Official GTPlanet Member of the Fortnight [Member of the Week]

We return to the original presentation format this week as the new forum software isn't very welcoming of the new and improved way of doings things, but you're far from being interested in that. You're here for one reason and one reason only: to welcome the newest member to find a vacant spot in the Member of the Week madhouse. Well wait no longer, give a warm welcome to Punknoodle!

1. First and foremost, you're officially the Member of the Week so what were your
thoughts going into this and how does it feel to be recognized amidst the hundreds of thousands of other members here?

First of all, sorry its taken some time to get my interview back, my partner gave birth to the latest member of my pit crew on Sunday, so as you can imagine I've been very busy! To be honest I'm really surprised about it, I've never once thought that it might perhaps be my turn to be the member of the week, but thanks!

2. What brought you to GTPlanet and what keeps you coming back?

I found it relatively late in the piece, when I was trying to find information out about the upcoming GT5. At the time I mainly lurked in the news and GT5 sections of the forum but I eventually started to look around and get to know other members and I haven't really left.

3. There's a lot to do around the forums so I have to ask: what sub-forums/threads do you frequent most often and why?

I mainly hang out in the Automotive section, and in Members Rides – I like to chat to others about their cars (some of our members own some awesome cars!) and keep a diary of my own. Lately I've been in the GT6 section trying to get more info, and also the Infield.

4. What was it that sparked your interest in Gran Turismo?

My friend had a Playstation back in the day, and I remember playing GT2 on it, and buying Hondas and performing Racing Modifications on them and thinking it was just the best thing ever! I wasn't lucky enough to own a console until I bought GT4 on PS2, but once I did, that disc never left the console, I had very close to 100% completion on the game.

5. How did you come up with the name "Punknoodle"?

It's actually the name of one of the fictional shops in Grand Theft Auto 3, a friend of mine had the game and I used to go there and we would play it, and we were both in to Punk music and so when we saw it we thought it was funny, and I've used it as a forum name ever since.

6. Controversial question time: Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport or both?

I've only ever played Forza briefly, at a friend's house, and only with a controller. In that respect, I wasn't really in to it, because I race with a wheel, but maybe I could get in to it with a proper wheel.

7. Because it's finally occurred to me that the question above doesn't allow enough freedom, do you play any other racing games that you perhaps enjoy more than GT or FM?

Yes! Although my PC is fairly slow, I am able to run some of the older games on it, like rFactor, which I have quite a few mods for. I mainly jump in a Porsche Cup Car and race around the local tracks like Queensland Raceway and Lakeside, as even though I don't own a Porsche, its good practice to learn the tracks for when I go there for real. And nothing beats jumping in a V8 Supercar and blasting through the chase at Mt Panorama, something I'm very much looking forward to doing in something like the SLS AMG GT3 in GT6.

8. GTP 12 is up and about, what are your thoughts?

Love it, I was mainly an iPhone app user before, and found it quite buggy.

9. It's going to be plenty lively around here all of next month leading in to December, what are you most looking forward to?

All the in depth discoveries of GT6, the members here are really good at analyzing footage and making discoveries, some are true, some aren't but it's all part of the fun.

10. If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet what would you want?

I don't know if I quite understand the question, but I think I would just like to be a humble citizen, no responsibilities! In return I would like them to build me my own racetrack of my design and supply me with the vehicles in which to enjoy it!

11. If you could live in any video game which game would it be and why?

That's a tricky one, maybe something like Oblivion, it would be pretty cool to learn magic and stuff, but I think I would need to jump in to Gran Turismo every now and again for some racing.

12. If you could create your own motorsport series what would it entail?

It would be pretty much the same as GT3 racing, on the best circuits in the world.

13. Tell us something interesting about your hometown.

I spent my childhood in Christchurch, and my teenage years and early 20s in a small place called Waimahaka, which is just outside of Invercargill, both in the South Island of NZ before moving to Brisbane. Invercargill is where the film The Worlds Fastest Indian was filmed, as that is where Burt Munro came from. I used to race my friends up and down that same beach!

14. Let's say GTPlanet was another persons brainchild, could you see the community being as prominent as it is now?

I think Jordan has done a fantastic job of keeping the news feed relevant and has a good team of mods on board that do a pretty good job of maintaining a high standard in the forums.

