3x Thursday: 07/08/y2k+4: Sleep...(or lack there of)

Time again for 3XThursday, compliments of Missy

1. On average, how many hours of sleep do you get a night? Is it enough, or do you need more?
   On average I'd say around 7, but it could be as little as 4 and as many as 10. I don't really have a set sleep pattern. The 4 is usually too little, which leads to the 10.
2. Do you normally sleep pretty well at night, or are you a toss & turner, insomniac, etc?
   I sleep like the dead. On one occasion an ambulance came and took my father to the hospital. When I woke up the next morning I didn't know where my parents were.
3. Do you sleep alone, or with someone? If you sleep alone normally, how do you fair when you sleep next to someone, or vice versa if it's the opposite?
   When I'm not at Jen's place I sleep alone, otherwise we share a bed. I sleep soundly in either case.

Bonus: What's your ideal sleep schedule?
If my body could handle it I'd say 1-6AM.

3x Thursday: 06/17/y2k+4: Roommates

Well so much for posting every day this week... But let's keep the week moving with 3XThursday, compliments of Missy

1. Have you ever had a roommate? If so, do you like living with other people, or would you rather have your own space?
   It really depends on the situation. I've had several roommates over the years. Some good, some bad. While I consider Dave to be one of my best and closest friends, I could never share an apartment with him again. After 3 years of living together in various places I know enough that his idiosyncrasies would bug me and mine would do the same to him. Living on your own is nice if you can afford it.
2. If you've had roommates, got any horror stories? If not, if you had to, would you get a roommate, or get a 2nd job to pay for rent?
   Probably my worst stories all come from the house I shared with 8 other people (not all at the same time, the max in the house at one time was 6 + me). We moved in September and within two weeks the landlord starting showing the apartment and had someone who was going to put down money for next year by October. We tried to ask for an extension, but because of extenuating circumstances (he thought there were only 5 people living there when there was 7 because the realtor told us to say that) we didn't get it. There was a lot of finger pointing and people got mad at each other and things just went severely down hill from there. Shane and Sarah moved out first, mostly because of Dave. Dave has a habit of not knowing when people don't want him to be there. Jenn and Gary left in the summer after spending months in their room avoiding both Dave and I. Their replacements (when we finally found them, we had to float the balance of the rent until we did) were hit and miss. One was a naval cadet said "doesn't soap just make water wetter" as excuse to why he didn't use soap when he washed his dishes. The other was a very nice young woman who going through a messy breakup and was just glad to have a place to stay.
   The worst part of the situation as a whole was the fact that I paid all the bills, and people would repeatedly not pay their portion on time, so I was constantly playing the "let's not bounce a rent check" game. Needless to say after the whole ordeal I thought it better to live on my own for a while.
3. Describe the ideal roommate.
   Shane is pretty much the ideal roommate for me. We enjoy doing stuff together, but have lives of our own. It also helps that we both are reasonable people. Sharing space with someone is all about the give and take.

Bonus: What *is* it about having one's own space that is so appealing?
What is about owning anything? It's a feeling that you can do what ever you want, whenever you want because it's yours.

3x Thursday: 05/27/y2k+4: Music For The Masses...(Propaganda Style)

It's that time again. Time for 3XThursday, compliments of Missy Williams

1. What do you think about car companies using popular music (take Cadillac and them using Led Zepplin) in their commercials? Do you think it's right for them to take a well-known song and use it for their own profit?
   I don't really see the problem... The car companies (and any company that uses popular music) is just trying to bring a good association to their brand. I'd only have a problem when the car company pays the group to have a custom version of a song that lauds you to buy a product, but that's a problem I have with the artist/record companies.
2. What is the trend lately with electronica music (triphop and breakbeat type stuff) being in commercials? Do you recognize any of it? Does it bother you?
   Shane and I probably recognize (or own) 90% of electronica that gets played on commercials these days. I personally don't mind it because a couple of commercials have actually pushed me to go out and find the artist. I discovered FC Kahuna because their song "Nothing is Wrong" was in a Hummer H2 commercial and got me hooked (Hummer was nice enough to list on their web page who does the music for their commercials). My only really problem with it is that the commercial version is heavily edited down a lot of the time.
3. Depending on what the product is, do you think that companies use certain music to cater to certain age groups? Does it work? Is it morally correct? Why/Why not?
   Absolutely... Shane and I had a theory about targeted ads. When the ad is targeted to a specific group that you don't belong to (whether that be because of age, gender, race, etc) you say "well if I was X, I might care about this". When the ad is targeted to a group you do belong to you just go "man, what a great fucking commercial!". Now, I don't know how well that actually translates to sales, but the commercials do stick in your mind. I don't see what the big moral issue is with knowing your audience and playing to it. Don't get me wrong, advertising is getting more and more invasive as we get better and better at ignoring it, but that is completely independent of targeting the ads to a certain demographic.

Bonus: For the music geeks out there: What's the meaning of this week's title for the 3x Thursday?
I can only presume that it's a reference to the Depeche Mode album....

3x Thursday: 04/29/y2k+4: What if?

