[Jelena]

Originally Posted by Maquisard

1. What sport are you best at?
2. You're at point A. What's point B?
3. Favorite beverage?

1. I'm not good at any sport at all nowadays, but I used to be an OK basketball player.
2. Mauritius. The countdown has begun.
3. Water

----------------------------
1. Do you ever use white lies?
2. Is total honesty necessary in a relationship?
3. When was the last time, to your knowledge, you discovered someone else lying to you?

[Squinky]

1. I have, and I tend to feel terrible about it.
2. Absolutely. No wonder no one wants to have a relationship with me.
3. I discover myself lying to myself on a rather consistent basis, or so it seems, though on closer examination, it's not so much lying as not completely understanding until later on. As for other people, I tend to not have any concrete proof that they lie to me, but at the same time, I have no concrete proof that they're telling the truth, so I'm constantly suspicious. It's a strange place to be.

***

1. Does it creep you out when someone insists on being completely honest with you all the time?
2. Do you ever get the feeling that there's something about you that's not quite normal, but you can't really pinpoint how or why?
3. Tell me about something selfish you've wanted recently.

[Trumgottist]

Originally Posted by Marte

1. I'm in the CET +1 (is that correct? Norway and stuff..)

No, Norway and stuff (which includes us in Sweden) are in CET (Central European Time). No need for the +1. It is GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) + 1 though, which probably is a better choice to state your time zone in since that's the one time zone everybody should be able to relate to.

[MoriartyL]

1. No. But I guess I can't say that from experience, since no one's formally insisted on that with me. I do expect complete honesty from my friends, though.
2. Never. I know exactly how and why I'm not normal. If you ask me to pinpoint any particular aspect of that, I gladly will.
3. Well, today I asked the director of the play I'm in for assurance that I'm keeping the two roles, even though I haven't really proven to her yet that I can pull it off. I see that as being somewhat selfish.

================================================== ==

1. When was the last time you didn't want honesty?
2. When was the last time you were annoyed to not get honesty?
3. Name one aspect of yourself that is abnormally normal.

[Squinky]

1. I can honestly say that I don't remember. I've been disappointed by honest admissions that others have made, but I would have always rather had them be honest than lie to me in order to keep up appearances.
2. Probably the last time I went to a restaurant and encountered overly-friendly wait staff. I always hate that they do it because it's their job, rather than because they actually care.
3. I'm right-handed?

***

1. Have you ever felt compelled to finish a work of fiction in spite of the fact that it had some scenes in it that disturbed you in some way?
2. Pretend you're reading a story about two novels who have a tumultuous, forbidden love affair. Which novels are they?
3. Is it really true that the internet is a safe haven for all those people in the world who are strange and different in some way to those around them in real life?

[Maquisard]

1. I made a very disturbing painting in College. It was a picture of a starving concentration camp prisoner, with his mouth open, the outline of whose intestines you can make out bellow his skin (I know it's not scientifically accurate), and his pants dropping on account of them being too large. He's standing in his Nazi doctor's office. The doctor's plentiful meal's on the desk in front of him, dog shit on the floor behind the prisoner (with the dog off somewhere in the frame, chewing a human bone). A diagram of the digestive system on the wall. And the scene as a whole: meal, mouth, intestines, ass, shit, replicating that diagram. The idea was to convey how the Nazis tried to mask something disgusting (mass murder) as scientific (Darwinism).
2. The Book of Judges; Dostoevsky's the Idiot. Or was it to make up names for the novels? Regina's big date and Randy comes to town.
3. It's a safe haven for everyone, 'cause we're all different in our own way.
____________

1. What were you doing around your join date to this site?
2. What have you done since?
3. Reflect on your time here, specifically.

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Maquisard

1. What were you doing around your join date to this site?
2. What have you done since?
3. Reflect on your time here, specifically.

1. I was making a photonic crystal at work.
2. Trying to make the photonic crystal. We succeeded around a year ago. I was fired shortly after that. Well actually my contract expired but it felt like being fired, the way the University handled that.
3. Here on the forum? I love it here. It's a bit like coming home and finding nice people already there. I'm not bored yet .

