Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?

My name is Andrew Stephens. As a child in 1980s small town New Zealand I few in love with the 8-bit micro computers of the time which delightfully allowed my own creations (mostly elaborate text adventures) to be displayed on our TV screen. I never quite lost the thrill of computing so a degree in Computer Science seemed a natural choice. I joined the workforce just as the Internet was taking off and work eventually brought me to Boston, USA where I live now.

My day job is programming C++ but I enjoy stretching myself with projects at home in various media. But what I like most of all is publishing something on the web where everyone can see it.

What's the story behind your blog?

I first created a (long lost) web page back in 1996 during my student days. I loved reading other people's stuff on the web and wanted to contribute my own content - it seemed only fair to give something back. I am not sure when I first heard the word blog but I remember thinking it sounded like a stupid idea; nevertheless sometime in the mid 2000s I installed WordPress and started writing just in time to completely miss the heyday of blogging.

My blog has never been popular. Occasionally something I write will get some attention but it soon settles down.

The most modern iteration of my blog was created when I realized that I should be the change I wanted to see. There is no point complaining about the "old internet" fading when we all have the tools to create whatever we want.

The sheep.horse domain name came about because the .horse top level domain had just become available and I couldn't resist such a stupid offering. Of course all the good .horse domains were snapped up by squatters but sheep.horse was available. According to family lore, "sheep horse" was the first multiple word sentence I uttered as I beheld a lama but it holds no other significance.

It has caused some awkward moments professionally though.
"Great interview question, I have a blog post on exactly this technical subject"
"Excellent, what is the URL?"
"ummm, sheep dot horse"

Thankfully it has never failed to get a laugh.

What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?

I am a big proponent of letting my mind wander when doing something mindless like cleaning or commuting. We spend so much effort minimizing time spent in menial activity but I find such "unproductive" periods both relaxing and useful for generating new ideas. Often times a thought will hit me and rattle around in my head for a few days before I even start to write. Sometimes it is just an opening phrase or a neat metaphor and more than once I have started a piece arguing one side only to talk myself around to the other side. Those pieces often get abandoned - if I don't feel strongly enough to hold an opinion then I probably have little to say on the subject.

I am a slow writer (I don't even touch-type properly) but I try to blat everything out in a single evening. Then I let it sit for at least 12 hours to proof like a loaf of bread while I sleep. Then I read through it again and make revisions, usually making it worse. My wife is a very good proof reader and the best presented articles are the ones that she has corrected.

I write almost all of my text in a plain text editor called TextMate (it is what I am typing into now). Apart from checking my spelling it does not get in the way with fancy features. I find "real" word processors distracting.

Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?

My home office is pretty comfortable but I have also written on trains and flights with good results. There is something about writing that puts me in my own world. When I was younger I used to work listening to music but now I find the quiet works best for me. It doesn't have to be silence, just background noise without voices.

I find getting out into nature really helps with ideas but I have never managed to write anything sitting outside.

A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?

I thought you would never ask. The most modern iteration of my blog is statically generated by a python project of my own called gensite that turns a directory structure of markdown files into modern html and rsync's the result to my server which is a DigitalOcean droplet. I even wrote some custom markdown tags so that I could include asides and footnotes. I was aiming for mostly text so I based the style of my blog on Edward Tufte's ideas on document formatting which I was very excited about at the time.

If I was to be honest I would have to admit that I rent a server to run a blog, and maintain a blog to give my server something to do. Writing a static site generator was just to justify both and now I am in too deep to stop now. The actual contents of my site is secondary.

On top of that I have a simple hit counter of my own design. I gradually grew to hate the influence of Google Analytics and vowed not to include it or anything similar on my site because I believe that chasing eyeballs has led us to the state the Internet is in today. However, I am a total hypocrite and found that I really wanted to know if anyone was reading my stuff. So now I just count hits.

Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?

I am happy with the way everything works now - it suits me. But I could not recommend my setup to anyone else. Honestly, the most important part is putting your work somewhere people can access it with minimal fuss. Hosted is fine although I will say that it is important to choose a service that will allow you to migrate your work if you need to part ways with your hosting provider, which is why I think WordPress is a good choice to start with.

One thing I have learned is not to spend too much time futzing with the aesthetics of your blog. Just pick a readable theme - the words are the important part.

Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetising personal blogs?

I have never tried to monetize my work - part of me still considers blogging to be contributing to the wacky ball of nonsense called the internet. My total cost is about $10 a month for hosting and the domain. Perhaps I could get cheaper but this is what works for me now.

Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?

I love passion project single-subject blogs that go into great detail on arcane matters. Matte Shot has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

But I am really interested in the citizen journalists who do rigorous reporting on topics they cover. I have been very interested in cryptocurrency (very much on the "this is all a stupid idea" side of the table) for over a decade and I admire the great reporting done by the likes of David Gerard and Amy Castor. And of course, Molly White's writing is amazing as well. I have no idea how they can stay so focused on a world they (rightfully) disdain and I would love to hear what motivates them.

Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?

I recently went back to my roots and created a short but elaborate text adventure with illustrations, Voyage of the Marigold. Its my love letter to 80s adventure gamebooks and Star Trek, I get an enormous kick when people tell me they have played it.