tools

Last updated August 14, 2025.

digital tools

I want my digital tools to be open-source, independent (no investors), and portable with a universal protocol. As much as possible, I aim to divest from g00gle, amaz0n, m3ta, and other enshitified corporations. There are so many lovely indie alternatives that better align with my values, and deserve support.

my website and email:

I use Ghost, hosted by Magic Pages. I use PorkBun for my domain names, and Tally for my contact forms and surveys. For email service, I use my personal domain on Migadu which can be added to basically any email app.

• Ghost is a SquareSpace/Substack/Patreon/Everything alternative. I use it to build my website, send newsletters, and keep my subscriber list. It also lets people subscribe from any RSS feeder, or any of their favorite social web client (Bluesky, Mastodon, WordPress etc!), so your posts are in their normal feed! Freedom!
• Magic Pages hosts my Ghost website and newsletter, as an alternative to GhostPro. I chose it because of my particular subscriber count and intermittent newsletter frequency.
• PorkBun is a stellar and cheap domain manager.
• Tally gives me a free secure contact form on my website, negating the usual spam from just listing your email address. Also great for forms and quizzes.
• Migadu was the best alternative I found for getting my email away from g00gle; you can have infinite sub email addresses based on your own personal domain. It's fantastic and affordable. Setting up the DNS with pork bun was straightforward.

No AI:

My feelings on AI cannot be summarized quickly; but suffice it to say, I do not use AI in the creation of any of my Works.

As I said on Kickstarter:

"Thank you for the suggestion, I am sure it would save TIME, but I, while I respect those who make different choices, I AM NOT USING AI IN THIS PROJECT, NO AI IN MY ART, IN MY BOOK, IN MY WRITING, IN MY RECIPES. Goodness gracious. Traditional, home grown, from scratch, with testing and inklings, failed experiments and the human experience– this cookbook is my art, my way, my lifestyle; and AI has no place in it. This is my love letter to Zelda, to Hyrule, to living for something greater than self, than the quest ahead, than the obstacles we face along the way– this is about love for a kingdom, for found friends, for friends lost, for every fork in the road, from the strength in my blade to the strength in our hearts— the wait is worth my whiling BECAUSE it is flesh and blood, time and intention, love and pain. To delegate that 'work' adlib to a fill-in-the-blank robot ? An empty heart container cannot fill another; only healing, love, and magic can do that; and I still have some of those up my sleeve."

My Note System

I am in the midst of switching almost 2000 notes from Apple Notes to Obsidian. Cry for me. I like how customizable it is, how notes can be linked into maps, and of course, I do not like being locked in to Apple's system, and appreciate that Obsidian has a universal protocol for exporting to whatever I want; making it easier if I ever want to switch my system again.

Book Design Software

This is one area I am unhappy with, and am seeking to divest from as soon as my 2nd cookbook is published. I am unfortunately locked in to the Adobe ecosystem, and find their business to be highly predatory and proprietary. I learned design in Adobe, and used Indesign and Illustrator for the first cookbook, and in order for the second cookbook to properly match (and ease in my not having to redo everything for the second), I am using them again. After this, future indie published works by me will be created using open source, non-predatory, software.

physical tools

[stub: let me come back to this later, add links, missing things.]

• Woodwork:
  • Hand Carving:
    • Morakniv, Sheffield spoon carving knife, Sheffield hatchet. Stormfallen branches, mainly from silver maple.
  • Old Cosplay Workshop:
    • Scroll saw, mini table saw, belt sander, router, dremel, drill. And copious amounts of sanding sponges. That's it! It fits on a 5' x 8' balcony, and saw me through six years of self-employment!
  • Woodcuts, Mokuhanga:
    • Morakniv again. Dürer just used a knife, why not me? Sometimes, for softer wood; an exacto knife, as I like to live dangerously.
      • I do think I need some gouges, maybe. I am also interested in Japanese tools; the Hanga To in particular. And Japanese planing methods.
• Watercolor:
  • Greenleaf and Blueberry. Local to Colorado, Indie, single pigments, made by hand with slab and muller! What more could a girl desire??
    • I use this for my direct watercolor paintings.
  • For woodcut impressions; I am experimenting with a lot of different inks, pigments, oil versus water, and have yet to settle. I prefer water over oil; but there is way more overhead (dampening sized paper), and prep involved (but no one can deny, clean up is easier for water than oil!). Until I live in a more humid place, and have more space for art, I am a little stuck with oil; so I have nothing to recommend.
• Leatherwork:
  • My one recommendation, is to get a pair of tin snips (metal shears), for cutting shapes out of thicker leather. Way easier. Otherwise, I am still very much learning, and sticking to natural thread and beeswax, and have no other recommendations.
• Sewing/Costuming:
  • I adore hand sewing, and ancient norse patterns for clothing.
    • (just squares and triangles sewn together! Super fabric efficient, and so comfy! See my You Should Be a Viking LARP post!)
    • Linen fabric, linen thread, a needle, and a podcast; that's all you need.
  • If you must use a machine (I will not lie; a sewing machine is so useful for hemming those internal seams...) I was well served by a Brother machine.
• HEMA: Historical European Martial Arts
  • My recommendations below were up to date as of ~2022; there has been progress in the market since then. Always do your own research.
  • Swords
    • I am a SIGI Forge diehard for longswords; you need a bendy blade to protect your partner. Highly recommend.
      • My longswords have a Standard handles with Shorty blades. It's better balanced than their Shorty; and the grip is easier as your hands are farther apart for a proper lever.
    • Lighter swords are safer swords. Protect your partner.
  • HEMA Equipment
• There IS NO EQUIPMENT SAFE ENOUGH TO FULLY PROTECT YOU FROM EARNEST LONGSWORD COMBAT.
  • True safety comes from communication, trust in your partner to keep you safe and vice versa, safe standard practices, and supervised sparring. It comes from defensive fighting, experience, and partner drills. This is the sort of sport that can leave you permanently crippled; it's a ton of fun, but needs to be treated with the same respect other martial arts have towards consensual violence.
• That said; go for the heaviest rated helmet you can. Saber, tournament rated helmet. The MESH needs to be as highly rated as the fabric. You must have a back of the head protector.
• I use SPES for my jacket and pants; but you must wear padding, plates, and cups; over and/or underneath.
• NECK PROTECTOR. Not cloth, but an articulated hard gorget WITH a blade catcher at the top. It is SO easy for a blade to be redirected up and under your helmet. Do not learn this the hard way.