My self-summary
If anything here sounds absurd, it's probably because one of my
friends edited my profile. But it could be true. Feel free to ask
which. (Speaking of which, I didn't write all the jokes myself, but
I can still claim editorial credit.)
By the way, this profile is far too long. You might want
to skip over all the boring stuff and just read the exciting
bold and blue
stuff. Oh, and click on the pink
links!
Interests: I'm a gamer, storyteller, engineer, music lover,
reader, movie-goer, musician, artist, and actor, roughly in that
order. I enjoy
skating, hiking, jogging, and many
sports. I love
roller coasters, theater,
museums, parks, and scenic drives.
Personality: I'm kinda like a Jack Russell Terrier. "[They]
tend to be extremely intelligent, athletic, fearless, and vocal
dogs. It is not uncommon for these dogs to become moody or
destructive if they are not properly stimulated and exercised as
they have a tendency to bore easily and will often create their own
fun when left alone to entertain themselves." (
Wikipedia)
I have a dark and often silly sense of humor. I'm neither a leader
nor a follower; I prefer to talk things out and negotiate.
Trivia: I'm a professional computer geek. I grew up near
Detroit, Michigan. I'm a
Red Wings fan and a rabid Wolverine. I
play several musical instruments badly, and I sing baritone even
worse. I collect clocks and shotglasses. I'm fond of the words
albeit and
ergo. I love semi;colons, ellipses, and
especially em dashes. Everyone misspells or mispronounces my real
name.
In the film of my life, I would be played by a young Oliver Reed.
EDITORS
What I'm doing with my life
In late 2006, a bunch of life changes hit me all at once. (For the
Tarot fans out
there, it was serious Lightning-Struck Tower stuff.) I'm taking
advantage of the upheaval to clear out cruft and improve myself.
I've quit smoking, found a more rewarding job, worked at being a
better dad, sought treatment for various maladies, started eating
better and exercising more, explored my surroundings, patronized
the arts, and expanded my social circles. However, there's still so
much to do! I'm very much a work in progress.
I'm really good at
I'm good enough at
nerdy stuff to make a career out of it. I
have a degree in
nerdineering, and I do stuff like
building home networks for fun. However, even though these are my
strongest skills, I ordinarily don't advertise them. That's partly
because normal people find them boring, but mostly because many
people get the idea that I'll fix stuff for them.
In contrast, I'm much more open about my
geeky skills,
because they're what I do for fun. I'm very good at
puzzles,
games, and
trivia. I'm particularly good at pastimes
that combine them, like
trivia games,
crossword puzzles, and
tile
games.
I'm pretty good at
casual sporty stuff like
bowling,
softball, and
ice skating. I certainly wouldn't
call myself
athletic, but I like to think that I'm better
than your average computer geek. And I really am good at curling,
which, if you've been living in a cave for the past few Winter
Olympics is a sport much like a combination of bowling and ice
skating and can probably trace its lineage back along the same
lines as softball. See a pattern?
A long time ago, I was really good at
artsy stuff like
sketching, pencil drawing, and art criticism. Sadly, I've let my
creative artistic skills lapse, although I still have a decent eye
for criticism.
Finally, I'm great at cooking
comfort food, especially chili
con carne, macaroni & cheese, and various Italian-American
pasta dishes. Sure, this stuff is easy to make, but it takes talent
and practice to make it really well!
Alton Brown of "
Good Eats" is my hero.
[
Note: I am not actually good at curling. In fact, I've never
even played the sport. It looks fun, though!]
EDITORS
The first thing(s) people usually notice about me
Most folks notice either the bright blue eyes or the big white
smile. However, it's rare to see both at the same time, because my
eyes disappear into Irish crow's feet when I smile. It took quite
an effort to show off both in my profile picture.
Once you get within conversation range, you might notice that I'm
shy or gregarious, depending on my mood. Once I'm warmed up a bit
(perhaps with one of my favorite beverages listed below), I become
an animated storyteller. I love to entertain!
