a unique perspective, served up regularly
why i'm diving whole-heartedly into this paid newsletter business
Welcome to my newsletter, where I’m going to be posting regular updates on the state of the world from my own unique perspective. I’m assuming that you know who I am and what that perspective is, because otherwise you wouldn’t be here. But for the record, here is a synopsis.
I’m a 46 year old American expat living in Colima, an off-the-beaten-path city near the Pacific coast of Mexico. I’ve done custom software development consulting for 25 years, and been a serial entrepreneur for 10 years. Highlights include founding a school that’s training 100 thousand young Africans to be world-class engineers, and right now I’m partner in the best web design & development shop in Mexico. Plus I’ve published some well-regarded books along the way, including the best-selling Rails Way series.
I’ve been an unapologetic PLUR raver as long as that’s been a thing, and consumed enough party drugs to kill a herd of elephants. Burning Man many times since 2007, and heavily involved in electronic music as a DJ and producer way longer than that. A few years ago I semi-retired from tech and in order to take my music career seriously and you can hear the results of that if you look me up on Spotify.
I’m married (second-time) and have a total of 3 kids. My oldest are in their early 20s and will be graduating Georgia Tech soon. The other one is a 12 year old boy with ADHD that my wife and I are attempting to unschool. He’s creative & lovable, and also quite often a pain in the ass. I write about the challenges of unschooling on a regular basis.
What else? I’m vegetarian, mostly. My spirituality leans Zen and my politics lean liberal-tarian. This latter stance is not fashionable, which is why I’ve lost interest in Twitter where people tend to identify me as a straight, cis-gendered white male. I’m actually openly bisexual, somewhat brown, and somewhat queer depending on how drunk I am. I was born into a working-class latino family in New Jersey and have had to hustle for everything I got. In other words, some privilege, but not nearly enough to feel guilty about it.
I only expect you to sign up for this thing if you’re a true fan or friend and have been following me online for awhile. I know you’re out there, numbering at least a few hundred and possibly a few thousand. And why am I charging money? Frankly, I need it. The pandemic knocked out my main source of income and while my ventures make me some passive income, I ain’t nowhere near rich. Every extra dollar that comes in at this point means more time for writing and music, my two sole passions.
As I ramp up my communications on here, my publishing on other online channels will diminish. I’m getting older, and starting to just not give a fuck about being liked by everyone. I want to get called out for my bullshit when and if I need to be, but not by a random Twitter mob.
Sign up now so you don’t miss the first issue.
In the meantime, tell your friends!