Move blog into website/blog

Nest the blog work within the website directory.

website/blog/content/english/caffeine.md

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+---
+title: "Caffeine"
+date: 2020-03-11T22:50:40Z
+draft: true
+---

website/blog/content/english/cell-phone-experiment.md

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+---
+title: "Cell Phone Experiment"
+date: 2020-03-09T22:02:07Z
+draft: true
+---
+
+### TL;DR
+
+I will not use my cell phone during March to challenge myself and learn more
+about how much I depend on my device.
+
+### Background
+
+Ever since I read Charles Duhigg's book, [The Power of Habit](poh), I try to
+habituate as many aspects of my life that I can.
+
+The *exploit* axis of the [explore/exploit tradeoff](exp-exp) endows habits with
+their power. If you are interested in learning more about the explore/exploit
+tradeoff, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths explain this concept more clearly
+than I could in Chapter 2 of their exceptional book, [Algorithms to Live
+By](algos).
+
+One pitfall of overly exploiting an activity, however, is neglecting global
+optima in favor of local optima. Thus we must also explore. Is it possible to
+habituate exploration? I think so.
+
+Every month since October 2018, I commit to a monthly challenge. In the past,
+monthly challenges have been things like:
+- sign up and take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lessons
+- buy a guitar and learn [Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUK8emiWabU)
+- study Italian
+- attempt to learn a handstand
+
+Typically for an activity to qualify as a challenge, I must spend at least
+fifteen minutes working on it at least five days each week. Oftentimes
+challenges have concrete deliverables (e.g. playing the "Freight Train" song
+from start-to-finish). Other times, with Jiu Jitsu, the challenge consists of
+attending classes five days a week without any absences.
+
+This month I'm challenging myself to avoid using my cell phone for the entire
+month. I am interested in partially digitally detoxing.
+
+My parents gave me a cell phone when when I was a freshman in High School; those
+days, I was fourteen years old. I am now twenty-eight years old, which means I
+have been using a cell phone semi-daily for over ten years.
+
+While I enjoy the convenience that my cell phone provides me, I am curious to
+suspend my usage aiming to more clearly understand how much I depend on it.
+
+### What was different?
+
+Things that I am missing:
+- Alarm clock: I decided to avoid buying an alarm clock. I theorize that alarms
+  and caffeine may distort my reality. An excuse to sleep in? Twist my arm...
+- Waking Up with Sam Harris: Thankfully, Waking Up supports web browsers, so
+  this was easy to replace.
+- Banking with Monzo: Monzo has a web client for doing simple banking tasks. I
+  needed to internationally transfer GBP to my USD account.
+- Spotify: I either read while taking public transport, attempted to briefly
+  meditate, or (most commonly) started blankly.
+- Taking notes
+- Timers
+- Google Calendar for meeting room information
+
+Things that I did miss:
+- Phone calls: My birthday is March 5, and I wanted to talk to my family then
+  since I'm currently living abroad in London; I'm originally from a suburb
+  outside of Washington D.C.
+
+Things that I thought I would miss but I didn't miss:
+- Email: I prefer checking my emails minimally anyhow.
+- Text messaging: Maybe I enjoyed this because I knew the whole time it was
+  temporary. I'm unsure if I'd feel this way if it was permanent.
+
+Exploits
+- Telegram native client
+- Instagram's web client
+
+### What was bad?
+
+Not much.
+
+### Will I use a cell phone in April?
+
+Probably. I think this exercise removed some of the long-standing barnacles, but
+some of the old habits and triggers exist. Also with web browser and native
+client alternatives to mobile apps, the partial digital detox felt even more
+partial.
+
+[pod]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12609433-the-power-of-habit
+[exp-exp]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-armed_bandit
+[algos]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25666050-algorithms-to-live-by

