About Ennui Vagaries

Welcome to Ennui Vagaries, a website dedicated to all the hobbies and pass-times I indulge in on a regular basis. This is a short history of how I came to start this site.

Origins

During the pandemic I became interested in two things: (1) single board computers / mini-PC's, and (2) mechanical keyboards. I quickly found that my interest in these technologies could use an outlet.

At the time, Reddit was a good place for talking about these technologies. But I came to feel that on the topic of keyboards I had other things that I wanted to do, so I started a new website: No Thoccs Aloud. However, it wasn't too long that I found that several of the larger tech review outlets were stepping into the world of mechanical keyboards. Those outlets had resources to accomplish many of the ideas I had in mind more quickly.

So, I set aside No Thoccs Aloud, but with the idea that I might return to it someday. I still had a few things that I thought would be interesting to talk about, but honestly, my interest in terms of mechanical keyboards was waning.

Next Interests

With my interest waning in mechanical keyboards, I found myself attracted to various other interests. These include, but are not limited to:

I began posting on the Fediverse photographs of my watches and pens from time to time. But still, I found myself messing around with mechanical keyboards occasionally.

That's when I had an idea: what if I combined all these interests in a single location?

The Birth of Ennui Vagaries

But, I already have several other websites (Unattributed, CerebralMix Archive, and The CerebralRift for example), why would I want to add another one?

The CerebralRift and CerebralMix Archive are inactive at this point. While I may re-turn to The CerebralRift some day, it has a specifically defined subject: the review of Creative Commons licensed artistic works. And I don't foresee restarting the CerebralMix at anytime in the future.

Unattributed I started as a venue for me to write longer essays and opinion pieces on whatever topic was of interest to me. The idea is that I can wander through topical and non-topic subjects freely. I don't have to focus the content in any one area. Whatever grabs my attention at the time. There is one restriction I've placed on myself for Unattributed: no reviews. I spent several years cranking out reviews for The CerebralRift, to the point that I burned out on it.

So, with all of this in mind, I could see that there was a hole in what I want to write about. I want to be able to write about gear, equipment, tools, etc. The things that I find interesting. And I want to write about the specific details that interest me. They may be reviews, or they may not be reviews as such. Who knows. But this is definitely the kind of material that doesn't fit on Unattributed, and so it needs its own space.

And so Ennui Vagaries is born. This is a place for me to write about the hobbies that I've come to out of boredom, the things that have taken my time and piqued my curiosity. This site is about the things that I have looked at, and the things that I have learned along the way.