ASK - Karma
Part 2
Harry
Kim
What
newspapers and magazines do you read if any?
I used to have
subscriptions to National Geographic and Canadian
Geographic, but I got rid of them a few years ago because
I couldn’t afford it at the time. I’m not a big
one for reading newspapers. Occasionally I’ll look
through the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator, or McMaster
Silhouette, but I don’t go out of my way to pick up
a copy (unless I happen to need one for some reason).
What is
your favourite type of music?
Classical and
alternative rock. Though I have pretty eclectic tastes,
I’ll listen to pretty much anything. Except rap. I
hate rap.
What
are your regrets in life?
There are things
that I wish I’d done, and things I wish I’d
never done, but with one exception I don’t regret
anything in my life. What I do regret is never having
gotten the opportunity to get to know my sister better.
What is
your motto for life?
Don’t eat
yellow snow.
Can you
cook?
I can microwave,
that’s about it. The only things I can do one a
stove is soup or Kraft dinner. If I had to I could follow
a recipe out of a cookbook and probably come up with
something edible, I suppose one of these days I’m
going to have to find out if I really can.
What in
your opinion are the only constants in life?
Death and taxes.
Out of
people who have had ‘good’ lives and
‘bad’ lives, which have the most
‘interesting’ stories to tell about life in
your opinion?
While I’m not
sure what you mean by ‘good’ or ‘bad’
in this context, the answer is clear: ‘good’ is
always better than ‘bad’.
Do you
have a supportive family?
I would have to
say no. They can be supportive, but on the whole they
tend to be apathetic or on my case about something or the
other, especially my dad.
Have
you ever tried recreational drugs?
No, and I never
will.
Have
you ever tried smoking?
No, and I never
will.
Have
you ever tried drinking?
No, and I never
will.
DIY or
call someone else to do the job?
Depends what it
is. Most of the time I’d prefer to do it myself, but
there are some things I know I can’t do.
What
did you want to be when you were small?
I was unusual, I
never wanted to be a policeman or a firefighter or a
pilot (though I did consider aeronautical engineering for
a time, at least until I realized just how much math
would have been involved – though now I doubt it
could be much more than what’s required for software
engineering) I wanted to be a palaeontologist. In fact,
while I was in elementary school I was often asked to
‘teach’ students in the grades below me about
dinosaurs because I knew so much. Ultimately my lack of
interest in biology and burgeoning interest in computers
put me onto a different path.
What is
necessary for ‘survival’ and to keep your
sanity intact?
What makes you
think my sanity is still intact?
What is
racism?
The belief that
someone is superior, or inferior, based solely on their
race.
What is
wisdom?
The ability to
properly apply accumulated knowledge to a given
situation.
How
does a person go about developing this quality in your
opinion?
Can you really
‘learn’ to be wise? You can learn the
knowledge, but how the ability to apply it in a coherent
manner develops is beyond me.
Would
you consider yourself to be a wise person?
I’d like to
think I am. I don’t know if it’s true,
I’ve done some awfully stupid things.
Tell us
a bit about your family history?
You probably
shouldn’t have asked that question, my dad is really
into genealogy. Last I checked he’d traced our
family tree back to Edward I of England (who was
apparently my 19-times great-grandfather) and maybe even
Charlemagne (though it’s said that everyone of
European descent can trace their ancestry back to
Charlemagne).
I’ll spare you the
gory details and the multiple-page print out and just say
this: for the most part my family is Scottish/English,
though there’s a fair amount of German in there as
well as a bit of Russian and a little French.
What
'things' do you know now, that you wish you knew when you
were younger?
How to control my
temper.
Do you
prefer girls/women with long hair or short hair?
As long as they
have hair I don’t really care either way.
Would
you rather be a Starfleet officer or a Jedi Knight?
Starfleet officer.
I’d much rather rely on something I can understand
– not to mention take apart and fix – than some
mystical mumbo-jumbo. That said, I’m not sure
I’d want to live in the Federation.
What do
you think of life so far?
Long stretches of
crap interrupted by periods of extreme suckatude or,
occasionally, good times.
Would
you be willing to risk everything you had now, in order
to possibly gain more then you have now?
