My six month post-surgery colonoscopy Monday was clean. I'm saddened to read about the passing of James van der Beek today. Mine was "only" Stage 1, and hopefully I'm in a monitoring protocol for three years with no further treatments/procedures. Early detection can make a huge difference.

GOP: vOtiNg bY MAil iS eViL!!! TX GOP: well ... sorta ... unless we need votes Real text, received today. "Voting by mail is safe and secure."

Sorry, #FreelanceFriends, was up to my armpits pruning our peach tree with this break in the weather! In general, my flowchart: Less than my rate? I don't know how or can't do it? HIRE More than my rate? Specialized? Disaster if messed up? HIRE Adds to my skillset, or just plain fun, can do? DO IT

Market risk is too much right now. Just moved the retirement funds to 100% cash and CDs (and they all mature within 6 months). Yeah, it's going up this morning. But I'll sleep better.

A2: my focus is on who I'll do stuff for first, then what I might do, and it depends a lot on their context. More often than not prospects don't get through my price gate. But if the alignment is good, I might take on things I wouldn't generally offer. #FreelanceFriends

A1: went to "electronics and semiconductor firms" years ago to weed out stuff. Added "storytelling" to draw line that I don't do manuals. Less excited about books these days, they tie me up and are slow or no revenue - focusing on shorter projects that I can turn within a month. #FreelanceFriends

Hi, I'm Don, and I write for electronics and semiconductor firms. Thankfully back to work this month, one solution brief and one case study for a client in WIP. We're waiting for a hard freeze here in San Antonio, could be an icy weekend. #FreelanceFriends

KILL THE KILL ECHO THE ECHO ESPN ESPN

The #SABR Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Meeting last Saturday was fabulous, with highlights including Keith Moreland, authors Doug Kurkul and Rob Sheinkopf, member and town ball guy Dick Butler, minor league updates from the Express and the Missions, and more - read Gilbert Martinez's write-up.

Ok, laughed out loud at that Fox bump of "Somebody to Shove" on Eagles-49ers intro

shots of CES crowds on social are giving me convulsions

Is Ted Cruz at the Orange Bowl today? Tech looks absolutely feeble.

Christmas shopping years ago with my daughter at Target near our house in Chandler AZ. Turned a corner and ran head on into Kurt Warner and his wife with a cart full of toys. No entourage, just them. Made eye contact (we're the same height). I nodded. He nodded. And we both continued on our way.

Hard morning. He's not in his usual spot near the recliner, or in his favorite spot in the yard. When does the part that helps me know I made the right decision start?

When pet owners sign up, especially for a rescue pet, they have to take the entire ride - wherever it goes, for good or bad. Early morning of Christmas Eve, my wife took Hughie for his normal walk. On the way back home on the next street over, he got tangled in his leash.

Oh, Lord, help me with patience shopping for end tables and the Furniture Store Guy. FSG: Hi, our mattresses are on sale today! Me: We're looking for end tables. FSG: OK, look around, I won't follow you. [follows from a safe distance] [few minutes in] Me: [tapping on table] Hmmm, not wood.

A3: I'm a believer in TurboTax, it helps me find everything and I compare each new year to the previous year to make sure I caught everything. This year's gonna be a doozy with medical deductions, but as they say, better to have money in hand and pay fair tax liability. #FreelanceFriends

Hi, Don here from San Antonio, (not) writing for electronics and semiconductor firms right now, it's a bit slow - contract tied up in paperwork. But some other things are coming together - estate planning one of them. #FreelanceFriends

Ohio State with the IMMEDIATE cheap shot on the QB

PSA: personalized emails take time, true, but if you're selling high-value services, it's the only approach that works. #FreelanceFriends

Q: following up on last week that we ought to reach out to former clients more often - does that include clients that ghosted you? I'm tempted to ping the contact I had during my engagement, but he might just send me back to the new guy who ghosted me (new funding, new org chart). #FreelanceFriends

Heh, I checked that Amazon box that says something to the effect of "we can save gas if we deliver these two items on the same day" - bzzzzt, my new speakers are not on the truck with the cable ties, at least according to the order status. #FreelanceFriends

Hi, I'm Don. No snow here in San Antonio, in fact, our late rye grass overseeding is sprouting in the back yard. Watching my LinkedIn timeline get overtaken by AI, lol. Not much electronics or semiconductor writing work in the queue right now, thankful for a bit of downtime. #FreelanceFriends

Just watched "2000 Meters to Andriivka" on @pbs.org Frontline. Wow.

