At a Glance

Vital Stats:

  • Turned 30 in August 1994. You do the math from there on.
  • Digital librarian for a large state university library.
  • Former freelance web designer.
  • Former retail manager.
  • Out-of-the-closet autosexual divorcé.
  • 188 cm. Too many kg. Performs best in temperatures below 25C.
  • Brown hair with a growing proportion of gray, but it’s all stubble anyway, so who cares?
  • No tattoos, no piercings.
  • BA in Geography and Sociology (Urban Planning Concentration), 1991.
  • Master of Library and Information Studies, 2009.

Personality and Ethics:

  • Generally a loner, not terribly social, and not at all comfortable in large crowds.
  • Strong sense of humor.
  • Not religious, spiritual, nor otherwise superstitious.
  • Self-obsessed, self-aware, self-reliant, and selfish.
  • Mild control freak with occasional passive-aggressive tendencies.
  • Largely drama-averse.
  • Depression (treated) with mild heart and thyroid issues.
  • Cancer survivor, although my battle was easier than most.
  • Pretty left of center politically.
  • Very little patience with whiners, “entitlement syndrome”, and those who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and choices.
  • Devout believer in natural selection.
  • Severe distaste for dogma.
  • No drugs since about 1980, much less booze since 2001, and smoke-free since 2003.
  • Low-carb, high-fat.

Geography:

Vices:

  • Overeating.
  • Overspending (occasionally).
  • Overanalysis.
  • Books. So many books.
  • Misanthropy. But is that really such a vice?

Technology:

  • Mac.
  • PHP, but just a touch.
  • TIFF, 300-600 ppi, archival border optional.
  • MODS.

Natural Habitats:

  • Toronto, Montréal, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, New York, Pittsburgh, and occasionally the Triad.
  • Used bookstores.
  • Libraries.
  • Thrift stores.
  • Diners and other restaurants that haven’t been remodeled since the Johnson administration.

Obsessions:

  • Old supermarkets and other commercial architecture.
  • Urbanism, urbanization, urban history, and urban form.
  • Canadiana.
  • Low-budget road trips and long, aimless drives that avoid rural areas wherever possible.
  • Databases.
  • Books: Non-fiction almost exclusively. Urban planning and history, architecture, roadside and highways, corporate histories.
  • TV: Simpsons, 60s and 70s cop shows, britcoms, old movies.
  • Movies: Film noir, 1970s cop and disaster flicks, old classics, 1950s chick flicks, quirky Québécois indie films, Hitchcock.
  • Music: Francophone alt-rock, pop standards, old country, old jazz, indie rock, bitchin’ pop songs.
  • Contrarians and curmudgeons.
  • Shawarma.
  • My incredible Italian sausage and black bean soup. You should try it.

Irritants and Other Things I Avoid:

  • “Gay culture” (whatever that is) and people who substitute a sexual orientation for an identity or an actual personality.
  • Non-critical thinkers, conspiracy theorists, religious nutjobs, and others who unquestioningly parrot whatever conservative (or liberal) dogma was presented in their favorite cable news show this week.
  • Sports and gyms.
  • Nature, camping, and the great outdoors. Hate them all, unapologetically and at the core of my very being.
  • Art galleries. Sorry…they usually just bore me.
  • Cities that think “urban” means “lots of upscale chain stores”.
  • Stuffy, pretentious, and overpriced restaurants (or anything else).
  • Dancing, dance clubs, and most dance music.
  • Large crowds.
  • People who don’t follow the basic rules of courtesy and civility.
  • Drugs. Yes, this includes marijuana.
  • People with no sense of personal responsibility.