20 Question Tuesday (on a Monday): 301 - Halloween (belated)


Well, it looks like this should have posted on Tuesday of last week… Happy Halloween all… another post will happen tomorrow.

Anyway… Halloween was on Friday and the kids have gotten gobs of candy.  Gobs and gobs of candy… The little one is fueled by chocolate at the moment.  Chocolate and creamy nougat.

Thanks last week go to: Mike, pfmDesigner, Nadolny, Maj. McArmypants, and DrJHP

Onto the questions:

1.  Halloween themed adult parties. Good or bad?
In general, they are bad, but adults do need an outlet to have parties.

2.  Favourite treat to steal from your kids (or anyone's kids, for that matter) -- which candy just doesn't seem to get given out at your door and you're "unfortunately" left with extra that you'll have to eat?
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

3.  At what point (date) do you just stop giving the leftover candy to your kids? Or do you let them eat it ALL, like an awful, awful parent.
We take all the candy away from the kids 2 days later and tell them they lost their chance to eat the sweets.

4.  What non-commercial costume have you seen that made you absolutely double-over in laughter?
It is difficult to get me to double over with laughter due to costuming.  I can not recall any.

5.  When confronted with the “Honor System” bowl of candy, how honorable were you?
Very honorable.  Wrongfully honorable... so many Spree could have been mine!

6.  What would be your dream costume for yourself as an adult?
Something worthy of the 501st… prolly a Biker Scout… in some ways I envy Mr Troyan of a previous 20 Questions.

7.  With whom would you most like to go Trick-Or-Treating?
My kids… and Keith Richards.

8.  What is the correct term for a group of clowns?
A “horror of clowns”

9.  Seen the new Halloween peeps? Brilliant marketing or just sad?
I have not seen them, but peeps are an abomination, Easter, Christmas, Halloween, or else
 
10.  What was the best candy you got as a kid? Full sized candy bars? (mine were full sized bars)
Full sized candy bars for the win.

11.  Worst candy thing as a kid? Mine was some stale chocolates from a 10 month old valentine heart candy box (I could see it through the old lady’s window).
Some weird peanut butter candy crap that came in black in red wax paper.  Ugh, they were horrible.

12.  Hot apple cider on Halloween?
Hot apple cider.... mmmm mulled cider

13.  Thoughts on the kids carving pumpkins? Designs this year?
My kids are almost useless when it comes to doing things.  I swear it is like watching the before examples in infomercials.  Both kids lost their shit while trying to draw their jack-o-lantern’s faces… utterly useless.  I am not sure we are preparing the kids for real life.

14.  What’s with the pumpkin flavoured everything this year? (asked in my best Jerry Seinfeld voice).
Because autumn is the time of pumpkin.  Pumpkin is autumn.  Autumn Pumpkin.  Who made Autumn the time of pumpkin?  I wanna know.  How does allspice feel about this? (answered in my best incredulous Jerry Seinfeld voice)

15.  When will you start taking the kids to Haunted Houses?
Probably never.  I do not like the Haunted Houses

16.  In terms of "costumery", some people really go all out.  Do you think there is an effort level or age level (or both) where it just gets weird?
No, I don’t think so because many people want to dress up every day of the year, but keep them selves dress-up sequestered until the Halloween season.  They should look into conventions and the term “Cosplay’ and rock that shit.  It ain't for me to judge.
 
17.  Remember when almost all of the store-bought costumes were flammable plastic?  (and I mean "flammable" flammable, not some "well technically everything will burn in the presence of oxygen at the appropriate temperature" argument, but like "tree tinsel on a birthday candle" flammable.)  Hard to believe that was actually in your lifetime isn't it? 
The 70’s and 80’s were clearly fueled by cocaine… mass produced instantly flammable or easily meltable products… <<sniff

18.  What was the lamest costume you ever wore?
An actual carved pumpkin on my head… lay off, grandpa had just died and we were stuff in Mom’s hometown without any of our Halloween supplies.  We did what we had to do…  Would love to know if there are pictures of that horrible horrible time of my life

19.  Do teenagers nowadays egg houses with organic or free range?
Not mutually exclusive categories.  The good ones use both.

20.  What is going on? It seems like the stores bypassed Halloween and Thanksgiving and went right to Christmas already!
Christmas makes money… what can they say?

To recap:
Criminy, I really need to clean my office
I will do that tonight
It will take multiple trash bags for recycling purposes
Co-worker just let me know there's another job in their future
Good for that co-worker
This office hasn't been the same since we moved to the big building up the hill
Hasn't been the same at all
The move directly contributed
I have been drinking more water lately
In lieu of exercising
Neither is working for me
Now I am wheezing and tired from getting up to pee all the time
Research project is doing well
Will be done in a few weeks
That is nice
Then 2 more classes until done
Wooooo!

A 20 Question Interview will post tomorrow

 

 

 

20 Questions Tuesday: 298 - Homecoming

Today marks 12 days sans dual parenting.  The Mom-in-law has been amazing and some family friends also stepped up to make the process easier as well.  In the 12 days that she has been the gones, I was also able to get a mapping commission done… Oh, I do some freelance mapping by the way under the moniker of 9th Point Studio… the website will be changing soon… It is time.  There are just some ways that I need to update a whole bunch of things on there, especially my info… anyway, the client is happy and that makes me happy.

