Recently, he was kind enough to submit to the torture of being my first interview subject. I’ve learned a lot from Chuck in the past, but he still has things to teach me. As always, he’s the funniest smart guy I know.

What first drew you to Fluther, and what keeps you coming back?

In the beginning I came for the free doughnuts but the great coffee and lurve kept me coming back. Okay, I’ve got the smartass answer out of the way, which is what everyone is going to expect from me. And now for the serious response. The real truth is that I honestly don’t remember initially signing up. All I remember is sometime in Spring 2008 looking at all the iPhone web apps on the Apple site and finding different ones of interest, one being for Fluther. When I attempted to sign up I was told that there was already someone with the account name AstroChuck. I thought, ‘How odd.’  I decided to try and log in using the password I knew I would have used and discovered that I had created that account a couple months earlier. I have no memory of creating the account but ever since my “rediscovery” I haven’t missed a day on Fluther.  I suppose both the sense of community and quality of its members have kept me coming back. Basically, Fluther feels like home.

What is the best experience you have had on Fluther? What has it been like watching Fluther grow up?

Making friends and the feeling of community has been the best experience I’ve had here. (Also, great pancakes!) As to the second part of the question, I’d rather know what it’s been like for the collective watching me grow up. (Which is something I still haven’t managed to do.)

What, if any, is your favorite Fluther question?

I don’t know which one I would call my favorite (possibly whatthefluther’s marriage proposal to sccrowell. How can you beat that?) but I think the most fun I’ve had participating in a thread was the one where my head exploded.

Favorite question asked by you?

Hard to say but my first, “How do you visualize the calendar in your mind?” was one of my favorites. I always felt that this was a pretty good question but apparently nobody else thought much of it. I just don’t think many understood it. I suppose not many people have a visual image of the year. I tend to apply visual imagery to non-material things. Anyway, I still think it was a good question. And although it’s not really a question, I have to include this one as I believe it still has the most responses on any thread on Fluther: The Song Title Game.

Were you always the class clown?

Not really. I was the kid who found things funny that others didn’t. I ran with a small, strange group of friends who shared my sense of humor, or at least enjoyed mine. I did get in trouble a lot for talking in class though.

Do you feel like people have come to expect a certain style of answer from AstroChuck?

I think most people expect I’m going to be a wise-ass with every answer I give and I suppose that’s because I usually am. Every now and then I like to pull the rug out from under everyone and give a serious response. Also I tend to give short answers. That’s mostly because 99% of my time on Fluther is spent using my iPhone. I’m pretty lazy and hitting that little keyboard is a lot of effort for such a lazy ass.

When and why do you choose to be funny rather than serious and vice versa? How do you make the choice?

I don’t know. If something pops in my head I’ll usually post it. Usually it’s some quip. Then there are those rare times when I actually can be of service and provide help. Also there are a few topics I am passionate about, such as adoption, civil rights, vegetarianism, politics, and making shrunken heads.

We know you are 6 years old in the Flutherverse, but how old are you really?

Well, let’s see. I was born in 1961 so that means this December I’ll be turning, uh, six!

Tell us a little about your family life.

I’m married to Parrothead (aka Becky). She’s not on here often but she pops in from time to time. She is also known as Saint Rebecca as she has been putting up with yours truly for over 22 years. We have a wonderfully funny nine year-old daughter named Halle who will be turning 18 (or so she thinks) in January. I also have two beautiful daughters who’ve made the mistake of growing up, getting married, and moving away, one of them 3,000 miles away. That last one, Valerie, has provided us with 7 grandkids (two sets of twins in there) while Maren has been content with just the two. In addition to our family we have 3 indoor cats, a parrot, and a farting dog named Juno. She’s our most recent addition. When she’s around it smells like a bunch of farts got into a fight.

You have grown children, grandchildren, and a younger child… Has your parenting style changed over the years?

Yeah. I’ve learned to be patient. I no longer feel I need to lock my kids in the crawl space.

Has it gotten harder or easier to raise children these days? Is it any different at all?

I don’t know if it’s gotten any harder or not. Each kid has been different. I think if I had had boys it would probably have been easier. With three boys you only have to worry about three penises. With girls you have to worry about all of them.

You’re Fluther’s favorite mailman, and we want the nitty-gritty. How many dogs have you been bitten by?

Three: a boxer, a pitbull, and a medium-sized black mixed mutt. That last one got me in the thigh pretty good. The pitbull was the scariest though. I’m in my 25th year of carrying mail and I’ve only gotten the three bites. I’ve been pretty lucky.

Tell us about your decision to become vegetarian. Was there a critical moment, or did it come on slowly?

I happen to be an animal lover and felt for a long time that I had been compromising my principles by eating them. I’d always wanted to give up meat but the problem was I never really cared for vegetables. At one point I just felt it was time to stop thinking about doing it and just do it. That was in June 1990 and I’ve never gone back. And the good news is that I like vegetables now. Especially dipped in batter and deep-fried!

Outside of Fluther, what is your favorite pastime?

It’s between baseball and pornography. Hmm. Baseball. No, pornography. Nah. I’m gonna go with baseball. And food.

Do you play any instruments? What type of music do you most enjoy?

I do play the guitar, just not very well. I also goof around with drums but I just don’t have the motivation to really learn them. I mentioned earlier that I was lazy, remember? I have pretty eclectic tastes. Beatles, Jimmy Cliff, and Alan Parsons are my favorites but I’m all over the board. I listen to reggae, rock, alternative, r&b, punk, opera, classical, Hawaiian, some hip-hop, and so on. Just no chamber. I loathe chamber music and most country.

What was the last great book you read? What made it great?

I’m reading “Physics Of The Impossible” by Michio Kaku and it’s pretty good. “The Mother Tongue” by Bill Bryson was the last book that I couldn’t put down, though. I love language and I love Bill Bryson (both platonically, of course). Put the two together and it has to be great.