15. Do you have any hobbies we should be made aware of?

Unfortunately for my partner and our finances, I am hell bent on going out and doing real racing. I've gone to a couple of Time Attack events, and am working to develop both my car and my skills to do it on a regular basis. Other than that, I'm a family man and I mostly spend time with my kids.

16. Are you driving anything special at the moment?

My Toyota Celica GT-Four is pretty special to me, its not wildly fast and there are definitely better handling cars around, but I've spent a lot of time working on it and modifying it, and I have big plans for it in the future, there is something about it I just love, its somewhat unique. I don't drive it often though, if I'm not in the family Ford Focus I'm in my trusty Toyota Hiace work van!

17. What's your favourite video game, currently?

I don't play many games, to be honest. GTAV has been soaking up a lot of my attention lately though.

18. What songs have been on repeat for the past few days?

I have a good playlist of Rock songs that is always playing, so I can't say I've been singling any particular songs out. In saying that, Hey Brother by Avicii has been in my head a lot lately.

19. Why did you choose that avatar, and why is it not a monkey? (Don't ask me, I had nothing to do with this. :lol:)

Awesome corner is awesome!

20. Games, how do you like them?

a) Pre-Order, I want them on day one.
b) Sealed at first price drop.
c) Used.

I pre order the big ones I simply cant wait for, but usually, I pick up them up when they become cheaper.

21. With the PS4 coming in the holiday season this year, is it the right time to consider moving up to the next generation?

Not for me, its not even on my radar until GT7 or Project Cars show me the light.

22. Manual or automatic?

Manual, of course, although I love that my Hiace is an auto.

23. Desert island disks - what 3 albums would you take to a desert island?

That is simply an impossible question! Who doesn't have an iPod with ALL of their music on it nowadays, anyway? Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape would have to be with me, though.

24. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being likely to go to the nut house, how crazy would you rate yourself?

Oh, I have an 8 year old, a 4 year old and a newborn. I've already been driven bat**** crazy.

25. Who is your favorite race driver and why?

Again, a very difficult question, I mean not many people AREN'T going to say Senna, I do like the humour and talent of Keiichi Tsuchiya though.

26. Where and when was your very first post here and how does it differ from your posting style used today?

If I recall correctly I was probably asking questions about GT5 and posting details about the rig I was building – which I still race with today. I think I've matured a lot from my early posting days, thankfully!

27. How many of your controllers have died because of heavy physical abuse whilst playing a PS3 game?

None, thankfully! Although I wish one would so I have an excuse to buy a DS3 – I still have my 2 Sixaxis controllers I've had from buying it on launch day!

28. Have you ever accessed the website during an unusual time and/or place?

I think I've made one or two drunk posts from the pub at some stage, and I frequently use my phone while I'm sitting on the john!

29. What's the longest you've gone without logging onto GTPlanet since joining: Years, months, weeks, days, hours?

Oh, probably a couple of months I'd say, when I've been busy with large jobs at work.

30. Who (in your own opinion) is the most inspiring person / people here on GTPlanet?

A few of guys in the Members Rides section take really good care of their cars and go racing, which is great to see because it requires a lot of dedication. Joey and his mates have been doing autocross, gaining their skills with a Neon they have prepared themselves for the purpose and Perfect Balance and a few other guys with their Nissans are drifting, which is cool to see. There are also heaps of really knowledgeable people everywhere else in the forum.

31. Is your body ready?

I kind of wish I had that bionic body from the weird GT6 ads but I think I'll be ok, once I get more sleep.

32. Now it's time for the "Daniel Special": If you could cross a hippo with any other animal - what will the animal be, what will it be called, and why? (Bonus points for creativity! And it can't be another hippo because that's incest)

Erm... Maybe a mouse? Because how cute would a mini Hippo be? And it would be called a Hippopotomouse.

33. What's the funniest thing you can remember from all of your time being a member here?

There have been some awesome posts of people making ludicrous claims and the lengths that people take to cover up their lies is always entertaining!

34. Have you ever participated in any of the racing series' found here?

No, I haven't. I would just get in the way I think.

35. Have you ever considered developing your own racing series, and if you have where can we find it?

I'm a solo shoot out kind of player myself, I just love being the only car on the track and trying to learn the track and get the fastest time possible, so I wouldn't be very good at setting something like a racing series up!

36. Anything else you'd like to say?

Nobody remembers the guy who finished second but the guy who finished second. – Bobby Unser
 
The Member of the Week is back (as is the Weekly Rewind) and Gran Turismo 6 is here as well. It's just all around madness! Luckily, there's a new member to help absorb some of the madness alongside the rest of us, welcome Blitz24 to the Member of the Week madhouse!