This week’s topic is “homecoming” because of the time of year in the US high school/college sports system, but also because the Lovely Wife is coming home tonight.  

Thanks this week go to Mike, pfm Designer, and some other guy… on to the questions:

1.  Were you left with a list of things to "possibly get to if you had the time"? And if so, what did you just not find the time to get to?
I was tasked with keeping both of the kids alive and relatively unscathed.  They are both alive, thank you very much.

2.  What will TLW be looking forward to most when she gets home? Food ? Relaxation? Something else?
I think being around the kiddos.  She really loves the we beasties.

3.  If you had to come up with a Big Surprise to welcome her home, what would it be? (A friend of mine traded their SUV for a BMW while his wife was away. Surprise? Yes. Happy surprise? Not so much.)
It would be a clean house… just to be clear, that did not happen.

4.  After how many days did your kids stop asking "when is mom coming home..."?
They have never stopped… however, Little Man pronounces that question like “Do you think the Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare DLC will come out on the 30th?”

5.  Will you be awarded "Dad time" once she is home, or will it just be business as usual? (Some couples keep score, you know...)
No score being kept…  I will not really be awarded “Dad time”so to speak, but this weekend, I will get the opportunity to focus on the school research project very heavily.

6.  How many hours before the wife’s ETA do you actually start cleaning house?
I have attempted to keep the house somewhat clean this whole time… Saturday was a cleaning day in earnest though...

7.  What’s the going rate for bribing two children into giving favorable reports about you?
My children are more than welcome to tell the wife anything and everything that goes on while she is gone… they will not do that because that know what is good for them…. 

8.  To celebrate her return: fancy home-cooked meal or fancy restaurant?
Her choice… which means I will most likely be cooking something.

9.  Who misses who(m?) the most?
The youngest misses her mama the most.

10.  Did you order her corsage well in advance, or will you just hit the Speedway on the way home?
Corsages are for closers.

11.  What have you learned in these past 12 days?
That I have to turn screens all the way off to get some attention from the kids at the same time.  I can get individual attention from each of the little ones for limited amount of time… usually to talk badly about the other… building alliances and dividing and conquering.

12.  What is different in the house from when she left?
hmmm… it is a bit chillier in the mornings.  

13.  Did you “celebrate” homecoming when you were in high school?
Nope.. I was not super popular in the high school.  I don’t think I was disliked as much as I was simply unknown (at least I hope I was not disliked).  I didn’t really date much and was pretty backwards socially on emotional levels.  The one time I was actually “dating’ someone whilst in high school, I did not understand that she would actually want to go to homecoming.  I thought she didn’t care about things such as that… mainly because I didn’t care about it and I was significantly more self-involved in 10th grade.  Turns out she was a red-blooded American female who had reasonable expectations for how a couple should interact. In my defense I could not drive and that limited the options for significant dating at the time, but really I just was not a good datable person at the time…. Soon after that homecoming faux pas I was done dating until the college years.  

14.  What exactly is this “homecoming’ tradition in the US? Asking for a non-American friend…
Homecoming was all about the traveling American football teams for colleges and high schools finally coming home after 3 or so away games.  It is a celebration of the returning victors (hopefully).  In the modern era, since teams don’t typically do blocks of traveling, it is a time for alumni to come back and “enjoy” the game…. I really don’t miss high school… I think I outline that out pretty well in a previous question.  Often the homecoming game is played against the weakest opponent a team could find.  When I went to Kent State, we were the team that people scheduled for their homecomings.  

15.  Homecoming courts are purely popularity contests, right?
Yup, there is no merit based reasons for the candidates...

16.  So , how was the homecoming?
It was very low key… I think all involved were exhausted.  The wife’s flight was supposed to get in at 8:50pm… but it turns out that it got here at 8:43… and I was trying to get the kids to the airport on time… that is like herding cats… annoyingly talkative cats… and then the kiddos just started to alternatively ramp themselves up and crash… the kid thing was… it was… what’s the opposite of awesome… that’s what it was

17.   Who needs 17?
Nobody, that’s who.  17 blows

18.  So after 12 days on the road and working pretty much straight through, what is the wife’s schedule like tomorrow?
Some would think the wife would not schedule work the day after a 12 day marathon work session that crossed the continent and spanned 2 countries… wrong, she will be up and out of the house by 6 AM Wednesday…  She is terrible at the scheduling of the work stuffs.

19.  When is her next bout of traveling?
I don’t know, maybe November or something.  But there is nothing scheduled with 12 days of travel... she usually only travels for 4 days at a time.

