I'll try to keep my replies as meme/gif heavy as possible. You've been warned, or promised, depending on your connection's bandwidth and data caps.
Background:
The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving payroll accountant in Pennsylvania with a low-brow sense of humor and a love for the Alamo. My mother was a public school secretary (she did not have webbed feet).
I went to Catholic grade school, public middle and high school (all in PA). Spent one year at VT in 01-02 during which I developed a love of the football team and spent too much time playing Xbox, Counterstrike, and Warcraft III. I probably should not have spent my first semester's food budget on the Xbox, but it was new at the time. After that I decided I didn't want to be a "real" engineer.
I eventually went back to school to get a degree in Math & Physics. I've worked various jobs since I was 15, including selling Magic/Pokemon cards at mall card shows, teaching Magic/Pokemon/Warhammer at comic shops, Walmart, Hollywood Video, repairing computers in public schools for not much money, writing software for not much money, writing software for a lot more money, and these days I manage people writing software.
I've lived in eastern PA, Blacksburg for that year, Greensboro for three years, and now I split my time between eastern PA and Orlando. I've got four kids.
I've got plenty more smartass remarks that I want to make about a plethora of topics that I'm inclined to nerd out about, but I'll let you all ask the right questions first.
Comments
Let's destroy some data caps!
what is your favorite gif?
What gif/meme best describes your life?
What do you think is the most versatile gif/meme on the internet?
Tie between these two.
So, growing up, my dad had a '67 lane rover series IIa Land Rover station wagon and a '58 series II Land Rover diesel truck. He would regale us with stories of mud bogging up and having to winch his buddies out of trouble because they didn't realize their jeeps outweighed his defender which just made it across the same mud hole. He had a bumper sticker that said "I'd rather push a Land Rover than drive a Jeep." Given the quality of mid century British automotive electronics, we often put this motto into action.
All that to say, what Jeeps have you owned?
Not that many, actually, as my grandfather on my mom's side had one that I adored when I was very little (don't know the model, he had sold it long before I was aware of such things). It had a wonderful "aooooooga" horn that I can still hear him blasting as he pulled up to my childhood home some 35+ year ago. He probably developed a love for them in Normandy as he was in the Airborne as part of a glider unit (don't recall the division off the top of my head). Passed that love onto me whether he intended to or not.
Still have the orange JKU that I had just bought when I joined TKP, and I own a '22 Wagoneer Series III since we needed something that seated 6+. Outside the world of Jeeps, I also recently traded in my m240 bimmer for a Tesla Series 3.
As a guy who also grew up in a land rover family and now drive a Toyota Tacoma I have learned a healthy (friendly) hatred of jeeps. My favorite wheel cover for jeeps is the one with upside down lettering saying "if you can read this roll me back over"
Also, I know a guy who has rolled not one, not two, but three jeeps in his life. He swears up and down that he's a good driver so clearly there is something wrong with jeeps.
Mrs MattBoard and I are hosting an event this summer called Flights of Fancy where we have everyone bring the assigned food/beverage and everybody gets a flight of whatever it is made up of the selections. First one was wine and cheese (and was awesome). Tomorrow is ice cream.
That said, what ice cream do you recommend to share?
Here's the scoop: it's all about mint chocolate chip.
While I respect your choice, I am not a big mint fan.
Went with strawberry chocolate chip. Custard is cooling now for churning later tonight
That sounds like fun!
This wine/cheese one was a blast (adults only), tomorrow (ice cream) will be open to everybody. I'm hoping the weather is wrong and it stays sunny so there can be a horde of sugar-ed up kids enjoying ice cream and sunshine in my back yard.
Next up is whisky (back to adults only). I might bake a pie or something. Apple pie or pecan pie go great with bourbon.
Final one is tea, complete with finger sandwiches and such. Mrs MattBoard is kicking me out for that one. Ladies only.
Been seeing this hat for sale a lot. Does it say "Jeep" or "Joop"?
Tremendous gif usage. Just watched that with the kids a couple weeks ago. Great line. "You're Hideo Takamani?" "Actually it's pronounced Kevin Donaldson." "I don't have a Kevin Donaldson on my list." "You do now."
What's the soundtrack to your life?
What's your favorite personal story?
Are you coming to visit us in Lot 18?
What's your favorite food?
