HEY! Give me a reason not to delete this profile, drop me a note.

I like things done "right" even if no one else notices, because it's important to me. I love learning new things -- I'm constantly researching something. Highly opinionated and passionate, I want what I want and I'm accustomed to getting it.

Of course there's a softer side, and my kids have helped develop that. My last relationship ended in divorce after almost 12 years and I'm looking for a long-term relationship with the right person.

I'm happy in the job of my choice -- I've tried lots of things but I always came back to it. I'm a software developer for a large company. I get to play with new toys, direct and implement new projects, see and tweak the results of my work, and I'm treated very well. I have a lot of responsibility and influence which strokes my ego (doesn't everyone like that?).

I'm not into the bar scene, having been fortunate enough to get through that without killing or maiming anyone. I'm also not looking for another mother for me or my kids (I'm not the custodial parent and besides two of them are 15 and 19). That said, I'm also not aimlessly wandering through life: I have a career / life / apartment / car etc with real responsibilities and I'm looking for a like-minded passionate, intense person not only for the amazing sex but the mental and emotional stimulation as well.

I'm happy to meet with you to see if we click and see if there's mutual interest. If it doesn't work that's OK... I don't want to waste your time either.

planning, organizing, working with a variety of people to further whatever goal I have in mind.

I'm as happy swinging a hammer or playing Bob Villa in a woodshop, getting my hands dirty as I am taking something intricate apart to see how it works. If it needs doing, it gets done, and the remaining time is left for fun.

are my personality and my eyes.

I usually hit it off with most people -- I've been a variety of things and lived in a lot of different crowds in my life. I'm sometimes surprised that I lived to adulthood...

And although I've had some really great times I'm not yet ready to sit back in my rocking chair. The time is still right to make stories rather than just tell them.

Stephen King -- I had all of his books at one time in my life and read them all. I mostly read online now, whether it's some online course or just reading slashdot.

I guess Buzz music (103.1 FM) and Classic Rock are my favorites -- although I have (and listen to) everything from Skinny Puppy to FEM 2 FEM. Well, maybe not the FEM 2 FEM, I bought it because they looked hot. And they were in Playboy. I stopped collecting much music after the 90's... if it's new it's on the radio. If it's a little older, I've heard it like a million times from my kids. If it's a little older than that, it's on clearance at Wal-Mart.

I do miss many of the CD's that I bought along the way and had lost, stolen or damaged. I refuse to buy them again though (I already bought them once, it was a license not the physical media etc etc) so my friends around the world using the BitTorrent network are helping me recover them.

I tend not to listen to rap, because somewhere along the way I started getting questions from my kids wanting to know what the lyrics meant and it felt strange showing that side to them. But when they aren't in the car I'm old-schooling it with Dr. Dre or 2 Live Crew or whatever. Kind of like the guys in Office Space, only I'm much cooler. Right.

Food? Yes. But I don't want a lot of people messing with it. Cleanliness is of absolute importance. I cook, although I'm missing my gas stove from the last house.

Cooking's all good, except the time I made red, blue and green spaghetti for my brother and dad when I was a teenager. I boiled the spaghetti in food coloring and didn't drain it well. The colors combined and turned a dingy grey. It looked like brains. My otherwise stalwart father couldn't eat it. I laughed my ass off and pretended to be a zombie at the dinner table, growling and gnawing at chunks of spaghetti. I think I got a whipping for that one. Oh, yeah, and the time I thought I would make a spaghetti sauce with about 40% carrots -- carrots are sweet right? My kids were telling me how bad it was and I was telling them to shut up and eat it anyway, when I finally sat down at the table and tasted it. They had McDonald's that night I think.

Come to think of it, there have been a couple of disasters but that's what takeout is for. And why not experiment? In everything in life, it's the experience that counts.

Dark, cynical humor. Think Stephen Lynch or Lewis Black. Good thing I don't believe in hell because I would definitely be going there.

Passion -- whether it's learning, loving or doing, do it the best you can, and then figure out how to do it better. Not because it isn't already good enough for them, but because it's not good enough for you.

South Florida lifestyle. Casual. Metropolitan. Anytime. You choose. And it beats the hell out of Tennessee, but that's another story.

A computer (or two or three). iPod Touches and iPhones count too.

Stimulating / spirited conversation. Yes if I value you as a person, I usually want to hear your opinion, even if it's wrong : ) No, I don't value everyone else's opinion.

Someone to come home to, to take out and experience life, to share what I have now and will have later. 2 people getting what they want and loving it.

finances. I pay *everything* on time and will one day finish paying off my credit cards lol.

I reflect a lot on my life so far and where I want to be... it's easier to get there if you know what you want.

(depending on the circumstances) picking up my kids for the weekend; staying up late watching movies; wandering around shopping somewhere; getting involved online researching some edge case or random thought that occurred to me on the drive home.

I'm terrified of dogs. My brother was mauled when we were very young and I remember it vividly. I don't care if you have a chihuahua, I'm just not comfortable around dogs.

Cats are totally cool though : )

you're not looking for a one-night stand, "high maintenance" or looking for a sugar daddy.

You ARE monogamous and something in my profile piqued your interest.

Provided we're both interested, let's go out, have fun and see if we click, and no big deal if we part ways as friends. I realize I may have to do that many times before I make a connection.