New Icon!

In celebration of kristan welcoming me back into her friends list, I've got a new default icon, courtesy of the lovely and glorious acerbic. I like it. It's geeky. Like me. And yes, those two are the same person. But acerbic is older. by at least a couple years.

Yesterday I got mail from skinglist. It was a big package. It had a HUGE hershey's bar, a really cute card, and "The Blue Day Book". It's a great book. I think I'll make icons out of some of the pictures when I get back to school. I'm eternally grateful SK: It was just what the doctor ordered. Made me very happy.

Short entry to show off my icon is all. The poll answers will go up tomorrow. I started another trend: 2-3 other people put up polls right after mine.

I'm such a geek :)

Answers

dibscake -- Can I give you a hug?
Sure. You'd have to get here first though. And nothing more than that - most activities in Illinois are illegal, and at your age, it's a felony.

nicocoer -- hm. . . *thinks* okay, what do you think of me? ;)
I find you interesting. You're cute, and you're quiet sometimes. However, you seem to have a lot of experience in somethings (marketing, maybe?) and I have no idea where you got it from. I hear weird things coming from a certain someone about you, and I dont' know quite what to make of them.

harrietpotter -- Did you ever read Barry Trotter?
Don't even know what it is.

hermione_like -- What is your favorite book? Favorite singer/group?
Hmm. Book is hard. I have lots of favorites. Probably Heilein's "The past through tomorrow". It's a short story colleection. Although at the moment, it's "The Blue Day Book", gifted to me graciously by skinglist

non_existent_ -- Do chocolate-covered strawberries float your boat?
They're so good. I don't get them nearly enough. My mom made some one time... *homer simpson esque droll* It was great.

[name hidden to protect the innocent] -- What do you think of me? honestly. and do people talk smack about me when i'm not around? i think people find me annoying.
Honest? Never heard a single person talk smack behind your back. The only thing anyone seems to talk about is you and a certain person having some kind of thing going on (which I don't believe, personally).
I think you're a great guy. You are really smart, and you have a photographic memory. You almost never seem to let anything get you down, and you're friendly towards everyone. You laugh all the time, and I think that's great. If I laughed as much as you do, I'd explode or something. I think you're a smart guy, since you seem to just KNOW so much information. And you have a cool voice. I've never found you annoying, and I love talking to you and working with you.

biztheinsane -- Can I get any pervier?
After your most recent community creation? Nope.

beginning -- Sunrise or sunset -- which is more beautiful?
I'm going to take a kind of easy way out of this: Both.

Sunrise is lonely. It's something to go out and watch by yourself. If you're feeling melancholy, and want something to do, go out and watch the sunrise. This may have a variety of effects on you, but no matter what, it WILL affecct you. Watching the sunrise is a powerful thing. I've seen it many times: in suburban neighborhoods, walking along ridges of hiking trails, looking out my window over a sea of houses. I've seen it while walking, still in bed, or just sitting out on the back porch. I've seen the sunrise in a million different ways, and every time I do, it's a unique experience. Everytime I see it, the world around me dissapears for just a bit. Watching the sunrise is an amazing, individual experience.

Watching the sunset is not so much an individual experience. It's a romantic experience: something to do with a girlfriend. It's still a powerful experience, and in some cases more meaningful than the sunrise. Sunset is gorgeous. You'll often see amazing hues and colors during a sunset that you'll never see during a sunrise. You'll see the most amazing pinks, the most dazzling colors splashed across the sky. Not that this never happens with a sunrise: it does, although less often. However, the sunset is more of a "romantic, warms your heart" type experience. It's better experienceed with someone else.

I can't say which is more beautiful. They each have times when they offer everything you need, and each offer something different for each individual person. The sunrise and the sunset evoke a variety of emotions so strong that they really can't be matched. By myself, I'll take the sunrise... but with someone else, give me a sunset, any day.

sui_generis_ -- What's the weirdest food you've ever eaten?
I haven't really eaten a lot of weird food. Probably some of the seafood I've eaten would be considered weird by other peopel... I don't know. I'll ask my parents if we've ever had anything "weird".

