1) If you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would it be?
Take over the world, and start a benign dictatorship. I thought about this one for a while. There are lots of things which I could do on a smaller level, but if I had one thing that I was told I could do, no matter what, it'd either be make a ****load of money so that I had the means to help people, or take over the world/ a country so that i could have the power to make it a better place. I'm in no way the best man for everything, but I'm good with people, I'm diplomatic, and I know how to delegate (and I'm very modest :P). The problem with Democracy is that not only do things just not get done (I'm sure I don't need to say more than Obama + Republican Senate = going nowhere), but it also means that to absolute bollockses who want nothing more than to stop things from happening have as much of a vote as the people actually trying to help. I believe that given the power to decide these things, I could make sure that the right person was in the right position, and cut out all this popularity contest crap which is in essence what democracy comes down to.
2) What is your favorite holiday tradition? Are there any specific to the part of the world you live in?
There aren't really any holiday traditions left that are exclusive to ireland, not that I can think of off the top of my head. As for the tradition I love the most... it's a toss up between the awesome food at christmas (and the insane amount of leftovers!) and just that feeling of contentment and merriment, the giving of presents (I actually prefer the feeling of giving presents to getting them, it's just the pains of finding the presents in the first place that gets to me :P), the overall feeling of a happy christmas that I enjoy the most, which i realise isn't quite a tradition, but hey... something something mumble mumble mumble.
What's got me bummed this year is that I'm probably gonna be at home for christmas like every year, but I don't know how many people are gonna be there, and while it's nice to see my sister, a large part of me really wishes that I could be in England with my GF, who I really don't see enough
3) What do you want to be when you "grow up"?
Profession wise: current plan is to work in
This Area (which I find immensely interesting) Make ****loads of money, and then retire into a sort of consultancy role and teach maths to Secondary (High) School kids. Generally, I want to be a father at some point, I do like kids and even as this young age of 21 I do think about 'em a lot, but I'd like to travel the world before getting around to that :P I think, no matter what happens, I'll be happy if I manage to be one of those people that doesn't necessarily make a big difference, but has a positive effect on the lives of everyone who knows me.
4) Would you prefer to live in the city or the countryside?
While I don't have a car of my own: definitely city. I've lived in the country most of my life, and I'm living bang in the middle of dublin right now, it makes sooooo much of a difference to travel costs (living right around the corner from my uni), how much I'm able to go out, and getting home in the evening.
That said, I've always loved the countryside, and I think I'd go mad if I wasn't within walking distance of forests and greenery. Course, there are some places where you can have both (my gf lives in Sheffield, which is pretty much a perfect mix of both), but I think I'd miss ireland if I ever move away, which probably will happen at some point...
5) Why are things easier said than done?
Because I have a great imagination and I'm good at talking about fantastic ideas, but in reality the actual acquisition and execution of such plans can be a lot more difficult than they sound...
Regarding the patio lights, btw: just get a variable resistor, which off the power at the fuseboard, cut the wire for the patio lights, attach the two cut ends to your variable resistor, make sure the whole thing is insulated properly and bob's your uncle.
6) What's your favorite type of cookie? (I might make you some).
I'm gonna go with AwwSugar on this one, because those things look awesome.