1. First and foremost, you're officially the Member of the Week so what were your thoughts going into this and how does it feel to be recognized amidst the hundreds of thousands of other members here?

Thank you very much for the nomination. I actually am quite flattered because half of the time I believe my posts are ridiculous if not silly. I guess my posts caused enough laughs to be noticed by a higher up member.

2. What brought you to GTPlanet and what keeps you coming back?

What brought me to the site on August 2nd 2010 was to add information to the official GT5 car list. I didn’t see it posted so I thought I should add my input. Then I discovered the GT4 thread and with the help of a few members got to 99.8% complete. Since then, I have found not only great content discussed on the site relevant to GT series, but also to everything in general.

3. There's a lot to do around the forums so I have to ask: what sub-forums/threads do you frequent most often and why?

Infield Section, Sports Section, Motorsports Section and Rumble Strip. They are actually full of actual chatter and usually contain good conversations that one can enjoy. Or they contain complete silliness and comedy and I just add to the uselessness. One or the other.

4. What was it that sparked your interest in Gran Turismo?

I actually don’t remember when I got Gran Turismo 2 (never played 1), but I had always been a racing enthusiast since I was little and it really appealed to me to be racing something other than Need For Speed, NASCAR and Formula 1 (which is all I played at the time before I got GT2 at the age of 9).

5. How did you come up with the name "Blitz24"?

Blitz was actually the name of a character in a group of short stories I wrote while in high school. I was never really popular in high school and writing the stories sort of made me feel in a comfortable place. The 24 is in honor of my favorite driver Jeff Gordon.

6. Controversial question time: Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport or both?

Both. While I personally prefer Gran Turismo as a series, I cannot discount Forza as also being very appealing. In the latest variations of the 2 (Forza 5 is my first foray into the series), I found GT6 to be better in terms of physics, tracks and car detail, while Forza has a more desirable AI and livery editor. Both have their strong points and weak points, but both are not the same making both of them very enjoyable.

7. Because it's finally occurred to me that the question above doesn't allow enough freedom, do you play any other racing games that you perhaps enjoy more than GT or FM?

Absolutely I do, although not as much as I used to. The other games I have played over the past couple of years have been the Codemasters F1 2012, Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed, and NASCAR: The Game. I did not enjoy any of them as much as GT or Forza but if I had to rank them it would be Shift 2, F1 2012, then NTG.

8. GTP 12 is up and about, what are your thoughts?

It is quite interesting. I am though sometimes viewed as anti-change so I do miss the old layout. But you can bet when the site gets to GTP 13 I will complain that I miss GTP 12 (because I am old at 25 and don’t like change).

9. Gran Turismo 6 is finally here, what are you thoughts so far?

It is very enjoyable. It is sadly not as encompassing as Gran Turismo 4 was to me but I have yet to scratch the surface on the new game’s full capabilities. I have though managed to kill my driver while flipping the lunar buggy on the moon so I’m not sure that my driver is too happy with my thus far excursions.

10. If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet what would you want?

I assume the question is asking me to do both where they will give me a position and give me something I want (if it isn’t don’t take points off, I didn’t prepare for this exam properly). I will assume its both though. What I would want most is to have my own Automobile company based in New York City that is both radical and affordable (think Kia price with Tesla ambitions). I would be honored to work on the alien planet’s road infrastructure system to see if it needs any improvement.

11. If you could live in any video game which game would it be and why?

For design, Grand Theft Auto V because it is just so big and full of variety. Although I’m not entirely sure I would be happy stuck at the same age forever, having no mind and getting randomly shot at by three people for no reason whatsoever.

12. If you could create your own motorsport series what would it entail?

I would love to see a return of a modern day Group C. Those cars were so beautiful and it’s a shame the series had to go poof a few years before I really followed the sport. In the modern day Group C, I would have 20-40 teams each representing either a different manufacturer or a different country. If it’s the former, then it allows for different designs to the same rules. If it’s the latter, then we can really test what country has the best or worst drivers. The tracks used will be all across the world.

13. Tell us something interesting about your hometown.

Not much really has happened in Fair Lawn, NJ. It has appeared in the Sopranos once or twice and a few famous people live or grew up here, including Regina Spektor and a Grandmaster Boris Gulko.

