Hey there.

This blog is written and produced by me, Jarrod Blundy. It is, as all good blogs should be, an amalgamation of anything and everything that catches my interest. That’s me ⬇️👋

I grew up in Ionia, Michigan but now I live in Saranac Lake, New York with my wife and our three “fur babies”. We have a turtle named Remus, a cat named Ollivander, and a dog named Phineas. Yes, we’re huge Harry Potter nerds.

The first thing to know about me is that I’m an Eagle Scout. The adventures I experienced and the values I learned in Scouting shaped who I am today. I’ve been a member of the Boy Scouts of America since the age of six when I joined as a wee Tiger Scout (thanks Mom and Dad!).

After graduating from the Recreation Program of Central Michigan University, my professional career began as a Program Executive & Camp Director for Firelands Scout Reservation with the Lake Erie Council, BSA. Then I worked, briefly, for Apple. Most recently, I’ve been working at a gear shop and guiding service, leading hiking and climbing trips in the Adirondacks (a dream come true!) — which has provided me with more time for personal outdoor adventures and writing here.

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About This Site

I write about my inspirations and my interests, which, of course, include camping and climbing and other “outdoorsy” things, but I also harbor a keen fascination for technology and design. These things have always been large parts of my life, and I’ve consumed endless content about them — but here is where I add to the conversation.

This site runs on Blot. I use its old default theme that I’ve customized quite heavily. The text is written using Markdown, usually starting in Drafts and then in iA Writer or 1Writer. Images are typically served by ImageKit.io. Items in the ‘Stuff I Love’ boxes are served up by Shoutouts.lol. I’ve written about my writing workflow and more about blogging in general.

By the way, you can append “.md” (or “.txt” or “.text”) to the URL for any page or post to see its Markdown-styled plain text. Like this: https://heydingus.net/about.md

To see an incomplete chronicle of major updates to this site, check out the Changelog.

What’s with ‘HeyDingus’?

HeyDingus is my homage to the writers and podcasters who have inspired me to create something of my own. Attentive podcast listeners may recognize “Hey, Dingus” as the phrase used by some podcasters to fill in for the various smart assistant wake phrases so they don’t get inadvertently activated.

It was Merlin Mann who coined the original phrase with John Gruber as “Yo, Dingus” on The Talk Show in 2016, and it’s evolved since then. Merlin and John are two of my favorite folks on the internet — I love what they put out into the world. Thanks, guys.

Plus, it’s just fun to say.

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Connect With Me

If you have any questions or suggestions, or just want to say hey, you can find my personal profiles on Micro.blog and Mastodon where I’m @jarrod, on Instagram and Threads where I’m @hey.jarrod, and elsewhere. If you have comments about a particular article, the HeyDingus posts on Mastodon are great for replies. I read them all!

Not into social media? I get that. I love email, and you can reach me at jarrod@heydingus.net.

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How to Support Me

Honestly, the fact that you’re here reading my site is enough on its own. But if you do want to support me monetarily, you’re welcome to buy me a coffee. (I don’t actually drink coffee, but I do love a fancy hot chocolate or a beer!)

Store

I’ve had fun creating some apparel and phone case designs with the folks at Cotton Bureau. I get a small kickback if you purchase any of them from my storefront. I hope you like them!

Affiliate Links

Some links on this site are affiliate links. By shopping using those links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Win-win! I only create affiliate links to things that I enjoy. Thanks in advance!