11/17/24
November 19, 2004
***SPOFI LOCKER ROOM INTERVIEW #24*** sauril: : "I'd be up for one too, wc, if you need another stooge." My Canadian nemesis in the EPL fantasy league has volunteered to sit in the hot seat. Let's get to know sauril!
posted by worldcup2002 to navel gazing at 03:57 PM - 90 comments
Hey! I thought you said next week! But I must say one thing: nem·e·sis n. pl. nem·e·ses (-sz) 1. A source of harm or ruin: Uncritical trust is my nemesis. 2. Retributive justice in its execution or outcome: To follow the proposed course of action is to invite nemesis. 3. An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome. 4. One that inflicts retribution or vengeance. 5. Nemesis Greek Mythology. The goddess of retributive justice or vengeance. I tihnk #3 fits perfectly :)
posted by sauril at 04:36 PM on November 19, 2004
I just want to add that I am enjoying the interviews after what seemed like a long hiatus.
posted by usfbull at 04:40 PM on November 19, 2004
long hiatus = distraction due to the U.S. electoral, er, process. Personally, at least.
posted by garfield at 04:44 PM on November 19, 2004
1. you didn't even get a 10th answer on the previous one. Too. many. simultaneous. interviews. head explodes! 2. how about some super bowly roman numerals! 3. I'm Canadian and 0wNz J00 both in the EPL pool (last season and up until now, anyway) though maybe I don't qualify as a nemesis since neither of you are in the "same league" as me.
posted by gspm at 05:40 PM on November 19, 2004
Speaking of foreigners, you can listen to all 11 tracks of the new U2 release at their website. Full length, not itty bitty samples, and I think it sounds great having just finished a listen. Something to hear while watching the weekend football, if not exactly sports related.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:04 PM on November 19, 2004
Good grief, I thought you were stepping away from the PC this weekend, sauril. Well, if you aren't, I am. No interview until Monday. Move along. Nothing to see here.
posted by worldcup2002 at 08:18 PM on November 19, 2004
Hey, I work 'til 5 or so local time, bud. But I'm back. fire away.
posted by sauril at 10:45 AM on November 22, 2004
Wow, it's quiet in here. Should StarFucker post some pictures or something?
posted by 86 at 02:02 PM on November 22, 2004
posted by dusted at 02:24 PM on November 22, 2004
heh. 
posted by sauril at 02:35 PM on November 22, 2004
I think Sauril captured SF's charming style just a bit better than you, dusted.
posted by billsaysthis at 02:53 PM on November 22, 2004
Someone should make one of those URL window icons with sauril's posted pic.
posted by NoMich at 03:05 PM on November 22, 2004
url window icons? you mean the .ico files that are on the left of the url? or something else?
posted by sauril at 03:17 PM on November 22, 2004
That's what I meant, but I'm afraid that there's no way to shrink even a portion of the photo down to 16x16 without it looking like...ummm...ass. hee hee
posted by NoMich at 03:32 PM on November 22, 2004
It would make a great avatar, though. I wonder how coca cola feels about the branding insinuated by this picture...
posted by sauril at 03:35 PM on November 22, 2004
Well, I think my work is done.
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:12 PM on November 22, 2004
But seriously, folks ... Q1. sauril. nickname. why?
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:13 PM on November 22, 2004
Ahhh, the easy one first, eh? Ok, my real name is Mark, and as you can imagine, I got called all the usual stupid nicknames growing up (Marcus, especially). My roomate in university took nicknames a step furthur that most, and mine mutated like this: Mark --> Marcus --> Marucus Aurelius --> Saurilius --> Sauril. Sauril seemed to stick, and when I first started signing up for online boards like this or for things like icq or hotmail, sauril was always open. So on MeFi, here, NYT, whatever, that's my first choice. Chances are that sauril@somefreeemail.com either goes or used to go to me. The only time it's ever been taken is when I forget that I've already signed up and try again, or forget my old password. Exciting, eh? As an aside, the only other nickname that ever stuck was Samarkand. We were playing a lot of Civilization at the time...