It's been a while since I've done a 3XThursday, compliments of Missy

1. What if you lost your job tomorrow? What would you do?
   Crap my pants and run screaming... No, actually, I'd just do what I'm already doing, put my resume out there, take interviews. The only difference would be collecting unemployment.
2. What if something happens to a member of your family? Do you drop what you're doing and go to them?
   Almost certainly. I'm lucky in that my immediate family is an easy car ride should something happen, so cost of the trip really isn't a concern.
3. What would you do if someone told you that you had a week to live?
   I'd do all the dangerous stuff I've never had the balls to do before (rock climbing, sky diving, etc). If I'm going to die anyway, what's there to be afraid of?

Bonus Question for Comments: What would you do if you got 3 wishes? What would they be?
I'd wish to never have to worry about money again (that doesn't mean I want to be disgustingly wealthy, I just never want to worry about where the rent money is coming from). Other than that, I'd wish for the Red Sox to win a World Series in my life time and enough free time to travel the world.

3x Thursday: 03/18/y2k+4: St.Patty's Green

It's time again for 3XThursday, compliments of Missy

1. What's your most memorable St.Patty's Day event?
   That would probably be the one I celebrated in the fens. We had just signed a lease on our apartment in Brighton and we all crammed into Dave's and my tiny apartment and drank ourselves silly.
2. Do you believe in the whole wearing green thing for St.Patty's Day?
   Well technically I should wear orange, because I was raised in a Protestant church, but aside from that it's fun to wear green and celebrate my Irish roots.
3. Without doing a Google search, can you honestly tell me why they call it St.Patrick's Day?
   Well it's named after St. Patrick (obviously), who according to history/legend drove the snakes out of Ireland.

Bonus: What's your drink of choice on St.Patrick's Day?
Guinness, Guinness, and more Guinness

3x Thursday: 03/04/y2k+4: Sickness

Once again it's time for 3XThursday, compliments of Missy:

1. Do you consider yourself healthy? How often do you typically get sick?
   I wouldn't consider myself super healthy, but I don't get sick very often. I probably get 2 or 3 colds a year and the flu usually hits right around Christmas.
2. When you *are* sick, do you stay home and let your body do its thing, or do you fight it and keep going? Depending on which method you subscribe to, does it work well?
   I'm definitely a fighter when it comes to illness. I've actually been set home on multiple occasions because I refused to call out. Until about 3 months ago sick time counted against my vacation balance, so I sure as hell didn't call out unless I was on my death bed.
   Rest is always the best medicine, but if you can't get that, there's always (Day/Ny)Quil. (I love you, you giant fucking Q!)
3. In an office, airplane, or any other type of public setting, do you believe people share illnesses? Gimme an example.
   My current cold was given to me by a co-worker. And if you have kids who spend time in day care your kid brings home all sorts of nasty bugs.

Bonus: What's the worst illness you've ever had?
One Christmas I had the flu so bad I had a temperature of 104 for 3 straight days. I was pretty much completely delirious, but I do remember telling my mom not to take me to the doctor. On the 3rd day she said if my fever hadn't gone down by the next day she was going to drag me to the doctor. I woke up the next morning and my temp was normal.

3x Thursday: 02/19/y2k+4: Seasons & Climate

The new 3XThursday, compliments of Missy Williams:

1. What country do you reside in? In what part? What's the climate there?
   I reside in the northeast portion of the US. Specifically I live in New England. We have 4 seasons here: Winter (cold, snow and ice); Spring (somewhat warm, windy and rainy); Summer (hot and muggy); and Fall (cool, crisp and beautiful colors).
2. Did you grow up in one climate and then move to a different one at some point in your life? What were the differences? Do/did you like them? If you haven't experienced different climates, can you handle the climate you live in?
   I've lived in New England my entire life, so the only experience I've had with other climates has been through my travels. I enjoy the cold, but I've learned to tolerate the heat to a certain extent. I don't think I could survive a summer in the south.
3. With changing seasons comes changing weather. Do you ever notice it? Does it mean anything to you?
   Winter usually brings with it snow which tends to cause longer commutes because there are too many morons on the road that think just because their urban assault vehicle has "4-wheel drive" they can drive 60 mph in a snow storm. It also means that I can go skiing, so I do tend to look forward to winters.

Bonus: If you had to choose your perfect climate, what would it be like?
If I could find a place that was partly cloudy and 65-70 degrees all year round, I'd call this place "Heaven".

3x Thursday: 02/05/y2k+4: The Winds of Change

After a long hiatus, it's time again for me to do 3XThursday. Thanks to Missy for getting these up early

1. How do you deal with having to make complete lifestyle changes? (This can be a breakup, quitting smoking, trying to live better, etc)
   In the past, I had been very bad about actually following through on changes I planned to make. I would talk about doing something for a long time then never follow through. It wasn't until late 2002 that I finally followed through on some things. I finally got help for my depression, I started a "diet" (I hate calling it that because I don't limit the kind of food I eat), and started an exercise regiment. These days if want to do something, I just set a date and follow through.
2. When you have real changes to make concerning yourself, how do you go about making those changes? Is it hard for you?
   I always try to weigh the positives and negatives of making a change. With my weight loss, it was a no brainer. Recently I've been considering moving back to Boston, and this has been extremely difficult. I've been laying out what I would have to do to move (car registration/insurance, mail forwarding, etc), what I would gain (be closer to my friends, closer to places I like to go, etc), and pit against what I might lose (further away from family and Jen). I then decide which looks better and just do it.
3. At what point do you ask someone for help concerning changes to yourself? Have you had to do this lately? Did it help?
   I usually only ask for help as a last resort. I'll often just ask someone to listen to me talk, because I think better out loud. The last time I got help was when I started therapy. Kate had just left, and I was about as low as I could get. I finally got around to seeing a therapist like I had said I would for months. It was the best decision I ever made.