If you could live anywhere in the world, and money was not an issue, where would you want to live?

Being as I’m an only child and my aging parents rely on me I’d have to say I’ll stay put here in Sacramento. But if I had no connections here and money was really not an issue I’d move to the Hawaii Kai neighborhood on Oahu. But I’d still miss NorCal.

If you could give us one piece of advice, what would it be?

Okay, I’m going to be serious here. ALWAYS BE HONEST. It’s the way I was raised and it’s the way I’ve raised my kids. There aren’t many things more important than to have the trust of those you love. Also, don’t take the brown acid.

What question were you hoping we’d ask, but didn’t? Will you answer it now?

Q: Is it true one should avert one’s eyes and kowtow when you approach? A: Although it’s not necessary it is always appreciated. Remember, I may be a god, but I’m not the God. A simple hello will usually be met with a kind word.

Thanks so much for being my first, Chuck! Interview, people… my first interview. Sheesh. Get your minds out of the gutter. ~

Thanks also to Dr_C, andrew, SuperMouse, gailcalled, janbb, breedmitch, jonsblond, petethepothead and everyone else who contributed questions!

The next Fluther interviewee is the charming six year old mailman - AstroChuck

Please have your questions submitted by a week - 25th October, 2009.

He has played an integral role in Fluther for almost two years now. As an ex-community manager and moderator, he has put in countless hours into helping maintain the Jelly community. As a 19 year old computer genius, he has been interviewed several times for his popular projects, including Cursebird. It’s safe to say that we are very proud to have him as part of our community and this interview sheds some more light into his personal and professional life.

How did you find Fluther and what made you stay?

This really frustrates me because I have absolutely no idea. I don’t remember how I found Fluther at all. I think the conversation I had with Andrew and Ben in the chatroom was what made me stay. They were really honest about their ambitions for the site and how they felt about everything, and I thought it was pretty charming. I wanted to stick around to see how things grew. It turns out very well.

The Fluther women need to know. Are you seeing someone?

I thought me and you were an item?

You are known on fluther for your accent. Is there a particular accent that you really fancy?

Lily Allen.

What field in computers are you involved in? English, please.

I run a small company called Fantastic that recently became a partnership between me and someone else. We hire out to another developer on a project-by-project basis. Basically, we make things on the computer. Mostly websites, and more recently we’ve been working on an iPhone app for a client. These things on the computer are either useful or entertaining, sometimes both, and we make them either for ourselves and for other people. The latter is where the money comes from. Our most fun client so far has been Infinity Ward, the company behind the video game Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare.

What drives you to be so ambitious at an age when many others are so unmotivated?

I want to earn money and to do fun things in the process. That’s it really. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being either motivated or unmotivated, you can have a great lifestyle either way. I’ve decided what I want though, and I have a lot of ideas about how to get there and interesting things to do along the way. I’m so determined because I have a feel for how fun and interesting it can be.

When is Salt in Your Popcorn coming back?

For those unfamiliar, Salt was a “Last.fm for movies” I was working on early last year. In answer to the question, it died. I’m really sorry. We ran out of juice, and man time. I became too busy with other projects to give it the attention it deserved, and Austin (the guy I was working with) went to study some advanced maths course at Oxford. We simply didn’t have the ability to get it done. I’m working on other things, but I think about Salt a lot. It’s my baby, and it’ll happen one day. Watch this space.

Your podcast, “The Tea Talk” with Joe Ribbons, is no longer available on iTunes. If you are still doing it, where would we find it, and if not, any plans to do another podcast in the future?

Ha, we ran out of things to talk about. Maybe there’ll be some variety of podcast-type thing involving me again. More likely to be one involving Joe, though.  Follow him on twitter.

What projects are you currently involved in? And how can the jellyfish keep updated with your projects?

Follow me on Twitter. Be sure to introduce yourself.

Do you have any advice for other aspiring web developers since you have been so successful at it at such a young age?

It’s obvious when you think about it, but people know lots of developers and designers. Don’t just be a developer or designer. Make a niche for yourself. I built Cursebird, a real-time feed of people swearing on Twitter. It cropped up in Wired magazine, landed me an interview, being mentioned on the Twitter blog, and many other things. As a result, I’m a “real-time feed of things happening on Twitter” specialist. It’s what I do. It’s not all I do, but it’s certainly got my name out there. I get an email every day from someone asking something Twitter Search related, and a good portion of them are requests to discuss an idea they’ve had. We cherry pick the most interesting ones and see if there’s a deal in there somewhere. We’re working on a lot of things right now. Part of the success of Cursebird was luck, but if that hadn’t worked out I would have moved onto something else to try and get attention. The best businesses are novel and interesting, and they don’t just do what everyone else is doing. Designers and developers often fail to think of themselves as businesses that need selling points.

What has your experience been “working” for Bendrew?

Didn’t you see the article exposing the scandal?

Moderators live in dormitories on the site, 100 to a room, arriving with a few possessions and a bucket to wash their clothes. “The job here is so-so,” one moderator said. “We have to work too hard and I am always tired. It’s like being in the army. They make us stand still for hours. If we move we are punished by being made to stand still for longer. “We have to work overtime if we are told to and can only go back to the dormitories when our boss gives us permission. If they ask for overtime we must do it.”

Do you miss community management?

Community management was fun, and interesting. I wanted to get behind a reasonably sized community website to get some experience with that sort of thing. I’m glad I got involved. I do miss it sometimes, but I’m so busy now. I put in a year and a few months; I think that’s a good stretch.

Would you like to give any advice to the jellies as an ex-moderator?

The moderators aren’t out to get you. If lots of your stuff gets moderated, it’s because you suck.

You were in USA recently for the first time, what was your impression?

It was great. I’ve fallen in love with Andrew’s cat. Hollywood is crazy.

How cute is Andrew’s cat?

