I have never been one to write about myself. Generally, auto bio blurbs sound conceited and braggadocios, and since I am neither...well I just never got around to it. That, and the fact that the list of things I have been or done is so much longer than the list of things I haven't been or done. But I'll try and cut the shit and just talk about the things I really love.

I'm a fat bastard, with bastard being the key point to remember. My beard is older than you. In fact, I believe my beard is older than me. I'm a cigar and pipe smoker. I've been working in the cigar industry off and on for about ten years. I'm a tobacconist, and tobacco enthusiast. I'm a founder and current president of the North Alabama Pipe Association. I love to read as much as I love to write. I make a small side business out of writing about politics (typically this involves helping overwhelmed college students on topics about which they either have no interest or knowledge), and fiction.

To me, a perfect world would be a world in which everyone had a cigar in one hand, a book in the other, and a nice glass of scotch on a table beside them. Failing that, bourbon would suffice.

I play guitar, or anything with strings. I don't trust drummers.
I was a software designer, and business process analyst for fifteen years. I still do some programming from time to time, but nothing like I used to. I have written software in more than seventeen languages at last count.

I have been a carpenter, a bricklayer, a butcher, a baker, and a candle stick maker (no shit, I have actually made candles). In fact, in construction work, I have done it all. Top to bottom; inside and out. I love working outside. But I also love sitting around in a smoke-filled room talking about politics. You don't want to come near me on Election Day. Seriously.

That is pretty much it. I did mention that I am a bastard. A complete, and total bastard.