Probably not.
Well, unless I end up unemployed on the streets in the
future.
Blue
pen or black pen?
Blue usually.
Favourite
computer game?
Baldur’s Gate II, closely followed by Call of
Duty.
Are you
easily offended?
Unfortunately,
yes.
What
are your favourite words i.e. ones that you use often?
‘I digress’ and ‘I don’t think
that was supposed to happen’.
Have
you ever dated?
Formally, no.
Informally, I’ve been on a few dates. At the time
I’m not looking to get involved in a relationship
(though I probably wouldn’t say no if one fell in my
lap), I don’t have the time to spare right now. Or
the money.
What
are the downsides and upsides of being in love in your
opinion? And is it worth it, or does it depend on the
situation?
I can only theorize since I don’t think
I’ve ever been in love (though even if I had I
don’t know that I’d have recognized it without
a frame of reference), but I’d say the downside is
two-fold: love can make you do some awfully stupid
things, and it can open you to a world of hurt. On the
upside, you may find yourself with someone you can spend
the rest of your life with.
Best
period of time in your life?
My first year of university, I think. I got lucky and
had a really great group of friends to hang out with.
What
were you like as a child?
I was a bit of a
nerd. Still am, I guess, though more of a ‘I’ll
kick your ass if you do that again’ kind of nerd.
What
are your best and worse skills?
I’m not sure how you can have a ‘bad’
skill. Well, maybe if you were some sort of killing
machine, but I’m not that – at least not to the
best of my knowledge. I suppose my best skill is my
ability with computers, though being able to play music
is probably my favourite skill.
What
are your good and bad habits?
I don’t know that I have any habits that
I’d call good. But I’ve got plenty of bad
habits. I go to bed very late in the morning, I clip my
finger- and toenails very short, I chew the inside of my
cheeks when I’m bored, and I can make this really
strange sound with my three middle toes (which are double
jointed on both feet) that drives people insane when I do
it.
This
might be an offensive question, feel free not to answer,
but… given the chance to ‘sleep’ with
anyone, who would it be and dare I ask why?
The only person I can say definitively that I’d
want to sleep with is my wife, or at least someone that I
was very sure I was going to marry. That’s about as
precise as I can get right now.
Do
‘people suck’ as Paranoid often states?
More often than not.
Best
toy as a child?
Lego, mostly castle sets.
What
were you like as a teenager?
I tend to think that I haven’t changed much
since I was a teenager (it wasn’t that long ago,
after all), but my mom once told me that I’ve
changed a lot personality wise. I’m a lot more open
now than I was then, apparently.
What
are your fears/concerns in life?
Spiders. Well, bugs in generally really.
What do
you think are the 5 most important lessons you have
learnt in life so far and why?
Oi…let’s see.
- Friends can be found
in the most unusual of places.
- I’m not half as
smart as I think I am.
- If you try and turn a
friend into a girlfriend all you get is one less
friend.
- Don’t run with
your hands in your pockets.
- Mothers really do
know best.
What
was your university experience like academically and
socially?
Well, it’s
not over yet, but so far it’s been tolerable. Like I
said earlier, my first year was probably the best year of
my life, but it’s been a bit downhill from there.
Socially, because I don’t drink and can’t dance
I rarely go out because I just end up feeling
uncomfortable. Academically I’ve been slacking a bit
– well, a lot – so my grades are down the last
couple of years. Fortunately they were high enough in the
first couple of years that I’m still above average.
Is
there anything that you wish you did or did not do in
your life and if given the power to do so, with the
guarantee that any actions you take will not change the
rest of your established life (like what happened to
Picard), would you go ahead with it?
I’m not sure
what the point of the question is, since anything I
answer would result in at least some change to my life,
though maybe not in as fundamental a way as Picard’s
life changed in "Tapestry". In any event, I
would choose not to sacrifice one of my best friendships
in the hope that we could have had something more.
What is
your attitude towards money?
I’d like some.
What is
your attitude towards health?
Uh…good health = good and bad health = bad.
What
are your favourite books?
You’re joking, right?
