If you were ever given the option to make any person, place, or thing last forever in its current or a past state, what would it be?
I'd want to bring my mom back. She died way too young, and should've had the chance to live her life to its absolute potential. But I can't think of anything I would want frozen in time. I can't see any good coming of that.
Is it ever an option to take life from another living being?
Taking the life of another human being is most certainly an option, on many occasions. But I think it's only justified when defending your life or another.
In general, do you think life should be more spontaneous or more orderly?
In general, living should be more spontaneous, but life itself could stand to be more orderly.
Does Iceland generally acknowledge it's being supported by an MMO?
Trust me, anything Icelanders can take credit for, they will. Although we're being supported right now by the IMF; not Eve Online. Would that it were so.
Who could you beat in a knife fight at the old stone bridge?
I could beat Bobby Hitchens in a knife fight with no problem. I'd take that punk out before he even reached for his blade.
What animal would you like to pet most, but cannot due to reasons of safety, geographical isolation, endangered species laws, and so on.
A woolly mammoth. No question.
How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if wood chuck could chuck wood?
Woodchucks, being small woodland rodents weighing very little, could probably not be able to lift very much wood on their own. This is before we even address the question of whether or not they're capable of throwing. Which they probably aren't. But if they could, as your question supposes, assuming a standard mammalian body weight to lifting strength ratio of 10 to 1, a woodchuck would probably only be able to throw something like less than a kilo in wood.
Is patience a virtue worth cultivating?
Yes, definitely. I've found that learning patience is definitely worth cultivating, as it teaches you the value of earning what you want, first and foremost. And learning patience is relatively easy. The difficult part is learning when it's worth it to be patient, and when you should try to push or move on. I can't say there's any formula for that; you just have to take it on a case by case basis.
How much pride is a bad thing?
I see nothing wrong with pride per se, but I think if your pride reaches levels where you're incapable of seeing the full value in other people, and your sense of gratitude diminishes, then your pride is becoming too great.
Do you still plan to sing at my hypothetical future wedding?
Of course I will.
If you ever get a sailship, would you let me borrow it
Borrow it? Hell, you can pilot it. I won't know how to sail the damn thing.
What are your thoughts on hot wings? What is the highest heat you can stand?
I love hot wings. The highest degree I can stand is where it reaches that point where there's more burn than taste. That's no fun.
If you were given the option to redo one moment in your life, would you choose to do so, and if so what would it be?
There are a lot of tempting scenarios that spring to mind, but for every one I can think of, I can think of something good that would not have happened had I not done this particular thing. The only exception to this is the time I punched my sister in the stomach when we were both little kids, and I mean single-digit little kids. That was a shitty thing to do and I still regret it to this day.
How are your current relationships with your old college/young adult friends? How important are/were the old friendships you made years, decades ago, to you personally and in determining the direction of your life? What's the best way to make new friends?
I'm not really in touch with those guys anymore. My family moved around so much that it was hard to form lasting friendships, which didn't really start happening until I left home. I was never the type to have a big circle of friends, but rather just a few close ones. Those I counted among my friends were very important - not just for being a support source and listening to me, but also for challenging me and making me think in new ways. As far as the best way to make friends goes, it's much like any other relationship - you approach someone at an appropriate opportunity and strike up a conversation. Get out to group events involving something you love doing, where you're likely to meet people you'd have stuff in common with. And then stay in touch, invite them places.
How do you punish your daughter when she does something bad?
If my daughter does something "bad", it's usually something like, ignoring me when I tell her to stop doing something potentially destructive or injurious. Rather than punish her, I just make myself more clear, until she gets it. Temper tantrums, like I said earlier, I handle by not providing reinforcement for the behavior. To be honest we haven't yet reached the point where punishment is even an effective response. She's not a malicious child, and most of what she does "wrong" is because she either doesn't know better or she's testing boundaries. So right now my approach is more about reinforcing good behavior and not responding to acting out. It's been working quite well.
Has the world changed for the better in the past 40 years?
It has, actually. Sure, the environment's gotten shittier, and there are newer, more exciting ways to die, but I also think our values, our definitions of right and wrong, are also evolving. 40 years ago in America homosexuality was regarded as a mental illness, women could not safely and legally terminate a pregnancy, and the very idea of a black man as president would provoke laughter. There are international agreements that are helping change the face of global morality. And I think democracy is winning over totalitarianism. Yes, things are most definitely getting better.
