I grew up in Hawaii. I'm nerdy but I like art and creativity. I'm a passionate, enthusiastic dude. I truly enjoy seeing other people succeed and love to help.

I've always got a weird tidbit or factoid to share. I have an unusually broad assortment of interests and hobbies. People frequently tell me that I'm kind, a good listener, and a great friend.

I'm a feminist and believe in equality for all.

I'm a freelance software engineer and designer. Broadly, I make iPhone apps for various clients. At some point I'd like to make my own apps. I fill my free time with various activities / hobbies, or just hanging out at my apartment and watching TV or a movie. After six years here I still love exploring the Bay Area. There's a lot I haven't seen yet, especially in the East Bay. I'm a big fan of the Oakland A's so during baseball season you can see me at the Coliseum cheering on the green and gold.

Lots and lots of stuff. I'm on a comedy podcast that people seem to like although it's pretty new still. I'm just starting out performing long-form improv comedy which has been a lot of fun so far. I'm a programmer by trade, and I also enjoy learning about theoretical computer science, i.e. I read computer science papers for fun. I love to make music. I play both guitar and violin pretty well and I'm working on learning a few other instruments. I love to sing. I'm a good writer and also a good editor. I started writing fiction again last year and it's been really fulfilling. I make new friends easily, especially with the staff at places I frequent. Baristas, clerks, cashiers, waiters and bartenders all love me, probably because I'm friendly and positive. I'm good at remembering trivia like names, dates and places. I'm a quick study. I know a lot about a lot. I'm always coming up with relevant Star Wars quotes.

I'm usually laughing or making someone laugh. My smile is probably up there too, which is terribly corny I know but it's true. When I'm walking down the street I'm often singing or rapping to myself. I wear shorts and sandals a lot, weather permitting. You can take the boy out of the islands...

I felt weird having a bunch of big lists in here so I'm trying something different. It's more fun anyway if we've got compatible tastes but can still introduce each other to new stuff.

I like authors who blend genre fiction with excellent prose and postmodernism like Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Junot Díaz, David Mitchell and Nick Harkaway. I also like postmodern standbys like Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace. I read far more fiction than non-fiction but I will read anything by Bill Bryson because he can make anything interesting. I love short stories. I like how George Saunders, Charles Yu and Jennifer Egan write short stories in the form of lists or powerpoint presentations. Ryunosuke Akutagawa wrote some of the most gripping, heart-wrenching stories I've ever read, and he didn't even write them in English. I collect anthologies of Sci-Fi short stories. I just finished "Telegraph Ave" by Michael Chabon and am currently reading "No One Belongs Here More Than you" by Miranda July and "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by William Gibson.

I like films with interesting photography that show rather than tell, such as films by Ridley Scott, Sergio Leone, Stanley Kubrick, and Wes Anderson. I enjoy films with intricate plots that encourage active viewing like "Vertigo", "The Third Man" and "Rashomon". Growing up in Hawaii I developed a taste for East Asian cinema -- I'll tell you how films like "Shall We Dance?" and "Waterboys" are amazing and how they would never happen in Hollywood. I love how Asian action movies are full of subtext and great relationships, like in John Woo's "The Killer" and Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi". When I see that Shaw Brothers logo at the start of a movie I get excited. And of course, there will always be a large place in my heart for the movies that consumed my childhood: the original Star Wars trilogy.

My favorite TV genres are science fiction (Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Farscape, Lexx, Doctor Who) and British comedies (Coupling, That Mitchell and Webb Look, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Monty Python, The IT Crowd, Black Books, and QI).

My three top three artists are Radiohead, The Beatles and the Wu-Tang Clan. I also really like classical music, especially works by 20th century composers ("Salome", Schoenberg's Violin Concerto, Reich's "Desert Music", Pärt's "Fratres"). I love opera and saw the Met do the entire Ring Cycle with James Morris as Wotan. I listen to mostly hip hop, indie rock, electronica, jazz and Hawaiian. My favorite internet radio station is seeded with Al Green and Toots and the Maytals. Here's my last.fm profile: http://www.last.fm/user/ramoth4.

Oh you know, just stuff like: Fonts. The Curry-Howard correspondance. Photography in film. Self-actualization and communication. The philosophy of government and law. Feminism, social justice and my own privileges and biases.

I guess maybe the above makes me sound pretty serious but most of the time I'm relaxed, easy-going, and happy to jaw with whomever about pretty much anything.

Also, where the hell do I get good pizza and good bagels in San Francisco?

I struggle with mental health issues including depression and anxiety but I've got a great support network of friends, family and an amazing therapist, so I do alright.

If you think you can keep up. (A very silly thing to say.)

These aren't requirements by any means but these seem to be relatively uncommon on here:
• A's fan
• Into hip hop, especially '90s East Coast hip hop
• Have creative writing as a hobby

Also, messaging me, especially if you visit my profile a couple of times, will score you points. Go ahead, smash those gender roles!