You have questions, I have answers. Lets have some fun...

Tonyandthewhale

What was your bike set-up when you cycled across Europe? And what was your route? And is there a thread on all that?

What kind of shoes do you wear?

DeVore

TeddyTedson wrote: »

1. Do you believe in Aliens DeVore. If you do what are your beliefs? Do you think aliens have ever visited the earth?
   

I believe in probability. Which says that there are almost certainly aliens. I believe that, given the basic environment which isn't that unlikely, self-replicating proteins are likely to come into existance. After that, things like New York and ironing boards are pretty good bets.

The distances are such that its extremely unlikely they have been to Earth.

I would not be hugely surprised if they find traces of life on Europa or Mars. I would, on the other hand, find the look on Ratzingers face... hilarious.

[*]Is it true you love all of us equally?

No.



And your question is based on a false premise.

[*]How do you feel self employed people and small businesses are treated like in the country at the moment by the government?

Like the enemy.

Like something nasty they trod in.

[*]Is there a need for the letter "X" in the English language?

yeah, sure, why not.

[*]Got any tattoos? Ever consider getting one?

Nope!
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=76747013&postcount=354

[*]Are you interested in Art?

Yes, but I define art as something that:

1. Must move you emotionally. Doesnt much matter how, or which direction.

2. Must be hard to do, it must have some skill to it. You can just arrange every day objects and go "oooh its aaart darling".

3. I cant do.

Lately though I've been really working on my photography and in the next 5 weeks my twitter (@devore) will have a lot of shots from my trip to Asia (yay!!). So I'm kinda dropping the third requirement as I'm starting to produce things I would find "artistic" if others presented them to me.
That in itself says a lot about where I am right now.

DeVore

strobe wrote: »

I wanna play. (I had a post but I'll try another if that's ok.)

1. How much did you personally earn pre-tax (or net if you prefer) in 2011?

um, I think it was 28,000 or there abouts. Thats after I've paid VAT but before paying income tax.

2. {Bit of a boilerplate question} - If you had to travel back in time and meet yourself at 11 years old (dispensing with paradox's and stuff) and give yourself one piece of advise consisting of exactly 11 words... What would that be?

Mind that tree in Canada.

But then I wouldnt have crashed and that was important. hmm... Hug my Aunt Kathleen that Monday morning. Yeah, that.

3. Outside of anything boards.ie related what are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life?

Gaelcon's charity auction probably. Cycling across Europe. Making my father proud of me. Something like that.

4. If you had the capability to 'break the internet' what would it have to become for you to do so?

I dunno if I understand the question. I dont think there is anything vaguely possible which would make me do that. In fact, if you think about it in a meta way, so long as there are people out there, whatever this 'thing' is... communicating with other like minded people is the ONLY way to confront it. The worse this 'thing' is , the more we NEED the internet.

I think my answer is "the absolute conversion of society to evil" which I find preposterous.

5. If it was either/or... Would you prefer to be happy and ignorant, or informed and unhappy, man?

Tough one. I think informed and unhappy... But you are asking me now... if I was ignorant and you asked me I might have a different answer.

DeVore

El Weirdo wrote: »

Inspired by the Dunphy thread.

Who do you think is the best (or worst, I suppose) real life troll?

Dunphy's a pretty good choice tbh!

I think Kevin Myers is a nasty little troll, admittedly he sometimes has good points but he is playing with fire, at other times, for his own enrichment. Its the broadsheet version of "Mussy Wussy are bombing our boys" in the redtops.



Micheal O'Leary is a cnut. Thats not relevant to this answer, I just wanted to reiterate it again.

DeVore

policarp wrote: »

Derry for the Fleadh Ceoil 2013?
You being from Ulster, would you be for or against?

Yeah, sure. Why not. Who cares...

Also, not wild about being claimed as an Ulsterman, not that I have anything against the place, its a stunning beautiful area of the world with lovely people but as for favouring places just cos someone is from there... that makes me think of this quote:

"Nationalism is the irrational belief that your country is better then all the other countries solely because you were born there..."

DeVore

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

What was your bike set-up when you cycled across Europe? And what was your route? And is there a thread on all that?

What kind of shoes do you wear?

It was a Dawes Galaxy. I wore Shimano stuff and I would use both manufacturers again. They performed better than I did!

We went from Cherbourg to Bordeaux to Toulouse to Marseilles, Corsica, Sardinia, Rome, Naples, Bari, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey.

