Spotted at: Bottle Rock Music Festival
Occupation: Chief scientist behind Dating for Science and PR executive for wineries
Who are you here to see?
Outkast! It’s my brother’s birthday and I brought him here from seven hours away for his gift. [Are you going to see any other shows?] We’ll see a little bit of Weezer but that’s only because we have to watch them to get close to Outkast [laughs].
What are you drinking?
A Tailor Jerry’s spiced rum gingerale.
I love the giant chicken leg! What’s your favorite meat?
Big meat. Steak Sandwich—I’m into it. I had a turkey leg earlier but it was a little dry.
Where did you find that shirt?
My shirt is from H&M.
What about your shorts?
I bought them from H&M and they had a few holes and then they went to Burning Man with me and got a few extra holes.
Where did your hat come from?
It's from The Berkeley Hat Store!
I'll have to check that out, for sure. Can you tell me about your necklace? What does it say?
It says "Oakland." I got it at a craft fair from some jeweler from Oakland.
I love that you have a dating website. How does it work?
I subscribe to 13 dating sites to see which one is the best. I go on dates, collect data and write about my experiences. I tell everyone about the blog before each date. It’s all straightforward and honest.
Which is the best dating site?
OKCupid, definitely. Just because of sheer volume. It turns out to completely be a numbers game.
How many dates do you go on in a week?
Three to four dates a week, but I’m taking a break right now because it’s exhausting. [Do you write about all of them?] I don’t write about boring dates and I don’t write about people that could have more long-term potential because I don’t want to mess with my own game there.
Do you go on dates with men and women?
I have just gone on dates with men. I would go on dates with women, but I haven’t seen any profiles where I’m like, “yeah, that one.”
How do you choose who to go out with?
I have to be interested in them in some way. Otherwise it’s a waste of everybody’s time.
What’s the best date you ever went on?
Going to a laser show, it was out of the ordinary—cocktails first though, naturally. Also my favorite first date is not dinner, it’s cocktails and dessert or dessert and cocktails. You can learn a lot about a guy based on the dessert he orders.
I bet you meet a lot of really cool people that way!
I have because of the website. I go on dates that aren’t really romantic. I see his OKCupid profile, and I’m like, "that person is weird and crazy and I want to know more about them." I have gotten to know a lot of really interesting and cool people because of that—people that I wouldn’t get to know otherwise.
Where do you put the data?
I have extensive excel spreadsheets (that’s kind of nerdy).
Would you be open to posting other people’s dating experiences?
Oh absolutely! I love it. I also started the website for my friends who were dating online and having all these weird experiences, so they would have an outlet to talk about it. We don’t post usernames or people’s pictures without their knowledge.