Just to introduce myself. I am Howard Wolinsky, your friendly neighborhood blogger from Chicago. I recently left the Chicago Sun-Times, where I was a tech writer and before that a medical writer. I was among the first journos to cover the AIDS crisis and also among the first to cover the internet.

Check me out at GapersBlock, a popular Chicago blog run by Andrew Huff, a former student of mine at the University of Chicago.

I have long been a fan of internet communications—going back to the geeky "internet telephony" era—and have been a Skype user. As a part-time freelancer, I used Skype to cut my phone bills and to extend my reach for sources to Europe and beyond. Thank you, Skype.

Now as a full-time freelancer, I expect to do more with Skype. I will share my adventures on planet Skype and hope you will do the same.