War in eastern europe made it the only real route and the US navy made sea travel a nightmare.

I'll write more on this but its 3.23 now and I've had quite a week for a week when all I had planned was a dental appointment.

Shield

Choice between:
1. What's happening with FeedForward?

OR

2. Budweiser or Heineken

dfx-

Q). How does one manage in life without devotion to 'Hooliball'?

acidskiffle

When is a jar not a jar?

Spoonman75

"Not only is there no God but try and get a plumber on weekends"
Woody Allen.

What say you, Dev?

mikemac1

Dev, never knew you were an Ulsterman

So tell us:

Bushmills or Blackbush

Which is your whiskey of choice Sir?

Ledger

Would/Have you ever try/tried a blasphemous thing like Guinness Mid Strength?

LETHAL LADY

Foster and Allen masters of deception or gullible leprechauns?

mfceiling

Has anyone famous/politician/well known ever got in contact with boards to complain about something that was written about them?

Dave McSavage doesn't count...

Mr. Loverman

DeVore wrote: »

the worst idea was probably thinking "I wont buy money.com and sex.com, I cant afford it" as a student.

Haha I did something very similar!

Questions:

1. Could you please give me your definition of "successful".
2. How important is luck?

Cheers

The Sparrow

Does it annoy you when boards is ignored by the media* when they are discussing social media and what people are posting online? I ask because it always annoys me a bit when I'm watching a TV programme or reading an article and they are talking about the amount of people discussing something on Facebook or Twitter and I'm looking at boards where hundreds of people are posting about the same subject. And often with more eloquence and knowledge but yet they are largely ignored.

I realise that it is hardly the most earth shattering thing in the world but it always annoys me a little that boards doesn't get the credit that it deserves as a forum for online discussion in the same way that Twitter does. Another example was when I was at a commissioning event in RTE a couple of years ago and one of the heads of commissioning dismissed boards as being for teenagers which I found unbelievable at the time.

* I dislike using the term 'media' as it seems to suggest one homogenous group all acting the same way but I can't think of a mort succcint term.

DeVore

Shield wrote: »

Choice between:
1. What's happening with FeedForward?

OR

2. Budweiser or Heineken

Thats techincally two choices. A or (B or C).

Feedforward is there but there hasnt been a huge issue to be debated lately. I think the issues of streams (legal, quasi legal and illegal) will have to be addressed and will probably end up there. I'm also thinking that maybe we'll just make it full access, I may have been over cautious about controlling access.


Oh Heineken over Budweiser any day of the week and twice on sunday. I prefer drinking Chisk (Maltese) or Budvar (Czech) or a nice micro brewery lager .... just not Weiss biers.

DeVore

dfx- wrote: »

Q). How does one manage in life without devotion to 'Hooliball'?

Easily. I despise the fanatical tribalism it engenders. The game itself is fine, entertaining and can be very skillful. My father was a professional for Bohs and Transport but even he is disillusioned with it these days, particularly the cynical free-seeking divers.

I have several manian mates who are die-hard fans. They will sit in their team colours on their couches and roar at the TV. They say things like "We're playing the 'pool next week".

I say things like "You're not playing any one you fat bastard, you're going to sit on a couch in a different country shouting at a piece of technology".

DeVore

acidskiffle wrote: »

When is a jar not a jar?

When you've taken too many psychedelics.

DeVore

Spoonman75 wrote: »

"Not only is there no God but try and get a plumber on weekends"
Woody Allen.

What say you, Dev?

"I'm not a plumber either, stop calling me."


I see no reason to need a God to explain the universe. If there is a God he is a non meddlesome God and stays outside his creation. I could buy that (I wrote a piece I'm still proud of on this topic, here). But since he stays outside his creation, I see no real reason to spend so much time and energy worry about what he wants or how to appease him.

This is a nice song about it too (great blues artist!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpNoQaB2LT0
"God said, I'll just lay back in the shade, watching everybody getting laid, thats what *I* call Intelligent Design".

DeVore

mikemac1 wrote: »

Dev, never knew you were an Ulsterman

So tell us:

Bushmills or Blackbush

Which is your whiskey of choice Sir?

