Q. What was your first computer?

It was an IBM PC, with 192K of RAM, a Hercules graphics card, and two 5.25" floppies. Lotus 1-2-3 and Wordstar performed admirably on that system.

Q. When did you take up writing books for computers, and what was the first book about?

My first book was published in 1991. It was called "PC World 1-2-3 for Windows Complete Handbook." Unfortunately, that initial version of 1-2-3 for Windows was terrible, and nobody used. Therefore, nobody bought the book.

Q. What got you into Excel in such a big way?

It was just an accident, really. I used to publish lots of software reviews, and I was a contributing editor at InfoWorld, and they always gave me the spreadsheet products to review. Consequently, I became known as the spreadsheet guy. And when I got the offer to write my first book, it (of course) was about a spreadsheet. Gradually, the other spreadsheets faded away and Excel was pretty much the only survivor.

Q. Did you know about the flight sim thingy in Excel 97?

Of course I did. My Web site has an entire page devoted to Excel easter eggs. http://j-walk.com/ss/excel/odd/odd01.htm

Q. How many books have you wrote in total. Are they all computer based subjects, and have you thought about writing a book about music/photography or a novel?

I think the book count right now is 45, with 4-5 in the works. With one exception, they all deal with spreadsheets. The exception is "VBScript For Dummies." I'm certainly not qualified to write about music or photography, but I've been wanting to write a novel for quite a while -- not that I have any expectation that it would ever be published.

Q. When did you decide to take up blogging as opposed to writing websites just about Excel?

I started my blog in October, 2002. As I wrote in my first entry: "Today I woke up and decided to start a weblog." I'd been reading some blogs, and I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Q. Roughly how much time do you put into each of your other sites (all 9 of them)?

At this point, all of my other sites are pretty much stagnant. The only one that I even think about updating is The Spreadsheet Page.

Q. Does your family object to the amount of time you put in on the sites?

Nah, it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars.

Q. Has any posting generated interest from the media, or have you been contacted by the media to add comment to a story they maybe covering?

The blog has been mentioned in a few publications -- most notably PC Magazine. It made some type of "top blogs" list.

Q. When did you realise J-Walkblog was a "big hit"?

I'm not really convinced that it's a big hit. I know I get a lot more traffic than the average blog, but my blog is still pretty small potatoes compared to some.

Q. Has any posting sparked a backlash against you?

Not really. Occasionally, I'll get an email from a religious nut who objects to the way I talk about religion, but that's pretty rare.

Q. Have you had to ban anyone as a result?

Right now, my banned list has about 80 IP addresses and 20 email addresses. They've been banned because of too much obscenities or spam.

Q. The guy (auri or whatever his name was) who started selling the bottles of wifi speed spray, hacked you off big style, besides him has there been any other occasion that’s made you want to reach for your legal team's phone number?

I didn't really have much of a problem with the Ari guy. He's just a small time rip-off artist with no imagination. It was more funny than a problem. It's not like I'm losing any money.

Q. I take it from the comments left on J-Walkblog, you are close friends with a few of the commenters (12 stringer, Toad etc) but there must some commenters you feel you know equally well and possibly call a friend - but have never met face to face.?

Definitely. There are about 15-20 regular commenters that I feel as if I "know."

Q. Do you have a subject that you go back to again and again because it's something that you are passionate about it in one way or another.

Obviously, religion is one such subject. Others include spammers, scammers, and crooked politicians. These topics all have one thing in common: people trying to take advantage of others.

Q. Last year you posted an article about some communication you'd got from a prisoner - requesting your help with something Excel related. You asked everyone for some advice on how to proceed - how did you proceed in the end?

I actually printed out about 20 pages of VBA code for him, but I never mailed them. I got tired of looking at the pages, so I threw them away. So much for good intentions.

about you in more depth:

Q. If you weren't blogging or writing books or playing with computers - what else would you have done for a living.?

My first inclination was to say musician -- but I don't have the talent or the discipline for that. So maybe I'd be a landscape architect. But it's impossible to say. All three of my "careers" have been accidental and unplanned.

Q. Music is big part of you - have you ever thought about going into a recording studio and seeing what appears.?

I've never considered because I guarantee you that it would be a disaster. I play best when I'm all by myself. As soon as there's the slightest bit of pressure to "sound good" my playing goes to hell.

Q. Do you catch any of the music that’s in the charts at the moment and think "Oh that’s not a bad track" or is it just not your cup of tea?

I don't listen to any popular music. The vast majority of music I listen to are by artists that very few people have ever heard of.

Q. How long have you played the banjo?

A little over two months now. I had a "bluegrass" banjo a long time ago, and I could never get the hang of Scruggs 3-finger picking. Now I play "clawhammer" style and it's a LOT easier (and more fun).

(I admit I had to Google these methods of playing a banjo - I flunked triangle in school)

Q. Why the banjo

Why not? As I mentioned, it's easy to play and it sounds good even when you play alone. Once I started reading the banjo Web sites and blogs, I found a whole new subculture out there.

Q. Do you play anything else?

Guitar, and a little bit of ukulele, mandolin, keyboard, and harmonica. It's all just for fun, and I don't take it seriously at all.

Q. Besides the obvious - list a few interests?

I think we've pretty much covered them all. I do like to putz around in the garden. After moving to Tucson , it's a whole new ballgame compared to San Diego .

Influences:

Q. Person/people?

No answer given

Q. Music?

No answer given - however if you were to go throught the list on J-Walkbog you'd discover what is John's taste.

Q. What's on your MP3 player right now that you are listening to?

Right now, nothing is playing. Earlier this morning I listened to two different versions of "Sandy River Belle," trying to learn it on the banjo.

Favourites:

Q. Food?

You name it, I like it.

Q. Drink?

Scotch. Or gin.

Q. Colour?

Green, I think.

Q. Joke?

I can't remember jokes.

Q. Place (can be -location, town, state, country)?

Hawaii

Q. What makes you laugh (apart from this dumbass questionnaire)?

Witty people -- people who can always come up with a good line.

Q. What makes you cry?

Mistreatment of animals.

Finally (stop cheering)

Q. If you had the influence - is there something that you would change? (bring about world peace, prevent hunger or an event etc.)

I'd have to say that I'm a bit of a pessimist in that regard. I am extremely cynical of politicians and people in power. It would be nice if all of the U.S. war money were spent on productive endeavors, but that will never, ever happen. I really don't see the human race lasting much longer than 100 more years.

John, Thanks for the interview, it's been a pleasure to find out a little more about you.

(er if you're wondering why the old pic of John, he forgot to send me some and this is one of the few that comes up in google, the rest are of his books! )