OK, so right off the bat I'll start with something fairly unconventional: I wish I was a much better writer than I am. Let's face it: this is a text medium, and nothing would make you look away faster than 300 words of barely coherent drivel. Lots of useless phrases like "fun-loving" and "love to have a good time" and crap like that.

So ignore that for the time being. Let's imagine that I possess a rapier wit and charming disposition, that I am capable of being both clever and honest without breaking stride, can improvise wildly humorous jokes and make it look easy, while at the same time being able to converse intelligently about books, movies, art, politics, and technology over a delightful 3-course Italian meal that I whipped up in just under 10 minutes. It's the online personals equivalent of the "I climb mountains one-handed" college application joke that used to circulate around.

Got that? Good. Now at least we both have the same fictional illusion in our head. Fiction is a good place to start. On a really, really good day I can pull off any one of the above traits. Maybe. Most of the time, however, I'm just a mild-mannered geekboy. Your results may vary, please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery, past performance no guarantee of future returns. EOE, AMA, SQPR. Fin.

Equal mix of learning and doing, at the moment. Holding down a job, teaching myself how to cook, and keeping a lookout for new experiences.

Hmmmm. Sadly I've got no really good party tricks or anything like that. I have a lousy memory, but a goodly amount of trivia stashed away in my brain. Go figure.

Haven't figured out what exactly it is that I'm Good At, or Supposed To Be Doing, or somesuch. Still figuring that stuff out.

Well, you've read this far. Surely you've got some opinion by now. Please share, I'm curious.

A) I'll list authors becase that's a shorter list than actual books: Neal Stephenson, George R.R. Martin, Steven King, Tim Powers

B) This changes will alarming regularity, so I'll just mention the last really cool thing I saw, which was The Wild Bunch. Normally I don't like westerns, but that one has stuck with me for a while now.

C) Currently in heavy rotation on my CD player: Orbital, Enigma, Liz Phair, Yoko Kanno

D) Few things in life are as rewarding as good sushi, good buffalo wings, or a nice vodka gimlet.

Ambition, humor, bandwidth, curiosity, and good food. Oh, and a stack of books, for those idle moments.

Chicago. I came here for college back in 1996, and after a brief period of complete culture shock I have completely fallen in love with the city. I haven't seen as much of it as I would like yet, but there is still plenty of time.

There is a typical Friday night? Probably out to a movie with friends, and (if I'm lucky) sushi afterwards.

There is plenty in this profile that fails to capture the real me, I suspect. Words sometimes don't work. And there is something to be said for a little mystery.

You want to strike up a conversation on any number of topics (I may not be knowledgeable on everything, but I can at least fake being engaging about it). You are into movies, anime, computers, politics - or are interested in getting to know someone who is.

Or just want to unleash a diatribe of sarcasm and rage. I hear random strangers are good for that sort of thing.