Act I, Scene I: The house party
The party appears to be a success. Dozens of trendy-looking men and women in provocative attire are chatting and flirting; a few are gyrating self-consciously in the corner. Everyone seems to be having a good time… except for you.

You’re starting to feel like the ugly duckling. You came here hoping to find a beautiful swan, but you haven’t even managed to get within squawking distance. The problem lies in deciding how to strike up a conversation. How do you begin without sounding cheesy or friendless? Though you’re sure people would like you if they just gave you a chance, how do you signal that you are available?

Read the rest of “Make it clear that you’re available” by Coco Helado now.

This Christmas may I have at least one really nice date.
May his car have clean seats and glass in all the windows
May he not be more than three hours late
May his left eye match the one on the right
May he have all his front teeth and not be high a a kite
May he have all his hormones under control
May he wear clean underpants without any holes
May his whiskers not burn and make my face blotch
May he think with his brain and not with his crotch
And, Lord, if I might ask for just one thing more…
May he have good aim in my bathroom and not pee on my clean floor

According to an article that I found on Newsday this morning, new legislation scheduled for consideration by an Assembly committee on Monday will force online dating Web sites to take more responsibility for protecting online dating users from predators.

Despite advice from Bill Ashworth, the director of state government affairs at Yahoo! who says that fraud and differing state laws make background checks unreliable, the proposed law would require Internet dating services to inform their customers whether or not background checks have been conducted on their members.

Sites that do not conduct background checks would have to post that information on their sites in large bold capital letters, while dating services that do conduct background checks must advise whether the service permits site access to those with criminal convictions.

Quite frankly, I think that anyone using a dating service regardless of whether it screens its members, should get an independent background check on anyone whom they’ve met online and intend to persue a deeper relationship.

For more information, please consult my article What Can Be Learned From Conducting a Personal Background Check? that also lists some recommended services.

What are your thoughts? Would you trust the screening provided an online dating service? Have you ever had an independent background check conducted? Did you ever wish (too late) you’d had someone screened. Please leave your comments below…