---

1. How do you fight the dust and dirt in your house?
2. Which household job do you find the most despicable?
3. How clean is your house?

[Bastich]

Originally Posted by tsa

1. How do you fight the dust and dirt in your house?
2. Which household job do you find the most despicable?
3. How clean is your house?

1. I don't. I live with a compulsive cleaner who does it for me.
2. Fixing holes in the drywall. I despise every aspect of working with plaster, but especially the mess of sanding it.
3. See #1. It's rather spotless.

-----------------------------------------------------

New Questions:

1. Just friends with “benefits” or actual love without “benefits”?

2. If it is unethical for one to use their physical genetic superiority to coerce others, is it also unethical for one who possesses intellectual genetic superiority to do the same? In other words, does intellectual might make right?

3. If you were given the ability to completely conquer one of your 7 Deadly Sins (Greed, Pride, Anger, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, or Envy), which would you choose, if any?

[Hammerite]

1. Actual love without would be quite nice (I've never done 'it' before, and wouldn't want to rush into it). Obviously, I'd like 'benefits' to come in at some point though.
2. Yes. To conclude, don't be a dick.
3. If by conquer, you mean remove as an issue - I think I'd have to say envy. I get jealous about the most insignificant things...
__

1. How come I keep procrastinating?
2. If telling someone you like them (I laugh at the expression on your faces at this point), how do you initiate going into that area when talking?
3. Lo-fi or hi-fi?

[MoriartyL]

1. Because you said "envy" instead of "sloth".
2. "I like you."
3. Fee-fi, for fun.

==========================================

1. Are there any physical places that you're particularly attached to?
2. Do you ever fall in love with ideas?
3. Are you more or less loved than the average person?

[Bastich]

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

1. Are there any physical places that you're particularly attached to?
2. Do you ever fall in love with ideas?
3. Are you more or less loved than the average person?

1. The chair in front of my computer. Sometimes I think I'm literally glued to it.

2. I'm an idealist. As such, ideas are pretty much the only thing I'm in love with.

3. Significantly less. My iconoclastic nature puts me at odds with almost everyone. People tend to be afraid of me because not only do I live outside the box society has confined their mind to, but I belligerently try to dismantle it as well.

---------------------------------------------

1. You meet someone and fall completely, utterly, hopelessly head-over-heels in love with them. You have never felt this way about another human being in your life. You date them for several years and your feelings, if anything, have grown even stronger. They then reveal to you that they have been cheating on you, but that it was only sexual in nature; they still love you. Do you end the relationship over their sexual infidelity or try to work it out?

2. You have a teenage child about to graduate from high school. You are wealthy and can afford to send them to any college they desire, but they inform you that they have no interest in acquiring an education and would rather work as a poor actor in a local traveling renaissance fair. Do you simply allow them the freedom to pursue their own interests or do you demand that they get an education and make something of themselves?

3. You're in a desert, walking along in the sand, when all of a sudden you look down and see a tortoise. It's crawling toward you. You reach down and you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping. Why is that?

[geggis]

1. Not at all. I can't imagine ending something that special because of a one off physical indulgence.
2. I'd let them do what they want to do because being happy is far more important than 'making something' of yourself.
3. What do you mean I'm not helping?

+_-

You're on a desert island and you can only have...

1. ...three music albums - what are they?
2. ...three films - what are they?
2. ...three games with no internet connection - what are they?

[Lee in Limbo]

Too many good questions have passed. Can't do my usual catch-up. So I'll focus mainly on Squinky, because well, she's Squinky.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Do you believe anger can be constructive?
2. Are you really in love with her, or are you in love with the idea of her?
3. Which topics, when brought up in conversation, tend to render you unable to shut up about them?