posted by sauril at 06:06 PM on November 22, 2004
Anybody call you a "dog with a hairlip" when you were growing up? Some of my "Mark" friends got that one quite a bit.
posted by NoMich at 06:17 PM on November 22, 2004
Actually no. That's the first I've heard of it, and it took me a while to clue in. Although I did get "mmmmmm-BARK" far to often.
posted by sauril at 06:30 PM on November 22, 2004
We were playing a lot of Civilization at the time... "The Greeks are REVOLTING!" Sorry, just popped into my head for no good reason.
posted by yerfatma at 08:58 AM on November 23, 2004
no kidding. that game cost my roomate TWO girlfriends and I almost failed the year. I still miss it.
posted by sauril at 10:22 AM on November 23, 2004
where did he find rime to get a second one?
posted by smithers at 10:34 AM on November 23, 2004
well... there were some bouts of drinking interspersed between labs and playing games.
posted by sauril at 10:52 AM on November 23, 2004
See, if you cut out going to class it didn't have such a negative effect on social life. My parents must be so proud.
posted by yerfatma at 12:03 PM on November 23, 2004
Q2. What kind of job necessitates you working 19 days straight?
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:18 PM on November 23, 2004
Let me guess, programmer for EA Sports?
posted by dusted at 12:24 PM on November 23, 2004
I'm a programmer / project manager / operations guy who joined a startup in July, and we've got a demo of our new software scheduled for December 3rd, and our lead programmer had a trip scheduled for Nov 20th, which we knew about before we hired him. Since I'm in charge of building the softare, I decided to give us a Nov 19th deadline to finish all major functionality. We hit it, and now it's all testing and finishing up some ui details. It's unfortunate that pushes and crunch-times like this happen, but as a PM, they're my responsibility, so if my programmers are working, I am too. Since we're a startup, we all wear a few hats, and I have to do my share of code-monkeying as well. I just realized on preview that Saturday was my first day off in November. yeowch.
posted by sauril at 12:37 PM on November 23, 2004
heh dusted. I read that. Now that's insane. Even in the push, I had time off. I only worked a couple of days for more than 10 hours.
posted by sauril at 12:37 PM on November 23, 2004
Sorry about the triple posting, but I do have one more thing to say about this. I love working for companies like this. Even though my salary is less than what I'd be making on the open market (if I could get a job), there's huge potential upside, and I get some perqs that make up for the big pushes, like going for a 2 hour lunch today to watch Monaco vs Liverpool today :)
posted by sauril at 12:45 PM on November 23, 2004
Lucky man. Well, our mutual love of Liverpool does mitigate our continuing battle in the fantasy league (said Mr #4 to Mr #3!). Q3. Well, let's talk about Liverpool. How did you come to be a fan of the Reds? How long have you been supporting them? Favorite player? Favorite match? Favorite goal?
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:13 PM on November 23, 2004
Well, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately given the current score), the game was not on. So I'm stuck at work reading the updates... Oh well. I think I said this earlier somewhere, but I'm not a tried and true old-school Liverpool fan. I do remember them from way back, watching Rush and Barnes and others with my dad, back when they were winning everything. So they've kind of been stuck in my head a little since then. When I got back into watching soccer, I hung out with a friend of mine who is a Newcastle fan. So I cheered for them a bit, but my heart was never really in it. I stopped following them, and switched my allegience to Liverpool when I started going to watch soccer early Sunday mornings with my (then) new girlfriend. She's a Liverpool fan (mostly because of Michael Owen) and I found myself cheering for them again. That was about 2 years ago, and I've found myself caring, for one reason or another. I can't find it in me to support the team from my old hometown (in the current 2nd division, the Shrimpers), as they're never on tv, it's tough to find news about the lower divisions, and quite frankly, they're not very good. Favourite player that I remember was Ian Rush. I couldn't believe that a scrawny, ugly little guy like him could be so good. I don't remember any specific goal, but I do remember him scoring lots of them. Favourite match was the 4-3 newcastle game about two years ago. what a game, and it was the beginning of my switching alleigence. One great goal I do remember was Gary McAllister boinking it off some poor Chelsea player's head a couple of years ago to win the FA Cup. That was a great game too. At the end of the day, I cheer for Liverpool because it's way more fun to cheer for a team than just be a neutral all the time, they're good, but not Arsenal (yet) and they are most definitely not ManYoo or Chelsea. And sometimes
posted by sauril at 03:41 PM on November 23, 2004
*bated breath* sometimes what?