20.  Do you think anyone is really reading to this point?
Nope, I imagine most people skip this to the recap by now…

To recap:
The family is back together
It is nice
All three of my loved ones are all sleeping together in a big ball of love
I am getting some homework done and finishing up this post
I have an invoice to get out now
Commission went well
Better than I had hoped
I will post some stuff from it eventually
Oh, I am also trying out ello.co
Check me out, I am @mmmmmpig on the ello’s
And I am @mmmmmmpig on the twitters as well
My iPhone screen is still shattered
I am trying to hold out for a bit more
The packing tape I am using to hold it together is starting to come up though
That is the only thing keeping my screen from slicing my fingers and bruising the actually screen
Man, I need a new phone
At least the 6’s are out now and many of the bugs have been worked out
The bugs have been worked out, right?
heh... 
Have a great week everyone

20 Questions Tuesday: 297 - After School


The wife is out of town until tuesday of next week.  Expect next week’s 20 Q’s to be me rocking back and forth mumbling to myself about how the just won’t shut up, how am I supposed to know when he is talking about Plants v Zombies, Plants V Zombies 2, or Plants V Zombies: Garden Warfare, they all use the same frikkin plants and or zombies!  No I do not find minecraft song parody videos interesting! Please use words, I don’t understand grunting and pointing at the table, just put on your socks because you need to wear active shoes today, it is the same kind of bbq sauce as we always use, I just heated it up, no, I do not know what the name of the morphed together versions of the Monsters High girls are, I’m sorry, I meant to say ghouls but I am trying to make dinner, yes, you have to eat something for breakfast, just put on the socks, and I swear I will throw the iPad out the window if you 2 don’t stop arguing about it…. uh, where was I?  Oh, yes, this is day 4 sans partner parent… I still have matching socks and clean underwear for both very alive kids…. I don’t promise anything for 7 days from now.

This week, because Little Man hates the care after program at our school we are allowing him to walk home on his own.  It is a big step for us.  Our little dude walking less than a mile to get home on his own… Crap, I have become THAT parent.  anyhooo… today’s topic is therefore “After School.”

Thanks this week go to K, Pfm Designer, AllRileyedUp, Lsig, and Some Other Guy.  Onto the questions.

1. This is in our foreseeable future. And we don't have a landline. Do we need to re-tether? 
We got him his own cell… It is a crappy LG feature phone, but it is getting to be that time.  I am much less reluctant to run to the store without him and let him be on his own for a bit.  It was a rough decision though.  I don’t think he knows how much thought went into it.

2.  What is the determinable factor for stay-at-home-alone privileges -- age or maturity?
Maturity combined with how much he wanted it.  By “how much he wanted it” I mean “how much he was willing to do to get it.”  He hates his after school program with the fire of a thousand burning stars, and really listened to us when we outlined what he needed to do to make this a reality.  He actually asked me in a very serious tone, “What do I need to do?” Cue 80’s training montage...

3.  Have you re-watched Home Alone recently? That movie is terrifying.

I have not seen that movie in a long while.  I disliked it as a kid and I cannot imagine the horror of it as an adult.

4.  "ABC After School Special." Gut reaction?
/shudder

5.  Did you ever see the one where the girl sues the guy who stood her up for her prom? Instant Classic.
Nope, I did not see those too much mainly because I was watching the local UHF channel’s syndicated afternoon cartoon line up… Afternoons on WTTO 21… 

6.  Why is his after school program so bad?
They have recently had a management turnover.  The previous director moved to Virginia and the new director is a bit draconian.  There are not many older kids in the program, so Little Man feels a bit lonely.  There also may be a worker there who kind of has it out for Little Man.  He is not a trouble-maker and he has gotten into trouble there with only one of the adults.  It just is not a good environment for him.

7.  Do you worry about him latch-keying it?
Of course I do.  He is in the honeymoon phase of this process right now though.  He loves it.  But he has not had to walk home in any inclement weather yet.  I am sure there will be a bit of a different tune when he has to come home in the rain/snow/bitter cold etc…. 

8.  Do you feel that using the term "latch key kid" dates us?
Sadly, yes.  

9.  ABC used to run After School Specials (they still may, I don't know/care). Which, if any, had the most impact on your life?
The one about the bed-wetter dude… for reasons

10.  Back when you were a pup, did you do homework at school, or save it to ruin your evenings at home?
I tried to get as much of it done at school as I could, but as the work piled up, I had to do more and more at home.

11. If you rode the bus home after school, what is your favorite story to tell of that adventure? if you didn't ride the bus, what story have you heard that makes you most grateful of that fact?
I did ride the bus in Jr High and High School, but I have no stories to speak of.  The worse thing that happened was the petty high school shit that happens with every group of kids who do not choose to be stuck together.  There was a hierarchy to the bus, which upon reflection, is the saddest thing I think I have ever typed.

12. Are you in the structured or unstructured free-time camp? Defend your position in six words or less.
Ain’t free-time if it is structured.  Thank you contractions and compound words!

13. Which gives better warm-and-fuzzies, "after school" or "after work"?
After work… I am not in a structured school environment right now… and Little Man’s “after school” just makes me nervous now.

14.  At what age, if any, did you start "latch-keying it"?
Well I walked to and from school when I was in 3rd through 6th grade off and on which was just over a mile away.Little Man has just less than a half mile to traverse.. I am confident he can do that.

15.  Did you get after school snacks? Do your kids (and what do they like?)?
I would either heat up frozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts from some fundraiser for a snack or I would slap some frosting between 2 frosted strawberry poptarts…. I would then vibrate atonally from the sugar rush until my parent’s got home.  The boy likes Poptarts and the girl likes Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch snack bars.

16. Was there anything actually "special" about the After School Special?
I think they were only concerned specials because they were not serialized.  No special informed the next one and none of the cast persisted from one episode to another.

17.  Is after-school syndicated comedy still a thing? I remember watching The Brady Bunch and, I think, Three's Company after school (and Scooby Doo). 
After school syndication has been replaced with after school Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and YouTube.

