Post by Simey on Mar 31, 2008 11:05:10 GMT -5
The member spotlights being posted reminded me that I filled it in late last year and never submitted it, so having posted the TotS Questionnaire, I'm gonna submit the member spotlight thing instead. 
>>> Bio <<<
Name David Staiger
Age 31
Married? Nope.
Kids? Nope.
Pets? Not any more. Our family used to mostly borrow other people's pets. We actually ended up comandeering one of our neighbours' cats because it was eventually only going to them to be fed, so they were spending the money on catfood and we had the cat, which was a little unfair. We did have one dog of our own though, who was amazing. I'm definitely a dog person, not a cat person, and if I was ever to have my own pet, I'd want it to be a black labrador.
>>> Global Positioning <<<
Where were you born? Blenheim, New Zealand.
Have you moved around much? Hardly at all. Except for the short trip to the U.K. when I was less than two years old.
Where do you live now? Malvern, Worcestershire, England, U.K.
Any plans to move in the future? Yes.
>>> Gaming <<<
Which games (past or present) have had the greatest impact on you? Hmm, well, the Lone Wolf books (surprise). I've only been role-playing semi-properly for five or six years, and then nearly always playing D&D, which I wouldn't say has had much of an impact on me unless you count the reaction, 'Gah! There must be something better than this!'
Wait! I tell a lie - Heroquest! Simplistic in the extreme it may seem now, but that was the game that really got me thinking about fantasy games more broadly. I don't think I've ever had so much fun playing a game.
Computer/video games-wise, I can't really sit down and play things by myself 'cause I get bored, so for me it's really only stuff that a bunch of people can sit down and play together. I did manage to complete the first five Tomb Raider games, but I had to have my brother sat next to me nearly all the time talking to me about it otherwise I would've got fed up with that too.
I have to note, though, that the best video game ever - if anyone disagrees with this, by the way, they're wrong - is Micro Machines 2 on the Megadrive. And for anyone who has it: I totally rule at Bathtub Burn-Off, Rim Runners and - best racing track on any game ever - Turbo Turns.
Anything on the horizon you are pretty keyed up about? Well, I'm sort of trying to get stuff together to GM some Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I've only played a couple of sessions as a player, so I'm kind of well under-experienced, but the rules and the setting are very much to my taste, and far more so than anything I've noticed D&D having to offer.
How did you choose/derive your game/site-name? Before signing up, I had a bit of a look at the forums and saw that the Legends of Lone Wolf novels - of which I am a fan, probably more so than the gamebooks - were getting a bit of a bashing. I had then, of course, to: 1) Sign up and defend them; 2) Pick a character name unique to the Legends as a bit of a two-fingers to those that dislike them so much. (Simey is, by the way, an ageing and somewhat senile naval clerk in Port Bax in The Sword of the Sun.)
Do you have any other gaming aliases that you use or have used? Nope. Unless you count Goyangi over at Lwrpol.
>>> TotS <<<
When did you join TotS, and how did you find us? June 2005. I'd come across the site two or three times over the previous year or so when looking for Lone Wolf stuff on-line, but the front page had scared me off in seconds. I'd never been a member of an internet forum before (nor since, in fact), so I didn't really know what one was or how they worked or - crucially - how much fun it might be to participate in one. I eventually made it past the first page and then just had to allow myself to answer back when I saw what some people were saying about the Legends.
Has being part of TotS had much of an impact on your gaming/online lifestyle? Yes. I now spend a lot of time - far too much - on-line, where before discovering TotS I would just check my e-mail every week or so and maybe spend a few hours surfing once every few weeks. Gaming maybe not so much, except for relatively recently joining Zipp's game at Lwrpol and therefore actually playing the LWRPG, which I'd not really done before.
Care to highlight any specific gaming experiences that TotS has had an influence on?
What are your future wishes for yourself with regard to involvement in TotS? I hope to be able to make some sort of vaguely useful contributions every-so-often, though my chronic disinterest in learning how to use new computer software unless I absolutely have to makes me incapable of most practical things on-line. I'd like to do something to help the Rising Sun get published at least Quarterly 'cause it's been in limbo for way too long. I'd like to do more in the West Watch and one day have, you know, one of of those plot things for my story. Successfully - instead of almost - collaborating with someone in the WW would be very cool also. And I'd love to somehow make use of all the Lone Wolf fantasy-film-music that I've come up with over the last eighteen-ish years, but I don't know how likely that is to ever happen.
Anything you would change? I still think that TotS has a scary front page. True, it probably means that you're a committed LW fan if you make it onto the site proper, but I can't help wondering if a fair few potential members have backed off through the sheer Yikes!-ness of it all. Personally, I'd like to have got into the West Watch sooner, but was too cowardly.
