outRIAAge sounds angry, but the RIAA is the Recording Industry Association of America, and outRIAAge was my old Napster "handle" that metastasized into becoming universal. I'm (obviously) Scottish. I write for a living, which is unbelievably unromantic (mostly computer manuals) but means I live where I want, work... Show More

outRIAAge sounds angry, but the RIAA is the Recording Industry Association of America, and outRIAAge was my old Napster "handle" that metastasized into becoming universal. I'm (obviously) Scottish. I write for a living, which is unbelievably unromantic (mostly computer manuals) but means I live where I want, work when I want to, and cook the rest of the time. I grew up on Scottish golf courses, where my dad was the clubmaster and my mother the caterer, so I became a line cook when I was 12. At the same age, i became a bartender, which was perfectly legal as long as i lived in the clubhouse and didn't drink when anyone was watching. Bizarrely, I finally became a good cook when I completely lost the ability to taste and smell. I spent several years using my imagination to cook things. When I finally got 5-10% of those senses back, I discovered I had a good imagination. I still sometimes go days unable to smell or taste, and I rarely bother to taste what I'm currently cooking even now. Oh, and the mugshot? I've never been arrested, so the photo is a mashup of my drivers' license photo and Michael Jackson's final arrest. Hide