What my friends have to say:
I have an infectious grin. [
Really. He does. It's part of what
makes him pleasant company.] —
wbdfibhr
The first thing I noticed about Nutty online was his beautiful
wickedness. Ha! The first thing I noticed about him in person was
how sweet he is. Maybe you're not supposed to say that about guys,
but he is. Sue me. —
MissNDesmond
Nutty, is a recovering Catholic and a much better UU than I would
like to be. Not only that but he is a gentleman, often standing up
for fellow okc-ers. Decent, Funny, Nerdy, and good taste in
music...probably a good catch! (except for the rollercoasters) —
CountessM
It really is the smile, first. At least in person, and presuming
he's smiling. Otherwise, it's warmth and pleasant openness, and
perhaps if you're paying careful attention, you will notice he is a
sly midwestern player, but don't tell him I said so. —
ipsafictura
EDITORS
My favorite books, movies, music, and food
(plus a couple of my own categories)
Music: I have eclectic tastes. For listening, I prefer
melodic, dynamic music like
classic rock, classic metal,
alternative
rock,
old-school hip-hop,
trip-hop, blues, swing, Motown, and
classical music. I also have a nostalgic love of
'80s pop and
new wave music. I'm not a big fan
of country & western or R&B, unless I'm dancing or it's
karaoke night. I'll dance and sing to anything.
My favorite musical artsts include Pink Floyd, the Raconteurs, the
Police, Franz Ferdinand, Phish, Wolfmother, Danielle Dax, Ben Folds
Five, Led Zeppelin, Portishead, Queen, Tchaikovsky, Duran Duran,
Jethro Tull, Poe, Carl Orff, Prince, Tricky, George Winston,
Gorillaz, Fleetwood Mac, Moxy Fruvous, the Beatles, Cake, Modest
Mouse, Muse, and
a bunch more.
Movies: I like quirky comedies (
Ferris Bueller's Day
Off, Grosse Pointe Blank, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Real
Genius, The Big Hit, Dave), action (
Die Hard, Enemy of the State, The Hunt
For Red October), caper movies (
Diggstown, Wild Things), foreign
films (
Three Colors, Wings of Desire, Hero, Iron Monkey),
and thrillers (
Psycho, Julia and Julia, Misery, War Games).
My all-time favorite movie is
The Name of the Rose,
although
Lawrence of Arabia is a contender.
Books: I enjoy genre fiction, classics, and non-fiction. My
favorite authors are Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, John Christopher,
Charles Dickens, Stephen R. Donaldson, Harlan Ellison, Joseph &
Frances Gies, Robert Frost, Thomas Hardy, Robert A. Heinlein,
William X. Kienzle, Stephen King, Steve McConnell, Elizabeth Moon,
J.K. Rowling, Robert A. Salvatore, William Shakespeare, J.R.R.
Tolkien, and Lawrence Watt-Evans.
I just finished reading
House of Leaves, a
fascinating novel by Mark Z. Danielewski. He is Poe's brother, and
her album
Haunted is sort of a soundtrack for the novel.
[Some of you may have noticed that it took me about a year to
finish this book. I got a little side-tracked, and my bookmark was
stuck halfway through the book for months. I'm happy to finally see
how it all turns out. In the meantime, I read several other books:
Ian Fleming's
Casino Royale, Neal Stephenson's
Snow
Crash, Kelley Armstrong's
Bitten, and Rowling's final
Harry Potter novel. Good stuff, although I was surprised at
how much of a nasty misogynist the literary James Bond is.]
TV: I don't watch much TV, but when I do, I prefer
mystery/procedural shows like "Law & Order," "CSI," "
House," and "Monk." I also
enjoy "Stargate SG-1" and "Lost," although I'm not current with
either show.
Food: My favorites include pasta,
chili dogs, french onion soup, filet
mignon, 7 lbs of ham, sushi, bratwurst, fried potatoes, Mongolian
beef, chef's salad,
vanilla ice cream, fajitas, eclairs,
broccoli, pizza, burritos,
kal bi, fresh spinach, chicken cordon
bleu, bacon, chateaubriand, and
garlic-stuffed
olives.
Drinks: I enjoy a variety of caffeinated, alcoholic, sugary,
and otherwise fun-but-bad-for-me drinks, including hazelnut cafe
mocha,
Mountain
Dew, lemonade,
Jameson brand
Irish whiskey, Harp lager,
Hefeweizen,
dirty martinis (preferably with garlic-stuffed
olives), Insane Cherry Pepsi, orange
juice, and blue margaritas. My favorite cocktail is the pickled
mary, and my favorite non-alcoholic drink is clear, cool vodka.
EDITORS
The six things I could never do without
(in completely random order)
Art: Beauty is important. However, you can't always count on
having it on hand. Art is beauty that you
can take with you.
Sure, you could kidnap a supermodel instead, but then you'd need to
feed her every few days. Plus, I think it's illegal in
California.
