i like this thread already. it's interesting to see what people have to say about themselves, women, and their social lives, and nice to see that people here actually do get out.

"how did you meet your girlfriends/wives/mates, if any?"
school. graduated together. hooked up graduation night, kept that going for a couple of weeks and started a relationship (though the relationship could've started a lot earlier). past girlfriends were at school or relatives of friends of mine.

"any opinions about online dating portals?"
risky. i've never tried them so i can't talk from experience, but i think there's a tendency for them to be perceived as a last-resort. i wouldn't ever try them.

"what does yout mate think about your pc job/obsession/hobby?"
my obsession is football (soccer). my girl plays on a girls football team. we can play/talk about football all the time. it really isn't hard to balance a mental hobby with a physical hobby (computers and football, for example).

"how does the pc interfere with your social/private life?"
i wouldn't say it interferes. it helps me keep in touch with a friend of mine who's cruising around queensland during his gap-year. it helps me get info on what my friends are doing. i think part of the ease of that, though, is that a few of my friends are unhealthily obsessed with myspace without being computer nerds, if you know what i mean. a lot of people (mostly girls) are starting to do that.

"are you ashamed to tell women that you like computing?"
no way. i do avoid trying to explain the complications of writing physics or fancy shaders, though. but that's not too hard, coz i don't actually like talking about computers with people in person. i make much better friends with other musos or sporting mates than people who just wanna talk about games or what version of linux they use. --that being said, online is an exception. written discussions about games and game development are great, i reckon, in a forum format.

"are you concerned about your look, the impression you make on women?"
nah.

"do you think pc is addicting and inhibits family life?"
i know it does with my brother he's almost always on his laptop looking for the latest goss on games.

julz