1. Anger is an energy ~John Lydon
I believe it can be used to get things done, but I honestly don't think good decisions are ever made in anger. It's good to get you off your ass, but you generally make a lot of stupid choices because you're too angry to care.
2. Both, I think. It's hard to explain. I know that at least some of what I think and feel about her is slightly idealized, but there are so many things that I do know about her that I tend to feel I'm not that far off the mark. Plus, she's nice to kiss. (Hope that confuses enough people)
3. Writing, art, music, sex, relationships, and how I feel. Not necessarily in that order.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. What makes a person attractive to you?
2. What makes a person unattractive to you?
3. Do you ever worry about marrying someone and then meeting your true soul mate after it's too late?

1. A nice pair of eyes, a sweet smile and a well-rounded personality.
2. A serious lack of personality.
3. Heh.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Do you like receiving things in the mail? (of the physical variety, that is)
2. Do you prefer writing longhand or typing, and why?
3. Are you creeped out by guys who constantly trumpet the fact that they're "too nice"? Because I certainly am.

1. Depends on what the item in question is. If I ordered it, I'm always glad to receive it. It it's a gift from someone dear, likewise. If it's a lady's undergarments... well, that might be tricky to explain to the missus. Much appreciated, but drama-inducing, so perhaps not.
2. Sometimes I prefer to work things out longhand on paper, but I find that I favour typing these days. I don't necessarily fuss over every word and every line, but typing helps me to keep up with my thoughts.
3. No, just annoyed. If being nice is a problem for you, quit. You may become less popular over all, but at least you won't be a f^&*ing bore anymore.

Originally Posted by Jelena

1. Do you ever use white lies?
2. Is total honesty necessary in a relationship?
3. When was the last time, to your knowledge, you discovered someone else lying to you?

1. Yes, though I try very hard to stick to the truth. I sometimes stick with the truth but commit sins of omission.
2. I think total honesty is a very nice ideal, but not very realistic if your relationship involves more than basic communication. I don't advocate lying to your partner. However, I find that brutal honesty is counterproductive. If you can't think of something nice to say, STFU.
3. Hmmn. Can't remember which one was last. There were a few people who all tried to feed me various lines back in 2003. One wanted me to believe she hadn't been involved with someone who was later 'stalking' her, one wanted me to believe he didn't know where a certain lady friend's daughter was being hidden by his parents, and one wanted me to believe she wasn't sleeping with other people. That last one didn't bother me too much, except that it involved her job, which is kind of a big deal.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Does it creep you out when someone insists on being completely honest with you all the time?
2. Do you ever get the feeling that there's something about you that's not quite normal, but you can't really pinpoint how or why?
3. Tell me about something selfish you've wanted recently.

1. No, but it can be mighty uncomfortable if those truths force you to make changes to your plans or positions on a regular basis.
2. All. Of. The. Time. I'm only beginning to feel comfortable in my skin, and I'm a long way off from feeling good about myself.
3. *ahem*

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Have you ever felt compelled to finish a work of fiction in spite of the fact that it had some scenes in it that disturbed you in some way?
2. Pretend you're reading a story about two novels who have a tumultuous, forbidden love affair. Which novels are they?
3. Is it really true that the internet is a safe haven for all those people in the world who are strange and different in some way to those around them in real life?

1. Right now I'm doing more writing than reading, so I'll answer it that way. This seems to be a regular feature of my writing, actually. If I'm not writing something that bores the hell out of me or makes everyone laugh, or blush, I'm writing something that makes everyone--myself included--uncomfortable.
2. That's a tough one. I'll have to think about that a while.
3. I think that it takes a bit of persistence and an awareness of what it is about yourself that makes you different from most of the people you know before you can find 'your people'. Either that, or you have to find groups of people who can show you the way to where you belong.

Originally Posted by geggis

You're on a desert island and you can only have...

1. ...three music albums - what are they?
2. ...three films - what are they?
2. ...three games with no internet connection - what are they?