14. Have you been Whammed!?

If I have then nobody has informed me. I’m not sure I want to know so I will assume I have not been and if I have, then okay.

15. Do you have any hobbies we should be made aware of?

As in are they dangerous and are they due to various poor suggestions made by other members on the site? No sir. I am quite into photography and going out and playing sports or just working out. I do have an extensive model car collection and I have written 10 short stories in a TV script format.

16. Are you driving anything special at the moment?

I still have access to my family’s 2001 Pontiac Aztek, which (don’t judge) is very comfortable despite being awkward looking (no rear wiper is bad) and just ugly (my mother loves hers though). My daily driver is a 2003 Pontiac Vibe which is old but still very reliable.

17. What's your favourite video game, currently?

Grand Theft Auto V. Gran Turismo 6 will be up there soon but not yet. Just the amount of time you can spend in that type of game doing nothing productive or with any point at all symbolizes what a game is really about. It’s not a chore, its a way to escape from the chores and problems of life.

18. What songs have been on repeat for the past few days?

Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, Night of the Hunter by 30 Seconds to Mars, Pruit Igoe by Philip Glass, Posthumus Zone by E.S. Posthumus and If I Was Your Vampire (Instrumental) by Marilyn Manson.

19. Why did you choose that avatar, and why is it not a monkey? (Don't ask me, I had nothing to do with this. :lol:)

I loved some of the pictures I took in Gran Turismo 5. I loved the RM version of the Corvette ZR1 and I am a sucker for chromalusion/color shift paint. This was a no-brainer for me to take a picture of and show off my jewel.

20. Games, how do you like them?

a) Pre-Order, I want them on day one.
b) Sealed at first price drop.
c) Used.

If I really want the game and it comes with goodies, I will pre-order it. Otherwise I am content to wait for the prices to drop or the Game of the Year Edition.

21. With the PS4 coming in the holiday season this year, is it the right time to consider moving up to the next generation?

I like a fool purchased both systems and only have 1 real game for either of them (Forza 5.) I though love both of them so I moved up already and I am waiting for the games like Infamous Second Son and Uncharted 4 because I can’t wait for the next installments in those franchises.

22. Manual or automatic?

In real life I have never touched a manual tranny. I would be scared to death of a missed shift and the resulting ruining of the transmission. In video games I try to only use manual transmissions because it is a lot harder and it allows for more improvement.

23. Desert island disks - what 3 albums would you take to a desert island?

Can these disks be homemade or do they have to be mass produced? If the option is the former I would just choose my 60 favorite songs (which may last me awhile). If its the latter, then the A7X self-titled album, the soundtrack to Munich and the soundtrack to Shift 2 Unleashed.

24. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being likely to go to the nut house, how crazy would you rate yourself?

4. I doubt anyone would throw me in there but I could see myself there due to all of the times I envision being yelled at daily.

25. Who is your favorite race driver and why?

Jeff Gordon. I had the chance to write a letter to him when I was 7 years old and he was moved by my letter so he sent me quite a bit of things. Including a 1993 race used Fender from the June 1993 Michigan race.

26. Where and when was your very first post here and how does it differ from your posting style used today?

Not much, although I try to be formal and post properly when I am saying something important. I want to convey a sense of decorum to anyone who reads my posts, although I think people have already written me off as hopeless in some circles.

27. How many of your controllers have died because of heavy physical abuse whilst playing a PS3 game?

None, only lost a PS2 controller in a PS2 game. Never a PS3 controller.

28. Have you ever accessed the website during an unusual time and/or place?

Time? Most likely 4 AM once or twice would qualify as odd, since my brain patterns then produce very insightful but slightly ridiculous posts. Place? In class. I can’t recall if I’ve ever done it elsewhere more inappropriate than there, perhaps at a party once.

29. What's the longest you've gone without logging onto GTPlanet since joining: Years, months, weeks, days, hours?

72 hours. Whenever Jewish Holidays fall Wednesday Nights I’m usually MIA til Saturday at the earliest.

30. Who (in your own opinion) is the most inspiring person / people here on GTPlanet?

A lot of the moderators I find to be very inspiring because they all, on top of the jobs that they have outside of the forums, have a responsibility here to keep the site running at tip-top shape and its nice to see that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.

31. Is your body ready?

For a special? Of course! Who wouldn’t be. Although if it requires calisthenics I will be leaving this meeting without a tip for no proper advance notice.

