About Me

My name is Matthew. Married with two kids, living in the suburbs of Dallas, TX. I’ve been blogging off and on since 2003, when friends amused by my stories — and methods of telling them — encouraged me to start writing them down to share. You can find my blog here.

I feel like I’ve been on the web. From 2001 to 2010, I was known as Spamboy, an old college nickname which persisted long beyond my academic years. I even snagged Spamboy.com and used it for my blog…until I discovered Spamboy.com used to redirect you to OlderLadies.com. And with that unknown bit of history came neverending issues with ISPs and corporate web filters blocking me.

In 2010, it was time to rebrand, ditching my potted-meat identity in favor of my birth name. Spamboy is dead — long live McgarityDotMe!

Wait, if you have a blog…why are you writing a newsletter?

Good question. The blog’s still around, and it has some great stories you should check out. It currently runs on WordPress, but it’s heavy in features & maintenance, so I’ve been in search of writing efficiencies for awhile.

In 2020, I (re-)discovered email newsletters, and many of my subscriptions are powered by Substack. As a product manager, I often examine web-based offerings thru the lens of my trade. So writing an occasional newsletter seemed a great opportunity to explore an exciting new product space, while scratching my itch to be more creative. So here we are!

Three months in, I enjoy the lightweight nature of the platform, but I am beginning to suspect the business model. More on that as I conduct my experiment.

What subjects will you write about?

Lots of things — there isn’t a single focus for this newsletter. Instead, it’s a dump of my mind, with hopes that it sparks something in others. Things I expect to write about include:

  • I like to talk about the media I consume, including books, podcasts, television, music, and websites.

  • In the past, I was a huge runner, and its lifestyle has gotten away from me. I’ll occasionally write about my journey back to an athlete.

  • I was also a big comic book collector, having once aspired to be an illustrator. I still read tons of graphic novels, sometimes with my son.

  • I’m a productivity nerd, geeking out over the latest to-do list or logging techniques. In lieu of new year’s resolutions, I usually pick month-long goals to see what sticks.

  • Lately, I’ve become something of a gamer, now that I own my first console (Nintendo Switch) in years. It’s fun to explore the genre with my kids, who each have their own approaches to video games (my daughter likes raising horses in Breath of the Wild, while the boy-unit is a big Kerbal Space Program nerd).

  • Speaking of electronics, I help beta-test some of my favorite iOS applications.

  • I also rediscovered an amateur passion for space. Ask me anything about the Apollo program, and I might know it.

  • As a former history major, I chronicle my own history through lots of journaling. I recently digitized all of my paper journals, so I have a two-decade-plus trove of life experience at my fingertips!

Stay up-to-date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

If you like what you read, feel free to pass this along to your network. I’m interested to see how far I go on the newsletter journey.

Subscribe to McGarityDotMe

Matthew's occasional musings on life, as he explores the world of newsletters. Subjects will include running, gaming, art, productivity, comic books, and journaling.

People

Father, husband, diarist, artist, and runner. Brother, can you spare an extra hour in the day?