From a57ee94ea39316e6374baff0819f1fdcbb89073c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Alexander Goussas Date: Sun, 31 May 2026 16:44:43 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] docs: update readme --- README.md | 3 - .../index.html | 39 ++++++- .../index.html | 32 +++++- .../index.html | 39 ++++++- .../index.html | 94 ++++++++++++++++ .../index.html | 89 +++++++++++++++ public/devlog/index.html | 60 ++++++++++ public/elephant-in-the-room.jpg | Bin 0 -> 175714 bytes public/index.html | 104 +++++++----------- public/larousse-api.png | Bin 0 -> 369074 bytes public/projects.css | 7 ++ public/projects/index.html | 62 +++++++++++ public/styles.css | 55 ++++++++- 13 files changed, 504 insertions(+), 80 deletions(-) create mode 100644 public/2026-05-05-on-linkedin-connections/index.html create mode 100644 public/2026-05-30-how-to-actually-learn-a-language-on-your-own/index.html create mode 100644 public/devlog/index.html create mode 100644 public/elephant-in-the-room.jpg create mode 100644 public/larousse-api.png create mode 100644 public/projects.css create mode 100644 public/projects/index.html diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index dcf78d4..65e9e52 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,6 +1,3 @@ # frustrated-functor.dev My personal blog. - -I write my entries in markdown files that I convert into HTML with a Zig program I built. -The public assets are then deployed in a Dockerfile for ease and portability. diff --git a/public/2026-04-19-one-of-the-best-skills-ive-learned-as-a-programmer/index.html b/public/2026-04-19-one-of-the-best-skills-ive-learned-as-a-programmer/index.html index d14f6c9..bdb0f50 100644 --- a/public/2026-04-19-one-of-the-best-skills-ive-learned-as-a-programmer/index.html +++ b/public/2026-04-19-one-of-the-best-skills-ive-learned-as-a-programmer/index.html @@ -10,12 +10,18 @@ Alexander Goussas + + + + + + @@ -27,16 +33,22 @@
  • home
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  • + devlog +
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  • + projects +
  • youtube
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  • github
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  • linkedin
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    • @@ -45,8 +57,27 @@

    One of the best Skills I've learned as a Programmer

    There are many different skills one might invest it when getting into programming. There is a plethora of programming languages, each with their unique appeal. And within each language ecosystem, a plethora of web frameworks and stuff to learn.

    But for me, one of the greatest investments came from something else altogether: learning how to touch type.

    For those of you that don’t know, touch typing basically means typing without looking at your keyboard. But I include in the definition typing with all your fingers.

    Before learning to touch type, I only used both my index fingers. I literally did not use any other finger. One day, I decided to change that and started dedicating a lot of time to acquiring the ability to touch type.

    There was a free website I used for this, whose name I have since forgotten. Something like typingrace of something like that.

    Anywho, today, I can write at ~120 WPM, which is not a crazy speed, but pretty respectable, if I may say so myself. Sometimes I just like typing whatever to feel the vertigo as my fingers speed through my keyboard.

    Also, this is a transferable skill, so if you can’t touch type yet, I encourage you to.

    + +
    + + Found a mistake? Want to improve this text? Want to thank me for bringing + light to your day? Want to insult me and tell me how my subjective opinion + is objectively wrong? + +
    + + Feel free to send me an email at goussasalexander@gmail.com. + +
    +
    -
    +
    + + ← + Projects + +
    How I Manage my Blog diff --git a/public/2026-04-30-how-i-manage-my-blog/index.html b/public/2026-04-30-how-i-manage-my-blog/index.html index b116533..23807cb 100644 --- a/public/2026-04-30-how-i-manage-my-blog/index.html +++ b/public/2026-04-30-how-i-manage-my-blog/index.html @@ -10,12 +10,18 @@ Alexander Goussas + + + + + + @@ -27,16 +33,22 @@
  • home
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  • + devlog +
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  • + projects +
  • youtube
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  • github
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  • linkedin
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    • @@ -46,6 +58,20 @@

    How I Manage my Blog

    There is an accompanying video devlog available on YouTube, where I go more in depth about how this stuff is actually implemented: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6z5A_PRodg.

    Recently I went down the Kubernetes rabbit-hole and automated my whole blog’s pipeline. From build to deployment. No GitHub actions or any other 3rd party CI provider. All self-hosted, literally. Well, with the sole exception of CloudFlare Tunnels, of course.

    How did I do it?

    For starters, my blog repository is deployed as static files in a NGINX Docker container. As part of the build process, I execute a little CLI tool I built in Zig to transform my posts from markdown to html.

    So, I process the posts, build the image, tag it appropriately and push it to Docker Hub. This is all automated in my git server, as we’ll see in a minute.

    Next, my stuff is hosted in a git server that I own. This server is exposed via SSH and cloudflare tunnels. I have it configured to only allow public key authentication and no root login, for example. Also, the SSH port is not publicly exposed and is only accessible via cloudflared.