32. Now it's time for the "Daniel Special": If you could cross a hippo with any other animal - what will the animal be, what will it be called, and why? (Bonus points for creativity! And it can't be another hippo because that's incest)

A hippo mixed with a dog would be interesting, although a Hippog would sound weird, so would a Dippo. I don’t think a Hippog would fetch a stick, it would be lazy and enjoy treats so I’m not sure it would be the best in terms of influencing one to not lay around.

33. What's the funniest thing you can remember from all of your time being a member here?

Most of the quotes that I see nominated as terrible quotes. They really are just comical in many instances.

34. Have you ever participated in any of the racing series' found here?

No, I can’t commit to a schedule and if I did I’d probably be so far off-pace I’d be in Siberia.

35. Have you ever considered developing your own racing series, and if you have where can we find it?

If I had more free time I would. I have an irregular schedule and I wouldn’t want to commit people to running in a series that I can’t guarantee to be present at all the time.

36. Anything else you'd like to say?

Nitwit, Oddment and tweak. That made sense somehow in my head 5 seconds ago. This may make more sense, courtesy of Jerry Seinfeld in 2010:
"There's a drive to left field and it’s going to find the glove of... I don't know the names of these guys. Why is Detroit here?"
 
Nice interview!

We should have a member of the year, picked from the list of winners from this year. Either by lottery or by voting.
 
A new week is upon us which means we have another member to celebrate, egg, and throw keycaps doused in Hawaiian Punch at. This week's newest member loves Taylor Swift — that's it, you needn't know anything else because you already know who it is, give a warm welcome to Sharky.!

1. First and foremost, you're officially the Member of the Week so what were your thoughts going into this and how does it feel to be recognized amidst the hundreds of thousands of other members here?
I'm surprised someone likes me enough or thinks I'm relevant enough to nominate me. I rarely post outside of the super-secret Premium cult forum let alone post anything of much importance, so if you know why - I'm all ears!

2. What brought you to GTPlanet and what keeps you coming back?
If I recall correctly, I was trying to get assistance with a Gran Turismo 2 Special Stage Route 5 30-lap endurance tune for the ezmode that was the Escudo. I had run the enduro event a billion and one times (in reality it was more like ten) trying to win the Cerbera LM prize car and had turned the event into a time trial, seeing how quickly I could complete the event. At some stage I "tuned" (which should really be prefixed with "de-") the 'Scud in the quest for more speed and managed to completely balls the thing up. I hadn't noted down what the previous settings I was using were, so I turned to the internet for help. That was 2004...

3. There's a lot to do around the forums so I have to ask: what sub-forums/threads do you frequent most often and why?
Infield, because one can avoid *most* of the mind-numbing drivel that's common to far too many subforums these days... but not all of it
Infield, because that's where the cool guys are
Infield, because I have a limited interest in most of the stuff this site covers these days. I pop up in Console and PC Gaming - glorious PC gaming master race - and Computers & Technology occasionally.
Infield, beca... yeah, just the Infield.

I frequented Members' Rides for a period when I bought my car - more on that below - and had a thread going, but that was more just me documenting all the failures I had with it. It hasn't broken in a long while now so I haven't really had a need to update the thread :lol:

4. What was it that sparked your interest in Gran Turismo?
I honestly don't know. I first played Gran Turismo in 1999 (I think - that's far too long ago so pardon me if my memory from back then is a bit foggy) when my family bought an original grey brick Playstation and a few games. One of the games was, in case you're a bit slow and haven't twigged by now, Gran Turismo. Being a kid I enjoyed playing with toy cars and making vroom vroom noises so a car game was basically Mecca.

Because I was a kid I was completely rubbish, but I still had a good time. Of all my time spent playing GT1 there are only two things I remember - having a blue Impreza STi wagon that I used for almost everything I could enter it in, and grinding out a few races in order to have enough credits to buy the NISMO Skyline LM before primary school one morning... I must've been ten at the time, good to see I had my priorities straight back then!

As it transpired, the car was a pile of junk on its stock tune and all I ever did to "tune" a car was raise the boost level, so it was a giant waste of credits :lol:

5. How did you come up with the name "Sharky"?
At its core the name came about because I liked sharks. Disregard the fact that if I met one in real life I would die from fear, if you would...

