What could go wrong with this plan? That is a dangerous question. From: http://coyote.works/posts/ServiceLaunch20200211/ --

I hinted previously that I would launch this and that there were ironic reasons for doing so. It is best that I explain myself. Explanations generally make things clearer.

There was a push for Erie Looking Productions to return to producing at least general programming. Now that I am no longer a federal civil servant the restrictions that held me back for six years from doing so are off. The problem is that the current studio space suffered physical damage. The audio equipment and the recording computer are fine and secured but the physical space is not usable. We don’t have a fallback space at this time nor do we have the economic means to procure one. Repairs to the physical space were supposed to be done this month but I have not heard much about the status of that lately.

I am also dealing with some long-term recovery from some surgery that was done. While I can talk to people it can sound slightly garbled at times. The last check-in at the doctor’s office didn’t show me breaking any speed records to be able to move ahead in matters so I am stuck with “slow and steady” for the time being. That is going to possibly not be fixed properly until some point in April.

While I know the folks behind the Ubuntu Podcast are planning to return to air shortly I will instead be taking a different path. The current hotness appears to be launching your own newsletter such as this technology one. Since podcasting is not feasible at the moment the reformatting of content to a strictly textual form seem like the simplest way forward for now.

I could operate an announce-only mailman list on a minimal Ubuntu 19.10 droplet on Digital Ocean. However, my current economic circumstances have instead pushed me over to trying to utilize tinyletter.com instead. To quote the 13th & 21st US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, in an apt manner: “As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

The newsletter is entitled “The Interim Edgewood Stratagem”. Release frequency should be once weekly but I haven’t settled a firm day yet but it would likely be out on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday each week. We’ll see how it develops. I am pretty sure we are not initially going to dive into unknown unknowns if we can help it.

Twice a month there is the chance that the text of my sermon presented on Sunday morning at the nursing home may be presented that week. Initially the first release would be in fact the text of my sermon from Sunday. That is planned to go out later in the day on February 12th.

The first regular essay would go out during the week of February 16th. In that essay I want to get to would be to talk about a bit of an unresolved mystery case involving a Pacific island nation suffering an Internet blackout. Style-wise this wouldn’t be Darknet Diaries but rather something a bit different. After the Pacific jaunt would hopefully be an essay on the changing business regulation climate in the US that may not help folks in the open source world who “hang their own shingle” to work as independent contractors. Once through that we would see where stories go. I do know I do not want to talk about the presidential primary campaigns if at all possible as nothing productive comes out of worrying about them while other craziness is in play.

You can sign up at the subscribe page for free. Support is welcomed though not required through avenues such as Liberapay. If you just want to drop in a quarter via PayPal or maybe just two cents that is doable as well. The shopping wishlist for replacement gear also still exists as I watch equipment fail and otherwise decay.

This is an adventure that I am nervous about starting. Once upon a time I was a working journalist who was routinely published in print, no less. The media landscape isn’t the same these days but this will likely feel like getting back on a bicycle to ride again after a long time away.

To quote a commercial that aired quite a bit a few years ago: “Let me tell you a story…”