the codex

I wanted to learn how to typeset documents in LaTeX. The problem is that my brain is very project-oriented: it's not going to learn something unless I have something useful to use it on. So I decided to make a zine about Linux.

As it turns out, LaTeX is challenging, but quite enjoyable. I have two issues complete and am working on a third.

And as usual, you can buy these on Etsy or Gumroad

Follow Along!

• I am posting the code to my own private git repository as I go, so if you want to see the current state, head over to https://git.kjodle.net/kjodle/the-codex.
• I am open to collaboration. If you are interested, join my online forum. (Note: you will need to creat an account.)

Praise

People seem to like it:

It is also very popular with felines:

Issues:

Issue #3 covers:

• The Final Salad Days:
  • College, 1986
  • teaching Computers
• Is This Really a Hack? (Or is it something even worse?)
• Music in LaTeX
  • Standard Notation
  • tablature
  • Lilypond
• An Introduction to LaTeX
• What's to Like About Linux?
  • Open Source
  • Containerization
• Ubuntu 22.04 (and Ubuntu 24.04)
• Coda
  • What I Learned About LaTeX While Creating This Issue
  • What I Learned About LaTeX While Creating Something Else

You can buy issue #3 now on etsy.

Issue #2 covers:

• The Later Salad Days:
  • The Joy of Commodore 64
  • High School Computer Class
• A Scanner Clearly, or More Thoughts on Being an Archivist
  • The Non-Computer Stuff
  • What Does This Have to do With Linux?
  • A GUI Solution
• Make Life Easier with bash Aliases
• What Have I Installed?
  • apt
  • dpkg
  • snap
  • flatpak
  • The Real Issue
• What's to Like About Linux?
• Ubuntu 22.04
• Coda
  • What I Learned About LaTeX While Creating This Issue
  • Why I Love LaTeX

Issue #1 covers:

• The Early Salad Days:
  • Calculators
  • Speaking of Watches, Timex Used to Make Home Computers
  • The Joy of a Trash-80
• What's to Like About Linux:
  • Control…and an Opportunity
  • Knowledge is Power
  • The Unix Philosophy
    • Where does the Unix Principle actually apply in real life?
    • Where else does the Unix Principle not apply that it probably should in real life?
    • Where does the Unix Principle not apply in real life and this is actually a good thing?
• What Are All Those Folders in the Linux Root?
• A Scanner Darkly, but with a workflow
• Is This Really a Hack? Or Is It Just a Tip?
• Coda
  • What I Learned About LaTeX While Creating This Issue
  • Why LaTeX?
  • What's Next?

I made a short video about my editing process: