Hi there! My name is Stephen. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, but I now live in Baltimore. I am independent and freethinking. No two weeks for me are ever the same. In my free time, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and skiing. Music, including concerts, are a hobby of mine (especially indie rock and progressive rock, but including jazz, classical, electronica/rap, among a few other genres). I like a lot of other random things, such as good TV (e.g., 24 and Family Guy) and film (e.g., Groundhog Day), Scrabble, and webcomics (such as Cyanide and Happiness and XKCD).

I am a good fit of the "NT" (INTJ) personality temperament (see http://www.personalitypage.com/four-temps.html).

By the way, I got braces in July 2009, but I hope that this is not a problem.

I am an electrical engineer who works for a defense contractor in the Baltimore/DC area. I have been working for 2 years, and I currently do programming and hardware testing.

I am really good at mental math and Scrabble. I am somewhat good at being attuned to the indie music scene (though I have lost touch a little since graduating college), Sudoku, skiing, Scuba diving, and programming.

People notice that I'm much more of a listener than a talker when I first meet people. I like to get to know people by listening to their stories and letting them lead the discussion. Once the topic matches something I'm really passionate about, I can be very talkative. On the surface I seem reserved, but once I establish a comfort level with someone, I'm really outgoing and expressive.

Top ten books currently: 1984, Atlas Shrugged, Brave New World, The Da Vinci Code, Frankenstein, The Grapes of Wrath, It (by Stephen King), Jurassic Park, Rainbow Six, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Top films (rated as 5 stars in Netflix): 8½, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, uirre: The Wrath of God, Airplane!, All about Eve, Amélie, American Beauty, American History X, American Splendor, Annie Hall, The Apartment (1960), Arlington Road, Atonement, Back to the Future, Batman Begins, Battleship Potemkin, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Being John Malkovich, The Bicycle Thief, Blade Runner, Body Heat, Borat, The Bourne Identity, Bowling for Columbine, Brazil, Breathless (1960), Brokeback Mountain, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cape Fear (1962), Capturing the Friedmans, Charade (1960), Chungking Express, Cinema Paradiso, City Lights, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Crash (2005), Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Dark Knight, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Deconstructing Harry, Deliverance, Double Indemnity, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), The Elephant Man (1980), Elf (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Exorcist (1973), Fargo, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Fly (1986), Forrest Gump, Fracture, Full Metal Jacket, The Game (1997), The General (1927), Ghost (1990), Ghostbusters, Good Bye Lenin!, Grand Illusion, Groundhog Day, Harold and Maude, His Girl Friday, The Illusionist (2006), Into the Wild, It's a Wonderful Life, L.A. Confidential, La Jetée, Laura (1944), The Lion King, M (1931), Man Bites Dog, Man on Wire, The Man Who Knew Too Little, The Man who Shot Liberty Valance, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Matrix, Men in Black, Milk (2008), Million Dollar Baby, Minority Report, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Mulholland Dr., Network (1976), No Way Out, North by Northwest, Nosferatu (1922), Oldboy, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Pan's Labyrinth, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Paths of Glory, Peeping Tom, Persona (1967), Pinocchio (1940), The Planet of the Apes (1968), The Player (1992), Rain Man, Rashomon, Red Shoes, Rosemary's Baby, Schindler's List, The Searchers (1956), Sex Lies & Videotape, The Shawshank Redemption, The Silence of the Lambs, The Simpsons Movie, Singin' in the Rain, Solaris (1972), Spirited Away, The Squid and the Whale, Stranger than Fiction, Sunrise (1927), Sunset Boulevard, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, This is Spinal Tap, The Time Machine (1960), Total Recall, The Truman Show, U2 3D, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, United 93, Vertigo (1958), Videodrome, Waking Life, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Witness for the Prosecution, The Wizard of Oz, A Woman under the Influence, Young Frankenstein.

Top bands: 30 Seconds to Mars, 36 Crazyfists, The Afghan Whigs, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Apples in Stereo, Arctic Monkeys, As Blood Runs Black, As Hope Dies, At the Drive-In, Badly Drawn Boy, Bark Psychosis, The Beatles, Beethoven, Ben Folds, Between the Buried and Me, Billy Joel, Björk, Blonde Redhead, The Blood Brothers, Boredoms, Brothers Past, Built to Spill, Buried Inside, The Cars, The Casket Lottery, Cave In, Charles Mingus, Christiansen, Circle Takes the Square, The Clash, Coalesce, Converge, The Cure, Current 93, Death Cab for Cutie, Debussy, Deltron 3030, Desaparecidos, Diabolical Masquerade, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dr. Octagon, Dream Theater, The Faceless, The Fall of Troy, Finch, Frank Zappa, Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, Genesis, The Get Up Kids, Glassjaw, Gong, In Flames, Jethro Tull, Journey, King Crimson, Knut, Led Zeppelin, Los Campesinos!, The Mars Volta, Mates of State, Melt-Banana, Metallica, Minus, Modest Mouse, Mozart, Mr. Bungle, My Bloody Valentine, Negativland, The New Pornographers, Nine Inch Nails, Norma Jean, Opeth, Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, Pig Destroyer, Pink Floyd, Pixies, Poison the Well, Queen, Radiohead, Refused, Rush, Sea Ray, Sigur Rós, Slint, Smash Mouth, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Stereolab, Sting and The Police, The Streets, Sugar Ray, Sunny Day Real Estate, System of a Down, Television, Thursday, Tool, Trivium, U2, The Velvet Underground, Weezer.

Top food: Papa John's pizza (favorite toppings are mushroom and pepperoni), Carrabba's Chicken Marsala, my mom's recipe (probably from Cook's) for pasta with tuna cream sauce, tender swordfish (I've had the best at Hibachi restaurants), Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese with Four Cheese Sauce, Strawberry Pop Tarts, regular Cheez Its, ice cream (favorites include Moose Tracks and cookie dough), hot fudge, my mom's recipe (probably from Cook's) for a chocolate peanut butter bar, Snickers, and (most addicting of all for me) pecan turtles

1) Family
2) Close friends
3) Good art (music, film, literature)
4) Outdoor activities
5) New experiences (vacation, unfamiliar hobby)
6) Logical challenges (puzzles, work, discussion)

I think about my family and friends. I sometimes get into discussions with my sister or one of my best friends about ideal changes to the U.S. or world at large. Lately I've been thinking a lot about real estate because I am househunting.

On a typical Friday night, I am spending time with close friends. We have recently gone to out to dinners, movies, an air show, concerts, and poker nights. I also could be at a dance party in DC or, occasionally :(, in bed early due to a tiring work week.

I used to wet the bed when I was 7 years old. My dad is remarried to a Russian woman who is only 5 years older than me.

Message me if you do not already have kids and my profile piques your interest.