I think having a sense of humor is probably the single most important component of being a human being (perhaps just below having enough of a conscience to not be a psychopath). Laughing is among life's greatest gifts, so I have a particular appreciate for those who possess more wit than I.

I love life but I don't take it too seriously.

I enjoy intellectual pursuits but I also have trouble sustaining interest in a single thing for a very long time, so that makes me something of a dilettante where such things are concerned. (This should not be taken to mean that I have no short-term attention span, because I do ... it is long term interest and commitment to a thing which I find problematic.)

I'm politically opinionated but not highly politically active, beyond of voting when the opportunity arises. As clichéd as it is to say, I have a pretty open mind and try to be aware of, and adjust for the many preconceptions and biases that come along with being a member of the human species. I take a strong leftist/liberal position on most issues, though on others I may take a more moderate, conservative, or even ambivalent stance.

I don't like my OKC username, but my usuals were taken, and I was feeling impatient. An eight-legged horse from Norse mythology was the first thing that sprung to mind ... and I spelled its name wrong.

I'd like to make a note about my "religion". On my profile here, I have it listed as "atheism" (and very serious about it). Technically that's wrong as atheism isn't a religion, but it's more descriptive choosing N/A. What does it mean that I'm "very serious" about my religion of atheism? If you are curious, read this journal entry of mine. Otherwise, suffice to say that I am agnostic atheist, a skeptic and a humanist and that religion (and non-religion) are subjects I've devoted a fair amount of thought to. I wouldn't describe myself as "militantly" anti-religious (though some thin-skinned believers might), and I do have deeply religious friends and family members with whom I get along swimmingly. That said, I am very wary of blind faith, wishful thinking and superstition, and do tend to see them as unattractive, undesirable traits.

INTJ

Attending college, pursing a degree in biological sciences. As of now I'm a sophomore and I'm not yet sure whether I want to pursue a degree in a more specialized field of biology, or perhaps go in a different direction (maybe Mathematics, Chemistry or something else).

Besides school, I'm not doing too much with my life, besides trying to relax and enjoy myself.

iSketch (see here). Writing (at least, for a non-professional). Critical thought (that means assiduously confronting assumptions, especially my own; recognizing and appreciating the nuances of an issue and tempering intuition with reason).

You tell me. This is the sort of thing that varies by circumstance, but to attempt to address this one in general terms:

In meatspace (that is, the "real world"), naturally the first thing that anybody notices about anyone is his or her outward appearance. The most remarkable thing about my physical appearance would be that I have fairly long hair (for a male). Otherwise, I tend to be pretty reserved (some might say aloof), unless something is going on that I'm genuinely interested in (in which case, I can grow very talkative and animated, at least relative to my usual demeanor).

Online, what people probably tend to notice first is that I use unusually precise (though not perfect) grammar and dispense with the use of most Internet shorthand and other bastardizations of proper language (though I do not judge too harshly those who are unlike me in this, as most people are).

Books: Most of the fiction that I read is either sci-fi or fantasy, but these days I tend to read more non-fiction. To name some my my favorites, for fiction I'd have to go with Dune series by Frank Herbert, as well as its spoof, Doon by Ellis Weiner; the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, Accelerando by Charles Stross, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson (though it irks me how he only seems to mention atheism in association with contemptible postmodernism). A few non-fiction selections which I've found to be particularly interesting are The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, Guns, Germs & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

Movies: It is difficult for me to pick favorites as there are none that stand out in my mind as being highly "important" or exciting over time. Here are several movies that did one or more of the following: really made me laugh, really made me think, taught me something, touched me deeply, really amazed me somehow, or just had so much style and coolness that I couldn't help but enjoy it. In no particular order:

Clerks, 40 Year Old Virgin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix, Galaxy Quest, Hot Fuzz, Apollo 13, Rounders, Nixon, Crash, Fight Club, Death to Smoochie, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Inside Man, American Psycho, The Mexican, Training Day, An Unreasonable Man, V for Vendetta, Children of Men, Snatch, Ghostbusters, Thirteen Days, Office Space, Bull Durham, Casino, The Sandlot, Dr. Strangelove, the Star Wars trilogy (episodes IV-VI), Best in Show, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail as well as The Life of Brian.

Music: Music is not something I think a lot about and it's not a very important part of who I am. On the off chance that it may offer some insight, I will indulge those might nonetheless be interested in my musical taste. I like Smashing Pumpkins and The Beatles quite a bit. Other favorite bands include The Who, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Sublime. I also like assorted 70s and 80s tunes and a smattering of songs from other genres, as well as various themes and scores from movies or video games -- I especially like much of Nobuo Uematsu's work in the Final Fantasy series and the Legend of Zelda theme as reprised for the Wind Waker intro. I also really enjoy the loading screen/buy mode/build mode background music in The Sims 2 -- so obviously, I'm not trying to impress anybody with my refined musical preferences.

Television: OkCupid doesn't solicit our tastes in television for some reason, though I'm not sure why, because if you look past the crap, there is a lot of quality programming.

My all-time and current favorite shows include The Wire, Deadwood, Rome, South Park, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Farscape, Chuck and Mad Men.

Some other shows I watch (or watched) but haven't quite loved them enough to count them among my favorites include: Lost, Heroes, The Office, Firefly, Da Ali G Show, Dexter, The Simpsons, True Blood, Big Love, Breaking Bad, Hung and Entourage.

Web Content: xkcd, the Angry Video Game Nerd, Creased Comics, AronRa, SF Debris, Mr. Deity, Edward Current, Those Aren't Muskets and QualiaSoup.

Foods: I am a picky eater, to the extent that it might be considered a character flaw. I do like many vegetables, pastas and chicken. Unfortunately, I also like a wide variety of junk food. If I were less lazy and weak-willed where food is concerned, I'd probably be a vegetarian.

Maslow's physiological needs would cover the first six things I'd mention.

So apart from basic human needs, plus a profound desire to retain my current state of reasonably good health (free at least of any serious disability), and excluding those things I take totally for granted, I'd have to say:

1. Liberty
2. The Internet
3. Books
4. Games
5. Tabbed browsing.
6. The public library.

Okay, so those last two are more subsections of the second and third items, but I don't really have very many needs, and I felt compelled to fill out the list.

Religion, politics (especially about rights/civil liberties and some of the functional/non-functional aspects of our democracy). Culture, pop-culture,science with a dash of philosophy (particularly as it relates to human ethics.) Also, the Singularity and the posthuman era, even though I'm not sold on the idea that those will happen within my lifetime.

I harbor an active imagination, and enjoy frequent daydreams and excursions into fantasy.

Playing D&D with a few of my friends.

I don't have a clever joke for this one, and since I've already covered most of what I think would be of general interest in the other profile essays, I'm going to pass on this essay.

Having said that, I have enough ego to enjoy it when I am the subject of someone else's interest. If you have a question that isn't answered here, please ask it. I can't promise I'll give an answer, and I can promise that I won't hold your curiosity against you, or be too taken aback by anything you might ask.

You should message me if you have any interest in doing so. I'm not exactly starved for attention, but I would be happy to engage in correspondence with anybody who feels like they have something to say to me.

If you'd prefer not to use OkCupid's weak and clunky tools for communications between users (I recommend Pidgin), that's fine, just let me know how you found me so I'm not at a disadvantage.

AIM: MrVirachoai
Yahoo IM: quinstol
MSN: quinstol@gmail.com
Email: quinstol@gmail.com