spotted the bike again today, this time parked at my apt buildings rack. looked at it close enough to google some of the specs ("supertype" seat post, which was pretty nice) and I think I've figured it out. It's a Moyer: framebuilder (whtney moyer) from austin who appears to have retired.

fancy stuff http://www.flickr.com/photos/moyercycles/

http://www.moyercycles.com/gallery.htm