Ping! Zine Magazine - Zine Web Tech Magazine

Amy: When you started out and were examining webhosts closely, what were the major factors that influencedyour choice of web host?Eric: I never examined web hosts closely. I’ve just drifted fromone to another as chance has dictated, soaring like a leaf on thewind.Some fluff questions (because an interview can be geekyyet entertaining at the same time):Amy: When I was at Webmaster Jam last year I noted agroupie reaction to you from many webmasters and also onyour site. You seem to have an active and loyal community,all of whom adore and respect you – similar to rock stars onstage having flowers and underwear hurled at them, whenyou are speaking at an event, what type of stuff is thrown atyou? (Laptops, PDAs, notepads)Eric: Questions, if I’ve done my job right. I don’t think I’ve everhad anything tangible thrown at me onstage, not even rottentomatoes—those get saved for the feedback forms. No flowers,no room keys, nothing along those lines. Maybe one of thesedays I’ll do a rock opera based on margin collapsing and see ifthat changes the landscape.Of course, if anyone wants to throw a new top-of-the-line fullydecked out MacBook Pro at me onstage, I’m all for it; just makesure it’s well padded, yeah? I’d hate to have it break on landing.Amy: Was her name really Lola?Eric: I deny everything, including the rumors that I met her in aclub down in old SoHo.[Amy: But just who shot who?]Amy: You once said “In private and around people Iknow really well, I have a tendency to swear to an extentthat would probably shock regular readers”. What is yourfavorite curse word and why?Eric: Well, we have to be clear about what is meant by“favorite”. The most common and satisfying one is the good oldf-bomb and variations thereof, because it releases the mosttension in one syllable, but it isn’t my favorite. My favorites aren’tactual cuss words, but creative substitutes I’ve picked up hereand there. A few examples: “fargin’ bastige”, “son of a biscuit”and “mother pus bucket”. I think my current favorite, though, is“sweet fancy Moses!”.Also, “what the blinking font?” is kind of a favorite, but that’spartly because I came up with it.Amy: Play a game with me. You HAVE to choose one ofthe following… .com or .org?Eric: .org. What can I say? I’m an old-school info-hippie atheart....Amy: Swim with killer sharks or swim with crocodiles?Eric: Sharks. They’re marginally more discouragable [sic] andmight be induced to eat each other instead of me... Xbox or Playstation?Eric: Xbox. Halo. ‘nuff sed....Deserted Island or Japanese Subway?Eric: For a day or three, the island. For the rest of my life, Ithink the subway. Maybe.38 Ping! Zine Magazine...Windows or Linux?Eric: Linux. It would have more overlap with the tools I’m usedto from OS X....IE6 or IE7?Eric: IE7 — because of the better standards support, natch...PHP or HTML?Eric: PHP, because I can use it to generate HTML, so I getboth....Indiana Jones or Batman?Eric: Batman. Cooler gadgets and fewer split lips, plus he’sinsanely wealthy....Go to Church or visit a serial killer?Eric: Kind of depends on the church. In most cases, I’d ratherthe church, but there would be definite exceptions....View source or view porn?Eric: Tough choice, but I think view source. I’d have a higherchance of learning something....Lose your vision or your hands?Eric: I guess I’d lose the hands, since I want to see mychildren as they grow up. Also, there are decent bionic handsbecoming available, whereas artificial vision systems are stillfairly primitive....Give up your computer or your TV?Eric: No contest: give up my TV. Even if that choice meant Iwere also unable to watch TV shows via the computer, I’d stillgive up the TV without hesitation....BestBuy or Home Depot?Eric: Best Buy. They have cooler gadgets....28 children or NONE?Eric: 28 children, assuming I could afford it....Kill a dog or a cat?Eric: Kill a cat. There’d better be a damned good reason for it,though.Amy: Last one (I promise): Finish this sentence: Theinternet is…Eric: …the ultimate zócalo.Amy: Thank you, Eric! You are such a warm and generousperson and we appreciate you taking the time to brighten upour little place in cyberspace!Eric: Thank you, Amy! I had a great time.Amy: Omg me too! Plus I learned some cool newexpressions I can use on ICQ to psyche out my staff like:WTBF you mother pus bucket!For the complete interview, visit Amy’s Blog at:http://blog.lunarpages.com/2007/01/31/eric-meyer-interview-css/Writer’s Bio: Tinkering on her PC in Australia about 7 years ago,Amy met the owners of Lunarpages.com on their forums and likea classic girl to geekness cybertale, she now lives in California,heading up their Business Dev. & Sales & Marketing Dept.Send your questions or comments to writers@pingzine.comP!