Markup on Under the Anvil

The Master Template: Consistency in the Forge

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Using Typst’s ‘import’ and ‘show’ rules to create a unified look for your entire book project.

The Semantic Skeleton: Building for the Screen Reader

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why we use H1, H2, and H3 for logic, not for font size. A lesson in accessible architecture.

Front Matter: The Library Card of the File

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How metadata turns a simple text file into a powerful database entry. Mastering YAML and TOML.

The Markup Compass: How to Learn a New Syntax

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What to look for when you open a new .md, .typ, or .html file for the first time.

The Right Tool for the Word: Domain-Specific Markup

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why one language isn’t enough. Choosing between Markdown, Typst, and HTML based on the task at hand.

The Markup Power: Reviving the Lost Art

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why we abandoned the ‘Office Suite’ to return to the logic of the word. A call to arms for clean, beautiful, and permanent documents.

Math Without Menus: The Beauty of Plaintext Equations

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why hunting for symbols in MS Word is a waste of a researcher’s mind. Discover the fluid power of Typst and AsciiMath.

Quarto: The Multitool of the Modern Scholar

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If Markdown is a pocketknife, Quarto is a full-scale machine shop. Built on top of Pandoc, it allows us to weave together prose, code, and citations into a single source of truth.

Why Quarto Wins

For the Textsmith, Quarto solves the “Final Format” problem. You write in a single .qmd file and strike the anvil to produce:

A high-fidelity PDF via Typst or LaTeX.
A responsive HTML ebook.
A professional RevealJS presentation for your next conference.

The Logic of the Source

Because Quarto is plaintext, we can use our Trinity (grep, sed, awk) to audit our citations or bulk-edit our data before we ever “render” the final product.

The Great Markup War: AsciiDoc vs. Markdown

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the Unix world, we love a good fight. We’ve fought over editors (Vim vs. Emacs), we’ve fought over distros (Systemd vs. Init), and now, we fight over how to write a simple list.

Markdown: The People’s Hammer

Markdown won the popularity contest for a reason: it is the “Vim” of markup. It’s fast, ubiquitous, and stays out of your way. For a quick blog post or a README, it is unbeatable. But like a hammer, it’s not great at turning screws.

The Markup Manifesto: Why Plaintext Wins

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In an age of proprietary binaries, the Textsmith chooses the transparency of markup. Discover the philosophy behind our digital forge.

The Text Markup Manifesto: Why I Traded the Ribbon for Plaintext

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Document processing shouldn’t require a mouse. Here is why text markup is the superior choice for the accessible, text-driven forge.