You "Q"; I'll "A"
I did this a year ago, and Heather just posted something similar.
I can only hope I'll get nearly as many comments and as wide a range of subjects.
So ... what's on your mind? Anonymity, as always, is fine.
Q: You're on death row and it's your last meal - what do you choose?
Q: Would you rather be tickled to death or beaten to within 1" of your life ending?
Q: Orange juice or apple juice?
Q: Favorite time of the day: workday? weekend?
Q: A complete stranger (male, 20's, looks to be in decent shape) trips and busts his ass while walking in your subway car right in front of you. Do you offer your hand to him to help him up? What if it were a hot girl in her 20's?
I'll post some more Q's later....
Posted by: Daffy on June 5, 2006 12:28 PM | permalinkQ: You're on death row and it's your last meal - what do you choose?
A: If it's high quality, sushi. If it's the usual prison staff, fried chicken and mac and cheese.
Q: Would you rather be tickled to death or beaten to within 1" of your life ending?
A: Tickled. I think if I was beaten that bad, I'd want to be dead anyway.
Q: Orange juice or apple juice?
A: Orange juice, though when I'm really hot, I like apple juice with ice sometimes.
Q: Favorite time of the day: workday? weekend?
A: Workday - lunch time. Weekend - nap time.
Q: A complete stranger (male, 20's, looks to be in decent shape) trips and busts his ass while walking in your subway car right in front of you. Do you offer your hand to him to help him up? What if it were a hot girl in her 20's?
A: Honestly, with the guy, I would just feign interest in helping him unless he was actually hurt. With the hot chick, I would truly help her.
Q: You're in an airport, and you see a man whose features and skin color look vaguely middle eastern. He's sweating, looking around nervously, and wearing heavier clothes than you would normally expect given the time of year. What do you do? Is it the same thing you'd do if it were an attractive young woman?
Q: You find out that your company is actively supporting a politician whose stance on the issues is completely opposite yours. In fact, the politician has done things that run counter to your personal set of morals, ethics and values. But here you are, stuck directly supporting the politician, and due to the nature of your company's business and your position, transfer to another project is not an option. And you LOVE your job -- it's what you worked your entire career to achieve. What do you do?
Q: (Cliche', but oh well): You just won $350 million dollars. What's next?
Q: If you were stranded on an island for 5 years, what 5 things would you bring in these categories:
1 - People (alive only)
2 - Board games
3 - Electronic devices (no internet available on the island)
4 - Articles of clothing
5 - Tool
Q: You're in an airport, and you see a man whose features and skin color look vaguely middle eastern. He's sweating, looking around nervously, and wearing heavier clothes than you would normally expect given the time of year. What do you do? Is it the same thing you'd do if it were an attractive young woman?
A: I would have a logical bias and keep a very close eye on him. If he was really over-the-top, I would walk over to security and point it out.
Q: You find out that your company is actively supporting a politician whose stance on the issues is completely opposite yours. In fact, the politician has done things that run counter to your personal set of morals, ethics and values. But here you are, stuck directly supporting the politician, and due to the nature of your company's business and your position, transfer to another project is not an option. And you LOVE your job -- it's what you worked your entire career to achieve. What do you do?
A. If it's do something I'm diametrically opposed to, or quit, I would quit. If it's something I'm slightly opposed to, I would do it -- they're entitled to get their message out too. If it were somewhere in between, it would depend on how strongly I felt about it.
Q: (Cliche', but oh well): You just won $350 million dollars. What's next?
A: I wish I knew. Shit, I can hardly think of what to do with the little money and time I *do* have. It's something that frustrates me about myself.
Daffy:
Your second set of questions aren't that interesting to me, so I'm not gonna bother answering.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 5, 2006 1:49 PM | permalinkQ: You are on a blog answering questions about yourself from total strangers. Do you tell the truth always? What if it were a jobless transvestite in her 40's asking the questions?
Q: php, perl, or python for:
1) text file filtering
2) network programming (sockets, tcp/ip)
3) binary data
Q: Cats or Kittens?
Posted by: Bubba on June 5, 2006 3:13 PM | permalinkQ: You are on a blog answering questions about yourself from total strangers. Do you tell the truth always? What if it were a jobless transvestite in her 40's asking the questions?
A: No, I don't always tell the truth. (Un)fortunately, I am aware that this blog has an audience. That said, I'm not terribly afraid of stalker weirdos.
Q: php, perl, or python for:
1) text file filtering
A: Command-line, or short program: Perl. Everything else, Python.
2) network programming (sockets, tcp/ip)
A: Python.
3) binary data
A: I cheat and use some Python libraries. :)
Q: Cats or Kittens?
A: Kittens, of course.
Q: Does your mother read your blog regularly?
Q: If yes, has there ever been anything written that you've been embarassed about?
Q: If no, is there anything you've written that would be embarassing if she were to read it?
