I, for the most part, live a relatively boring life. However, every now and then, I come across things of interest and intrigue. Websites, platforms, and more. Things too cool not to share at least somewhere. That being said, here are some interesting things that I've found.
For each entry here, click the attached image to see more.
"Solarpunk", as a term, is defined by Dictionary.com as being "an optimistic environmentalist subgenre of speculative fiction, art, and design that envisions future life on Earth transformed by the use of sustainable energy, close co-existence of human beings with nature, and progressive sociopolitical values.". One could imagine it being a blend between the Artificial and Natural world. Specifically using renewable energy sources like, as the name implies, solar power.
A while ago, I came across a website which, in my opinion, provides a fine example of this: solar.lowtechmagazine.com, a website, hosted in Barcelona, running on solar power.
In it's own words, "Low-tech Magazine underscores the potential of past and often forgotten technologies and how they can inform sustainable energy practices.". The site featues a variety of articles, the most recent of which being from March 30th, 2026, about the site's physical publication, one of the ways you can read the articles offline. Other articles feature tutorials, discussions on sustainability, and a variety of other related topics.
The site itself also has a semi-cozy vibe, taking the appearance of, what I believe is, sun-worn paper, with monochromatic half-tone printing. And, in a time like this, I find it rather charming. And, if you're at all interested in this sort of thing, I would greatly recommend giving it a view.
I often peruse Cyberpunk-themed spaces, in search of inspiration. Mainly, the Cyberpunk subreddit... Even though Reddit itself is, if you ask me, a hellsite. Alas, I still browse there every now and again, looking for things to base sew-on patches off of, mostly in vain.
A little while ago, I came across something else entirely: A CLI-based Social platform, owned and run by a single guy, through Secure Shell, of all things. It's called JellyShell, and it's pretty neat.
Now, while I am plenty Tech-Litterate, having IT training from Cisco, I'm a hardware guy. Does that mean I avoid anything software-based or network-based? No. Hell, I'm engaging in it right now. I just hardly understand it. Despite that, this was relatively easy for someone like myself to connect to. And, after using it for a bit, I can certainly say that I'm learning... Something.
I must admit, calling a platform like this the Future of Social Media is a Hyperbole among Hyerboles. It runs on technology that's even older than I am, features more-or-less literal Stallman-esque tech wizards, and accessing it feels a tad like trying to communicate with Edward Snowden. But, there are no ads, little corporate censorship, and doesn't require a sign-up. Instead it uses SSH keys for authentication. Quite a novel concept, all-in-all, even if I hardly understand how it works.
While I won't provide the necessary steps to connect, after all, this is all managed by one single admin and I don't want to overload whatever they're running this off of with traffic, I will say that it's all out there. And it's rather interesting.
Here are some buttons, leading to sites that I find interesting, both as a reference to pick apart for raw HTML knowledge, and because I just think they're neat.
Click a button. See a site. Support the Indie Web.
