Straight to the chase: I'm a humorous, geeky, interested-in-most-things, generous, supportive, thoughtful, idealistic guy. I have a scientific background, and absolutely love all that stuff (I can stare at pictures of the Hubble ultra deep field for ages). I love tinkering, experimenting, learning new things and figuring out how to do things myself, even if it involves lots of effort or expense. I work to live, I don't live to work.

I love chatting, arguing, debating and wrangling with people who aren't afraid to have opinions. I love to laugh and see the silly side, and will happily engage in pun battles and film quotation/reference foolishness. I love being proven wrong, because it means I learn something new. I love being proven right, because who doesn't?

Oh also:
I'm not convinced by the accuracy of the "Personality" tab on here. I'm not extremely experienced in love, extremely aggressive or very literary - I'm moderately all these things. But I am very mathematical and pretty geeky. And I don't have the manners of a hobo, I actually have rather good manners - when good manners are required ;-)

Mostly woodturning, computer programming, engineering and photography. I love making things (wooden ornaments, bowls, chess sets, gadgets, tools, whatever) and spend a lot of time happily beavering away in an ever-increasing pile of sawdust and metal shavings (see for yourself: http://www.byrney.com). I occasionally host LAN parties for my friends (if you have to ask what a LAN party is, you're unlikely to be impressed by the answer), which are always awesome fun.

Workwise I'm a data analyst/computer programmer at large accounting firm. This keeps me fed with a steady supply of corporate nonsense, which I laugh heartily at :-) I enjoy it enough to do well at it and have a good time at work, but not so much that I let it take over my life, which I happen to think is just the right amount.

I'm always on the lookout for fun but pointless little skills to pick up. I recently learned how to crack a bullwhip, which is immensely satisfying. I can blow a reasonable smoke ring (no, I'm not a smoker - except for the occasional cigar if I'm very drunk). I can open a beer bottle using another beer bottle. I like picking up such randomnesses.

Maths, woodwork, computer stuff, using my hands, making things, fixing things, figuring things out, arguing, laughing, chilling out, being helpful, memorising/quoting from films, listening, cooking, exploring, asking questions, fooling around, seeing the silly side.

-I know a little bit about a lot of things, and I know a lot about a few things
-I have a borderline outrageous sense of humour
-I'm not afraid to ask direct questions or give direct answers
-My dimples

Books: The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy; all Sherlock Holmes stories; The 120 Days of Sodom (no, I'm not a pervert/nutter, I just find the Marquis de Sade hilarious), Accelerando, Pride and Prejudice, The Silence of the Lambs, The God Delusion, A Brief History of Time. Puckoon. Anything thought-provoking or hilariously funny.

Films: Once Upon a Time in the West, Alien, Gladiator, 2001, Top Gun (yes, I'm not ashamed of it), Lost in Translation, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Sunshine, Seven Samurai, Blade Runner, all the James Bond films (they're rubbish, if we're being honest, but I love them), the original Star Wars films. Anything with hilarious unrealistic kung fu and crappy dubbing in it (The Evil Cult, Iron Monkey, Fist of Legend, Last Hero in China, that kind of thing). Anything highly quotable.

Music: a completely random mix of stuff. Quite a lot of classical (Beethoven especially) and opera. Anything 80s and cheesy. Mostly I hate rap, although some of Eminem's stuff is good. Can't really mention individual artists because usually I like a couple of their songs and can't stand the rest. Having said that I like most stuff by The Killers and Queen. I think Alexandra Burke's X-Factor-winning version of Hallelujah was ear-bleedingly disgraceful.

Shows: Red Dwarf, Star Trek, Gavin and Stacey, The Big Bang Theory, House, Human Target (best bad show ever), Lie to Me, Black Books, Father Ted. Random Youtube videos of classic comedy like they don't make any more (Rowan Atkinson's "roll call" has me in stitches every time). All Chris Morris (including Jam). Thundercats, for the nostalgia.

Food: almost anything, I make a point of learning to like things (otherwise the food has won). A good curry is hard to beat. I love foie gras (I know, I know). Stinky cheese. Full English breakfasts. I've recently learned the basics of making sushi, which is awesome fun (and awesomely tasty). I'm lucky enough to work near Borough Market, and eat there pretty much every Thursday and Friday.

(in no particular order):

My close friends
The internet
Good food
Lie-ins
My tools and gadgets
Good conversation

Everything. I'm always thinking about stuff. Specifics? OK then:

-Things I could make (currently want to rig my whole house with Arduinos...not sure what for, but I know it would be awesome)
-Things that are wrong with the world, and how they could be fixed
-What new thing I want to try next
-Things that make me laugh (sometimes this makes me randomly laugh out loud, which I admit looks pretty freaky)
-What I'm going to do when I get some free time

-Having a pint with my mates
-Hacking away at an exciting bit of C++ code
-Standing in front of a lathe, knee-deep in wood shavings
-Having a nice cosy dinner with my partner (when I have one)
-Not out dancing or clubbing. I don't like dancing, I don't like being deafened and I don't like being outrageously overcharged.

I snore. Loudly. But I stop if you thump me.

You think you'd like me and you think I'd like you. OK, more specifics:

Get in touch if:

-you have a fondness for geekiness or bearded men, or are a geek yourself (but not bearded)
-you could spend a whole day in bed with food, drink and a laptop full of good films and TV
-you love laughing and making others laugh
-you can (and want to) have a good conversation. Deadly serious debate about the meaning of life or absurd whimsical ad-libbed foolishness - doesn't matter as long as it's not boring

Don't bother if:

-you're religious, or believe in astrology or fairies or any other obvious nonsense. I don't need you to be a hardcore atheist but if you're convinced there's a God and you have conversations with it, we're not going to get along
-you play mind games
-you're going to consider me shallow for complimenting your appearance. We are on a dating site, after all!
-you're incapable of chilling out and doing nothing every now and then