website/blog/content/english/lets-learn-nix-caching.md

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+---
+title: "Lets Learn Nix Caching"
+date: 2020-03-17T18:05:38Z
+draft: true
+---
+
+## TL;DR
+
+1. I use `NixOS/nixpkgs-channels` instead of `NixOS/nixpkgs` and avoid
+   `nix-channel`.
+
+## More information
+
+- By default the Nix package manager uses cache.nixos.org as a binary cache.
+- Visit status.nixos.org
+- `git clone git@github.com:NixOS/nixpkgs-channels` instead of
+  `NixOS/nixpkgs`. The former mirrors the latter and uses Git branches to track
+  the published channels.
+
+## What is a Nix channel
+
+If you run...
+
+```shell
+$ git clone git@github.com:NixOS/nixpkgs ~/nixpkgs
+$ export NIX_PATH="nixpkgs=$(realpath ~/nixpkgs)"
+```
+
+One benefit to cloning nixpkgs is that you can browse the source code on your
+machine using tools like `git` and `emacs`. You can also experimentally patch
+and test Nix code this way.
+
+If any of the above appeals to you, clone `nixpkgs-channels` instead.
+
+The Nix maintainers build and test the commits from `nixpkgs` using Hydra. Tests
+include reproducibility tests, etc.
+
+Various channels have different verification phases.
+
+The cache at cache.nixos.org is populate the cache at cache.nixos.org.
+
+You want to increase the likelihood that you are hitting this cache. For
+example, `google-chrome` takes hours to build.
+
+## What is a binary cache?
+
+## What is Hydra (Nix CI)?
+
+## What is Cachix?

website/blog/content/english/lets-learn-nix-determinism-vs-reproducibility.md

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+---
+title: "Lets Learn Nix: Reproducibility"
+date: 2020-03-17T12:06:47Z
+draft: true
+---
+
+I am dedicating this page to defining and disambiguating some terminology. I
+think it is important to use these terms precisely, so it may be worthwhile to
+memorize these definitions and ensure that you are clarifying the discourse
+rather than muddying it.
+
+## Terms
+
+- repeatable build:
+- reproducible build:
+- deterministic build:
+- pure function:
+- impure function:
+- idempotent function:
+
+TODO(wpcarro): Consistently and deliberately use reproducible and
+deterministic.
+
+## Repeatable vs. Reproducible
+
+Is NixOS reproducible? Visit [@grhmc][who-grhmc]'s website,
+[r13y.com](https://r13y.com), to find out.
+
+At the time of this writing, 1519 of 1568 (i.e. 96.9%) of the paths in the
+`nixos.iso_minimal.x86_64-linux` installation image are reproducible.
+
+## What hinders reproducibility?
+
+Timestamps.
+
+If package A encodes a timestamp into its build artifact, then we can
+demonstrate that package A is *not reproducible* simply by building it at two
+different times and doing a byte-for-byte comparison of the build artifacts.
+
+## Does Nix protect developers against non-determinism
+
+Yes. But not entirely. How?
+
+## Deterministic Nix derivation
+
+```nix
+{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {}, ... }:
+
+with pkgs;
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  name = "reproducible";
+  phases = [ "buildPhase" ];
+  buildPhase = "echo reproducible >$out";
+}
+```
+
+## Non-deterministic Nix derivation
+
+We can introduce some non-determinism into our build using the `date` function.
+
+```nix
+# file: /tmp/test.nix
+{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {}, ... }:
+
+with pkgs;
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  name = "non-reproducible";
+  phases = [ "buildPhase" ];
+  buildPhase = "date >$out";
+}
+```
+
+Then run...
+
+```shell
+$ nix-build /tmp/test.nix
+$ nix-build /tmp/test.nix --check --keep-failed
+```
+
+## How do you test reproducibility?
+
+We can use `cmp` to compare files byte-for-byte. The following comparison should
+fail:
+
+```shell
+$ echo foo >/tmp/a
+$ echo bar >/tmp/b
+$ cmp --silent /tmp/{a,b}
+$ echo $?
+```
+
+And the following comparison should succeed:
+
+```shell
+$ echo hello >/tmp/a
+$ echo hello >/tmp/b
+$ cmp --silent /tmp/{a,b}
+$ echo $?
+```
+
+## Reproducible vs. deterministic
+
+Reproducible builds *are* deterministic builds and deterministic build
+
+## Deterministic, Reproducible, Pure, Idempotent, oh my
+
+- A pure function has no side-effects.
+
+- An idempotent function can be executed more than once with the same arguments
+  without altering the side-effects.
+
+- A deterministic function ensures that
+
+## Deterministic vs. Reproducible
+
+I can check if a build is reproducible using [these tools][wtf-repro-tools].
+
+[wtf-repro-tools]: https://reproducible-builds.org/tools/
+[who-grhmc]: https://twitter.com/grhmc

