By a show of hands, how many of you have ever used an on-line dating service?

I tried it a few times, and it really, really did not work for me. I would read a man’s profile, sift through his pictures, and check OSCN to make sure he wasn’t a serial killer released by the latest clerical error. I’d exchange a few emails with him, trying to get a sense of his personality. If he passed through that process, I would agree to meet.

Without exception, the men never even approached the image I would have begun to form of them in my head. In most cases, there had been no explicit lies or deceitfulness on their part. I just had formed a different image based 50% on how they had described themselves and 50% on what I wanted them to be like. The first fifteen minutes of any of those…