Not cute at all. Basil is a great cat that I like a lot, but he’s also a dick. He’ll bat you with his claws for fun.

What is your favorite life lesson?

More a business lesson than a life lesson. Don’t announce your products or features ahead of time. This is something I’m so guilty of to date, and am in the process of changing. So many things I’ve started have been aborted early on (or even mid-way on). It’s so important that you keep yourself flexible to kill — or shelve, to use a nicer word — ideas when better things come up. When people get excited, it makes it hard to say “we could be doing something better right now”. Remain agile.

Is there an annoyingly American slant to Fluther from a non-U.S. user point of view?

There’s an American slant, I don’t think it’s an annoying one.

You will be moving into your own place soon. Is there an update on that? Are you still planning to get a cat to move in with you?

I will. I’m moving into Leeds city, which should be fun. I know a lot of people there and it’s a fun place to be. I considered moving out to the States through one of my clients, but I don’t think I want to entertain that idea just yet. Plus it would make working sorta hard, because the hours wouldn’t sync up with the UK very well. Plus I love my friends here. The time isn’t right yet. We’ll see about the kitty.

Do you play any instruments? What type of music are you interested in?

Instruments? Nope. I played piano way back, and then I played guitar for a while. For some reason I just can’t get together the patience to learn an instrument. The music I’m most interested in is DJ-set type stuff, and electronica. Remixes. If I had to pick a favourite artist of all time, I wouldn’t be able to choose between Air and Justice.

What song is most often stuck in your head?

“Get a Move On” by Mr. Scruff has been stuck in my head recently. It changes all the time. Oh, and that stupid Mama Do song by Pixie Lott.

Are you still a Lily Allen fan?

The attached photo is just for you. You can use it as the article photo if you want.

What is one country you really want to visit or revisit?

Canada was amazing. I visited after I missed a flight home from LA. I want to visit New Zealand. Japan, simply because it’s so different. I pretty much want to visit everywhere.

Boxers, briefs, or commando?

Boxers. I wear Aussie Bums, or Red Torpedo. Comfy stuff. I hate going commando, with it slapping around and everything.

It was a running joke on Fluther that you would mod at the expense of sleep. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

Anywhere between none and twenty. I do an all nighter probably once or twice a week, either due to working all day and then going out all night, or working all night and then going out all day. Or working all day and night. Feel free to take bets on how long it’ll be before I burn out.

What question did you want to be asked? Will you answer it now?

It was with a friend’s step sister, and it wasn’t that great.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

Congratulations to eambos, eponymoushipstr, shrubbery, whatthefluther, Marina and everyone else for contributing questions!

Since the whole point of Fluther interviews is to let the community learn more about one of their very own, it makes sense for you to have a more active role in the process. Use the comments section below to play interviewer and suggest questions that you would like to see asked in the next Fluther interview. Since we are trying this for the first time, we will be incorporating only a few questions into the interview so please don’t be offended if yours isn’t one of them! The questions selected will be based on creativity and how well they relate to the interviewee.

The next Fluther interviewee is our favorite British ex-Fluther community manager (see what I did there) richardhenry.

Please have your questions submitted by 11th September, 2009. Ready set go.

Have you two done a lot of traveling? If so, which are your favorite destinations?

Gary: over the years, I have done quite a bit, mostly within the United States visiting National Parks and Monuments and attending automobile and motorcycle races. I have made multiple visits to Canada to go salmon fishing and Mexico to motorcycle, fish, eat, drink and party. I have many tequila and cerveza clouded memories from Cabo San Lucas. I went on two cruises post-diagnosis cruising the west coast of Canada up into Alaska as well as Greece, Turkey and several of the Mediterranean Islands including Rhodes, which was home to my Dad’s family for many generations.

Sherry: My traveling has been restricted to the United States. My longest trip was about five weeks across the country competing in several professional rodeos in the barrel racing event. I did well enough to cover all my expenses including a rather steep veterinarian bill, and still brought home quite a few dollars and a trophy saddle!

Sherry - What are some of your favorite past times?

I love to read and Gary just bought me the coolest Kindle 2 which I absolutely love. I also enjoy spending time playing with our four year old adorable puppies and tending to my avocado orchard and prize roses. I love to bring beautiful scenes to life by stained glass painting them on windows and mirrors. Unfortunately, we don’t see my mother, daughters and grandchildren often enough due to distance.

Are there any users you have grown really close to or look up to?

Past interviewees probably wisely avoided answering this question for fear of excluding someone, but we’ll give it a shot, although it will be a long list. The first jelly that stood out and impressed us with his honesty and humor was johnpowell, who was obviously well respected by everyone. Gailcalled also stood out: worldy, very bright and patiently helpful…she was the first jelly we both grew close to with many PMs back and forth. We continue to be in awe of Kevbo’s handling of the topics of depression and suicide and believe he has had a huge impact on the lives of flutherites who reached out for help, as has, of course, our chief of medicine, shilolo. Then there’s the archetypical flutherers, Marina, cwilbur, and of course Harp, who regularly post clear and concise responses and could teach classes on the subject. There are quite a few newer flutherites that have impressed us in this same regard including dalepetrie, Darwin, and jeruba. Lefteh is wise well beyond his young age and we have seen some rather impressive younger kids recently. We are always on the lookout for posts by you - PnL, PupnTaco (dave), and of course, Dog, all of whom we consider friends. The jellies that really keep us in stitches include Astrochuck, peedub, jonsblondejon, eponymoushipster and for completely off-the-wall humor, psyla leads the way.

Sherry’s fluther friends include richardhenry, robmandu, mcbealer and knotmyday, whose recent absence has her a bit worried. I felt an immediate connection with wildflower halfway around the world and SuperMouse, a transplanted Southern California girl, halfway across the country and I swear I lived a parallel life with scamp but on different sides of the country. I have grown close to a couple of very remarkable women, augustlan and cak and lurve them both. I once got in a huge difference of opinion with uberbatman who handled himself with dignity and class and who I now count among my closest friends on fluther. There are many, many more. We’d also like to acknowledge the fine job all the moderators do and as for Bendrew, we are very grateful they have chosen to share their home with us and always make us feel comfortable here.