Win ... I have two spirtual advisors, technical experts, at the client. When they make comments, they are serious, either it didn't read right or the facts or details are off. Took their comments seriously, fixed all, rev approved instantly. Not all their SMEs are like that ... #FreelanceFriends

A4) not really, but I have the endgame setup ... biz website, biz email, biz bank account, and biz credit card, and they will all get shuttered within a month of retirement. I get soooooooo much spam because I look like an agency (by design, never pushed that button). #FreelanceFriends

Good point there: at the end, if it's done, you may need to remind the client to revoke your access to anything like shared folders, content management systems, whatever. For mutual protection. #FreelanceFriends

A3) First of all, unless they absolutely disconnect, make superhuman efforts to finish everything you've committed to - do not leave projects hanging. The key there is don't overcommit. If you're leaving on good terms, ask for a LinkedIn recommendation, and reciprocate. #FreelanceFriends

A2) every client I've ever worked has a folder in my Google Drive (not shared), in case of disaster or for archive purposes. WIP submits are also in my Gmail sent folder. Not perfect but works pretty well. #FreelanceFriends

Yeah, a weekly or bi-weekly check-in throughout the engagement with the contact, rather than just adhoc when submitting WIP, can go a long way to smoothing out the ramp down. #FreelanceFriends

A1a) might be reading ahead, I'm in limbo right now, client's fiscal year end was Oct 31, new SOW coming but I've learned the client now has all budgets on hold, so ... we're here. Also turned down a book ghostwrite opportunity, just can't commit months to one project. #FreelanceFriends

A1) let's see ... probably wing it ... first thing is getting the project list tighter starting a couple months ahead, not accepting new stuff from them, being specific on drafts/reviews/revision times, and wrapping up invoice at least two weeks ahead of end #FreelanceFriends

Hi, I'm Don, in the wilderness 30 min north of San Antonio, and I write - mostly about electronics, semiconductors, and AI, but also a bit about baseball - SABR bio on a player on the 1994 Expos in WIP right now. #FreelanceFriends

Ummmm, this is not a good thing, unless you happen to be a billionaire industrialist.

Wait, did the justice just assert that yes, it might be illegal, but since cleaning it up is a bigger mess, we're gonna have to let it go?

Listening to SCOTUS conjures up the term "word weaseling"

Wonder how the polling place worker who told me that the guy in line was OK wearing that Trump hat because "he's not on the ballot" (in TX) is doing tonight? He invited me to file a complaint with the TX Sec of State, so I did, via voicemail, and I'm debating following up with a letter.

Local Fox affiliate in San Antonio just jammed in (and aborted) 8 commercials during the Springer AB.

"We, who have so much To you who have so little To you who don't have anything at all We, who have so much More than any one man does need And you, who don't have anything at all, ah ..." -- Lou Reed

Ohhhhh, the dreaded 3rd-out-at-3rd TOOTBLAN

A3: Probably nowhere near often enough. Things change. The conditions when they left often disappear after a couple years. Conditions here at my desk, not so much. I tend to do that ping on LinkedIn, however, make it a bit softer and more focused on them. #FreelanceFriends

A2b: I also got a recent request for on-cadence work, and I didn't take it. Again, that's based on this point in my journey. Cadence work tends to mess up my project work for other clients. I have one client that is more on-demand stuff and that's enough. #FreelanceFriends

A2a) I'm booked at least a month in advance, and it makes for difficult convos sometimes because people reach out assuming I'm instantly available and then move on, but nonetheless I explain that constraint - it's not fair to take their biz then back burner it. #FreelanceFriends

A2: Negotiate every client/project. While I'd like everything to be project-based billing, the reality is they want to know what an hour costs, and I tell them to put a stake in the ground, then explain my model (what I bill for, what I don't, what's included, what's not). #FreelanceFriends

A1: Free (as in unpaid), absolutely not at this stage of my journey. I got taken advantage of once when I was starting out and learned that "exposure" is a fairytale. Never tried LOIs. Cold emails don't work for sure. I think it would depend on who I would approach and why. #FreelanceFriends

Let's see, no feedback on client drafts yet, one SABR BioProject draft to work on, but, yeah, time today for #FreelanceFriends - I'm Don, and I write about electronics and semiconductor technology.

Look at the plus side: now we'll see that Ontario-quoting-Reagan-on-tariffs commercial for at least four nights starting Friday.

PSA: "Sugar Town" is about LSD.

Claverack, NY

Ok, these TCU uniforms are freaking me out. From some angles the numerals are grey, another angle they are bright white, and another angle they're pink.