tattooedlady:1. Any recipes or tips for grilling for someone who hates grilled meat (mostly hate the burned bits, both in texture and taste)?
- Big Portobello mushroom caps grill up just like hamburger patties, and are damn tasty. Grab some peppers (red, yellow, green, orange...go crazy), slice them into 3-4 big chunks each, toss in a little olive oil/salt/pepper, and grill. Same with thick onion slices. All good eating. As for the burning: learn to love indirect heating. It saves you from those burned bits.
2. If you could visit three places anywhere in the world, over two weeks, all expenses paid, where would you go and what five people would you bring?
- I've always wanted to see Scotland, just due to family bloodlines (some of my ancestors were Lords of Galloway, for instance. Also, the castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Ancestors owned it at one point.) It might be fun to see Machu Picchu. Past that...hmm. I'm just not much of a travellin' man. I'd love to spend some of that time relaxing on a tropical island somewhere. Five people, huh? Well, Jessica (
numerauko), certainly. Then, I guess I'd grab Mike (daemonwise), Dusty (matrixleap), Emily (syrinakintari), and Isaac (discordian), so I could get some serious international gaming done. Might send those four to the other side of the island for the tropical leg, though. ;)3. I know you are an atheist, but I do not know your exact beliefs regarding it or how you came to it. If you could be so kind to elaborate?
- Well, beliefs are the easy part: I do not put any belief on the idea of an all-powerful, intelligent being that created everything. I'm a scientific mind, and I agree with probabilities and chaos. How I came to that...I want to find something deeper, some story or anecdote to say "here's what happened", but the truth is that I looked at the facts and saw no reason not to agree with them. No evidence has yet to show up that makes me believe that there's anything supernatural behind life, the universe, and everything. It simply is, and we are proof that, given a wide enough time line and set of variables, any given thing can happen when they come together the right way. That doesn't make us special, it makes us random. Life ends when it ends. The purpose of life is to live it. Some see that as bleak; I see it as beautiful. What better reason could I have to appreciate my life and time in it then to understand that it ends? it's not some dress rehearsal for the future, the curtain is up and the house lights are down, on with the show. If I die and discover that I'm wrong, then I hope whatever creator being is out there either forgives me for using the free will and intellect it installed in me, or is banking on my doing that.
4. Do you think society (specifically American) is going down hill in the realms of intelligence and politeness? If so why?
- You betcha. Why? Because we're arrogant, lazy, and accepting. We are less and less likely to strive for excellence and each time we fail to do so, we allow the bar to slip a little bit lower. We have no natural predators, so we've grown complacent.
5. What was you favorite place to hang out when you were ten?
- I was still a nerd at ten. My mom was over-protective. As such, i rarely went anywhere or did much. The only place I had to "hang out" was a treehouse in my backyard. It wasn't really a treehouse, it was a 8-foot-on-a-side box on stilts, but still, it was cool. I could pull the ladder up and keep my little brother out. The outside had a big pirate treasure map painted on the side.
Bonus! Who would win in a fight: a gorilla with a chainsaw or an alligator with a machine gun? Show your work. ;)
- The gator. He's got the range to get the gorilla before it gets close enough, plus thick hide, just in case. In a straight line, a gator is a fast motherfucker. He can move and continue firing, if need be. If the gorilla does get close enough, the gator will just death roll his furry ass. Besides, I grew up in Florida: Go Gators!