Well, contrary to popular belief I actually prefer The
Silmarillion to The Lord of the Rings.
What
careers/jobs have you done over the course of your life
so far?
I started out as a
‘warehouse clerk’ at an arts and crafts store.
I ended up working at three different stores for the last
summer before I started university. The summer after that
I worked in a factory/warehouse where they made printer
ribbons, inkjet cartridges, and various other related
products (highlighters, white-out, etc.). The summer
after that I worked in the service department at Best Buy
Canada’s (well, it was Future Shop when I was hired,
they changed about a month after I started) eastern
Canada distribution centre. The summer after that I was
unemployed. That was the summer there was the SARS
outbreak in Toronto, apparently it reduced the number of
summer jobs by more than 50%. This past summer I started
out inspecting the rubber seal around car doors, but I
was laid off because of a union dispute, I ended up with
a job inspecting wheel rims for Chevrolet.
Ignorance
or knowledge? And why?
Do you mean which
I’d prefer? Knowledge, obviously. I don’t think
I could live being ignorant, although I suppose I
wouldn’t know that I was ignorant, so either way I
guess I’d be just as happy.
Emotion
or logic? And why?
Logic. Emotions are much more likely to be
responsible for you doing something silly.
If you
had to ask one question about anything, that as far as
you know, nobody has the answer to, and nobody will ever
know the answer and no process is capable of gaining an
answer, what would the question be?
‘How do they get the caramel into the Caramilk
bar?’
Most,
if not every, individual did not choose their own name.
Our name is chosen for us by our parents. But let’s
imagine that this was not so. And everybody had the power
to choose their own name. What name would you then choose
for yourself and what would determine your choice?
Considering you’ve had children this should make
answering this question easier.
I’ve had
children? That’s news to me. Do you know where I
could find them?
I actually like my name, so if it were up to me –
and I suppose it is, since I could always change it
– I’d stick with what I’ve got.
Why
must we 'do' things?
Ours is not the
reason why, ours is but to do or die.
Imagine
that you must give someone one piece of advice about
life. What would it be?
Don’t eat
yellow snow.
Are we
really the sum of our experiences?
At the very least.
What do
you think are the worse emotions to experience?
Hatred, jealousy, greed, and lust.
Slightly
different – what do you think are the worse states
of consciousness e.g. uncertainty, confusion, etc
Uncertainty can be pretty disheartening, but the
worst state of mind, I think, is apathy. At least apathy
about something that you should feel something about it.
If you
could choose to be a member of any race in any science
fiction literature, what race would it be and why?
Are we talking just science fiction, or science
fiction and fantasy? If it’s the former, I’d
probably choose Romulan, though a somewhat disingenuous
Romulan because you’d have most of the benefits of
being Vulcan without having to repress your emotions. If
the latter, half-elf, well, a Tolkien-style half-elf. You
get most of the benefits of being an elf without being
saddled with immortality.
Fox
Mulder or Dana Scully. Which of these two characters do
you think, you are most similar to?
Scully, for the
most part, at least to the extent that I understand the
differences between the characters - I was never a big
fan of the X-Files.
Is
'time the fire in which we burn' or 'time is a companion
that goes with us on the journey'?
Neither. Time is
time, nothing more, nothing less.
Which
of these are more important to society, engineers and
scientists or artists and musicians?
Speaking as an
engineer in training I have to say engineers and
scientists. Society could get on without artists or
musicians. It might be a tad dull, but it wouldn’t
collapse.
If you
could live on any planet in the Star Trek Universe, which
would it be and why?
I don’t know
if I’d want to actually live in the Star Trek
universe. It’s a little too unrealistically utopian
for me.
If you
could go through the Stargate, where would you want to go
and why?
Cimmeria. I love
mountains and Norse culture is fairly interesting.
How
would you change your life, if you won 10 million
<insert currency of choice>?
I can’t say
for sure, but I’d hope that I wouldn’t change
my life much at all. I suppose I would lead a somewhat
more luxurious life, but without a job I’d get
terribly bored.
If all
books in the world were to be destroyed, but you had the
power to save any 3 books, which 3 books would they be?
The Bible, the
Qu’ran, and all three volumes of The Lord of the
Rings in a single book.
