I was born on 6 September 1960 (if you don't have the math skills to figure out my age from that clue, we probably won't get along) but look and act much younger (yeah we all say that) but since at last count I had one or two grey hairs in a part of my beard that I keep shaved I'm not going to get the distiguised silver at the temples look anytime in the near future. I haven't been kicked out of a bar for not having ID since November of 1998.

I am an engineer by both college degree and temperment. In other words I'll spend 3 hours figuring out a way to do a 30 minute job in 20. I make my living wrassling software. If I didn't get paid for it, I'd do it for fun. Things I do for fun, but don't get paid for (or at least I don't make my living at) include dancing (mostly lindy hop/swing), studying aikido (28 years and I'm only 3rd Kyu), teaching performance driving with a local car club. I'd race , but I'm trying to pay off that credit card debt, although I have succumbed to temptation and raced on the weekend of my 40th birthday, writing (I actually sold an article to the Linux Journal this year!) and bicycling (I'm bi, I ride both road and mountain). I enjoy reading, but don't get much time. Since I am so busy doing stuff, I watch almost no TV, and few movies. This does often leave me a bit out of touch with popular culture.

By personals ad standards I'm a veritable midget standing at a mere 5'8" much shorter than the normal requisite of 5'14". I'm a mesomorph, and I enjoy physical activity, which means that apart from a little extra "pizza muscle", my 195 pounds is pretty solid. I've got long wavy brown hair, that if I pull it straight comes down to the middle of my back. I have enough body hair to lend credence to Darwin's theory but not so much that one would guess that my simian ancestors decided that evolution was just too much bother after all. My eyesight is somewhere between "What chart?" and "What wall?". When I'm watching the phosphors dance on the CRT at work I wear glasses because my contacts don't correct my vision as well.

When choosing what, or where, to eat I will frequently choose the new and untried rather than the known and comfortable. In foreign countries , I'll ask natives to order for me, but refrain from telling me what it is until I've decided whether I like it or not. When it comes to alchohol, I don't drink much, but I try to drink well. I have a preference for complex red wines and Isaly Single Malt scotches. I generally avoid sweet fru-fru drinks. My diet is omnivorous, leaning towards Asian and spicy. I have no moral objections to red meat, but tend to eat it in moderation lest there be so much of me to love that no one can tolerate that much goodness in their life.

I am secure enough in my masculinity that I don't care one whit about traditional gender roles. I can, and do, cook , sew and clean. I'm better at cooking than the other two. I can also build and drive a race car, ride a motorcycle, write and dance. When it comes right down to it, I don't tend to pay much attention to many societal roles, except those required in a "professional environment". When dealing with others, I strive for honesty and openness, realizing that a little discomfort up front can save a lot of pain later on.

I consider words to be my personal playthings. People who do not enjoy puns, flirting and other forms of paronomasia will not enjoy my company. Despite my inclination to abuse the English language in my own special way, I tend to have little patience for euphemisms and marketinglish.

The women that I am physically attracted to are usually shorter and lighter than I am. I try not to force relationships into predetermined forms, but prefer to let each relationship grow and mature on its own. My natural inclination is towards polyamory which has taught me a lot about communication and handling jealousy issues, though I have been in many monogamous relationships. I expect that when I settle down to a serious relationship it will probably be "mostly monogamous". It is far more important to me that people honor their agreements with each other than what those agreements are.

I've met a lot of women on various online dating sites, and have written up some online dating hints.

My vanity page is a classic example of what happens when html grows up without supervision. It's a byzantine maze of hypertext links and pictures that has been slowly accreting for several years. It is located at http://www.red4est.com/lrc