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Ruminations is where I share works in progress. Please follow the pointers below to learn more about me and the stories you’ll find on these pages. Thank you for visiting. Please return and tell a friend.
Who is Tom Abate and what does he write about?
Stories and commentary based on research, interviews, and observations.
Satire, fiction, humor, and advice from the Dead Blogger’s Society.
Experiences and events that formed my character and inform my work and beliefs.
Essays, Journalism, Whimsy, and Reflections
from a writer rebelling against the cloud.
I’m Tom Abate. I hope you’ll find my Ruminations useful, informative and, at times, entertaining. The site is a work in progress.
To share an idea or make a comment,
please use the contact box to the left.
I learned people skills and the value of a buck by peddling fruit and waiting tables in Brooklyn. I acquired the habits and friendships of a lifetime as a sailor about U.S. Navy ship in the Far East.
I co-founded a typography shop that pioneered a technology to make small book publishers more competitive. I also co-founded and sold a community newspaper then reinvented myself as a reporter for a big-city daily paper.
I was Silicon Valley reporter and columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle, covered the economics beat during the Great Recession, and was an online editor for the Patch network of hyperlocal websites.
From the internet to biotechnology, and from artificial intelligence to COVID, I make complex issues, ideas, and industries easy to understand, with articles accessible to opinion leaders and the public.
Since 2005, my introductory journalism classes have helped college graduates, foreign exchange students, and adult career-changers learn how to tell stories for traditional news outlets and to promote small businesses.
Experienced in print, web, radio, and video communications; teaching college level journalism; and understanding the consequences of deploying pervasive technologies.
Explained scientific discoveries in plain English; sought mass media coverage of notable achievements; and supported the school’s fundraising efforts.
The Patch network of local websites combined a small-town newspaper ethos with the interactivity made possible by web, mobile and social media
Briefly returned as editor of the community newspaper co-founded and sold in 1989.
Silicon Valley columnist; covered technology, biotechnology, and the Human Genome Race; economics reporter during Great Recession; twice nominated for Pulitzer Prize.
Hired as a science writer, I wrote about an earthquake on day one; covered the emergence of the World Wide Web, the dotcom boom and the rise of the global economy.
Worked through Columbia Journalism School by doing market research projects and writing articles for newspapers and magazines.
In partnership with wife, started and sold an alternative monthly newspaper before returning to New York to earn a masters at Columbia Journalism School.
Published magazine articles and columns, and covered computing, transportation, raw materials, and other industries for the investment firm, RCM Capital Management.
In partnership with wife, established Pioneer Graphics, the first pre-press shop to use a labor-saving interface to enable typesetting equipment to “read” electronic manuscripts.
As the student-run daily verged on bankruptcy, hired the business manager who led the financial turnaround, and personally broke a story on the H-bomb secret.
Ran closed-circuit television and radio stations aboard a ship in the Far East. Volunteered for active duty and attained the rank of petty officer second class.
Teach feature writing and introductory journalism to adult learners.
Taught journalism and moderated a student-run newspaper.
Specialized in science writing and won a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship
Minored in Mandarin, and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
This joint-forces program trained military journalists in print and broadcast techniques.
This Jesuit institution offers scholarships to boys chosen through a competitive exam.
Copyright 2023 Tom Abate