pmsumner

1. If you had to move 100 miles or more to the north, east, west, or south, which would you choose, where would you end up, and what's so great about there?
   A hundred? Couldn't I choose 50 miles? If I had to go 100 miles I'd end up either further away from Jane yet again, back in Barnsley, or the same distance away from her in the other direction! If I absolutely had to choose, I'd probably go north. I don't particularly want to go much further south of where I am.
   
   
2. Do you have a favorite stretch of highway or byway for driving, touring, or wandering?
   The M74 - absolutely blinding bit of road. Especially early on a Sunday morning or late at night when the only other vehicles on the road are lorries and you can have a bit of fun.
   
   
3. Are you happier to start a trip or return home?
   Never happy to return home! Who is?
   
   
4. Plane, train, automobile, bicycle, or foot?
   Love trains, hate the expense of train travel. I keep on thinking about travelling by train more because well, where I live is practically a hub! However, the cost of travelling by train almost always exceeds the cost of travelling by car. And the flexibility of being able to drive when you get to where you're going is priceless.
   
   
5. Do you overplan or underplan your travels? (Assume that "no" is not a valid answer.)
   Is it possible to overplan? It depends on the trip. If it's a trip where I can escape at any time (i.e. - in the country, I have my own transport or a flexible ticket) then I don't really plan that much. I'm pretty disorganised. If I'm going to be in a position where I know there's no easy escape, I'll plan it to hell.

1. How do you deal with stress?
   Badly. Depends on what kind of stress it is really. At work, if I don't get a break from calls, if they're all being idiots and not reading the manuals I can get quite short and need to take time to calm down or I'll really give someone hell for being stoopid. If it's general life stress I sleep, or don't sleep... there's also food, which is a great stress reliever.
2. Do you have a favorite "comfort food" and what is it?
   No one favourite, though custard always features highly on the list.
3. Do you have a "comfort activity" and what is it?
   Watching favourite films, sleeping, drinking, again no particular one - it depends on the stress.
4. What days depress you and why?
   No days of the week depress me any more than any others. The days that Jane and I leave company for the week are always depressing.
5. What days excite you and why?
   The days I see her again!

1. Are you named after anyone? If so, explain.
Not as far as I know.

2. Do you have your children's names picked out already? If so, is there any significance?
What children? Who's going to have my children and more to the point, why would they want to?

3. If you were born a member of the opposite sex what would your name have been?
Probably Phillipa, knowing my parents...

4. If you could re-name yourself what name would you pick and why?
Perhaps Brian. I don't think there are many unusual names that would suit me well.

5. Are there any mispronunciations/typos that people do w/ your name constantly?
Always being called Bill, and my surname's a constant battle. It's really not difficult. 6 letters, all different, in a vaguely sensible order.

1. When you were a child, what was your favorite game to play?
   I don't remember, really. I do seem to remember playing Kerplunk and Downfall lots, and spent lots and lots of time around Bannachra on my bike. The joys of being an only child!
2. What is your favorite game to play right now?
   I don't really play many games. I used to love flight sims, but I haven't played one properly for years, since they became so 'realistic' that they sucked the fun out of them.
3. Can you share a good story about playing with others or yourself?
   Not any really good ones.
4. What do you do for play time fun now?
   Play time now has a rather different meaning to what I was thinking of at the beginning of this...
5. If you were able to invent a game, what would you call it?
   I have absolutely no idea.

Well that was a bust :)

1. What is your preferred trusted news source?
My main news source is the BBC but that's mainly because I listen to Radio 4 most of the time.

2. What is a news source that you will never trust?
The Sun, The Mirror, The News of the World. Whilst the text may be true, the slant on a lot of their news stories makes them unreadable.

3. What is the news topic during the last calendar year that you feel got the worst coverage?
There are so many. Hmm. Ian Blair (The Metropolitan Police Force's chief) and his handling of the aftermath of the tube bombings in July. The press coverage about this was abysmal, with journalists guessing and reporting inaccurately, presumably on purpose.

4. What news item do you feel got too much coverage in the last calendar year?
Again, so many. I'll need to give these some thought. I'd have to say that the Michael Jackson trial was overblown in all the news.

5. If you had complete control of your favoured news source(s) (answer to question 1), what would you do with it that is not already being done?
Eeep, difficult question... I'd like to make them do away with 24hr rolling news. I feel that BBC News 24 puts the organisation under pressure to find news, even if there is none.

What is the oldest object in the room with you?
My A-Level project disks. I've got absolutely no use for them because I don't have a floppy drive on this laptop, but I have a load of 3.5" disks with my A-Level Computing work on it.

What is the newest?
Does paperwork count? I've got all my MSing paperwork in here. If not - my Preaching to the Perverted DVD.

What is your favorite object in the room with you?
The Balvenie Doublewood. Tasty.

What is the most valuable object?
In terms of money - the laptop, without any hesitation.

In personal terms... probably my box of memories. It's got loads of stuff in, including the railway timetable from Philadelphia station, tickets to the World Trade Centre observation deck from summer 2001, leaflets from various galleries and museums in New York, my train tickets to Montreal.

What is the ugliest object?
Do I count?
There's nothing fugly here. The pile of half-filled and used boxes is not that pleasant, I guess...