March 24, 2008

• Featured Question Omnibus #2

  * What’s the funniest joke you know?
  
  I don’t know many jokes at all. However I once wrote a pretty funny
  short story entitled “C Beast”. You have to a programmer to get it.
  I’ve got another funny story I’ve been meaning to write too…

  *
  What is your favorite tv program of all time?
  
  Involving Real People – Firefly
  Not involving real people – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (anime),  Gargoyles (non-anime)
  These answers change roughly once every five minutes.

  *

  What do you spend most of your money on?
  
  right now? gas!  But I don’t mind if it reduced demand and helps save the world.

  *

  What is one quote that best describes your views on life?
  
  This is the greatest question I’ve seen on the featured questions page.
  But I have no idea what to put for an answer. I’m still thinking about
  it. One of these I’ll answer it.

  *
  What do you think about the Jena 6?
  
  I voiced all my opinions on this on various forums. It was pretty messed up.

  *
  Are you happy?
  
  Does it really matter?

  *
  How do you handle stress?
  
  By pretending it doesn’t exist. I don’t recommend this strategy to others.

  *
  What makes up a successful relationship?
  
  Mutual respect. Just guessing…

  *

  What’s your record for consecutive hours spent listening to an iPod – and what were you doing?
  
  Zero.
  The ipod is NOT the only kind of mp3 player out there nor is it a
  generic term for an mp3 player. Just like “google” is not the
  appropriate term for an internet search, nor is “IE” the only kind of
  web browser or “windows” or “pc” the only kind of computer, or “MS
  Office” the only kind of office suite, or “tivo” the only pvr, etc.
  etc. etc.  Stop mixing up the terms!!

  if you mean mp3 player i general maybe 4. if music not through an mp3 player, something like 72 hours…

  *
  Has your iPod ever run out of juice at the worst possible moment? What happened?
  
  No. See above. And how could it be particularly bad to lose your iphone
  power? Is that like the end of the world? wtf? you just lose your
  music! BFD!
  Now if it were your cellphone, that’s a whole different story. Mine
  just ran out while in the middle of a phone interview. Remarkably the
  interview still went well.

  *

  Do you think a person can develop close relationships through the Internet? Why or why not?
  
  I don’t think it, I know
  it is possible. Experimental evidence in my own life has proven it.
  I’ve developed close friends online and become closer to existing
  friends through interactions online.

  As to why? Why wouldn’t it be? All human interactions are meaningful
  and can create rapport. The internet is just like the real world. In
  some ways it’s more real than the real world. Why would anyone say a
  relationship online lacks “reality” just because it doesn’t entail
  biological vicinity? That’s absurd. However, it is important to
  remember that just because a relationship is close over the internet
  doesn’t mean that same relationship will be close outside of the
  internet. And vice versa.

  *

  If you could be any animal for a day what animal would you be and why?
  
  My completely unclever answer that dozens of people have probably
  already said – a human being. That’s the truth. It is the animal that I
  most want to be.  Unless you allow fantasy creatures. The possibilities
  are near endless! But of course Dragon wins.

  *
  Do you think the media puts too much focus on physical beauty?
  
  Yes! It’s a conspiracy I tell you! The media monguls meet in a room
  every year and decide how much physical beauty will play a part in
  media representatios this year and force it upon the unsuspecting
  public! <sarcasm>

  No. The media just does what the people want. The react to signals
  tempered by internal biases, true, but mostly it’s the signals. You
  want less focus on physical beauty? Then convince more people not to
  care!

  *

  Would you sign a pre-nup before getting married? Why or why not?
  
  I should hope that I would marry someone with whom it wouldn’t matter
  one way or another. But overall, sure can’t see why not? So long as the
  agreement is fair and equitable.

  *

  How often do you put new songs on your iPod – and what are the last 5 songs you put on it?
  
  Sigh. How many times do I have to say I don’t own an f***ing ipod!
  I never put new songs on my mp3 player. I should probably do that some time.

  *

  What is the most artistic item in your home?
  
  My roommate is the artistic one. Ask him.

  *

  If you could change anything about the world, what would it be and why?
  
  Just one thing? Anything? Well I’d change the fact that I don’t have
  godlike powers. Then I’d use my godlike powers to change soooo much.
  OK, more reasonably, I’d change the way the career/business/education
  model works by making it more rational. Either that or I’d eliminate
  the idea of the nation state. Or maybe  et rid of all illnesses. Or end
  world hunger. Or eliminate nuclear weapons. Ach! There’s just too may.
  Godlike powers it is!

