Books
Kill your TV
Madness
RantsIt’s Back
5 Questions, from Patrick “
tbclone47“Swenson
For those of you who came in late, there are rules.
1. Leave a comment here, indicating that you want some deep , probing questions. Or soft, playful ones. Or really, any damn sort of questions I feel like asking.
2. I give you some.
3. You answer them in your own space, and post some version of these here rules.
So the Master of Fairwood queries:
1. Besides health, what’s the #1 thing that losing 140 pounds gave you?
Clarity of Vision. Not my eyesight, but my perception of who I am. I’ve learned (at least, I tell myself I have) a lot about why I am the way I am, and have addressed certain behaviors and practices accordingly. Some things about me simply cannot be fixed, but I have taken care to manage them better.
Plus, I totally bought a bunch of Leather Coats
2. Where do you work, and what is your job?
I work for a traditional game company on the East Side, making all sorts of toys and games. My official job title is “Special Projects Manager,” which translates roughly as “fireman.” I’m resonsible for a large aspect of business planning, strategic and tactical implementation, and general, “how things work” practices.
I also write.
3. What is your favorite convention?
Hypocracy. But if you mean Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions, I enjoy attending RadCon, in the Tri-Cities WA (coming up in 15 DAYS!!!) moreso than any other. I’ve been to hundreds of them in my life (not quite thousands yet, I counted), and the last 17 years have been an absolute hoot. Also, see below regarding your choice of adjective.
4. What is your favorite book, SF or nonSF?
Hmm, Tricky. I read a book a day at times, and I enjoy almost all of them. It’s hard to assign a label like “favorite” to things in my life, I’ve structured it so as to embrace a philosophy that does not encourage such distinctions.
There are a great number of things that I like. There are things that I do not like. Both have their merits, and there are things that I like “more” than others.
I prefer Fiction to Non-Fiction, althgouh the latter can move me to greater highs and lows. I prefer Fantasy to History, because there are more options for the characters. Over the last three decades, I have looked hard and long at both my reading habits, the types of books I buy, and the themes presented in them.
So, without prejudice, I’m going to name the first piece of Genre fiction I ever read.
The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. Following close behind it would be A Princess of Mars, by ERB. The Former was read to me aloud by my aunt, and I taught myself to read so that I could read it back to her. The latter saved my life.
Your mileage may vary.
5. Blu-Ray or HD, and why?
For me, it’s really neither. I own an HD-DVD player, and I enjoy the clarity and features inherent in the presentation. I own 6 HD-DVD movies, and 574 regular DVD titles (actual disc count is well over 1000, I am a compulsive collector of TV on disc). The HD-DVD standard is cheaper, more familiar, and gives me the most advantages with my current catalog (upconverting, software rather than firmware upgrades, etc).
Blu-ray is the Sony war horse, and I will purchase a PS3 when the price drops below $200. But it does not do the things that my HD-DVD player will do, and I picked up that gem for $100.
For the record, there are currently 4 DVD players hooked up to my main television, and two hooked up to the one in my back office.
Again with the varying mileage. But a Man’s got to have Standards.
And, sadly, I beleive that downloaded video content, stored on proprietary or remote servers, is the real winner. There will be petaflop computers in homes by the end of this decade, and storage capacities are doubling as fast as predicted, if not a bit ahead of the curve.