What is Rat Tracks?

And what the hell happened to Desert Rat Democrat?

Good question. Here's the deal. He's a die hard Democrat. But blogging about politics, exclusively, can be grindingly dull. Especially when a lot of people do that better (and in a more timely manner than he does).

So what is Rat Tracks about?

Oh, he'll still write a lot about politics, when something tickles his fancy, but this is a place for bloviating on a lot of topics: History; Economics; Geek Culture; Gaming; Politics; and anything else that fires him up.

Who is the subgenius behind Rat Tracks?

Rat Tracks is Stuart Dollar, an Arizona native. He's married (22 years and counting) to the most adorable, caring, funny, intelligent woman alive, and she has given him the gift of two sons who have developed their father's sense of humor, and their mother's loving nature.

In addition to his family, he shares his house with 7 cats, 22 tropical fish, and several shelves full of books and DVDs. You may see photographs of his cats and fish from time to time.

His current employer would prefer that their identity remain undisclosed. He has held a variety of jobs encompassing tabletop game design, call center management, administration, management, and sales across a number of industries, mostly concentrated in retail sales.

He is a graduate of the W P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, a member of the first generation of his extended family to graduate from college.

His interests include gaming (video, and tabletop role-playing), photography (you may see his work here from time to time), British humor (Monty Python, Black Adder, Mr. Bean, just about anything of Ricky Gervais's), and film.

A former Republican, he saw the light during Reagan's first term and has gone from a Democrat who just went out and voted every two years to a dedicated, politically active Democrat (8 years under the worst President since Buchanan will do that to you).

He is still struggling with his annoying habit of referring to himself in the third-person. He promises he will get better.