18. How are you feeling about this new after school arrangement? 
Ask me again in 3 weeks… it is all very new to me right now.

19.  Did you think this would be what you are doing now that you are officially “after school?”
I am still in school, so I will let you know about after school in about 8 months.

20.  So, what did you do after school today?
By “after school” you mean, after I picked up the girl and got home… Well… we got home, the kids ate them some food prepped by the Mom-in-Law and then I got the boy to swimming.

To recap:
7 days left until the wife gets home
I shattered the screen on my iPhone 5
I have 2 more months before I can get an upgrade without penalty
So 2 months of pain looking through a crazily scratched screen
So, so annoying
I have lunches to get ready for tomorrow
And the youngest is crazy picky
My research project is picking up steam
We are waiting for the research to be approved before we can unleash it on you
Unleash it like we are releasing the Kraken
Well… a weak tiny Kraken that is merely inquisitive
A cute little tiny inquisitive Kraken with cute puppy dawg eyes
Asking siwwy wittle quwestions about phones and stuff
Oh, goodness… someone needs some sleep
Have a great week everyone

20 Questions Tuesday: 291 - Paul Armstrong


Today I have the pleasure of posting my 20 questions with all around nice guy, Paul Armstrong.  Paul alit on my radar screen via the twitters by being followed/a follower of one of my previous 20 Questions Interviews.  Oh, Cuddlah Army, I knew you well….

Anyhoo… Paul is a podcaster for a delightful podcast.  Pixel Recess is a wonderful little podcast that is thankfully bite-size.  He “interviews” people from the user’s experience design, app development, human computer interaction, content strategy, etc…  and this interests me greatly since I am in the process of getting a degree in UXD.  Paul also is one of the main people associated with the app Choremonster which gets kids to get off their ass and clean up something for god’s sake.

Without further ado… 20 Questions with Paul Armstrong…

So I was born in Oklahoma City.  My Air Force family moved to Montgomery, Alabama when I was 1.5.  The no-longer Air Force fam moved way north to Birmingham, Alabama.  I went off to college at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.  I meet my soon to be wife there and follow her like a pathetic puppy to the Ohio State University for my grad school experience.  We have been in the Columbus, Ohio area ever since… Question 1:  What is your geographic story?

*begin*

Well, what do you know, you’re essentially my hat (being in Columbus) as I currently am living in Cincinnati (in THE Ohio). Much like you, I’ve lived all sorts of places, but my dad was not in the military, but pharmaceuticals (no, he was not a meth cook). I was born in Wilmington Delaware, raised in Landenberg Pennsylvania until I was 13, then moved to Kansas City (Overland Park) until my senior year in high school when we moved to Cincinnati. I attended Taylor University in nobody-cares-town Indiana — until my parents moved back to Delaware — and transferred to Messiah College in my Junior year (wherein I learned that half my credits didn’t count). 

I met my wife on a school trip to NYC (I was an art major, and we went to the MoMA and the MET, etc) wherein I eavesdropped and mistakenly believed she was a Mormon. We got married (and no, she was not Mormon) while I finished up my Senior year (part-time). My first job took me back to Cincinnati, but only temporarily as part of the job was having me relocation to Colorado Springs to start a new office. After about 2 years of living where it was brown with tumbleweeds and coyotes howling (e.g. very different then my east coast upbringing), I lied about wanting to get my Masters or whatever because I hated my job and working with just one other (older) gentleman on work for the “ministries” out in Colorado Springs. (Geez, is this long-winded? I feel like this is really long winded. But then again, I am 41 and there’s quite a bit of life behind this gray hair). We then moved back to Cincinnati and have been here ever since, with our 3 kids and some number of animal things, for about 17 years now — wait, has it been that long? Oh fucksticks I’m old. 

*end*


That is a pretty big geographic footprint you have there.  Question 2:  Is there a region in the US that you gravitate towards for comfort?  For example, Central Ohio is my home, I have great roots here and I really like this region, but I feel re-energized when I go to the mountains, because mountains are awesome.

That’s a good question. Having been around so many different places, there are many places that give me comfort and peace — which as a father of 3, is where ever my kids aren’t. The mountains in Colorado, the beach in North Carolina or by Lake Winnipesaukee, or NYC, or my bathroom; if I can escape the responsibility of fatherhood and work and being old for even a few hours, than that is re-energizing. I love my kids, but they’re also the worst thing ever. It doesn’t take much to find peace, but it has become increasingly hard to obtain.

I only have two of the wee beasties and I really covet the time when I can relax without them constantly asking for foods and to do crap together.  I don’t crave it enough to want to be at work or take up golf, but I do crave it.  That being said, sometimes I do crave that kind of interaction and I know those opportunities will dwindle as the beasts get older and more independent.  

Question 3: A la the seminal bit from the delightful Paul F Tompkins…  Cake or pie?  Which specific kind and why?

Cake. Wedding cake style specifically (vanilla cake, vanilla icing, covered with ornate sugary flowers). The icing on a wedding cake more specifically.. The flowers on a wedding cake shamefully specifically. My wife makes an amazing pie (apple, blueberry) with from-scratch crust and all, but pie just doesn’t do it for me.