Have you had any correspondence with Jellies outside of the site?

I have had correspondence with a few flutherers outside of fluther and have a somewhat humorous story to share that involved one of them….
One evening, a couple of months ago, Sherry was visiting with a couple of friends in the living room while I was holed up in another room. Feeling rather lonely, I sent a text message to Sherry suggesting she end her visit and join me for some conversation, or some such activity. I received a positive response and sure enough, shortly thereafter I heard her guests leave and Sherry joined me. However, it quickly became apparent that we were not quite on the same page so I asked her if she had read and understood my text message before responding. Imagine my surprise when she advised she sent nothing and furthermore, she received no text from me. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and discovered my errant fingers had accidentally sent my text to Peedub with whom I had had several eBay transactions (eBay seller id vintage_nonstop, web address vintage-nonstop.com, marvelous vintage clothing and accessories at very fair prices). Thank goodness it was Peedub, who as fellow flutherers know, has a wonderful sense of humor. Actually, make that a rather bizarre sense of humor in as much as he responded affirmatively to my text message and has maintained the conversation in his iPhone to this day. He was kind enough to provide the following screen shot (mildly NSFW).

You’ve got to love Peedub!!! I know, we do!!!

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do with the money?

We are extremely comfortable, so most would go to fight hunger, help underprivileged kids, provide education opportunities, and of course the ALS Foundation.

Gary – you mentioned on a thread that you are an ex-smoker. What motivated you to quit? How long have you been smoke-free?

Actually, I quit cigarettes some time ago and stayed smoke free from tobacco for awhile but then took up smoking imported cigarillos which I don’t inhale but are certainly not healthy.

What are other websites that you two frequent besides Fluther?

Gary: For me, they fit two categories: sites where I spend money such as amazon and eBay and sites where I pay my bills.

Sherry: Since my computer recently crashed (due to operator error), my on-line experience is limited to apple.com for apps and Microsoft.com for XP Support on my iPhone.

If you had to describe each other in a sentence (or two), what would you say?

Gary: Sherry is beautiful and sexy, exciting and inspirational, very bright and funny as hell, lovable and loving; remarkably strong and patient, a very caring and understanding woman. She is my angel and I’m a very, very lucky guy.

Sherry: Well, Gary tends to be wordy but he is sincere, smart gorgeous and very funny and I love him with all my heart.

Would you like to say something to the Fluther community?

Thank you for making us feel welcome from the start and for being such great friends. We appreciate and respect the time and effort that Bendrew, the moderators and each and every one of you put into making this such a remarkable site. We hope we have, in some small way, made a positive contribution to this fine community. Thank you all for making us think and making us laugh. You have enriched our lives…we lurve you all.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

At first, it might seem unfair to devote only one interview to both these amazing people.  Surely such interesting and charismatic people deserve their own interviews? However on Fluther, it is hard to think of one without thinking of the other.  This is the first part of a two part interview with the couple.

How did you two find Fluther and what made you stay?

Sherry: I had just purchased our iPhones and the sales associate showed me some apps, including fluther. As soon as I had it downloaded, I asked a question about the worlds longest bridges and was hooked.

Gary: Sherry was so excited, I just had to check it out. One question about bungee-jumping and parachuting grabbed me (I had done both) so I thought, wtf, I’ll join and offer my 2 cents. Since then I’ve put in many bucks worth of change.

How did you meet?

Gary: Sherry’s younger brother was an acquaintance of my late wife and he introduced Sherry to both of us. We all quickly became good friends and before long Sherry became my wife’s best friend. My marriage ended in tragedy when my still relatively newlywed bride, committed suicide. I had already been diagnosed with ALS when we met and I believed she had the strength to see me through my illness, but I misread her. Following her death I put my fate in the hands of a then dear friend who betrayed me in a yet to be explained heartless fashion which I rightly or wrongly attributed to my worsening condition.

With two “innocent” victims, I vowed to myself that I would not allow my condition to take anyone else out with me. But, I needed assistance. Sherry, at the time was in a less than desirable relationship, offered her assistance and moved into my home to care for me. That was the beginning of the beginning and neither one of us had the power to stop what would happen. Sherry was already a good friend and very attractive and I was and am simply irresistible.

Gary – Your Fluther interests list Native American jewelry and collecting bronze sculptures. When did this interest start? Do you have a large collection?

Actually, I collect quite a few things. When I “retired” from my job due to my health condition, I became a reluctant homebody. I redirected my energy and passion to collecting which I found both interesting and challenging. I discovered and fell in love with Native American silver jewelry, which is actually very wearable art. I own many pieces by most of the well-known contemporary artisans as well as many wonderful vintage pieces. It’s an impressive collection. As for the bronze figurines/statues, I count well over a dozen just in my playroom and this count pales in comparison to that in the rest of the house. Actually, our house is overfilled and I’ve had to become very selective. We do have a rather interesting piece of yard art well known in our neighborhood. It’s a ten foot tall knight in shining armor standing guard in front of our house…we call him Elmo and I believe the neighbors think we are eccentric (or, crazy…it does, however, provide a recognizable landmark when giving directions).

Sherry – You asked Fluther about meeting Fall out Boy when you won tickets. How was the experience? What questions did you end up asking them?

As you may have recently learned, I am often times late. Well, we ran late, missed the “meet & greet.” but we did catch the entire performance which was excellent.

You two seem to be big music fans. What are your top three favorite bands?

We are huge music fans and for a time we were attending three concerts a month (living in Los Angeles has its rewards). It’s difficult to write a short list, but our mutual favorites are The Killers, The Fray and Coldplay. Sherry also loves Green Day, Linkin Park and James Blunt. Gary loves R.E.M., Depeche Mode and Ryan Adams among hundreds more.

