For any poor unfortunate creature who stumbled onto my profile via Quickmatch, I go by SilentPartner around these parts. How do you do?

I'm a bit of a do-everything sort of guy... a modern-day Renaissance man, if you will. To say that I've got a few quirks would be an understatement... not too likely that you'll be bored for long around me. I guess I could be considered the sort of odd creature that brings color to people's lives. Even still, I'm a bit of an outsider socially; for some reason or another, either I don't "get" people, or they don't "get" me. Oh well, no big deal... I prefer to be myself, and would like you to be yourself. All I can hope for, really.

Physically, I'm about average height, somewhat larger-than-normal build (about 240 pounds), and almost all torso (I've been told I'm built like either a tank, a fire hydrant, or a pack mule, one or the other... either way, broad enough shoulders to darn near block off a doorway!). As far as facial features, look at the picture... I wear glasses, relatively smallish ears, and there's always that crazy beard (I trim it, but sometimes it just gets out of control, you know?).

Oh... and somebody told me I have a rather creepy resemblance to Guillermo del Toro. I didn't believe it at first, but there definitely is something to that. Except he's a lot more roly-poly.

As far as beliefs go, I'm a relatively traditional Christian (not really much of a church person, though), although fiercely non-denominational (probably more Lutheran than anything, though I also am into Christian existentialism). I guess I'm rather traditional in a lot of ways, and rather proud of that. (Also proud of thumbing my nose at tradition when I have the opportunity, however!) I enjoy singing, and music in general; the more eclectic, the better. In terms of political ideology, I don't really consider myself a member of either major political party, but more ideology-driven than party-driven. As my taking of the Politics test here shows, I am a Libertarian, and consider myself in about the same area politically as many of the prominent Chicago School economists, with deep respect for the Austrian economists like Von Mises and Hayek (research that in case you aren't familiar with what that means, might be interesting to you, might infuriate you, whatever). For those who don't quite get what I was saying in the previous sentence, I'll explain that I am a libertarian-minded individual with slight anarcho-capitalist leanings. I also enjoy a good debate every now and again... just name time, place, and topic, and we'll go from there (sports, economics, politics, religion, current events, philosophy, music, art, cultural issues, whatever... I'm not picky. I'm an equal-opportunity arguer).

I'm also a Geek of All Trades... seriously. If it's geeky, I've probably been involved with it at some time or another. Video games, Renaissance faires, anime, role-playing of all sorts... yeah. It's not all of me by any stretch, but it's good to warn people ahead of time that calling me an "eccentric" will not only a) be taken by me as a compliment, but b) be a gross understatement.

I graduated in April 2008 with two Bachelor's Degrees from Western Michigan University in Political Science and Economics. I intend to either become a high school teacher or a professor (after grad school, obviously), but I have other options. At the moment, I'm working on campus as a web technician for the academic technology department while about to start the second year of my Master's program in Applied Economics (although I ultimately intend to get my Ph.D. in said field... if you have any interest at all in the subject, message me and I'll be more than happy to tell you about my research interests). I'm also involved with campus ministries from time to time, but my life is largely consumed by studying and messing with computers. I'm a geek of all trades... so what?

I tend to look before I leap, so I tend to explore a situation before I tend to want to get involved with a relationship. Not that it ever really stopped me in the past; just might be something to think about if I seem a bit hesitant sometimes. Don't let it get to you, however, as I'm sure it's not exactly getting to me (in fact, very little actually gets to me... some people get a bit weirded out by that, so I should probably throw that out there). Just know I'll probably be cautious until I know you better, but I'll graciously reward anyone with the patience and caring heart to crack my shell. Anybody care to have a go?

As I said before, I am a geek of all trades. What self-respecting geek doesn't get into video games? (Okay, I'm not always good at them per se, sometimes I downright suck, but you get the idea.) Of particular interest to me are music games (DJ MAX, Pump It Up, Rock Band, and Pop'n Music come to mind especially), racing games (GRID, Gran Turismo, Need For Speed Carbon), and puzzle games (Lumines, Tetris, Puyo Puyo, as well as a fiendish recent addiction to Critter Crunch). I also will play Japanese RPGs (Final Fantasy, Disgaea) when I have the chance, and I also enjoy more "atmospheric", darker, games like the Shin Megami Tensei series and BioShock.

Beyond that, I like to cook. I don't cook a lot, as I'm a grad student with limited time, finances, and patience, but meh. Given the ingredients, a recipe, and some motivation, I can handle myself in the kitchen pretty well. Or I may just get bored and microwave something. Sad, but true.

I also blog on occasion, both on personal pages and on technology and political websites (whether or not I'm good at them is up to your own determination... those who don't enjoy a snarky sense of humour tend not to, though. Love me or hate me, I pull no punches). Also, one's political leanings tend to influence the appreciation of my blogging, although I can't guarantee that just because you liked something I wrote, you'll like something else I've written out (let's be perfectly honest here, sometimes it's just more fun being a devil's advocate). I also do some creative writing as well, mostly short stories, poems, and songs, but I get writer's block a heck of a lot more often than I would like to admit. Sigh.

