Seven answers on 7Q (also known as the FAQs of life.)				Interviewed by Tom Mangan Mike Gunderloy, farmer, writer, techie His homepage is here.		AUTHORS Michael Fuchs Elizabeth Hilts Paul Riddell Gary Rivlin Jim Motavalli Barbara Shafferman Jules Siegel Keith Snyder ARTISTS/POETS/ PHILOSOPHERS Jon C. Allen Will Baker Mike Leung Jon Sarkin COOL SITE KEEPERS Mike Cash Scott O'Neal Colf Godfrey Daniels Cliff Davis, DDS Tammy Hocking Wes Modes Frank Rogan DIARISTS Ralph Becker J. D. Bruns Linda DeVault Mike Reed Moira Richardson Jessamyn West FILMMAKERS Ben Kufrin Dean Mermell JOURNALISTS Bernie Mary Cooley-Jones Lindsay Crysler Jamie Dupree M.O.A.T.M.A.I. David Moll Robert Niles John Orr Steven Ovadia Pierce Presley Mack Reed Rip Rense Curtis Ross Neal Ross John Scalzi Catherine Seipp David Sheets Dwight Silverman Matt Welch MOVIE MAVENS MaryAnn Johanson Brian Koller HUMORISTS Debbie Farmer Mike Jasper Madeleine Begun Kane Patrick Keller Bob Sassone Valerie Sprague Ken Swarmer Ian Wolff SOLDIERS Maj. Jon Anderson, USAF TEACHERS John Warner TECHIES Chris Adamson Mike Gunderloy Michael Ivey Greg Knauss Floyd Maxwell Ellen McDonough Mike Pingleton Wayne Thume John Worth TEENS Gary Baum Marty Beckerman UNDECLARED Bev Gibbs Beth Reid WEBLOGGERS Jason Kottke Jish Mukerji
ONE				What were you doing before you moved to the farm, and what did that have to do with your decision to go the rural route? Well, before settling down I spent a few years touring the country in a 28-foot motorhome, living on the road full-time. Throughout all of that I managed a career as a computer consultant, so some weeks were spent "camping" in inner-city parking lots, but fortunately a lot of my work could be done completely away from customers. Though fun, after a while it got tough to juggle that lifestyle with a career, so, along with getting married, it became time to settle down. I've never been much for living in close proximity to large numbers of people, so rural life was an obvious way to go. Besides that, both my wife Dana and I feel the need to be more self-sufficient in our lives, and rural life makes that easier than city life does. We think there must be genes for farming that skipped a few generations in each of our families.
TWO				Describe the greatest test of character you've encountered since moving to the country. Before we bought this place, it was owned by a guy named Ted, and before Ted, it was owned by his father Darwin. Darwin is getting on in years, but after living here for decades, he seems to feel that he still has a proprietary interest in the land. He's been known to visit just to tell us that we're not doing a good enough job of keeping the Canadian thistles under control, or to rummage through the garage looking for some weeder parts he remembers seeing in 1960. It just doesn't seem to have sunk in that it's not his farm anymore. I keep reminding myself that he's just had his 80th birthday, that he's not such a bad guy, and that this can't go on forever.
THREE				What's your personal favorite farm animal, not counting cats and dogs? Surprisingly, our horse (Danny). I say surprisingly because my previous experience with horses had convinced me that they are nasty animals who exist only to make life difficult for people. However, this horse happens to be sweet, smart and gentle. I don't ride her much (she's too big for me, being a gargantuan thoroughbred), but I do end up being the one to brush her down and put out food each morning, and we seem to have bonded. Runner-up status for the guinea fowl, who are just fun to watch as they wander around the farmyard in a chattering mass.
FOUR				Share an anecdote that made you reasonably sure the critters were as smart as their keepers. When we first got the llamas, one of them proved that a 400-pound llama would fit through a hole that we had through was too small for even a sheep to escape through. He then proceeded to wander about the countryside, impervious to both offers of theoretically-tempting food and attempts to herd him back with two people and a pickup truck. We finally caught him and returned him to the pasture (with some new boards across the gate); however, he managed to outsmart us for a good three hours first.
FIVE				How do life on the farm and life among high-tech gadgets complement each other? Well, the obvious way is that the work I do with the high-tech stuff pays for what some folks call "city farming" (owning a farm but not depending on it for a living). But there's more to it than that, I think. Working at home, when home is the farm, means there is always something waiting to be done any time you'd like to take a break. This morning, for example, I interspersed writing with cleaning out the chicken coop and running some electrical cable out to the barn. Personally, I find working in small spurts separated by other things makes it easier to write, and writing is most of the work I do nowadays.
SIX				You're the third person I've met in the past few weeks who found true love online. What brought you and Dana together? I wish I knew the answer to that one. Fate, or sheer dumb luck, take your pick. It's certainly true that chat software makes it possible to get to know another person in incredible depth much faster than traditional dating can manage. But how we managed to do this with each other, and then discover that we were pretty well perfect for each other, is beyond me. I'm sure glad it happened, though.
SEVEN				Any advice you'd share with anyone hoping to find romance online? I dunno about "hoping"... I'm not convinced you can force this sort of thing. However, I will offer some advice to those who think they have found romance online: it's worth following up to find out. Sure, you need to be careful that you don't end up meeting an ax murderer or an FBI agent. But, despite the massive resistance you will almost certainly encounter from family and friends (fortunately, this was minimal in our case), it is possible to meet true love online. Don't miss the chance for happiness just because you found an unusual way to get there.
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