I still lived in Greensboro when VT beat anOSU in the Shoe. Went to the local B-dubs to watch the game and struck up a conversation with a guy who claimed to be Jorge Posada's uncle. He told me a bunch of stories about the days when Posada and Petitte played for Prince William and then the whole late-90s gang with the Yanks. If he was making it all up, it was a commendable story, but I'm inclined to believe him. Since my parents were lifelong Yankees fans, I wanted nothing more than to call up my mom and tell them I'd met Posada's uncle, but that was the year after she'd passed and it broke my heart all over again that I couldn't share that story with her.
Only if you still have some of that Yuengling from when we all brought cases of it. But seriously, definitely when we find our way to a game again. The traveling became a lot with other things that we want to spend time on in the Fall.
Wow I knew Blacksburg Transit had grown from its infancy when I was a student in the 1980s, but I didn't realize they had stared a football team! /s
Which area of Orlando you spend most of your time?
WDW for sure. We have APs and go to the parks at least 1-2 times a week when we're down here.
I grew up going to both, and I love the HP stuff, but I miss the original rides (Jaws, Kongfrontation, BAck to the Future, Earthquake). I feel similarly about losing the original MGM Studios stuff, and will never enjoy Star Wars or Runamuck as much as the backstage tour and Great Movie Ride.
We last had UOAPs in 2019 that got extended by the closures in 2020 so that we could still use them during that summer (yay waterboarding yourself with a cloth mask when it poured and you were outside), but we're thinking about getting them again either this month or when Epic Universe opens up.
Goddamn never realized Jane was so caked up
What are you reading?
You can eliminate any school from existence. Which and why?
Bourbon? If so what are your top 3?
What is your favorite insult gif?
What is the most random, wtf is going on here gif you have?
With the kids at bedtime: The Wild Robot Escapes (Brown)
Myself: Shadows of Self (Sanderson)
South Lafayette High School in Cherokee Plains, Louisiana.
I'm not much of a bourbon drinker, but I do keep a bottle of Wild Turkey around just for gamedays. It's a tradition.
How old are your kiddos? HokieEnginerd read both Wild Robot books with MiniLancerHokie a few years ago. They are currently working their way through the Keeper of the Lost Cities series.
Currently 10, 8, 7, and 5. We also recently read The Lion of Mars and will probably read the third Wild Robot book shortly as well.
They may also like the Wings of Fire Series.
What album have you listened to the most times through?
What movie have you seen the most times?
What are your most hated song(s)?
What do you do in Orlando for business and pleasure? I lived in Oviedo and Lake Mary from 2011-2015. Fun times.
I'm sure some of the Marvel movies are creeping up there, but it's still:
I tend not to really "hate" things at this point in my life, but if I had to choose a song to wipe off the planet or else we all died, it'd be WAP.
We have a place in Windermere about a mile behind Disney property. I have worked remotely since 2015, so I work out of the house here until about 5:00 and then we do whatever we feel like. Favorite places other than the theme parks would be Happy Troll Games (nice FLGS in Clermont), Gator's Dockside for lunch after the kids play sports on Saturdays, and heading down to Cocoa Beach every few weekends with some visits to KSC (which is a ton of fun now that they launch things so often again).
Best Weird Al album, in my opinion. That CD cover and the spine art bring back a lot nostalgia.
Star Wars, Marvel, Batman, Wrestling....
How do you pick them? Which did you enjoy the most? Rank hardest to easiest. Have you thought about what's next? Did I miss one?
Easiest to Hardest:
I generally decide what's next when the inspiration strikes. I tend to see a really good opportunity to reply with a meme to some random comment over the summer, and that inspires me to keep going on that thread.
What's the dumbest thing you have ever done?
Whats the nicest thing you have ever done?
What's your favorite sound?
What's your guilty pleasure?
Whats the oddest/strangest thing you have ever seen happen, where you literally said to yourself: 'I cant believe that just happened right in front of me?
If you could remove one thing from existence in the world, what would be? It could be a person past or present, a thing, an emotion, .....anything.
I had never heard about VT until my high school crush said she might be going there during Sr year. I only considered going there because of that possibility. She didn't go there. (It's a fun story at this point, because my life is great and I got to be a Hokie.)
