Hey there, and welcome to this little page about.. well, me.  You’ve probably been sent here by me sending you a link..  this page was written as a way of introducing myself to potential roommates or others who need to know what life with me is like.  Please feel free to ask me any direct questions that come to mind.  I’m sure, over time, I’ll keep adding to this as people come up with questions and things that aren’t quite clear.

ARCHER IS JUST FINE.  My first name (“Archturiat”) is a little hard to pronounce.  That’s okay.  Please feel free to call me “Archer”.  If you want to know the whole story about my name, that’s a whole ‘nother webpage, my friend.

iDRIVE.  Oops, that was a joke (see, I used to work for a company called iDrive.. oh, never mind).  I do own two vehicles (a VW camper van and a VW New Beetle).  Typically (especially in the winter) the camper van is stored, and I use the New Beetle as my daily driver.  I burn biodiesel whenever possible.  I’ve been known to make my own (see “I’m a Maker” below).  That said, I also love to take transit whenever possible.  Note that I love to drive, so I can be bribed into giving rides for disturbingly cheap.

I’M NERDY.  I play video games.  I can quote Monty Python.  I get in arguments on the Internet over spelling and grammar.. and vi over EMACS.  I watch Reddit and Fark.  I blog.  I run my own webhosting services and Internet radio station.

But, I’m also QUITE SOCIAL.  I like living with people.  I don’t like to be alone.  I can be quiet and shy until I understand a group dynamic, but once I’m engaged I can be quite gregarious.  I love living in environments where people are poking their head in (when my door is open) to ask “what’s up” or invite me to participate in a board/card/online game or social activity.

I’M A MAKER/HACKER/BUILDER OF ODDITIES.  I tend to tinker with things a lot, and typically my personal space will be littered with half-taken-apart toys and gadgets.  The upside?  I can fix damn near anything (or at least tell you that it’s beyond reasonable repair).  I’m not afraid to void a warranty or two.  I keep explosions to my personal space.  (just kidding: things don’t blow up.. often..)

On that note, I’M A MAC, NOT A PC.  Actually, I’m a UNIX geek by trade, so you’ll be just as likely to see me run LINUX as Mac OS.  But, my primary computers tend to be Macs.  That said: first thing you’ll probably see is my Android smart phone.. so I’m not some kind of Jobs-worshipper.  But we’ll get into religion in a minute.

YOU ARE MY SYNTHESIZER. At one point in my life, I was a classically trained organist and actually earned my paycheck playing obnoxiously large musical instruments that just happened to have buildings built around them.  I’ve wandered away from music as a profession and as a hobby, but I’m starting to miss that in my life.    Being around creative people, especially musicians, would be a wonderful addition to my life, and would probably motivate me to dust off the keyboards and re-engage.  Oh, and I also play hammered dulcimer, but I’m similarly out of practice.  If someone would have the patience to teach me guitar, that has been a life-long goal of mine *hint* *smiles*.

I DRESS IDIOSYNCRATICALLY.    My two main extra-curricular activities involve a Renaissance Faire and “the Steampunk” (whatever that might mean today).  As such, you will often see me come and go in odd costumes.  I tend to enjoy playing with anachronistic clothing styles.  I sew.  In warmer months, I’ll wear Utilikilts.  In colder ones, I’ll wear a cloak.  Day-to-day dress tends to range from “thrift-store casual” to “console cowboy” when I’m not trying to impress anyone (I grew up near Bakersfield, California, so “comfort clothes” tend to be a bit “hick”).  Jeans and T-shirts abound, often with sarcastic or geeky silkscreening.  Oh, and the frequently retina burning tie-dye.

I’M POLITICALLY IDIOSYNCRATIC.  Technically, I consider myself a libertarian (note small “l”), but I diverge quite widely on what that means on a local level (example: I’m all for local taxes to support transit projects and I don’t automatically think “welfare” is a four-letter word).   I tend to get along with people who are socially liberal and fiscally moderate.  Ayn Rand was an asshole, so I’m not one of those Randroids.   Republicans piss me off.  I get along okay with Democrats, as a rule.  I think most political parties are full of shit, quite honestly.  Note, however, that people with well-thought-out political views generically impress me, regardless of whether I agree with them or not.

