I'm unabashedly a nerd and fit a lot of the stereotypes associated with them, namely, I have a job in the IT industry, I like reading "scholarly" stuff for pleasure, and like video games.

I'm heavily into RPGs, both video and tabletop. The video games that have consistently held my interest over the years are Final Fantasy, Genso-Suikoden, Wild Arms, Anime-themed RPGs, Roguelikes, and Indie RPGs.

As for tabletop, I'm especially partial to Dungeons and Dragons, Paranoia, Shadowrun, Earthdawn (WHY did this system have to die such a quick death in n the marketplace?!), various wargames and CCGs. I haven't played CCGs much lately because the financial requirements to remain current are onerous, though.

I'm a fairly hardcore skeptic. I actively promote a worldview based on science and evidence as opposed to faith or assumption. I'm especially interested in combatting health fraud, but if I didn't have human failings like everyone else, I would perfectly apply the principles of skepticism to politics, education, finance, and so on. I'm a member of the James Randi Educational Foundation, and want to attend their "Amazing Meeting" convention in Las Vegas.

I guess my views on sex deserve their own paragraph here since it doesn't fit into any of the other questions and they diverge from those of mainstream society. The short version is that my views on sex are very, very liberal. I don't have any particular issues with having sex with anyone so long as they're an adult, able to consent (i.e. not drunk, high, or mentally ill), and aren't attached to a partner who would object. On a related note, I don't have any particular problem with being in a polyarmous relationship, so long as I know about all other partners. Threesomes? I'm up for it. The one area where my sexual liberalism doesn't apply is in the area of sadomasochism. I don't begrduge anyone else their interest in this, but it's not for me, thanks.

Random Interests:

This is a list of interests I'm dumping into the interest parser that don't fall into the category below:

Law, criminology, criminal justice, psychology, skepticism, James Randi, Magic: The Gathering (card game), set theory, lamba calculus, Criticism of $cientology, cults, procrastination, quackery (debunking), Deal or No Deal (game show), The Practice (TV show), vampires.

Secret Interests:

This is "weird stuff" for the interest parser. At the time of this writing, no one has declared an interest in the stuff below, so I'm going to introduce some unexpected "easter eggs" into the interest system. Mad props if you got to this page by searching for one of the terms below:

Fourier transforms, krebs cycle, millenarianism, law of comparative advantage, 108 stars of destiny, deprogramming. ARRRGHHHH,

I am analytical, non-conformist, and 1 sd above the mean

Making a certain corporation rich (or at least, that's what I'm doing on the clock :) ).

While my career development demands a flippant answer, the good (and important!) stuff happens when I'm not writing Yet Another Debugging Function, unless of course, I'm writing a debugging function for my amateur Japanese console-style RPG. In making this RPG, I'm trying to do some things that the commercial market won't due to being risk-averse.

I'm also trying to raise literacy awareness. If you're reading this profile, you're likely already convinced that reading is the single most important skill an individual can have, but believe it or not, literacy is actually not prized in a minority of families, primarily those who didn't grow up during the information age and are of low socioeconomic status. By changing minds and opening doors, I hope to do my part to crush poverty.

Anything that involves analysis and systemization, as opposed to that touchy-feely stuff. :P

Seriously, my talents are all concentrated in more academic pursuits, like programming, English, and linguistics. While genetics most likely played a part in that, I'm guessing the fact that both my parents were bookworms probably has a lot to do with it.

It's pretty hard not to notice that I'm dressed in a floor-length cassock or cape when out in public. I only wear the highest-quality materials, like velvet and fine wool.

A: I prefer nonfiction over fiction in general. I'm proud to have such well-known books as The Prosecutors, Ten Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military, and A Child Called It on my bookshelf. If you've heard of, much less read, one of those books, you are my hero.

I do like reading Star Trek fiction occasionally, though.

B: My favorite movie of all time is Life is Beautiful. As far as movies that mainstream cinemas carried, Terminator 2, Princess Mononoke, and Star Wars Episode III all make my shortlist.

C: I prefer video game music above all else. My favorite composers are Hitoshi Sakimoto, Noriyuki Iwardare, Yoko Shinimura, and Michiko Naruke.

D: For whatever reason, I prefer fish and dairy over meat, though I'm not a vegetarian or vegan.

So that this section doesn't degenerate into "lol i need teh foodz", these responses assume I have all the first-tier needs fulfilled as defined in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

I: Video games like Final Fantasy, Genso-Suikoden, Growlanser II: The net. No online banking, online dating, online news, downloadable music (yes, some of it illegally so) is not a great prospect. III: Relative quiet IV: A local bookstore V: Somwhere to discuss politics. VI: Somewhere to play tabletop RPGs at least on occasion.

George W. Bush does something stupid almost daily, so it gives me a lot of implications of think about. More generally (and cliche), I often think about the world's problems and how my vision of social justice can be achieved. A word of advice: the phrase "social justice" is often associated with liberalism, but I lean more libertarian than strictly liberal. My primary concerns are draconian criminal justice, especially as applied through the insane federal sentencing guidelines, the endless and ineffective drug war, and America's reckless foreign policy.

Another area of concern for me is the large number of victims of scams and dubious organizations. While there's a sucker born every minute, I think that it's society's responsibility to come up with ways to reverse this condition. More effective consumer advocacy and education in the scientific method would be a huge first step in preventing people from falling for crap like craniosacral therapy, homeopathy, anti-vaccination hype, substandard infomercial products, investment scams that promise impossible rates of return, and so on.

Much less weighty but something I think about often is designs for various types of RPGs, both tabletop and video. I'm just a peon without connections, so I'll never get published or anything. Still great fun, though.

Working on my RPG Maker game, reading (either at home or the bookstore), doing housework, reading internet messageboards, or some other stereotypically-uncool thing. I hate, hate, hate clubbing and wild parties in general. They tend to generate lots of drunks and vapid conversation.

- You like my politics and want to heap praise upon me for my hyper-enlightened views!

- You hate me because my politics aren't in line with Sean Hannity's and want to fiercely debate me!

- You hate me because my politics aren't in line with Michael Moore's and want to fiercely debate me!

- Some decent subset of your interests matches mine!

- Something in my profile interested you and you're DYING to know more!

- You actually want to ask me out (LOL! Like women ever actually ask men out on internet dating sites!).