We've asked each of our bloggers to introduce themselves and talk a little about why they love the market and what positions they call their own. We encourage our bloggers to own common stock and abide by a common code of conduct.

Who are you, and why are you passionate about stocks?

I'm Michael Canfield, a freelance business, media, and fiction writer living in Seattle, WA. My personal blog can be found at michaelcanfield.net. With one major exception (see below) I don't trade much and prefer to seek and hold investments for the long term.

Participating on my former employer's discount stock purchase program made me start comparing my own company's performance against others. I then became fascinated with the concept that I could by any stock I wanted -- or that I could afford and wanted -- and then profit from that company's success without actually having to work there.

What was the first stock you owned?

SBUX. I worked for the Starbucks corporation through the late nineties and they offered the discount-stock buying program I mentioned earlier. I don't own this stock now, but continue to follow that company with interest. Investing in Starbucks turned out to be a good investment for me. I sold the stock to finance education and to start a business venture of my own.

What was your worst investment ever?

My worst investing mistake was NOT buying MSFT (or any tech stocks) from 1990 to 1993. My thinking at the time? Ah, where can personal computing go from here? The market is mature. Yep.

What is your investing success story?

Probably by avoiding any tech stocks in the early nineties I avoided the mental anguish of seeing a lavish fortune-on-paper demolished in the dotcom crash!

What do you own now?

On July 26, 2006 I own these stocks: Alcoa, Burlington Northern, GE, General Mills, Medco, Merck, Verizon, Viacom and Weyerhaeuser.