1. a) The Beatles - Abbey Road (or Sgt. Peppers... whichever is closest), b) Genesis - Duke, and c) Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever.
2. a) Casablanca, b) Blade Runner (or Brazil, whichever is closest to hand), and c) Love, Actually
3. The Longest Journey, The Last Express, and Shivers (or Myst IV, whichever blah blah blah).
_____________________

1. Is there a cartoon or animated feature film you think of as being child's stuff, but that you still like to watch every now and then?
2. What form of popular music do you habitually turn off or switch away from the instant you hear it?
3. Do you prefer your food spicy or mild?

[Trumgottist]

Originally Posted by geggis

You're on a desert island and you can only have...

1. ...three music albums - what are they?
2. ...three films - what are they?
2. ...three games with no internet connection - what are they?

1.

• Béla Fleck and the Flecktones: Little Worlds (One Flecknotes album is a must, and this one is not only great, it's also a triple CD album.)
• Gunnel Mauritzson Band: Det som sker (A wonderful disc with Swedish folk music mixed with jazz.)
• The Williams Fairy Brass Band: Acid Brass (To have something different.)

2.

• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• The Blues Brothers
• Disney's Robin Hood

3. I don't suppose I could cheat and bring SLUDGE or another development system? (Or replace a CD with an instrument, or a movie with an actual person.)

• Grim Fandango
• Tetris (I'd want something that can be played forever.)
• Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (So I'd get to finally finish it.)

--

Edit: Beaten, so no need for questions.

[Bastich]

Originally Posted by geggis

3. What do you mean I'm not helping?

I'm so glad you recognized that. I was afraid no one would get it.

For those that are wondering what I am talking about, my question was a Voight-Kampf question from the movie Blade Runner and Geggis responded with the exact line that the replicant (Leon) in the movie responded with...

[Squinky]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

If it's a lady's undergarments... well, that might be tricky to explain to the missus. Much appreciated, but drama-inducing, so perhaps not.

In that case, I'll try to remember to only send you men's undergarments from now on. *hugs*

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

1. Is there a cartoon or animated feature film you think of as being child's stuff, but that you still like to watch every now and then?
2. What form of popular music do you habitually turn off or switch away from the instant you hear it?
3. Do you prefer your food spicy or mild?

1. Oh, is there ever! Granted, most of the stuff I enjoy watching is from my own childhood, rather than new stuff that's made for children today. (With a few exceptions; I really liked the last couple of Pixar movies.) And it helps that said cartoons tend to have been written with lots of Parental Bonus.
2. Anything using autotune.
3. It varies. I like a certain amount of spiciness, but can't have it all the time or my body complains.

***

1. When will be the next time your age is a prime number?
2. Have you ever wasted hours upon hours browsing TV Tropes?
3. If something you said were to be turned into a ubiquitous famous quotation, what would it be?

[Gemma]

I wanted to try and make it a competition.. except I dont think there is any competition for this client...

"Can you order the calibers so that theyre in no particular order?"
Dave, the guy who deals with the customers: "No"

"Can you add manufacturers to a list that only shows manufacturers who currently have items available, even though they dont have items available?"
bang



What stupid questions do your clients ask?

[tsa]

I'll just ignore Gemma and answer Squinky's questions.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. When will be the next time your age is a prime number?
2. Have you ever wasted hours upon hours browsing TV Tropes?
3. If something you said were to be turned into a ubiquitous famous quotation, what would it be?

1. I think in August 2011 when I turn 43.
2. TV Tropes? What is that?
3. 'Everything sucks!' I said that a lot when I was a Ph.D. student. I've mellowed a bit since then.

---

Try to imagine yourself as a Squumsknack living in your burrow together with your gnarl and frupts.
1. What would you do if your frupts went to the xanding and klupt there until knjurks after gnoppel?
2. Your gnarl has been jipping with another Squumsknack. What would you do?
3. While you were away, your frupts have 'redecorated' your burrow. How would you react?