It's a (nice!) bastardisation of my original username on GTPlanet - blue_sharky39 (I was only fourteen when I registered on GTPlanet okay, DON'T JUDGE ME) - and over time as I posted more and became one of the Travian and BATracer guys people started to refer to me as sharky, sharks, and other variations thereof. Changed my forum name to what I have now at some point after Christmas 2007 when I was gifted lifetime Premium by Josh I believe.

The '.' is there because someone had already registered the name "sharky", the check for existing usernames when asking Jordan for a name change was case-insensitive and Big J hadn't brought in the 'you can claim an existing username if said user hasn't made any posts nor signed in for x time' thing at that stage. Haven't bothered getting Jordan to remove the '.' because 1) I can't be bothered asking him to remove it and 2) I'm now so used to having it I think my username would look funny without it!

6. Controversial question time: Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport or both?
Gran Turismo, but only because I haven't played Forza outside of a couple of laps of Tsukuba in FM3 at a friend's house.

In reality my answer would be neither, subject to the above caveat. See below.

7. Because it's finally occurred to me that the question above doesn't allow enough freedom, do you play any other racing games that you perhaps enjoy more than GT or FM?
Yep. I have spent more time playing rFactor than almost any other racing game - GT2 and GT4 excepted - because it's, well, better. I played the hell out of GTs 2 and 4 up until I got my own computer in 2008 and discovered the wonderful world of PC sim racing. I remember that the first game I ever owned from Steam was Race 07/GTR Evolution. Between that, rFactor and the demo for Live For Speed I had so much fun - and that was with a laptop!

When I built my first proper computer I got into sims even more, picking up titles like ToCA 3, GTR 2, Project CARS and rFactor 2. Admittedly I haven't sat down and actually played a sim for a proper length of time for a long while now, but they're still definitely my bread and butter genre of video game.

8. GTP 12 is up and about, what are your thoughts?
It's different but refreshing.

Thought process when GTP 12 first launched was as follows:
  1. is this GTP12?
  2. looks kinda funky
  3. I DON'T LIKE CHANGE
  4. these new features are kinda neat
  5. WHY IS IT NOT FILLING THE WIDTH OF MY SCREEN
  6. I quite like it now

9. Gran Turismo 6 is finally here, what are you thoughts so far?
Haven't played it for long, but early thoughts are tentatively positive. Has that clear Gran Turismo feeling to it, but the game performance is still completely awful (PC gaming has spoilt me, anything less than 60fps and I hate it), I didn't like having to buy a Fit in order to start playing the game - I've played Gran Turismo for well over a decade, I know how the game works - and the moon stuff was hilariously unnecessary. I know Kaz wants to widen GT's horizons a bit, but my advice to him is to leave roving on the moon to Kerbal Space Program.

10. If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet what would you want?
I'd ask for a ham sandwich and be a politician.

Just kidding, I hate politicians.

Those of you that know my persona won't find this surprising in the slightest and those that don't may find it a bit strange, creepy, weird, choose your adjective, but I'd like to meet Taylor Swift and get to know her, find out what makes her tick, become friends etc. Everyone has a celebrity crush, right?

Alternative answer: Half-Life 3. Gabe Newell, you are both a PC gaming saint and a massive douche at the same time. :lol:

What role would I assume on the alien planet? I honestly do not know. In all likelihood something without massive responsibility, because I don't really enjoy having a mountain of pressure piled on top of me; I prefer to be able to take things nice and casual. Do the aliens have cars? Then I'll be a racing car driver. Or podracer.

11. If you could live in any video game which game would it be and why?
Mass Effect. Impending doom from Reaper threat aside, the Mass Effect universe would be such an awesome place to live in. Bonus points if I get to be a member of Commander Shepard's crew (but again, sans the high chance of death part). Super-advanced technology, all sorts of places to go and visit, the badass known as Garrus Vakarian, awesome spaceships. I'll take it!

Honourable mentions go to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: The Old Republic - lightsabers and space magic FTW

Coincidentally all three games are sci-fi BioWare titles...

12. If you could create your own motorsport series what would it entail?
Full contact permitted, nobody with the name "Sebastian" or alternative spellings allowed, reverse-grid races, anyone that gets lapped explodes, oil will be sprayed onto circuit prior to race start to spice things up.

13. Tell us something interesting about your hometown.
Ernest Rutherford studied at the university here, is that interesting enough? He split the atom after all!

14. Tell us about your Swiftatar and your love of all things Swift.
How much time do you have? I mean it. :lol:

To tell you the truth, I don't really know where to start but I'll give it a crack anyway - I might even surprise myself with how much detail I end up able to provide.

