My name is Jack Grant, and I am the author of the weblog Random Fate, which Joe has been kind enough to link relatively frequently.
I am a bit older than the other guest-poster, Greg Piper, who is also helping to fill in during Joe’s absence. I received my graduate degree in Physics a full decade before Greg graduated college, so I’m sure that even though we are both self-described moderates, we will definitely have different viewpoints.
My weblog Random Fate started as a way for me to keep in touch with friends and family during my expatriate assignment in France, but as the date of my move continued to be pushed back (ultimately delayed a full year), the weblog evolved into something else, where I now post commentaries and opinions on politics, discussions of the impacts of developments in science and technology, and occasionally post pictures I take during my travels in Europe.
I think of myself as a moderate, but the commentary and opinion I write tend to lean left, however I think that is because of the rightward tilt of the present government of the United States. Balance is easier to achieve when those who don’t have power (like me) point out the lack of clothing of those with power (currently, the right-wing). Ultimately, for me, the most workable answer that leads to the success of our nation is more important than ideology, as long as we remain true to the fundamental principles of liberty and "all men are created equal" that guided the men that founded our country.
Hopefully, the pedantic streak I have because of the large amount of technical writing I have to do in my job won’t lose Joe too many readers!
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.