Damn This WiFi

Diary of a Digital Nomad

Category: About the Blog

  • Pardon the dust…

    I finally have this blog on its new platform, and I removed the content from the old one. I’m still working on this new site for my blog, and there’s a good chance I’ll break (more) things from time to time, but I believe… or at least hope… it’s “ready enough.”

    Posts I brought over from the prior platform(s) have the “prior-post” tag. If you are not logged in with a current subscription here, you’ll only see two prior posts, both about the blog itself, just like this one. Active members can see all prior posts and those I post behind the paywall later.

    Travel-wise, I am now in Florida, and tomorrow I plan to finish the paperwork for my car. Once that is done, I will be truly free to leave this corner of the US and, maybe, the US itself. Hopefully I can complete this step without further delays! It’s hard to believe, and a bit frustrating to me, that we’re already halfway through October… and I still have this one step to complete to be fully free to roam. Clearly, this would have gone much better if I’d fully understood all of the requirements before I set out.

    Once I’m done here, I’m back to thinking about spending a short bit of time in Miami. No commitment yet, though. I’ll decide after the paperwork is truly finished.

  • Looking for a different platform

    Originally posted: August 10, 2025

    I am, once again, looking for a different platform for this blog. The blogging features on Ko‑fi are pretty weak. A simple example is the Tags option – I can tag a post by writing something in that field, but I can’t easily see what tags I’ve used before, so I might unintentionally create multiple tags for one topic. I shouldn’t have to manually track what I’ve used, those tags should automatically be available for re-use.

    I also don’t like the lack of a way to give free access to paid tiers. I don’t want to charge my kids to read my blog, if they want to take the time for that, but the only way I can make it “free” for them is to have them pay for a subscription and then reimburse me (or pay in advance; either way, the platform takes a cut which would not happen if access was actually free).

    Another problem is not having a default Audience – which resulted in me posting something for “Everyone (Public)” that was intended to be for paid subscribers only. I should be able to set a default and then override it, and I should not be required to set my preference every single time I post something.

    The styling also leaves a lot to be desired, especially since I seem to have no control over it.

    Overall, this platform is not working out well, so I’m probably going to move again. I rejected Patreon for this purpose before, but I didn’t take note of my reasoning (a common problem for me – not documenting or remembering why I rejected a product or service), so I might take another look.

    What I really want is something that can be styled to my liking, allows easy exporting of content to a reusable format, supports advertising (banner placement) that can be turned off for paid subscribers, and provides a basic subscription option with the ability to grant free access to specific people.

  • Hitting the Road: 2025 (An Introduction to This Blog)

    Hitting the Road: 2025 (An Introduction to This Blog)

    Originally posted: July 20, 2025, reposted here with context edits

    This blog is about me trying the “digital nomad” lifestyle. This is a members-only blog, as explained more on the “paywall” explanation page.

    I started my “digital nomading” blog on a different platform, using a pseudonym instead of making it members-only, but I realized that platform had different risks… like, it might disappear with little warning. So, I looked at Patreon, tried a couple other things, and finally decided to set up my first WordPress blog – despite once saying I would never use WordPress!

    Posts (like this one) that are tagged “prior-post” were originally posted on an earlier blogging platform. They should have an original posting date at the top, but I’m adding them manually, so that leaves room for inconsistencies.

    If you somehow arrived here looking for some of my fantasy or science fiction stories, you’ll find some on Gumroad, or you can just look for my books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc. Or, ask your friendly local librarian?

    However, if you’re interested in my experiences wandering the world while being gainfully employed, you’re in the right place!

    This is one of few public-access posts here. If you want to read more, check out the membership tiers. (I highly recommend the cheapest, but I’m not here to tell you how to live your life!)

    Photo credit: Syuzo Tsushima via Flickr, used under license (CC:BY)