I have recently found myself constantly subtracting - I deleted websites that were not frequently used from my Chrome bookmarks, abandoned many internet products I had used before, removed the backend of my blog, and even switched from using a popular full-spelling input method I had used for over a decade to a less popular double-spelling input method. I realized that I may have some kind of strange "obsession with cleanliness," but there is nothing to complain about because everything is moving in a direction that makes me feel comfortable.
Breaking Free from Complexity#
First, Dust the House#
At the end of last year, I wrote an article titled "The Best Practice of Building an Indie Blog in the New Era," which documented how I once again rewrote the code for my blog and resumed the habit of writing blog posts. I have a basic self-awareness, and the title of that article is because I really think that this roundabout method is not very clever. I just chose the solution that made me most comfortable at the time.
During the past month of use, I encountered many problems. Due to Next.js's caching mechanism, the frontend does not update immediately after I publish a new article on the backend. Additionally, due to issues with Vercel's build process and my weak coding skills, I encountered some puzzling problems. As a result, every time a new article is published, I have to make fixes in various places. On New Year's Eve, I scheduled the release of my year-end summary and even set up a Cron Job to automatically clear the cache after the article is published, but the frontend still threw an error. So, in the first half hour of the new year, I fixed the first bug of 2024, which is quite funny to think about.
I finally decided to store the article data as Markdown files in the project directory, as I had been using Typora to write blog posts before. After a simple evaluation of several related JavaScript libraries, I started working on it. It took me two or three days and a debugging session that almost crashed to complete.
Now, the blog builds half a minute faster than before, and all I have to do is put the finished Markdown files into the Git repository, commit, and push. I can even water my GitHub contributions. In this regard, my previous idea of separating project maintenance from article publishing is unnecessary for a personal blog and only increases costs. Things are better when they are simpler.
Afterwards, I also considered switching to MDX, which would allow me to use React components in blog posts and achieve many fancy effects. However, after further consideration, I gave up on this idea because it would reduce the portability of the article data, and most importantly, when writing blog posts, I should focus on the articles themselves without needing additional components.
Upon self-reflection, I realized that I had spent too much time on this personal blog project. It would be better to save this time and do other meaningful things because, after all, a blog only needs to ensure a basic writing and reading experience.
Autumn Examining the Clouds#
Double-spelling has been around as a Chinese input method for a long time, but it is not widely used, and I only recently discovered it. On one hand, I find it novel, and on the other hand, it is indeed very clever and convenient - regardless of the length of the full-spelling method for each character, it only requires two keystrokes to type each character.
Double-spelling is actually a mapping of the full-spelling input method, and users can customize the mapping scheme. I use "Xiaohe Double Pinyin," in which the initial "sh" is mapped to "u," and the finals "uang" and "iang" are mapped to "l," so the user only needs to input "ul" to type the character "双" (shuāng).
In the double-spelling typing scheme, every two letters inputted by the user are considered one Chinese character, with the first letter being the initial and the second letter being the final. There are several options for handling syllables with zero initials, and in the scheme I chose, syllables with a single letter as the zero initial need to input the same letter twice (e.g., "啊 (aa)"); if it is already two letters, input the syllable itself; if it is three letters, there is only the case of "ang," so input "ah."
Although double-spelling is not as efficient as full-spelling in some specific cases and when typing commonly used phrases, such as not being able to type "谢谢 (thank you)" with "xx" and only being able to type "下 (down)," its overall typing speed improvement is undeniable. Another reason I like double-spelling is that it gives a strong sense of rhythm when typing because each character requires two keystrokes. If you also use a mechanical keyboard for typing, you will probably enjoy this feeling.
Compared to the Wubi input method, double-spelling has a much lower learning curve. The "Xiaohe Double Pinyin" scheme I use also has an interesting mnemonic:
Autumn exams, soft moon, clouds combing wings,
Pines embrace delicate powder, sailing safely.
