I'm a 36 year old (as of this entry) husband/father of 2, a stationary engineer for the Detroit Public Schools, and a huge geek/hockey fan/music (punk and alternative, but I listen to a lot of stuff outside of those genres) fan. Born and raised in Detroit, my family and I live outside of Detroit now.

Steve Yzerman, Timothy Zahn, George Lucas, George R.R. Martin, Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Billie Joe Armstrong, Justin Sullivan, Michael A. Stackpole, Nicklas Lidstrom, John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and if I could go back in time, JRR Tolkien and Isaac Asimov.

Playing Hockey (not nearly often enough), playing music with my friends, playing D&D; (again, not nearly often enough), eating good food, going to concerts, building things, traveling to far (and not so far) away places, playing video games, reading, drawing and being amazed by how kids can make you mad and want to hug them at the same time.

I'm a big hockey fan (Detroit Red Wings), I love music (listening and playing) and I'm a fan of science fiction and fantasy fiction books. My wife and my kids take up most of my time, and that's a good thing, because they are great. My wife and I like to travel, and our kids are great little travelers, with my oldest (John), having been as far east as Dublin, Ireland, and as far west as the Na Pali cliffs on Kauai, Hawaii. My little girl (Isobel) wasn't born for Ireland, but she was swimming in the Pacific in Hawaii.

New Model Army, the Cure, Rancid, Green Day, Reverend Horton Heat, Brian Setzer, The Damned, Bad Religion, NOFX, Bombshell Rocks, The Cult, ACDC, 7 Seconds, Avail, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Bauhaus, the Sisters of Mercy, Beastie Boys, Bob Marley, Bouncing Souls, The Clash, Subhumans, Cocteau Twins, Dead Kennedy's, Dead Milkmen, Devo, Dido, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Dropkick Murphy's, Specials, English Beat, Joy Division, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Killing Joke, Lenny Kravitz, Mighty Mighty Bosstones,Social Distortion, Mike Ness, the Misfits, Motorhead, Operation Ivy, Pennywise, the Pogues, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, Ramones, Sublime, the Suicide Machines, Tenacious D, U2, the Vandals and Weird Al Yankovic.

Lost, Heroes, Star Trek (any, although I wasn't too big on Voyager), Wonderfalls, Mythbusters, X-Files (before Mulder left), Scrubs and anything on VH1 involving a list or the Food Network.

Star Wars (All, but in order, Episode V, IV, VI, III, II, I), The Princess Bride, A Christmas Story, The Wedding Singer, Star Trek (2, 4 & 6, the others ranged from OK to not very good), Blazing Saddles, Airplane, the Naked Gun, Spider Man 1 & 2 (3 was good but not great), The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness movies. Also, My Name is Bruce starring Bruce Campbell is pure genius.

George RR Martins A Song of Ice and Fire,
Anything by Timothy Zahn, but specifically his Star Wars books and the Conquerers Trilogy,
anything by Michael A Stackpole but my favorite was probably Eyes of Silver, or maybe Once a Hero,
Tolkiens Middle Earth,
C.S. Lewis the Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia,
the Dragonlance books by Weiss and Hickman,
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan stuff, especially The Sum of All Fears,
Asimov's Foundation books,
all the Chris Claremont X-Men stuff.

"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!"
Adolph Hitler, 1935
(He forgot to add that the citizens would then be powerless to stop the next part of his plan.)

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for,
another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot
give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from
somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not
have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because
somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
The late Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 - 2005

“All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts…Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage…which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side…The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.”
George Orwell, from Notes on Nationalism, 1945

"The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself."
Ben Franklin.

"And so the story's told
of a hearty group of men
it's a tale of their triumphs and their woes.
Be it raids and melees ancient
or the modern worker's struggle
that inspires men to stand up for their rights.

And should we fall down by the wayside
in this ever-changing world
we can look back to these heroes of our past.
With their staunch determination
and ferocious iron will,
no tyranny would quell them in their task.

It's an age-old situation
with an ever-present message:
that time and tide waiteth for no man.
So without fear of confrontation
or the consequence of outcome,
it's for freedom and for happiness they toiled.

And in looking to the future,
we can see a better place
where we can shake the yoke of tyranny for all.
It's been paved by generations
who have gone now to their rest.
It's just remembrance of their dignity we ask.

Chorus:
So come on rally round
this brave and valiant cause
with tradition, pride, and honor at its core.
With swords drawn to defend
stood these noble-hearted men
Faugh-an-ballagh, clear the way, me boys!!

Under perilous conditions
with small hope of success
they left behind the lives that they once led
and by virtue of their fortitude
and single-minded strength
they cleared the way for the people of today
so when we think back to our ancestors
respectfully we hark
and thank the men whose struggle broke the chain
it's a long road up ahead of us -
let's forge on while we're strong
and leave our mark of honor once again

Chorus:
So come on rally round
this brave and valiant cause
with tradition, pride, and honor at its core.
With swords drawn to defend
stood these noble-hearted men
Faugh-an-ballagh, clear the way, me boys!!

So the story has been told
and it comes now to an end.
It's setting any era, any land.
When abusive tyrants force the hands
of matters great or small,
it inpires men to stand up for their rights

Chorus:
So come on rally round
this brave and valiant cause
with tradition, pride, and honor at its core.
With swords drawn to defend
stood these noble-hearted men
Faugh-an-ballagh, clear the way, me boys!!
Faugh-an-ballagh, clear the way, me boys!!"
Heroes From Our Past
Dropkick Murphy's

Margaret Thatcher: "The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people's money."

"When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both." – James Dale Davidson, National Taxpayers Union

"The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates." - Tacitus

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."

"Teddy Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star", 149
May 7, 1918

"Good Judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."
Unknown

Steve Yzerman, for showing what a role model an athlete can be.
My mom and dad, just because.
George Lucas, for awakening the geek inside me.