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Under the hood

CloudFlare speed test result for mobile; the desktop score was 100!

A few weeks ago, my personal web site erikmh​.org was hit by a small problem at my long-standing internet presence provider (IPP) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pair Networks. I took advantage of the problem by migrating it from static .html files (blindingly fast, but difficult to maintain and keep updated) to the svelt and efficient ProcessWire content management system (CMS). This went more easily than expected, so I decided to capitalize on that experience and to do the same for this web site, migrating it from Squarespace in New York, while the lessons I learned from my personal site were fresh in mind.…

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Ursula K. Le Guin: Rhythmic Pattern in The Lord of the Rings

… I knew some of Le Guin’s work as a pre-teen as early as the mid-70s, and have always enjoyed her writing — I’d read and enjoyed some of her work even before I’d discovered The Lord of the Rings, though I’d known The Hobbit well already at the time. But it is only with this essay that I realize how well Le Guin knew Tolkien’s work, or how much she appreciated it.…

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All voices should be heard

… By the end of the week I felt like I truly belonged.” This is what I expected. And the luxury of this expectation is of course the very white privilege that people of color are talking about. I can just show up with a good paper, wear a tweed jacket, and speak with some authority on a topic that I’ve researched and expect that I’ll be welcomed politely, and listened to moderately attentively, at the very least. Not everyone has this experience.…

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