Why do you like Kaguya?
Me and Kaguya have a lot in common. We both left home more or less out of necessity, we've both lived like fugitives, she can also be kind of a snob and a bit lazy, but generally speaking, loves the company of others and telling them stories about her past. She counts on her friends to be there for her, perhaps to a self-absorbed degree, but she also never stands down against any aggression towards her or her friends. And she loves the creature comforts - food, tea, pleasant company, good conversation.
How do I make time for effective sleep when trying to balance it with leisure time and work time?
I guess the first thing would be to look at your work schedule, and when you have free time, and look for the window of time when sleep appears. If you work nights, sleep probably happens during the day, for example. Regardless of when it is, make it a point to get to bed at a specified time, letting yourself have at least 7 hours of sleep; not just 7 hours in bed - take into account the half hour to an hour it might take to fall asleep. If you have trouble falling asleep, I recommend staying up all night, going through the next day, and continuing to stay awake until you reach an appropriate time, like 10 in the evening. And then stick to that schedule. If it's waking up that's the problem, one thing that works for me is setting the alarm on my mobile phone, and then putting the phone down somewhere on the other side of your room. This will force you to get out of bed and walk a few paces just to hit the alarm. Once you're standing, you might as well start the day.
How do you deal with cocky 20-year olds?
How do you deal with assorted 18-to-24 year-olds (or thereabouts) whose attitudes range from complete conceit to depressive self-devaluation?
No, seriously. :<
The same way I deal with cocky and conceited 40-year-olds - I ignore them. To be honest I don't see much difference, personality-wise, between your average 20-something and your average 40-something. I think most people have fully-formed personalities from some time in their teens, and by that I mean, their personalities are unlikely to change much beyond that point. So I wouldn't treat one person differently from another just because of age alone, provided they're in their late teens.
Kids, on the other hand, are a different story. There's still potential for change in their personalities, so you have to gauge your response well, because how you respond to their behaviors can influence their personality development. I think most adults don't give kids enough credit for how much they're aware of themselves and the world around them. I've never seen reason or cause to talk down to a kid, whether it's a young teen or a grade schooler. But you still need to realize that your interactions with them can shape their development, and it's important to respect that.
Did you grow up with siblings? What was that (or lack thereof) like?
I have one sister, a few years younger than I am. We fought a lot as kids, but eventually reached a point where we became great friends.
Ever get into a fight? What was the context?
I have unfortunately been in many, many physical fights, and the context has always been stupid macho bullshit, on my part or on theirs. I like to think I'm passed that now.
If you could choose to own and be proficient in use of a medieval weapon, which would it be?
Ooh ... probably the crossbow. They're just so bad-ass.
What was it like being around for the emergence of hip-hop?
Fucking awesome is what it was. Everything on the radio in the early 80s was great, but there was scant little from black people apart for some weak-ass disco. Then all of the sudden kids in grade school are exchanging mix tapes of songs they taped off late-night radio shows and it was like ... yes. This is big. Whatever this is, it's going to change everything about music forever. It was pretty exciting to watch it happen before my eyes.
What was the biggest musical movement/revolution you've been around for?
Probably the emergence of hip-hop and American hardcore punk. Hip-hop, for the reasons listed above, but hardcore really spoke to me. Sexually frustrated, short-tempered, angsty kids banging on their instruments and railing against social and political apparatuses that they considered obsolete? Sign me up. Many of those bands became the inspirations behind some very popular acts today.
What are some of your favorite albums from the 70s/80s/90s?
In no particular order, and with titles undoubtedly not mentioned:
70s: Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy, Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, Traffic's Glad, Black Sabbath's Paranoia.
80s: Dead Kennedy's Plastic Surgery Disasters, Subhuman's The Day The Country Died, Bad Brain's Sailing On, Run DMC's King of Rock, Duran Duran's Rio.
90s: ... sort of drawing a blank here. Alice in Chains' Dirt, maybe? Was kind of a sucky decade for music.
What music do you usually listen to?
These days, a lot of prog trance and psy trance.
