About this site

Hi! 👋🏻 I’m Halsted, a/k/a cygnoir, and cygnoir.net is my online journal, where I write about whatever interests me.

I published my first post on 18 May 1998 on my previous domain, squixel.net. Over the past twenty-five years, my posts have been hosted on Greymatter, Typepad, WordPress, LiveJournal, Tumblr, and others I’ve since forgotten … but I still don’t call it a blog.

To get an idea of my current projects and passions, start with my Now page.

You can always say hello or buy me a cuppa.

About me

First of all, my pseudonym, Cygnoir, is a word I made up many years ago. It is a portmanteau of cygne and noir, the French words for “swan” and “black”, respectively. (It is pronounced /siɲ-nwaʀ'/ while apologizing profusely to la langue française.) The pseudonym and site predate Taleb’s book and Aronofsky’s film, and I have never been a goth or a member of the SCA. I simply love wordplay and Cygnus atratus, and I refer to myself as a black swan with digital wings because I like the way it sounds.

As for the rest, I am a white, middle-aged, able-bodied, cisgender woman, and I use she/her pronouns. I live with my wonderful spouse, FunkyPlaid, and our adorable cats, Crivens & Criminy, just outside Portland, Oregon. Previously I’ve lived in several distinct parts of the United States as well as Edinburgh, Scotland. I acknowledge the inherent privilege I was born into because of my race and socioeconomic background, and I am learning how to use that privilege to fight for racial justice. (If you are too, reach out.)

My professions

I have three professions:

My interests

I have many interests, including but never limited to:

My connections

I spent much of my life overextending myself in relationships, online and off. In January 2020, I undertook a “digital detox” and left social media for a month. This simple act immediately improved my mental health and self-esteem, and it allowed me to set the boundaries I so desperately needed.

Since then, I’ve learned so much about how I want to show up for other people, and how to communicate my needs in healthy and respectful ways. Every day I learn more about what it means to be a good friend.

Nowadays I don’t socialize online much, instead preferring quality offline time with close friends.

Additional details

Personality tests can provide a vague outline of a person. Here’s my vague outline:

  • My VIA Character Signature Strengths: Perspective, Kindness, Gratitude, Honesty, Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence
  • My Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® Personality Type: INFJ - Insightful Visionary
  • My Enneagram Type: 4 - The Individualist (test retaken in 2021, previously 9)
  • My Life Path Number: 9
  • My Astrological Signs: ♓ Sun, ♏ Moon, ♋ Rising

Colophon

cygnoir.net is hosted on Micro.blog. To receive updates, you can follow me there, subscribe to my RSS feed, or subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

📖 Read: If you’re curious about what Micro.blog is, start here.

🎙 Listen: I talk about why I use Micro.blog on Episode 29 of the Micro Monday podcast.

🌐 Elsewhere: I follow the indieweb practice of POSSE, which stands for Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. My posts start here and are cross-posted elsewhere.

Disclaimer

This is a personal website. The opinions and views expressed therein are solely the author’s and not of any organization or employer. They are also subject to change because the author is human, fallible, and always learning. Caveat lector.

Last updated on 27 February 2024 from my home near Portland, Oregon.