[Maquisard]

1. I'd broot my frupts for 3 shmacks.
2. I would grundle the jipping trew and her ynko with 2 bummos from my pawgun, 1 for each of their jipping heads.
3. Burn that motherjipper down. That'll teach them, not having anywhere to live.
____

1. Do you own any movie soundtracks?
2. Do you enjoy tributes (an album of songs by one artist sung by an array of other artist)?
3. How about cover albums (other artists' songs sung by one artist)?

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Squinky

In that case, I'll try to remember to only send you men's undergarments from now on. *hugs*

Only if you happen to be wearing them.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Oh, is there ever! Granted, most of the stuff I enjoy watching is from my own childhood, rather than new stuff that's made for children today. (With a few exceptions; I really liked the last couple of Pixar movies.) And it helps that said cartoons tend to have been written with lots of Parental Bonus.

I'm a big, BIG fan of Parental Bonus in children's entertainment. In fact, I think Parental Bonus is going to be the name of my next punk band.

Originally Posted by Squinky

2. Anything using autotune.

I don't listen to the radio enough to really be able to tell when autotune is being used. It occurs to me that a good producer would only use it sparingly, but then, as I said, I really don't know what's out there these days.

Originally Posted by Squinky

3. It varies. I like a certain amount of spiciness, but can't have it all the time or my body complains.

My body complains sometimes too (volubly, in fact), but I have a bachelor's taste for spices, which basically means excessive use of a few heavy standbys.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. When will be the next time your age is a prime number?
2. Have you ever wasted hours upon hours browsing TV Tropes?
3. If something you said were to be turned into a ubiquitous famous quotation, what would it be?

1. About two years, one month and two days from now.
2. No, but then, I rarely think to go there unless a dear friend links me something from that site. I'm not sure why that is, considering how heavily steeped in television I used to be. I think I just worry about spending too much time on a site that just screams 'time suck'.

That said, you should see me and wikipedia.
3. There are no limits on love; only limits on our preconceptions about it.

Originally Posted by tsa

Try to imagine yourself as a Squumsknack living in your burrow together with your gnarl and frupts.
1. What would you do if your frupts went to the xanding and klupt there until knjurks after gnoppel?
2. Your gnarl has been jipping with another Squumsknack. What would you do?
3. While you were away, your frupts have 'redecorated' your burrow. How would you react?

1-3. These questions are much too silly for me to answer in my customary fashion, but I really just wanted to say, we should write something together some day.

Originally Posted by Maquisard

1. Do you own any movie soundtracks?
2. Do you enjoy tributes (an album of songs by one artist sung by an array of other artist)?
3. How about cover albums (other artists' songs sung by one artist)?

1. Yes. Not a lot, mind you, but I do have some movie soundtracks that really appeal to me. A favourite is The Living Daylights. I also like The One. The most amusing is the original Casino Royale (1967) soundtrack, by Burt Bacharach and Herb Alpert.
2. Some, yes. I don't collect them religiously, but I do appreciate a good tribute album, particularly if it's themed in some way. I recently received one from Mojo Magazine that had Abbey Road completely remade by some pretty wildly diverse acts. It's a bit wobbly in places, but overall a fair bit of fun.
3. I have a few of these, too. Certain bands I've been listening to for years have all reached that 'looking back' age where what they really want to do is show you where they got their influences from, to put their careers in perspective. I'm not a huge fan of these, but they certainly are enlightening, and since I'm the kind of muso who likes to follow the full progression of a band's career, cover albums are a nice little primer.
____________________

What do you do...
1. ...when a story you're trying to tell keeps getting longer and more complicated because you keep thinking of or remembering stuff that happened that connects to or clarifies your story in some way?
2. ...when your partner is asleep and snoring away, but you can't get to sleep, and yet you're too tired to do anything productive for long, even though it's a perfect time to squeeze out a chapter or two undisturbed?
3. ...when you're working on a project that suddenly requires you to stop and do a bunch of research, but you're working to a deadline that comes up in a handful of days, and you have enough work left to do that it would probably take you twice as much time as you have left to finish, assuming you stop doing research right now and get back to work?

Of course, none of these questions is even remotely relevant to what I'm doing right now. Honest.