from Julie:

1. You went to college in Boston. What did you like most about the Hub of the Universe?
I loved having a city as my campus, and being able to get where I needed to without driving.

2. What are your favorite and least favorite things about quizbowl and the QB community?
The competition is still interesting, but less important. I stand by "anti-retirement," but if I ever were to win TRASHionals with a near-full Gerbil squad, I wouldn't be surprised if I hung it up afterward. My favorite thing about quizbowl is the excuse to see people I only get to see once or twice a year. And I can safely say that's nearly always been the case for me. I played exactly one year of "collegiate" qb, but have played "masters" qb for 12. I think because I played so little as a college player, I have less and less patience for my least-favorite part: what I call the collegiate-protest mentality; the "what do we want? (more hockey! less hockey! clocks! no clocks! etc.) when do we want it? (NOW!)" attitude, where if you disagree then you're some sort of fascist out to destroy quizbowl.


3. What attracts you so much to the music of the 1980s, and what aspects of it do you consider unique and important?
Though the time period may vary, I think the attraction is near-universal: the music of one's formative years (in my case, 1980-89) had the most impact on me. The things I think are important about the era are not necessarily the things that strike visceral chords with me: The rise of hip-hop and sampling have had lasting importance, as have the birth of underground labels that sought to treat artists ethically.


4. This one's a little more personal, so I understand if you'd rather not answer. You've indicated in your blog that (like me) you're half of a voluntarily childfree couple. Have you ever had to explain this decision to family or friends, and if so, how did you navigate this often-treacherous path?
I haven't had to do much explaining to family. My sister had her first of her four kids before we were engaged, so the pressure's been low on my side since before we got hitched. And the family knows I'm stubborn as hell. Kirsti has had it a little rougher, as the only child of older parents. After a few years of not-so-gentle suggestions, she gave them The Talk not long ago. They played on the fact that she ended up the most important thing in their lives. As I recall, the response was something like, "that's nice if you want kids." We have one friend who had a kid and decided we absolutely needed to have one. It was getting pretty bad for a while, but then he had his second kid. Then he got too busy to hassle us, but you never know when the pushy gene will relapse.

5. If you could do anything for a living other than what you're doing now, what would it be?
From what I've read, the funnest work atmosphere I can imagine was the MAD Magazine staff in the Bill Gaines era. But barring a time machine or a talent-bestowing fairy-godmother, I think it would be cool to be the programmer at a repertory cinema.