1. What's the present you gave you're most proud of?

the 3rd flat sheep (dimensions)

2. What's the most memorable present you've received?

crazy red panda lady bag

3. How many people do you typically buy presents for at once, at the most presents-ish part of the year?

as few as possible. humbug

4. What sort of presents do you usually most enjoy receiving?

you saw it and thought of me. you aren't going tto give me meaningful value, I certainlf don't expect anyone to, so gifts should be personally meaningful. or absent, I'm good with absent. or donate to a useful charity, they need your money much more than I do (I eat chocolate, nomnom)

5. How do you wrap presents? Paper or bag? Sellotape or just folding magic? Ribbon? Gift tag? Other?

I tend ntot to, bucause my hands suck

This week's questions are in honor of engineers week, the letter e and the number 0...

1) What has been your favorite job?

this one, sysadmin at Sanger (but I've only had 2 jobs since graduating)

2) What did you like about it?

my colleagues,the mix of challenge and routine, the sense of making the world better.

3) How can a kid become like you when they grow up?

eh, so, there is the fundamental 'have the right kind of brain' issue I think, but if you do this advice will be easy (challenging, but possible and rewarding not a struggle), if it is hard maybe think about a career in something that actually suits you. Do as much maths as your local education system will let you, play with computers as much as you can - and not just using them, but understanding how they work, maybe get a raspberry pi you can break rather than breaking an expensive machine your parents rely on; I prefer practical experience to books and there is loads of info out there for free online. What you learn now will be obsolete in a decade (probably before) so you don't care about details you care about knowing more the shape of the thing. Computing qualifications at school can be good or daft, hard to tell without checking the syllabus, get them if you need the credential to go further or they look interesting. Computer Science degree is these days more common, but I read natural sciences so it's not entirely necessary. My interview tips are mostly "look keen, and clever, and nerdy" which I really don't know if that's just me, and I hate job hunting so do it very rarely, and I work in research not banking.

4) What safeguards do you use to avoid mistakes?

Having colleagues review work that could go badly wrong before running it in production.

5) What's changed in the world that you've had a hard time keeping up with?

Everything? but not actually computers, because I work with them I tend to keep up with at least the bits I work with. But look, vaccines in a year! robots on Mars! climate falling apart...

1) What is the oldest thing you own?
Uhm. I think probably my yellow bear (I think it's a mouse really) which was a being born gift so is as old as me. I own some jewellery that was bought 2nd hand and might be older, but I have no providence.

2) What is the oldest home you've lived in?
This one, 1950s. Not very old by UK standards.

3) What is the oldest book you've read?
The physical object? no idea, I've looked at Magna Carta but I can't really say I *read* it, or that it's a book. The contents, translated, the book of the dead. The contents, untranslated, the Canterbury tales (I've tried Beowulf and listened to it, but I can't really read/understand it)

4) What is the oldest electronic device that you still use?
and *use* probably my radio, it's maybe a decade old. I think I cleared out the old and unused stuff.

5) What is the oldest work of art/architecture that you've seen?
Valley of the Kings and associated temples etc. Although... I'm bad at dates, so maybe something else over that way (we did the Nile Dendera to Aswan and Abu Simbel; so not Cairo and the pyramids)

1. What is your favorite thing to drink on a hot day?
Tea. HOT tea (curses on Americans for breaking the language)

2. What superstitions do you have?
I try to avoid them.

3. What is your favorite pen to write with and why?
Nope. My hands no worky

4. What books have you read or been reading during the Pandemic?
Gideon IX. And a whole lot of smut (Geralt/Jaskier mostly)

5. MTV has decided to resurect playing music videos and they've decided to give you a two-hour space to program your favorite music on air. What do you air?

oooohhhh... nothing COHERENT. But Sassafrass (Somebody Will, oh the feels!), Seanan McGuire (Wicked Girls), HPLHS (Scarry Solstice everybody!), Norwegian Reggaeton (great video), Windrose- Diggy Diggy Hole. Springtime for Hitler. Ex Wives. Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. The Lusty Month of May. the diggers song. The Internationale, Twiddles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAvWu6pILKk (NWS!!). https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6WXckLGl3VICKb74LjqoBM?si=ofQcuvjQRdaQY--qMTFAcg which I think will tell you what I'm listening to... but honestly I have very ... random taste.

