Congratulations on finding this blog, and what the hell are you doing here? Who told you about this place? Skedaddle!

I'm Joel and I post random news and interesting stats and data on Bluesky (as @kjoules.org

But now seems to be a good time to put up some material, and after looking around the net for options for hosting my blog, I've chosen Offprint.

So why choose a relatively obscure publishing platform, which currently has under 1,300 users, and eschew Substack or any of the more popular current blogging sites? That will be more fully explained in a separate post, but tl;dr: (1) It's the Summer of Standard.site with a promotion that includes a small discount for the Pro version of Offprint that ends today, and, (2) If you believe in open standards for social media and blogs, rather than the current closed environments such as Twitter and Substack, then let’s support new technologies and the underdogs.

Okay, now that we've taken care of that extremely boring introduction, here are some basic yet necessary Qs and As:

1. What will you post here?
   Since I'm new to the blogging arena, I still haven't totally made up my mind, but at least you should expect some of the following:
   - Supplemental information on some of my Bluesky posts and threads that are probably more suitable as a long-form blog post
   - Charts and graphs that I've created, past or present
   - Statistics and data that might interest me
   - SCMP slander
   - Random funny stuff? Who knows?

2. Do I need to subscribe? Are there any perks to subscribing?
   Other than knowing when I post something new, no. Oh heavens, no. This is the world’s first blog that actually discourages you from subscribing.

3. Do I need a Bluesky account to subscribe?
   Preferably yes, as Offprint works best if you have a Bluesky account, but you can also subscribe with an e-mail address, or you can use an RSS reader.
   Also, if you sign up using Bluesky, I won't know your e-mail address <evil smirk>.

4. Bluesky? I thought you just post on Twitter? What about Threads?
   No, I post on both platforms, but I prefer the Bluesky community wayyyy more.
   Threads? Bleah.

5. Is there a paid subscription tier? How much are you charging for this blog?
   Nothing, because compared to the work of real journalists and authors, the ramblings you'll find here are worthless. If for some delusional reason you think this blog is worth something, take your money and spend it on more worthwhile causes: a good book or two, a charity, or best yet... an actual newspaper! Online or print is fine! Daily broadsheets or weekly news magazines are fine! Proper journalism costs money. Seriously, reward journalists and pay for your news! I won't say anything negative to you even if you subscribe to the SCMP -- well, maybe not.
   Also, while Offprint does not support paid subscriptions yet, never fear, I have no intention to put up a paywall when they do.

6. What is "Numberwang"?
   More precisely, "NumberWang" was the name of a game show from a recurring sketch on the BBC comedy show "That Mitchell and Webb Look" (2006-2009). Contestants would randomly call out numbers and the host would occasionally and inexplicably award players by declaring, "That's NumberWang!"
   

   In more recent context, Jasnah Kholin @jasnah.bsky.social

   , a brilliant no-nonsense RNA virologist who was an invaluable source of information during the Covid-19 pandemic here in Hong Kong, commonly called out "numberwang" on Twitter when seeing numbers and statistics cited from scientists and/or "Twitter scientists" that, as she put it, were either nonsensical, unsourced, or completely made up. It's a wonderful name for a blog.

7. So are you saying all the numbers and data in this blog are made up?
   Of course not, it's a joke.

8. Who are you in real life?
   I'm a former academic with some math chops who transitioned into the "real world", dividing my time in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Canada.

9. How often will you post?
   Whenever a news story comes out that requires more exposition than a Bluesky thread, or if something interests me and I have the time, I'll write about it. But don't expect a daily or even weekly blog post, and don’t expect me to be as prolific as HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social

   or the late great David Webb @webb-site.com
   (RIP).

10. Anything else?
    No, I think we're good.