Brief update for summer 2009: Just to state this explicitly, if you're looking for the love of your life to settle down and get married and have your babies, I am *not* the person you're looking for. Go find yourself some nice girl who isn't already married and doesn't have a boyfriend. And yeah, I do mean both those things at the same time. I love and am deeply committed to both and since all of us are ok with this arrangement, I'm not in the market for any replacements. If you're interested in joining our little family, or are at least ok with our continued existence, we'd like to get to know you. If we're an affront on your sensibilities, well... you should probably talk to someone about it who'll actually pay attention. I have more interesting things to do with my time.

I may or may not sustain focus long enough to update other essays, but I've been *thinking* about changing the above important profile stuff for at least a year... you're probably smart enough to infer where my priorities lie.

(Updated when the writer sees fit. Use at your own risk. Viewer discretion is advised.)

I really only signed up here to answer some quiz or other way back whenever that was (the site was brand spanking new). But every time I come back to fill out some other quiz, I get email about my matches which I am entirely too lazy and/or curious to disable. So I figured I'd complete the profile. No harm, no foul. I like people, the potential to get to know a few more won't kill me (probably). If anyone asks, I did it for the lulz.

I also used to really like the profile tag where okcupid said "we currently have a poor understanding of silverjon" or somesuch. I would expect no less.

Edit, more: After several days of answering questions and taking tests and fooling around with the results, I think I've got this thing pretty much figured out, but there are a few things I still don't quite understand. I'm not sure how okcupid judges a user's coolness. It's definitely not the opposite of geeky as I've looked at profiles where the other person was both cooler and more geeky than I was. Anyway, couldn't figure that one out. I'd have messed with the system more if the results were easier to change back to a more accurate reflection afterwards. (I miss "radcliffy!" Even though I didn't really know what it meant and it didn't apply to me!)

Putting odd references inside square brackets and checking out the results nets more entertaining matches than just using the algorithms. Sometimes just as valid too. On the other hand, it's pretty neat to run a search by % enemy and see how many interests you actually have in common with people you still probably wouldn't like much. A shared love of anime and pizza does not make a match.

Also, what the heck is up with the automatic downgrade from "married" to "seeing someone" for what actually displays to the public? I have nothing to hide, except possibly my online status.

Working a tolerable job that pays well enough to keep me afloat while writing and occasionally managing to publish something. (I call my employers my corporate sponser, though not to their face.) Attending to the various desires and demands of family, friends, and hangers-on (not so many of those). Reading a lot. Not watching television.

Last year, I changed jobs, trading in my engineers for archeologists. I could not be happier with this decision. So my corporate sponsor is no more. I am now a government-funded institution.

I have a BA in English and sociology, because those subjects interest me and because I could study a bunch of other subjects while meeting my course requirements. I learned a lot, made some great friends, and had some fun, but have no real interest in academic graduate studies; enough is enough. (I developed an allergy to literary theory... really, the less said about it the better.) I've been told I'd be a good counsellor; further pursuit of psychology towards that end remains an option.

I got a lot out of my system before I turned 18 and have been living pretty clean and stable ever since then (the age is a completely arbitrary measure of adulthood, but still approximates when I grew up). I've experienced a lot more than current appearances would indicate; don't be fooled. But I really like the life I have now. I'm a pretty happy person, but I have an appreciation for both the dark and deeply ridiculous sides of things.

Ha, well, my secret superpower reveals me as the hopeless geek that I am. I have a global reputation as one of the most knowledgeable people anywhere about the PC game Baldur's Gate (1 or 2) who wasn't actually involved in making the damned thing. In my defense, I've gotten to know people from all over the world because of those games. And I'm ok with being geeky. (okcupid informs me that I am less geeky than average; I am not sure if this amuses or distresses me.)

I am good at figuring out how things work, and by that I mean all sorts of systems, from technological to ecological to sociological to linguistic. Essentially, you figure out how the parts fit together and then (sometimes) you can move on to how manipulating one part will affect the others, etc. I think of it as pattern recognition (also a reasonably good book by William Gibson), which applies on a both a micro and macro level. Noticing *stuff* in detail can really help with harmonious interaction with your environment and the people in it. I think so, anyway.

So, I believe this devotion to paying attention to the world can be credited with my ability to often give advice that isn't a complete disaster, the continuing success rate of my suggestions for things I think my friends would like to read/hear/do, and my skill at locating quality items in the most crowded thrift stores.

I'm also informed that I'm a talented writer, by people whose opinion I value (and still would if they told me I was dreadful at it).

My earrings, or my ass. Both are objects of worship in some cultures.

(An exercise in ego; how obscure can I get?)