Bonus: Did you ever wait until it was too late to do something?
Well had I gone to therapy before Kate left, we might still be together, but I'm not entirely sure that would have been a good thing. Kate had her own problems to deal with, and we needed to deal with our issues separately. And it's bad to think you "waited too long", it's never too late to improve yourself.

3x Thursday: 12/04/y2k+3: Tiz the Season to be Random

We'll start the posting back rolling with a little 3XThursday, compliments of Missy Williams.

1. What do you think of holiday shopping? Do you hate it as much as I do? Why? And, what is your reaction when people ask what you want and you have no clue?
   I live next to a freakin' mall, what do you think I think about holiday shopping? I almost always have a toy or two on my list that I haven't gotten around to buying yet that I'll ask people to pick me up.
2. How do you feel about birthdays? Just another year, or a sign of getting old?
   When I was a kid I used to love birthdays. Now I could take them or leave them. I don't particularly like being reminded that I'm getting older, but there are plenty of other things that remind me of that on a regular basis.
3. Do you like going on trips/vacations? From packing to the plane ride to coming home and unpacking, what are your favorite/unfavorite parts?
   I love car trips, something about being on the road in a car listening to good music with a group of friends is just so appealing. I've gotten packing down to a science such that when I went to Vegas in October I packed in 15 minutes the morning I left and didn't leave anything behind. As far as a least favorite aspect, with plane travel it's dealing with airport security. I had my bag checked multiple times on the way back from Vegas, that irked me.

Bonus: If you had to choose between going blind and going deaf, which would it be? Why?
I definitely think I'd rather go deaf, because at least then I could still do my job pretty easily. It's pretty hard to program when you're blind.

3x Thursday: 11/20/y2k+3: Turkey Day and the Holidays

Here we are again. 3XThursday time. Thanks to Missy for posting these:

1. What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year? Are you staying local or going afar?
   Well my parents only live 20 minutes away, so as usual I'll be going over there and doing the typical family meal. Of course my dad and I will be watching the football games on the HDTV they got. We will eat tons of food and then feel sleepy, it will be fun.
2. Do you like the winter holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas)? Why/why not?
   Well I certainly like that fact that this year I get two days off for both holidays. Thanksgiving is good because it's one of the few times that I get to eat some of my favorite foods (sweet potato pie, date nut bread). Christmas of course is nice because of the presents. It also helps that I enjoy hanging out with my family, otherwise these kind of holidays would be torture.
3. Do you think the holidays are superficial? Do they really mean anything anymore?
   Christmas has become so commercial it makes me sick, but it really comes down to what it means to you. Personally I see the holidays as an excuse to have a big family gathering.

Bonus: What did you do for Thanksgiving as a kid?
Well pretty much the same thing as now, except that we all went to my grandparents' place in Marchfield, MA. So I spent my Thanksgiving hanging out with my aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mother's side of the family. Now I hang out with my sisters, brother-in-law, niece, and nephews.

3x Thursday: 11/13/y2k+3: Reformatting: A trip or a tragedy?

After a couple weeks off, it's 3XThursday time. Thanks to Missy for getting these up early:

1. How often do you reformat your computer? Why? Is it out of need or is it a routine thing?
   I usually end up reformatting one of my computers every 6-8 months, so for any particular machine it's usually about 2 years. More often than not it's because it'll be so much easier to rebuild the machine from scratch then to patch it to some level of stability (particularly on the Windows machines).
2. How long does it take you to do a typical reformat? This includes re-installing windows, drivers, and all of your programs.
   It takes me about an hour after I've reformatted and installed, but the format and install will vary depending on the machine. I have a couple 160 GB drives that take a while to install and Windows takes a little bit longer to install than Linux (at least in my experience).
3. How do you backup your stuff when you're going to reformat? Burned CD? Backup tape? Server?
   I keep most of my important files on my file server that has a mirror raid array. It's worked a lot better for me than the days when I kept everything on CD. This way I always have everything at my finger tips and I never have to worry about it being out of date.

Bonus: What's your most memorable 'reformat' story?
That would have to be the time the Chernobyl virus took out the MBR on my hard drive. This was before I knew about the utility that restore the MBR, so I was going to format and reinstall windows, only I didn't have a CD. So I had to jerry-rig my roommates hard drive (which had a copy of the Win98 install) to do the install. Unfortunately during the moving around of hard drives, I accidentally dropped my second drive (which had all my MP3s and a bunch of other stuff), completely toasted it. So not only did I lose my system drive, but also my storage drive, not fun.

3x Thursday: 10/23/y2k+3: Suicide Solution

Once again, compliments of Missy Williams

1. Have you ever considered suicide as a means to an end?
   Absolutely. I was severely depressed pretty much since the age of 12. I often wondered if it was worth "continuing my worthless existence" (a phrase that appears multiple times in my private journal from those days).
2. Did you ever try, or come close to trying? You're still here, so why didn't you go thru with it?
   I've planned out my death on numerous occasions. I had thought of at least 40 different ways I could kill myself with little effort, quick and relatively painless. I've had 3 or 4 close brushes with actually following through on my plans, most were interrupted unwittingly by my parents or some friends. In the end, I was always able to find one thing worth living for, so I never actually followed through. These days, now that I'm medicated, I don't have suicidal thoughts much any more. I'm generally much more upbeat than I used to be too.
3. Why do you think people commit suicide? Do you think there's anything rational about it?
   Well in my case it was severe depression, which completely irrational. As for others, I couldn't say.