Is there a concert you haven’t seen yet that you really want to see?

We’ve actually had tickets to see The Cure, Radiohead and Linkin Park but did not attend due to illness. We hope to still catch them some day. We’re also looking forward to seeing Death Cab for Cutie perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl with Canadian indie supergroup - The New Pornographers opening the show. We’ll also soon be seeing Third Eye Blind and will be joining them for a pre-show dinner buffet unless of course Sherry makes us late again.

Gary – When did you get diagnosed with ALS? Can you tell us a little about the disease? Also, would you consider using a brain-machine interface like Stephen Hawking?

I was diagnosed with ALS in 2000. Most people are familiar with the classic form of ALS like that which struck Lou Gehrig where symptoms manifest quickly with paralysis and death occurring within two years. It is a neurodegenerative disease (within the MDA umbrella so I could be one of Jerry’s poster boys one day!) caused by the failure of nerves that control voluntary muscle movement resulting in muscle weakness and atrophy and ultimately paralysis. As it spreads, the muscles for breathing and swallowing weaken and respiratory failure is usually the cause of death. I have familial (genetic) ALS and in fact have a very rare genetic mutation, that was simultaneously discovered in me and one other patient halfway around the world. As I’ve mentioned previously here on Fluther, this type of ALS would put me (as it has Professor Stephen Hawking), in the 5% of ALS patients to survive ten or more years. I am approaching that goal, though my grandmother, the only other known victim in the family, survived only eight years. But, I was in much better physical condition at onset and pushed my body, to stay as mobile as possible for as long as I could.

But of course it’s a losing battle. I’m barely mobile now and although I don’t yet require ventilation support, my breathing has been affected and is becoming more difficult. (Aside: I believe this is the fourth time in Fluther history that the names wtf and Stephen Hawking have been mentioned together…I am so not worthy).

Sherry – How do you deal with Gary’s ALS? Where do you find the strength to see someone you love so much be in pain? I think most of us are incredibly in awe of you since it takes great character to stick by someone when things get tough. Do you have any advice for any Flutherites that might be dealing with relatives that have fatal diseases?

Actually, it is very difficult, but really doesn’t compare to the pain, frustration, and challenge Gary faces each and every day. He still nearly always wears a smile and I admire his positive attitude but I realize he often hides his pain from me. He is quite a remarkable man and I love him very much, and as they say, love can transcend anything. I feel blessed to have him in my life and am grateful for every minute I get to share with him. I know I will lose him before too long but just refuse to dwell on that.

Gary – Have you had to undergo any major lifestyle changes yet?

Unfortunately tons of them…I had been extremely active. Here’s some things I formerly enjoyed and took for granted but can no longer do: whitewater river rafting, skydiving, motorcycling, driving an automobile, running, walking, standing in one place, at 6’ 2”, hovering over most people in a crowd (now in a wheelchair at 4’ whatever”), hugging Sherry tight and taking her feet off the ground, doing darn near anything with my right hand/arm (with the left getting progressively worse), opening a bottle of wine (hell…opening anything including a door knob), inserting and turning a key, being able to write legibly, being able to type with more than one finger, being able to help clean the house and work in the garden, an incredibly challenging and rewarding career, to name just a few.

Sherry – Not many people know that you were attacked by a dog and had to deal with many surgeries following the incident. Will you tell us what happened?

After swimming one afternoon, my Mom’s boyfriend, Mel, took me back to my apartment. After about 15 minutes I noticed my neighbor’s German shepherd beneath my dining room table. Neither Mel nor I thought much about the dog. I was sitting on the floor across from Mel, when out of nowhere and for no reasons (that I know of) I was attacked from behind. What I can remember is seeing the room spinning around. The dog had my head in his massive mouth and was flinging me around like a rag doll. I vaguely remember hearing yells and seeing what looked like a red & white loveseat. Then I could no longer see anything but could hear my mother’s screams. I don’t remember crying or screaming out, yet, I’m told I cried out for her to help me. I was later told that Mel stabbed the dog seven times but that it still took about 14 minutes before the dog finally released me.

Next thing I remembered was being tossed into the backseat of the car. It was a blessing we lived less than a mile from the hospital. I don’t remember anything after that, until I was screaming and tearing at something that was on my head. I didn’t know what it was only that it was hurting me. I thought it was the dog, but, it wasn’t. It was the football size bandages on my head. The doctors had kept me heavily sedated for nearly three weeks before they decided to lessen my medication. My Mom told me that I was kept restrained the entire three weeks. I was six years old when I was attacked. I had six major reconstructive surgeries and 11 hair transplants with over 247,000 sutures, total. My last surgery was at 16 years of age, ten full years after the attack.

Gary: Even with Sherry pointing out barely perceptible scars, you would never know by looking at her that she was so viciously attacked and torn apart. She is not merely beautiful…she is gorgeous beyond belief.

Gary – Like your Fluther profile says, you recently took a 7 month hiatus to do certain physical projects before it gets harder. Will you fill us in on what you have been up to?

My computer crashing was the initial reason and I have a little trouble typing on my iPhone. I took my time replacing my computer and among a few other things, completely rearranged my “playroom” which is now outfitted with a mini-fridge, microwave and toaster oven, a Keurig (k-cup) coffee maker and the best audio system I’ve ever had in my life (@sndfreq would give a thumbs up, I believe).

How is wedding planning coming along? Will it be a traditional wedding (with a bride’s gown) or something a little more informal?

It will be an informal civil ceremony on June 19th. The virtual ceremony and reception however are in epic proportions and fit for a king and queen. We’re blessed with many magnificent Fluther friends.

If you could give one advice (each) to us, what would it be?

Gary: Don’t take anything for granted and never stop counting your blessings.