Q: A distant relative dies and leaves his 300 piece collection of celebrity hair clippings to you. Do you A-Keep it on display in your apt? B-Keep it in storage. C-Trash it. D-Sell it on ebay?
Posted by: Daffy on June 5, 2006 3:39 PM | permalinkQ: Does your mother read your blog regularly?
A: I have no idea. She and my stepdad are aware of it; we've never really discussed it.
Q: If yes, has there ever been anything written that you've been embarassed about?
A: Yes, I deleted a post about the Fat Stephanie story after Pam gave me a hard time about it.
Q: If no, is there anything you've written that would be embarassing if she were to read it?
A: Oh, I'm not as concerned about my mom reading stuff, because I know she will always give me the benefit of the doubt. I'm more concerned about things that would create a conflict-of-interest, like blogging that I took a trip to NY and then having to explain to someone why I didn't visit them.
Q: A distant relative dies and leaves his 300 piece collection of celebrity hair clippings to you. Do you A-Keep it on display in your apt? B-Keep it in storage. C-Trash it. D-Sell it on ebay?
A: Depending on the caliber of celebrities, either "C" or "D".
Everyone always asks the "what would you do if you got (large sum of money)"? But, lately, I've been thinking about this question:
Q: Suppose you went broke. Suppose you couldn't find new work. You have to sell all your posessions to just to pay for food to eat. You have to give up all your creature comforts. What's the last thing you'd part with? What's the thing you'd miss the most?
Q: Suppose you went broke. Suppose you couldn't find new work. You have to sell all your posessions to just to pay for food to eat. You have to give up all your creature comforts. What's the last thing you'd part with? What's the thing you'd miss the most?
A: That's easy -- my cats. They give me so much joy and comfort, so unconditionally. As long as I have them, I feel like there is something to cushion any fall. If I had to give them up, I would be devastated. I've somewhat come to terms with the fact that they're not going to be around forever -- I've had pets die before, and they're about halfway through the average feline lifespan -- but man ... the idea of them being put to sleep, or the like, is the stuff of nightmares for me.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 5, 2006 5:34 PM | permalinkDo you ever see yourself obtaining a graduate degree in anthropology and pursuing a career in that field, or will you be a programmer until you die?
Posted by: Od-ll on June 5, 2006 7:13 PM | permalinkFrom earlier:
Q: You are on a blog answering questions about yourself from total strangers. Do you tell the truth always? What if it were a jobless transvestite in her 40's asking the questions?
A: No, I don't always tell the truth. (Un)fortunately, I am aware that this blog has an audience. That said, I'm not terribly afraid of stalker weirdos.
Obviously, you won't answer specifically... but, what category of topics are things that you feel are "worth" lying about?
Posted by: Max on June 5, 2006 7:24 PM | permalinkQ: Do you ever see yourself obtaining a graduate degree in anthropology and pursuing a career in that field, or will you be a programmer until you die?
A: Nah, that was just an intellectual interest of mine, plus a major that had very concise requirements (intro class, 8 advanced classes, intermediate language). It freed me up to do things like take a ton of electives, study abroad and sleep in late.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 5, 2006 7:30 PM | permalinkQ: Obviously, you won't answer specifically... but, what category of topics are things that you feel are "worth" lying about?
A: Great question! I often lie, by omission, about anything illegal I have done, things that are overly-work-related and stuff I consider overly personal (my family, social or sex life).
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 5, 2006 7:35 PM | permalinkWhy doesn't the NBA count a technical foul as a personal foul? All other levels and leagues of basketball do so. It prevents the kind of whining that you see in the NBA that you don't see in the WNBA, men's college ball, and high school ball. If the NBA wants their players to be more exemplary role models for kids, they would stop every guy (except for Wade) from whining about every other play...
So the actual question is: Why, in your opinion, doesn't the NBA count a technical foul as a personal foul? Is there just not enough reason / impetus to put it into effect? Or are they implicitly condoning / encouraging this prima donna behavior?
Posted by: max on June 7, 2006 10:12 AM | permalinkMax:
Remember the SATs?
Max:Technical Fouls not being Personal Fouls too::???:???
(a) Gretchen:animal rights
(b) Goldie:ending the War on Drugs
(c) Al Gore:global warming
(d) Mike B.:being the next Billy Joel
(e) All of the above
Anyhow ...
Q: Why, in your opinion, doesn't the NBA count a technical foul as a personal foul? Is there just not enough reason / impetus to put it into effect? Or are they implicitly condoning / encouraging this prima donna behavior?
A: I personally think it would be too harsh, or at least you would have to divide technical fouls into two types: technical fouls that don't merit a personal foul (e.g. delay of game) and those that do (e.g. not respecting a ref's authority and throwing a temper tantrum). Why has the NBA not taken that step, considering they have banned inoffensive things like tights and extra-long shorts? No idea. I think it's a great question for an ESPN chat.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 7, 2006 10:48 AM | permalinkNo more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.