posted by squealy at 05:54 PM on November 23, 2004
I think I went over the post limit... I completely forget what I was going to say. Ummmmmm.... And sometimes I'm extremely forgetful. yeah. that's it. that's the ticket.
posted by sauril at 06:04 PM on November 23, 2004
*bonks sauril in the head with a football to make him remember*
posted by billsaysthis at 07:25 PM on November 23, 2004
Whatever it was, I'm sure that it will come back ... sometime. Q4. Continuing on the sports theme, how did you get to SpoFi? What keeps you coming back?
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:19 PM on November 23, 2004
I found SpoFi through MeFi, like many of you I suppose, and I come for the fantasy soccer, general soccer talk, and the smartest sports board I've ever seen. I love that people here can make sports that I have no interest in whatsoever. The recent threads on the basketball riot are a prime example. I don't really care about b-ball, but there were many good points, well thought out opinions and even the occasional changing of a mind... The Red Sox / Yankees threads were more fun than watching the actual games...
posted by sauril at 10:02 AM on November 24, 2004
um, man I can't type. that should read "I love that people here can make sports that I have no interest in whatsoever interesting." I need more coffee
posted by sauril at 10:03 AM on November 24, 2004
* crickets * This is the slowest interview ever. I'll try to be more interesting in my next answer...
posted by sauril at 02:16 PM on November 24, 2004
whatever dude. it's thanksgiving down here. not much keyboard traffic, is all.
posted by garfield at 02:19 PM on November 24, 2004
No, I think mine was the slowest. I took forever to answer the questions.
posted by dusted at 02:23 PM on November 24, 2004
Oh, man, this thing's not going to get done until next week, turkey stupor and all.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:31 PM on November 24, 2004
Q5. What sports are you interested in? Favorite teams? Why? Which ones have you played? Which ones do you still play?
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:32 PM on November 24, 2004
true, forgot about turkey day.
posted by sauril at 03:00 PM on November 24, 2004
OK, a question! My favourite mainstream sports are hockey and soccer. Played both as a kid, soccer pretty competetively (my team made it to the semis in provincials a couple of times), hockey really really badly (I didn't start skating until I was 10). My favourite teams are Liverpool, as discussed above, and the Montreal Canadiens because, well, I grew up in Montreal. Hockey is the best sport in the world to watch when it's at its best (like the last olympics), but the NHL in recent years has truly sucked ass. I haven't missed it yet. However, by the time I got to University, I quit sports for beer, girls and bands. Then I fell in love with Ultimate. (stupidest name ever, but I didn't make it). I've been playing for 11 years now and have made it to numerous Canadian Nationals, one World Clubs competition in Scotland and tournaments in Thailand, Hong Kong and all over Canada and some northern States. I still play, but I'm getting a little old to be running after 21 year olds, so I might switch over to Master's this summer. It's quite simply the best game in the world to play and to watch when playing with skilled, but not overly competetive players. I love it. In the winter I get out the old snowboard (I've been riding for about 10 years now), and have been hitting the backcountry stuff as well as the resorts recently. As well, I started rock climbing a couple of years ago. I suck, but it's a great challenge to the body and to the mind as well. I know that I sound like some "x-treme athlete, dood" when I throw those together, but it's not about that. Really. I also joined a dodgeball league that starts in January (really) and a friend of mine is putting together some sort of competetive toboganning thing coming up. There's pretty much nothing a bunch of ultimate players can't make a game out of.
posted by sauril at 03:27 PM on November 24, 2004
competetive toboganning you gotta fill us in on some details after the fact, i.e. # of broken bones, etc.
