I was wondering...

Time for some more Infrequently Asked Questions…

Question: Given that most of the comments are shown as Anonymous, do you have any idea who precisely is commenting on your blog?

Answer: I’d say that I can figure it out most of the time. There used to be a commenting schedule highlighted by Super Dave’s late night posts after he came back from the bar. I never understood why he felt that my blog was precisely what he needed to read before he went to sleep but the comments were legendary. Typically though I can figure a lot of them out through writing style and what they say and of course some people sign them, which is cool but not really necessary. As long as you can prove that you are not a robot intent on conquering the world you can comment.

But, the most amazing thing is I get comments from people I have never met before. This evening I got one from Max on a post I wrote months ago about Kathleen Edwards. My posting of a Tift Merritt video resulted in responses from a Tift Merritt fan club as well as a discussion of my blog on their blog. That’s not the first time that it has happened and it astounds me. That’s when I realize just how much reach this little piece of cyber real estate might have. But it’s fun wondering who might actually be reading your blog. I personally hope that Eva from earlier this week was really Eva Herzigova. Correct me if I’m wrong but otherwise I’ll take my fantasy world.

All of this is just my way of saying thanks to anyone who comments. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate it.

Question: On The Facts of Life, what was Tootie’s real name?
Answer: Dorothy

Question: Are you, or have ever been, an arrogant bastard?
Answer: This question has come up repeatedly over the past few years. I seem to have gone from being someone who is described as having no self esteem to being described as an arrogant prick. Apparently if I split the difference I would be considered normal for the first time in my life. But that’s a flip response to a serious question that I figured that I should address once and for all.

Most people tie my perceived arrogance to the fact that I am smart and extremely proud of what I know. Now the first point I want to make is that I really don’t consider myself to be very smart. Sure, I’ve collected a lot of pieces of paper that say that I’m smart and can win trivia contests but I don’t consider that to be an accurate measure of intelligence. What I really have going for me is a photographic memory, an aptitude for math, and an innate sense of how systems work. That is great in a classroom and in understanding how electrical systems work, places where everything is regulated and follows specific laws. In the real world (relationships for example) I’m pretty much clueless. So I don’t really consider myself smart, clever maybe but not smart.

That said, there are only a select few people I consider to be smarter than me. To do that you have to prove to me that you can kick my ass in pretty much any subject out there. The latest example is my friend Sharan. She can trump me in knowledge of arts, literature and music, which is impressive but not impossible. Add to that the fact that she also could have gone to MIT and can go toe for toe with me on the math and science side. And to truly win my praise she has actually stumped me with pro wrestling trivia. That’s what you need to do to get me to admit that you’re better than me.

Really, if you want to get down to what my worst quality is, it is that I do not suffer fools kindly. Basically I just can’t stand people who aren’t paying attention to the world around them. It’s not that I’m mean or uncivil to them or that I don’t care about them as human beings. I truly do care about everyone. It’s just that I consider my time to be an incredibly finite resource and people who waste my time are, in the words of my idol Henry Rollins, “Murderers in the nth degree”. They’re taking away minutes of my life that I will never get back and it’s if they are stabbing me with a really tiny knife. So I shut them off and focus on what’s important to me. Arrogance? Probably, but I’m also one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I am nothing if not a mass of contradictions.

Question: Question

Answer: Funk Dat

Question: Where is the promised track list for the CD?
Answer: Still under development. I’m about three quarters of the way done. In a perfect world I’ll post it over the weekend even though a weekend post would probably confound the entire internet.

Question: Back to The Facts of Life, which of the Facts of Life girls was the first to lose her virginity?
Answer: In what might be a bit of a surprise, it is Natalie. To some dude named Snake of all things. Sometimes having a photographic memory is a dangerous thing.

Question: Think it’s time to head off to sleep?
Answer: Yep, have a great weekend everyone.