Sherry: Always carry a spare pair of Leggs pantyhouse in your car. The racing brothers Rick and Roger Mears told me that one. The pantyhouse will actually work very well as a short term emergency replacement for any of your engine belts. I know from experience it works…a pair actually saved my ass once.

Watch out for Part 2 of the Interview on the wedding day itself.

Here is the much awaited interview with this 10K member.

You recently moved to Portland, how are you settling in?

I’m good. We have a nice house and most of my friends live up here. I was alone in a RV for a year, can anything be worse than that? I am happy.

What are some of your personal hobbies/activities? What are some things you are trying to learn right now?

I like writing code. I have a few web based projects I am working on. So being a nerd and skateboarding are what I do. And I help take care of my sister’s kids while she is in school. I’m simple. Oh, I’m building a workshop for woodworking now. I’m trying to get the electrical stuff right first.

Are you going back to college? What for?

I start in a few days. I am going to school to be a mechanic. I like fixing stuff and people will always have cars. I have a degree in Econ but I hate working in that area. Mechanics can live a nice life.

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do with the money? Also, would you change from Pabst to more expensive beer?

I like PBR. If I had unlimited funds I would try to make sure that the entire world had clean water, a good education, healthcare, and food. It is sad that so many go without the basics. I consider PBR a basic.

How did you discover Fluther and what made you stay?

A thread on metafilter. I will leave it at that. I stayed because I loved the design and my question about a softcore porn show was answered in minutes. Yes, my first question was about a porn show on HBO in the early 90’s.

What is one improvement you would like to see in Fluther?

A real chat room would be nice. Or at least a place where we could complain without cluttering up the front page.

Are there any users you look up to or enjoy hearing from the most?

Kevbo. He is a good combo of wise and won’t kill you. But there are tons of other people. It would be hard to list all of them.

What is the story behind wanting to punch people in the dick?

Ha. That was the stopping smoking thing. I quit and was on edge. It was bad. I had heard a song on music.metafilter.com and I said that I will punch you in the dick if you start smoking. I still will.

What was your proudest moment on Fluther?

I was happy with the PBR question. The one on April Fools day last year.

What are the other websites you frequent besides Fluther?

PopUrls and metafilter.com are my main time-drains.

What is your favorite genre of music? Do you have any favorite songs or artists?

I like punk and hip-hop. Sage Francis is my recent ear pleaser. He is amazing. It is smart hip-hop.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

I will probably figure out Twitter by then.

Do you play any instruments?

The trumpet. But I suck at it. My buddy Travis taught me how to play the A-Team theme song. That is about all I can do.

What is/are some TV shows you are embarrassed to admit that you watch?

Big Brother UK is my guilty pleasure. I just love the accents.

What countries have you been to?

Most of Europe and North America. I went to Iceland too.

What is the one country you really want to visit or revisit?

New Zealand is next on the list. Maybe this summer.

If you had to choose between only one of the two for the rest of your life: burrito or beer, which would it be?

This is getting hard. You know my weaknesses. I pick beer. Pizza is good too.

Do you have any pets?

I have a cat named “Random”. And I have some goldfish in a 15″H tank. Random is an all black female cat that just showed up. She looked bad and I gave her food. She never left. And I love her.
Our duck was killed by a raccoon

What color jelly fish would you be?

My favorite color is green.

What’s your favorite life lesson or quote?

This might sound stupid. But I try to make sure my conflicts are cleared up before I fall asleep.

Is there something you would like to say to the Fluther community?

I would start with a “thank you”. I have enjoyed my time here.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

We talk about her connection to Fluther while she also reveals the lessons she learned over time that have made her the influential woman she is today.

You have been with Fluther pretty much since its conception. What are your observations on how it has grown and has it surpassed your expectations?

When Ben invited me to join in December of 2006, I didn’t even know what “beta” meant. Initially the collective was more homogeneous and consisted of family, friends, and many graduates of that school in Providence. The questions suited me, flutherers were more tentative about the riskier issues (sex, drugs and rock and roll), and the spammers and the really young hadn’t discovered the site.

Clearly, the demographics have changed. As Fluther has gotten more good publicity, it has attracted a larger and more diverse gang. I like a lot of them, I am bored by some, I am too old and out-of-it for other questions, and I do more picking and choosing. Each time a new wave rolls in, old issues bob to the surface and new ones sink like a stone. On balance, for me, I have hung around out of family loyalty, my position as grande dame, and my fascination with many cultures and sub-cultures about which I know either very little or nothing. Ben and Andrew have been taking Fluther, step by step, in directions that I approve of. Had I been asked before to predict what they were, I would have been speechless - a surprising position, for me, I am sure some of you are thinking.

Can Fluther force newcomers to read the guidelines? I suppose not. I wish some people would keep the general topic in the lead question.

I wish also that my brother, who died in 1999 (Ben’s father) could have seen Fluther. He would have been very pleased, but not surprised.

When did you learn to use the computer? Also, how and why? Any tips for some of the more senior jellies who have trouble learning how to use it?

I had a really bad patch in my life starting in 1996: a personal tragedy, a broken right wrist, breast cancer and a divorce. Both my psychiatrist and my daughter thought that I would love the computer. I protested violently but to no avail. To be a good sport, I took a three-evening course at the local high school on PCs. To my astonishment, I found that I was having fun. Being able to play Solitaire and type a recipe for muffins - bliss.

So, during an Xmas holiday, my daughter made several mysterious phone calls to an online Apple store. She then returned to Providence. (Where else?) Soon FedEx delivered many large and heavy boxes to my door. The manual that came with that odd blueberry eMac said, “Hi, Open, Plug in, Turn on and Have fun.”

Luckily I had a smart 17-year-old who worked for me as a gardener and dogsbody. He and his father set everything up, including moving the phone. (Dial-up in those days, folks.) For the next year, he gave me a 30-minute lesson whenever he was here. Gradually, as I did with calculus, I caught on.

