Protesilaos
Protesilaos
Protesilaos
I am a philosopher living in the mountains of Cyprus at a house I built myself which I affectionately call “the hut.” I spend my free time programming on GNU Emacs, writing essays on a wide range of life issues, and doing infrastructure work around my house. My background is diverse and reflects my intellectual curiosity as well as consistently high work ethic.
Latest Posts
When we ponder our place in the world, we typically couch it in terms of our evolution as individuals or a group. We map both our shortcomings and aspirations on a historical trajectory. If we emphasise our frailties, we speak of the...
JTR from the blog The Art Of Not Asking Why sent me a few questions regarding Emacs themes, my opinion on the Solarized colour scheme, and even my choice of wallpaper. JTR asks about Solarized because I consider Ethan Schoonover’s...
This is a topic that comes up from time to time, including in the latest “Prot Asks” I did with Oliver: https://protesilaos.com/prot-asks/2026-08-11-oliver-minimalism-distractions-independence/. Oliver wanted to say something and first...
August night in cobblestone square musicality you are and latent passion Behind the curtain of shadow I now carry to the lighthouse no ship ever spots the gentle breeze of the Aegean
In this entry in the “Prot Asks” series, I talk to Oliver about a range of topics covering minimalism, independence, art, philosophy, fitness, productivity, and more. This ended up being the longest video in the series, reaching 4 hours!...
It is you our sea who connects us with the further places You gives us the motive to strive for knowledge ships to build distant trades to do and thus to cooperate with people everywhere without ever wanting to enforce on them our own...
Le jeudi 13 août 2026 à 14:30 Sacha Chua, Fabrice Niessen, et moi nous parlerons sur le sujet d’Emacs. Sacha a déjà écris l’article pour cet événement: <https://sachachua.com/blog/2026/08/13-aout-emacs-chat-fabrice- La semaine dernière...
La semaine dernière j’avais une réunion avec Sacha Chua et Richard Bonichon sur le sujet d’Emacs. Sacha a l’organisé et a la diffusé en direct ici: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxqsIgXYkVw. Nous avons parlé pour deux heurs. Richard a...
In this ~15-minute video I show how to add conditions to abbrev-mode abbreviations that you define. The idea is to have those abbrevs expand only in certain cases. I use three examples, which I think cover the common needs. Code samples...
Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s “Von armen B.B.” (For poor B.B.). Of Protesilaos Protesilaos, rare in name and temperament Hailing from the ghost village in the land of the cypress tree My refugee mother and contrarian father raised me...
I have long now enjoyed listening to singer Eleonora Zouganeli, though I had not discovered a song of hers that would seamlessly fit these philosophical interpretations I do. That was until I listened again to The red river (Το κόκκινο...
In my previous entry about Halo: The Master Chief Collection (2026-07-14), I did not want to elaborate on any of the individual games. I preferred to keep the message focused and to cover different themes in separate articles (spoilers...
For years now I have adopted the view that religious narratives are fundamentally allegorical even when they contain elements of fact. Their goal is, nonetheless, thoroughly practical: to provide a framework within which society can...
In this video I demonstrate the built-in ‘speedbar’ command. This is the file explorer that Emacs ships with. Starting with Emacs 31, the ‘speedbar’ can be configured to appear on the side of the frame. Whereas the default is to show up...
In you the tall mountain we find the stability that inspires our deeds In your open horizons we escape from the tunnel of our everyday affairs and with the patience that builds civilisation we restore within us the cosmic order Σε εσένα...