I do remember the first time I encountered Miss Swift and her music - I was flicking between channels on the TV one afternoon mid-2009 when I landed on the music channel and a music video featuring a pretty attractive blonde chick in a classical-style gown and a fresh, youthful voice was playing. Almost immediately the video piqued my interest and being the investigative guy that I am, I had to find out more about this song and the lady singing it. I was still running 56k dialup internet at home at this stage so you can imagine how slow it was trying to find out more info through the likes of Youtube and music clips!

The song ended up being one of her biggest hits (in pop music, her songs are hardly country IMHO) and to this day is still one of my favourites:


Cutting a long and what is probably lost to the bowels of my memory story short(er), I searched around for other samples of her music, liked what I heard, thought she was *quite* attractive and it basically went from there. Good-looking, as near as makes no difference the same age as me (I'm a mere five weeks, two days younger) and made music that I enjoyed listening to, perfect combination!

The upgrade to broadband internet kicked things up a notch - namely being able to watch videos at will instead of having to wait half an hour for the video to download - and her often endearing and quirky spontaneity and humour in interviews and the like struck a chord with my own personality and I guess you could say from that point on I was a Swiftie. Without the weird GO DIE IN A FIRE JOE JONAS/JOHN MAYER/ONE DIRECTION GUY/<insert name of ex-boyfriend here> stuff some of her fans like to do, mind you.

Weird? Probably. Creepy? Your call. I won't judge you for judging me. Much.

I'm secretly judging you all right now.

15. Do you have any hobbies we should be made aware of?
I have hobbies?

Besides gaming, I'm into 4WDing; it's nice being able to drive out to the middle of who-knows-where with a few buddies, get a nice fire going and sit around under the stars sharing stories :)

That's about the only other hobby I have at the moment, but at least I have a hobby outside of gaming now! I used to be heavily into programming and making random programs in .NET but I haven't done that since my university years in '08 and '09; it's a shame I've all but stopped as I really enjoyed doing that - but again, that falls under the "inside all day, sitting in front of a computer" umbrella that I'm trying to rid myself of.

16. Are you driving anything special at the moment?
Nope. I drive a 1992 Isuzu Mu 2.8 turbodiesel 4WD vehicle; while it would be classed as an SUV, there's certainly nothing "sport" about it and it's far too small to have any "utility" either. For that reason I never call it an SUV, only a 4WD.

It had a comically frequent occurrence of major faults during my ownership so it's special in that regard.

Fun fact about my car: it has a shorter wheelbase than a current-generation Mazda2. My car has a 2330mm wheelbase and the Mazda2 clocks in at a comparatively mammoth 2490mm. I like to make light of this fact as well as mention that it has three doors, a 2.8 litre turbocharged engine and is rear-wheel-drive in urban/open-road configuration. Of course it's also diesel, weighs 700+kg more and is as wide as a city block but I elect to not mention those points when explaining why it's better than a Mazda hatchback :lol:

Car thread: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/sharkys-musterious-isuzu-still-going-strong.268046/

17. What's your favourite video game, currently?
I don't have one at the moment. Surprisingly, I haven't played games much for the last while and, truth be told, it's quite refreshing to not be doing the same thing every single evening :P

18. What songs have been on repeat for the past few days?
Enjoyment of Taylor Swift aside I'm all about '80s rock music, so the following songs have been on repeat lately:




(I am aware the second one was released in 1990...)

There are few contemporary artists that I actually like, an extremely overwhelming majority of the music I listen to is from the decade before I was born (I was born in 1990, making the decade in question the 80s). Bet you weren't expecting a fan of Taylor Swift to rate AC/DC's Back in Black or Def Leppard's Hysteria as two of their favourite albums were you? :)

19. Why did you choose that avatar, and why is it not a monkey? (Don't ask me, I had nothing to do with this. :lol:)
I chose this avatar because I personally took the photo at Taylor Swift's Friday, 29th November concert at Vector Arena in Auckland. I have the typical point-and-shoot attitude with a camera that most people have, so for a photo to come out looking that good to me was awesome. Crop + border later and it was a perfect candidate to join the ranks of my now semi-famous range of 'Taylortars'. I have become so synonymous with Taylor Swift avatars that if I change to something completely different (not that I actually do that, apart from one time) some people pipe up telling me to "put Taylor back!" :D

Why is it not a monkey? Because. That's why.