>>> Work <<<
What keeps the money coming in? Checkout Supervisor and Cash Office Monkey in a supermarket.
Done anything noteworthy or bizarre for money in the past? Erm, I've been paid to play the piano or keyboard at various gigs, I suppose, but I've not actually been doing it for the money - if I had been, I wouldn't have done.
>>> Travel <<<
Been anywhere good? For various lengths of time ranging from not long enough to hardly any time at all, and in no particular order: Croatia, Germany, Spain, France, New Zealand, Mostar in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Vienna in Austria, Czechoslovakia (as was), U.S.A., Canada. Croatia and B-H would be my top picks to go back to and explore more properly.
Been anywhere weird? Well, Mostar was weird in a way, though 'weird' is probably not the appropriate word. There were, in places, brand new buildings standing only yards away from old ones that had serious bullet and shell damage all over the walls. And the guidebook we picked up detailed some places like beautiful old churches and then followed the description with a small note informing you that that building had been destroyed during the war - that was pretty strange and very sad. Most haunting of all were the cemeteries which had hundreds of gravestones stretching away up the hill, all with 1993 on them as the year of death. Pretty much most of us seriously don't know how lucky we are. I'd like to go back to Mostar and see the famous bridge that has now been fully reconstructed - when we were there it was still covered in loads of scaffolding.
Best holiday/vacation you've been on? Going by train across France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia to Croatia. Split, on the Dalmatian coast, is the most beautiful city I've ever seen - half of the Old Town is crammed into the walls of a 1500-year-old Roman palace, which is fascinating, and you could spend all day sitting in the cafes on the seafront watching the ships go in and out of the harbour. And I actually managed to get us around Croatia with my exceedingly rudimentary self-taught Serbo-Croat, which was something of a surprise, but very satisfying!
>>> Sport <<<
Are you a fan of any particular sport/team/individual? Ice Hockey and Tennis. My top sporting moment was Goran Ivanisevic eventually winning Wimbledon. And I support Coventry Blaze - the best ice hockey team in the U.K. (and that's saying more than some might think!).
Do you participate in anything yourself? Sadly not. Used to play tennis, but haven't for many years.
>>> Transport <<<
How do you get around? Walk, cycle, trains, buses. And okay, sometimes lifts with other people.
What would you like to have as your vehicle? A better bike. I would like never to own a car if possible. I can drive, but whilst I have nothing against car ownership in itself, I'm pretty convinced that surely at least 80% of car journeys are unnecessary and could be made by foot/bike/public transport and the pollution and general noise and congestion caused by way too many people making way too many car journeys does somewhat do my head in.
If only I lived in a town or city and not on the side of a hill this might even be a practical point of view.
>>> Other Interests <<<
Movie fan? Which ones have been memorable? I do love films, though I'm not very good at spending time to a actually watch as many as I'd like. I have a Top 4 films: 4. Seven; =2. Save the Green Planet/Fight Club; 1. The Empire Strikes Back. As I've noted (probably too often) elsewhere, I reckon that the country making the best films in the last decade has been Korea. And I have to say this: DON'T BE SCARED OF SUBTITLES! I'm a pretty slow reader, so if I can cope, most people can. And if you never watch subtitled films, you're missing out on some of the best stuff the world has to offer.
Bookworm? What's kept you turning the pages? Nope - reading's not my strong point. I always think I'd like to read more, but I'm just not very good at it. The Lord of the Rings may be a predictable book to note as a favourite, but it is simply incredible. I love the Legends of Lone Wolf, warts and all. Chuck Palahniuk's a terrific writer, though I've not kept up with his recent stuff.
It's part of my whole fascination with Croatia, but The Fall of Yugoslavia is my favourite non-fiction book, depressing though it obviously is.
Hobbies? What else do you do for fun/interest? Music mostly. I used to be in a band and I play the piano for a Worcester-based singing group. Performance isn't really my thing though; writing and arranging's what I enjoy more. Inflicting my 'challenging' arrangements on the singing group is fun too. Presently it's 'Alright' by Supergrass, translated into German (not by me, but by a bemused German person) and arranged for four-part choir. The group pretty much hate me.
I recently (and finally!) completed the score to a micro-budget film made locally. Sort of Indiana Jones in the Home Counties. Out on DVD in the shops....never.
>>> Closing Comment <<<
Anything you want to say to the rest of TotS, or anyone? Erm.... BOO!
Nah, this place is amazing, partly because it's a wonderfully put together website, but mostly because of the excellent people here. I feel very fortunate that I did eventually make it onto the site because TotS, the people and the place, has gone on to be something very special to me - I hope everyone can put up with me sticking around.
