John Noble (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jackofallgeeks) wrote2007-03-01 12:24 pm
jackofallgeeks) wrote2007-03-01 12:24 pm
Entry tags:
Interview Meme: Jason
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be a little more intimate!
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
1. Actually I have a question I've always wanted to ask you: When we hang out you're always pretty cheerful and seem to be in a good mood, but many of your journal entries seem to be pretty somber. Why do you think (that I perceive) there is such a discrepancy?
So, this is something that I actually sit down and wonder to myself a bit, too. I don't think there's so much a discrepancy as just one aspect or another being easier to read. That is... Well, for one, I can be very extroverted, by which I mean people energize me. When I hang out with friends, or meet new people, I almost can't but help be happy; it's just the way I function. At the same time, in day-to-day interactions, you don't get a front-row seat to my inner monologue the way you do on my journal. And there's a lot that goes into that, too; when I'm by yself I tend to get introspective and, depending on the day and length of time away from people, I can start feeling down. My journal is also the place where I step through a lot of my inner reflections, and in a lot of ways I'm very hard-line black-and-white -- applied to myself, it's not surprising that I can get fairly solemn.
In short, it comes down to modes; when I'm with people, I'm high-energy and extroverted; by myself, I'm somber and introspective. My journal just happens to see more of the latter and less of the former.
2. I know you haven't done a great deal of gaming, despite your appreciation for it, but what would you say is your favorite aspect of it?
I love character development and interaction. In general, I love personal development and interaction; given a notebook and some music, I could people watch for hours. In game terms, I like seeing how character grow and shift, how they effect each other, and how they respond the the events of a story. Given more actual experience, I'm sure I'd exhibit strong narativist leanings.
3. Do you think coding using the visual tools (with the pretty icons and drop-down tree) is a handicap to coders? Or are they just useful tools as long as you understand the code behind them?
Coding tools are useful so long as you understand the code behind them, but I think they can be most definitely a crutch. I may be biased -- I'm the sort of guy who write C code in notepad and all the fancy bells and whistles on modern IDEs and such just confuse me. There are good things that tools can provide for you, like code completion so you don't have to memorize (or lookup in documentation) every function of every library you ever reference. But even that can make you lazy, or sloppy, or just dull (as opposed to keen-edged). In *most cases* I don't think that much difference would be noticed, but I think reliance of tools versus familiarity with code is what separates a good coder from a great coder.
(A great point here would be IDAPro, a disassembly tool we've been introduced to in this class I'm taking. It's great; there's a lot of book-keeping that IDAPro will do for you to make debugging binaries much less of a headache; but if you come to rely on the tool, you won't be able to account for it's limitations, you won't be able to see what the tool can't see, and suddenly it goes from tool to crutch. A coder who's incapable of coding in the absence of a tool is no coder; he's an operator.)
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be (removing things that might tie you down like family, friends, etc)?
OK, so, removing the factor of friends and family... There are a few places I think I'd LIKE to live. Despite what I might say, Monterey is beautiful. It's a small little town, no city by any stretch, and while that means it's nightlife is lacking, I'm not much of a partier anyways. The weather is nice; at it's worst it's cold and rainy, which I love, and it doesn't get oppressively hot, either. It's got nice rolling hills, it's right by the ocean, and you can see stars at night. So really, Monterey's a nice place to be. Other places I think I'd like to live might include the mountains of Colorado, the plains of some mid-western state, or somewhere in New England like Massachusetts or Maine; I can't really say, though, because I've never lived there, and each has it's own minus points -- mountain driving freaks me out, the plains can be a pretty boring vista (though I hear thunderstorms are magnificent), and New England gets lots of snow (and I don't like snow too much). So... -shrugs-
5. You have a lot of Trigun icons. Is that your favorite anime? If so, why? If not, what's your favorite and why?
So, when I started here on LiveJournal we only had three icons. I think you could get more if you forked over cash, and I think I did once, but we got three. My first three were one of Vash, one of Gendo, and something else for the third, but hell if I know what. I also had a friend, Mel, who I'd bet via LiveJournal through another friend. Anyways, Vash was my default icon, so he saw a lot of use, and eventually my friend Mel started to associate Vash with me; she'd never met me in person, so putting a face to a name gave her Vash. I kinda liked this because, having watched (most of) Trigun, I really like Vash a lot, and I can kind of identify with him -- much like your first question, Vash is often a bit of an amiable goof, but he's also got a lot going on underneath. -shrugs- Call it vanity. Anyways, Mel probably doesn't know it, but I keep Vash around in my icons mostly because of her.
I'm not sure I'd call it my favorite, but I'm not sure what I would call my favorite, so... I like it a lot, for so many different reasons. I like Vash as a character, how he has the appearance of being a goof, and happily blundering through life. But as the show progresses we see that he's aware of a lot more than he appears to be, and I like that. He's also noble, to a fault, and he has a tragic history. I like that, too. And I guess I like seeing his facade get shaken. Much like your second question, I like the way the characters interact, the way Vash affects the other characters and the way they're all moved by events. Like I said, I'm not sure I'd call it my favorite, but it's definitely one of my favorites.
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be a little more intimate!
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
1. Actually I have a question I've always wanted to ask you: When we hang out you're always pretty cheerful and seem to be in a good mood, but many of your journal entries seem to be pretty somber. Why do you think (that I perceive) there is such a discrepancy?
