Paged by Dr Elias

[drwex]

(If you'd like me to ask you questions, or want to ask me something, feel free to indicate in the comments.)

mangosteen asked:

1. When did you have the first inkling that you'd end up going "all the way" to a Ph.D.?

Very young. Well before I entered college. My father had one and was the first of his patrilineal descent to do so. As a fellow Jew you can appreciate how much this meant in the family and as the elder son I simply knew I would do the same. The only question was timing. When I finished undergrad I was (a) sick of school, (b) thoroughly disgusted by my undergrad alma mater, and (c) smart enough to realize that I didn't have the maturity and dedication at that point to make a PhD happen. But I always knew I'd be back.

2. What would you do with the following amounts of money? a. $5 million. No restrictions. b. $25 million. No restrictions. c. $5,000. Must be spent on three completely unrelated things.

$5000 is easy - just pay off a few debts.

The first five million is also easy: pay off my mortgage and my parents' mortgages. Set up annuities to make sure that bills are paid for in case income drops to zero. Set up end-of-life trusts to deal with care and medical expenses for my parents. Buy a second home someplace warm (probably Jamaica or the Bahamas) and find someone really reliable to care for it when I'm not there. That probably consumes the first $3 million. Then put $1 million each into the kids' college and start-life trust funds.

The next $20 million is a bit tougher. Almost certainly buy a new home for the family in the burbs. Bigger, better, etc. Figure that burns another 1-2 million. Then start a business collaborative to build an actual nightlife in Boston. That means a geographically co-located set of mutually supporting businesses. Coffee/hang-out joints, several restaurants, an art gallery, one or two nightclubs. Put them all within walking distance of each other and a couple of T access points. Have them all open until at least 2A, with a couple late- or all-night. Integrate them properly with the neighborhood, so that noise and traffic don't become issues. If possible, include an evening daycare center so that parents could drop off kids and go have a relaxed meal or see a movie. Target audience would be the 25-45 professional bracket who presently work downtown and go home by car or T each night because there's just not enough to do in Boston at night.

I've wanted something like this for a while. The problem is that it can't be done one piece at a time because a single such establishment can't survive long enough. There has to be a concerted group. You have to be able to (and want to) go get coffee and dessert or a late drink after your movie is done. You have to have a choice of a fun dance joint, or a pleasant art gallery, and all this needs to be walkable because once you've parked your car, the mode of go-find-car-pay-parking-drive-to-new-place-find-parking-get-out-and-go-again is majorly losing. In warm weather this would expand to include outdoor art and local musicians performances. I would love to bring Storycorps to Boston on a semi-permanent basis and boost their technological base as well as having a full-time folklorist to work on the catalog.

I'm guessing that doing this would actually cost more than I'd have cash on hand, but someone willing to pony up 20% or so could convince the banks and investors who'd put in the other 80% and hire the right consultants to get it through City Council and the various neighborhood groups.

3. What is the appeal of World Of Warcraft for you?

In a word, the people. Even with all the drawbacks. I've tried going back to NWN a few times but it seems so sterile. People and the guilds and the buy/sell/trade with them and the auction house, and the crafting and yes, the chat. Why WoW and not some other MMO? I like the fantasy genre and I feel like Blizzard put a TON of content in there. I like the quests and I love the fact that I've been able to level characters to 60 repeatedly simply by doing quests. I know some people grind, but I've never had to do that.

4. You could transplant your house anywhere in the continental US, along with a teleporter to get you to work (but nowhere else). Where do you put the house?

Not much restriction since I can put a car at work and drive from there to/from where I want to go. But let's see, in the spirit of the question... probably San Francisco. I love that city best, even more than Boston, and the thrill of actually being able to have a bicoastal existence would be totally jazzy.

5. Pin-ups or art nudes?

Probably some of each. My art collection really has never recovered from the divorce (ex-wife got to choose which pieces she took and which I kept, except for two I defended). I was thus left with only a small slice of my art tastes represented. I've expanded that a bit but haven't really binge-bought art the way I did when it was cheap (and I didn't have to worry about peoples' laser printer output, grr). On the other hand, I don't have the money to really buy the art I see that I like.

Comments

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I'd like questions, if you feel so moved. :)

[drwex]

I hereby award you one "raincheck" token which you may cash in once I know you well enough to ask some interesting questions.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*affixes raincheck token next to her gold star*

*salutes*

[mangosteen]

Gimme five.

[drwex]

1. You're known for a number of things, among them techno-geekery, travel, etc. What are you _not_ generally known for that you'd like to be known for?

2. Kids?

3. Aside from #2 above, is there anything that you feel is missing right now from your birth or chosen families and do you have any plans in that regard?

4. How much money is "enough" money, for you?

5. You are hosting a meal for yourself & spouse and a couple of guests. Someone else is doing the shopping and cooking for you, but you have to tell them where to go and what ingredients to get for what dishes they'll make. What instructions do you give? (Just for fun let's say they have the time to get ingredients from anywhere in the world.)

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Sure, what the heck...

[drwex]

1. Where do you go from here? That is, given where you are right today, with all of today's realities, what's the plan for your next life-step?

2. Who is the person that most influenced you so far in your life? What was their influence?

3. Finish the sentence: "I want to be able to sing like ______ because _____"

4. Outside of (semi)organized religion, do you believe in any sort of mystical system (e.g. astrology)? How strong is this belief?

5. You're granted one permanent, irrevocable, guaranteed defect-free body modification, usable on yourself or any other person. This mod does not affect the mind of the person to whom its applied (though obviously you'd get subsequent effects if, for example, you changed someone's gender). Whom do you use it on, and what modification do you make?

[cereselle.livejournal.com]

I've never participated in these before, but what the heck. Can I have some questions? :)

[keyne.livejournal.com]

Then start a business collaborative to build an actual nightlife in Boston. That means a geographically co-located set of mutually supporting businesses.

That's a brilliant idea. You might want to talk to some investors!

[hlmt.livejournal.com]

Grace Jones. *sighmelt* My hero.

[drwex]

1. What does "healthy" feel like for you these days?

2. Kids?

3. Imagine cereselle as a mixed drink. Describe her parts (e.g. "one part cute, three parts fabric scraps..." etc)

4. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

5. What's the wildest thing you'll admit to having done, given that you're writing in a friends-locked LJ posting?

[drwex]

Thank you. I have talked (as in casual party chat) with some, prior to the dot-bomb and the answer has always been "someone would have to put up the seed money." It would need substantial angel capital to start.

[drwex]

Hee hee. *huggles you*