You’re probably asking yourself, “And pray tell, what the hell, is a self-quantifier, exactly?”

This is the part – the explanation – where I’m supposed to demure and look a bit embarrassed, as I downplay it, and pretend that it’s really not even worth talking about. Judging by our Web presence, there are many of us, but I’ve never met another in person, at least not anyone who’s knowingly admitted to it; it’s quite likely they are too publicly ashamed to admit to the geeky indulgence of that obsession that is self-quantification.

Self-quantification is, at its most basic, maintaining performance stats or data about one’s self. With the advent of smartphones and apps that allow for tracking all sorts of activities, for people of a certain mind-set, it’s resulted in the realization that they can easily track a lot of the obscure daily activities that they used to not give much thought to. Lots of people do this to some small extent – tracking their daily spending, or keeping a journal of their exercise schedule, perhaps a calorie diary to help manage their weight – but hardcore self-quantifiers take it to another level entirely. For example, I track both exercise and spending, but on my iPhone I also have specific apps that track the water I drink, sleeping cycles, moods, the last time I communicated with friends, and even activities I’m merely curious about – like how much time I spend watching television (it goes up when “Breaking Bad” is in season). Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, my iPhone is pushing, fetching and recording data about myself. Indeed, I even go so far as to have a constantly running timer app that – temporarily, at least – I have to click every time I change activities, with the app providing me with up-to-the-minute reports on how I’ve spent my time.

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This time it comes in the form of photos published by the Los Angeles Times showing soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division posing with the body parts of a suicide bomber. Politicians condemn this horrific behavior, the military brass promises a full investigation, and Americans all across the nation shake their heads at such outrageous behavior.

On cue, the punditry proposes its theories. Years of perpetual war have left the forces undisciplined. Or perhaps this latest travesty demonstrates how the noncommissioned officer corps – traditionally, responsible for troop discipline -- has been gutted by too many deployments.

As a former infantry soldier and combat veteran from Afghanistan, I have to say that I find all the political and polite posturing to be quite amusing. I say this because with a single email, attaching just a few of the files in my own treasure trove, I could ignite this controversy all over again.

You see, I too have a secret collection of “war porn.”

I am not alone.

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