Say you're programming a robot. You install some code, watch how it handles the world, then tweak the code in response to the difficulties it's having. I try to approach myself the same way: adopt a philosophy, watch how I interact with the world for a while, then drag myself back to the lab and do some debugging.

No, I'm not actually a robot. Sorry to disappoint. (Well, I suppose you could argue I'm a really neat biochemical meat-robot... ^^)

Labels are an awesome summary. I mean, this is a dating site, and unless you're *real* desperate, you've got criterion :)

The match percentage should have sorted out most of the chaff, but I still figure it's polite to reiterate. Thus: I am polyamorous, bisexual, transsexual, a little bit of genderqueer, and a large bit of geek.

Writing an OKCupid profile ;)

Experimenting!

The whole point of the robot analogy is that I don't claim to know what I like. I've gotten a pretty good sense from observing myself, but there's always cool new experiences out there. The world is really mind-bogglingly huge ^.^

Learning!

Right now I'm teaching myself ASL, learning how to run an Apache server from my laptop, honing my coding skills, and learning that writing a novel is a hell of a lot harder than I thought.

Connecting!

I love interacting with people. I like talking to them, I like sharing ideas and building worlds together. I love shared adventures, and I love seeing how people view the world. I absolutely adore picking people apart and seeing *why* they view the world the way they do. Teaching someone to *see* the lens through which they view the world, helping them gain volitional control over it - and in the process, learning to see my own lenses a bit more clearly.

Listening. I love to listen to people talk about their lives, and judging from my friends, I appear to be a pretty good shoulder to lean on. I like to be exposed to new ideas, and new ways of approaching ideas.

Creating. I love to create things - new ideas, artwork, little bits of music. I'm only really good at digital colourings and writing, but that rarely stops me from experimenting with random new stuff. I especially like to create universes and write mythology.

Growth. When I realize that part of my life isn't working for me, I can focus a lot of energy in to correcting it very quickly.

My eyes and my confidence have both received many compliments, but they're rarely the FIRST thing people notice. I like to think my tangibility is immediately apparent ^^;

I always skim this section in profiles - I want to talk about more "what I look for" and then give a few examples to illustrate what I mean. I care far more about WHY people like things than WHAT they like! :)

Books: Ender's Game, His Dark Materials, Starfish, Blindsight, the Principia Discordia, and Prometheus Rising are all books that were critical in developing my philosophy at some point and in some way.

I love reading interesting science fiction and fantasy settings, ones that introduce me to a new world; ones that really flesh out and develop an alien world, and make it feel as diverse as ours. (Sabriel by Garth Nix, Unicorn Jelly by Jennifer Diane Reitz, The Circle Opens by Tamora Pierce). Equally, those that present a sharp new perspective on our own world (Slimmer than Thou, 1984). I think I'm a fan of pretty much everything that Peter Watts, Terry Pratchett], and Neil Gaiman write.

I've found a number of comic books really fall in to this realm too (Transmetropolitan, Sandman, Watchmen).Sometimes I also just like things for being funny and relaxing. There is something very uplifting about humor (Knights of the Dinner Table, Discworld).

I'm also a big fan of non-fiction, especially sociology and freakonomics-style economics (Wisdom of the Crowds, Blink, Freakonomics)

Movies: "V for Vendetta" is the only movie that I'd really push on all my friends. I love those rare comedies that don't segue in to being a romance by the end of the movie (Monty Python, Red Dwarf). I loved Babylon 5 for having a coherent 5-year plot. As with books, I like things that introduce me to a new world (Pan's Labrynth, The Labrynth). I'm not picky about the style, either. I enjoy anime just as much as a live-action movie. (Evangelion, Spirited Away and Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Music: Yes. All of it. My recent listening includes VNV Nation, Dead Can Dance, a lot of video game remixes and anime soundtracks, some happy hardcore, and a surprising amount of music from DDR. My deep dark secret: I've mixed pop rock and heavy metal on to a single playlist :)

Seriously though, to me, music is absolutely about discovering awesome new things - new bands, new genres, new sounds. I have a million old favorites, but the best thing is the thrill of hearing something wonderful for the first time!

Food: I love trying interesting new dishes, and especially new sauces. Recently I've been eating a mix of Indian, Thai, and Middle-Eastern - Fusion cuisine is tons of fun to cook! I love eating vegetarian, and love discovering good vegan/vegetarian restaurants; I am not, however, an actual vegetarian.

* Love and Dissent.

* Questions and Answers.

* Fantasy and Reality.

The last two especially! Fantasy: The freedom to think what I want, to craft worlds in my mind both ideal and hypothetical, to play with ideas, and simply stories. Reality: Friends surrounding me, the feel of soil under my bare feet, rain in the middle of the city, sunlight shining through my windows.

Perspectives. I love to explore new philosophies, new moral values, and simply new lenses for viewing the world, trying to find ones that fit me better. No one lense fits every situation, so I like to have a decent collection available to me.

Morality. I don't believe in any absolute right and wrong, but I spend a lot of time trying to sort out my own values. I place a strong value on having a well-analyzed, mostly-consistant set of values. Whenever I make an unexpected choice in life, I spend a lot of time figuring out how my values have changed, and why.

Growth. I don't let myself be restrained, by myself or others. To me, it's critical to acknowledge that I'm imperfect, inconsistent, and ignorant, and I don't hold any of that against myself or others. However, I do strive to eliminate all three. It's part of why I'm so inquisitive - I want to find the portions that don't work, the false assumptions I've been raised with or created for myself.

The same thing I do every night, Pinky! (Why limit oneself to weekends for having fun?!)

Connection, of some sort, absolutely. I love cuddling with friends and lovers alike. I love parties, or watching a movie with just a close friend. Talking on the phone, or chatting on AIM with a lover in Australia. Being open to the moments of powerful magic and deep philosophy that show up at random.

You know, I think "polyamorous transsexual" is a good start there. Let's get to know each other first :)

If you're a weaver of strange ideas.
If you seek freedom from the sacred and taboo.
If you wish to ask questions.
If you want company on an adventure.
If you enjoy chatting about life over coffee.

LiveJournal: Mantic_Angel
AIM: Manticangel
ICQ: 8778972