What do
you think of the saying ‘money makes the world go
round’?
That,
unfortunately, it’s pretty much true.
Let’s
imagine that Star Trek is ‘real’. You will
still be the person you are now. Who would you choose to
work with? The senior officers of the Enterprise-E, Deep
Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise-A or Enterprise NX-01?
Probably the Enterprise-E.
I’d never be able to work the crew of the NX-01; I
wouldn’t be able to stop myself from throttling
Archer and tossing T’Pol out an airlock. I’d
probably have much the same reaction to Janeway and
Chuckles on Voyager.
If
there were 'things' that you wanted out of life. But you
had to risk everything you had now. In order to possibly
gain what you want, and hopefully still retain what you
have now. Would you take the risk?
You asked that
question back in block 5, my answer hasn’t changed
in the last hour.
If you
were given the power to extend the life of any decreased
person, by 5 years, meaning they will die five years
later then they originally did, who would you choose and
why?
Mozart. Look at what he accomplished during the 35
years he lived, and just think about how much more he
could have done even with only another 5 years. At the
very least, he would have been able to finish the Requiem.
When
you compare young people today to the older generation,
what are the good and bad things about each respective
group? Overall which group in your opinion are of the
better calibre?
On the whole, I don’t see much in the way of
redeeming qualities in young people today, including my
own generation in that group. There are exceptions,
certainly, but on the whole I’m a bit concerned
about what’s going to happen when people my age
start being responsible for running the world.
Of course, I understand
that people once said the same thing about my
grandfather’s generation, which is now commonly
referred to as the greatest generation for their
comportment during the Second World War.
If
tomorrow every person on Earth lost the ability to
deceive in any shape or form, what would human society be
like in 50 years time?
Gone, I think.
While pure honesty would probably cure many of the ills
in our society today it would cause no end of trouble in
international relations. If one nation couldn’t
pretend to like another for the sake of peace how many
more wars would there be?
If the
world was to end tonight, but you had the power to save
10 people (excluding yourself as you will be saved) who
would you save?
I don’t think
I’d save anyone. It would be an awfully cruel gift
to condemn 10 people to being the last of the human race.
I don’t think I’d wish that on even my worst
enemies.
If you
could go back to any point in history and witness an
event e.g. building of pyramids, etc. What event would it
be? (note - it does not have to be a historical event, it
can be any event)
The construction
of Stonehenge, I think. Or maybe the rebellion that
defeated Ra. I’d have to toss a coin.
Would
you rather live, a short fulfilling life where you had
lots of friends, family and had a good life in general,
or a long unfulfilled life that was average?
Depends what you mean by average. I could be happy
being average. But if you mean by average that I was
unhappy, then I’d choose the short life.
Why is
there so much suffering in the world?
Because most people suck.
If you
could be any animal what would it be and why?
Peregrine Falcon. They’re cool.
Is the
grass greener on the other side?
Depends
what’s on the other side. If it’s industrial
waste, then yeah, probably, but not in a good way.
In the
film, Along Came a Spider, one of the characters
state, ‘you do what you are’ and the other
character states ‘you are what you do’. Which
of these two points of view do you most agree with and
why?
If one is true
then they’re both true. But many people behave in a
way that is not consistent with who they really are.
Do we
really have free will, with free will defined as the will
to think or do anything without outside influence?
I suppose it depends on how you define
‘outside’. If you take it to mean any force
other than yourself, then we do not. In the end, society
itself puts sever limitations on your ability to act. If
you take ‘outside’ to mean God, or some other
divine force, then yes, for the most part I think we do.
To any
young person, what advice would you give them on life?
Would I being going too far if I replied with
"don’t eat yellow snow" again?
If you
were offered eternal life, would you accept? (Note - you
are not invincible, just immortal)
Absolutely not.
People
often talk about self improvement and making themselves
better. What exactly is 'better' in the context of a
person in your opinion?
It would depend on the person. I’d be a better
person if I were less arrogant. On the other hand, Saddam
Hussein would be a better person if he were less of a
homicidal maniac.