Swift birds sing in pairs, summer frogs play,
Chasing grass, chasing fish, birds sleep on the shore.
In the first line, "秋" (autumn) can be inputted by pressing the first key "Q" on the QWERTY keyboard twice because "Q" represents both the initial "q" and the final "iu." Similarly, "W" corresponds to "w" and "ei," "R" corresponds to "r" and "uan," and "T" corresponds to "(y) ue." By following this pattern, you can remember all the key positions and, with more practice, remember all the keystrokes within a day and type normally within a week. As for how much typing speed will improve in the future, I dare not say because this is only the first article I have written using the double-spelling input method.
Trust Comes from All Directions#
Not long ago, I discovered a product called Shortwave, which is probably a third-party email client for Gmail. At first, I was a bit puzzled and didn't understand why a simple email client needed a completely new client for the sake of user experience, and it was limited to Gmail, and there were even people willing to pay for the premium version.
Perhaps the demand for email is different in China and abroad. However, after using Shortwave, I was indeed attracted by its convenient email management methods. Although it is not amazing, the experience is comfortable. Especially when all unread emails are marked as read, the feeling of an empty inbox is satisfying.
It is a pity that I don't often use Gmail, but I do have many services tied to a Gmail account, so I can't completely abandon it. That's when I realized that my email addresses on various platforms were a bit messy, and it would be great if there was a way to receive all my emails in one inbox. After all, I don't use email often, and I don't want to run back and forth when I don't want to receive emails. However, when using some services, email is indispensable, and it is more comfortable to communicate with strangers on the internet using email.
My initial idea was to bind my most frequently used domain email, [email protected], to Gmail. However, I later found out that Google's domain email service is paid, so I gave up. I then chose a more reasonable method, which is to automatically forward emails from another email account to Gmail, so I can manage all my emails on Shortwave.
Following the principle of "less is more" and "reduce whenever possible," I completely abandoned another service that I rarely used and had been neglected for a long time - Feedly, an RSS reader. Because Feedly's update notification feature and RSS-to-email service are paid, I rarely had the motivation to open Feedly every day to check if the blogs I followed had been updated.
I switched to Blogtrottr to subscribe to RSS feeds. This service can send updates of the links I subscribed to my email for free. Although it may seem a bit outdated, it works fine. I believe that RSS is not for reading, but only serves as a notification for updates, which Blogtrottr can fully accomplish. Plus, it doesn't need to take up an extra spot in my browser bookmarks. I only need to log in to Blogtrottr when adding a new subscription, and I don't need to know about its existence at other times. I just like this kind of quiet and capable service.
Clearing the Burnt-out Passion#
Some time ago, I suddenly became interested in internet information security, so like many geeks, I created my own PGP key pair. Then I registered for Keybase, an instant messaging software that focuses on communication privacy and can encrypt communication content using PGP. However, the biggest problem with such communication software is the lack of users. After registering, my contact list was always empty. After careful consideration, I realized that I didn't have a daily need for encrypted information, at least not among my friends. If strangers have a need to contact me securely, they can simply send encrypted emails using my PGP public key. The reason I registered for Keybase was purely out of a momentary impulse.
My computer automatically opens Keybase every day and appears in my taskbar, but I have never used it. It just takes up an unused space, so I uninstalled it in the end.
Before, I also installed the DeepL client because I had a need to look up words while browsing English webpages. With the client, I could automatically translate selected text by pressing Ctrl+C+C. It was indeed convenient, especially when I was translating a long article. However, after I finished my translation work, I rarely used DeepL anymore. Moreover, I had already gotten used to using other dictionaries when encountering new words.
Rather than occasional convenience, I prefer my taskbar not to be cluttered with application icons, many of which I don't use at all. When I carefully reviewed my list of applications, I found many such software, such as scrcpy for connecting my phone screen and a program that detects how many Chromium-based software are installed on my computer. Most of them were installed on a whim and played with for a while before being completely forgotten.
