The "Ask Us Anything" Game

One thing I enjoy about my participation in other online communities is the true "community" feel -- I get a sense of knowing the other people well without having met them in real life, based on my interactions and observations.

While there is certainly a comradrie here, I feel like it could be much stronger than it currently is. So in order to get to know each other just a little bit better, I've decided upon a game that might aide in this. The rules are simple: You answer the previous poster's question, then devise your own. These questions can be anything reasonable with regards to likes/dislikes, hobbies, appearances, etc. (Please keep it "family-friendly" though, and respect people's privacies. I, for one, am okay with personal questions; but most others probably are not.)

For example, if the previous poster's question was:I would reply:To which another person might then reply:And so on.

Easy as pie, right? (Mmm....pie....) Let's get started.
The first question is: What was your least favorite subject in high school?

History. Always fell asleep in that class and remembering dates of when things happened was boring as well (especially if you're doing this in India, where historical records go back a very long time and every darned tiny village/town/city had its own independent ruler as well). Also, my history teacher for many long years didn't like me very much for some reason and it showed in my grades (she would mark my answers a bit lower than others that she liked, despite me being correct on my dates and facts!)

<side story>One day I proved that she didn't really read answers, but judged them on the length of the essay and who was writing it -- the question was to describe the period of rule of some king and I optimistically started the essay by saying that "King XXX was a ruler who was popular with his subjects during his reign". Then I proceeded to fill in several paragraphs of bull**** by claiming that said ruler was popular with his subjects because he wore a particular well-known brand of underwear (even underlined the brand name a couple of times for emphasis) that made him a hero among his people and the terror of his enemies, since said ruler wore his underpants outside his trousers like a true superhero should. The rest of the paragraphs described the various underpant colors and textures that the king owned and the reasons why he chose that particular brand name vs. other brands. Basically gassed a lot about the brand's superior cotton construction and elastic waistband. Then I ended the essay with "King XXX was fondly remembered by his subjects because of his many reforms". That essay got me around 6-7 points out of a possible 10! Someone suggested I ought to show the paper to the Principal for revenge, but I never did stoop that low.</side story>

Funny thing is that I began to like history after I was done with her class (didn't need to study history for the last 2 years of high school) and started reading historical stuff by myself.

My question for the next poster? What was the first computer you laid your hands on? (year this happened, brand name and processor if you can remember it)

The first computer I laid hands on was a General Automation SPC-12. This would have been early 70s. You programmed it with switches on the front panel. Typically, you programmed it to be able to read a paper tape, which could then be used to program it to do other things. Thus, it "pulled itself up by its bootstraps," the origin of the term "boot." The processor was discrete logic.

If you hadn't chosen your current profession, what would your second choice have been?

What else did I want to be when (if) I grow up: I've always been a musician/composer who realized that it's hard to pay the bills without a "real" job. I've never given up on music though, still play with a couple guys I've been playing music with since the late 1980's (yeah we should do a 25 year tour). With a young child around it's like a license to make up silly age appropriate songs which I plan to start recording. Maybe some "children's music" can help pay bills too :-)

Next question ... Oakland gets a bad rap but I like living there. Where do you live and what do you like/dislike about the area?

Just moved to Elkton, Maryland last weekend. It's a bit on the lower-income side, I suppose, but I do like it because it reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in when I was a kid, in Pennsylvania. The fact that if I drive 5 minutes I cross into Delaware is amusing too. What I don't like is that I'm within walking distance of work but I have to walk alongside a really busy road/highway in some areas so that I can cut through developments in others. This is deterring me from leaving the car home and walking to and from the office, but maybe as I live here longer and with the help of google maps I can figure out a slightly safer way to walk to work. Or just embrace it as a chance to give myself an adrenaline rush each morning as I run across the intersections before a car takes me out.

Hmm... whom do you see as your hero or rolemodel and why?

Hmmm, to be honest, can't say I have any heros or role models, not now anyway. When I was a kid, probably but can't for the life of me think who? Certainly wasn't my dad anyway!!

What would you class as your most prized possession ?

Does my wife count as a possession? If not, I'd have to say my computer.

If you could live anywhere, where would you choose and why?

(Woohoo - people are participating! )
I know it sounds corny, but really I love Orange County, where I already call home. It's peaceful, relatively crime-free (compared to state/national averages, that is), and has many great nearby spots, and is where most of my friends/family live.

What type of music do you normally listen to (if any) while coding/developing? While gaming? While doing household chores/etc.?

Jazz, funk, hip-hop... something with a beat.

If you could pick one day of your life to live over and over - your own personal "groundhog's day", so to speak - what day would you pick, and why? Describe that day (don't just give the date).

As an aside, @Scorpion: I hated History as well. In fact, I only passed one history class from 8th grade through college - I literally failed every single history class from ages 12 to 21.

I was thinking about this just a few days ago, and struck upon what I believe the reason is. History is most often the class taught by a person hired who is primarily a coach of one of the school's sports. It's the football coach, or the basketball coach, or what have you, that teaches history. Hence, they're the least engaging, uninformed, and probably unintelligent teacher, working through material that - at least at the pre-college level - is often already dry and boring.

It wasn't until after college that I developed a passion for history, pursuing the subject on my own. When I went back through my list of Jr High and High School history teachers - sure enough, all of them were coaches. The one time I passed history was Junior year of HS; that class was taught by an English teacher. I got an A+ in that class.

Sorry about the disagree, I apparently fail at reading full posts...

I don't think I have any day in particular, but I think it would be best if it was a Saturday with good weather and nothing in particular going on.


If there is any product brand out there (for anything) that you personally endorse, what is it and why do you endorse it?

ThinkPad laptops, particularly T- and R-series. Whenever someone asks me for a portable or desktop-replacement laptop suggestion, that's what I tell them. Before I got mine a few years ago, I saw a demo of it at a Linux Expo, where a rep would go to the roof and drop the ThinkPad onto the cement floor -- some light scratches here and there, but everything worked fine otherwise. From my own experience, I've accidentally dropped mine down two flights of stairs, and the worst thing that happened to it was the battery connector slipped, and the whole battery pack fell out. These things are mil-spec, and built like tanks. It's amazing.

If you could peek into one day of your future, but not change it, would you? Why or why not?

I would not; doing so would cause me to analyze my every move. I would use knowledge of this future me (whether limited or extensive) as factors in decision making, risk assessment, and relationships. Regardless of how innocuous the day I viewed might be, this knowledge would drive me nuts.

Now - if I had the power to alter this future - much different story.

Q: Who was the one that got away? What was he or she like? What is he/she doing now?

I had a friend that I worked with in a cafe when I was about 18. I had a huge crush on him but was way too chicken to ask him out. He joined the navy and is still in Japan where he was stationed, I believe.

Next question: What song takes you back, or hits you with nostalgia? Name the artist and the title.

That'd be Annie's Song by John Denver, for reasons to do with an old girlfriend

Next question: If you had a button that could cause a global-level, humanity-effecting problem go away, never to return (such as a cure of cancer, no more famines, no more global warming, etc.,), but the price to pay would be the random elimination (by humane methods) of 50% of the human population, what problem would tempt you, and would you press?

Famine. Science will find a cure for cancer. I say famine because a large portion of the world is dieing from mal nutrition already. I would willingly give my life if it meant starting fresh and allowing EVERYBODY the ability to eat. I understand ALOT of people die from cancer every year. but as I said Science will find that cure, and I just feel Famine is a wiser choice. (let the flaming begin)

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If you could obtain ANY car/vehicle in the world new or old, what would it be, would you do anything to it and why?