Books: While
Wikipedia and
Penny Arcade may eventually
eliminate much of the need for books, they still play a crucial
role as portable sources of information and entertainment. Books
are also important as showcases for
typography, one of my favorite kinds
of visual art.
Boxer shorts: They protect you from your jeans, and vice
versa. They're the perfect balance between sexiness and modesty.
When it's too hot for pajamas (literally or figuratively), they're
the ideally-minimalist article of clothing. And yet, you can go out
to pick up your morning newspaper in just boxer shorts and a
T-shirt without raising any eyebrows.
Warning: Boxer shorts
contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause
irrational behavior.
Computers: I'm a computer engineer, so obviously my life
would be quite different without computers. I've also long used
computers for entertainment and socializing.
Games: My preferred form of entertainment. I'm not too picky
about the kind of game; for example, I enjoy
board games, trivia games,
card games, guessing
games,
strategy
games, party games,
role-playing games, and
drinking games, just to name a few of my most favorite! I do prefer
to play in person rather than on-line: I like to sit around a table
with cards, dice, miniatures, character sheets, shot glasses, and
(most important!) other gamers.
Music: Art for the ears. However, I didn't just lump this in
with art, partly because then I'd only have five things, but mostly
because I feel music on a different level than other arts. Great
art is sublime; great music goes straight up to my
mood, grabs it by the hand, and starts
dancing. They're both important in their own way.
My
iPhone is
making a serious bid to bump something off this list. But what? I'm
not giving up my boxer shorts.
EDITORS
I spend a lot of time thinking about
I stress out about
what to say on the phone. When I need to
call somebody, I check my spice rack, organizing my spices and
practicing exactly what I'm going to use. Then I repeat the
exercise for what I'll say if I end up talking to a machine. Of
course, I pace the floor the whole time. Once I actually get on the
phone, I'm usually OK.
Usually.
Because of this, you might expect that I'm more of an e-mail
person. Nope. I also stress out about
what to write. I'll
start a sentence a half-dozen times, rewording and rearranging
until it's perfect. Then I'll do the same thing with paragraphs.
Again, the end result usually turns out OK, but the process is
agonizing (both for me and for anyone who happens to watch).
On the bright side, I'm not so bad with on-line chat and instant
messaging. Something about the interactive format discourages me
from editing myself excessively.
Usually.
EDITORS
On a typical Friday night I am
It depends on the Friday, but common activities include: enjoying
blues night at the dive bar near my home, going out to dinner,
hanging out at the pub, getting ready for a
Dungeons &
Dragons game on Saturday, watching movies, playing
video games, going
out for a date. I'm equally happy to go out (dinner, drinks,
dancing, shows, casual sports) or stay in (games, movies, music,
cooking, cuddling).
The most private thing I'm willing to admit here
I swallow.
OK, something serious: I'm in therapy for a mood disorder. It's not
a big deal, don't panic, I'm only
a little nutty. I only
mention it here because some folks have had very bad experiences
with such things, and it's better that they know about it up
front.
Less serious: I like
Pabst Blue Ribbon.
More serious: I worry that people assume my
"other religion"
is something neo-pagan or new age or something like that, because
(1) I tend to make that assumption myself, and (2) it's pretty far
off from what I actually believe. I was brought up Roman Catholic,
and I still have a lot of respect for my old Church (just not when
it comes to marriage and family planning). Nowadays I'm a strict
agnostic and a
Unitarian
Universalist. (One woman asked me whether I'm
Fremen.)
Less serious: Any time I eat something
saucy, it goes right
down the front of my shirt. This is one of the reasons why I don't
own many white shirts. Although you'd be surprised how many sauces
show up clearly on black.
[
Note: I don't actually swallow. But I would.]
EDITORS
You should message me if
Hopefully you think I'm cute or funny. Or I just look like I'd be
fun to hang out with. Don't be scared by the bit about "looking for
long-term dating." Every long-term relationship starts out with a
first date, y'know? So drop me a line if you think you'd enjoy my
company, and we can start on the happy
chemistry experiment of getting to
know each other.
Bonus points if you're a
gamer girl, or if you know what's
paradoxical about the word "
ineffable." Ten bazillion bonus points
if you're the world's only other fan of
Danielle Dax.
Contact information: If you'd like to chat, please feel free
to contact me via any of the major instant messaging systems
(Yahoo, Google, Live/MSN, AIM). My screen name is
bszonye
for all of them.
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