Bonus: What do you think of these famous people committing suicide? It happens everywhere all the time, but why do you think famous people commit suicide?
Well, a lot of the famous people who have committed suicide were drug addicts of some sort. Drugs can be great things if used properly, but a huge detriment if abused. They alter your perceptions of reality and can make things look much more bleak than they really are. It's only natural that some of them end up killing themselves, which is all the more reason for better addiction counseling and not tougher drug laws.

3x Thursday: 10/16/y2k+3: On-line Shopping Frenzy

Thanks again to Missy for putting these up early:

1. What do you think of on-line shopping? Do you do it? Do you trust it?
   There are certain things I almost exclusively shop for on-line: Movies, Books, and usually Video Games. Typically the on-line retailers offer enough of a price cut that even after shipping it's still cheaper than buying those things in the store. I've also bought computer parts on-line, but that can be a crap shoot as far as prices go. Pricewatch and Shopper.com are both great resources and offer ratings for retailers, which helps alleviate my worries about the lesser named retailers. By and large though, I tend to buy from the on-line stores of big retailers (B&N, Best Buy, etc).
2. What types of things are okay to buy on-line? Which items do you prefer to buy 'for real'?
   Anything non-perishable I will buy on-line. I'm not a huge fan of grocery services, especially when produce is concerned. I'd much rather be able to pick my own fruits and vegetables.
3. What do you think of 3rd party sellers, or buying things used instead of new on-line? Is it to be trusted?
   This gets really sketchy. Buying used always carries with it an extra level of uncertainty because you can't be sure what they tell you about the condition is true without actually seeing for yourself. eBay offers sellers to put up pictures (which I always do when I sell), but there's nothing stopping someone from using your posted pictures to sell there stuff (this has happened to me multiple times). If I'm getting stuff on eBay I'm very wary of auctions that don't have pictures.

Bonus: Have you had any negative on-line shopping experiences?
Speaking of eBay, last year I was trying to get a Christmas present for my nephew. He's a huge fan of Yugi-Oh, so I thought I'd pick him up some cards. I found a good auction on eBay, he was selling lots of loose cards, said they had rares, etc, so I bid for 10 lots. Auction closed, I sent my payment, and he said he had sent the cards. 2 weeks later, no cards. I sent him an e-mail, he assured me they were sent. Another week, still no cards, there's lots of rumbling from other people saying they haven't gotten their cards, or they didn't get what they were promised. Christmas came and went, I never got my cards, I e-mailed him again, he said he'd send out a new batch. I never got my cards, and he strung me out long enough that I couldn't file a grevance with eBay and get my money back, but the seller's account was shut down. Just goes to show you though, that the seller rating doesn't always tell the whole story.

3x Thursday: 10/09/y2k+3: Human Nature

I missed last week in part because of Vegas, but here is this weeks 3xThursday, compliments of Missy

1. What happens when you get into a fight with someone? Do you blow up at each other and then talk it out, or does it just stew for all eternity, or what?
   Really depends on what the fight is over. I have been known to fly off the handle over stupid little things, but I think that's at least in part because I let the big things fester. I always try to talk it out, but it doesn't always work that way.
2. Why do you think humans behave the way they do when their emotions are on the line?
   No one likes to be hurt. And emotional pain can be just as painful as physical. I think it's just a survival reaction that people tend to get defensive.
3. Do you believe fights/arguments are healthy? Why?
   It's all about a balance. A relationship that has too many arguments obviously isn't going to work, but if there's too much in common, the relationship can get stale. The key is to find people who have just enough in common that you can stand being in the same room, but different enough that you can have discussions with more than one point of view.

Bonus: Do you believe humans have always been emotionally imbalanced creatures? Is there any hope for us?
As far back as history goes, there's stories of jealousy, betrayal, and love. Our emotions are a very real part of us. I'd much rather be the emotional roller coasters we are then some non-feeling automoton. That said, we've managed to make it this far without completely wiping each other out, so I'll hold on to some hope for the future.

3x Thursday: Killing in the name of....

Missy's been coming up with some thought provokers lately:

1. What do you think about the US military calling in more troops to Iraq? Do you think it's necessary?
   Unfortunately Dubya put our military in a real tough position. He sent them in without UN support, so our boys (and gals) are the only ones out there right now. There simply aren't enough of them over there to allow for the kind of mission they're undertaking, not too mention they don't have the ability to rotate off the front lines.
2. Do you know anyone that has gotten mobilized? What did you think? How did it affect you?
   Some kids from high school that I was only acquainted with were called up so I said "that sucks". No one real close to me was called up, but if they were I'd probably be like everyone else and constantly have thoughts in the back of my head about if they're OK or not.
3. It seems as if the military has gone apeshit since 9/11/2001. Do you support the ideologies and actions of the US military since that time?
   I'm a little tired of us being the world bully. I think our troops could be better used by protecting our borders.