So, this is something that I actually sit down and wonder to myself a bit, too. I don't think there's so much a discrepancy as just one aspect or another being easier to read. That is... Well, for one, I can be very extroverted, by which I mean people energize me. When I hang out with friends, or meet new people, I almost can't but help be happy; it's just the way I function. At the same time, in day-to-day interactions, you don't get a front-row seat to my inner monologue the way you do on my journal. And there's a lot that goes into that, too; when I'm by yself I tend to get introspective and, depending on the day and length of time away from people, I can start feeling down. My journal is also the place where I step through a lot of my inner reflections, and in a lot of ways I'm very hard-line black-and-white -- applied to myself, it's not surprising that I can get fairly solemn.
In short, it comes down to modes; when I'm with people, I'm high-energy and extroverted; by myself, I'm somber and introspective. My journal just happens to see more of the latter and less of the former.
2. I know you haven't done a great deal of gaming, despite your appreciation for it, but what would you say is your favorite aspect of it?
I love character development and interaction. In general, I love personal development and interaction; given a notebook and some music, I could people watch for hours. In game terms, I like seeing how character grow and shift, how they effect each other, and how they respond the the events of a story. Given more actual experience, I'm sure I'd exhibit strong narativist leanings.
3. Do you think coding using the visual tools (with the pretty icons and drop-down tree) is a handicap to coders? Or are they just useful tools as long as you understand the code behind them?
Coding tools are useful so long as you understand the code behind them, but I think they can be most definitely a crutch. I may be biased -- I'm the sort of guy who write C code in notepad and all the fancy bells and whistles on modern IDEs and such just confuse me. There are good things that tools can provide for you, like code completion so you don't have to memorize (or lookup in documentation) every function of every library you ever reference. But even that can make you lazy, or sloppy, or just dull (as opposed to keen-edged). In *most cases* I don't think that much difference would be noticed, but I think reliance of tools versus familiarity with code is what separates a good coder from a great coder.
(A great point here would be IDAPro, a disassembly tool we've been introduced to in this class I'm taking. It's great; there's a lot of book-keeping that IDAPro will do for you to make debugging binaries much less of a headache; but if you come to rely on the tool, you won't be able to account for it's limitations, you won't be able to see what the tool can't see, and suddenly it goes from tool to crutch. A coder who's incapable of coding in the absence of a tool is no coder; he's an operator.)
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be (removing things that might tie you down like family, friends, etc)?
OK, so, removing the factor of friends and family... There are a few places I think I'd LIKE to live. Despite what I might say, Monterey is beautiful. It's a small little town, no city by any stretch, and while that means it's nightlife is lacking, I'm not much of a partier anyways. The weather is nice; at it's worst it's cold and rainy, which I love, and it doesn't get oppressively hot, either. It's got nice rolling hills, it's right by the ocean, and you can see stars at night. So really, Monterey's a nice place to be. Other places I think I'd like to live might include the mountains of Colorado, the plains of some mid-western state, or somewhere in New England like Massachusetts or Maine; I can't really say, though, because I've never lived there, and each has it's own minus points -- mountain driving freaks me out, the plains can be a pretty boring vista (though I hear thunderstorms are magnificent), and New England gets lots of snow (and I don't like snow too much). So... -shrugs-
5. You have a lot of Trigun icons. Is that your favorite anime? If so, why? If not, what's your favorite and why?
So, when I started here on LiveJournal we only had three icons. I think you could get more if you forked over cash, and I think I did once, but we got three. My first three were one of Vash, one of Gendo, and something else for the third, but hell if I know what. I also had a friend, Mel, who I'd bet via LiveJournal through another friend. Anyways, Vash was my default icon, so he saw a lot of use, and eventually my friend Mel started to associate Vash with me; she'd never met me in person, so putting a face to a name gave her Vash. I kinda liked this because, having watched (most of) Trigun, I really like Vash a lot, and I can kind of identify with him -- much like your first question, Vash is often a bit of an amiable goof, but he's also got a lot going on underneath. -shrugs- Call it vanity. Anyways, Mel probably doesn't know it, but I keep Vash around in my icons mostly because of her.
I'm not sure I'd call it my favorite, but I'm not sure what I would call my favorite, so... I like it a lot, for so many different reasons. I like Vash as a character, how he has the appearance of being a goof, and happily blundering through life. But as the show progresses we see that he's aware of a lot more than he appears to be, and I like that. He's also noble, to a fault, and he has a tragic history. I like that, too. And I guess I like seeing his facade get shaken. Much like your second question, I like the way the characters interact, the way Vash affects the other characters and the way they're all moved by events. Like I said, I'm not sure I'd call it my favorite, but it's definitely one of my favorites.
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2. Actual details of the current political and international climate aside: you are in charge of developing the domestic and foreign policies of our nation. In a reasonable length, how do you see government working best, ideally? What needs to be added or removed?
3. What is it that pushed you to get a Doctorate? What made you choose your field?
4. Honestly, when role-playing do you prefer being a player or a GM/storyteller/whatever?
5. Some people love academia, and see nothing greater than theoretic research. Others just see a stodgy Old Boy's Club out of touch with the practical realities of life. And others think the whole system is broken, and we're no longer really educating anyone at all. What's your opinion of academia?
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It occurs to me that I'm not really pulling any punches in my interviews...
2. What kind of place in your life does your career hold?
3. You seem almost as eager to get married as I am: what sort of guy do you think you're looking for? What sort of traits do you know you need from him?
4. Out of everything you could study in all of academia, why did you choose metal smithing?
5. Who do you think you are? To the best of your ability, explain the sort of person you see yourself as.