Sinister pagan in the 16th prime of life*, conjures daemons with his two cats at the sign of the Witch's Rock.

* OK, this ceased to be true on the 17th October 2009; but hey, who's counting?

I'm a philosopher by training, and ideally I'd like to be a philosopher be profession. However, not many jobs going these days... So instead, I write software.

I love

* writing and story telling - I'm not published, but it is my one remaining ambition;
* reading, and books - I like other people's story telling too;
* cycling;
* my home area, its people and its history;
* my cats.

I'm not religious in any conventional sense; I'm an ex-Quaker, but I've come to see organised religion as generally evil.

Politically, I am a long way out on the libertarian left, rather green, and very much a localist. Politics matters to me - I'm unlikely to get on well with someone who's political opinions are not thoughtful (which does not mean we have to agree).

I'm not very materialist, ambitious or money motivated. I have all the stuff I ever wanted. So long as I can pay the bills and have a little extra for toys that's enough for me. On the other hand, I am entrepreneurial; I've been self employed or a business owner most of my life, and although I'm not just now I almost certainly will be again.

I do not have (and do not want) a television.

I am somewhat kinked, definitely to the dominant side. I'd rather remain celibate for the rest of my life than have a relationship with someone who preferred to have sex in the missionary position at night in bed with the light off.

Getting by. Working to pay off my mortgage - less than a year to go; and, if all goes well, then I will be able to work a lot less. Planting trees, and looking after trees I and friends have planted. Cycling - not as much as I'd like, but somewhere between three and five thousand miles a year. Talking with friends. Finishing a computer game I've been writing for a year and a half. Tying off the loose ends of a failed relationship, and looking to move on.

Writing. Story telling. Bondage. Photography. Cycling. Sailing. Software design.

Heavens! I don't know (and probably wouldn't want to). They notice what they notice. What do _you_ notice?

Books

* Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
* Guy Gavriel Kay, Tigana, Ysabel
* Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion
* Snorre Sturlasson, The Heimskringla
* Iain M Banks, Inversions
* Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide (and sequels); Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
* Neil Stephenson, Anathem, Cryptonomicon

Movies

* Akiro Kurosawa, Seven Samurai
* Antti-Jussi Annila, Jadesoturi (Jade Warrior)
* Terry Gilliam, Brazil
* Akiro Kurosawa, Kagemusha
* Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
* Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
* Bernardo Bertolucci, Last Tango in Paris
* Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings trilogy
* Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption
* Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amelie
* Michael Winterbottom, 9 Songs

Music

Capercailie
The Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band
The Move/Roy Wood/Wizzard
The Doors
Rimski Korsakov
Annie Lennox/Eurythmics
Pink Floyd

Food!

H'mmm.... Most of the things I cook don't have recipes and don't have names. A lot of fresh ingredients; inspired a bit by Malay and a bit by Afghan cooking. I cook from fresh ingredients as often as possible, usually four days a week. As you'll notice, I tend to cook to MINIMISE WASHING UP!

So, for example, Ricey Stuff:

Method: to a pan on a brisk heat add oil, sliced fresh garlic, plenty of sliced fresh ginger, onion (spring onion if available), capsicum pepper, lamb or fish or cashew nuts; stir fry until the onion is soft and the meat or fish sealed. Add sliced mushrooms, dried apricots, flaked almonds, and the zest of one lime, shredded. Stir fry a little more, then add rice, salt, water and the juice of the lime. Cover and simmer. When the rice is cooked, garnish with fresh coriander (and optionally a thin shredded omelette) and serve immediately. Vary according to availability of ingredients.

Ratted Wheels:

To a pan on a low heat add plenty of good olive oil, garlic, aubergine, salt. Stir fry gently until the aubergine has begun to cook and soften, then add onion, capsicum pepper, and other seasonal vegetables, cover and sweat on a low heat for some time, stirring occasionally. Add a lot of sliced mushrooms and a tin of tomatoes, chopped. If you're opening a bottle of wine for the meal anyway, add a glass of wine. Ignore on a low heat for half an hour. Serve with plenty of fresh home-made bread.

The hills
The sea
My friends
My bikes
My home
Stories

(on rereading that, Jings, how pretentious! but none the less true)

Stories, Software design, Sex.

Usually tired. Usually driving home, catching up with post and things on the Internet, listening to the News Quiz and Any Questions on Radio 4, talking to friends, getting a bike ready for the morning.

My most significant sexual fetish is forests.

You are complete in yourself and confident of who you are, thoughtful,
fit (perhaps a cyclist!), a long way from vanilla flavoured, and are tentatively interested in something long term, complex, sensual and interesting.