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What's the deal with your nickname? How did you get it? If your nickname is self-explanatory, then tell everyone when you first started using the internet, and what was the first thing that made you say "wow, this isn't just a place for freaks after all?" Was it a website? Was it an email from a long-lost friend? Go on, spill it.

Some people think I look a little like a monkey. Maybe I'm just getting old.

I like puzzles.

I like knots, including intricate ones like the monkey's fist knot. About 20 years ago I devised one that cannot be untied. Unfortunately it takes about 12 hours to make, so I haven't made very many.

I've always admired the Monkey Puzzle tree and it grows well here in the Pacific Northwest.

If "Araucaria" is too many syllables to get your mouth around, you can always call me Q. The hebrew letter Qoph means monkey, but may have originally represented a knot.

Araucaria is also the pen name of a famous cryptic crossword setter.

monkeypuzzle on Twitter.