Why are you here?
I imagine like the rest of you, I stumbled upon Epinions and thought "Hey, great! Somewhere I can get (mostly) unbiased opinions on stuff I'm thinking of buying while simultaneously ranting about the crap I've already bought! What's not to love?"

Then I found that readers were looking for a little more in depth information and decided it was a good place to hone my writing skills, too.

Why do you want to hone your writing skills?
I’m a health researcher. I deal with numbers, statistics, and ridiculous claims every day. I write reports; some aimed at other scientists, some for health professionals, and some for the public in general.

I also dabble in fiction. I have a half-complete (okay, quarter-complete...okay, tenth-complete) fantasy novel languishing in the bowels of my hard drive, and I write Sci Fi fan fiction for fun and to hone my fiction skills (Stargate stuff, actually, which you can find on my website linked above if you’re feeling masochistic).

Anything that forces me to write with specific audiences in mind is good practice for me both professionally and personally.

What do you review?
Well, obviously I‘ve just started, but since the most important thing in my life right now is my son, I imagine I’ll be reviewing mostly Kids and Family stuff for the foreseeable future, though the occasional adult toy, book, or movie might sneak in from time to time.

What will you not review?
Medication. I work with a large team of other scientists and clinical experts to review medications for healthcare professionals and jurisdictions. The science is complex and the details important; it takes us upwards of a year to release each set of recommendations. I can't and won't give my personal opinion on the efficacy or safety of any drug or medical device.

Why did you leave a comment on my review?
Most likely, I left some constructive criticism. Everything I write professionally (and to a smaller extent personally) is critiqued and I've developed a pretty thick skin. My initial reaction to criticism is often still an immature word or two, but I've learned to swallow it and think about the criticism carefully before replying. Often I discover that the critiquer was in fact correct (though not always). Because I find the process so helpful, I tend to try to help other people, too.

I dislike receiving a poor rating without explanation and I assume other people are the same. Whether you think my advice is valid or not is up to you. If you do adjust your review based on my comments, feel free to let me know so I can reconsider my rating.

If what I said wasn't constructive, then it was probably a compliment.

Why are you swearing at the computer screen?
Probably because someone (was it you?) left a less than stellar rating on one of my reviews without telling me what the problem is. By all means feel free to hit the 'Helpful' or 'Somewhat Helpful' buttons (I hope you've never felt 'Not Helpful' was appropriate for something I wrote) if you think the review warrants it, but I'd really appreciate you also hitting the comment link and telling me why the review didn't meet your needs.

What’s your son’s name?
Online, he’s known as T-Fap, which is short for Thraesja’s Former Abdominal Parasite.

How can you be callous enough to name your child something as stupid inane psychologically scarring original as T-Fap?
A) I have a somewhat perverse sense of humour.
B) What? He sucked the life out of me for nine whole months!
C) C'mon! He's clearly destined to be a rap star. Mama's gonna love those royalty cheques...
D) It's not his real name people, it's a baby Internet handle.
E) All of the above.
F) Except C. We're suburban Canadians. I sincerely doubt 'rap star' is actually in his future.