  *
  What is your biggest regret?
  
  Losing a friend.

  *

  What three things would you put in a time capsule that best represents you and your life?
  
  Wow. I’d buy the biggest hard drive i can buy and chalk it full of
  every digital file I’ve ever had and every record of my existence I can
  find. Of course that would include all of my writing.  And with any
  space left over I’d put everything I can get representing my friends
  and family.  That’s one.

  An island magic card (nobody will fully get this but me).  Third spot
  is reserved for something as of yet to develop significant meaning.

  *

  What is beauty?
  
  This is by far the hardest question so far. I feel wholly unqualified
  to answer it. I’m sure I don’t know and neither does anybody else who
  answered it. So does that make me the wisest one amongst you? Yep. I
  think it does.

  But what do I guess that beauty is? I think it is an extreme form of
  the perception of preference. No I won’t explain that further.

  *

  Is the idea of marriage too outdated for the 21st century?
  
  …. sort of and not really…  Basically the idea of what marriage was
  is outdated, the idea of what marriage is, is of course quite in line
  with the 21st century since it has become untethered to absurd
  traditional hang ups and is evolving free form to fit the needs and
  desires of the populace. This is as it should be.

  There’s a separate question of whether marriage is good for society and
  what forms of marriage can and can’t be beneficial. That would lead us
  to determine what public policies should be enacted with regards to
  marriage to encourage its evolution along certain lines. That’s much
  more complicated and I have a lot of thoughts on it. Respond to this
  message or pm me, asking me, and if you want I’ll get into it.  It is
  an essay I’ve always wanted to write, just haven’t had the time and
  there hasn’t been any reason to.

  *
  Which deceased or living person would you clone and why?
  
  I don’t really believe there’s anyone alive now or who has ever lived
  that is so great that it would necessarily be a good idea to clone
  them. Environment plays such a huge role in people’s lives that there’d
  be no guarantee that person would accomplish anything. Plus it’s not
  like those genes are just gone. There’s plenty of extroardinry people
  alive and around right now! We just have to harness their abilities.

  *
  What things do you say, think, or do to help you get ready for the new work/school week?
  
  I wonder if the fact that I didn’t say, think, or do anything in
  particular was the reason I was never particularly ready for the new
  work/school week?

  *
  What was the best birthday present you got?
  
  You know… I’ve never gotten a particularly memorable one. Get
  cracking you guys!  (yes I would say this no matter what i had gotten
  in order to encourage better gifts)

  *
  Do you think religion should be taught in schools? Why or why not?
  
  The practice of religion should *not* be taught in public free access
  schools. The history of religion can be taught. So can the philosophy
  of religion. You can even teach what the practices and beliefs of
  religions ARE. So long as you do it neutrally and objectively. You just
  can’t teach students TO practice those practices. You can’t
  indoctrinate them into holding those beliefs. But all other schools can
  do whatever they feel like. We need people with variant thoughts and
  different backgrounds in order to encourage lively debate and a fuller
  understanding of everything. Even though I personally think any school,
  private or public that indoctrinates its children into a particular
  belief system is not only doing something stupid, but something
  reprehensibly morally wrong, others might disagree and I would not
  interfere with their ability to act in accordance with their own
  morality.

  *

  What is the most creative Halloween costume you’ve ever seen or worn yourself?
  
  They all seem so boring to me. I like anime cosplay better.

  *

  Why do people follow trends?
  
  Uhhh this question is sort of backwards. The trend exists because
  people followed it. It wasn’t a trend until people followed it. In
  order for it to be a trend it must be followed. Get it? Why do trends
  become trends?  Well each one is different right? People liked whatever
  it was for whatever reason and so they did it and it became a trend.

  *
  Are you concerned about your weight?
  
  Sort of. I’m very concerned about my lack of energy which may or may
  not be correlated with my weight. I’m not concerned about any other
  aspect. I don’t really care that much about the other health issues
  associated with weight or with the visual significance of weight. If I
  die, I die.

  Of course, I suspect I’m lying.

  *

  What inspires you? What gets your creativity-engine roaring?
  
  Observing people. Listening to people tell me their stories Also
  sitting in the park or walking through the park watching people.

  *

  What is the one thing you have always procrastinated doing since forever?
  
  There’s a short story I’ve been writing for almost 7 years now but I
  keep refusing to finish it. I think it will be awesome but I fear it
  will suck.

