Because it's simple!

Something about the things I enjoy seem to attract the same kinds of comments.

Why do you carry a basic mobile phone (and not a smartphone)?

Why do you own a watch with a single hand?

Why do you commute via unicycle?

Why do you run Slackware?

And more recently…

Why do you have a [blog] on Gemini?

The answer is, "Because it is simple!". However this confuses people because many think of simple only in terms of easy of use. Simple can imply easy of use, and I can make a good argument why all of these are easy to use (from a certain perspective)†, but I am talking about simple from an engineering perspective. Put another way, simpler underlying technology that you can more completely understand, and even potentially fix or tweak to your own needs.

To flip this around to the other extreme: Smart phones, smart watches, high end ebikes, Ubuntu/Windows/macOS or "the modern web" are anything but… simple. 😉

† Ways the things mentioned in the opening questions are (arguably) easy to use:

• My phone rarely runs out of batteries and is (almost) always ready to make and receive calls
• The watch in question has a single hand that moves one revolution over 24 hours. Even a young child who does not understand numbers, gets it.
• The lack of parts (no chain, brakes, etc.) makes them very low maintenance, even with heavy riding on salted roads in the winter (a cycle is only easy to use if it works).
• Slackware is put together almost entirely with shell scripts, that I can easily understand and adjust.
• If you are reading this… you likely already know the answer to this one… 😜

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