The future will belong to those non-obvious thinkers who use their wide-ranging powers of interdisciplinary exploration to see connections between multiple, seemingly unrelated domains.
Welcome to my digital stomping ground ✍🏻 built from scratch with zero dependencies, zero tracking, and zero compromise. Pure HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript
Most personal websites are static brochures. This one is a living document.
I'm a relentlessly curious, lifelong learner — technologist, Bitcoin enthusiast, privacy advocate, and polymathic explorer. This site is a ever-evolving expression of these philosophies.
No WordPress. No analytics. No cookies. No bloat. Just code and ideas.
- 6 Pages — Index, Whoami, Principles, Resources, Connect, Privacy Policy
- 189 Principles — Core convictions, passions, and standards across 5 categories
- 600+ Curated Resources — Software, books, films, podcasts, and bookmarks
- Terminal Aesthetic — Monospace typography, dark theme, intentional design
- Vanilla Stack — No frameworks, no dependencies, pure HTML/CSS/JS
- Fully Responsive — Desktop, tablet, and mobile
- Privacy-First — No analytics, no cookies, no third-party trackers
- Self-Hosted Fonts — Sometype Mono loaded locally, not from Google Fonts
- PGP Contact — Because encryption should be the default
Every byte is intentional:
- Sometype Mono throughout — monospace because clarity > decoration
#1a1a1abackground,#ddc18atext,#ff3333accent — that's the palette- No JavaScript libraries — if vanilla JS can't do it, it doesn't belong here
The design reflects the philosophy:
- No external font calls (Google Fonts tracks users)
- No CDN except Font Awesome for social icons
- No tracking pixels hiding in the markup
- The Privacy Policy page isn't legal boilerplate — it's a manifesto
"When everyone copyrights, copyleft."
This project is open source because information wants to be free. If something here helps you build something better, that's the point.
- HTML5 — Semantic markup, no divitis
- CSS3 — Flexbox layout, CSS custom properties, responsive breakpoints
- Vanilla JavaScript — Hamburger menu, scroll behavior, nothing more
- GitHub Pages — Static hosting, push to deploy
- Cloudflare — CDN, DNS, and SSL (set to Custom mode — see below)
- Sometype Mono — Self-hosted variable font
SSL/TLS mode must remain on Custom (not Automatic, not Full Strict). Full Strict causes Error 526 with GitHub Pages. If the site ever goes down with a 526, check this setting first.
chrisvrakas.github.io/
├── index.html # Landing page — hero, preface, quotes
├── whoami.html # About / bio page
├── principles.html # 189 principles across 5 categories
├── resources.html # 600+ curated tools, books, films, podcasts, bookmarks
├── connect.html # Contact page with PGP key
├── privacy.html # Privacy policy (not legal boilerplate — a manifesto)
├── robots.txt # SEO: search engine instructions
├── sitemap.xml # SEO: site structure for indexing
├── favicon.ico # Classic favicon
├── favicon-16x16.png # Small favicon
├── favicon-32x32.png # Standard favicon
├── apple-touch-icon.png # iOS home screen icon
├── android-chrome-192x192.png
├── android-chrome-512x512.png
└── assets/
├── fonts/ # Sometype Mono (Regular, Medium, Bold — self-hosted)
├── images/ # All graphics: hero images, logos, arrows, banners
├── notes/ # PRINCIPLES.pdf — original source document
└── pgp/ # PGP public key
principles.html — 189 hand-curated principles organized across 5 sections:
| Section | Count | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ETHOS | 44 | Paradox, truth hierarchy, Da Vinci framework, mental models, first principles |
| RELATIONSHIPS | 21 | What I value in others, communication, vulnerability, decentralization |
| CONDUCT | 47 | Daily habits, attire, silence, privacy, cryptography, logic, code |
| PROFESSIONAL | 54 | Work, speed, failure, competition, mental models, investing |
| AVOID | 26 | Comparison, resentment, politics, social media, assumptions |
Each section opens with a highlighted CONCEPT → CONCEPT → CONCEPT block. Every principle has a hover-activated deep-link anchor. The ETHOS section features a custom Da Vinci banner graphic and the full 7-principle Da Vinci framework from Michael J. Gelb's How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci.
→ Browse principles as markdown
The resources page (resources.html) is mirrored as a standalone GitHub repository for discoverability in the open-source ecosystem:
→ awesome-polymathic-resource-stack
600+ hand-picked resources organized across:
- SOFTWARE — Privacy tools, security, crypto wallets, CLI, AI/LLMs, dev tools
- BOOKS — 150+ across Bitcoin, cypherpunk, hacking, business, philosophy, true crime
- MOVIES — Curated films worth your time
- PODCASTS — Signal over noise
- BOOKMARKS — The web's non-obvious bangers
--background: #1a1a1a /* Near-black */
--text: #ddc18a /* Warm tan / gold */
--accent: #ff3333 /* Red — links, headings, highlights */
--font: 'Sometype Mono', monospaceWhen everyone copyrights, copyleft.
This project is open source and available under the MIT License
- Sometype Mono — The only font this site will ever need
- GitHub Pages — Free static hosting that just works
- Cloudflare — DNS, CDN, and SSL done right
- Every philosopher, hacker, and contrarian who proved that independent thinking compounds
Chris Vrakas
- Website: chrisvrakas.com
- GitHub: @chrisvrakas
- X: @chris_vrakas
- Medium: @chrisvrakas
- PGP: freedom@chrisvrakas.com
- Zero external dependencies — no npm, no webpack, no build step
- Zero tracking — no Google Analytics, no cookies, no fingerprinting
- Zero JavaScript frameworks — vanilla all the way down
- 100% HTML — GitHub says so, and GitHub doesn't lie
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
— Heraclitus