I do love me some cake, and the frosting you are talking about is either butter cream or vanilla cream… I have… issues.  My mom made cakes professionally as a side job when I was a kid.  There were always tubes and tubs of frosting in the fridge.  I would add frosting to anything as a desert. Between 2 poptarts?  You betcha.  On doughnuts? you know it.  This experimentation with frosting has lead me to hypothesize that many people only love cake for the frosting, and for some reason they feel it is sacrilegious to apply frosting on other confections.  I do not uphold the inherent sanctity of frosting and will slather that specific sugar delivery system on anything that is even remotely sweet.  

I have spent an inordinate amount of time determining the best frosting pairings that I can, but that is a story for a different time….  

I have not really had any good cake as of late due to my late onset gluten intolerance, so baked goods are no longer the vile temptresses that they once were.  My “can’t help but partake in” foods have gone from baked/fried confections to slow cooked meat slathered in delectable sauces.  Question 4:  What food item can you not help but consume when it is available?

I would say bacon, but I feel like I’m just using an overplayed trope (even though it’s true). So I’ll mix it up between BBQ potato chips and roasted Brussel sprouts.

Oooh, I love me some BBQ chips as well, and I am not keen on roasted sprouts but I love a sauted version.  Oh, crap.  I am old.  I just admitted to liking brussel sprouts… 10 year old me would being dying right now.  

You have 3 kids, which  means you have either tried to coopt on the the wee ones to be on your side or you have accepted that as parents you have to go to a zone defense which leaves the crease vulnerable for the big play.  You have also stated that your re-energization occurs when you do not have to be vigilant around the kiddos. Question 5: What is the biggest surprise that you have had to deal with as a parent? 

The shit tub. No one prepares you for this moment, when you’re giving your 1 year old a bath and without warning they poop in the tub. There’s no lessons on how you clean that up.

That is an amazing surprise to be sure.  We used to give the kids baths together because they would entertain each other while we scrubbed them down from all the filth encountered that day.  One time the youngest pooped in the bath, and then it is a Sophie’s Choice of who do you take out of the tub first.  I will not say who got removed first.  Yeee-uck.  I was surprised at how much life revolved around poop when we had really young kiddos.  Most conversations revolve around poop and sleep… occasionally on sleep poop.

So, you have an offbeat podcast, Pixel Recess, wherein you ask different designers and other peoples much like designers  random questions that tend to lead to nowhere.  I am delighted by the inanity and surprised by the level of quality of the people you interview.  Question 6:  Where did this idea come from?  How did the seed for Pixel Recess germinate?

The idea was really more an annoyance. I was growing tired of the general perception and tone of self-importance with my industry. I’m sure it’s a problem in EVERY industry, but since I’m in the design/development/creative industry I felt it would be fun and hilarious to do a Between Two Ferns meets This American Life interview show that was very very short (because almost every podcast goes on for far too long). Over the course of the show I’ve gotten more creative with the editing, just because it makes it surprising enjoyable. It’s also been amazingly easy to get my guests - some of them I know, some of them I do not (and the first time we talk is through the show). 

If I don’t know the guest, I will talk to them for awhile, just getting to know them, getting them warmed up, and after maybe 20 minutes or so I’ll then pepper in my stupid questions. From there I will edit the 45 - 60 minute interview to 6 - 15 minutes. It’s a challenge, and tiring (it’s become harder and harder to find the time). Since the concept of the show was to ask very well-known people stupid questions, I’m reaching the point where there aren’t that many more people I can think to interview (that have said yes).

Regardless, I’m very proud of the show and the moments and highly recommend it to anyone - no matter your vocation. 

Well, I love it. I especially like the bite-size, umm… size of it. It is really an interesting listen in its irreverence. Question 7: So did you always gravitate to the design/development/creative side or was there a budding actuarial accountant inside you as a child? 

I’ve always been weird, which lent itself toward creativity. I always drew things, but never thought that art could be a career. I thought I was going to be an architect, but I don’t math, so my dream of being Frank Lloyd Wright was crushed. So in college I majored in Art with a concentration on sculpture because that makes sense. And when my painting teacher asked me if I wanted to work for Hallmark, I shifted to graphic design. And 20 years later I’m able to do design and draw as my career.

I started out as a studio art major and ended up as a math major.  I am confused and confusing to the say the least. That being said, math is a bit over-rated.  I am sure there is an equation out there that proves the fact, but I’m not putting in the work to do that.

We became acquainted digitally via our shared enjoyment of the podcast, Walking the Room, starring Dave Anthony and Greg Behrendt.  I have seen you mention a few other podcasts in your twitter feed over time. Question 8: So, what is in your list of “must listen” podcasts?

I have a handful of podcasts I listen to (because I have about a 2 hour round-trip commute to work), so here’s a shortlist: WTF With Marc Maron, Nerdist, You Made It Weird, RadioLab, This American Life, Doug Loves Movies, My Brother My Brother And Me, The K-Ohle With Kurt Braunohler, and Hardcore History (which has infrequent posts because his podcasts are about 3 - 4 hours long).

I listen to, or have listened to most of those in the past.  I have never listened to My Brother My Brother and Me or The K-Ohle with Kurt Braunohler though.  I am always looking out for new podcasts especially since I feel kind of done with a few that I listen to currently.  I find myself thinking, “Nope, not this ep” more and more with a few of mine.

