Why I'm Moving to Substack
TODAY’S RAMBLINGS
3 Minute Read
(For the record, I love the Tim Walz pick. In the words of The Bear's Mikey: Let It Rip. Listen to this if you'd like to hear directly from Governor Walz. Let's just say Harris/Walz is an m-f'ing STARK contrast with Trump/Vance. Which ticket's future do you want for the USA? Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.)
This is going to take more than 10 Seconds of Seriousness.
I was in a fog when I started this blog in March of 2021. I still hadn't reconciled what had happened at TEECOM, nor understood how permanent it all would be.
So from its inception, this blog has first and foremost been therapy for me - putting a whole lot of shit out there in a valiant somewhat pitiful attempt at righting myself and remaining relevant.
And it worked, and something funny happened along the way: I fell in love with writing, and enough people have given me positive feedback that I kept going. It's been over 3 years now, with almost 600 posts published.
And it wasn't until I foisted this shit show upon you that I came to understand flow. I lose myself in writing to the point where 15, 30 and even 60 minutes go by and I don't notice.
That means something once you've accepted retirement. There's a lot of time to fill.
But I thought I'd be filling it with 1) model railroading, and 2) golf. I am not, and I have had every single opportunity to indulge in both.
But I haven't. I sit on a couch and write this and my long pieces instead. Well, and walk 5 miles every day at dawn in The Presidio, volunteer, read a lot of books, and listen to a lot of music, but I digress.
So yes, Byron Browne IV, I am finally getting to my point.
I’m going to attempt to expand the audience for Portico Darwin, and I’ve chosen Substack as my platform for doing so.
Some important notes:
There are no changes to anything, for now, in terms of receiving this - it will come from my hey.com address for a while longer
But I am now also posting what I write at Substack, at porticodarwin.substack.com
In late September, however, I will only be posting there
And this post will look like this instead
As a current blog recipient, you will get a free lifetime subscription to this at Substack, so in other words: No, I am not crazy enough to ask you to pay to see this shit
Indeed, anybody can read what I write for free, probably forever; the subscription (which are really donations) is an option for those who feel like kicking in a few bucks - but I expect exactly nothing
Will this go anywhere? Very, very doubtful. But I sincerely enjoy writing, and I am also trying to up my game. But while I write because I want to, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be happier getting more attention.
There’s a shocker.
And Substack can help me do that. Or at least more than what Hey World has been doing in that regard (which is zero).
But I also see this as a helpful offramp for those tired of deleting my thrice-weekly missives. As above, soon I’ll be publishing only on Substack, so if you unsubscribe there, you can put the Portico Darwin era completely behind you.
But I'm still at my old email address - you just won't get my blog posts from there any longer, only a reminder that I've posted at Substack. And you don't have to even get those if you unsubscribe at Substack.
That’s what drove this in the first place: I enjoy the positive feedback I’ve gotten and still get about my writing. But I honestly don’t know if people have grown tired of the whole thing, and that is NOT me asking for pats on the back or a trophy or even a reply to today's post.
When I complete the move, it is your chance to dump this never-ending stream of consciousness or whatever it is. You won't even have to delete these emails without reading them, because you won't get them at all.
Or, ideally, you'll stick around for free at Substack. And those so motivated can buy me a beer by paying for a subscription. Regardless, the facts are these:
I love to write; any audience is a gift.
FROM THE UNWASHED MASSES
A comment from an anonymous reader is perfect for today.
Congrats, Portico, on your decision to register for a writing class at College of Marin. I like your writing style, but hey, there is room for improvement for just about anyone.
Correct, and I have this as motivation; great book, BTW.
KLUF
One thing I love about Substack as a platform is that it has far more capabilities in terms of handling media. It's like I moved my imaginary radio station KLUF into a new imaginary studio.
This is what I mean: here is Sheryl Crow and her excellent eponymous album from way, way back in 1996. A Change Will Do You Good, indeed.