About the site
About this site
This is the website of Balticman. It was the first site I developed entirely on my own. From the start, I aimed to build it using only open source tools, ideally working solely within Emacs and Org mode.
In the early stages, I followed some guides that were helpful, though the learning curve was steep. I chose Org-publish because it seemed the simplest option for someone with no knowledge of CSS. I still think that’s true, but over time I realised that the default output isn’t especially easy to read.
I made an effort to learn some basic CSS to improve the appearance of the site, and with some trial and error, I was able to customise the layout reasonably well. I wrote and uploaded a few pages, and found that Org mode itself was easy enough to get started with-while offering a wide range of useful functions.
At some point I lost focus on writing and got more caught up in learning Org mode and Emacs itself. The site became outdated, and my interest faded. Eventually I started a new site at geffle.eu, which is now my main focus.
I had planned to let this site quietly disappear, but in March 2025 I forgot to cancel my hosting with one.com and so the site lived on. To complicate things, I accidentally uploaded an in-development version without realising it.Consequently there are around 50 orphaned files which I will eventually delete.
I’ve now decided to restore the original site as best I can. The CSS is drawn from org-themes. Since the site is small and unlikely to grow much, I’ve stopped using Org-publish for now and just export pages directly from Org files with a link to a theme style sheet. That may change again, but for the time being this approach suits me.
Links to old pages
A history of Persian Carpet Manufacture
This is a recommended article on the history of carpet manufacturing in Iran
A guide to academic writing
Academic writing demands a special style and mastering that style is a first step in gaining recognition firstly from teachers and then from colleagues. The links in the page below cover most of the process of writing an academic paper.
Working with references in org-mode
Once you have mastered academic style it is time to write your bibliographies . This page has instructions on where to begin.
And here is further advice on using org-ref
Quotes from Eco Austerity by Leigh Phillips
This is a very fine book which I was going to write a review of. That never happened but I collected some quotes as preparation
Review of a BBC radio production of Dido Queen of Carthage by Christopher Marlowe
One of my original ideas of the site was to have a section with reviews of various kinds. Here's one
A review of The Secret Commonwealth of Fairies
Another unwritten review. I have always loved fantasy writing, especially writing in what might be called the British tradition. I define this as writing about worlds that are linked to ours. Often that means using existing folktales as in Sylvia Townsend Warner 's Kingdoms of Elfin . This tradition grew out of the work of collectors of folk tales and this book covers legends about Scottish fairies.
The Secret Commonwealth of Fairies by Robert Kirk .The book claims to be from a manuscript of 1691 but that seems unlikely. I never completed a written review so again this remains as a list of quotations.
Ukiyo-e painting
I like and admire many forms of Japanese art. My knowledge is only surface level but I continue to read books and articles as much as I can. This page is about the art of the floating world. Defining what defines that world is of course difficult but you can begin here. The page is a bit rough, but leave it quickly to the real stuff.
You can find it here: Ukiyo-e
Emacs tips for beginners
I read some Emacs manuals and made notes. The page linked below contains tips to myself of things I could not remember
A map of Edward I journey in Scotland in 1296
I always liked looking at maps and made this map for reasons I can't now remember. I found the process to be boring and have never made another.