What is your favorite mode of travel? (Car, train, plane, etc).

Bicycle, naturally. I do tend to enjoy trains, as well. I absolutely despise cabs, and hate intercity buses (transit buses are tolerable, and beat cabs by a long shot).

Where is the northernmost place you've traveled? The southernmost?

Elgin, Scotland, 57.56° north. Oistins, Barbados, 13.06° north.

What is the last place you visited for the first time?

We did some new roads on the Labor Day weekend century up to Dunstable Massachusetts. And after the PMC I went to Onset and took a boat cruise up the Cape Cod Canal. The pre-PMC ride from New York State was mostly on new roads, too. And kayaking the Charles in Nahanton, the Green Line Velo ride route, the CRW Spring Century route, or my first ferry ride back from Provincetown... As you can see, even after living here 21 years, I do a lot of exploring right here within my home state.

But you probably mean distant places. Although I've been to both cities before, I explored new parts of Pittsburgh and Victoria BC in the past couple years. If you want truly new places, I guess my most recent new places were the Oregon seashore and several destinations in the Caribbean: St. Thomas, St. John, the British Virgin Islands, and Grand Cayman.

Of all the places you've traveled, which is your favorite?

I'm opposed to the definition of having a single "favorite" of anything, but places I've particularly enjoyed include Cape Cod (the lower cape), the Maine coast (particularly Camden and Pemaquid), New York City, Scotland (Edinburgh, Glencoe, and Deeside) and the Caribbean (St. John and Barbados).

Where would you most like to travel to next?

I was hoping to spend next week in the SF Bay area, a place I've been to many times, but plans fell through. Perhaps next year. I am hoping to get out to IMS in Barre, Massachusetts next year, as well.

But again if you want someplace new and distant, I'd really like to visit Thailand, Key West, Barcelona, and maybe San Diego and New Zealand.

Okay, birthdays. That’s a fair topic.

When is your birthday?

I hate telling people my birthday, because of the likelihood that they’ll remember it, and I absolutely despise having my birthday observed. A subdued individual expression of affection is nice, but anything more than that rapidly becomes annoying.
 

How old will you be?

According to the presentation I saw yesterday at work, I’ll be a member of the “Adult 3” group.
 

Do you prefer to throw a party or attend a party?

As far as I’m concerned, a birthday is the one day in the year when one is unconditionally allowed to do what one wants. For me, that means getting away from other people—all of them—and having some time for me. I can’t think of any worse way to spend a birthday than to have to go to a social event.
 

Presents: take'em or leave'em?

Eh. Presents are losing their appeal for me. It’s nice to get stuff, but I’ve gotten more particular about my stuff as I age. But the one thing I dearly love is munny!
 

Best birthday so far?

Honestly, I don’t really compare one birthday to another, and none of them have been all that memorable. I’m far happier having an “enjoyable” birthday than a “memorable” one.

Oh what the heck...

When is the last time you dressed inappropriately for a situation?

Pretty much every weekday, when I bike in to work.
 

How many friends do you have?

According to LJ, I have 33 mutual friends, 5 people who think they're my friend, and 5 more who I think I'm their friend.
 

Are you running on time today?

I was, until work interfered; I got home at 8:45pm today (Friday).
 

Do you use bleach on your laundry?

Never. I'm allergic to it.
 

What are your thoughts on guns?

These are your thoughts.
These are your thoughts on guns.
Any questions?

I’m still subscribing to a couple “Friday Five” style feeds. I’ll fill one out every so often, when the questions are at all interesting.

What's the last item you mailed?

On Wednesday I purchased two industrial strength foot corn files at a beauty store and immediately shipped them Priority Mail to Pittsburgh.
 

Who has made you smile recently?

I dunno about who, but two things made me smile yesterday.
 
First, I got two signoff forms back from clients for technical specs that I’ve written. One’s been in the works for a month, and the other for two months.
 