I’M UNAPOLOGETICALLY CARNIVOROUS.    I am a (very loose) follower of “The Paleo Diet”, and that means I eat a lot of meat.  I also have problems eating soy and legumes, so the only way I can get anywhere close to a reasonable supply of protein would be from meats and dairy products.  I DO tend to shy away from mass-produced meats when I can, and tend to purchase grain-fed and locally sourced meats whenever possible.  If you are a vegetarian/vegan who’s okay with living with a meat-eater, we’ll get along just fine if you can accept that I’m not going to change my diet.

I’M EQUALLY UNAPOLOGETICALLY NON-CHRISTIAN.  I’m not “anti-Christian:” quite honestly, I don’t care what you believe in.  However, I’m pretty open about not being Christian.  I don’t like preachy people and Evangelicals of any stripe.  Religion is like your private parts: it’s great you have them, and if we’re good friends I might be interested in sharing or playing around with yours, but please don’t stick it in my ear.  If you must know: I’m a skeptical Spiritualist who identifies as “Neo-Pagan”.  Yes, I will likely have a small space in my room dedicated to an “altar” of sorts.  I typically get along fine with atheists and agnostics, and non-religious people in general.

I HAVE A tWiSTeD, SOMETIMES SICK, SENSE OF HUMOR.  I don’t play practical jokes and I don’t generally feel that hurting people makes for good humor, but I do have a pretty sharp wit at times and often use it in ways that some people are offended by.  To give you an idea of what I’m talking about: I make fart jokes.  A lot of fart jokes.  A.. well, metric assload of fart jokes.  I find South Park and Aqua Teen Hunger Force serviceably funny. And I used to maintain the “Canonical List of Dead Baby Jokes” on the pre-World-Wide-Web Internet back in the mid-1990’s.

I HAVE A PENIS.  OR A VERY LARGE CLITORIS, DEPENDING.  Yes, I’m a guy.  I grunt, scratch, and do guy things.  I also have my feminine side as well.  I sew and infrequently knit, sometimes WHILE playing video games and drinking beer.  I’m not afraid to question gender norms in our society.  A lot of my friends are LGBTQ[VWXYZ], and I’m not only okay with that.. I cherish them deeply.  If being around spludges, “queers”, transgendered, intersex, intergender, Radical Faeries, drittes Geschlecht, or whatever color of the rainbow makes you uncomfortable, we might have a problem.  Hell, if you identify as any of the above, we’ll probably get along Just Fine Thank You.  (Note that some of this is a “religion” thing for me, too, but that is a later conversation…)

PUSSY!  I own a cat, Summertime.  She’s a British Shorthair.  She’s very cuddly, and loves people.  Feed her and you’ll have a friend for life, if you like.  She is the laziest cat in the Universe, so she’ll likely be just fine confined to my space.  I sometimes will be seen taking her for walks.  (If you can imagine: guy, in black T-shirt and black Utilikilt, walking a cat on a leash… )

THE DREADED SMOKING/DRINKING/DRUGS CONVERSATION: I don’t smoke, per se.  I do infrequently visit hookah bars, and will sometimes enjoy tobacco in that environment with friends, but I don’t like the smell of burned tobacco in my personal space, so I NEVER smoke indoors or at home.  I’m okay with you being “420 friendly”, but I don’t typically partake myself.  I will occasionally want  to enjoy a beer, gin and tonic, or absinthe… but I’m not a “heavy drinker”.

I prefer to live in environments where people are laid back, and where the use of intoxicants is done responsibly and with respect for what drugs can do to your mind and body.  The occasional party is fine (hell, even a weekly shindig can be fun), but I don’t really think I’d be comfortable in a “frat house” environment where the beer flows like water and there is a constant “green fog” around the house and the inhabitants.

WHY I’M LOOKING: People seem to wonder about this.  Basically, I do a lot of freelance computer and telecom work.  Business has been slow the past year, so I’m looking to reduce my rent.  I’m presently paying about $800 for rent and utilities in my own one-bedroom apartment, and I’m trying to get that under $500.  That, plus living alone has been a bit of a drag: I’ve spent most of my life living with other people, and I miss that greatly.