We have a few new faces around here so I thought it might be a good idea to put one of our new developers, Ben Edger, on the spot with a few questions to give the rest of the crew some insight as to what makes him tick. It’s no secret that we like to have a little fun with our employees so we’ll give this a shot and see how it pans out.

I present to you the first installment of “Meet The New Guy.” If it works, look for a few more in the near future. Now let’s get to meeting our new guy…

Matt:
You recently graduated….what was your degree in and where did you get it?

Ben:
I graduated from Texas State Technical College – Waco with an AAS in Web Design and an AAS in Web Development.

Matt:
What made you choose this path?

Ben:
My step-dad was/is a developer. When I was younger I always thought it was interesting to write HTML and I created my first Web site at age 12. Yes, it looks horrible compared to my new one. Web wasn’t my first choice though. I wanted to be a chef first but when I was in 12th grade I had a Dreamweaver class that showed me I was much better with computer then cooking.

Matt:
I think it’s safe to say that you were meant for web development if you started writing HTML at age 12. I’d say cooking is a good “minor,” though….do you still cook a lot? What’s your specialty? Let me guess: stuffed lobster tail accompanied with sauteed shrimp & scallop scampi??

Ben:
When I do cook, which tends to be far and in-between, I usually love to make Italian food. You’ll never catch me cooking seafood, EVER. If I get a strong smell of seafood, the real fishy smell, I get sick to my stomach. It’s been that way since I was younger. I don’t really know why though. I can’t even cross the seafood section in Wal*Mart without having to hold my breathe until I think I am far enough away from the smell.

Matt:
Duly noted. Seafood buffet. Next week. It’s on.

What’s your favorite thing to do on a computer?

Ben:
My favorite thing to do on the computer is to play video games and gamble with Cozino games, of course. I am a huge World of Warcraft fan and I’ve been playing it for about 2 years and 2 months. I am not limited to only playing Warcraft, I grew up playing games from just about every genre. That includes NES, Sega, Playstation, Xbox, etc.. I also enjoy working on my Web site, surfing YouTube or just chatting with the friends on Yahoo/AIM.

Matt:
That’s right…you’re a big-time gamer. I know very little about WoW, but what I do know is that it is insanely popular. Were you ever into D&D or any other offline RPGs? And tell me about your faction/class/race/whatever-the-hell your WoW character is about…if that even makes sense.

Ben:
I have played a lot of games from MMORPGs, like World of Warcraft, to the table top games, like Warhammer. Warhammer really isn’t an RPG but you build and paint an army to ‘fight’ against another player. A lot of people get caught up in it and start to act like the army they field. I never really got into D&D but I have friends that play and I know a lot of the lingo that goes along with the game. I am apart of the SCA though. That’s a group of people that do LARP but not in the sense of magical creatures. You can read some about that at www.sca.org. In World of Warcraft, I play for the Horde (faction) as an Orc (race) Warrior (class). That means I run around and hit other players or ‘mobs’ (random environment creatures) with weapons in hand-to-hand combat. I can talk about Warcaft and games all day, so I am going to move to the next question.

Matt:
I’ll say when it’s time to move on to the next question, sir. Okay…let’s move on.

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Ben:
Only one song? I don’t think one song would keep me going for very long. I like music but I like to find new music. Most the time I will listen to Pandora Radio (pandora.com) because it will throw songs in that I never heard before but might like to hear. The song that I listen to the most, currently, is Hide and Seek by Namie Amuro. Most the music I listen to is Metal though.

Matt:
Ok, ok…now I’ve stumbled into it. You love metal but right now you’re listening to Namie Amuro the most?? Wow…talk about musical diversity. I, too, tend to dig the heavier end of the music spectrum but I’ve got countless guilty pleasures as well. What metal bands are you into? Do you like seeing live shows? Are you a MOSHER???

Ben:
I listen to a lot of music all the time. My iPod has about 2,700 songs (which is barely anything) on it and they’re all sorts of genres. I do love metal and I’ve been to a Korn and Slipknot concert. I wasn’t able to get in the mosh pit but I would have if I was given the chance. When I got back from both concerts, I wasn’t able to move my neck from all the head banging and rocking out. I never buy CDs though, that’s my big downfall on such a low music collection. I download just the songs that I want from iTunes or get them from my friends.

