Welcome to my first Blog!

Hi, my name is Nathan and I live in Monterey, on the California Central Coast.

As you might have already guessed, I am a liberal "Blue-State" voter, and I work in an IT department for a CSU in the area. I have a strong interest in national politics, world history, music, pc technology and astronomy, so expect some posts on these subjects from time to time.

I had considered writing a blog about a year ago, but at the time, not very many good or free services were around to help me do so. Given that I spend at least several hours a week on forums around the web, I thought that it was high time I created a centralized blogspace that I could refer to, rather than having my thoughts disappear into the ether on someone elses watch.

I read MSNBC.com and CNN.com almost entirely everyday, so I am pretty up-to-date on most issues covered by the American media. I have been particularly active following the news, since G.W. was elected in 2000. Somehow, I just find his Presidency more disagreeable, and by extension, more newsworthy.

I live in a small apartment about a 5 minute walk from the Pacific Ocean, and within about 15 minutes of the famous Pebble Beach Golf course. I don't have a girlfriend or roomate, but I do have an obnoxious orange tabby that tries to fill that void. His name is Jakey, but I usually call him by his nickname "Boobers."

I was born in 1975, have never been married, and have lived in California my whole life. Despite what you might think, I am not a liberal extremist (at least I don't think so), but I do appreciate a good spliff now and then.

I almost forgot! I am really into computer gaming for the PC. I particularly like to play role-playing or strategy games. My favorite game of all time would probably have to be Daggerfall, by Bethesda Softworks, though the Fallout series and Baldur's Gate are close runner-ups. I don't think that games need to have the best graphics or sound to be fun, but rather inventive gameplay that gives me a lot of opportunity to strategize. Replayability is a key issue for me, so I tend not to enjoy the linear shooters too much. After I played them through once or twice, I get bored really quick I do think that Half-Life 2 by Valve Entertainment is an excellent game though.

Anyhow, I think that's probably good enough for my first post. I will be back soon to comment more!

Nathan