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The Q10 (Ten Quick Questions) - "Oink!" Edition
with America’s #1 Pig, PigInZen



Q: You recently were announced as running mate for Josh Frost’s upcoming POTUS campaign. What do you feel you bring to the Frost/PiZ ticket as VP?
A: Josh is a great delegator and director. I have skills in coodination and organization. Honestly, I don't know why we didn't do this combination before. I think that I compliment his leadership style extremely well in that I bring assets to the group that he doesn't necessarily focus on. In addition Josh is more of a get to the problem kind of guy and I like to think in abstract terms. From the outside one might think this could lead to a clash of personality but one thing we do have in common is that we don't take ourselves too seriously.

Q: It is rumored that you were the one to inspire Josh Frost to run again for POTUS. How did you get Josh Frost to agree to run for his third term?
A: Funny you should ask, Hadrian. As many know Josh Frost returned to the game on the same day I did and there was a bit of noise in the press about that. We took a few moments over the next several days to reflect on things and lament on how pissy so many US citizens seemed about the game, the admins, and things in general. We both swore then that we would do something of importance once we got around to thinking about it and then put off thinking about it and then put off thinking about it.

Last week as a joke I shouted "Frost/PiZ for POTUS" when all the people running for president came out of the woodwork. It was noticed by a few but not too many. Then a few days later I was idling in the Libertarian Party channel on IRC (#USLP) and started making some joke slogans with Claire Littleton and HobbitTon (if I remember correctly, forgive me, at my advanced age senility does set in sometimes). I thought some of them were pretty funny and decided to share them in an article.

A few hours after publishing that article I sent a PM to Josh apologizing for causing a ruckus as people were beginning to seriously ask if it was a joke or not. Not wanting to spoil a good lulz I played it off. Josh PMed back with the statement "Just wait. I'll get them going." He then proceeded to publish his article about being "kept out of party primaries." The next day (this is two day's ago) I woke up to this in my inbox from Josh: "!*@$ it do it. Let's have some fun Pig." So in reality I didn't do much. It was Speedcat McNasty who deserves the blame for convincing Josh. I was working with Pfeiffer, Jewitt and Woxan on my end on other exciting things and it all just kinda came together into the campaign you see before you today.

Q: What do you think the greatest challenges are facing the eUS today? And if elected, what do you and Mr. Frost plan to do about them?
A: I think player apathy and the perception that things are rudderless or monotonous is the worst thing affecting us right now. We've discussed this perception between us (Frost and me) and the rest of the gang incessantly and think we have some decent enough ideas to stem the tide. One is reorganizing the damn bureaucracy to bring more outsiders in. Two is encouraging the personal nature of the game and driving the importance of differences. Three is finding creative media methods and ways of entertaining citizens with not just news but a story of the game. People play this game to be entertained, damn it, and the attitude out there is that it's no longer that entertaining.

Q: What do you think was the most important thing you did during your Presidency?
A: You know I'm such a perfectionist that I cannot think that anything I did was of monumental importance. Notoriety, maybe. The obvious answer was taking the USA out of EDEN. This is my legacy, whether I like it or not.

Q: If you could go back and change any one thing during your time as POTUS, what would it be and why?
A: I would change how I approached my dealings with NXNW and the JCS. I was way too forceful and not at all gracious. I remember being insulted and feeling disregarded. That was a lesson in humility I wasn't ready to learn then and it took my stepping away from the game to see how my actions really didn't help the situation. I would change that.

Q: If Josh Frost and Eugene Harlot were to arm wrestle, who do you think would win?
A: Harlot would win without even having to expend physical energy. Much like attacking without initiative he could force Frost's arm down using telekinesis.

Q: Can you please explain what the primary differences between the Five Houses (or “schools”) of Zen are?
A: Gladly. The five schools of Ch'an (Zen in China) developed from roughly 800-900 AD during the Chinese Tang Dynasty and are named after the masters that founded them: Caodong, Fayan, Guiyang, Linji, and Yunmen. Each had its unique teachings and methods of finding enlightenment. The Caodong school founded the focused on silent, seated meditation that is commonly associated with Zen Buddhism. It survives today in Japan as the Soto school. Three other schools (Fayan, Guiyan and Yunmen) were absorbed by the Linji school. This school survives today in China, Korea and Taiwan and in Japan as the Rinzai school. The Linji/Rinzai method focused on physical confrontration and martial arts training as a way to bring about enlightenment.

Q: Who is your personal eHero and why?
A: My personal eHero is Wingfield. Wingfield found me lingering and confused in Indiana shortly after I started playing eRepublik. He was a Fed and specialized in reaching out to new players to teach them the game. This is what he did for me. He gave me a moving ticket and advised me to relocate to New Jersey, Florida or California where the hospitals were. He told me how healing and hospitals worked and taught me how to fight effectively but not to overfight. Wingfield was a member of the Federalist Party and was responsible for that party developing its new citizen outreach program that was so effective. I haven't forgotten what Wingfield did for me. I can easily say that after four days of frustration with the game his lessons were like a freaking epiphany. Ever since then I have tried to emulate his concern for the game and its new players. I'm not as ambitious as Wingfield but I do partake in personal efforts from time to time. Wingfield still plays eRep and is in South Africa currently.

Q: Quick word association… Josh, Frost, PiZ.
A: Frost, Hero, Friend

Q: And finally, if you could punch any eCitizen square in the face, who would it be and why?
A: You know, I'm not really a follower of the Linji/Rinzai school, LOL. But if you must press me, I would punch Pfeiffer in the face simply because he would laugh about it.

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