I have a list of people that I would love to get top answer 20 questions, and I feel that I am finding interesting people that I don’t really know to answer questions every now and again (yourself included in that). Question 9: Who is your white whale of a guest to play with on Pixel Recess?  Who is the person (or is there a person) that you are too intimidated to ask to be on your podcast?

In terms of people in my industry(ish) there’s Jeffrey Zeldman (and I know so many of his friends, that it’s pretty feasible, I just haven’t asked) and also Merlin Mann (who I did ask, and he responded with “I’m concerned about the Superiority Level”) so that might be a swing and a miss. There aren’t many other superstars in the industry that i haven’t talked to (as I know a great deal of them anyway), maybe Tina Roth-Eisenberg (swiss-miss) or Mike Monteiro (who has a great and widely popular video called “Fuck You, Pay Me”). 

Now, outside my realm, I would DIE to have Patton Oswalt or Kyle Kinane or Pete Holmes or Chris Hardwick (and since I know Greg and Dave, there is a level of possibility) - but at the same time I think I’d rather keep those as “dream guests” so I have something to pursue. Otherwise the show will be over. And it might be over. I’m somewhat burnt out.

I completely understand the burnout sentiment.  I cannot imagine the amount of effort that goes into editing a podcast.  I completely understand why so many people have started just posting un-edited conversations.  I think part of that is to indicate some kind of candid “realness” and authenticity, but I also think it boils down to level of effort.  Editing takes time and is cumbersome to say the least. 

Greg and Dave are two of my higher profile “gets” for 20 Questions Tuesday, and I have a couple of white whales out there of my own.  I am not sure I want to actually catch those elusive albino cetaceans because I can only imagine how anti-climactic those 20 Questions would end up being.  

...onto my favorite Question 10. Question 10: (Fill in the blanks) I find that I am mostly _______.  Others find that I am mostly ______. (feel free to ask others to fill in the second part)


I find that I am mostly conflicted. Others find that I am mostly quiet.

So, you are quietly conflicted.  Got it.

You have a very quirky sense of humor.  It is dry (enough to be considered arid at times) and seems to hover around topics that some might find offensive (at least that is what it looks to be via the twitters).  Question 11: Do you hold your humor back in public settings, not making the quips you want to, so as not to offend, thus causing internal conflict and quietness?

Twitter is definitely a persona, much like Rob Delaney. It is me, but it’s a very distorted me. I love to joke around and be offensive with friends, but I’m not blatant or brash about it in public. I will keep it all in my head (which will then manifest itself on Twitter). 

Yeah, my twitter personality is waaay more direct and chatty than my interpersonal relationships with co-workers.  Of course, where I work at the moment is comprised of quite possibly the most non-interactive people ever.  The people here keep to themselves to the point of it being pathological avoidance of interaction.  

Question 12: So do you have any pathological avoidances in your life? What will you go waaaay out of your way to avoid?

I hate large, loud gatherings of people I don’t know — especially people who work in fields/careers completely the opposite of mine. I can do it, and I have often; I just dislike it greatly and will go to in 2nd Grader mode and come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid going. Sadly as a cofounder of a growing/thriving business, I typically cannot avoid it. I also loath going to summer “get to know the other parents” school related functions. Small talk in general makes me want to die (because I don’t watch or read the news, or sports and typically only keep up with music, movies and TV).

Large groups suck.  I find that they are laboriously difficult to deal with and people are horrible, horrible entities that require all the attentions.  

So here we are at 13.  When I was a kid and I played soccer, I had a superstitious ritual process to get myself ready for a game.  I had to adhere to a specific sequence when putting on my uniform… at the time I felt it was “for luck,” but in truth (and I knew it at the time) it was more about getting myself in the right frame of mind and centering myself than about invoking any kind of “luck.” It became more a ritual than a superstition over time. Question 13:  Do you have any superstitions or rituals in your life that you adhere to?  

I have a morning routine, not sure if it’s a ritual or more of a habit. I get up, put water on for coffee, grind the coffee, empty the dishwasher and put everything away, get breakfast for my oldest daughter, finish the coffee, go get the boys up and moving, then I go to the bathroom, take a shower, iron a shirt or some pants and then gather up the kids and I drive them to school (each of them are in a different school). When I travel I really miss that ritual and that time of seeing the kids, being intentional in their day and lives. It’s a mundane but meaningful ritual.

It actually sounds delightful.  It is always nice to have some intentional time with the younguns.  I am in need of more ritual and habit in my life.  I think more than anything else from my church going days, I miss the ritual and intentionality of those ritual actions. I don’t miss the quiet racism and thinly veiled hypocrisy of my childhood church in the south, but that is a topic for a different time.

So you have a relatively popular app called “Chore Monster” where you have gone through the trouble of gamifying household tasks and chores for kids to have them help around the house.  Question 14: Was the concept for Chore Monster born of the futility of the typical motivations to get kids to clean and such?

Not entirely, it was born out of a desire to make something for ourselves rather than for someone else all the time. I had been doing graphic design on my own for about 10 years and in 2009 or so brought on a partner, Chris Bergman, to help with better clients and projects. He was going to have his first kid and wanted to do some sort of game around chores. I was drawing these monsters with my middle son, and really liked them but couldn’t figure out what to do with them. So we merged the 2 things into ChoreMonster (which at the time we thought was a placeholder name).

