First of all, you should know right up front that you have stumbled across the biggest catch on this site... and we'll get to WHY that is in a minute.... but I want to be up front first. Before we get to all of the good stuff, before you get all excited… amazingly, I DO have faults. To wit:

1) I do play golf and watch football, despite the fact that, to women, this is tantamount to wearing the same dress to the company Christmas party two years in a row.

2) I use words like “tantamount” in a personal ad.

3) I voted for Ross Perot twice during the 90s. This cannot be held against me though -- they were both protest votes.

4) I have never climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, don't own a motorcycle, don't bike 20 miles a day in my Lance Armstrong racing suit, don't have shirtless pictures of my Saratoga-born-and-raised self flashing gang signs like I grew up in Compton, don't wear Affliction t-shirts and don't have a tattoo on my chest of some random woman wrapped in barbed wire sitting on Chinese symbols that translate into "Chosen One.”

5) I live in Pleasanton. Some of you – especially those of you in San Francisco – seem to believe that Pleasanton borders Kentucky, Bangladesh and Siberia. I answer this by saying (a) not quite, (b) amazingly, you only have to cross ONE bridge from SF on a 35-minute drive to get here, (c) I’m certainly worth the small distance, and (d) I’m out your way all the time – I’ll come to you. ;-) (San Jose and Sac people: this includes you as well).

6) I overuse ellipses and colon-dash-parenthesis smiley faces in emails. I’m currently undergoing punctuation shock therapy to break this horribly-addicting habit. One day at a time.

****Now, the catch-worthy good stuff:

1) I have a dog. I know women think this is cute, so I thought I would mention it first.

2) I scored in the 95th percentile on Nordstrom’s “Male Mall Tolerance Test", proving my willingness to wander aimlessly around a mall while my female companion goes on a five-hour search for the perfect pair of pumps... and buys nothing.

3) I definitely can cook. I don’t know the difference between a basil leaf and a leafblower, but I certainly know enough to be dangerous.

4) I have killed scores of harmless spiders and insects to "protect" others in the past. Have a fear of ants? I keep my pimp hand strong with insects.

5) ....and maybe most importantly, I will never, ever make a woman sit through a movie where the characters just blow things up all the time or break out in random displays of mixed martial arts. I will not make MYSELF sit through that movie either. ;-)

6) I’m a grass-mowing, trash-hauling, weed-pulling, beach-going, wine-tasting jack of all trades.

Note on my photos: Friends, family, the local vet, American Legion post 472 and a girl riding by on a unicycle all agree that if you like my photos, you'll be more pleased in person. Take that for whatever it's worth. ;-)

Friends and family would describe me as a very confident (but not cocky) genuinely kind, fun-loving and compassionate, intelligent, succcessful, extremely athletic, very giving and engaging. (And for you hockey fans, I'm a Sharks season ticket holder).

So what am I looking for? Someone who is happy, easy to get along with, emotionally available and is not afraid to give their heart away. Someone who loves to laugh and smiles a lot. Everyone has a little emotional baggage from old relationships, but please don't show up with four suitcases worth. A love for sports is a plus, but definitely isn’t necessary. All in all, I’m most interested in who you are, what you enjoy and what you’re passionate about. Women who are genuine, sincere and have a strong passion for life score major points. Women who are aloof, self-centered, drama queens or Raider fans will not. (Just kidding Raider fans... kind of...) ;-)

Very, very proud of where I am and what I've accomplished. I lead sales for a tech start-up and our world is absolutely exploding right now -- in a great way. I'm watching my life change by the day and it's extremely exciting. I work hard, play hard, love passionately and laugh a lot -- other than finding someone to share all of it with, I couldn't be happier with where I am right now.

.....writing dating site profiles. ;-) I'm really good at a lot of things -- numerous sports, my job, being handy around the house.... but the thing I always come back to on a question like this is my ability to be honestly introspective. I'm my own best psychiatrist and believe that, through years of continually looking at who I am and striving for more, I've turned into a pretty damn good guy. :-) When it's all said and done, I think that allows me to be a tremendous friend, son, brother, coworker and significant other.

(1) I'm tall -- 6'3"...
(2) Am extremely personable and engaging. I'll talk and socialize with just about anyone.... and....
(3) My legs and butt ;-)

Books: Game Change and Fast Food Nation -- both two of the best examples of investigative journalism I've ever read. Most of what I read is non-fiction.

Movies: Goodfellas, Forrest Gump, Rudy, Shakespeare in Love, Cinema Paradiso, Catch Me If You Can, The Sting, Gangs of New York, Seabiscuit

Music: I dabble in a little bit of everything. (More to come on this in my "embarrassing private thing I'll reveal" section.) When I'm alone in the car, though, I'm usually listening to podcasts (my favorites: Freakonomics and "The Lawyah," Len Tillem. If you haven't listened to this guy, he's a total crackup.)

Food: Where to start?!?! Good sushi, pasta, pizza (the more toppings, the thicker the crust, the better), really good steak (especially if it's topped with bleu cheese crumbles), chocolate eclairs and just about anything made by my mom, who's a tremendous cook.

TV Shows: Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Daily Show, Tosh.O, the nightly national news, anything issue or feature-based (60 Minutes, Meet the Press, Frontline, etc)..... and my guilty pleasures: The Bachelor, True Crime Shows (Dateline, 48 Hours), Man Vs. Wild

(1) All of the fantastic people I have in my life -- friends, family, coworkers
(2) Football (college and pro), my Sharks season tickets, and the occasional round of golf
(3) Tahoe weekends
(4) My dog, Murph
(5) Good red wine, sushi, and dessert.... Any kind of dessert. Chocolate eclairs, my mom's pies and cakes, cheesecake, hot fudge sundaes, even a good glass of port.... Everything in moderation, but I do have a sweet tooth and someone can bribe me to do just about anything with good, soft chocolate chip cookies.
(6) Someone to share a deep, passionate, unwavering love with. :-)

....the history of Snoop Dogg’s catch-suffix “-izzle.” How would Snoop say the word “drizzle?” Would he leave it as it is, or use either “drizzle-izzle” or “drizzizzle?” Why do you think this is? Discuss. ;-D

...definitely doing something. Very few weekend nights where I'm just sitting around the house. I have a number of different groups of friends that I do things with and I'll probably be out with one of them. But could also be on my way to the family cabin in Tahoe.... or going to a Sharks game.... or spending time with my family.... Could be any one of a number of things.

I'm so open, I'll give you three:

*I have a pair of salmon (not pink!) boxers with a bear putting a golf ball on the backside with the caption, "Nice Putt." Even worse, my mom bought them for me. (Ssssh, don't tell anyone.) ;-)

*I'm a Coldplay fan. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the line from the 40 Year-Old Virgin. I'll live with it.

*I trash talk Tony Horton, the trainer on the P90X videos, while doing my workout. If he starts getting pushy with me halfway through about "c'mon, bring it people, I know you're tired!" as I'm contemplating puking all over my living room floor, I tend to get a little mouthy with him. ;-)

.....you're swooning at this point. ;-D

(Or, even if you're not. Swooning can come later.) ;-)