I'm an old nerd who's trying to be more social.

I grew up in upstate NY and moved to NH in 2007. I currently work in a big blue box where I largely contemplate and analyze the scientific implications of various graphs with squiggly lines and pictures with various blobs on them. I'd like to find something I could be more passionate about, but I can't complain too much. It's much more appropriate to describe myself in terms of the things I do outside of work... constantly tinkering and experimenting with new hobbies, et cetera (see other sections below).

I make a hobby of learning new things. I'm exceptionally good at brewing beer and making soap. Starting to get into photography and cheesemaking, and I have rudimentary skillz with both a welder and a sewing machine. I have pretty good luck with plants and gardening. I have a lot of success with cooking and baking, both of which I do often. In general, I'm a really hands-on person, constantly tinkering and experimenting. I have a lot of tools and I'm very good at building and fixing stuff.

On the softer side... I'm really good at listening and being a supportive friend. I love to cook with or for people I care about. I'm really good at seeing things that need to be done and pitching in to do them; I'm one of those people who brings a shopping cart in from the parking lot when I go to the grocery store, even when I know I'm going to return it to the rack and use a hand basket when I get in there.

I'm pretty shy in most social situations, so people probably don't notice me much at all. Once they get to know me though, I think they find that I'm really a nice guy, easygoing, genuine, knowledgeable, and intellectual. I have a lot of depth, which I think people find interesting in the long term.

Books: I feel a strong connection to fiction from the early/mid 1900s, say 1910-1950 or so: Hesse, Huxley, Orwell, Hemingway, Kafka and others. I'm a sucker for dystopian fiction. I like a good mix of poetry, such as Bukowski, Frost, and Neruda, but I admit I'm not well-read.

Movies: I like movies with a philosophical spin, especially existentialist in nature. If you can see the common thread between the Matrix (first one), Fight Club, and Shutter Island, you'll get what I mean. I'm a sucker for an ending with a twist. (As analytical as I am most of the time, I can get pulled into a story pretty easily and often don't see it coming.) Action is good but it has to have a point; I'll lose interest if there's no plot. I also tend to like dark and twisted movies (Mr. Brooks, Hannibal Lecter series, Donnie Darko, most of Tarantino's flicks), but don't read too much into that! Others in no particular order or category: Amelie, Life Aquatic, the Fountain, Zardoz, Machette, Bourne, LOTR. I watch V for Vendetta every year on November 5th.

Shows: I'm not much into TV (don't own one), but there are a few geeky scifi series I do rely on when I don't have the energy for a more ambitious activity or I'm tired of documentaries. Firefly, BSG, and...? Maybe that's it. Oh yeah... The Daily Show! Or maybe the question is asking about theater? If so then I don't have much to offer. Not a hater, just haven't had much exposure, but I would welcome the influence.

Music: I'm all over the map here. Recently picked up Florence + the Machine's Unplugged album, which is EPIC (my god what a set of pipes that woman has), and Wax Tailor's Dusty Rainbow From the Dark, which is the perfect downtempo shizit for a 1hr 43min road trip. I've been into some of the newer folksy stuff lately, like Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons. At home I'm almost always streaming either Radio Paradise (radioparadise.com), WXGR (wxgrfm.org) or NHPR, with some classical thrown in occasionally for good measure. I don't enjoy much of the formulaic mainstream stuff on pop radio. I LIKE it when music is innovative and surprising and different. Old favorites include stuff like Massive Attack, Portishead, Trentemoller, Nitin Sawhney, Cake, Iron & Wine, Roy Orbison, Devotchka, Radiohead, Neko Case, Moxy Früvous, Soul Coughing, etc, etc, etc. I'll listen to practically anything, always looking for new stuff. There's so much great music out there.

Food: I LOVE FOOD. Nearly anything and everything, way too much to go into. Name anything and I'll probably like it, and there's a good chance I've tried to make or have at least thought about making it at some point.

Comfortable shoes, reliable transportation, cash (versus cards), single malt scotch, leisure time for hobbies, and the shortest commute possible.

I spend a lot of time thinking about how to make common things for myself and what new things I might try to make next. (see my answer to "I'm really good at..." above)
I spend a lot of time thinking about people and what makes them tick... their motives and goals and the rationale for why they do certain things. Mostly speculation, I guess, but it's fun.

Usually having a beer by myself, which is why I'm here. I can be a bit of a hermit.

According to the map, I technically live in Durham. But really... Dover is where I lived when I first moved to the area, and I'm still closer to downtown Dover than I am to downtown Durham, and I never go to Durham anyway, and.... so, well, I'm stickin' with Dover. I could nearly throw a stone over the town line so I don't see any harm in that.

You should message me if you feel like it, 'nuff said. Heck, why not? We can chat and decide if we want to get together sometime. No need to make it into an all-or-nothing thing this early on, hey?