Coincidentally, a college classmate started a list-serv in 1997. About 120 of us joined; we were all well-educated, well-trained, and well-informed women, but the land of the computer was uncharted territory. We learned together, in addition to becoming reacquainted and re-connected. I heard the word “Google” there for the first time.

I know that a lot of seniors are terrified conceptually about being computer-literate. A patient teacher and some personal enthusiasm is all that is necessary. [Ed. Precisely why we started Fluther.]

But I can speak only for myself. If my daughter hadn’t badgered me, who knows? I might still be using a quill and parchment. And I can touch-type and write fairly facilely.

What are the other websites you frequent besides Fluther?

I read the New York Times, Slate and some financial pages online. Since I finally ditched the dial-up, I have listened to some YouTube but am bored with it now.

Which Fluther users do you wait to hear from the most, if any?

I love too many folks here to list them. I am sure to forget some. I adore my cat wranglers, my language mavens, my comedians, my patient technical support team, my fourteen-year old Dutch buddy, my autism information forum and Harold.

How many languages do you know? Which is your favorite? Do you have any study tips for those trying to learn a language right now?

I am pretty comfortable with English and French, know some Spanish and Latin and tried to teach myself classical Greek during the exhausting days of radiation and chemo. It was not a success. I have always been an autodidact in areas that interest me. And I loved learning and studying, critical thinking and literary exegesis. I cannot change a tire, sing on-key, repair an engine, unclog a drain, learn htlm, draw anything recognizable other than a pear, play the banjo, build a dry-wall or whistle sharply for a cab, using thumb and first finger. We all learn best when we study what we love. How we decide what that is, I can’t say. With me, it was innate and obvious. The dictionary has always been my friend, too.

What is your favorite genre of music? Any favorite songs/artists?

Classical, by and large - too many to list.

Do you play any instruments?

The piano, since I was six. I read music well and have good small-motor skills. If the music falls off the stand, I am stuck.

As someone who sounds very knowledgeable, it is not age alone that is responsible for this. You sound very experienced and seem to have held many jobs. Will you name some of these and perhaps mention which was your favorite and what you learned from it?

I graduated with a BA in Astronomy (an odd little degree) a year after the Russians had launched Sputnik. Thus, the US government was pouring money into Astronomical research. I had done my thesis with photographic plates at the Harvard Observatory and lived near-by. So I walked over and got hired. Was that fun; week-end square dances in the rotunda.

Five years later I moved to NYC. The public schools were about to have a serious teacher strike so I put my son, then 8, into a private school. I got to know the headmaster and after a year, he asked me whether I would teach French. Having had no experience or training, I said, “Yes.”

Then, reader, I married the headmaster and we moved to Philadelphia where he ran a Friends’ school. My headmaster needed someone to run the College Placement program. Having had no experience or training, I said, “Yes.”

I learned to take the leap of faith.

As a language enthusiast, this might be hard to answer for you, but could you name some of your favorite books and authors?

I started to read early and have never stopped. Two novels that I still am stunned by and reread are Ulysses, by James Joyce and Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. I have been revisiting Shakespeare also and understand his works much better than I did at 17. Samples; The Tempest, Hamlet, King Lear. I read a lot of poetry - Yeats, Frost, Auden, Donne, Mary Oliver, Donald Hall, Jane Kenyon, Billy Collins, for example.

One goes through various stages in life, from innocence, to strong ambition, to wanting to settle down and then retiring etc. If you could stay at one of these stages for the rest of your life, which one would it be?

I can’t do that since I am a palimpsest of my various experiences. I loved the variety; a career in the physical sciences, one in language, one in psychology (and the hand-made quilts I made and sold after I retired - so the arts also.)

Has your avatar always been the same? Will you ever change it? What do the vase of flowers represent to you?

Yes. No. My grandmother’s vase and flowers from my daughter’s garden.

If you had to describe yourself in a sentence (or two), how would you put it?

I’m 71, happy and lucky to still be here, grateful for what brings me joy, and resigned to the sad parts of my life. The most amazing recent event was the arrival of Milo, with whom I have fallen in love. We just celebrated our six-month anniversary. NO ONE sent us cake.

What’s your favorite life lesson or quote?

This varies. For now, “Thanks for this day, for all the birds safe in their nests, for whatever this is, for life.”
Barbara Kingsolver

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

Fluther community co-chair PnL takes her first crack at interviewing in this exposé of the Fluther superstar.

Within: life, music and Hello Kitty…

How did you find Fluther and what made you stay?

I found Fluther a few days after I got my iPhone — I was browsing the webapp site and it came up as a staff pick, so I tried it. I liked the fact that it was a ’social networking’ site, but not a chat site. That it had more of a purpose than just logging in and being there (did I mention I have a strong dislike and fail to see the point of Facebook and Myspace?).

What made me stay was initially the fact that there were so many interesting questions to read through and they kept getting new responses, so I kept reading…then I started posting and well, before you know it, there’s ‘lurve’ points (which do give you that warm fuzzy feeling) and the direct interaction with people which meant I just couldn’t stay away — it’s just too cool!

What was your first question on Fluther?

Oh dear…I will have to admit it (and should probably go in to hiding for a while) — it was an iPhone question! I asked if there was a way to get the ‘full’ Fluther on your iPhone. This was shortly after I’d discovered the regular version of the site.

One of your newer questions mentioned being stressed over some change. How are things now?

Well, the uncertainty is still there, but I’m over the super-paranoia attack…keeping busy keeps me going and that’s not hard at the moment; I have my hands well and truly full at work and in a week’s time I start the second and final year of my college course!

Since you are quite the international traveller, how many languages do you speak?

I speak 3 languages completely (Faroese, Danish and English), but considering how close Icelandic is to Faroese and Norwegian and Swedish are to Danish, I can get by in those too. I know bits and bobs of German, Dutch and Spanish too - enough to get myself in trouble.