Epiphany in Simplicity#
Breeze Between Words#
Since 2019, when I started writing code for Typecho themes, I often came across the word "simplicity," and I often labeled my themes with this word because it seemed that everyone liked "simplicity."
But at that time, I didn't understand the meaning of "simplicity," and I believe that many amateur designers in the community also do not understand. At that time, it seemed that everyone thought that a white background with black text, along with decorations like shadows and borders, as long as there were no fancy patterns, could be considered simple. The most memorable example for me was a Typecho theme called "Minimalism," which had a design that did not live up to its name. It used a common top navigation and two-column layout, and the sidebar contained additional information such as the latest comments and articles. Such a mediocre design actually claimed to be "minimalism," showing that the author had not seriously considered it.
I had not been able to grasp the concept of "less is more" for a long time. One Bilibili Uploader's words left a deep impression on me - when a slogan appears, thinking stops. Although this sentence can also be considered a slogan in a sense, disregarding the potential Russell's paradox, it has some truth to it. When everyone is praising a certain concept, the true meaning of that concept is weakened because repeating words without thinking strips away their meaning. Slogans like minimalism and "less is more" have long become slogans, and people are eager to put them into practice but overlook their original meaning and purpose.
If it weren't for personally experiencing the comfort of "simplicity" and contrasting it with the anxiety before breaking free from "complexity," shouting the slogan of simplicity would still be empty for me.
My C language teacher often emphasized "modularity" and "gradual refinement," which essentially means breaking down complex tasks into smaller, simpler parts. This way, there is a simple and clear comfort when dealing with each part of the problem.
This kind of "comfort" reminds me of a lyric from Taylor Swift's song Karma:
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend.
It is the feeling of having few things to worry about, feeling relaxed, being able to focus on one thing, and spending a quiet afternoon drinking coffee or tea.
Text Doesn't Need Decoration#
Recently, while reading Liu Tianzhao's book "Unnecessary Passion," what attracted me the most was the simplicity of her writing. If you read it carelessly, it seems bland like plain boiled water, but if you read it with some imagination, the simple words can leave impressive images in your mind.
Perhaps it doesn't apply to other types of writing, but at least when I write blog posts, I try to practice the principle of "less is more." When rereading the first half of this article, I found that I had written many unnecessary "了" characters, and after deleting them, the meaning did not change and became more simple and clear.
Sometimes I feel that the writing of certain people (including my past writing) reads very verbose, even if it doesn't feel verbose, it feels mediocre, without being able to see the personality and cultivation of the person between the lines. I think one reason for this is that many of us have taken a detour in learning the Chinese language, learning early on the verbose way of forming words and sentences, and have not deliberately polished our own writing.
Minimalism in writing not only optimizes expressive ability but also reveals a person's cultivation. In simpler terms, it can make readers exclaim, "This person's writing has a different flavor."
Don't Take on Others' Work#
Speaking of this, I can't help but think that many software and services in China always add features to their products for various reasons that do not belong to their positioning. Taobao, Pinduoduo, and even NetEase Cloud Music all have in-app short video features, which means that users can watch short videos in shopping apps and music apps, and even watch live streams on platforms like Zhihu, a question-and-answer website.
This is also why I have a better impression of open-source software. They don't need to make their programs bloated for commercial purposes and can gather the power of the community to focus on doing one thing well, which can be described as simple and efficient.
Using a somewhat cliché and even funny analogy, if my electronic devices are a kingdom, and I am the king, I would prefer my subordinates to each have their own responsibilities instead of competing for tasks. It's not that being versatile is bad, but clear division of labor ensures efficiency, and as long as everyone does their job well, everyone feels comfortable.
I originally wanted to record some of the "subtractions" I have made recently, but as I wrote, I had many thoughts and followed along with my train of thought. I hope it gives you some ideas.