Right after NOLA got hit by Katrina, one of the podcasters I listened do was fundraising for his kid's relief trip to take a bunch of nonperishables and water down. I had like $150 in my checking account at the time, but it was what I could give, so I did. I don't like to toot my own horn, but I was proud of myself that it was my natural inclination to do that.
I waited in line for two hours when I was like 6-8 year old to meet The Ultimate Warrior at some local furniture wholesale place for signings. Was expecting him to be in full regalia. He was in jeans and a t-shirt. That was my "Santa isn't real" moment in my life.
I'd remove the butterfly effect, because there'd be no consequences (the movie would even still exist).
The scream. It's so ubiquitous.
What will the next gif challenge be?
See "just below America's Ass" above.
Put your parenting philosophy into gif form. Good luck.
I would say this is pretty accurate for parents as well as teachers. I have definitely experienced all of those, sometimes multiple ones at the same time....
Will this thread lag more than the racing thread?
If you could have lunch with 5 people from tkp, but it has to be at the same time, who would it be?
Who was a better Rhodes?
Any five of the folks I've tailgated with in Lot 18. Well, replace some of them with their mothers or wives where applicable, because they always make really good food, and you specified lunch, so I'd know what I was getting.
Favorite way to/did you get to enjoy the New River while in Blacksburg?
Which bear is best?
If you could have 1 superpower, what would it be?
Never been. I wasn't an outdoorsy person at that time in my life.
The ability to give someone a flat tire (via a leak or a nail in the tire, not like violently popping it or anything really dangerous). I'd love to just have that power when people drive like jerks.
Who are you tagging to be it now?
I don't think krak_t has gone yet.
Paging krak_t!
Have you ever kicked your kids asses in video games?
Follow up, how many kids asses could you kick before they took you down?
None, assuming "they" are the cops.
Many times. I use my own father's philosophy of making my kids work for it so that they can truly feel pride when they finally win.
Soup and a sandwich?
Best and worst vacations?
3 things that really grind your gears?
My grandmother's chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese (white bread, american cheese). Loved them both as a kid, still love them now although I can only try to replicate the former.
I can't really recall any bad vacations, but maybe this past March when I was sick the entire week at OCMD and had to be hopped up on Dayquil and Nyquil as appropriate just to function.
People who use their phones in theaters, people who film TikTok videos in places where you might not be wearing a shirt (pools, gyms), and people who scream bloody murder in the stretching portraits room of the Haunted Mansion.
A 90s-2000s mix of The Office, Friends, HIMYM...lots of GIFs to be mined there.
Best experience in Lane?
Best tailgate story?
Either https://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2015/10/10574/virginia... or the "longest game ever" against UNC.
The same game as above. One of the NC State tailgaters had set up a huge tent. It started POURING rain and every soul in Lot 18 crammed into said tent and started consuming jello shots, food, etc. Water pouring down the light fixtures, absolute chaos. Then they finally announced we could migrate to the stadium, ESPN started the broadcast before anyone could get in, and they just stopped checking tickets so that folks could actually get in.
That was such a weird tailgate lol me and my dad grilled/pregamed up across from the airport (when that field still existed), then got a text from some friends in the SEZ lot, beebopped down there, got to the lot, realized I didn't have our tickets, he said "good luck!" So I ran, and I mean ran, back to the truck for the tickets. Ran back, then the 30min hurricane landed. Was drop dead gorgeous all day then a Cat 4 lol
I remember that night ( well mostly...there was a certain amount of alcohol consumed....I believe the correct word would be "copious"); we parked somewhere in a backyard in Center Street area; walked to the gates( 'walked" is a generous term...stumbled and fell is more accurate) ; and when they kept the gates locked due to lightning, my friend suggested going back to the car but I was sure I wouldn't make it so we stayed at the gate. When they opened (after some incredibly close lightning finally abated), we were among the first 50-100 people in the stadium; it was almost surreal seeing the stands that empty!
Side note-after the game, we were in the parking area in that back yard which by that time was a mud bog. Someone's 4WD Jeep was stuck and it took ten minutes to get it pushed out. My car is a rear wheel drive Charger-overpowered and underweight- and we were concerned we would have to call a tow truck to get it out over the ditch that had formed; but my friend drove and said "fasten your seatbelt and hang on" and we floored it through the ditch at 25 mph and made it!