Well, I love the concept of gamifying household chores.  My wife and I are currently populating chore lists and point values to balance our 2 child 5 years apart game before we launch it on our unsuspecting children.  Then the chores, the chores shall be done.  I am glad your place holder name was not “ChoreMonstr.”

Question 15: Do you have any idea why so many social Internet platforms dropped the “e” in the “er” at the end of their platform name?  I know not as many are doing it now, but for a while it was pretty prevalent.

My guess is because of domain availability. Maybe originally Flickr wanted to be Flicker, but the URL flicker.com wasn’t available, so they removed the “e” (though now, they own that domain because they have money and bought it from whomever owned it, but they can’t go back and change their brand to “Flicker”). That’s my guess. I’m hoping it’s nothing more complicated (or stupid) than that.

I think the first few that omitted the “e” were probably due to URL’s not being available, but after a while, I think it became de rigeuer…. I don’t think I have ever typed out or written de rigeuer before… I don’t know whether to be impressed with ma vocabulaire or disturbed by the pretentiousness of it.

Question 16:  Should I be impressed that I remembered that particularly appropriate French cognate or disturbed by the pretentiousness of using a French cognate instead of merely stating, “fashionable?”

I’d be worried. No good comes from using French.

Good point.  Do my job for me.  Question 17:  Is there anything that I have not asked you that you were expecting or that I should have?

You haven’t asked about my greatest pooping experience.

Alrighty then, let’s do this.  Question 17A: Do you have a “greatest pooping experience?” and if so, what is it?

Oddly enough, no. Other than the occasional waiting just long enough, almost to the “breaking point”, and that weird satisfying and elated release. I mean, that’s almost a better feeling than anything in life.

Well… after this last question I am a bit reluctant to do this but….  It is time to turn the tables and for the hunter to become the hunted…  Question 18:  Do you have any questions for me?

Is this the longest it’s ever taken anyone to answer 20 questions? Because I’m pretty sure I’m the worst at this…

Nope, I have had people take over 6 months to do this.  You are not even close to the one taking the longest.

Question 19:  What are you taking away from this 20 Questions that you did not have coming into it?

I’ve learned that even at 42 years old, I’m still easily distracted and prone to be both ridiculous and obnoxiously self-important. 

I turned 40 on the 21st… I was hoping the distractedness by shiny objects would be gone by 42.  You are no help at all. All of my hopes are now dashe… oh, I got an email

Question 20: So, what’s next?  Be as concrete or as vague, as practical or philosophical as you want.

I’m starting to learn that whatever is next in my life is always a step in front of me. I used to believe that I had to be gazing at the horizon to look for my future. Over the last few years I’ve learned that by always looking ahead you’ll never see where you are - you’ll miss what’s important: right now. Where you are right now is all that matters. When you chase the horizon, you never get to a destination - it will always be out of reach. Stop and look around at where you are, and things will become more clear, more important and more meaningful. What’s next is right now.

A very Zen response that is much more philosophical than I would have thought.

Okay everyone, follow Paul on twitter here, go to his website here (it leads to all sorts of Paul Armstrong goodness), and if you have kids check out his app here.  

To Recap: 
US Plays Belgium today
Come on you Yanks
I travel up to Kent, Ohio tomorrow
Haven’t been there in a while
I used my Father’s Day/Birthday gift yesterday
A riding lawn mower
It was glorious
Next time around I will use it a bit differently
It is like mowing a lawn with a Zamboni
I need to create long straight swaths
Long straight swaths
Happy July 4th everyone
It’s a thing for US folk
Happy Friday for everyone else
Long straight swaths
Have a great weekend everyone!

20 Questions Tuesday: 290 - the World Cup



The elephant in the living room is the World Cup currently taking place in Brazil.  The US is doing well, but we will not know our fate until Thursday concerning the Round of 16.  I got into the details pretty quick there.  The World Cup Finals come around every 4 years and is an amazing display of international sport.  I love it.  I love it so much that it is the topic for this week’s 20 Questions Tuesday.

Thanks this week go to Lsig, Chris Ring, K Smith, Pat, Nadolny, AllRileyedUp, Chris Corrigan, and Dave Newbold… onto the questions:

1.  If the World was really a cup, how much would it hold?
1,097,509,500,000,000,000,000 cubic meters  according to it being spherical instead of the oblate spheroid that it actually is.

2.  Who do you think will win? Who are you rooting for? Is it kinds like the football playoffs, where you change who you are rooting for as people get kicked out?
I think the winning is going to be between the Brazilians and the Germans.  I am rooting for the US but would also love the Netherlands to take the cup.

3.  Do you believe the expense of hosting the World Cup is worth it in general? For Brazil, specifically?
I think the expense of hosting the World Cup is negligible for places that already have the infrastructure to host the games.  The expense being not worth it happens when nations have to complete massive building programs to have the facilities to host the Cup.  It is really wonderful to see the cup being hosted in some place other than Europe, but the massive expenditures to the benefit of, really, no one is a terrible thing.  The riots and protests in Brazil seem to outline this fact, and the massive human rights violations that exist in Qatar also highlight the nastiness of it.

4.  What was up with that late Portugal goal? Ugh. 
The US took their foot off the gas in the last minute of the game.  They felt the game was over before it was. If anyone takes anything from this game it is that you should play to the whistle, kids. Play to the whistle.