Matt:
It wasn’t a good show unless you’re physically impaired for the next couple days! I’ve seen Korn; it was the loudest concert I’ve ever been to and I’m pretty sure I have some permanent hearing loss as a result. Good times. (And talk to me about a streaming mp3 ripper…I’ve got one you might like so you can bulk up that Library Solutions.)

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

Ben:
Most the time I say Event Horizon but for some reason Monty Python and the Holy Grail came to mind. That movie, and the rest of Monty Python, makes me laugh all the time. I own the Holy Grail and Life of Brian. I go back and watch them from time to time and just laugh. I love movies though. I will go and see any movie if I have the chance. I buy a lot of them from the Movies on Demand because I think it the long run it’s cheaper. If the movie is good enough, or I think it will be, I’ll go to the movie theater and see it.

Matt:
Now this was a lead-in question because I thought FOR SURE you were going to say Star Wars. (Although I absolutely LOVE the Monty Python flicks…hilarious!) When you first started working here, Ron and I took you to lunch and you told us about some Star Wars “memorabilia” you have. Care to share with the class?

Ben:
I love Star Wars but it’s not my all time favorite. I do own some Star Wars memorabilia. They are the Clone Trooper helmet and the Darth Vader helmet. I love the Clone Trooper helmet, it’s so much better made then the Darth Vader one that I got. I meant to bring it to the office but every time I get up I always get caught up in getting ready to leave that I forget the helmet. Someone text me in the morning and remind me!

No reminder was necessary. Check out Clone Trooper Ben. He wore this in to the office yesterday and I love it. Full-throttle coding requires a helmet!

Matt:
You seem like a really easy going person. What’s your biggest pet peeve? Seriously, I want to know what really pisses you off!

Ben:
Things that piss me off. I hate when people tell the wrong direction. Example: We live north of Austin. I hate when people say, “We’re going up to Austin this weekend.” How hard is it to look at a map? Honestly. I hate when people talk about something they don’t know about or try to claim they’re an expert at the subject. Example: Some guy in Best Buy tried to tell me that they didn’t make video cards for laptops. He worked for Best Buy. I just walked away from him to find someone who had a brain to help me.

Matt:
HAA! Well I’ll keep that in mind this weekend when I go down Oklahoma City for the top secret WoW power-leveling workshop that only Best Buy employees who work in laptop sales are allowed to attend.

Ben:
I wouldn’t trust those guys. They’ll tell you all the wrong information. =P

Matt:
Your 21st birthday is approaching. How are you going to celebrate?

Ben:
Yes, my big 2-1 is coming but I don’t quite know what I am going to be doing. My birthday is going to be on a Sunday this year. That means work the next day. I think we’re going to wait for the following weekend to go out and party it up. That way I wouldn’t have to call in being ‘sick’ (hung over). What are we going to do? What else? Hit the bar with my older brother and some friends. No worries though, I always have a DD to get me home.

Matt:
You’ll soon learn that Sunday nights are no obstacle, young jedi. Since you claim to ALWAYS have a designated driver, I have to assume that you have illegally hit the sauce before. What’s your preference? Beer? Whiskey? Tequila? Moonshine?? (This information will go in your file. LinkWorth is very sensitive to our employees’ alcoholic preference.)

Ben:
I don’t know what you’re talking about… okay, okay… Yes, I’ve drank before… this IS Texas. Isn’t it a requirement? I am not much of a beer fan. I will drink it if it’s the only thing around but if I can avoid it, I will. I like to drink Vodka, Schnapps and stuff like that. Since I can’t really buy it right now, I take what I can get. You know what I am talking about? I don’t drink a lot though. I have to be in the mood or it has to be an occasion for me to put a few back. The last time that I went drinking was New Years of ’08 and that was some fun times. I try to keep those night spread out for now.

Good stuff, Benny. Thanks for taking some time out for me and being a good sport. Welcome to LinkWorth!