website/blog/content/english/lets-learn-nix-dotfiles.md

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+---
+title: "Let's Learn Nix: Dotfiles"
+date: 2020-03-13T22:23:02Z
+draft: true
+---
+
+## Let's Learn Nix: Dotfiles
+
+### Dependencies
+
+Speaking of dependencies, here's what you should know before reading this tutorial.
+
+- Basic Nix syntax: Nix 1p
+
+What version of Nix are we using? What version of `<nixpkgs>` are we using? What
+operating system are we using? So many variables...
+
+Cartesian product of all possibilities...
+
+TODO(wpcarro): Create a graphic of the options.
+
+### The problems of dotfiles
+
+How do you manage your dependencies?
+
+You can use `stow` to install the dotfiles.
+
+### home-manager
+
+What we are going to write is most likely less preferable to the following
+alternatives:
+- using Nix home-manager
+- committing your `.gitconfig` into your
+
+In the next tutorial, we will use [home-manager][wtf-home-mgr] to replace the
+functionality that we wrote.
+
+So why bother completing this?
+
+### Let's begin
+
+Welcome to the first tutorial in the [Let's Learn Nix][wtf-lln] series. Today we
+are going to create a Nix derivation for one of your dotfiles.
+
+"Dotfiles" refers to a user's collection of configuration files. Typically these
+files look like:
+- `.vimrc`
+- `.xsessionrc`
+- `.bashrc`
+
+The leading "dot" at the beginning gives dotfiles their name.
+
+You probably have amassed a collection of dotfiles whether or not you are
+aware. For example, if you use [git][wtf-git], the file `~/.gitconfig` should
+exist on your machine. You can verify this with:
+
+```shell
+$ stat ~/.gitconfig
+```
+
+When I was first learning `git`, I learned to configure it using commands I
+found in books and tutorials that often looked like:
+
+```shell
+$ git config user.email
+```
+
+The `~/.gitconfig` file on your machine may look something like this:
+
+```.gitconfig
+[user]
+	name = John Cleese
+	email = john@flying-circus.com
+	username = jcleese
+[core]
+	editor = emacs
+[web]
+	browser = google-chrome
+[rerere]
+	enabled = 1
+	autoupdate = 1
+[push]
+	default = matching
+[color]
+	ui = auto
+[alias]
+	a = add --all
+	ai = add -i
+	b = branch
+	cl = clone
+	cp = cherry-pick
+	d = diff
+	fo = fetch origin
+	lg = log --oneline --graph --decorate
+	ps = push
+	pb = pull --rebase
+	s = status
+```
+
+As I ran increasingly more `git config` commands to configure my `git`
+preferences, the size of my `.gitconfig` increased, and the less likely I was to
+remember which options I set to which values.
+
+Thankfully a coworker at the time, Ryan ([@rschmukler][who-ryan]), told me that
+he version-controlled his `.gitconfig` file along with his other configuration
+files (e.g. `.vimrc`) in a repository he called "dotfiles".
+
+Version-controlling your dotfiles improves upon a workflow where you have a
+variety of configuration files scattered around your machine.
+
+If you look at the above `.gitconfig`, can you spot the dependencies?
+
+We explicitly depend `emacs` and `google-chrome`. We also *implicitly* depend on
+`git`: there is not much value of having a `.gitconfig` file if you also do not
+have `git` installed on your machine.
+
+Dependencies:
+- `emacs`
+- `google-chrome`
+
+Let's use Nix to generate this `.gitconfig` file. Here is what I would like our