Neither. I drink Jameson by preference, of the typically available whiskeys. But if you want a very happy DeVore, buy me either Oban or Jura... or Midleton Very Rare if you are made of cash

I once drank a nip of 150 year old Hennessy and it was just about the most extraordinary thing I have ever drank. I'm not much for brandy but this was a physical, whole-body experience. Astonishing. And only 2500 a bottle (I didnt buy one... )

DeVore

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

Foster and Allen masters of deception or gullible leprechauns?

Can I answer: Masters of gullible leprechauns?

DeVore

Ledger wrote: »

Would/Have you ever try/tried a blasphemous thing like Guinness Mid Strength?

No. I havent tried half sex either.


My granfather had a great saying for such things. "If yer gonna drink whiskey, drink whiskey."

Ledger

DeVore wrote: »

No. I havent tried half sex either.


My granfather had a great saying for such things. "If yer gonna drink whiskey, drink whiskey."

Good man.


Your grandfather was wise.

DeVore

mfceiling wrote: »

Has anyone famous/politician/well known ever got in contact with boards to complain about something that was written about them?

Dave McSavage doesn't count...

Plenty, but privacy forbades me detailing them. To be fair, most irish "famous" people take a very reasonable approach to it and so we take a reasonable approach back. We dont take down criticisms but we do remove abuse. If you cant critique without abuse, too bad, learn to write. In effect we give them the same protection we give regular users here. I dont care if you are famous, big whoop. I care that I dont support something nasty on our platform regardless of target.

DeVore

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Haha I did something very similar!

Questions:

1. Could you please give me your definition of "successful".

I define success for *me* as being able to live as fun and interesting a life as possible, in a sustainable way.

By sustainable I mean being able to continue to live that way over a long time (rather than in a "green" fashion, though I do try to be a bit green too).

2. How important is luck?

Cheers

There is a great book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers which answers this question.

Almost every successful person will stress how hard they worked, how bright they are, how they guided things to success.

The truth is that most success is sparked by "luck". Now, I accept that you can "make your own luck" and when I was a poker player I would say "its funny, the more I play the luckier I get". However luck plays a much bigger role then people are willing to accept.

I got the IP for a quake server and I distinctly remember thinking "if this gives me any sh*t, I'm going back in to the TV room and rolling a joint". It worked first time and I became a quake player. I met Blade on the server, he became a mate, introduced me to Cloud. We hung out on IRC. He installed the first "webboard". I loved it... thought up the idea for Boards, he loved it. We're here.


Life is all the bits that happen between all the bits you plan.

Hellrazer

Dev,

Have you ever thought of branching out a bit with some new sites.

I mean with the success of Boards.ie (now ye`re talkin`) and adverts.ie would you not maybe start

1.An adult dating site (now ye`re shagging)

2.Your own religon (now ye`re praying)

And second more serious question

Have you ever thought of running for government??Or maybe starting a political party??With the muppets thats in at the minute I reckon you`d do a better job than the lot of them put together.
Think thats called a dictatorship though :)

DeVore

The Sparrow wrote: »

Does it annoy you when boards is ignored by the media* when they are discussing social media and what people are posting online? I ask because it always annoys me a bit when I'm watching a TV programme or reading an article and they are talking about the amount of people discussing something on Facebook or Twitter and I'm looking at boards where hundreds of people are posting about the same subject. And often with more eloquence and knowledge but yet they are largely ignored.

I realise that it is hardly the most earth shattering thing in the world but it always annoys me a little that boards doesn't get the credit that it deserves as a forum for online discussion in the same way that Twitter does. Another example was when I was at a commissioning event in RTE a couple of years ago and one of the heads of commissioning dismissed boards as being for teenagers which I found unbelievable at the time.

* I dislike using the term 'media' as it seems to suggest one homogenous group all acting the same way but I can't think of a mort succcint term.

It used to annoy me intently but now I think of the Japanese proverb:

If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by.

We started Boards with nothing. Local Ireland was enormous and had 2 Million behind it from Eircom. P45.net was huge. Online.ie had 7 Million funding. We had a bunch of quake playing loopers. 12 years later.... well, here we are.

Media (and I share your reluctance to use the term) in this country doesnt like us because we are the enemy. We take from their trough of advertisers remember. We democratise the loudspeaker they are accustomed to monopolising.

We let people talk back when what they want is for us to shut up and stay preached at. No one likes to be questioned (except me it seems lol).


"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win". -Ghandi.

I'm no Ghandi, but we've been ignored and laughed at and we're in stage 3 at the moment, the most dangerous stage. Hence our sudden use of our power in political terms this week, we're being attacked imho.