The other: last night one of my friends hosted a scotch whisky tasting. Admiring the dozen bottles of single malts on the table, I grinned broadly and exclaimed, “It’s just like Christmas!”
 

What's the weather like outside?

Crap. It’s been raining virtually constantly since Friday October 7th, the day that my new bike arrived at the shop.
 
New bike? If that’s news to you, you haven’t been reading ornoth_cycling, now, have you?
 
In fact, in the past 22 days we’ve had sun for exactly two half-days. Not two-and-a-half days; two half-days. I did manage to get in two good rides on the new bike, but that’s all I’ve swung in the past three weeks. Very frustrating!
 

Do you consider youself (sic) a good judge of character?

Doesn’t everyone consider themselves such? I would say I’m probably not an ideal judge of character. In some cases I judge too harshly, and in others I’m far too patient.
 

What's your favorite photograph?

I’m not sure I have a favorite photograph. There are a couple images of myself that I like, and then there’s favorite shots that I’ve taken. There’s several shots of former friends and romances that I treasure highly. Then there are just images that I think are aesthetically pleasing, whether they’re landscapes, art photography, erotica, or whatever. I enjoy photography immensely, and I have a very broad appreciation for the images I come across each day. And I’m looking forward to picking up a new DSLR soon, although the new laptop has to come first.

Sorry, feeling boring this week.

What do you do for a living?

Nothing. Sometimes I do Web design and development to make a buck, and I suppose I ought to get serious about resurrecting my career in it, now that I’m broke…
 

What do you like most about your job?

That it ain’t! It leaves me lots of free time to write and bike!
 

What do you like least about your job?

I don’t get paid enough…
 

When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____...

I ain’t got enuf munny!
 

What other career(s) are you interested in?

I’ve been working on my graphic design skills, as well as my photography, and I could always write…

These kind are always my favorite. They’re particularly revealing, and I can show off my retentiveness for knowing precise answers.

What was the last song you heard?

The entire 1978 Devo “Q: Are We Not Men?” disc; the final song was “Shrivel-Up”.
 

What were the last two movies you saw?

LotR:RotK and “Shaolin Soccer”.
 

What were the last three things you purchased?

During today’s class I bought a Cherry Coke and a Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar. Before that was a $40 grocery trip wherein I saved 23% thanks to my Shaws card; highlighted items include buttery microwave popcorn, black peppercorns, blueberry sorbet, OJ, corn, peas, and Mini Rollo Bites. Before that, a case of assorted “Sci Di” cat fud (sic).
 

What four things do you need to do this weekend?

Pay bills, distribute DargonZine 17-2, print a new 2-week planner, and assemble iniren’s new desk after disassembling her old one.
 

Who are the last five people you talked to?

I’ll give you a few extras, since not all these may count. The Puggle; I thanked a neighbor for holding the door; while waiting for tax help at the BPL, I had a conversation with a guy who filmed the PMC a few years ago, and a quick comment to another guy as I left, and a quick inquiry of which conference room it was in from the help desk; and before all that I spoke to several classmates and my instructor, Ken, at digital photography class.

When was the last time you...

...went to the doctor?

On Monday August 11 2003 I went to the health center to have sutures removed. I acquired the stitches at the ER following crashing out of the 2003 Pan-Mass Challenge cycling charity fundraiser eight days earlier.
 

...went to the dentist?

On Wednesday September 3 2003 I had a regular cleaning.
 

...filled your gas tank?

I do not have a gas tank to fill, moron. However, I did fill up iniren’s car when I borrowed it last Xmas.
 

...got enough sleep?

Well, this week has been a little sparse, thanks to this three-day Web design gig I had, but prior to that, I’ve gotten all the sleep I wanted.
 

...backed up your computer?

I take periodic backups, plus annual full backups. My last annual was last April, and my last periodic was around Thanksgiving.

You have just won one million dollars:

Who do you call first?

