I think it's a lot easier for a bad mood to spread from person to person (somebody to you, you to somebody) than good moods. "Misery loves company" is a saying for a reason, and it doesn't have to be a conscious effort on the part of the miserable person.
That said, I would like to tell a story where a good mood and happy service changed my night. I was out at one of my favorite restaurants, but my interest in the place was starting to ebb because the food hadn't been that good the last couple time I had been there (maybe a bad mood in the kitchen?). Thankfully, this restaurant had a policy: all members of the staff did a rotation every month - meaning that every waiter/ress got the chance to be the manager maybe every so often.
The night I describe, I had gone in and ordered my usual, and my waiter was extremely polite, helpful, and conscientious. My party noticed this, and we decided to mention it to him, just because it's pretty unusual to find wait staff who were THAT nice. He said this was because he had just been manager the past month, and had gotten complaints about the service, complaints about his co-workers who would be rotating into the manager position sooner or later. He said he had resolved to undo that bad reputation and make sure that the next manager got no complaints about the service - at least not about his service.

Now, this could be kind of a self-serving attitude - he didn't want to look bad in front of his boss or co-workers - but I prefer to read the other half of what he said: his resolution to do better, be happier, and be more helpful to patrons. It is that kind of initiative and positiveness that earned him around a 30% tip. My party believed that good service should be rewarded, so it's worth it to maintain a happy mood.

I never said that I assumed all women made better meals. Just in my personal experience, the better meals have come from women. As far as I know, my grandfather only made ice-cream, but my grandmother was a great cook. (And she got a lot of recipes from both my great-grandmothers.) My mother made great dinners, too... whereas if my father was put in charge of a meal... he boiled hotdogs. Not with buns or condiments, mind you, just the actual sausage. Forgive me if I seemed a little biased.

I know I'm already a step above what my father could do/was willing to do - I can at least make pre-packaged macaroni and cheese. What I want to know is how valuable it is for a man to know how to cook (more than boiling hot dogs!) in a relationship, in spite of gender roles.
I.e., I want to know if this is something that's worthwhile to learn properly.

I can say from valid personal experience that it is significantly more difficult to socialize only with oneself.
"No, it isn't!"
Yes, I'm afraid it is.
"You speak lies, David!"
I know I do not, David!

You see? It just leads to arguing.

Let us see what our forebears think...

Queen Elizabeth I's Speech to the Troops at Tilbury


My loving people,

We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general2 shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tilbury.htm

--------

It appears you can have compassion AND ideas of military might. She gave this speech while wearing a fitted breastplate and mounted on a horse. This was while her forces were preparing to embark to face the Spanish Armada.

Now that is an impressive grip.

I mean, control.

Isn't that kind of the entire point of a socializing website?

I do like eating in bed...

Amphibian?

Or, abominable snow-man?

Or, African elephant.

A lot of profiles have conditions for contact - you must be within X-X of age, you must not be looking for "intimate encounters", you must be male, etc, etc. You can see these standards near the bottom of the profile, just above the email box.

And this thread was created by a female...

So, wait - is your question "If females were field commanders, would war be less cruel/messy/lethal?" Would a woman's natural compassion and care for her subordinates lead her to take fewer risks, or have more empathy for the enemy soldiers?

If you have any more interests, it could not hurt to add those.
Your primary photo is a nice picture of you, but it is not very detailed - maybe get one that is up closer to your face?

See, I would hope your response would be more the norm, girl_tazmania. You're stickin' with it, even though you haven't gotten the person you're looking for yet. It seems a silly thing to me to have that hope and then stop looking. Or worse, to give up the hope itself.

When I think of my ideal woman, I think in terms of "the other half of my soul". Looking for a soulmate - a whole other soul who matches you in every way - seems like an awful lot to ask. I'm hoping to find more opportunities by asking for 50% off.

You mean like the senators and congresswomen who have to vote on whether or not to go to war?
Or the Amazons? Or Joan of Arc? Or Queen Victoria? Or Wu Zeitan?
Or are all these just the exception that proves the rule?

Water buffalo. (It counts!)

I'm probably damning myself by saying so, but up to this point, no, I haven't dated anyone outside my race. Ethnicity? How far are we stretching "ethnicity"? I dated a Texan once - and let me tell you, there were certainly some different societal expectations!
Would I date someone of a different race or ethnicity? If she met all my other standards. In physical attractiveness, size and shape matter a hell of a lot more than color does (but I reserve the right to be turned off by a woman colored neon green, even if she is otherwise attractive. Y'know, just in case it ever becomes an issue).
On the intellectual and emotional levels, I'm even pickier. (See my profile headline for the briefest taste of this.) There was this girl in highschool who was just generally all-around beautiful - in size and shape, in intellectual prowess, and in personality. And she was black/African American. (I want to say she was of Liberian extraction, but I honestly don't remember.) I didn't take advantage of my proximity to her (we were in the same club for one whole year) to invite her out or get to know her better, but I think that had more to do with the fact that I was a shy geek, than it did the difference between our ethnicities.

As a final note, I think there's a very important distinction between "discriminatory" and "discriminating". The first is an illogical crime, the second is having standards and taste.

Your profile is great, but nothing truly stands out. If you want to add a little bit of "Wow!" factor, give us some specific point we can latch onto. One of your favorite restaurants/amusement parks, or a book you've recently read, etc, etc. That gives a man something to start with and open a conversation with.

As to having "too long" a profile... I'd rather see a woman with more than enough to say, than not enough.

Also make sure that the mile range of the search is within a reasonable distance - mine had been set to 250 miles, and I was getting women from Las Vegas and San Francisco. A little further out than I am prepared to look at this time.
(But if any ladies from further away like my profile, don't be shy!)

Potatoes?!