There’s not really much I want out of life right now which would be restricted by a “honey”.

@chesstiger: Well, I plan on seeing 3 or more girls on the side, so it’s only fair she gets the same opportunity.

@annie: Agreed there. Except she might start whining if I play too much chess or World of Warcraft.

@The Mascot: Wrong. Shipping and handling was free.

@Mr. E: The list was a joke. Don’t worry about it.

@Blunderprone: Do healthy and obsession go together?

@Polly: True. I don’t have to be mentally stable, but she does. Sounds fair.

@likesforests: I actually joined a club. Unfortunately, it was a chess club and the sex ratio hasn’t proven to be sufficient to find that special someone.

@Ray: You’re crazy. Wagner is far more important than the statuesque blonde part. (And be honest…it was showing off your Practical Chess Exercises book that hooked her, right?)

@Q: Yeah, but if you catch bin Laden as a security guard in Afghanistan? Major props there.

@Allen: Hmmm. Nah…that’s too much work.

Besides, I actually have to go out and meet people to find 3 candidates. I’ll just wait for those hot babes to spam me on Skype.

@Annie: Using that formula, an 80-year-old can date a 47-year-old and not be considered creepy. (Recycling stuff from our IM convo FTW.)

@likesforests: Just watch out for the toothpick fish.

@Blunderprone: Thank you for your insight. However, mental stability will remain on my list.

@BDK: That’s good advice. Except the “minimal standards” part could have been rephrased.

The Mascot tried to put his picture on hotornot.com. They took it down because they thought it was fake.

And if someone could handle #6? That would be a real winner right there.

@Allen: Good point. Maybe someone who could handle #6 wouldn’t be the best…

1.
-Mentally stable (i.e., generally happy and well-adjusted, honest, able to deal with conflict without growing satan horns, not a psycho).
-I find her attractive (otherwise just be friends)

3.
-Compatible sense of humor (humor is a huge part of my life and I can be very immature).
-Independent (can put up with me spending time on other things, like work or chess)

5
-Can tell me when I’m being a jackass.

6
-Loves it when I take a dump on the kitchen table as a ‘prank.’
-Finds it delightfully whimsical when I hang dead puppies from the ceiling fan and run around the house yelling, “Oh my god, they are here. We’re gonna fucking die. Get me my gun!” and then sit in the corner rocking in the fetal position.

OK, top five is real.

And I’m way too tired to respond to 15 comments. Get to it tomorrow.

Then I met my present wife. Let me tell ya’, mental stability is huge. As we are married longer (it’s over four years now), I appreciate that one aspect more than any of the others. Well, and basic compatibility in our senses of humor and other things. Mental stability is necessary, not sufficient.

I had a girlfriend once who was not only depressed all the time, but who didn’t find my goofy jokes funny. And I’m all about goofy jokes, so it was doomed to fail.

Have fun. On a dating web site you should put a picture of The Egg, see how he fares.

Mine would.

“or go to afghanistan as a security guard.”

You got me there! But I have no interest in doing that.

totally thought of you when I saw this.

I fully expect to meet The Honey in a year.

Then you have others such as yourself that have a checklist.

Both have their flaws, the score ignores potential character issues while the second one is too black and white. If your checklist said “Is a lingerie model” then you’d have to mark No if she were instead a swimsuit model.

So the solution is simple, make a hybrid of the two systems to gain the benefits of both while reducing the downsides.

Make your checklist, then assign each item a weight.

The weighted checklist gives you more insight when making your decision.

Using your list, this is a possible implementation:
1. Demonstrates kindness to people. 2 points.
2. Not too hideous-looking. 3 points.
3. Mentally stable. 5 points.
4. Convicted of 2 or fewer felonies (optional). 3 points.
5. Hasn’t had a sex change. 5 points.

If you find 3 potential candidates, add up their points and voila! Put your faith in the point system and you can’t go wrong.