posted by garfield at 03:36 PM on November 24, 2004
no shit. I can't wait to see what my friend greg has dreamed up. This is the same guy who invented "smash or dash bingo", where the bingo winner would win a cheesy prize and have the option of smashing it, or dashing off with it. The old tv's were great fun to smash, lemme tell ya. those crt's are an inch thick.
posted by sauril at 04:01 PM on November 24, 2004
I wanna play competitive tobogganing!!! That sounds better than employee night at the snow tubing hill!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:49 PM on November 24, 2004
I'm guessing you're gonna need one'a these: Snow Bodyboard.
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:48 PM on November 24, 2004
Q6. Dang. You say you're "getting a little old." How old? And how do you keep in shape for all these extreme sports? Any special exercise regimens and diets?
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:52 PM on November 24, 2004
OK. This is probably my last post until next week. See you Monday and have some good turkey (or culinary/cultural variant)!
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:54 PM on November 24, 2004
I had my turkey a month ago. Harvest was a long time ago up here in the GWN. I'll be working this weekend... as per usual November! I'm 33 now. Not ancient by any means, but I definitely have to work a lot harder to stay in shape than I used to. My special regimen of exercise is this: Summer: try to play ultimate 3-4 times a week Winter: try to get to the climbing gym 3-4 times a week. That is all. I hate exercise for exercise's sake. It's a lot easier to run when you're chasing a frisbee or work out the muscles trying to get up a wall. Notice I said try to, though... And as you can possibly imagine, I haven't kept to schedule in November... I also have a new diet: Chicken wings once a month at most. Plus beer. mmmm. lots and lots of delicious beer. lbb - don't knock the tubing, man, that's fun times.
posted by sauril at 11:34 AM on November 25, 2004
Have a good Turkey Day, all you USians!
posted by sauril at 11:35 AM on November 25, 2004
Q7. So what's Turkey Day like for you Canadians, eh? Do you guys eat the same thing or are there cultural specialties, eh? Eh?
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:21 AM on November 29, 2004
It's pretty much the same thing. Although it appears to have a lot less cultural force than in the US. Being in October, it doesn't signal the start to the Christmas season, and we don't get news stories about stranded travellers every year. We do get Turkey and all the fixins, though. Yum. Personally, with my family being from England (I didn't move to Canada until I was 3), it's not that big of a deal. My girlfriend and her large, 5th gen family consider it a huge holiday, though. And just to be a pedant, I have to correct your use of "eh?". "Eh?" is generally used at the end of a declaritive sentence to turn said sentence into a question. It invites the listener into replying. So you would say: "Crappy weather today, eh?" not "how's the weather, eh?". And I've never met anyone who says 'aboot' I have no idea where that comes from. And I want to start one more paragraph with the word "and".
posted by sauril at 02:08 PM on November 29, 2004
I think the way you describe the use of 'eh' speaks volumes for the Canadians personality, if there is such a thing. And it sounds like 'aboat' in relation to the native 'abowwt' here in NJ.
posted by garfield at 02:18 PM on November 29, 2004
It's a huge generalization, of course, Garfield, but I agree. I think it says a lot about the Canadian "personality" (as if there's only one). Of course there are regional variations, too. Here in Alberta, I've noticed that a lot of people use "hey" instead of "eh". There's a noticible increase in use as the education level goes down as well.
posted by sauril at 03:18 PM on November 29, 2004
I say "aboat" (or pretty close) and I'm from nowhere near Canada (that peculiarity comes from the tidewater Virginia in my family).
posted by trox at 03:25 PM on November 29, 2004
My personal source for "aboot" is the McKenzie Brothers from the oh so talented and similarly underrated SCTV.
posted by billsaysthis at 03:36 PM on November 29, 2004
The first time I heard it was in Canadian Bacon, when John Candy captures a Mounty, who then asks him "what's this all aboot?"
posted by dusted at 03:57 PM on November 29, 2004
So, let me try out the Canadian speech here, eh? ... "Hey sauril and trox, I bet you were thrilled aboat Liverpool 2-1 over the Arsenal, eh?" Just practising. No need to answer. Eh?
