The First Post

Today marks the start of my blogging career. No, this is not my full time gig, it's just a part time passion of mine. I'm a very opinionated person and I often find myself in the middle of heated debates and thought provoking conversations with friends and so I decided to channel that energy into my own personal blog. My interests span several areas including US politics and foreign policy, military affairs, and public policy in my hometown, Oakland, CA. Having been a co-founder of a social finance start-up, VestMatch.com, I do not consider myself to be a social media novice but this is indeed my first foray into the blogosphere. I'm an avid reader and consumer of news from various sources including blogs, but I've always considered personal blogs to be something of a platform for individuals looking for attention and suffering from a case of self importance. After all, who really cares what one thinks about certain issues?

The catalyst that pushed me to launch this blog is really the historical events that we are witnessing everyday in this country. From the economic meltdown to security matters facing the United States, to the escalation of crime in urban areas like Oakland, there is no shortage of crises' facing Americans in the 21st century. My goal is to share my thoughts, ideas and recommendations about these areas that I find to be interesting. I hope that my approach to explaining these issues helps the reader understand them better and as a result, help them form their own opinions. I encourage readers to respond and comment no matter what their political leanings happen to be. In fact, I hope that my comments and posts are so thought provoking that they elicit replies from opposing viewpoints.

What do I hope to accomplish by launching this blog? Well, I have a unique background having worked on Wall Street for firms like Lehman Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney and the NYSE Euronext. I've also experienced the life of an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. On top of that, I'm a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserves with a deployment to Iraq and Kuwait under my belt. You add my Puerto Rican and Mexican ethnicity into the mix and it creates a different perspective that is not always represented in the mainstream media. My background does not make me an expert in these areas, but it does provide the ingredients for a spicy conversation and debate. The challenge and question that I ask myself is will anyone visit and read my blog? More importantly, will they even care what I have to say? Time will tell!

Today marks the start of my blogging career. No, this is not my full time gig, it's just a part time passion of mine. I'm a very opinionated person and I often find myself in the middle of heated debates and thought provoking conversations with friends and so I decided to channel that energy into my own personal blog. My interests span several areas including US politics and foreign policy, military affairs, and public policy in my hometown, Oakland, CA. Having been a co-founder of a social finance start-up, VestMatch.com, I do not consider myself to be a social media novice but this is indeed my first foray into the blogosphere. I'm an avid reader and consumer of news from various sources including blogs, but I've always considered personal blogs to be something of a platform for individuals looking for attention and suffering from a case of self importance. After all, who really cares what one thinks about certain issues?

The catalyst that pushed me to launch this blog is really the historical events that we are witnessing everyday in this country. From the economic meltdown to security matters facing the United States, to the escalation of crime in urban areas like Oakland, there is no shortage of crises' facing Americans in the 21st century. My goal is to share my thoughts, ideas and recommendations about these areas that I find to be interesting. I hope that my approach to explaining these issues helps the reader understand them better and as a result, help them form their own opinions. I encourage readers to respond and comment no matter what their political leanings happen to be. In fact, I hope that my comments and posts are so thought provoking that they elicit replies from opposing viewpoints.

What do I hope to accomplish by launching this blog? Well, I have a unique background having worked on Wall Street for firms like Lehman Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney and the NYSE Euronext. I've also experienced the life of an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. On top of that, I'm a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserves with a deployment to Iraq and Kuwait under my belt. You add my Puerto Rican and Mexican ethnicity into the mix and it creates a different perspective that is not always represented in the mainstream media. My background does not make me an expert in these areas, but it does provide the ingredients for a spicy conversation and debate. The challenge and question that I ask myself is will anyone visit and read my blog? More importantly, will they even care what I have to say? Time will tell!

Comments

[jc]

Welcome to the blogosphere. Looking forward to hearing some of your ideas on how to get Oakland back on track. It's starting to look like an Iraq hotzone in the east bay.

[Wanda]

Hey, Tim -

Okay, I AM IMPRESSED!! I have bookmarked this blog and will actually include it in my research for topics for the talkshows that I produce.

NICE JOB...

Wanda

[Dan Ibarra]

Congratulations on the blog. This is the perfect forum for you. I was surprised to find that its actually kind of "fair and balanced."