Ask Me Anything 2011

I think I’m almost done…these ones are political, so I’m going to put them after a page break. (I also use some language.) Kevin Hayden asks: Why is it that Republicans have the distinct odor of a mutant pygmy goat taint swaddled in limburger cheese? Also, considering the broad availability of joyful times crushing serfs, why do a few of them persist in having extraordinarily mundane sex? Is it for the lovely parting gifts? Well…I’ll just assume those questions are meant from a metaphorical standpoint. I mean, how could anyone be familiar with the distinct odor of a mutant pygmyDown the rabbit hole….

Wow. Glaciers move faster than this. Anyhow, from Mr. Jones: Name something that you will never do in your life that others often aspire to do in theirs. And you are comfortable with this. For instance, I am confident I will die never having visited Egypt or learn to ski, and I’m quite okay with that. There are lots of things I have zero interest in doing. Firing a gun, for example. No interest in it at all. I’d like to do a small amount of “world traveling”, but not too many of the usual places: Paris, Greece, Tahiti, theDown the rabbit hole….

The Ask Me Anything! 2011 cavalcade marches on…although at the pace I’m setting for getting these replies out, it’s probably more of a “mosey” than a “march”. Anyway, a reader who prefers to remain unidentified poses these: When you are pressed for time, what do you do less of to compensate? It depends on what I’m doing in terms of being pressed for time. If I’m at work and time is running short, then I have to prioritize my tasks, usually according to what degree of inconvenience it will be to a particular department in The Store if they don’tDown the rabbit hole….

Yeah, I gotta pick up the pace here…but time to resume clearing out the Ask Me Anything! 2011 queue. SK Waller asks: If you could play any instrument in a symphony orchestra, which would you choose, and why? Easy: I’d play the trumpet, because that was my instrument, and I was pretty damned good at it too, if I do say so myself. A history, which I’ve probably told before: I joined band in fifth grade, and played the French horn my first year. I wasn’t very good, but then, it was fifth grade and my first attempt at aDown the rabbit hole….

Wow, I gotta start getting the lead out with regard to Ask Me Anything! 2011. So here are a couple of sports-related questions! Andy has this to ask: Do you think changing up the Buffalo Bills uniforms will do ANYTHING for the team or do you think they will continue having the top five draft pick selections for the next several years? I don’t think uniforms really have any effect except for in the local sports apparel stores, where lots of fans will undoubtedly spend quite a bit of money to get the new jerseys and whatnot. Sometimes teams changeDown the rabbit hole….

Continuing the Ask Me Anything! 2001 cavalcade! (And I’m technically still accepting queries, hint hint!) Quince has a couple of questions: You mentioned you live in Western NY but I have never seen you post about Chautauqua. Do you have an opinion on the place and its mission? He’s referring to the Chautauqua Institute, which is located on the south shore of Lake Chautauqua in Chautauqua county. Yes, Institute, lake, and county all share the same name! The lake is about fifty miles due south of Buffalo, and about twenty miles or so at its western end due east ofDown the rabbit hole….

Time for a couple more answers from Ask Me Anything! 2011. Cal asks: What other major cultural events (movies, books, TV shows) did you totally avoid? I know DUNE is one and I won’t discuss that further. Personally I never have seen ‘E.T’. I never wanted to see ‘Titanic’ but that one slipped through when I got caught up in the sinking of the ship. I only saw LOST the last year and caught up in a few months. Interesting query! Cal continues to be incensed that I haven’t read Dune yet, but it’s on my 2011 reading list, andDown the rabbit hole….

Continuing the replies from Ask Me Anything! 2011 (still open to queries! Get ’em in, no question turned away! No question, turned away!), this time from Roger: 1. Do you watch a TV show/movie because one of your ROWR is in it? In particular – did you watch CSI NY before Sela Ward was on it, and do you watch it now? Also, have you noticed that she had “work done” and how do yo feel about this? I have, occasionally. Note that I don’t choose ROWR’s (even now, when I choose them very sporadically — although I’m giving thoughtDown the rabbit hole….

OK, it’s time to start providing answers to questions posed for Ask Me Anything! 2011. Lots of good queries, as always, and I’m actually going to keep things open for questioning right up until I post the answer to the last question I receive, so feel free to keep things going! Post questions in comments to this post, or use e-mail or Facebook message. An anonymous reader asks: Have you ever tried a sustained use-no-electronic-gadget (banning Internet use or TV watching, for example)? If you did, what happened? If you haven’t, what’s your opinion of these attempts? The closest I’veDown the rabbit hole….