Of the ones you mentioned, which is your favorite language and can you say something to the community in it?

For the sensation of speaking it: Faroese (if I knew more Dutch, that would have a similar effect — more of a ‘full’ pronunciation than English or Danish), but for expressing myself verbally; English. It’s funny how Faroese and Danish, although rich languages, just don’t seem to have the same scope for expressing personal feeling, opinions, relations and views on things…it’s almost liberating to speak English. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing.

Góðan morgun, Fluther samfelagið. Sum altíð, glæði eg meg til at síggja hvat er nýtt og áhugavert at læsa og svara uppá í dag. Jú óvanligari, jú betur…

[PnL: anyone want to venture a guess as to what that means?]

When did your Hello Kitty “obsession” start? Can we hold anyone responsible for this?

Hah! It wasn’t actually Hello Kitty per se, it was more of a ‘pink thing’ combined with my slight obsession with Texas. I just find pink to represent the silly and ridiculous (two things I’m *very* fond of!), so as a result of talking a lot of rubbish with a friend of mine, I got this mental image of living in Texas (where you can get concealed handgun licenses), driving a pick-up, wearing boots and carrying a pink iPod, pink phone, pink lipgloss and pink Hello Kitty gun (a la LadySmith) in your handbag…and should you ever get attacked and have to use the gun, you add that bit of justice to it: the attacker would have to admit he was fought off or shot by Hello Kitty!!

Also, I saw an episode of a TV series called Japanorama, where Jonathan Ross goes around Japan exploring all the quirkiness of their culture — this particular episode was the whole “Kawaii” thing. Japanese modern culture scares me in a way, but it’s also strangely appealing.

…so I guess you can blame Texas and Jonathan Ross for it.

What was your favorite moment on Fluther?

The whole ‘The Fluther Story’ was pretty mind blowing — I’m still amazed at that! It was hilarious, unpredictable, nonsensical and brilliant! And, not to mention the fact that Richard Henry managed to edit it so well — so quickly! (not suggesting he doesn’t have a life or anything…)

Also, there were some threads that kept me coming back, again and again, like the What are you listening right now, Which one should I buy and Psyla’s rabbit problems…

Are there any Fluther users you look up to? If so, whom?

Many! For many different reasons! That’s what I love about this site, it’s such a diverse crowd and the discussions are so real and often personal that you get a real sense of people’s strengths and weaknesses — and I’ve come across people on here with some pretty amazing strengths! Whether it’s talent, strength of character, wit…they’re all here!

(yes, I’m deliberately not naming anyone because the list would just be too long — and there’s a danger of forgetting someone!)

What are the other websites you frequent besides Fluther?

Hello Kitty Hell (of course), Engrish.com,
deviantART, flickr, Olivant, JyllandsPosten

There are others, but those I check pretty much daily.

You are known for giving excellent advice, do you have any advice for the less experienced Jellies out there?

Why thank you! I would encourage everyone to feel free to contribute as they wish — respecting guidelines of course. I find the best input/feedback/advice comes from people who speak their mind, regardless of how unusual, unconventional — or unpopular — it may seem. In my opinion it’s the variety, diversity and differences that make Fluther the amazing resource it is.

Oh, and not to take things too personal or seriously — that’s how feelings get hurt and people get stressed!

As a major Bon Jovi fan, what is your favorite song by him? You can only choose one!

Oh no!! You can’t make me choose! I guess I’ll have to go with my ‘first love’ as far as Bon Jovi’s concerned: “You give love a bad name”, but it’s number 31 in my Bon Jovi playlist (which has a run time of 13.5 hours), sorted by play count.

Do you play any instruments yourself?

I blow my own trumpet at times — but otherwise, no. Never had the patience to learn.

Is there a concert you haven’t seen yet and would kill to see?

Many! Scouting for Girls (one of my favorites at the moment), Madonna, The Eagles, Green Day, The Who, KISS, Rolling Stones…although the ultimate would be an ABBA reunion concert!

If you had to describe yourself in one sentence (or two), how would you put it?

I know it kills the originality of it, but I’d steal Cindy Lauper’s album title: “She’s so unusual”

What’s your favorite life lesson or quote?

Life lessons, I’d go with: Accepting people as they are, do not expect them to be what you would like them to be, but appreciate them for what they actually are. And that things change — all the time!

As for quotes, I quite like this one: “The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.”—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist

What color jelly fish would you be?

Turquoise, green or purple or all 3, if possible!

Finally, what is the one question you wish you had been asked and will you answer it now?

Would you like an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco to visit Fluther HQ? Yes!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

[PnL:] As a side note, a special thank you to johnpowell for helping me with all the image formatting for this blog post.

We asked him what his username and avatar were all about and more…

How did you find Fluther?

I saw the New York Times piece, checked it out, signed up and have been coming back every day since.

How much time do you spend on Fluther each week?

Probably about 2–3 hours per day, but I often will leave the screen open and surf around for 5–10 minutes at a time. Its hard to gauge exactly.

What’s the meaning of your username?

I have had many nicknames over time. This was one of my old, high school nicknames that I decided to use as my username.

How did you choose your avatar image?

Well, I have had two avatars. The first was a cute picture of my son. The second (and current avatar) is a picture of me dressed up for my daily work. Since I work with a dangerous bacteria every day, I have to wear protective equipment, just like in the movies.

Have you told anyone you know about Fluther?

I’ve told a few friends and family. Part of me wants to share my experience with everyone, another part wants to keep it quiet so as to maintain my anonymity.

What was your proudest moment on Fluther?

I’d say that I feel a tinge of pride every time that I can really help someone.

What other websites do you regularly visit?

New York Times, BBC, Slate, Pandora, Pubmed, and a large number of science and medicine journals.

If you were a jellyfish, what color jellyfish would you be, and why?

I’m fond of the bioluminescent deep sea jellyfish.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!