+API to be:
+
+Let's create a file `gitconfig.nix` and build our function section-by-section:
+
+TODO(wpcarro): Link to sections here
+- options.user
+- options.core
+- options.web
+- options.rerere
+- options.push
+- options.color
+- options.alias
+
+```shell
+$ touch gitconfig.nix
+```
+
+### options.user
+
+```haskell
+AttrSet -> String
+```
+
+```nix
+user = {
+  name = "John Cleese";
+  email = "john@flying-circus.com";
+  username = "jcleese";
+};
+```
+
+```.gitconfig
+[user]
+	name = John Cleese
+	email = john@flying-circus.com
+	username = jcleese
+```
+
+### options.core
+
+```nix
+core = {
+  editor = "${pkgs.emacs}/bin/emacs";
+};
+```
+
+```.gitconfig
+[core]
+	editor = /nix/store/<hash>-emacs-<version>/bin/emacs
+```
+
+### options.web
+
+```nix
+web.browser = "${pkgs.google-chrome}/bin/google-chrome";
+```
+
+```.gitconfig
+[web]
+	browser = /nix/store/<hash>-google-chrome-<version>/bin/google-chrome
+```
+
+### options.rerere
+
+```nix
+rerere = {
+  enabled = true;
+  autoupdate = true;
+};
+```
+
+```.gitconfig
+[rerere]
+	enabled = 1
+	autoupdate = 1
+```
+
+### options.push
+
+```nix
+push.default = "matching";
+```
+
+```.gitconfig
+[push]
+	default = matching
+```
+
+### options.color
+
+```nix
+color.ui = "auto";
+```
+
+```.gitconfig
+[color]
+	ui = auto
+```
+
+We need to define a function named `gitconfig` that creates a Nix [derivation][wtf-derivation]:
+
+```nix
+# file: gitconfig.nix
+let
+  # Import the <nixpkgs> package repository.
+  pkgs = import <nixpkgs> {};
+
+  # Stringify the attribute set, `xs`, as a multilined string formatted as "<key> = <value>".
+  # See attrsets.nix for more functions that work with attribute sets.
+  encodeAttrSet = xs: lib.concatStringsSep "\n" (lib.mapAttrsToList (k: v: "${k} = ${v}") xs);
+
+  # Define out function name `gitconfig` that accepts an `options` argument.
+  gitconfig = options: pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+    # The gitconfig file that Nix builds will be located /nix/store/some-hash-gitconfig.
+    name = "gitconfig";
+    src = pkgs.writeTextFile ".gitconfig" ''
+      [user]
+          name = ${options.user.name}
+          email = ${options.user.email}
+          username = ${options.user.username}
+      [core]
+          editor = ${options.core.editor}
+      [web]
+          editor = ${options.web.browser}
+      [rerere]
+          enabled = ${if options.rerere.enabled "1" else "0"}
+          autoupdate = ${if options.rerere.autoupdate "1" else "0"}
+      [push]
+          default = ${options.push.default}
+      [color]
+          ui = ${options.color.ui}
+      [alias]
+          ${encodeAttrSet options.aliases}
+    '';
+    buildPhase = ''
+      ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/cp $src $out
+    '';
+    installPhase = ''
+      ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/ln -s $out ~/.gitconfig
+    '';
+  };
+} in gitconfig {
+  user = {
+    name = "John Cleese";
+    email = "john@flying-circus.com";
+    username = "jcleese";
+  };
+  core = {
+    editor = "${pkgs.emacs}/bin/emacs";
+  };
+  web.browser = "${pkgs.google-chrome}/bin/google-chrome";
+  rerere = {
+    enabled = true;
+    autoupdate = true;
+  };
+  push.default = "matching";
+  color.ui = "auto";
+  aliases = {
+	a  = "add --all";
