Like other members I've read about here, in addition to games and chess variants, I too like science fiction and fantasy.
In regard to chess variants, I have created around 40 (see www.chessvariants.com) - most of them were created subconsciously, such that I woke up with them in my head, or was driving a car or riding a bike, or watching TV, when a game seemed to suddenly appear.
I am currently working on a chess book with Bill Wall (an established chess author) and Davide Rozzoni (former editor of Unorthodox Openings Newsletter (UON). UON is an electronic magazine these days about strange and wonderful chess openings which are often overlooked by the typical chess player. I am the current editor of UON. Note that we should complete our chess book by fall 2007.
I am the author and illustrator of a book, "The Bermuda Pie-Angle, Cartoons and Word Play." In staying with the subject of writing, but drifting away from chess and cartoons, I am currently involved with a project through Amazon.com. It is a science fiction project that you can read about at my web page, www.cosmicsubmarine.wetpaint.com. Also there is a page there about the Bermuda Pie-Angle. That page includes several drawings of mine.
I have a wife, 4 kids, 2 cats, an old hermit crab. We all live near Lake Erie in Ohio, USA. I am employed as a technical writer/illustrator/documentation coordinator and have been maintaining and updating databases for hardware and software data acquisition components [yawn]. Long before that, I was a submarine sailor who spent a lot of time in the Mediterranean.
These days, on the long drive to and from work, I listen to Spanish tapes in hopes of becoming fluent in Espanol.
In closing, if you have read this far and are still awake, "Hasta la vista." And in case you dozed off… "buenos nochess."