1. Are books losing importance as a source of information and entertainment?

I mean, we have Netflix and I still read? so maybe a bit, but not totally.

2. Are e-books the death of paper books? Will paper books disappear?

I hope not, although I do like ebooks for the convenience

3. Should libraries focus on improving their technological resources rather than building a larger collection of paper books?

Both, ideally.

4. How important are early reading skills in a child’s academic performance?

IANA educationalist but ... maybe. I read young, but not very young. I'm sure many famous smart people read at 2 or contrarywise as an adult. So... maybe it matters less than one might assume, and in any case I'd tend to assume it si a symptom of smartness, not a *cause* thereof.

5. Are people who spend a lot of time reading fiction wasting their time which could be better spent doing more useful activities?

No.

What is it with English speakers adding 's' in inappropriate places?

TESCO is neither plural (unless you are talking about the 4 stores you had to visit to get bog roll) nor possessive, although Sainbury's is.

Lego is a mass noun, and has no plural. You have lots of lego, or many lego bricks. The official site even gets quite cross about 'Legos'

There is a road I used to live near 'Northfield Avenue' even some satnavs make it 'Northfields' which it IS NOT. (I even had to check the sign; my brother's satnav managed to gass light me)

ARGH the irritation. What is it that drives people to this?

How do you feel about cooking?

Positive

How often do you cook a meal (from mostly fresh ingredients, not something ready-assembled that you just heat)?

Most weeks I cook one dinner (to last 2 meals, for 2 people) and one soup (to last 4-5 meals, for lunch, for just me)

How many people do you usually cook for, when you cook?

^^ sometimes I do cook for more, but rarely more than 4.

Do you have a favourite recipe book or chef?

Nope.

Kitchen tools: use the fewest possible or gadgets are your friend?

Gadgets good.

1. Can you do simple sewing repairs, such as replacing a button or rejoining a straight seam?

if my hands will cooperate.

2. Can you change a flat tire?

On a bike, given appropriate tools, and with some swearing.

3. Can you plan and cook a simple meal?

Yes. It will be more interesting if I have recipe books.

4. Can you rewire a lamp?

Not reliably.

5. Are you a spender or a saver? Are you able to switch from one to the other on occasion?

I switch. Notably last year we bought a house, and doing up houses is, it turns out, expensive (also "saving" and "paying off the mortgage" may be similar things). But also I'm lucky enough that I don't have to really care (also unlucky enough, I doubt I'll have much of a retirement anrd saving diligently for an excellent pension seems a little... optimistic (I do have a pension))

1. What is one of your favorite things about your country?

The days when it's clear and bright and cold and shiny are best. Weather that is forever and always news.

2. What is your favorite thing to do on your country's national holiday?

Do we even? Hide I think.

3. What do you usually do for your country's national holiday?

uuuuuh

4. What is your favorite national/regional ethnic dish?

I'm going with Haggis, neeps, an' tatties. Nom nom.

5. Who is your favorite national hero and why?

None of the buggers.

1. What made you smile this week?
Ludicrous jokes at work, I can't remember what it actually was though

2. What ingredients make a perfect Saturday?
Parkrun, which means I am denied perfect Saturdays by fucking useless disease. Ahem. Purple hair is pretty good, although right no 'enough sleep' is high on my list

3. What is the best thing you ever had for dessert? Share the memory or the recipe.
um, I like pudding, almost all pudding. I think the Best Pudding is rhubarb crumble, but it wouldn't be if I had it every day.

4. What is your favorite memory of your mom, or your favorite thing about being a mom?
I dislike my mother, am not a mother, and believe mothers day was weeks ago and don't see why America has to put us all through the trauma of it twice.

5. What are your plans for the summer (or winter, for those in the southern hemisphere)?
sleep? Kentwell. Painting things purple.