add about page

_quarto.yml

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ website:
   navbar:
     logo: "/logo-vector.svg"
     right:
-      # - about.qmd
+      - ./about/index.qmd
       - icon: github
         href: https://github.com/queue-miscreant
     background: primary

about/index.qmd

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+---
+title: "About"
+---
+
+This is my personal website (and the third iteration thereof).
+
+The first version used Wordpress since it was quite easy to get into,
+  didn't require much research, and web hosting services made it easy to set up.
+It lasted around three months near the end of 2020, after which I lost my posts because of
+  hosting troubles and because I wasn't using proper backups.
+
+The second version also used Wordpress, and lasted until the start of 2025
+  (though the last post I had written up to that point was from the start of 2024).
+
+This version uses [Quarto](https://quarto.org/), an open-source publishing platform that has
+  some nice features like text-based configuration and Jupyter integration.
+As a bonus, it also produces static web pages.
+
+
+Why Quarto?
+-----------
+
+I had a couple of reasons for switching platforms:
+
+- Wordpress is either overkill or not enough.
+  I don't need a block editor or multiple users, and I don't want to make custom content
+    just for it to be specific to Wordpress.
+- I write a lot of code and LaTeX, which Wordpress relies on plugins for.
+  Quarto uses (primarily) Pandoc-style Markdown, which allows for inlining of both out of the box.
+    - Also, because of Jupyter integration, code cells can generate output for the page they're in.
+- Since pages are written in Markdown, everything can be edited locally and version-controlled in Git.
+
+The last two are particularly nice in ensuring that the site is reproducibile,
+  technically even without Quarto.
+Instead of articles that live in a Wordpress database or as scattered random files,
+  I have the complete documents in a structure 1:1 with how the website is organized.
+
+
+Mathematics
+-----------
+
+As of writing, all posts on this site are about math.
+In particular, they are dedicated to certain non-obvious insights I choose to investigate.
+Typically, although information about these subjects may exist online, it does not exist in a single,
+  easily-accessible source.
+
+I find writing math posts to be an excellent motivator when it comes to researching things.
+It also gives me a chance to learn new tools that otherwise I would not have a reason to use,
+  not to mention being a good exercise in writing and diagram creation.
+
+An example of this (and one that relates to the creation of the site) is when I was writing code
+  for what would become the contents of [this post](/posts/polycount/5/).
+It was easy enough to learn a library for rendering images (or GIFs),
+  but I didn't have a gallery to host them, nor a means to share the rationale which produced them.
+In a frenzy, I tried gathering my notes in a single text file before eventually putting them on a website.
+Along the way, I learned LaTeX to typeset the relevant equations.
+
+I do my best to attribute the programs I use and direct sources I consult along the way,
+  but extra information is frequently available on Wikipedia,
+  which I may link to in order to give my explanation some grounding.
+
+Unless otherwise stated, the figures and articles in this category are available under
+  [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).