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.
Minnesota winters can be fun, too. I’ve learned how to snowboard, which is a blast. And, after every blizzard, you’ll find me with my electric snowblower clearing sidewalks and driveways in a roughly four-block radius as part of an informal, pro-bono neighborhood snow-removal brigade. This, too, is a hoot.
Professionally? I’m a journalist. Always have been. As a schoolboy, I began writing for “La Flama,” the cute little student paper at my Colegio Espíritu Santo parochial school in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, and I have never stopped being a newspaperman.
Today, I wear a variety of journalism hats.
My day job at the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper is a tasty gumbo of website minding, digital production and social-media management. I’m on the newsroom’s “online team” and I’m never, ever bored. I also sporadically write for the paper (typically about tech).
In my spare time, I’m a “contributing editor” (as in regular contributor with a masthead mention) at TidBITS, the venerable Apple-enthusiast site. It’s a dream job — and, yes, I treat it like a job, not a freelancing side hustle.
As an author, I have several books about consumer technology, business tech and mobile productivity under my belt. I have a couple of other book projects in mind, but nothing concrete to announce just yet.
My writing has appeared in a variety of print and online outlets, including The Magazine, Macworld.com, Mpls.St. Paul Magazine, MSP-C and the San Jose Mercury News.
I make occasional appearances on local and national television-news broadcasts, radio shows and tech podcasts.
I speak with some regularity about journalism, technology and social media (and how the three intersect).
I am a nerd in the sci-fi-fan and tech-enthusiast definitions of the word. My passions include reading, bicycling, merengue music, my hawt wife, and brewing a perfect cup of café — Watch me rave below about my favorite coffee maker (warning: f-bombs):
Photo credit: Ben Garvin