[name hidden to protect the innocent] -- What do you think of me?
I think you're great :) I love your voice, and I've always loved your journal. You're a good friend, and you're always perky. You're really good at keeping people happy, and you're great for a laugh. Every time I think of you, I smile. I love having you in the channel... I wish you were around more than you are. (Then again, I understand you have a life.) You're smart, and you're one of those ninja-people in the black suits that work for the dark half of support. You're way cool ;)

moonlitdream-- What is your best memory and what is your worst memory?
Sarah - you might want to skip over this one.
My best memory is prom 2002. It was perfect. I was dating the most amazing girl in the world. I had been for just under a week, and I was falling, or had fallen, madly in love with her. She looked amazing. She was normally the jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but for prom she spent all day getting ready. For ME she spent the entire day getting herself to be one of the most beautiful people in the world. We went to dinner, we went to the dance. She laughed with me when I got lost on the way there ;) And during that dance... I got my first kiss. For the first time ever in my life, I kissed a girl. And it was the most magical moment of my life.

My worst memory... There's quite a few of these I could choose from. Luckily, I've had a pretty nice life, so I don't think any of them are nearly as bad as most people's, but... hmm. Okay. A worst memory. Got one.

When I was in 8th grade, a good friend of mine died. He was alone in his house, and he had been cleaning his gun. He shot himself in the head while doing it. The news said that based on the angle of the shot, it was most likely not a suicide, and I believed this wholeheartedly: Jake was a happy guy, he wouldn't do that.
The worst memory is this: I remember saying that. That it couldn't have been suicide, he was just cleaning his gun and had an accident. I needed to believe in that. And my parents continue to explain to me how although it looked like an accident, it still might have been done on purpose. No matter what I said, they kept bringing that up. That's the worst memory I've got: my friend dies, and just hearing my parents say it could have been suicide. I still cry when I think about it.

Rest in Peace, Jake.

lor22ms -- So. What're you doing today?
Not much. I need to vote, and I'm working on finishing up a webpage for my mom. I've got to clean my room, and start getting stuff together to go back to school. Also, I should do some Plogs.net work, unless I'm too damn lazy. But the first thing I'm doing is answering my poll :)

[name withheld] -- If you could be any animal in the zoo, what would you choose?
Something pretty. I don't know what I'd want to be, specifically, but something that is just amazingly beautiful to most people. Probably a bird. I wouldn't want to be a bird in the zoo: I'd hate not being able to go anywhere. But I'd love to be able to be some gorgeous bird, flying through the sky.

Or a phoenix ;) But I don't think they have any of those in the zoo.

jessicacmalfoy -- Why Emo? Why couldn't you have just turned raver ... ::sobs::
Where would the fun in that be?! :) Seriously, my emo-osity is one of the primary things that makes me, me. I'm sensitive, caring, and I try to make sure everyone knows how much they matter to me. All these things are what I consider to be good qualities of myself. However, with that comes a lot of other things: I cry easily, I get attached to people easily, and I care about people more than I should. So. I am emo, I've always been emo, and despite popular opinion, I'm not gay because of it ;)

bertho -- Do you want me or Jack more?
Probably Jack. He's closer to my age. Plus, he's cuter.

pthalogreen -- what makes you happy?
Working with computers makes me happy. Hearing about a bug in LJ code, and looking up where it is, and fixing it makes me happy. Knowing that I can point to specific things on LJ and say - THAT works right because of Me. That always brings a smile to my face.

-- what makes your life worth while?
A lot of things. The people in it, first of all. I've got a lot of really great friends. Not a lot of really CLOSE friends physically: I have people I could stay with from florida to boston to seattle to california, and very few actually in Illinois. But the people online mean so much more to me than I can usually say. My interactions with them are oftentimes way more serious than a lot of people locally, and not just because it's online. The people in my life are what make it worth getting up the next day and keeping on keeping on.

-- what's your happiest memory?
This one was answered above.

-- if you change one thing about your past, what would it be?
I wish... I wish I had learned how to study and do well in school. A long time ago. I'm having so much trouble learning study and note taking skills now that it's not even funny. I'm not dumb: I'm a pretty smart guy. But I just got a 67/100 (scaled) on a physics test. That's not so great. And it's not because I'm not smart: I just can't study. So, if there's one thing I could change about my past, it would be to try harder to learn how to try hard, much earlier on in life.

ducks_emmy -- what do you think of moi, Emmy?
I don't know you that well. I've talked to you before in chats and stuff, but even then my interaction with you is much more limited than it is with a lot of other people. So, to answer this question, I"ll read your journal to bring thoughts to mind ;)
Heh. One problem with having too many friends is I sometimes get people mixed up. Reading this brings back lots of thoughts, so here we go:
You're smart. You work hard in school, and you do well (espeecially comapred to me). Since when is an 81 a C? You're friendly, you're nice, and you wished me a happy birthday. I like reading your entries. However, I still can't say too much about you personally: I only know you from your journal. so. There.