I've been planning for this for a very long time

Free ball.

Do you ever play the lotto and if so why and if not why not.

eamor

Hi DeVore,

Great thread, thanks for your time. So my questions....

1.Are you a fan of TV? Whats your fave show(s) at the moment...?

2.Have you watched The Wire/sopranos/deadwood (insert any HBO production here) ?

3. If not, why not?

4. If yes,Do you believe (like many here) that the wire is in fact the greatest tv show of a generation...?

5. Whats your earliest memory...?

Thanks

Wibbles19

I was thinking of asking if your happy, but that's a moment in time thing, so here's my question....
Are you confident that your life experiences have given you the tools to deal with most situations in a way that you can be proud of and live with.

sgb

Best thread since I joined boards

You obviously have the intelligence and skills to be very rich, but you chose not to pursue this path, why?

MadYaker

Is this you? I googled Tom Murphy and that was what I got.

Sindri

Why haven't you branched Boards out to other countries, and offered a similar service to Britain, France or Argentina that you do here in Ireland?

Also what do you smell like? It's for scientific purposes...

Babybuff

Thoroughly enjoying this read. It is a pleasure to get to know you or at least to know little bit about you. Your personality has managed to raise the standard of AH a couple of octaves so keep it up I'm feeling proud for some stranger I've never met and probably never will meet but it says a lot about you and it's all good so kudos.
I'm not sure if I have any questions but it's been fun reading the answers so far.

wait..wait, inny or outie?

AskMyChocolate

DeVore wrote: »

I find it so odd that the whole of policing human social interaction can be boiled down to a line from left to right.

I'm libertarian socially but even that feels constraining. I believe in allowing people to achieve their potential but not crushing them if something goes wrong.



Hmmm... The Cure, Kate Bush, Billy Bragg, Eurythmics, U2, Iron Maiden, New Order, The Pixies ... quite a wide range.



Very hard to judge.... He probably stopped the Nazis more than any other single person. However his impact on humanity through computing is still being felt.

Of course he was a queer, so, you know... he needed to be jailed. :rolleyes:



all of the above, plus loads more haha, I've played I think its 5 Grand Campaigns in Empires in Arms (a Napoleonic strategy game that takes about 18 months a game, playing every week ).

You missed the best one though... Go. Beautiful game.




I did. And no, it was the bane of my life.

Those where the days when you typed pages of code in from a magazine and then debugged it so that you could play a ****ty version of asteroids in text before you mum walked past an wobbled the Rampack. *cry*

Yup. In my experience, the only thing that comes close to describing it, is trying not to disturb a teething baby, who, after four hours of wailing has finally got exhausted and cried themselves to sleep.

Gloomtastic!

This Michael O'Leary hatred thing has me intrigued. I personally think he's done more good for this country than bad. He has very similar traits to you IMHO, maybe you should try and work together for the common good.

6. I take it you are unattached. Does settling down with someone and having little DeV's ever appeal to you?

McChubbin

What is your view on pineapples?

What's the most naked you've ever been in public?

DeVore

Hellrazer wrote: »

Dev,

Have you ever thought of branching out a bit with some new sites.

I mean with the success of Boards.ie (now ye`re talkin`) and adverts.ie would you not maybe start

1.An adult dating site (now ye`re shagging)

2.Your own religon (now ye`re praying)

I think with Adverts and BoardsDeals we have enough to be getting on with! I suppose we will try other things but right now there is a lot of work on the plate and we need to be getting some revenue in or at least slowing the leak (which to be fair, isnt much).

Someone once accused me of running Boards "like a cult" because of the loyalty we engender in our users. I see that loyalty as a good thing, that the users see us as something to get behind and support. We arent always perfect, we've made mistakes and it genuinely hurts us when we dont live up to those expectations but I guess its aspirational and as long as we always try we wont go far wrong.

And second more serious question

Have you ever thought of running for government??Or maybe starting a political party??With the muppets thats in at the minute I reckon you`d do a better job than the lot of them put together.
Think thats called a dictatorship though :)

I've thought of it, and rejected it. Thought of it again and rejected it again. I know how to make things work in the really real world but watching Steve Donnelly (a good mate) beating his (very brainy) head against a brick wall isnt encouraging.

