Greetings! If you are seeing this, it means that this site has successfully transitioned from http://jbdeaton.com to the domain http://OnlyAModel.com. RSS readers, I invite you to visit the actual site and have a look around. I haven’t finished all the things I want to integrate in the redesign, but I think it’s enough of a start to pull the trigger. I was going for a simple, Tufte-inspired, science journal aesthetic.
Why abandon the eponymous domain? I originally started this site to serve as an academic portfolio, but my interests have evolved over the years. There are ideas I want to write about that don’t mesh as nicely with the construct of a CV website that’s attempting to manage my portfolio as a researcher and engineer.
If you are curious about the name Only A Model, its origin shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. I think it fits my professional and personal worldview:
- My understanding of the world is, at best, an approximation to reality. So let’s keep iterating and converging toward the best approximations.
- It conveys a key message in my field of research: all scientific or numerical models have limitations. It conveys what—on some level—the blog is about.
- It’s short and memorable.
- It’s general. It doesn’t constrain me to only discussing FEA or structural modeling.
- I got tired of constantly linking to a website that starts with my name. Personally, I started feeling too egocentric about it. I don’t project that onto other eponymous bloggers—that’s just me.
- It’s a Monty Python reference. If I need to appear more professional, I can point out that it’s also a CS Lewis quote.
So here we are. I think the new construct will pave the way for more interesting and regular posting. The goal, as always, will be to document the things I’m learning as well as things I find inspiring, helpful, or useful. Same topics as before: research, engineering, writing, programming, FEA, life, etc.
Nothing should change for you. All permalinks and RSS feeds forward to the new domain, so you don’t have to change anything.
If you have any helpful feedback or suggestions, please do let me know. I hope you enjoy the changes and look forward to the next year of interaction and ideas.