Bonus Question for Comments: What would you think/do if it was you that was called into action?
Well, I'm already too old, and I have a disability, so I'd never actually be called up. If I was though, I would do my duty and go serve. My father was a marine in Vietnam, so I've always had a very strong sense of patriotic duty should the need arise.

3x Thursday: Politicking

Thanks once again to Missy:

1. Even tho it's been postponed, how do you feel about the CA recall election?
   I have no problem with the idea of recall elections, but I do think that Davis' opponents should have had to make a better case to get the movement off the ground. Recalls should be reserved for egregious actions like going against campaign promises. Now the thing has turned into a 3-ring circus and in the end it will do very little to help California dig itself out of the hole it's in.
2. Are recall elections a good thing? Why/Why not? What about a presidential recall election?
   See above. Recalls, in my opinion, become more valuable as the term of the office is extended. Recalling House reps would be futile as they're only there for 2 years anyway, but the Senate term is 6 years so there could be a real benefit to recalling a senator that no longer represents his constituency. Presidential recall? The cost would be way to prohibitive to make this worthwhile.
3. Should celebrities be allowed to run for office? Does their fame make them good candidates?
   Anyone who's qualified to run for office should be able to, and the only qualifications that I feel that are important are residency status and age. Celebrities, especially in recent years, seem to think their fame is a reason for us to listen to their political views, but in the end if they don't have the popular view they don't make good candidates. Jesse Ventura used his fame and his position as a government outsider (yes he was Mayor of his town for two terms, but nothing else) to counter-balance the Republican and Democratic candidates. In the end, a lot of Minnesota voters picked him because they recognized his name and were tired of the same old politics.

Bonus: If you could pick one thing that's wrong with politics today, what is it, and how would you fix it?
The rampant problems with campaign finance. First and foremost I would remove any party's ability to raise funds. Instead, voters can contribute to a campaign fund that is then distributed equally to each party based on the number of candidates running for office. Individual campaigns will still be able to raise money, but they will only receive X amount of dollars from the party. This would basically remove any advantage the Republicans and Democrats have over the "third parties". The 2 majors won't be able to just simply dump money into a campaign they feel they need to win.

On another note, this is the 100th post to the main blog. Only took 3 years!

3x Thursday: Star Wars Mania

Once again, from Missy:

1. If you could be any Star Wars character, who would it be? Why?
   Vader, without a doubt. The most powerful Jedi ever, who brought balance back to the force. (that was one thing that I really liked about the prequels, was that the prophecy was about balance, but for some reason everyone on the council seemed to think this was a good thing. Balance means each side is equal... DUH!)
2. Which are better; 4, 5, and 6, or 1 and 2 (soon to be 3)? Why? Out of the 5, which is your absolute favorite?
   The original trilogy is better without question. Lucas has been trying too hard with Episodes 1 and 2, plus none of the movies he's actually directed in the series have been all that great (A New Hope was a pretty lousy movie all things considered). That being said, Empire has always been my favorite, I've never been a huge fan of happily ever after movies.
3. How do you think Episode 3 will turn out? Will it be like 1 and 2, or will it properly set up Episodes 4, 5, and 6?
   I have hopes for Episode 3. In theory, this will be the turning of Anakin, the destruction of the Jedi Council, the rise of Palpatine as Emperor. If Lucas doesn't fuck it up (which I fear he will) it will overtake Empire as my favorite of the series.

Bonus: What's your favorite Star Wars line? (it can be any of the 5 movies that are out)
"Wedge, pull out! You're not doing any good back there!"
"Might I suggest a new strategy R2; let the Wookie win."

3x Thursday: Chores

Missy got these up early this week, so I'll get to them early:

1. When you were a kid, did you have chores? What were they? Did you get paid for them?
   As a kid I actually had very few regular chores. My mom let me get by with just mowing the lawn in the summer, shoveling the driveway in the winter, and making sure my room was clean. I had an allowance for lunches and other expenses, this usually lead to me not eating very much at lunch so I had money to do other things.
2. Now that you're all growed up, what about cleanliness in your own house? Are you good at cleaning up the house?
   I try to do some cleaning every week so as it never gets too bad. I'll pick one room a week to focus on. Every once in a while though I'll get behind and the place will look like a sty and I'll have to spend half of my Saturday or Sunday cleaning everything (just did this last weekend).
3. What do you absolutly *hate* to clean in your house?
   Well I hate to clean anything if I haven't cleaned it in a while. That's why I try to do a little bit all the time, so it doesn't bother me nearly as much.

Bonus: If you could hire a maid, would you? Why/why not?
I would if I had a bigger space. A two bedroom apartment is not that hard to maintain. If I had any more though, I would seriously consider a maid service.

3x Thursday: The First Day of School

Another week another 3xThursday:

1. When you were growing up, did you welcome or loath the first day of school? Why?
   It depended from year to year. Before I got to high school, I actually enjoyed going back to school because it was were I saw a lot of my friends. After I got to high school though I loathed going back. At that point I just wanted to be done with school. My college runs a coop program, so the five years I was there I was always doing something involved with the school, even if I wasn't taking classes. I actually looked forward to my classes though, and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I got to choose what to take for the most part.
2. If you are in college, do you still feel the same way when another semester starts? If you're not in school, do you miss it?
   I only miss school in that my responsibilities were minimal: get to class on time, study for tests, etc. I guess I just miss being a kid more than school really.
3. What do you/did you do to get prepared for the beginning of another school year/semester?
   I always made a trip to Staples (or something similar) to stock up. My mom's a teacher, so she always made sure we had good supplies: file folders, notebooks, etc. I'd always try to get organized by having a homework planner, spiral bound notebooks, etc, but usually all that went out the window about 2 weeks into school.