+	ai = "add -i";
+	b  = "branch";
+	cl = "clone";
+	cp = "cherry-pick";
+	d  = "diff";
+	fo = "fetch origin";
+	lg = "log --oneline --graph --decorate";
+	ps = "push";
+	pb = "pull --rebase";
+	s  = "status";
+  };
+}
+```
+
+### options.alias
+
+We want to write a function that accepts an attribute set and returns a
+string. While Nix is a dynamically typed programming language, thinking in types
+helps me clarify what I'm trying to write.
+
+```haskell
+encodeAttrSet :: AttrSet -> String
+```
+
+I prefer using a Haskell-inspired syntax for describing type signatures. Even if
+you haven't written Haskell before, you may find the syntax intuitive.
+
+Here is a non comprehensive, but demonstrative list of example type signatures:
+- `[String]`: A list of strings (i.e. `[ "cogito" "ergo" "sum" ]`)
+- `AttrSet`: A nix attribute set (i.e. `{ name = "John Cleese"; age = 80; }`).
+- `add :: Integer -> Integer -> Integer`: A function named `add` that accepts
+  two integers and returns an integer.
+
+Specifically, we want to make sure that when we call:
+
+```nix
+encodeAttrSet {
+  a = "add --all";
+  b = "branch";
+}
+```
+
+...it returns a string that looks like this:
+
+```.gitconfig
+a = "add --all"
+b = "branch"
+```
+
+
+TODO(wpcarro): @tazjin's nix-1p mentions this. Link to it.
+Nix has useful functions scattered all over the place:
+- `lib.nix`
+- `list.nix`
+- `lib.attrSet`
+
+But I cannot recall exactly which functions we will need to write
+`encodeAttrSet`. In these cases, I do the following:
+1. Run `nix repl`.
+2. Browse the Nix source code.
+
+Google "nix attribute sets" and find the Github link to `attrsets.nix`.
+
+You should consider repeating this search but instead of searching for
+"attribute sets" search for "lists" and "strings". That is how I found the
+functions needed to write `encodeAttrSet`. Let's return to our `nix repl`.
+
+Load the nixpkgs set:
+
+```nix
+nix-repl> :l <nixpkgs>
+Added 11484 variables.
+```
+
+Define a test input called `attrs`:
+
+```nix
+nix-repl> attrs = { fname = "John"; lname = "Cleese"; }
+```
+
+Map the attribute set into `[String]` using `lib.mapAttrsToList`:
+
+```nix
+nix-repl> lib.mapAttrsToList (k: v: "${k} = ${toString v}") attrs
+[ "fname = John" "lname = Cleese" ]
+```
+
+Now join the `[String]` together using `lib.concatStringsSep`:
+
+```nix
+nix-repl> lib.concatStringsSep "\n" (lib.mapAttrsToList (k: v: "${k} = ${v}") attrs)
+"fname = John\nlname = Cleese"
+```
+
+Now let's use this to define our function `encodeAttrSet`:
+
+```nix
+# file: gitconfig.nix
+encodeAttrSet = xs: lib.concatStringsSep "\n" (lib.mapAttrsToList (k: v: "${k} = ${v}") xs);
+```
+
+### Using nixpkgs search
+
+[Nixpkgs search][wtf-nixpkgs-search].
+
+### Conclusion
+
+We learned how to help ourselves.
+
+- Where does `emacs` exist? What about `google-chrome`? [nixpkgs search][wtf-nixpkgs-search]
+- Verify that I have it? [nix REPL][using-nix-repl]
+
+We used Nix to create our first derivation.
+
+[wtf-lln]: /lets-learn-nix
+[wtf-git]: https://git-scm.com/
+[wtf-derivation]: https://nixos.org/nixos/nix-pills/our-first-derivation.html
+[wtf-nixpkgs-search]: https://nixos.org/nixos/packages.html?channel=nixos-19.09
+[using-nix-repl]: /using-the-nix-repl
+[wtf-home-mgr]: https://github.com/rycee/home-manager
+[who-ryan]: https://twitter.com/rschmukler

