Don Dingee
@dondingee.bsky.social
Freelance technology writer, SABR member Rogers Hornsby Chapter (ATX/SATX), traded "tools of ignorance" for college textbooks, dad of rescue Great Pyr, steely-eyed missile man (model rockets nowadays), INTJ, allergic to poison ivy | #WeAreCPP #USCViterbi
Pinned
"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
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
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?
November 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM
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"
November 5, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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.
November 5, 2025 at 2:46 AM
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.
November 2, 2025 at 4:00 AM
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
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
November 1, 2025 at 9:21 PM
"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
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
October 25, 2025 at 1:02 AM
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
October 23, 2025 at 4:42 PM
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
October 23, 2025 at 4:37 PM
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
October 23, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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
October 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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
Never tried LOIs. Cold emails don't work for sure. I think it would depend on who I would approach and why.
#FreelanceFriends
October 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
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.
October 23, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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.
October 21, 2025 at 3:02 AM
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.
October 21, 2025 at 1:10 AM
PSA: "Sugar Town" is about LSD.
Claverack, NY
What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?
October 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
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.
October 5, 2025 at 1:10 AM
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.
A whole lot of terrible swings against Schlittler tonight
October 3, 2025 at 2:11 AM
A whole lot of terrible swings against Schlittler tonight
Seething right now. All I can say is hopefully, President Oaks will get this church off the sidelines and stop being spectators to all of this.
September 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Seething right now. All I can say is hopefully, President Oaks will get this church off the sidelines and stop being spectators to all of this.
Jimmy Kimmel could do the funniest thing tomorrow night by saying the entire hour is sponsored by Tylenol.
September 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Jimmy Kimmel could do the funniest thing tomorrow night by saying the entire hour is sponsored by Tylenol.
Well, I gotta go mail the 3Q estimated taxes, deadline is Monday folks. Good chatting with everyone and thanks for hosting, Angela. #FreelanceFriends
September 11, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Well, I gotta go mail the 3Q estimated taxes, deadline is Monday folks. Good chatting with everyone and thanks for hosting, Angela. #FreelanceFriends
A2: The risk of being seen as tone-deaf is enormous when proceeding as usual. It's always easy to tell who is using scheduled posts when something big happens. A pause, perhaps a well-thought-out post acknowledging the crisis, is probably best unless your biz is directly impacted. #FreelanceFriends
September 11, 2025 at 4:27 PM
A2: The risk of being seen as tone-deaf is enormous when proceeding as usual. It's always easy to tell who is using scheduled posts when something big happens. A pause, perhaps a well-thought-out post acknowledging the crisis, is probably best unless your biz is directly impacted. #FreelanceFriends
A1: Not forgetting, but not letting it crush everything else is a fine line to walk. The answer is personal for each of us, and much harder for families and friends who lost a loved one (or are still losing them to after effects). #FreelanceFriends
September 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
A1: Not forgetting, but not letting it crush everything else is a fine line to walk. The answer is personal for each of us, and much harder for families and friends who lost a loved one (or are still losing them to after effects). #FreelanceFriends
I'm Don, a freelance writer for electronics and semiconductor firms, living just north of San Antonio. I'm also the membership coordinator for our local chapter of SABR, the "baseball guys" (and gals).
#FreelanceFriends
#FreelanceFriends
September 11, 2025 at 4:07 PM
I'm Don, a freelance writer for electronics and semiconductor firms, living just north of San Antonio. I'm also the membership coordinator for our local chapter of SABR, the "baseball guys" (and gals).
#FreelanceFriends
#FreelanceFriends
A3) ooooh, it's storytime, an old article called "Leave It At the Stream." A thread ...
Two monks are walking a dirt road headed to town. By the side of a stream along the road, they find a young woman, in a wedding dress, crying.
What's wrong? "I'm late for my wedding."
#FreelanceFriends
Two monks are walking a dirt road headed to town. By the side of a stream along the road, they find a young woman, in a wedding dress, crying.
What's wrong? "I'm late for my wedding."
#FreelanceFriends
August 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
A3) ooooh, it's storytime, an old article called "Leave It At the Stream." A thread ...
Two monks are walking a dirt road headed to town. By the side of a stream along the road, they find a young woman, in a wedding dress, crying.
What's wrong? "I'm late for my wedding."
#FreelanceFriends
Two monks are walking a dirt road headed to town. By the side of a stream along the road, they find a young woman, in a wedding dress, crying.
What's wrong? "I'm late for my wedding."
#FreelanceFriends
A2) Well, there's the "five people" test ... if you meet one disagreeable person, it's them; if you meet five, it's you. Pull back and reask why you are in this situation, and is it something you can change, or do you need to change? And always, always sleep on the answer. #FreelanceFriends
August 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
A2) Well, there's the "five people" test ... if you meet one disagreeable person, it's them; if you meet five, it's you. Pull back and reask why you are in this situation, and is it something you can change, or do you need to change? And always, always sleep on the answer. #FreelanceFriends