Bonus: If you could go to school to study anything, would you? What would it be?
If I could, I wouldn't mind checking out the University of Hawaii's Masters program in Japanese.

3x Thursday: Website Madness

Gonna get this one in just under the gun. Once again from Missy Williams:

1. If you have your own website, what and when was the first one? What was that experience like?
   I had a personal link site back when I was using AOL as my ISP. When I first started keeping a website I had no real idea what HTML was and only an inkling of what the web would become. I built the site using AOL's shitty WYSIWYG HTML designer and had the requisit animated gif files and horid color scheme. I used the site more as a portal for my web browsing more than anything else.
2. How do you feel about blogging? Is it a good idea? If you don't already, do you have any desire to start one?
   I love blogging. I've been a follower of a few blogs for at least the last 3 years, and tried to keep one for 2 years (think this time it'll finally stick). I'm not a big fan of reality television because it seems like the people on the show aren't themselves. The thing about the blogs I read that I like is that the people are real, and don't feel like they have to make shit up to please their "audience".
3. Is the Internet a better place in the year y2k+3 as far as websites (availability, content-wise, etc) go?
   As far as overall content, I'd say it is better, but the amount of free content is going down. I've had to stop going to certain sites because I just couldn't justify spending the money to get subscriptions to all of the sites. I would love to see some sort of micropayment system so I could pay more reasonable prices for the content I view.

Bonus Question for Comments: If you had to power to change one thing on how things operate in the i-net world, what would it be?
Like I just said, a micropayment system that would allow me to pay small amount for the content that I view. It would allow the small time websites that produce good content to maintain it.

3x Thursday: Life Changing Events

Once again from Missy Williams

1. What's the one piece of technology (it can be anything) that has changed your life profoundly? How?
   Definitely my first PC, a Dell 486 DX66. It totally changed how I looked at computers and lead me down the path of becoming a computer programmer.
2. What piece of software or hardware changed how you use computers?
   Probably have to say Linux. Before I installed it for the first time, my only experience with another OS outside of DOS/Windows was the original MacOS. The fact that I could get into the actual source code of the OS and see how things were handled internally really changed my focus while writing code. I stopped worrying about how great the user interface was and tried to make the guts of the program as efficient and clean as possible.
3. What modern day convenience would you be hard pressed not to do without?
   I could live without TV, computer, and video games fairly easily, but other "regular" appliances like dish washers, clothes washer/dryer, hot water heaters make menial tasks a very small part of my day. If I had to hand wash everything and heat water over a fire, I'd have a lot less time to do other things.

Bonus: Did something ever happen in your life where you went, "Now it's all going to change"...and it did?
Graduating from high school. After I graduated, I moved out of my parents place (and only went back after my freshman year), got a real job. For the first time I really felt like I was in total control of the direction of my life.

3xThursday: Vices/Habits

Once again via Missy Williams

1. Do you have any substance vices? (cigs, caffeine,etc) Are you aware of them? Do they create problems for you? Ever want to do anything about them?
   I've gone through multiple substance "addictions". I hate using that word, because in the end I quit once I recognized the problem. I smoked off and on for most of my time in college but I quit when I started hacking things up. I still light up occasionally when I'm out drinking (though obviously not any more in Boston). I just quit drinking caffeinated beverages about 3 months ago after my doctor told me that it was one of the major reasons I'd developed GERD. I crashed for a good 3 days afterward, but now I'm fine without it.
2. Do you have any non-substance vices? (pr0n, puters, driving) Do you think they're bad? Or good?
   My computer is always there, but I've come less and less attached to it lately. Obviously I can't get away from it at work, but when I'm home I try to find other things to do. Driving is an utter joy, especially the back roads of New England, but I don't have to drive all the time. Pr0n is good in small doses, but of course, I tend to archive all my data, so I have a fairly extensive collection of various kinds.
3. Are habits necessarily bad? Why or why not?
   Habits are only bad if they are self destructive (smoking, other substance abuse problems). They're are plenty of good habits: a habit of brushing your teeth every day; a habit of going to the gym regularly.

Bonus: We're all creatures of habit. Got any you wish to share with the class (present or past)?
The beginning and the end of my days tend to be very structured. In the morning, I exercise, then shower, eat, then go to work. Once at work, I read my e-mail, read my comics, then start my work day. At the end of the day I check sports scores, watch the news, brush and floss my teeth, then wash my face before bed. Otherwise my days are extremely free form. Of course if I'm away from home, all that goes out the window.

3x Thursday: Dreams

Once again from Missy Williams:

1. When you were a kid growing up, was there one place that you always wanted to visit? Did you ever get to go?
   I still haven't been to Japan. I've wanted to go there since I was about 14. I did get a chance to travel to Scotland when I was little, but I definitely want to go back.
2. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Why?
   In a perfect world, I'd live in a castle somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. It's wonderful country and it's where a lot of family originates.
3. If you could pick one 'time' to live in (Star Trek time, Star Wars time, HHGTG time, etc), which would it be?
   Definitely Star Wars time, during the Old Republic. I'd definitely live on Coruscant, the heart of the Republic and try to join the Jedi Order. Yes, I know I'm a dork :-P.