20. Games, how do you like them?

a) Pre-Order, I want them on day one.
b) Sealed at first price drop.
c) Used.
d) On Steam.

and

e) not full of bugs, microtransactions or day one DLC.

21. With the next generation of all things video gaming upon us, have you made any plans to pick up a PS4, Xbox One or Wii U?
Nope. PC master race.

22. Mechanical or Membrane keyboard?
Mechanical. I used to use an el cheapo Logitech wireless keyboard + mouse combo but bought a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth keyboard and Razer DeathAdder 3500dpi gaming mouse around the start of last year (2012). The mouse is pretty damn good itself but the keyboard is hands down the best peripheral I've ever bought for my computer, even ahead of the Logitech G27 - with Cherry MX Brown keys typing on it is a delight, the noise it makes is wonderful and the blue LED backlighting is both handy when using my computer in the dark as well as providing a very cool contrast to the black design of the keyboard itself.

Many people lambaste Razer's build quality but the keyboard has been absolutely flawless apart from an occasionally intermittent backlight behind the 'O' key and as of recently a slightly dimmer 'K' key backlight. They're only backlight issues too, the keyboard proper hasn't missed a beat :)

23. You've just been sentenced to death. What is your last meal?
A large, light moist chocolate cake with thick, gooey icing and whipped cream.

24. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being likely to go to the nut house, how crazy would you rate yourself?
It goes to eleven, right?

Eleven.

25. Who is your favorite race driver and why?
For someone with such an interest in cars and the like I don't follow motorsport anywhere near as much as I used to (not that I followed it all that much to begin with, just V8 Supercars and Indycar mostly), which is a bit unusual. Would probably have to go with Scott Dixon, because he's a Kiwi and also the world's fastest ginger.

26. Where and when was your very first post here and how does it differ from your posting style used today?
I have no idea what *exactly* my first post was, but as outlined all the way up at the top of this MotW I'm pretty sure it was something about GT2's Escudo at SSR5. Posting style should be pretty much the same now as it was nearly ten years ago, even though I was fourteen back then I still valued the importance of proper spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and whatnot.

I'm much more of a sarcastic tit now, however. I also think I'm funny now, which is a problem because I'm, well, not.

27. How many of your controllers have died because of heavy physical abuse whilst playing a PS3 game?
None. I only have one PS3 controller anyway!

28. Have you ever accessed the website during an unusual time and/or place?
Nope. Unless McDonalds counts, in which case yes. Otherwise, no.

29. What's the longest you've gone without logging onto GTPlanet since joining: Years, months, weeks, days, hours?
Six weeks, not by choice though.

30. Who (in your own opinion) is the most inspiring person / people here on GTPlanet?
Talk about putting me on the spot!

I personally don't find people inspiring per se, but I do have huge respect for the super mods and the job they have to do (except for T-12, he's rude). Managing a forum that is home to over 200,000 users is no mean feat, and the way GTP runs so smoothly is credit to their efforts.

31. Is your body ready?
Depends who's asking. ;)

32. Now it's time for the "Daniel Special": If you could cross a hippo with any other animal - what will the animal be, what will it be called, and why? (Bonus points for creativity! And it can't be another hippo because that's incest)
Trust my fellow countryman to come up with something dumb like this :lol:

I'd probably cross a hippo with a bee. Ever seen a flying, black and yellow hippo pollinating your garden? Didn't think so. It would likely be called a bippo.

33. What's the funniest thing you can remember from all of your time being a member here?
Oh lordy, I wouldn't even have a clue. I'm coming up on my 10-year anniversary in April (2014), how am I supposed to remember a whole decade's worth of funnies? :lol:

Probably something from way back when. 2008ish probably, I remember the forum was still pretty funny back then. I vaguely recall something about RO_JA/Blackbird and cookies, the Premo avatar fad when we all changed our avatars to a photo of his sister, MistaX/Race Idiot/Rumple Foreskin et al were generally all reasonably amusing.

I feel old by GTP standards now, why did you make me have to think back so many years >_<

34. Have you ever participated in any of the racing series' found here?
Nope.

35. Have you ever considered developing your own racing series, and if you have where can we find it?
Nope.

36. Anything else you'd like to say?
Nope.

I mean yep.

I'd like to thank my family, my friends, my fans and all those who vot---

---yo Sharks, imma let you finish but this has been the worst Member of the Week interview of all time. Of all time!

Damnit, Kanye.
 
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