website/blog/content/english/lets-learn-nix-tutorial-reproducibility.md

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+---
+title: "Lets Learn Nix: Tutorial Reproducibility"
+date: 2020-03-17T18:34:58Z
+draft: true
+---
+
+## Install Nix
+
+Link to nixos page.
+
+## The rest
+
+Start with this...
+
+```shell
+$ mkdir ~/lets-learn-nix
+$ cd ~/lets-learn-nix
+```
+
+...done. Copy the following and paste it into a file name `shell.nix`.
+
+```nix
+# file: shell.nix
+let
+  pkgs = import (builtins.fetchGit {
+    url = "https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs-channels";
+    ref = "refs/heads/nixos-19.09";
+  }) {}
+in pkgs.mkShell {
+  buildInputs = with pkgs; [
+    git
+  ];
+  NIX_PATH = "nixpkgs=${pkgs}";
+};
+```
+
+...then...
+
+```shell
+$ nix-shell
+```

website/blog/content/english/lets-learn-nix.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+---
+title: "Lets Learn Nix"
+date: 2020-03-13T21:50:47Z
+draft: false
+---
+
+## Background
+
+[Nix][wtf-nix] may be the most useful tool that I use. I consider it as valuable
+as [Git][wtf-git] or [Emacs][wtf-emacs]. My friend, David ([@dmjio][who-dmjio]),
+first introduced me to Nix when we worked together at a Haskell startup in
+NYC. Before this, I had been managing my system configuration using software
+that I wrote -- first in Bash, then in Python, then in Golang.
+
+It took me awhile to understand Nix. I left the NYC startup, joined Google, and
+relocated to London. Here I met another Nix-enlightened monk, Vincent
+([@tazjin][who-tazjin]), who patiently taught me enough Nix to become
+self-reliant and productive.
+
+Many resources exist to learn Nix; the Nix community on IRC continues to help me
+and others effectively use Nix. I'm creating this series to write the tutorials
+that I would have found useful when I started learning Nix. If you are just
+beginning your Nix journey, I hope these tutorials help you.
+
+## Goals
+
+I aim to make each tutorial in the "Let's Learn Nix" series:
+- Actionable: Readers will be writing code.
+- Digestible: Readers should be able to finish each tutorial in fifteen minutes.
+- Reproducible: Readers should expect the output of their code to match what
+  these tutorials claim they should see.
+
+## About the author
+
+My name is William ([@wpcarro][who-wpcarro]). My three favorite tools are Git,
+Emacs, and Nix. I am an American expat currently working at Google in
+London. While during the day I primarily write Java, Python, and TypeScript, I
+prefer functional programming. I use Nix to deploy software and manage the
+multiple machines across which I work.
+
+## Let's Begin
+
+Before we get started, Nix is a programming language. To familiarize yourself
+with the syntax, semantics, and idioms, consider reading this brief [Nix One
+Pager][nix-1p]. I recommend keeping it around as a reference.
+
+When I was first learning Nix, I wanted to use it to manage my dotfiles. Our
+first tutorial will help you get started: [Let's Learn Nix:
+Dotfiles][lln-dotfiles]
+
+[wtf-nix]: https://nixos.org
+[wtf-git]: https://git-scm.com
+[wtf-emacs]: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs
+[who-dmjio]: https://twitter.com/dmjio
+[who-tazjin]: https://twitter.com/tazjin
+[who-wpcarro]: https://twitter.com/wpcarro
+[lln-dotfiles]: /lets-learn-nix-dotfiles
+[nix-1p]: https://github.com/tazjin/nix-1p

website/blog/content/english/nix-and-hugo.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+title: "Deploy Hugo blog with Nix"
+date: 2020-03-11T18:42:32Z
+draft: true
+---

website/blog/content/english/self-hosting.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+title: "Self Hosting"
+date: 2020-03-11T22:53:56Z
+draft: true
+---
+