Jenn and Kenny have posted sets of questions for me to answer, in a little "pass-the-interview-questions" game. Their questions and my answers follow, and the rules of the game come at the end.


From Jenn:

1. Tell us something about sheep that we don't already know.

Does the fact that "Ovis" was the first on-line nickname that I ever had, back in the good ol' days of BITNET, count for this? How about that we named our place in Pennsylvania "Quin Finn Farm" because we raised Finnsheep, known for their proclivity to litters averaging five lambs? How about that pet sheep will respond to their own names? (At least ours would!)

2. What is it about biking that you love so much?

Being able to go great distances under my own power. And freewheeling downhill with the wind at my back! Growing up in rural Pennsylvania with only one car to the family didn't leave many alternatives to get where I wanted to go, so that's what led me to biking.

3. Where would you want to dig if you got an archaeology grant? What would you hope to find or prove?

Off to Stirling, Scotland, in an attempt to locate the burial pit(s) of the people who died in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. This would be to learn more about arms and armour of the period, as well as what kinds of wounds were suffered and what kind of diet the soldiers ate.

4. What's the first thing you noticed about Shelley that attracted you?

*She* worked in a computer center AND liked to play board games AND jonied the SCA. She may have taken up the gaming and SCA after we met -- my mind no longer knows those details -- but doing so certainly hooked me. Through both lips.

5. What would be the best thing about living in the Middle Ages?

Tough question! So much would depend on who and what one was at the time. Everything I can think of has a bad aspect to it as well. For example, "no industrial pollution" comes to mind, but then it's countered by "no industrial sanitation." Best thing? Hmmm. Guess I'll have to go with fewer people.

From Kenny:

1) What's the software you've made that you are most proud of and why?

Ah, Smurf Hunt! This game, written in my early teens, used sprite technology on a Texas Instruments TI 99-4(A) to portray a little elf with a bow and arrows who went round shooting Smurfs. They exploded when hit, of course! It kept high score and everything. I don't know what happened to that computer or the cassette tapes on which the game was stored. It was well beyond the stuff we were being taught in class and my mom thought it was very cool. (Right, Mom?)

2) If you were only allowed to take pictures of one place on Earth for the rest of your life, what place would it be and why?

Strange one, this. How big a place? If fairly large, then Scotland. The forelighting there is often spectacular, and the weather's constantly changing, making the natural beauty amazing. Throw castles and sheep into the mix and you have no shortage of material.

3) What hobbies from your past do you think in hindsight were a bad idea? Any that you didn't do that you wished you did?

Nope, not a one. I've learned from each, or simply enjoyed time doing them. No regrets on any of them. Wished I had been able to do some better (such as being more authentic when in SCA). Didn't do that I wished I had? My life ain't over pal, and I've got several planned for when I become a kept man! There's remote control helicopters to start with...

4) What is the funniest moment of all time from a movie?

Oh, I don't have a memory for this one. I truly cannot tell you this at the moment, even after thinking about this question for a couple of days. Most likely it was either in Monty Python and the Holy Grail when they beat coconuts together pretending to be on horses, or in History of the World when King Louis is skeet shooting peasants, or in Monty Python's Life of Brian when the Roman guard corrects Brian's graffiti. But all three of those films are chock-full of good ones!

5) What is the one piece of technology that you absolutely HATE, but absolutely cannot live without?

Let's see. I HATE cell phones, but can live without them. Computers, I guess. They keep me indoors day in and day out, when I should be out exercising or being social or something. I can't live without them because they're my line of work and so darn useful for so much. Plus they're fun to play with.

RULES:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.