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:43 PM on November 29, 2004
I heard it all the time on "You Can't Do That on Television" when I was a kid, but it was closer to 'aboat' than aboot.
posted by LionIndex at 04:44 PM on November 29, 2004
Q8. Outside of sports, what do you do for fun? Books, mags, TV, etc. List your favorites and why.
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:52 PM on November 29, 2004
oh so talented and similarly underrated SCTV. i almost considered getting a dvd player solely for watching the (somewhat) newly released dvds.
posted by goddam at 04:54 PM on November 29, 2004
goddam, since players are less than $50 for basic machines, why not splurge?
posted by billsaysthis at 06:11 PM on November 29, 2004
Yer gettin there, wc! In this part of the world, it's absolutely impossible that sctv is underrated, since it is constantly touted as the best show that is, ever was, or will be. I like it, but not that much. Both those programs are also Ontario - created, which (as you might have heard me rant about before) hardly represent all this country has to offer. To the question: Outside of sports, I read far more than I really should. I'm addicted to quality, interesting science fiction such as Iain M Banks. His non sf stuff as Iain Banks is sheer quality as well. I probably read about 2-3 books a month on average. I also love wierd, odd and "magical realism" books. Rushdie, Murakami and Findlay spring to mind as 3 I've read recently. I browse through magazines if they're there, bur generally only grab them for flights, long car rides and the like. Usually a geek mag like Wired or a sports mag like TWSnow or Gripped. TV and Movies - Don't really watch them. I don't have cable, and the tv's only hooked up if I'm renting a movie. I've also gone off movies recently, I don't really know why. Although again my tastes usually run to the odd. I'm a huge music buff. I've played in a couple of bands no one has ever heard of, and have a collection of CD's, records, and mp3's that numbers in the thousands. I go see live shows whenever I can, but due to location and circumstance, that isn't very often these days. Again, my tastes veer to the odd. I really get off on experimental electronic music in the Autechre vein, and also more interesting rock stuff like Iron and Wine, Broken Social Scene and a huge favourite,Mogwai. I've also been going to see a fair amount of theatre in the last little while. Calgary has a surprisingly strong theatre community for such a cultural ghost-town. I saw a production of The Black Rider last week (which was awesome), and my favourite company just raised $5m for a new space. I just wish I had more time. There are usually 2-3 things that I'd like to be doing every single night, and I never get to do enough of anything that I like.
posted by sauril at 06:52 PM on November 29, 2004
Broken Social Scene I missed the boat on these guys when they first came out, but just picked up their album a couple weeks ago, and it hasn't left my cd player since. It's the best thing I've bought in years.
posted by LionIndex at 07:31 PM on November 29, 2004
goddam, since players are less than $50 for basic machines, why not splurge? it's not a money issue. it's the fact that i'm a stubborn bitch and i somehow convinced myself that special edition dvds are evil and weren't meant to be and i should therefore never give in and buy a device that would play them. i thought cell phones were evil too but that didn't last long.
posted by goddam at 09:09 PM on November 29, 2004
BSS are great, aren't they? Be warned that their first album is quite different. Still good, but without the poppy hooks. goddam, I'm the same with dvd's. I'm more pissed off at the anti-competetive user-negative 'features' like region codes and not being able to skip past the stupid copyright statement. I swore I wouldn't get one, but now I have 2, both in computers...
posted by sauril at 09:31 PM on November 29, 2004
but now I have 2, both in computers... Fucking sellout. har har
posted by NoMich at 10:41 PM on November 29, 2004
Q9. Good gravy. With the 19-day workweeks, and extreme sportsmanship, and then extreme intellectual pursuits, do you have time for a girlfriend (or boyfriend, as it may be)? Is there a significant other? If not, pray share some description of your better qualities for any eligible mates.
