My name is Matthew McGarity. I’ve been blogging off and on since 2003, when friends of mine amused by my stories — and the method of telling them — encouraged me to start writing them down to share.
Even before I was blogging, I’ve been on the web. From 2001 to 2010, I hosted my personal website at Spamboy.com. It was an old college nickname which had persisted long beyond my academic years. I thought I was lucky enough to snag the URL when I did. It wasn’t until months later that 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, even though the raciest things ever said on my website involved exploding goats and maybe the occasional nipple ring (more on these subjects later).
In 2010, I decided to revise my personal brand, ditching my Spamboy identity and going with my own name. Spamboy is dead — long live McgarityDotMe!
The Art of WordPress
I’m an active member of my local WordPress Meetup group, past organizer of WordCamp Dallas, lead organizer of OpenCamp, the first multi-platform web conference. In my sparse spare time, I work on WordPress-related projects for friends and clients. Everything I’ll ever write about these subjects will be collected in my WordPress Category.
If you have a WordPress need, let me know the details and perhaps I can help.
The Sport of Running
In addition to WordPress, I am a running coach with Luke’s Locker in Plano. I’ve participated in the program for years, and it has helped me achieve three full marathons and eight half- marathons (so far). It has also led to some amazing friendships since I started running in 2002, and coaching is one of the ways I give back to my community of fellow athletes. Expect to hear a lot about running on this website under the category Running. If you have any running-related questions, give me a shout!
The Zen of Family
Most importantly, I’m also a father and a husband, to my son Zachary and my wife Jenn. There is never a day when I don’t look at the two of them and think they’re the most-amazing creatures on this planet. Jenn is an accomplished visual artist and stay-at-home mother, living the glamorous life of mom’s-days-out, hanging with the girls, and smoking it on Adobe Photoshop. Zachary is a never-ending source of amusement whose mere presence makes everyone around him smile, especially when he dances (ask him to do so, next time you see him. You will not regret it.
The best source for J-Z-P news is our family blog at Mattifer.net.
Flotsam
Finally, some of my random interests and talents:
- I am a visual artist, although I am quite out of practice.
- I rarely read fiction, preferring to devour various histories and political science texts.
- I am intensely creeped out by insects, especially grasshoppers and others who seem to have little control over their bodies. On the flip side, spiders do not bother me.
- I’m sure it’s awaiting diagnosis, but I’m sure that I have obsessive-compulsive disorder of some degree.
- I can cook. And so can you!
- I have countless aliases in addition to Spamboy and Matthew, including but not limited to:
- Mattie
- M.M.C.
- Sasquatch
- McGarity! (with feeling)
- Dada
- Blue Monkey Ass
- Matthew McGarrulous
More as I think about it.