I promised myself I wouldn't stoop to such self-adulatory prose as a description of myself. Unfortuately, I have had the nasty habit of breaking promises to myself. At any rate, I have decided to say a little about myself, in case anyone out there on ARPA-Net... oh, sorry... on the web... cares. So without further ado, a wee bit about the author.

My name is Dan. I'm 27, soon to be 28, and I am what you might call a lazy workaholic. Perhaps some of this stems from this latent perfectionism. I know that if I start something, I can't end unless it is as perfect as is humanly possible. So I refrain from too much for fear of whatever new endeavor consuming all of my energies. Perhaps I am also slightly obsessive/compulsive... ok, moderately. Anyway, I own my own business. Surprisingly, my political views are at complete odds with my vocation; the strange paradoxical juxtaposition of the need to provide for one's financial needs against the need to be true to one's personal set of values and mores.
See, I happen to be a strange amalgam of populist and elitist, autocrat and democrat, religious adherant and skeptic, cynic and idealist, realist and activist... a lot of this stems from the way in which my views were brought into stark relief by an truly opposing perspective on the world around me while among the cold Prussian efficiency of Berlin, Germany. A lot of it comes from my desire to maintain some sort of continuity with my childhood and my past. And yet some comes from a deep-rooted sense of fair play that was instilled in me by my wonderful parents.
If this seems to be the rambling musings of some disaffected ex-member of the intelligensia, you would be correct. However, as will become clearer in the future, when I am more capable of holding my ego in check and am able to refrain from talking about myself, I truly hope to contribute something to the overriding discourse of our political system. In the meantime, if any of you out there who have been so kind as to read my thoughts would induldge me just a bit longer so that I may gain my "sea legs" as it relates to blogging, I would greatly appreciate the gesture. Feel free to comment, complain, bitch, moan, commiserate, etc. My hopes are that someday I will have the time and motivation to write my own book. This is to be the testing ground for some of my material, as well as a place through which I can air my own dirty laundry. So thank you, in advance. It will prove to undoubtedly be a long, difficult and tedious journey for all involved.

Dan