rho -- what is the capital of kazakhstan?
Astana is capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan

jackin69 -- Have you EVER thought you might be BI, or ever been attracted to a guy? ;-)
Not in the slightest. I kid, but in all honesty, guys disgust me. Even I disgust me. Boys are pigbeasts, all of them. Imho, of course.
So, to answer your question: nope. Not bi, not gay, and I like girls, thank you :)

[[name withheld]] -- Do you think you are attractive/ beautiful?
I think I'm cute. I've always found myself to be an okay looking guy. Lately, I feel more and more like I'm growing up into myself. Yesterday I looked in the mirror and, to be honest, I was surprised at myself. I looked... mature. Old. I looked like somebody who was actually a college student, and didn't just play one in real life. However, I've never found myself really "attractive" per se. I like certain features about me: my chest, for example, however, I don't really consider myself all that good looking. I have learned that OTHER people do though, so, because of that, I've learned not to talk bad about how I look. I've been called cute and sexy now a fair number of times, so I've just learned to accept that people, for some reason, like the way I look.

lonelyemokid -- How long are your nose hairs?
Too short for me to see or measure them.

skinglist -- What made you decide on your major? What do you plan to do with it after grad?
I love computers. I've always loved them since we first had a terminal in our basement. I wasn't allowed to touch it, but it was just so cool that my dad could turn on a little box at home and do things at work. I remember getting our first computer when I was 10, and I remember learning how to exit Windows so I could play Wolf3D in DOS. I remember playing pinball on that game like there was no tomorrow. I remember watching it start up and being amazed at every little bit of it. I love computers, and I love making them do what I want. Computer Science is all about teaching a computer to do what you need it to do. And I love doing that.
An entry a couple days ago talked about what I want to do after I graduate. Right now, I'm hoping to be able to keep doing something like what I'm doing now: working in a small team environment to put together a useful and popular project. It used to be I wanted to design roller coasters and simulations for them. But I just don't think Graphics is my game. So, there you go.

syddle -- When do I get a piece of *that*? *licks*
Either when you come out here, or when you become legal and I can come visit you. Then again, you like girls more than guys anyway, so I don't know if you want any of that. but. those are your options.

roy -- what is your favourite type of cheese?
Velveeta.

snuzzie -- Why is the sky blue?
Refraction of the sunlight. Beecause of the water particles in the atmosphere, the sun splits up into colors as it passes through them, creating the blue we see. That's why at sunset you see all the weird colors: The different angle changes the color you see.

pezstar21 -- Can I scrogg you?
Same type of response as above: I'm not paying for transport, but if you can get yourself here, you're welcome to me.

coffeechica -- Are there nice, affordable houses in St. Charles? Is it too far (45+ mins) of a commute to Oak Park from there?
Nice, affordable? Hah ;) St. Charles is an EXTREMELY expensive area to buy houses in. You can get a decent house (we had a 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1 car garage house) that we sold for around 200,000. I don't know if that's affordable or not. But it's definitely not the average. Average house in this town is probably over 250,000, with prices ranging up to around a million bucks. It's an expensive town... but I love it. The schools are great, the people are great, and as dull as it is, I just like it here.
And I have no idea how far it is to oak park :) I'm so totally clueless about directions... I'll ask my dad :)

lavlovbunny -- how is it that you kept/have a long distance relationship that hasn't been destroyed by the distance... or err how far away is it?
I broke up with my girlfriend 3 weeks ago, beecause the relationship wasn't working because of the distance. So, to answer your question: I don't. It was 120 miles, a 3 hour drive. However, with no car, I only saw her about every 2nd-3rd weekend, so I didn't see her very much. It was wonderful to come home, but it was just too hard to deal with being at school and dealing with the relationship.

[[name withheld]] -- I can't think of anything to ask about you, so I'll be selfish and ask about me instead. What do you think is my worst quality? (mm, oxymoron)
Possibly talking about other people behind their backs. You'll speak in veiled cryptic tones while they're there, but you always make it clear enough that everyone knows who you're talking about. It bothers me, because if you talk about them behind their backs, what do you say about me? I don't know, I don't know at all, and that bothers me. So there.

[[name withheld]] -- I finally got a good one! What happened to you year in review? ;)
It's sitting on my computer at school. I'm up through about april or so ;)

There's four of you I skipped. I'll get to those later today (in a second post. Because I'm spammy and hate backdating). But here are the answers for most of your questions. If you still haven't asked a question, take the poll. If you want more clarification, please feel free to comment or email me.