Bonus: If you could go anywhere in the universe (if you want to be boring, you can stay on Earth) and do anything, where would you go and what would you do? (No, it doesn't have to be plausable or logical)
I would want to go to the very edge of the Universe, just to see what the heck is out there.

3x Thursday: Insubordination

Compliments of Missy Williams:

1. What was the worst job you've ever had?

   This one is a toss up. Working at a fast food restaurant is pretty shitty as far as jobs go, but my job at the law firm probably gets the top spot. I worked as a first tier tech support person in the firms IT department. This meant I had to take calls from smug, stuck-up, rich lawyers complaining that their computers didn't work and that I'd better fix it now or they were going to my boss. I'll gladly flip burgers before I do that shit again. The only solace I take is that the firm closed down this year because of financial problems.

2. What about now? Do you like your current job? Why/why not?

   I like my job. I work as a software developer in a fairly small company. I don't think I could work in a large development company because I wouldn't have the freedom I have here. I'm certainly not the most experienced developer here, but I have a ton of responsibility and I pretty much decide what I work on and when. Plus it doesn't hurt that I pretty much make my own hours.

3. Ever been fired or quit because you were insubordinate? (*good* explanation is worth bonus donut points)

   Heh, I've worked at a Wendy's on 3 different occasions, all 3 ended on not such good notes. The first time I worked at a Wendy's was my first job. I got stuck on the closing shift cleaning up the dining area, closing the salad bar, etc. My boss had me staying past 11 (which was illegal because I was under 18), so I called up and told them I wasn't coming back. They tried to get me to at least give them two weeks, but I said no.

   The second time was during the summer after my senior year of high school. My last night there we were severely understaffed, to the point that we closed the store early because otherwise we never would have gotten out of there. One of my coworkers had some pot in his car, so he, myself, and my manager (a woman, for future reference), went out back, smoked it, then tried to clean up. We did an awful job, but what did I care? I was high and I wasn't coming back... (Fun side note: I found out after I left that the manager and the other guy had sex all over the store. Another funny note: that same manager got arrested 1 year later when she and her boyfriend tried to rob the store).

   The third and final time was the summer after my freshman year of college. 2 of my friends were working there that summer too, but they both went to UNH, which starts their fall classes about a month before NU did. I had been working graveyards all summer with my friend Luke, which made it semi-tolerable. When it came time for Luke to go back to school though, they were going to pair me up with the worst manager there. I decided there was no way I could do a month of that, so I wrote them a note telling them they were all a bunch of fucking ass holes and where they could shove various objects and only went back to get my paycheck.

Bonus: What's your dream job and salary that you could live comfortably on?
I wouldn't mind having Bill Gates job (creative director my ass). Seriously though, if I could be the CTO, or even just a principal developer and make over $100k, I'd be more than happy. Unfortunately, as you get into that range you become management, which is something I definitely do not want to become.

3x Thursday: A series of firsts

Another week, another 3XThursday. Compliments of Missy Williams:

1. What was your first real (no, it doesn't have to be a winblows box) puter in the 1990s? What did you use up until then? What do you use now?
   We got in the 80s, but my family had original Macintosh. We upgraded it over the next couple years (external hard drive, about 50MB is memory serves). I didn't own my first x86 machine until 1994, when I got a 486 DX60MHz with 16MB RAM prefabbed by Dell. I now have a few machines:
   1. P4 2.4GHz with 1GB RAM (my Wintendo box)
   2. P3 266MHz with 128MB RAM (the file server, running SuSe Linux)
   3. mobile P3 700MHz with 128MB RAM (the laptop, running WinME)
2. What was your first (or one of your first) experiences with the internet? When was it?
   Well I remember using FidoNet on BBS's back in the day, but that's not the internet... I'm sorry to say my first real experience with the internet was on AOL back in 1995.
3. What piece of software have you been using the longest? Why do you still use it?
   I think it'd have to be WinAmp. I rode the wave as MP3 and Napster became popular my freshman year of college. As new players came out, they never measured up in my mind to WinAmp. On the other hand, Winamp 3 still sucks. (On a side note, the guy who developed Napster was a fellow CCS student at NU. It was funny listening to the teachers rip him for dropping out while he was making money appear out of thin air. Of course we all know what happened after that)

Bonus: Regardless of what you use now, what's your favorite o/s? Why? Is/was it easy to use? If you could (if you haven't already), would you go back to it? OS X is real slick. It's built on top of UNIX, which from a stability stand point you can't beat, then add the windowing system that is second to none and you've got a great OS. Then there's the added bonus that you can build just about any Xwindows app which increases the software library available. Now, if they would only do a build on x86 hardware...

3x Thursday: History Lesson

I'm a little sad that Jake will no longer be doing 3XThursday, but things change, and I for one welcome our new Hair Metal Overlords. Now on to the questions:

1. What's your favorite decade or time period in the past 150 years? Why?
   Well, I've been really nostalgic for the 80's as of late. Not sure how many times I've seen every episode of I love the 80's. I lived through them though, so I have to add that my favorite time period I didn't live through would have to be the 1960's. Rock was still new, the hippy movement was in full swing, I would have fit in perfectly.
2. If you could live in any time period in history, which would it be? Where would you live? What would you do?
   I'd love to live in Europe during the Rennaissance. I'd definitely be involved in all of the scientific experimentation that was going on at the time, probably as an assistant to someone along the lines of Descarte.
3. Who is your favorite person in history? What did they do that was groovy enough for you to admire them so much?
   Part of me want's to say Jesus, but it says history, not fantasy (just kidding folks, don't kill me ^_^; ). In all seriousness, it would have to be Alan Turing. The man is responsible for the field I work in, so got to give him his due.

