Bespeak Bob

[Bob]

The way you phrase it, it sounds like this is a two-part question.

You don't like your mother touching you? o_0

Not generally when it's unexpected, sudden, or out of the blue. My defensive reflexes kick in and shoot it down.

How conservative are you?

Socially, I think I'm more conservative than a lot of our members are. When it comes to government policy (the economy, etc.), right now I think I can be classified as a moderate.

[Countess]

The way you phrase it, it sounds like this is a two-part question.

I thought maybe you were one of those guys who thought a mother touching them was a sin.

What's your favorite dessert?

[GJ]

What sort of things do you find admirable?
Do you prefer scrambled eggs or sunny side up?
How long does it usually take you to trust someone?
Which Adventures in Odyssey character would you find most entertaining to speak to?
Do you like wearing colourful socks?

[Bob]

What do you think the world could do with less of?

There's so many possibilities here. I'm tempted to give a very broad answer like sin, lust or selfishness, or a very specific answer like Hollywood (I wouldn't mind if it blasted off into space ), but somehow I'm not sure whether those are what you're looking for.

I guess news/mass media. It has a purpose, but it's really quite overrated, takes up too much of too many people's time, distracts the intellect and inflames the passions, and is overall more of a force for evil than good.

Which two Adventures in Odyssey characters do you most like seeing interact?

As far as regular interactions, I honestly don't know. There's so many great actors/actresses, characters and relationships between them all that I can't single one out like that.

If we look at pairings that I would have *liked* to see interact more, though, Jay Smouse and Priscilla Peterson. They were great in Groundhog Jay.

Who do you wish the world saw more of? As a role model.

My pastor's family are the perfect role models. The only things that make me hesitate saying this are 1) I'm not sure I would want to put that kind of pressure on them, and 2) I don't want to have to share them any more than I already do.

Do you have any weird quirks?

No.



You know how I say strange things out of the blue sometimes? Well, I do that in real life too. Mostly at home with family, but I still think it counts. The story of me and 'you' on a cliff with swords was made up a long time before I broke it out here.

I get very excited sometimes and jump and run around the house until I'm out of breath (which happens pretty quickly nowadays...)

Sometimes I repeat myself vocally, quietly, when I think I've said something brilliant (often online, but not always).

What's your favorite dessert?

Of the sweet and sugary type, probably soft-serve ice cream.

What sort of things do you find admirable?

Three of the virtues I value the most (not necessarily in this order): loyalty, honesty, and generosity. Also, playing through injury.

Do you prefer scrambled eggs or sunny side up?

Sunny side up.

How long does it usually take you to trust someone?

That's an interesting question. When it comes to sharing some of my inner secrets, there are a few people I've opened up to online, some in even a relatively short period of time after we met (like Kaida), but I don't think there's anyone in real life who knows all or even most of the nature of my turmoil. I keep my cards close to the vest when I feel there's actually something at stake. So, I guess I could say 'quite a long while' when we're talking about my vulnerabilities, or the things that I value the most (I can only think of one person outside of my immediate family off the top of my head who I'd feel very comfortable taking care of my cat).

Which Adventures in Odyssey character would you find most entertaining to speak to?

The funny thing is, I'm not sure the characters that are known for being comedic are the ones that most people would like to talk to. Wooton is a sweet individual, but his sense of humor is unconventional, and for many people his age it would probably be an acquired taste. Jay is an amazing hilarious character to listen to, but in real life, you wouldn't be unlikely to end up on the end of one of his barbs sooner or later, and you might not take it so well when you're the one being made fun of. I suppose maybe Eugene. Bart Rathbone might be funny too, even though he can be a jerk, just because he's so over-the-top.

Do you like wearing colourful socks?

If black is a color.

[GJ]

Did you know that Bob backwards is Bob. It's a conspiracy, man.

What are your thoughts on pickles?
Do you ever add ketchup to your scrambled eggs?
Have you ever gone bungee jumping?
Do you get motion sickness?

[Bob]

What are your thoughts on pickles?

Technically, I think a pickle would be anything that's made through the process of pickling, not just cucumbers.

I've always liked a good dill pickle. I don't have as much use for the sweet ones, though. They're like mild salsa.

Do you ever add ketchup to your scrambled eggs?

No. I don't add ketchup to many things, though.

Have you ever gone bungee jumping?

No, and I'm not sure I would. What if the cord breaks?

Do you get motion sickness?

