That’s the first lyric of Faith Of The Heart, the theme song of the last Star Trek series, Enterprise, which ran from 2001 through 2005.  That is also the rough line of temporal demarcation for the heyday of GOP governance under George W. Bush.  So, in other words, the debacle of 2006 was all Brannon Braga’s fault.  Hey, why not?  As far as we Trekkers are concerned, just about everything else is.

The title reference is to the Hobson’s own time I had getting into the site this morning, at one point of which I had four webmail windows open with replacement password requests and replies zinging back and forth like a runaway Pong game.  It also included a cry for help to the Admiral that, naturally, preceded my usual do-it-yourself fusillade.  But then Ed has been having technical difficulties of his own, so I’m grateful to end up not having to add to that burden.  Though probably not as much as he is.

I should also briefly explain the “Admiral” nickname.  It’s based on a line from a second season episode of….uh, forget it.  You can read about that wing of my establishment here.  Suffice it to say, a captain commands a single ship, whilst an admiral commands a fleet.  Or, in this case, hosts and moderates.  As long as I don’t goof up my intermix matrices, I should be able to stay in formation.

My temperment, though, may be more of a challenge.

Now that I have Jonah-Goldbergized myself as HR’s resident scifi geek, on to the introduction.

My name is Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire; I own a mansion and a yacht….

No, wait, that can’t be right….

I am Locutus…of Borg….

[*ahem*] Okay, I know that one’s off. Third try’s the charm, right?

Ladies, gentlemen, various nations and stuff. My name is Jim Sondergeld. And I…am a terminal blogger. Though I use my ordinary designation to trod the highways and byways of the workaday world, it is obvious that I am a far more interesting personality then that veneer would suggest.

Given that veneer, how could I not be?

And though the world has come to know me as Jim Sondergeld, mild-mannered CPA, in cyberspace I prefer to be called by my chosen, way cooler handle: JASmius. The origin of which is a full-blown excursion into puerile arcana; it’s enough for me that it fits neatly on my license plates.

I have amassed 42 years of life, 36 years of faith, 27 years of conservative Republicanism, 18 years of marriage, 15 years of online political debate experience, 2 teenage kids, 1 annoying cat, and a mo-odest mo-o-ortgage. I come to you not from atop a building in mid-town Manhatten, or even downtown Tacoma, but from HardStarboard World Headquarters, which is about five yards away from my washer/dryer combo. I have no golden HSR microphone, but an Office Depot headset. I have a face for radio, a voice for print, and fingers for listening, or so my spouse tells me. Or, as the old saying goes, “You can always tell a German - but you can’t tell him much.”

After a lifetime of talking to myself, technology has finally provided the world a means of listening in. And that has afforded me, at Admiral Ed’s gracious invitation, the honor and privilege of entrance into these august posting ranks.

To edit a Larryism, I’m giddier than a [mentally challenged individual] in a room full ‘o bouncy balls.  Not just to be posting here, but that I finally managed to log on without having to MacGyverize the lock.

And now the conversation….can continue.