I'm the crazy tank-like dude with the grizzly reddish beard, weird-looking glasses, and quasi-evil grin lurking underneath all that fuzz. I may not be as big as I once was (I'll admit it, I was a rather fat kid), but I still look physically intimidating to most people. Don't let that fool you, though... I'm mostly harmless (apologies for the Hitchhiker's Guide reference... Douglas Adams' humour strikes yet again!). I'm more of a puppy than a rabid pit bull, yet the claws will come out for protecting what I care about.

In terms of intangibles people notice relatively quickly, it tends to be my quick wit (which can, at times, border on the acidic, or even bawdy).

(a) The Phantom Tollbooth, Heart of Darkness, Fear and Trembling (Kierkegaard is great), The Canterbury Tales, various non-fiction public policy books (usually on economics or electoral theory).

(b) Being John Malkovich, Barbershop, Insomnia, Ice Age, Ghost In The Shell, Burn After Reading. I like mostly what could be described as "head-trip" movies, with the occasional mindless comedy or musical to mix things up. I also enjoy films that are great examples of my political philosophy, including 300, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille (Brad Bird seems to have objectivism down).

(c) Creed's more hard-rock material (i.e. don't get me started on "Higher" or "With Arms Wide Open", Godsmack, Mushroomhead, Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, The Reverend Horton Heat, N.E.R.D., Orgy, Tool, Stone Temple Pilots. As far as genres, I'm mostly a modern or hard rock guy (a reformed metalhead, hehe... yes, I did go to Ozzfest in 2001, and never since), who also listens to electronica, jazz, folk rock, and dance music. Yes, I may be one of the few Ace of Base fans left on the planet. *starts singing Da Capo on cue* More recently I've gotten more into progressive rock and metal, which means I'm testing the limits of my short attention span trying to deal with epics like Opeth's "Black Rose Immortal" (just north of 20 minutes), Genesis' "Supper's Ready" (23 minutes), "Duel With The Devil" by Transatlantic (my favorite band, song is about 26 minutes), Marillion's "The Great Escape" (33 minutes), Dream Theater's "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" (42 minutes), or Porcupine Tree's "The Incident" (55 minutes).

(d) Mexican food, Italian food, Thai food... typically anything hearty and/or spicy. This list can be expanded to include German food (the food of my heritage, I need to eat this stuff more often), Greek food, and some Scandinavian foods. I'll eat just about anything (as my pictures will attest), even things I probably shouldn't (oh well).

My books, my sketchpad/notebook, my computer, my towel (sorry, Hitchhiker's Guide reference), free will, and my sense of humor. I'm not a particularly complicated person, and don't need particularly much, either.

Life. :D Shouldn't need to be any more complicated than that... I'm seriously thinking of quite a few things all at the same time, so "life" is probably the best way to lump them all together. It is entirely possible that something I think about may end up on paper, though, as I do quite a bit of writing as well, whether it's blogging, writing poetry, songwriting, or just scribbling some random garbage on a piece of scrap paper that will probably soon have an intimate relationship with a dumpster or the business end of a Bic lighter.

I try not to think about future relationships, as it invariably leads me back to my past (which I'd rather remain aware of, but still leave it where it belongs, in the past). Nevertheless, I enjoy the company of another, and hope to be married one day (just not in the immediate future). Being a bit of the old-fashioned, sentimental, hopeless romantic type, I think that, when the time comes, I would make a good husband and father. But the time for that is not now for me. I need to get my own life in a better state of order before I consider putting another life into it. Call me old fashioned, I really don't care... that's just the way I am. I don't want to have to rely on somebody else to have to clean up after my own mistakes.

Somewhere, doing something. There is no "typical" around me... those who know me will readily admit that. I may be at my computer chatting with friends, I may be off at a bar (doubt it, though... I'm too pragmatic to drink much at the bar; you see how much a good martini costs anymore?), I might even be at the arcade, probably monopolizing the DrumMania 10th Mix machine over at Putters (why not?). Who knows? More than likely, I'll be just at home listening to music and solving Sudoku puzzles (I have several books of them... no really, I really do!), maybe setting up a "pizza and movie" night with my brother.

Message me for that... I don't want to run afoul of any possible terms of service agreements this place may have. :) I'm not particularly self-conscious, just ask and I'll more than likely tell you. That can be extended to pretty much anything, so feel free to ask me literally whatever you want, even if it's just wanting some of my philosophical musings. I'll probably tell you those, too.

Well, I am a bit of a booze snob... some of my friends kinda get mad at me when I refer to Red Stripe as "cheap beer". But, let's face it... if you drink, why not enjoy what you're drinking?

Also, I am deadly shy at times, and making first impressions is not my strong suit. Feel free to contact me and I'll reply... but don't get creeped out if I stalk you a few times over a span of time. I'm probably just thinking about what I want to say to you :)

you are an intelligent, caring individual who is looking for a kindred spirit to share some conversation (or perhaps more later on, who knows) with. I'm on Yahoo as killer_roach_unlimited and AIM as sCWRUballz... send me a mail here if you want any other contact info (email addresses, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk).

Honestly, though... just say hi, I won't bite (not too hard, at least... at least at first... anything later is negotiable).