  *
  How do you feel about divorce?
  
  I don’t have any feelings toward the concept “divorce” whatsoever. It’s
  just a concept. I do have strong feelings about particular instances of
  the concept divorce. But each case is different.

  *
  Would you become an organ donor?
  
  Post death. Sure.  While alive… I doubt I’m healthy enough, but if I am, I don’t know, maybe.

  *

  What do you most want to change about your life?
  
  Well I thought I wanted to become more connected with the experience of
  living. I want the things that happen to me to matter to me more. Well
  I’ve been trying to make that the case for the last few months anyway.
  But heh, now I’m not sure how much I want that change to occur any
  more. It’s a pain in the ass.

  *
  Should torture be an acceptable method of gaining military intelligence?
  
  The term itself necessitates the answer. The term “torture” exists to
  represent intolerable mechanisms to attempt to extract information.
  Anything that falls into the category of torture is necessarily them
  unacceptable. So what is meaningful is to look at individual
  techniques, determine their efficacy if possible weight that against
  their humaneness and determine if society deems them acceptable. If
  they are then they aren’t “torture”. It just so happens that most of
  the extreme techniques that are used are high inhumane and ALSO high
  ineffective. So there’s no point in our government demanding that we be
  able to do them. That’s idiotic.

  *
  What do you remember about your first day of school?
  
  I don’t remember anything about that day. Was I even fully self-aware then?
  
  
  *

  Would you ever consider plastic surgery, why or why not?
  Sure if I received some deformity that required it in order to live a
  semi-normal life then I’d consider it. But it depends a lot on whether
  it is perceptions of others that I am concerned about or some personal
  discomfort on unpleasantness that the surgery would correct. If the
  former, there’s a chance I’d just say to hell with anyone who dislikes 
  the way I look, I aint changin’.
  
  
  *
  What would be one moment that you would cherish the most in your life?
  I can’t imagine ever putting so much stake in any single moment. I want
  to cherish lots and lots of moments in my life. And I don’t feel one
  cherishable moment should be put up against another in a sort of
  competition to say that it is *better* than another.

  *
  Is the UN really effective as a peacekeeper?
  It appears to be. But over the long haul if the underlying problems are
  not resolved, no peacekeeping force can really be effective at “keeping
  the peace”.

  *
  Why are many people against homosexuals?
  
  Because…. people are idiots.
  There are lots more complicated reasons but they all end up reducing down to this.
  
  
  *
  If you had the choice, how would you want to die?
  Can I set *all* the circumstances surrounding my death?  OK then, well
  after I’ve ruled the world and created a perfect utopia on Earth (and
  wherever any other sentient species reside), traveled to and fully
  explored every planet and seen every star in the universe, written and
  published millions of novels, short stories, poems, video games, songs,
  learned every learnable skill that can be learned, tasted every
  possible good tasting food that exists, experienced every imaginable
  pleasurable experience that can be experienced, seen every work of art
  or beauty that exiss, traveled through time and observed all historical
  phenomena that hold even a shred of interest to me, and discovered the
  answers to all of the important questions such as the meaning of life
  then I’d like to die surrounded by all my friends and family 100%
  totally content, happy, and satisfied and fully having not the faintest
  clue that is about to happen.
  
  
  *
  Can men and women ever be completely equal? Should they?
  Some people seem to take in this question the word “equal” to mean “the
  same”. If that’s what you mean then no of course not. That’s absurd.
  It’s a strict logical impossibility in fact.

  If you mean anything more rational by “equal” then I’d say yes they can and yes they should.
  
  
  *
  Where do you want to travel most in the world?
  I can’t think of anywhere. I’m a little curious about everything, but
  usually I’m satisfied to stay right where I am. Except these days I
  feel increasingly restless with my surroundings.
  
  
  *
  Is the death penalty a reasonable way to punish criminals for their actions?
  Maybe. “reasonable” I take from a shear practical standpoint. In that
  case it’s possible that the cost/benefit analysis to society of
  committing the death penalty might, and I stress MIGHT, come up in
  favor of the death penalty.
  But who gives a fuck? It’s morally wrong for a society to apply the
  death penalty. That’s the society saying “sorry dudes, we failed you
  utterly, but it’s all your fault so go die!” Society has a
  responsibility to protect, defend, and promote the safety and happiness
  of all of its citizens, not just the ones that happen to be in its
  favor at the moment.

  *
  Do long distance relationships work?
  Experimental evidence suggests: sometimes.

