Monica

amergina: Yes, somewhat, though it's hard to characterize. In some areas (sometimes loosely called "social justice") the trend has been slightly more liberal/compassionate; in other areas there has been no change despite prevailing opinions in the community; and in other cases complete disinterest has turned into interest. But this question both requires and deserves a much better answer than that, so I will endeavor to address this separately within the next week.

celebrin: For the first part, I think you must have me confused with someone else, and I'm sorry that I don't know how to help you. For the second part: to use the tools we are given to the best of our ability and for good.

steven: It's taken a while, and it's not a solitary process. Grounding in meaningful ethical sources (regardless of where they come from) is essential. Succinct guiding principles don't hurt either: "What is hateful to you, do not do to others. That is the whole law; all the rest is commentary. Go and study." (Oh, and thank you.)

alienor: Like the musical instrument with one more syllable ("ee"), emphasis on the first syllable.

dvarin: Accessories: currently Encore, a generic computer, and generic speakers for playback. Previously, staff paper, a pencil, and a piano. Processes: If I'm starting from scratch, start by drafting a melody -- which usually takes life with singing, not with noodling around on an instrument -- and then add a bass line, tweaking both as necessary to make them happy together. Then I fill in other parts (simultaneously) to complement. Alternatively, I enjoy imitative counterpoint and sometimes compose an entire piece in parallel, a few measures at a time, but this is both harder and less in demand so it's not the norm. Mostly I do renaissance-style dance music, but also arrange some stuff for my folk-music group and the very occasional "art" piece just for the fun of it. These last were mostly a product of one semester of private composition lessons, though I'm going to try to retrofit a Psalm setting I once did in Latin into Hebrew and then give it to our cantor for evaluation. I have never done anything symphonic, and rarely done scoring for specific instruments.

ksnell: It's the way I learned the meme; I didn't think much about it. Having promised that kind of privacy I can't change it now, though if I ever do this again perhaps I'll do it differently. Writing the answers to imply but not outright state the questions has been interesting, and maybe at some point the right question and the right creative streak will come together for something entertaining.

kitchenwitch: Mmm, salad is good. It's a little cool in the office today. I wish Bush weren't such a warmonger. One-on-one talmud study is enlightening. Presumably assorted fluids and then my skull.

goljerp: Probably writing a program to let me know when the CS Coke machine was being filled. You see, when the CMU CS Coke machine registered "empty", there were really two cold bottles in the bottom of each slot. The machine was already wired -- you could query its status from anywhere on the network -- so all that was missing was a way to sound an alarm when cold Coke was about to become available. (This was way before webcams, of course.)

chaiya: Start here.

ralphmelton: Why, to be the greatest sorceror in the world, of course. :-) Ok, more seriously, I see lots of adventures doing new and different stuff (life is full of learning experiences; one hopes they aren't too painful or expensive), growing skills/powers, and eventually being one of the background powers (with some appropriate scoping) while she settles down -- not very close to the family -- with friends, students, groupies, and a nice library. :-) (As an aside, if she was ever going to multi-class, which is unlikely, she would strongly consider paladin. I mention this to provide possible insight into personality, not to suggest an actual plot development.)