>>> Bio <<<
Name David Staiger
Age 31
Married? Nope.
Kids? Nope.
Pets? Not any more. Our family used to mostly borrow other people's pets. We actually ended up comandeering one of our neighbours' cats because it was eventually only going to them to be fed, so they were spending the money on catfood and we had the cat, which was a little unfair. We did have one dog of our own though, who was amazing. I'm definitely a dog person, not a cat person, and if I was ever to have my own pet, I'd want it to be a black labrador.
>>> Global Positioning <<<
Where were you born? Blenheim, New Zealand.
Have you moved around much? Hardly at all. Except for the short trip to the U.K. when I was less than two years old.
Where do you live now? Malvern, Worcestershire, England, U.K.
Any plans to move in the future? Yes.
>>> Gaming <<<
Which games (past or present) have had the greatest impact on you? Hmm, well, the Lone Wolf books (surprise). I've only been role-playing semi-properly for five or six years, and then nearly always playing D&D, which I wouldn't say has had much of an impact on me unless you count the reaction, 'Gah! There must be something better than this!'
Wait! I tell a lie - Heroquest! Simplistic in the extreme it may seem now, but that was the game that really got me thinking about fantasy games more broadly. I don't think I've ever had so much fun playing a game.
Computer/video games-wise, I can't really sit down and play things by myself 'cause I get bored, so for me it's really only stuff that a bunch of people can sit down and play together. I did manage to complete the first five Tomb Raider games, but I had to have my brother sat next to me nearly all the time talking to me about it otherwise I would've got fed up with that too.
I have to note, though, that the best video game ever - if anyone disagrees with this, by the way, they're wrong - is Micro Machines 2 on the Megadrive. And for anyone who has it: I totally rule at Bathtub Burn-Off, Rim Runners and - best racing track on any game ever - Turbo Turns.
Anything on the horizon you are pretty keyed up about? Well, I'm sort of trying to get stuff together to GM some Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I've only played a couple of sessions as a player, so I'm kind of well under-experienced, but the rules and the setting are very much to my taste, and far more so than anything I've noticed D&D having to offer.
How did you choose/derive your game/site-name? Before signing up, I had a bit of a look at the forums and saw that the Legends of Lone Wolf novels - of which I am a fan, probably more so than the gamebooks - were getting a bit of a bashing. I had then, of course, to: 1) Sign up and defend them; 2) Pick a character name unique to the Legends as a bit of a two-fingers to those that dislike them so much. (Simey is, by the way, an ageing and somewhat senile naval clerk in Port Bax in The Sword of the Sun.)
Do you have any other gaming aliases that you use or have used? Nope. Unless you count Goyangi over at Lwrpol.
>>> TotS <<<
When did you join TotS, and how did you find us? June 2005. I'd come across the site two or three times over the previous year or so when looking for Lone Wolf stuff on-line, but the front page had scared me off in seconds. I'd never been a member of an internet forum before (nor since, in fact), so I didn't really know what one was or how they worked or - crucially - how much fun it might be to participate in one. I eventually made it past the first page and then just had to allow myself to answer back when I saw what some people were saying about the Legends.
Has being part of TotS had much of an impact on your gaming/online lifestyle? Yes. I now spend a lot of time - far too much - on-line, where before discovering TotS I would just check my e-mail every week or so and maybe spend a few hours surfing once every few weeks. Gaming maybe not so much, except for relatively recently joining Zipp's game at Lwrpol and therefore actually playing the LWRPG, which I'd not really done before.
Care to highlight any specific gaming experiences that TotS has had an influence on?
What are your future wishes for yourself with regard to involvement in TotS? I hope to be able to make some sort of vaguely useful contributions every-so-often, though my chronic disinterest in learning how to use new computer software unless I absolutely have to makes me incapable of most practical things on-line. I'd like to do something to help the Rising Sun get published at least Quarterly 'cause it's been in limbo for way too long. I'd like to do more in the West Watch and one day have, you know, one of of those plot things for my story. Successfully - instead of almost - collaborating with someone in the WW would be very cool also. And I'd love to somehow make use of all the Lone Wolf fantasy-film-music that I've come up with over the last eighteen-ish years, but I don't know how likely that is to ever happen.
Anything you would change? I still think that TotS has a scary front page. True, it probably means that you're a committed LW fan if you make it onto the site proper, but I can't help wondering if a fair few potential members have backed off through the sheer Yikes!-ness of it all. Personally, I'd like to have got into the West Watch sooner, but was too cowardly.