I don't think so.

[KODY 105]

Why is Texas so big?
Why are you from Texas?
Why is the Texas sky blue?
How important to your identity is Texas?
How many pairs of headphones/earbuds have you personally broken in your lifetime?

[Bob]

Why is Texas so big?

A short answer is that the Republic of Texas claimed that amount of territory, and there wasn't anyone who forced them to relinquish those claims. (Of course, by that reasoning, you could as soon ask 'why is Texas so small', since they originally had more and later gave it up.)

Why are you from Texas?

I was born here. The reason why I was born here is because it's where my parents lived. The reason why that's where my parents lived is because that's where they were born, and their families were. Doubtless the reason why they were born there and their families were there is because they were born there too (although my paternal grandmother was born in Okahoma).

Why is the Texas sky blue?

For the same reason the sky is blue most of the time in most places on Earth. Google results suggest that this is the product of Rayleigh scattering, which I have to note I didn't remember from my (ill-fated) physics courses.

How important to your identity is Texas?

Not as important as it seems to be to this line of questioning.

Upbringing and cultural influences are always important in the sense that they've had an impact on a person's history. It's not as important in the sense that I would be utterly unable or experience extreme difficulties in relinquishing it. I've used a fair amount of pro-Texas rhetoric in the past, but it's as much bluster and bravado as anything. I could readily live somewhere else if the people in my life were there.

How many pairs of headphones/earbuds have you personally broken in your lifetime?

That's hard to project, and depends somewhat on definition. If by 'broken' you mean 'actively and intentionally broke', few or none. If you mean 'passively broke through use', then the short answer would be, 'almost all of them' (that were mine). In terms of a number, there'd probably be less than 20 pairs, but more than 5. The headphones I have now seem to be a good and reliable pair, though.

[Bren]

Ok. You've had enough peace.

If you could change just one thing about yourself, what would it be?
What are you favorite and least favorite things about The ToO?
Wy do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?

[Bob]

If you could change just one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I've mulled this over, since there are a lot of possibilities.

Whenever I'm asked this as a serious question, it always tends to come down to spiritual things, I suppose because those are the only ones that seem important enough to merit using a 'single change'.

In-person I tend to be very reserved. I have a hard time lifting my voice, talking to people (strangers or otherwise), and other such things. But we're expected to do this at least sometimes, whether in praise, worship, prayer, or outreach. It may be pride, or fear of man, or fear of rejection; maybe it's all of the above. I don't know if this is the best answer, but for the sake of getting an answer to this topic in a reasonable amount of time, for now, I will say that I'd like to not be so inhibited (in the sense of actually doing these things 'naturally', not just in the sense of, 'I can do it if I feel forced to do it', or 'I can choose, deliberately, to go through the motions').

What are your favorite and least favorite things about The ToO?

Favorite:
The fact that my name is in purple is pretty cool.

More seriously, I generally like the atmosphere. There are some boards that feel hard to break into, but this isn't one of them. I expect it has a lot to do with Catspaw's leadership, but using the forum has been a low-stress experience for about as long as I can remember, certainly ever since I became active.
Least Favorite:
I don't know that this is my 'least favorite', but it is one of my least favorite things that we don't have any ability to control or influence.

From a webmaster's point of view, in my opinion, one of the objectively worse aspects of the ToO is the server. It's not infrequently down and/or sluggish, and we apparently don't have much control over it since the host can decide to change something like the PHP version without our having any input. Apparently the ToO server is good when it comes to things like file storage, since it also hosts AIOWiki, and I imagine these two sites between them take up a lot of megs, which is a redeeming factor.

Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?

If you stopped practicing your bird calls, I'm guessing you wouldn't see many birds, whether I'm online or not.

[Pirate Oriana]

If you were stranded on a deserted island with nothing to help you survive but a musical instrument, what instrument would you pick?

[Bob]

If you were stranded on a deserted island with nothing to help you survive but a musical instrument, what instrument would you pick?

A pipe organ. They're massive and very complex machines. It increases visibility from the air, it comes with a lot of things you could take apart or take out if need be, and it'd be great to get the chance to actually try to play one, even if just once.

[Steve]

hi bob, i have two questions:

1) why is the q&a subforum so dead?

2) if you had to eat an entire car, what make and model would you choose? personally, i would choose one of those cool little fiats because they come in bright colors and that might trick me into thinking i am just eating very iron-y neopolitan ice cream.