Uh, no one. Why would I want to call someone? That’s as arbitrary as asking what would be the first book I’d read or what brand of breath mints I’d use.
 

What is the first thing you buy for yourself?

A bike, a cell phone, a laptop, an Etrex Vista, a digital camera, a Reggie Miller jersey, memberships to AIGA and MassBike, potholders, a bathroom scale, the Kraftwerk TdF CD, HRM, lenses for my Rudy Project Kerosenes, a bike work stand, ornoth.com, drum pedal and throne, a mini amp, kitchen and desk floor mats, Quicken, the Seasholes book, all the stuff on my Amazon wish list, new heaters, renovate the bathroom, a closet/bureau for all my cycling gear, pay off my mortgage…
 

What is the first thing you buy for someone else?

What?
 

Do you give any away? If yes, to whom?

Shit, no. We’re only talking a million. Have you ever had a million? It really doesn’t go that far, you know… Historically, the only giving I do is for cancer research or to very close friends who are in desperate need.
 

Do you invest any? If so, how?

Well, paying off the mortgage would be the first “investment”. Whatever’s left, I’d probably diversify quite a bit. I tend to like REITs and financial stocks, with a fair amount held in money market. I’d have to think about what percentage might get tucked into a Roth; probably not much, because I’m all about liquidity.

What does it say in the signature line of your emails?

-o
 http://users.rcn.com/ornoth/
 

Did you have a senior quote in your high school yearbook? What was it? If you haven't graduated yet, what would you like your quote to be?

In addition to including my proper “Ornoth” name, future plans, and whim, I cited my French teacher, who once said, “Vivre le Mort”.
 

If you had vanity plates on your car, what would they read? If you already have them, what do they say?

TRAIF
 

Have you received any gifts with messages engraved upon them? What did the inscription say?

Several. The ones I remember are a silver Tiffany pen with my initials for my fifth anniversary at Sapient, a silver Tiffany bookmark to commemorate the completion of the NYNEX BigYellow project, and most recently a pewter quaich from the host of the 2002 DargonZine Summit in Scotland.
 

What would you like your epitaph to be?

Artist

Sigh. The predictability hurts us.

What was your biggest accomplishment this year?

Probably the thing I’m most proud of is succeeding at raising $3,555 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through my participation in this year’s Pan-Mass Challenge ride. Other noteworthy accomplishments include biking up several hills, including Evans Notch, Great Blue Hill, Mount Wachusett, South Uncanoonuc, and Pack Monadnock; the progress I’ve made getting back into writing for DargonZine; and my exploration of Buddhism.
 

What was your biggest disappointment?

Oddly, the PMC also provides my biggest disappointment of the year, when I crashed out of the event and had to go to the hospital to get stitches. My other cycling disappointment was bonking hard on the way back from a ride to Gloucester. I was also disappointed in that I only had enough submissions to send out five issues of DargonZine this year, and we lost several of our veteran writers and my close personal friends, including Victor, Pam, Bryan, Stu, and Rhonda.
 

What do you hope the new year brings?

The obvious and biggest desire is a new job. Other than that, I hope that the DargonZine crew can finish up the big story arc we began writing at the 2003 Summit, so that I have it to print this year.
 

Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be?

I don’t think so. I just finished making two birthday resolutions (regular Buddhist meditation, and transitioning to skim milk), so I don’t think I need additional resolutions. Maybe I’ll eat a little less red meat, since that would probably be the next logical step in improving my diet, but I don’t think that’s big enough to make it a resolution.
 
I will say that I find it disappointing that although people always ask what new resolutions you’re making, they absolutely never ask how well you kept your old ones. As someone with some actual strength of will, I find it sad that most people fail to control themselves and honor their commitments. I think I’ve kept all my resolutions for the past three years (and they haven’t been “gimmes” at all).
 

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?

I was thinking maybe I’d go to the Lizard Lounge to see Flynn, but probably I’ll stay home. I haven’t bothered cultivating many friends, and I’m so not the party type.