    Now, Git has hooks for both server and client. In this case, we are interested in the post-receive server hook. This hook runs after the changes have been accepted by the server, so we have access to the latest code.

    In my case, what the hook does is clone the repository from the bare repo in the server, execute the build script (that is located in the cloned repository), and finally executes a rollout in my Kubernetes cluster to pull the latest image.

    So, that’s it. A pretty damn simple configuration, if I may say.

    Next steps for me would be to configure redundancy for the disk where my git stuff is. Right now I have the stuff in my local dev machine and on that server, but ideally I’d want to make backups to an external drive periodically.

    If you, dear reader, have any tips or tricks for me, please feel free to contact me in whichever way you might deem appropriate.

    + +
    + + Found a mistake? Want to improve this text? Want to thank me for bringing + light to your day? Want to insult me and tell me how my subjective opinion + is objectively wrong? + +
    + + Feel free to send me an email at goussasalexander@gmail.com. + +
    +
    diff --git a/public/2026-05-01-how-i-cut-my-expenses-by-a-freaking-lot/index.html b/public/2026-05-01-how-i-cut-my-expenses-by-a-freaking-lot/index.html index ae0c693..4d69c85 100644 --- a/public/2026-05-01-how-i-cut-my-expenses-by-a-freaking-lot/index.html +++ b/public/2026-05-01-how-i-cut-my-expenses-by-a-freaking-lot/index.html @@ -10,12 +10,18 @@ Alexander Goussas + + + + + + @@ -27,16 +33,22 @@
  • home
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  • + projects +
  • youtube
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  • github
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  • linkedin
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    • @@ -45,6 +57,20 @@

    How I cut my expenses by a freaking lot

    Let’s start with the why.

    I have no family, and, as of the time of writing, no university degree either. This means that were I to be fired from my current job, I’d have a hard time (probably, I don’t really know) finding a new one, and that I’d have no where to go but the street. I could go to a friend’s, but I would not want to bother them like that.

    Then, a few months ago I started seriously thinking about the role of AI in my area of work. I do not think AI can replace developers (I’ve seen it try and fail magnificently) but I am also aware of the fact that employers do think so, and, at least in my environment, have already started putting into action plans to cut personnel and replace humans with AI tools.

    This led me to have a little crisis. I thought about switching careers and more extreme things as well. As of today, I no longer have these feelings. I love programming and I will continue doing it in whichever way I can. At the same time, I was thinking: what is it that I really need to have a “happy” life? For me, the answer is books, coffee and someplace I can walk in peace while listening to podcasts and stuff.

    As you can see, I need barely any money for these things. And right now I am living in a city where I can do the latter. So, this realization led me to make a budget. Write down how much money I actually need in order to live. This resulted in a grand total of about 250 US dollars per month. Let’s break it down.

    I spend around 120 USD a month in groceries, 20 USD in laundry, 8 for YouTube premium and … well, that’s it. I am excluding rent because I am in the process of moving, but I am aiming to go somewhere under 200 USD. Right now I am in a 500 USD apartment, but only because I took the first thing I found, since I came fleeing Guayaquil after being almost murdered in the street.

    What did I do in order to achieve this?

    First, groceries. I started really looking at the prices of stuff I was buying. I did not sacrifice quality for price. I found alternative products, and bought at cheaper replaces. I also set a hard rule of absolutely no eating out. Only in very special ocassions. You might try and gaslight yourself into believing that you need to eat out in order to socialize or whatever, but if you learned to cook well you could have friends at your house for dinner, for example. I say from the bottom of my heart that I like my food way more than a great deal of restaurants I’ve been to.

    Next, I stopped smoking. This one is self-explanatory. Cigarrettes are freaking expensive.

    The other thing is I started doing as much as I can online. So for example, books and classes for whatever are usually cheaper online. You don’t have to pay for delivery or transportation this way either.

    Then, I started using the least amount of clothes possible. A week, I use 12 pieces of underwear, 6 shirts, 2 short and 1 sweater. Also, the cloth needs to be as lightweight as possible. So, no jeans. This way, I took my laundry cost from ~8USD a week to ~3USD. I live in a pretty cold city, but surprisingly I’ve found that my body has adapted pretty well. I barely feel any cold anymore.

    That’s basically it. Pretty simple, but effective. I honestly think we’ve gotten too lazy and used to the comforts of modernity, which is exactly what our capitalistic society wants. They want us to cOnSOom.

    I hope you got something useful from this, and I really encourage you to try and get out of the trap of consumerism. If you can afford it. And if you have a different perspective, please don’t hesitate to share it.

    + +
    + + Found a mistake? Want to improve this text? Want to thank me for bringing + light to your day? Want to insult me and tell me how my subjective opinion + is objectively wrong? + +
    + + Feel free to send me an email at goussasalexander@gmail.com. + +
    +