I wanted to host this blog on a real domain. No offense to DuckDNS, but I am committing to this project so I want Source to Sink to have source-to-sink.com to call home!

I setup the domain on Cloudflare. The domain is only $10 a year, and it comes with a lot of great features. This blog will focus on the API and Dynamic DNS.

Setup Cloudflare DNS Entry

First I will show how to set the DNS entry in Cloudflare.

Some quick tips on searching in nvim.

To search for a word in the current file:

:/your_word

Uses regex to search for the word in the current file. Use ’n’ to go to the next instance of the word, and ‘N’ to go to the previous.

To search for the word selected in visual mode, press * or #. This will search for the word under the cursor.

Now to find and replace, the %s command is used. For example:

My deep dive into reading only started after I got an ereader. My train commute gives me a solid 30 minutes without internet or distractions. I have tried podcasts, reading on my phone, bringing a physical book, but I never stuck with it. When I saw the Kobo clara came in Color e-ink and a back light, I was intrigued enough to try it out.

I have been using the Kobo for about 6 months now, and I thoroughly enjoy it. Syncing books from a computer is as easy as dragging and dropping to the file system on the device. But you can do better with Calibre. ( Another article on that later). The screen can get get very bright, which I find necessary for reading in dim shadows. The font is legible and can fit years of books.

I added a contact page to my blog. This page allows a reader to send me a message. Check it out here.

I used formsubmit to handle the backend of spam protection and anonimity. I used the boiler plate code from the website. First run locally on your development machine with your real email address. Send a test message through the form to get your API key. Then replace your real email address with the API key, and you are done!

Spell checking

To enable spell checking in vim, use the command set spell. This will highlight misspelled words in your markdown files.

To enable spell checking:

:set spell
:set spelllang=en_us

Spelling suggestions can be accessed with z=. This will open a window with suggestions for the misspelled word.

If you want to add a word to your dictionary, use the command zg.

Or to manually add a word to your dictionary:

:spellgood YOUR_WORD

Line wrapping

Set your line width to 80 characters. This is a good width for readability and makes it easier to read your markdown files on different devices.

This is a guide on how to selfhost your own blog. It is a step by step guide, or perhaps my own documentation, because this is how I am hosting this blog.

Note: This has no warranty, and I am not responsible for any damages that may occur from following this guide. This is a guide for educational purposes only.

Step 0: Decide to blog

Not a technical step I know, but if you do not currently have writing material to post, perhaps draft some blog titles. Find some topics that you are passionate about, because that will fuel your motivation. It will also help guide the technical and design decisions you will make in will designing your blog.

This is the first post of Source to Sink. A blog where I will be sharing my thoughts on various topics such as open source projects, software development, LoFi music, HAM radio, 3D printing, homelab, Formula 1, Linux, internet culture, city life, and much more. Everything but the kitchen sink! (EBTKS)

Thank you for checking out this blog, and I hope you enjoy! 😁.

-E