A) I often read several books a week, and those can be fiction or nonfiction or poetry. The fiction can be more literary or it can be genre: fantasy, SF, dark/horror (not just random violence please; let it have a meaning). Some of my favorites are Harlan Ellison, Gregory Corso, Neil Gaiman, Mingus Tourette, Jhonen Vasquez, Bear comics/Jamie Smart (Looshkin!), the Berserk manga, damn I wish I could think of a woman writer to list here right now... H.D.'s (Hilda Doolittle, that is) long poem Trilogy has been a strong influence on some of my writing. I re-read Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon every couple of years. I like E.E. Cummings (who didn't care to have his name spelled without the capital letters). Sgt. Rock comics were a major force in molding my core values, and I am not ashamed to admit this. I'm very interested in folklore and fairy tales, and read a lot about sexuality and relationships (not self-help, but science: biology, psychology, sociology). Don't think those subjects are unrelated; nothing ever is. I own a copy of The Ethical Slut. I notice a lot of people seem to list Heinlein as a favorite; I've enjoyed some of his work, but some of the things he's written about women are deeply disagreeable. Hothead Paisan is a good cathartic read when you're feeling outraged and powerless. Lackadaisy is teh mostest awesomest webcomic.

B) I hardly ever watch movies. Most of what I like is a little weird or foreign (which effectively means non-Hollywood, and not the more literal interpretation of non-Canadian) or older, or some combination of the above. I like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Last American Virgin, if..., Kontroll, Jules et Jim, Fighting Father Dunne, films by Kurosawa. Oh yes! Head, the Monkees' movie, is vastly underated and one of my all-time favourites, and I can't *believe* I forgot to include it earlier! Anything starring Nacho Vidal is usually pretty good. I enjoy a lot of anime. Miyazaki is a genius, and I love the Berserk series. Sometimes I like to watch other cartoons with adult appeal, like Invader Zim (sure is popular around these parts) and Home Movies. I also dig Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but basically gave up on TV when those shows ended.

C) Lots of different music. Patrick Wolf, Ford Pier, Neko Case, Nina Simone, B.T., moneen, The Get Up Kids, The Organ, The Monkees, Armin van Buuren, The Clash, Carolyn Mark, Geoff Berner, The Populars, Nightwish (before Tarja quit - they bore me now), Social Distortion, The Planet Smashers, Tiger Army, Tiga, The Angelic Upstarts, Sick Of It All, H20, Ted Leo, The Misfits, Osaka Popstar, Metric, Great Lake Swimmers, Lucero, Liroy, The Magnetic Fields, The Birthday Massacre, Cab Calloway. Gogol Bordello is possibly the best live show I've ever seen, but Joanna Newsom was also really cool. I enjoy many genres, including punk (lots of sub-variants), alt-country, indie rock, trance, rockabilly, alt-pop, hip hop, klezmer, some industrial, some prog kinda stuff. I listen to a lot of local music and independent music, and try to attend at least one live show a month. I'm left cold by a lot of what gets played on commercial radio, pretty much hate what passes for country these days (urgh... twang-pop), and am not so much into the metal (the music is mostly just grating, but the hair is laughable). I've been taking lindy hop lessons lately, and am really enjoying the swing dance scene here. Fun!

D)I never met a curry I didn't like. Lots of coffee, but please make it fair trade. I'll try just about anything once, and have enjoyed the cuisines of many cultures. I particularly like to share food, so Ethiopian has become something of a favorite. I'm really not picky though, and am always grateful to friends who will permit me to eat off their plate, a favour I'll gladly return. I dislike bananas and olives, and I'm not fond of excessive cilantro in anything. I've never eaten tripe or haggis, but might not rule them out. Maybe. (Oh hey, I finally had a chance to sample haggis at a malt whisky tasting. It warn't bad, actually.)

Hey, if we can talk about movies together with food for a second, Tampopo and Babette's Feast were both excellent (and sexy!).

Alright, I'll be a sport and skip the obvious life-sustaining answers like water and oxygen and caffeine. And the mushy ones like my friends and my cats (Woo! Upstart and Distortion! Woo!).

1) a notebook and a nice, non-blobby pen (two things, yesyes, fuckoff) 2) a computer (making the organizing of the handwritten thoughts much easier) 3) my library card (the fast track to all the books I want) 4) eyeglasses (I can see to read and write without them, but I'd get lost) 5) clean socks (never underestimate the appeal of fresh, warm, dry socks) 6) lip balm (seriously, I live in a dry climate; chapping's a bitch)

How I'd probably make better use of my time if I didn't spend so much of it thinking about all kinds of entertaining nonsense AND global issues. And what's for dinner. And sex. The usual.

I deny all accusations.

Ok, I have a net-friend, whom I've never met in person, as he lives in Norway and neither of us is currently in a financial situation that allows unfettered globetrotting... anyway, he sometimes calls me "armchair" and that is absolutely the coolest, sweetest, most endearing pet name anyone has ever called me, or likely ever will.

You're curious too... and you can deal with the consequences.

I have been somewhat bad about responding, trying to be better. If you've messaged me without a reply and the friendly stats are high, it's not you, it's me. Sorry. I'm both busy and a bit of a flake.

If you send me a WTF request, I will ignore it. I don't have them disabled, because I'm curious about people who would ask me in the first place (prior to adding this declaration, or ignoring it thereafter - and presuming interested parties would actually read this far), but I am really, deeply opposed to the "what to fix" interpretation, and I did get a request from a guy that indicated he wanted to look at my answers so he could edit his own to be more like mine. That bothers me. If you want to know how my opinion on something specific compares to yours, please ask directly!