I am beyond honored that crack Twin Cities public-relations operative Arik Hanson included my 2012 Ignite Minneapolis talk (shown here) in his list of seven all-time favorites.
As I note in the post’s comments:
One thing you should know about me: I’m a loud, profane Puerto Rican.
As a Puerto Rican in Minnesota, I have complicated feelings about winter.
I hate the never-ending cold, but I gamely do battle with King Boreas every day, and have moments of exhilaration — like when I am attacking snowdrifts with an electric snowblower.
In recent weeks, I have written a couple of times in the Pioneer Press about my trials with winter. More …
For this Puerto Rican, living in Minnesota can be a trying experience.
Oh, summers are just fine, especially when deliciously wet, Caribbean-like air slaps me in the face. (Once, when I was visiting friends in San Juan, the weather was hotter and more humid in St. Paul, which sounds crazy but is not uncommon.)
Minnesota winters, though? I have been in the Twin Cities for three decades now, and I still have my “dear God, what have I done?” More …
My parents made Christmas magical for my siblings and me, generously showering us during our Puerto Rico childhoods with thoughtful gifts, for which I’ll always be appreciative and grateful.
Sometime during my pre-teen period, though, I grew weary of the materialism and issued a good-natured edict to Mom and Dad: If you want to give me something for Christmas, make it a book, just one hardcover book, nothing more. More …
As a palm tree-worshipping Puerto Rican, I am not crazy about Minnesota winters … but this bitter season does sometimes trigger fond memories.
It was during a deep-freeze January that my wife, son and I moved into our current St. Paul home, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of our lives.
“That was five years ago, right?” More …
My wife, like many in South America, grew up dancing – everything from salsa and cumbia to dance variants from a certain gringo continent to the north.
When she was a little girl, she began dancing the twist at a party and made such an impression that adults gathered in a circle around her to dance with her and cheer her on. More …
When I was Puerto Rican kid and obsessively devoted to my collection of science-fiction novels, I would create paper bookplates with my personal details along with drawings of zooming spaceships, planetary panoramas and the like.
I carefully attached the ex libris slips to the insides of the books’ front covers, and I felt a swelling of geeky pride at having enhanced my beloved library so. More …
I have many geeky passions, but my favorites are Star Trek and Superman.
At work, I have a Klingon-warrior action figure alongside a Man of Steel statue. On my home-office walls, I have one framed Time cover of James Tiberius Kirk and Jean-luc Picard, and another depicting Superman in commemoration of the the character’s 50th anniversary.
Yep, these are my nerd essentials. More …
A friend at work who is aware of my Puerto Rican background surprised me today with the gift of this jacket, which I promptly put on display in a place of honor near my desk at work. More …
As a Puerto Rican or boricua transplanted decades ago to St. Paul, Minn., I still have my “dear God, what have I done” moments when the weather is coldest.
Ah, but I love it here. My wife and I live in a fine house, in a great part of the city, with neighbors we have come to adore. When the weather is warm, we sit on our front porch for hours, wave hello to friends who pass by, and feel fortunate, indeed. More …
After smartphones across the Twin Cities screeched with an AMBER alert regarding a kidnapped child, Fox 9 News interviewed me about the federal Wireless Emergency Alert system that makes this possible.
See related info here and here.
Fox 9’s Iris Pérez is a fellow Puerto Rican, by the way. #wepa
Today's Joy of Tech comic!
