Ok, so JimSpot finally got around to sending me/us his five questions, so, without further ado:

1. I know you have a (VERY, VERY) strange obsession with the Alpha Romeo. Excluding that inferior automobile, what is your dream car?

Inferior?!? Alpha?!? What are you, some sort of Ford freak? Don't worry... one day you too will see the light... all of you will see the light one day, come, hold hands and wait for this glorious moment, and watch for the next comet...

Ahem... anyway... Actually a pretty decent question. I'd say of modern cars that are actually drivable on the street and have a modicum of a chance of being insurable, I'd pick the Ferrari 575M. If I could pick any non-Alfa ever produced I think I'd settle on the Ferrari 275 GTB. While this makes me seem like a Ferrari freak, I'm really not. There are dozens of other past and present cars I'd be tickled to have someone hand me the keys to. Most are, however, produced in Europe.

2. Being a sci-fi/car/strange things/computer geek, which of those is your "dominant geek" and why?

Ellen's the "strange things" nut, I just provide a lot of the links. You should see the stuff she finds and doesn't put on the site. Or maybe not... most of the time I'm not all that happy to have seen them myself.

I make a living being a computer geek, so it's unusual for me to play with them much at home. But, if you judged by time, computer geek would probably win.

SF is something that entertains me, and I'm always worried about screwing up my car.

I guess the big secret is I'm actually an airplane geek. I don't talk about it too much on the blog, not sure why, but Things with Wings have always been a big part of my life. I love pretty much everything about them, how they work, how to make them work, they way they look, the way they sound, on and on and on.

3. What's the biggest adjustment you've made in being a new dad?

Learning to deal with screaming. When someone else's kid has a meltdown, mommy and/or daddy come to the rescue, usually well before things get completely out of control. When it's your kid, you're the one who has to do the rescuing. And, at this stage in their life, the parent can do everything right and still have this twisted up monster ramming sonic knitting needles in their ears. I've more than once had to deal with a near-physical urge to leave this bi-pedal hand grenade at the Dulles ticket counter and run gibbering out the terimal doors.

But I don't. I know it will get better, it's just a real damned challenge right now.

4. Who is your hero and why are they so heroic?

My dad, for teaching me to accept people just as they are. Not a perfect hero by a long shot, but there ya go.

5. Is there a book you've read more than 10 times? (if not, what book have you read the most and why?)

Not sure. I tend to read more books once instead of few books more often. I guess the one I've read most often of all would be The Big E, essentially an ethnograph of a WWII aircraft carrier. It's an amazingly well-written account of the crew of a ship that saw combat in basically every major battle in the Pacific. Most of the readings happened back when I was a kid. Our small-town libraries were a joke, and the nearest bookstore was 45 minutes away. I had to read something. However, I haven't read the thing in probably ten years or more. Maybe it's time to buy another copy...

Ok, so, as required:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Cheers!