Hello everyone.I have been making some posts here recently, and am sort of new here, so I thought I should introduce myself. 
My name is Alan, I am 30 years old, and I live in a boring little town called Mishawaka, Indiana. There’s not much here really, except I live about ten minutes from Notre Dame University. ( I am not a student there.)
My interests are art, writing, reading, movies, pets, gardening, landscaping, video games, and last but not least, The Straight Dope! I have many other interests too.
My artwork consists of cartoons, sketches, portraits, caricatures, drafting, and miscellaneous other types of drawings. I work mostly in pencil.
I also enjoy writing: poetry, short stories, humor, personal journals, and I have an incompleted novel that has been several years in the making. I have tinkered with some movie scripts as well. I have never submitted, published, or sold any of my works.
For those who are curious about my screename, here is the story behind it:
Approximately two years ago, the neighbor across the alley behind my house passed away. The family cleaned the house and garage out and threw away a bunch of things that still looked useful, so I went scavenging to see if anything was of interest or use.
After digging around for some time, I found a wooden rack with a wooden box attached to the base. Inside the box were a bunch of keys, but one in particular stood out. It's silver and has a bunch of fancy ornamental engraving on it. It's about the same size and shape of a common housekey, but is like no key I have ever seen before. It also looks to be quite old, I would guess, perhaps 50 years or much more. I kept the key and now wear it as a necklace. I know the key is part real silver because it tarnishes and needs silver polish occasionally.
The magical part comes from the fact that in 1994, I began writing a novel, and the main object of the story centers around a silver key! I found this key, years later. Quite an unusual co-incidence.
Also, I once talked to a locksmith over the internet, about the key. He had some very interesting things to say about it. After describing it to him in great detail, he estimated it was quite old maybe from the 1930's or so, and said that the manufacturer of the key is a high security lock manufacturer who makes locks for things like governmental applications. It is, indeed, a form of real silver.
Maybe I found the key to AREA 51! (laughing) I have no idea what the key used to open, but the mystery surrounding it is absolutely fascinating. I often wonder, if just the key alone is so fancy, what in the world was behind the lock that it once opened? I think half the fun may be not knowing.
So, there is the story of my magical silver key. I am very attached to it, and it is quite special to me. I like to think of it as my lucky charm. It makes a great conversation piece as well. I have even grown to thinking of it as the key to my heart.
So, Dopers, now you know a little about me. I look forward to getting to know you and all of the SD knowledge I can absorb. Feel free to Email me, or instant message me if you use AIM. My screename on AIM is the same as here. 
See you around!
And, I’d love to see some of your drawings sometime, perhaps you can be persuaded to post some??? Hint Hint Hint