  *
  What career would you pursue if money was not an issue?
  In the anime Fruits Basket, there’s this guy who all he does is live at
  home and walk around in a kimono all day. I want to be just like him!
  (except with a laptop)

  *
  Do you think arranged marriage is an outdated cultural tradition?
  Traditions cannot become “outdated”. Traditions are by their very
  definition homages to the past. The question is whether or not there is
  still nay value to society to pay homage to the past.  If there isn’t,
  that doesn’t mean ” arranged marriage” is outdated, it just means that
  society shouldn’t continue to encourage and support of it. Obviously
  society shouldn’t force people to do anything. People are welcome to
  preserve whatever traditions they like that do no harm.  In this
  case… I think there is a moral quandary here. Involuntary arranged
  marriage is in fact a moral wrong somewhat akin to slavery and should
  be illegal. Voluntary arranged marriage however, society should be
  neutral about. I doesn’t seem to cause any harm  to the society as a
  whole nor do any particularly great good.

  * 
  What is something you wish you were better at doing?
  Just pick one? Cuz I could fill an encyclopedia with them. If I had to
  pick one, it’d be writing. I  could always use being better at writing. I also wish I was better at helping people, but that’s a little too nebulous to be an answer.
  
  
  *
  What is your favorite part about the holidays?
  cookies.
  
  
  *
  What is your definition of a real friend?
  I wish I knew so I could be that for more people.
  
  
  *
  What would you do if you were the last person on earth?
  Answer a bunch of xanga featured questions. Then write a book. It’d be sure to be a bestseller.

  *
  What was your favorite childhood game to play?
  The implication of this question is that it is sort of a game you
  played in childhood that you stopped playing as you grew older. The
  games like that, I didn’t really like – like hide and go seek or 7-up
  or dodgeball or musical chairs  or something. I didn’t like them, that’s
  why I stopped playing them.

  The games I played that I liked, I still like now. Like D&D. Chess,
  Magic:The Gathering, RISK, Monopoly, and an endless supply of video
  games. What’s my favorite of those? Too hard to say.

  *
  How do you deal with criticism?
  I don’t seem to get directly criticized very much at all. And that sort
  of pisses me off. If you think I’m doing or thinking or saying
  something stupid for christ sake tell me! The only things worst than direct criticism are unspoken  felt criticism and criticism spoken behind your back.

  *
  Do you think a person’s looks affect his or her success in the job market?
  
  Uh probably. Someone should just study this and find out. It isn’t
  particularly hard to design an experiment to determine it. Poor
  appearance I think is already documented to have a negative consequence
  during the interview/hiring process at least. But how far this goes can certainly be studied in more depth.

  *
  Are you brand conscious?
  
  No. Brands are overtly a way that companies try to fool consumers. They
  say it outright. Seriously read their business statements and mission
  statements and how they talk about brands. It’s all about getting you
  to think in terms of the “brand” as a substitute for the underlying
  thing hence giving the company security against negative perception as a
  result of failures in the underlying thing. It’s quite corrupt.

  *
  What is the meaning of life in your eyes?
  
  I can honestly say that the life within my eyes,
  bacteria and whatnot I’m guessing, have no meaning whatsoever.

  *
  What makes a happy marriage?
  
  constant effortless effort. Just guessing.

  *
  Do you think Christmas’ central focus on materialism takes away from the ambiance of the season?
  
  I don’t really know what ambiance means in this context. But
  materialism sucks. But whatever. If people didn’t want it, it wouldn’t
  exist.

  *
  Who is one person in your life that has influenced you the most, and why?
  
  I don’t know. I’m hard to influence. I pretty much do the same thing I
  was always going to do no matter what.  I just bitch and moan about it to different extents to different people. But probably my Mom influenced me the most I guess. We
  talk a lot or rather I listen a lot and her thought process effects
  mine.

  *
  How interested and/or involved are you in politics?
  
  I alternate in interest from repulsed to enraptured. I alternate in involvement from not at all to barely.

  *
  What motivates you to give to a charity?
  
  I almost never give to charity. I have a thoery that the existence of
  charity does more harm than good. It’s one of those blogs I always
  wanted to write but never did. I do sometimes give to radom projects that I think are cool because I think they are cool.

  ———————————-

  God damn there’s a lot of these featured questions. Still 2 or 3 more of these to go before i’ve answered them all!
   

  I just answered these Featured Questions, you can answer them too!

  • 9:13 pm
  • 6 Comments