5.  In the 70's soccer tried to gain a foothold in the US (remember NY Cosmos, I do) but it didn't take, but that generation of kids is now grown and soccer is here to stay. What say ye to the haters?  Do you find the sport gaining in popularity? Do you ever see it being as popular as other sports in the USA? Why hasn’t soccer gotten more popular in the usa?
I was a Tampa Bay Rowdies fan because of the green and yellow striped socks.  I do think that soccer is gaining in popularity in the US.  I think it will be equally as popular as a few of the big 4 in the US (Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey), but it is due to waning popularity in the less popular of the big 4 (Basketball and Hockey).  It is a meeting in the middle instead of an overtaking.  I think the lack of popularity is due to the lack of scoring and the incapability to break down some positions with statistics,  because people in the US like scores and statistics.

6. Ronaldo less than 100% or have defenses got his number?

Ronaldo has always been a defensive liability.  He has no D, so the US continually exploited the areas that he should have been defending and made other players try to cover those gaps, thus opening other gaps.  He was less than 100% and did not have the quality around him to make up the difference.

7. Biggest surprise so far?
Costa Rica doing so well and Spain doing so poorly.

8. Biggest saves Howard or Ochoa?
So far?  Ochoa.  He was out of his mind/standing on his head against Brazil.

9. Explain offsides in 20 words or less.
There must be 2 defensive players between you and the goal when the ball is played to you. 18 Words.

10. Running for 45 minutes at a time at the mouth of the Amazon. How much do those players hate everyone at the end of a half?
They do not have enough electrolytes to hate.  Turns out you need potassium to hate.

11. So we just need to tie and Germany and the USA and Germany will both move on. Why not just kick the ball around for "funzies"? Is that not sporting?
If the efforts do not look like the teams are even remotely trying, that is considered incredibly bad form.  That being said, if Germany goes up 1 - 0, do not be surprised to see them back off in the intensity, and vice versa.  If there is a tying goal to make it 1 - 1, I doubt the intensity gets bigger again.

12.  Is it ironic that in an event called World Cup, so few men seem to wear one (according to my Tumblr feed)? Do soccer players in the World cup wear a cup?  Do any soccer players? It seems like a game where it would be really useful, but also seems very restrictive to running.
Your tumblr feed is alarming on many different levels.  Few players wear a cup do to the restrictiveness.  

13.  Is there big gambling in it like there is in the football playoffs? Or the NBA tourney?
More… the gambling is global.  That is why there is so much of an issue concerning match fixing on the world stage.

14.  So, what are the most important things the uninitiated should know about the World Cup? 
It truly is a World Cup.  There 32 teams from all over the world in the World Cup final tournament, but in truth the tournament lasts for about 2 years.  The US started Qualifying for the cup in 2012, and the tournament starts with the qualification process between about 130 nations and whittles down to 32 for the final tournament.  It is truly an amazing thing.

15.  If you are American and visiting Europe, is it socially acceptable to still call it soccer?
It would be no different than walking around Europe and other places without understanding any language other than English, which is what we do…  we got hubris, yes we do.

16.  Is it sad that only soccer players I know are Pele (mind the lack of the accent) and David Beckham?
Yep, since both players are retired, I would say that you should make an attempt to update your references from a player that retired in 1977 and another that retired in 2013.

17.  How Do you think CONCACAF's awesome showing at this World Cup will affect the profile of our beloved game in Canada and the US?
I think the showing made by CONCACAF has been nothing short of amazing.  No one expected 3 of the 4 CONCACAF teams to play as well as they did, regardless of if the US advances, the US was not expected to win a game, much less get 4 points.  

18.  What's the next country that will win the World Cup for the first time and will it happen at this tournament?
The Netherlands look pretty darn awe inspiring this year.  I hope they can take it.


19.  Is the trophy even a cup?
It used to be, but after Brazil won it the 3rd time they retired the cup and made a different trophy.  Brazil has won it 5 times.. one more time and do they redesign the trophy? 

20.  Have you followed world cup in the past?  Whats all the hubub, bub?
I was away of the Cup in 1982 and  have been following the World Cup since 1986. 

To recap:
Now I am 40… so I guess that’s a thing
I need to sleep more
The site was mentioned in Diamond Time for the Night Attack podcast last week
I have done interviews with Shwood, JuRY, Ali, and Iyaz
That was the cast from the most recent Night Attack podcast
<>
I have other interviews as well
In fact, next week I ask 20 Questions to another podcaster
Although I think he may be done podcasting
I have 3 more interviews in the works, but they are slow going
For my 40th Birthday my 2 best friends from childhood came out to visit
It was delightful
It was marred a bit by my preoccupation with school work
I am 40 Goddamnit! I shouldn’t have homework
I am tired of the degree program
I just want my degree
Still rocking the 4.0 though
So I have that going for me
US plays Germany on Thursday
US wins, they move forward
US draws, they move forward
US loses and Ghana and Portugal tie, they move forward
US loses and Portugal wins by less than 5 goals, they move forward
US loses by 1 goal and Ghana wins by 1 goal, they move forward
There are some other weird scenarios in there that might get the US through, but they involve lots and potentially chicken innards
Come on you Yanks!
Have a great week everyone!