Bonus: So, with all this fighting amongst our other fellow humans, war has been on the mind lately. What's your favorite war or conflict? What interests you the most about it? Most definitely WWII, but mostly because that's what I've been exposed to the most. My dad is an avid war historian, so growing up I read a lot of his books on the subject and watched all the documentaries on PBS, and more recently the History Channel.

3XThursday : Press Any Key to Play

A day late, but here it is, compliments of 8bitjoystick

1. What is your favorite PC game? Do you have a rarely known game that you love or do you like the blockbuster popular ones.
   I really love RTS games like War/Starcraft or Command and Conquer. I also enjoy turn based games like CivIII. I used to be big into FPS games like quake, but I stopped playing after I felt there was little inovation in the games. Also, like Jake, I love me a little Scorched Earth (it was the first game I ever played on a PC, I owned a Mac until high school).
2. If you were put in charge of a team to design the ultimate PC game for you and your market group what would you have it be like? Who is your market group?
   I would definitely strive for an immersive environment and story line. My biggest problem with a lot of PC games today is they focus so much on multi-player environments they neglect a good single-player story. My market group is obviously like me, tired of the same old massively multiplayer environment filled with 14 year olds with nothing better to do.
3. Do you like to play PC games by using a keyboards, mouse, joystick, gamepad or whatever? What do you think is lacking in the control of PC games?
   I usually lean towards a combo of mouse and keyboard, it allows me to be flexible. Typically when I'm first learning a game, I will use the mouse to select from menus, etc. but as I become more comfortable I'll start using keyboard shortcuts or creating macros and the like. The only thing that is missing from control in PC games is standardization; there's every kind of control you could possibly imagine, but some only work for a very small subset of games.

Bonus: So our relationship with our computers is a bit like our relationships with our cars. If you had to pick one car and one similar PC what ones would they be?
I feel my relationship with computers is actually very different than with cars. I like to have the feeling of building my own computer, and take pride in doing routine maintenance and upgrades. My car on the other hand, I have no interest dealing with other than driving; if it stops working, I take it to someone who can fix it. Luckily, my 2002 Saturn has not had any problems as of yet ::knocks on wood::.

3XThursday : War and Peace in The Global Village

From 8bitjoystick

1. In your own words what is globalization? Just what exactly are we talking about?
   glob·al·ize ( P ) Pronunciation Key (glb-lz)
   tr.v. glob·al·ized, glob·al·iz·ing, glob·al·iz·es
   To make global or worldwide in scope or application.
   global·i·zation (-l-zshn) n.
   Globalization is a very generic term. In this context we're talking about a global economy, which just means that goods and services flow from anywhere on the globe to anywhere else with a minimum of tariffs or restrictions.
2. What are the benefits of globalization? How can this help us as a planet and a people.
   The benefits (according to most economists) would be a leveling of the playing field around the world. This means the quality of life in the poorest of countries should improve, while in countries like the US we can expect a slight decline.
3. What are the dangers and curses of globalization? What is escaping from Pandora's Box?
   As above, there are always winners and losers when you expand the market space. Our own history is filled with examples of the upheaval of a change in the market structure. Look at the Industrial Revolution; today you'd be hard pressed to find people with sane arguments stating that it was a bad idea, but look what we had to go through to get where we are. In the 1800s, people were overworked in dangerous environments for little pay, but with the advent of Unions and labor regulation things improved. We can expect a similar upheaval with the coming global economy (we're not even close to being there).

Bonus: If it truly is a global economy then why don't we care about world opinion?
It isn't, but that doesn't prevent us from continuing our arrogance in stating that we are the best thing in the world and everyone should be like us.

3XThursday : Corporate Ethics Policy Handbook

From 8bit Joystick

1. What do you think is totally unethical but legal?
   Parents entering children into beauty contests. It's one thing when a 12 year old wants to be little miss wonderful or whatever, but when parents enter 1-2 year olds in the beautiful toddler contest, that crap just makes me sick.
2. What do you think is ethical but illegal?
   I'm a small-L libertarian (I agree with the libertarian view, but the party is just a little too out there for me), so I have to say drug use. I don't believe the government should have the right to tell me what I can and can't do with my body. I've been known to occasionally smoke marijuana, and the fact that I choose to do so could get me fined or, in the extreme, jailed really ticks me off. Our jails are filled with non-violent drug offenders; the news media complains on a regular basis about how much it costs to maintain our prison system. Stop the insanity.
3. So who do you think is more unethical? Porno actors or politicians?
   In a broad generalization, politicians. Porno actors don't lie to you about what the do; they have sex on camera for money. Politicians on the other hand, campaign for months, make promises they can't possibly keep, all to get your votes, or more importantly your money.

Bonus Question: So are white lies good or bad?
Now, considering they way I answered #3 I'd be a hypocrite if I said good. A lie is a lie, even if it is a small one. That does not mean, however, that I claim I never lie. I never said any such thing, so don't say I did, you liar :-P.