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:58 AM on November 30, 2004
so sauril, fan of New Deal?
posted by smithers at 07:57 AM on November 30, 2004
"Hey sauril and trox, I bet you were thrilled aboat Liverpool 2-1 over the Arsenal, eh?" "Couldn't resist could you wc2k2, eh?" do I have it down too?
posted by trox at 09:08 AM on November 30, 2004
Fucking sellout. har har Yeah, no kidding. There are ideals and then there are ideals, y'know... trox: nope. "couldn't resist, could you?" is a qustions. closer would be "couldn't resist, eh? wc?" smithers, I haven't heard of them. what are they like? To the q: I'm taken. I've been living with a wonderful woman for the past year and a half or so, and she's been extremely supportive over the last month. We're planning on making it permanent one of these days. She's the one who got me into climbing in the first place, and I met her playing ultimate, so we do a lot of sports together. This makes doing those things even more fun, and makes it easy on the relationship. The crazy work schedule should end soon, and as it's shoulder season here still, my summer stuff is done and my winter stuff is just picking up steam, so although I've been busy, I haven't really been doing *that* much. Luckily this stretch is over this week (we have a presentation to do on Friday) and after Wednesday Dec 8, I'm taking a few days off and spending it on my parents' couch. I can't wait.
posted by sauril at 10:01 AM on November 30, 2004
smithers, I haven't heard of them. what are they like? Canadian improv band. From their web site: "live progressive breakbeat house". Also referred to as "signature dance-music-played-with-real- instruments style".
posted by smithers at 02:18 PM on November 30, 2004
i thought you were asking him if he was a fan of this new deal.
posted by goddam at 02:39 PM on November 30, 2004
No, I think that sauril is more of a Fair Deal fan.
posted by NoMich at 02:53 PM on November 30, 2004
looks interesting. I'm usually not a fan of Jam bands, but the breakbeat stuff changes things a bit. I'll have to check them out.
posted by sauril at 02:58 PM on November 30, 2004
Q10. Well, good on you, sauril. And sorry, to all the unlucky ladies. But, what the heck is "shoulder season?" And as a parting shot, any predictions on how you or anyone else will finish in the SpoFi EPL Fantasy League? Any wise words to your rivals? Also, who to interview next?
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:51 PM on November 30, 2004
Shoulder season is the time of year when it's too cold to play outside sports, but there's not quite enough snow for snow sports. I don't know why it's called that either ... that's just what it's called, dammit! As for the SpoFi EPL Fantasy League, I predict a top 3 finish for me, but not #1. My team is a little unbalanced right now, and I haven't been making good calls in the last few weeks. But no matter where I finish. It'll be ahead of you, wc2k2... To my rivals. One word: Heskey. He's gold. Trust me on this one. Oh, I think Cisse would be a good deal right now too. Thanks for the interview. That was fun.
posted by sauril at 11:02 AM on December 01, 2004
Cheers to you, sauril. Who's next? Who will be interviewee #25?
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:43 PM on December 01, 2004
I know it's sauril's turn, but I nominate justgary, the mysterious numero ocho.
posted by dusted at 05:07 PM on December 01, 2004
well, FWIW, dusted, i don't recall you getting a chance to nominate anybody at the end of your own interview.
posted by gspm at 08:55 PM on December 01, 2004
gspm, you been interviewed yet? I already answered the canuck quesitons for you.
posted by sauril at 10:36 PM on December 01, 2004
justgary or gspm. First one to accept gets the honor of being #25, the Silver Interview. I'd like to complete this milestone before Dec 25, so don't be shy.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:20 AM on December 02, 2004
I'll do it if it can be XXV.
posted by gspm at 06:57 AM on December 02, 2004
gspm, let's start next Monday. I have this other thing called "work" that's bothering me right now.
posted by worldcup2002 at 06:13 PM on December 02, 2004
fair enough. it gives me three days to become more interesting.
posted by gspm at 07:13 PM on December 02, 2004
You have a long weekend of drinking planned, gspm, eh?
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:52 AM on December 03, 2004
Come back on Monday, folks. sauril has just completed 19 straight days of work, and is taking the weekend off. *cues elevator music*