>>> Work <<<
What keeps the money coming in? Checkout Supervisor and Cash Office Monkey in a supermarket.
Done anything noteworthy or bizarre for money in the past? Erm, I've been paid to play the piano or keyboard at various gigs, I suppose, but I've not actually been doing it for the money - if I had been, I wouldn't have done.
>>> Travel <<<
Been anywhere good? For various lengths of time ranging from not long enough to hardly any time at all, and in no particular order: Croatia, Germany, Spain, France, New Zealand, Mostar in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Vienna in Austria, Czechoslovakia (as was), U.S.A., Canada. Croatia and B-H would be my top picks to go back to and explore more properly.
Been anywhere weird? Well, Mostar was weird in a way, though 'weird' is probably not the appropriate word. There were, in places, brand new buildings standing only yards away from old ones that had serious bullet and shell damage all over the walls. And the guidebook we picked up detailed some places like beautiful old churches and then followed the description with a small note informing you that that building had been destroyed during the war - that was pretty strange and very sad. Most haunting of all were the cemeteries which had hundreds of gravestones stretching away up the hill, all with 1993 on them as the year of death. Pretty much most of us seriously don't know how lucky we are. I'd like to go back to Mostar and see the famous bridge that has now been fully reconstructed - when we were there it was still covered in loads of scaffolding.
Best holiday/vacation you've been on? Going by train across France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia to Croatia. Split, on the Dalmatian coast, is the most beautiful city I've ever seen - half of the Old Town is crammed into the walls of a 1500-year-old Roman palace, which is fascinating, and you could spend all day sitting in the cafes on the seafront watching the ships go in and out of the harbour. And I actually managed to get us around Croatia with my exceedingly rudimentary self-taught Serbo-Croat, which was something of a surprise, but very satisfying!
>>> Sport <<<
Are you a fan of any particular sport/team/individual? Ice Hockey and Tennis. My top sporting moment was Goran Ivanisevic eventually winning Wimbledon. And I support Coventry Blaze - the best ice hockey team in the U.K. (and that's saying more than some might think!).
Do you participate in anything yourself? Sadly not. Used to play tennis, but haven't for many years.
>>> Transport <<<
How do you get around? Walk, cycle, trains, buses. And okay, sometimes lifts with other people.
What would you like to have as your vehicle? A better bike. I would like never to own a car if possible. I can drive, but whilst I have nothing against car ownership in itself, I'm pretty convinced that surely at least 80% of car journeys are unnecessary and could be made by foot/bike/public transport and the pollution and general noise and congestion caused by way too many people making way too many car journeys does somewhat do my head in.
If only I lived in a town or city and not on the side of a hill this might even be a practical point of view.
>>> Other Interests <<<
Movie fan? Which ones have been memorable? I do love films, though I'm not very good at spending time to a actually watch as many as I'd like. I have a Top 4 films: 4. Seven; =2. Save the Green Planet/Fight Club; 1. The Empire Strikes Back. As I've noted (probably too often) elsewhere, I reckon that the country making the best films in the last decade has been Korea. And I have to say this: DON'T BE SCARED OF SUBTITLES! I'm a pretty slow reader, so if I can cope, most people can. And if you never watch subtitled films, you're missing out on some of the best stuff the world has to offer.
Bookworm? What's kept you turning the pages? Nope - reading's not my strong point. I always think I'd like to read more, but I'm just not very good at it. The Lord of the Rings may be a predictable book to note as a favourite, but it is simply incredible. I love the Legends of Lone Wolf, warts and all. Chuck Palahniuk's a terrific writer, though I've not kept up with his recent stuff.
It's part of my whole fascination with Croatia, but The Fall of Yugoslavia is my favourite non-fiction book, depressing though it obviously is.
Hobbies? What else do you do for fun/interest? Music mostly. I used to be in a band and I play the piano for a Worcester-based singing group. Performance isn't really my thing though; writing and arranging's what I enjoy more. Inflicting my 'challenging' arrangements on the singing group is fun too. Presently it's 'Alright' by Supergrass, translated into German (not by me, but by a bemused German person) and arranged for four-part choir. The group pretty much hate me.
I recently (and finally!) completed the score to a micro-budget film made locally. Sort of Indiana Jones in the Home Counties. Out on DVD in the shops....never.
>>> Closing Comment <<<
Anything you want to say to the rest of TotS, or anyone? Erm.... BOO!
Nah, this place is amazing, partly because it's a wonderfully put together website, but mostly because of the excellent people here. I feel very fortunate that I did eventually make it onto the site because TotS, the people and the place, has gone on to be something very special to me - I hope everyone can put up with me sticking around.