It is
said that it is not possible for a person to know
themselves completely. Hence their maybe things about
yourself that you do not know or cannot find an answer
to. Let’s imagine that you could meet yourself, but
this other self would know themselves completely. What
question to which the answer you do not possess, would
you ask your other self?
"What were
you thinking?"
What
is, in your opinion are traits inherent to human nature?
I don’t think any traits are inherent to human
culture. I see no reason to believe that humans have some
sort of genetic memory in terms of behaviour.
In the episode
"???", Picard, Ro, Guinan, and Keiko are
accidentally converted back into children. If this had
happened to you, would you relive your life as a child
and literally get a second chance at living life, or
would you go back to how you are now?
"???"?
I’ve never seen that one, what happens?
(I honestly don’t know what I’d do. There is a
very real temptation to relive one’s childhood, but
I don’t know if it would be worth sacrificing what I
had as an adult.)
If you
want the truth about something, who would you ask?
It would depend on
what it was I wanted to know about. I’d want to ask
whomever I could contact that had the most knowledge
about what I wanted to know. The amount of effort I would
put into contacting that person would depend on how
important it was that I know whatever it was I wanted to
know.
Do you
have any role models?
I can’t think
of any. Neither can I think of why I would want to
emulate someone else.
Have
you ever woken up in the night with homosexual tendencies
and the urge to go to the fridge and rub butter all over
yourself and wanting to watch Battlefield Earth over and
over again, but not wanting to because of your desire for
peanut butter sandwiches with torfu?
That’s an
awfully detailed question, is there something you want to
tell us, Harry?
And what’s ‘torfu’?
Shadowfyre
If
you could only enjoy one entertainment medium for the
next 20 years, what would it be - tv, films, books,
comics or music?
Books, without a
doubt. It wouldn’t want to go without music, but I
never just sit and listen to music, I’m always doing
something else, so I think I could handle it. I never
really got into comics, so I have no doubt I’d get
by without them. TV and films would be hard to go
without, but for all the advances in special effects and
the like you can still do things and go places in books
then can even be considered on TV or film. Plus with
books you don’t have to worry about some director
coming along and screwing up material that you love.
If you
had to describe yourself with 5 adjectives, what would
they be?
Sardonic, cynical,
inquisitive, opinionated, and loyal.
shash
What's
the best thing a human being can be?
Loyal
What's
the worst?
Ignorant
What's
the pinnacle of human understanding?
The realization that we will never truly understand
everything.
Did
somebody forget to wind up Harry?
I think they were just late.
What
happens to the lost one of a pair of socks?
My ninja’s steal them to make puppets.
BTW, I just finished training some ninja wizards, so
you’d all better watch out.
What's
"magic"?
Any technology sufficiently advanced or ability
sufficiently alien to be beyond the understanding of
those observing it.
Is it
nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
That would depend
on the circumstances and what the end result of opposing
your troubles would be.
Stefan
Where's
Kamra? Who killed Kamra?!
He ran out of film and his battery died.
Tr’Kaja
How
much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could
chuck wood?
Depends on the
mass and relative stamina of the woodchuck, as well as
the type of wood being chucked and the conditions in
which the chucking were to occur.
Xenan
Didn't
we already do this a few months ago?
Relatively
speaking, no. It was May of last year.
Fav
super hero when you were a kid? Now?
Spider-man. It was the only cartoon my parents would
let me watch for some reason. Now, Batman or Wolverine,
with a slight edge to the latter.
Fav
villain when you were a kid? Now?
I’ve always
been partial to Apocalypse and Magneto from the X-Men
universe. Apocalypse because he was cool, and Magneto
because there was more depth to him than your average
villain. If I had to pick a favourite, though, I’d
probably go with Melkor, or Morgoth if you prefer, from The
Silmarillion.
Cats or
dogs?
Cats
Favourite
language (besides English and French)?
Java
Did you
ever wear women’s clothes?
Not in public.
Ever had a teddy bear?
Several, actually.
What
was his name?
I honestly can’t remember any of them. I
hadn’t even thought about them in years before this
question. Well, the last question actually.
When
you look out of your window what do you see?
The outside.
Post a
pic.
That’s not a question.
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