just a place for me to write. My blog can be a place to experiment with different technologies and aesthetics, unconstrained by professional concerns.
4. I can control my own content. I post plenty of trivial thoughts and day-to-day tidbits on social media, but, especially with work I put effort into, I’d like to preserve it in its best form. I don’t want to depend on third-parties to make it easy to find and access. I want to know that – if I choose – I can keep my writing online for 20 years or more. I’ll likely follow a POSSE approach here¹.

So, I’ve created this blog. I’ve stuck it in a design that I think is cute and the right amount of nerdy and that will probably change over time. I’ve played with some new-to-me technologies in the process (more on this later, probably). I’ve imported some older content from social media and I’ll continue to plumb my social media profiles and older blogs for things worth sharing. For a while, I expect this blog will grow in two directions – out into the future and backward into the past.

I’ve had blogs in the past, on and off. I’ve maintained them with greater and lesser success at times and I make no promises about how well I’ll do with this one. I will try to keep my FILDI² strong. We’ll see how it goes.

1. Hat tip to Jeff for pointing out the relevant acronym to me as well as being a blogging inspiration. ↩︎

2. Fuck It Let’s Do It – as coined by aughts vlogger Ze Frank. ↩︎