Stephen DarkSyde is a 40 something former stock and bond trader and one time moderate conservative. He grew up in the Southwest and has long been fascinated by science, particularly evolutionary biology, physics, and astronomy. As the scope of incompetence and malfeasance in the Bush Administration and the wider Neoconservative Republican Party became evident throughout 2003, Stephen began reading and writing on blogs. In short order, he rejected the existing incarnation of the GOP and joined forces with progressive bloggers. He still considers himself a political neophyte, and tends to write mostly about science and science policy, with only occasional forays into political commentary. Today, he lives in Florida near the Kennedy Space Center with his lovely wife Mrs. “DS,” a cat named Kali, and a dog named Darwin.