I try to be a decent Buddhist even though I'm an atheist. (To capitalize or not to capitalize? Ponder pros and cons and discuss.) Be in the present, accept others as they are, believe in karma (although I think it's more immediate cause-and-effect than divine retribution). Except for the vegetarian thing. What can I say- the cuter they are, the better they taste! I don't call myself a secular Humanist because I think that's dodging the issue. I respect Agnostics who believe there's simply not enough proof either way (well, I try to), but being Agnostic because you simply haven't thought about it enough or don't want to make a decision seems lazy to me. I try to respect others' religious beliefs. Unless they're totally wacko or intolerant. I'm intolerant of intolerance.

I'm ambitious without being (I hope and believe) money-grubbing or power-hungry. I'm a hedonist, and that occasionally (but only occasionally) takes a bit of the old bees-and-honey. I love what I do and I do it well. As long as I do it well, I see no reason not to continue to look for advancement in my career. I don't really understand people who are just clocking time till retirement. Unless they have another passion that they are working toward. What's life without passion?

Je suis complexe mais pas confue. Je suis un member de Mensa, mais je me comporte comme un idiot de temps en temps. J'adore les films de Hitchcock et Ed Wood tous les deux. Je suis athée, mais je dis "mon dieux" souvent. Je suis facile à vivre, mais les gens stupides ou impolis me rendre furieuse.

I am highly amused, generally curious, and mostly fearless

I play bass with friends every Wednesday. I love to watch my dog rip the guts out of squeaky toys- such joyful, bloodthirsty abandon! I collect b-movies and, because I'm a geek and think SQL and ColdFusion are fun, occasionally play at building a database-driven website about them. Will it ever be finished? Who can say for sure? I'd generally rather listen to old radio shows than see a blockbuster movie. I go to 80's nightclubs with varying degrees of regularity, but am well-known in "the circuit". Or whatever. I know the names of probably too many bartenders. I'd like to go back to ballroom dancing and/or swing. I've been trying to get out to more boardgaming nights. I like the pretty German stuff- Reiner Knizia is the roXX)r. It's been way too long since I've been to the Musee Mechanique- not since it's moved. Yikes! Quarters are burning holes in my pockets...

I love seeing cult or B-movies at the Parkway. I spent Valentine's with my best friend at the El Cerrito Parkway watching a monster movie double feature, thanks to Thrillville. And I don't feel bad about that. Like, at all. When I get the chance I see Grand Guignol oddities in San Francisco- love the Hypnodrome. There's nothing like sipping wine and making out in a private Shock Box while watching a Boris Karloff movie as rubber bats fly overhead. Truly.

I've just started letterboxing. The only thing I love more than mysteries is puzzles. Or do I mean that the other way around? I subscribe to Games Magazine and occasionally write a crossword myself. One day I'll get around to writing a mystery. Still in the research stage right now. Which mostly means reading them like they're going out of style, with an occasional book about mortuary practices or police procedures so I feel like I'm actually working at it. My fear is that when I get down to writing I'll be self-consciously clever. Oh please no. I also hope I continue to take a happy enough view of the- um- eventful life that I continue to live that I never feel the need to write thinly-disguised "fiction" about it.

Je conçois les sites Internet. Je suis un geek avec une vie social. J'aime jouer aux cartes et aux jeux de société. Je lis trop. Je doit sortir mon chien plus souvent.

Jigsaw puzzles, web design, crosswords (better at solving them than writing them), making people laugh, opening champagne bottles, foreign languages, dancing.

Ouvrir les boutielle de champagne. Les casse-tetes et mots-croisés. Les langues.

Who can say? My old college roommate insists that his ex-girlfriend used to wax rhapsodical about my nose. Go figure. I would say it's a toss-up between my club foot, my hunchback and my cleft palate. Wait.... no. It's got to be that I only have one eye.

Any mystery novels by Ellis Peters, Elizabeth Peters, Elizabeth George, Rex Stout, Sue Grafton, Dorothy Sayers... The Elements of Typography by Bringhurst. Miss Manners Saves Civilization. The History of Private Life.

I like mostly 80's music. (I miss The Quake!)I believe it's not possible not to like someone who likes the Jazz Butcher. Feel free to prove me wrong. I dare you. My Pandora stations include:

• An Unholy Noise (Nina Hagen, X, The Ramones)
• Sub Club New Wave (Siouxie, Bauhaus, The Cure)
• 80's Dance/Bounce (B-52's, Oingo Boingo, Erasure)
• Mellow Cool Groove (Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream)
• The Lovemakers Radio (with Grand National, The Brothers Martin, Beach Mercer)
• Jazzy Ladies (Ella, Peggy, Rosemary...)
• Harry Nilsson Radio (with James Taylor, Randy Newman, Harper's Bazaar)

Got a Pandora station you think I'd like? Share it with me!

Movies I never get tired of watching: Harold and Maude, Big Trouble in Little China, The Princess Bride (I *heart* Andre the Giant), MST3K's treatment of Mitchell, Philadelphia Story. The City of Lost Children is stunning, but not a everyday kind of film.

I love good food- I wish I loved it a little less. Cravings are usually for sushi, dim sum, Thai peanut sauce, roast duck, polenta or salad.

My ever lovin' dog, my quirky and loveable family, my steadfast and brilliant friends, music, the Internet, sex.

Six things I'd rather not do without: caffeine, books, cinnamon toast, Internet radio, fishnets, my passport.

Sex, our Commander in Jackassery and his flying monkeys, how to arrange my next trip to Europe, why this bit of CSS I've been writing isn't working like I thought it would, why "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing.

Typical? Well, I could be home reading a book, out dancing, wasting time with computer games, spending time with friends, having dinner with my family, watching Ed Wood movies...

Do I say it? Yes? No? I'm in Mensa. Does it make me an arrogant rat bastard for admitting that? For being in Mensa in the first place? Or for actually bringing dates to the few Mensa events I attend, because- jeez! most of those people are socially inept. Sweet, though.

Je voudrais bien sortir avec quelqu'un plus intelligent que moi.

Message me if you're wicked smart and wicked funny. Or if you know of a good boardgame group, particularly in the East Bay. Or if you want to give me bass lessons.