Answers, part 2

Only have one more to do, and I'll do that one as a seperate post, becasue It'll probably be long. (ndr: yours is the one i mean)

kangarooofdoom -- How do such nice people as us keep getting hurt?
Nice guys finish last. *shrug* It sucks, but I've learned to deal with it. I don't really ever expect to be happy, I just enjoy it when it comes along. Hopefully, it'll come along for the both of us soon enough.

sporkmistress -- A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a shotgun and points it at him. The man says, thank you and leaves. Why?
The dude had the hiccups. The gun scared the shit outta him, so he iddn't need the water anymore.

[[name withheld]] -- I'm inspirationless. So tell me, what do you think of me? Do people talk about me behind my back? What do they say? (question shamelessly stolen from someone anonymous)
I don't think people talk about you behind your back. At least, I've never seen it. You were mentioned in a journal once, but I think said journallist likes you at least a bit more now. I used to think you were kind of harsh... I remember a couple times in helpscreening, feeling like I got thrashed by you. Not that I really did, looking back, just felt like it. However, when you added me to your friends list, I got a very different view of you. You seem more friendly now, and I understand you better. I like you now. I enjoy your entries, and I enjoy when you're around. I'm very glad for the good thing that happened to you recently. I'm glad you're you.

fracturedfaerie -- Name the one place you want to have sex before you die
Well, first of all, I'd be happy if I had sex ANYWHERE before I die. It's not all that likely, ya know. But... In the mountains somewhere. I want to go out west to the rockies, rent a cabin for the weekend, and have sex like bunnies. :) I love looking out over mountains, and I'd love to just get away from it all for a weekend. Maybe I'll have to look up someone who lives near mountains to hook this one up with ;)

[[name withheld]] -- Okay. What's your biggest secret, the thing you've never told *anyone* (or maybe only one or two)?
There's a girl on LiveJournal that I have a really huge crush on. She lives too far away for me to do anything about it, but I still have a crush on her. And she's even, like, almost my age for once (sorry, raven). So. I think that's a secret, don't you? I could be less vague, but she probably wouldn't enjoy it ;)

[[name withheld]] -- Who's the best coder on the LJ and/or Plogs team?
This is a really hard question, mainly because I know a lot of great coders, and they're all really good at different things. timwi has impressed me a ton lately: he does a lot of patches, really quickly, and really well. Brad has stopped even looking over his stuff and just accecpting it, and with good reason: when Timwi writes a patch, he (almost always) does it right. However, his skills at working with people aren't always the greatest :) (Although they're a lot better now than they used to be). If I had to pick my FAVORITE coder? It'd be Mark. He's been really helpful to me learning Perl and mysql. He's always been nice enough to point out my mistakes gently. Karl is good for lots of random knowledge, especially regexps ;) Colin (csogilvie) is probably one of the better programmers too: The difference is, he's really quiet. he only has three posts in his journal, and he has only posted 130 comments. However, he's a really smart guy, and he does a lot of work. If it weren't for him, Plogs S2 styles would probably still say LiveJournal on them :) To actually answer your question: I don't know who the best coder is. I like Mark the best, Colin has helped me out the most, and Timwi is probably the best at fairly difficult stuff. All in my experience, of course.

chipb0i -- What is your description of a good, happy, ideal day? What are you doing on that day?
An ideal day is the one where I can do whatever I want ;)

I'd get up in the morning. The weather would be perfect out, mid-may warmish (70-75 degrees). I would go to great america: it would be a school day, so there wouldn't be anyone there. Deja vu would actually be running :) I would get there on time, ride some rides, and get a funnel cake sunday. During the day, I'd ride every ride in the park. It would be a great day: just riding rides all day.

I'm not saying that's the only great day, but that would be a great day ;)


mortaine -- What's the last book you read (completely) for fun, and what did you think of it?
Complete HitchHiker's Guide. I love that book. I've read it before, but not for several years, but there's so much of it that makes me laugh. I would fall asleep giggling to myself at night. I'm glad my roomate is deaf sometimes, and this was one of them :)

telepwen -- When will you come visit me?
When you buy me transport out there. Simple as that. I can't afford to get out there myself.

[[name withheld]] -- Do I irritate you or anyone else you know?
Nope. Not that I know of. I like talking to you. Plus, I like your screen name :)

-- If you could do anything right now what would it be?
Barring money/location? Theme park. I don't know where, but if I could get down south to where it's warm, and roller coasters were still open... I'd want to do that. I miss the summer, when I could ride coasters like.. 2 times a week. It was so fun. So. If I had money/location I wanted, I'd be riding a roller coaster right now.