I must admit, this week has made me consider it again, because I'm getting to the stage of "either get in the game or accept things and/or leave". I genuinely love ireland. I stayed here in the late 80's and 90's when many left but I just dont know if I can fight hard enough to overcome the attack-of-the-squirrels which can take down the mightiest of beasts.

I dunno... I really dont. I'm so unspeakably angry about whats being done on a number of fronts that I feel like I should, but I also feel impotent. (and dont give me that about voting or not voting, where did voting get us last time? ).

So, I dont kno, but if I was ever going to do it, I guess the next few years are it, but I cant help the nagging feeling it would be like p1ssing my life up against a wall...

DeVore

Free ball. wrote: »

Do you ever play the lotto and if so why and if not why not.

Lotto is a tax on people who are bad at math.

DeVore

eamor wrote: »

Hi DeVore,

Great thread, thanks for your time. So my questions....

1.Are you a fan of TV? Whats your fave show(s) at the moment...?

Not a huge fan of "TV" but i do like good acting and good programs... I can watch them on my laptop or iPad
I dont get a lot of time but record them.

My fav shows include:
House
Battlestar Galactica
QI
Being Human
Mythbusters
Alphas
and just about anything documentaryish or science based.


Right now I'm a bit obsessed with Sherlock. I have a bad feeling I'm identifying a bit much with the lead lol... I wish I was that smart, but the childish tantrumy bits and the lack of real understanding that society doesnt see things his way all the time are certainly facets of my personality.

2.Have you watched The Wire/sopranos/deadwood (insert any HBO production here) ?

I havent. Everyone tells me that The Wire is the best thing since sliced bread but I just havent had time. I might bring it with me when I go on my trip soon, for flights etc.

I dont watch ANY reality TV. I cannot abide it in any form really.

3. If not, why not?

I just dont get the time. I prefer to be active than to consume, but I will make time for House and Sherlock... otherwise I prefer to spend my spare time online with mates, usually in MMO's.

4. If yes,Do you believe (like many here) that the wire is in fact the greatest tv show of a generation...?

So I'm told!

5. Whats your earliest memory...?

Thanks

Hitting my sister with a some kind of plastic bottle. She was annoying me I remember.

My mother left me into school on the first day and I tried to smash the window (perspex!) with a play-brick. My teacher (since becoming a family friend) said she had never seen a look angry determination on a kids face.

When I was six I tried to wreck a Punch and Judy show because I was angry with Punch for hitting his wife, but thats a long story lol...

DeVore

Wibbles19 wrote: »

I was thinking of asking if your happy, but that's a moment in time thing, so here's my question....
Are you confident that your life experiences have given you the tools to deal with most situations in a way that you can be proud of and live with.

Yes. Absolutely. Its one of those "school of hard knocks" things.

I had a year a few years back, when in a very short space of time my company Spin Solutions went bankrupt and I had to lay off 12 good mates. The same week my fathers quad bypass went horribly wrong and we almost lost him. It was a long road to recovery and very hard on the family especially my mum and then, to try and deal with all this, I went snowboarding on my birthday and smashed myself into a tree and ended up with 2 screws and a foot of titanium in my leg after snapping my femur in half.

It was the greatest year of my life.

My father got better, I was released from a company which was dragging me down with it emotionally and I found that at the core, I'm tough as diamond. I dont mean tough as in "emotionally stunted and aggressive" ... I mean, tough enough mentally to decide that it was either "life" or "check-out" and I chose to fight. I'm proud of that.

I'm fncking bulletproof except from my own thoughts... which is why I'm never giving in to depression again and why I wanted other people to know "you can fight this and you can beat it".

Sorry if that sounds arrogant but its only recently that I kinda allowed myself to think that way.

DeVore

sgb wrote: »

Best thread since I joined boards

You obviously have the intelligence and skills to be very rich, but you chose not to pursue this path, why?

Dont get me wrong... I like money. I like it a LOT

But its not the highest priority for me. I want a life less ordinary and life with meaning. I want to change things and make things better. If I can do that and also make a lot of cash, great!! I'm all for that!!!

But I intend for my last cheque ever, to bounce

DeVore

MadYaker wrote: »

Is this you? I googled Tom Murphy and that was what I got.

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/407920/190314.jpg


Yes, yes it is. Thats me.






When I'm dreaming

DeVore

Sindri wrote: »

Why haven't you branched Boards out to other countries, and offered a similar service to Britain, France or Argentina that you do here in Ireland?

Also what do you smell like? It's for scientific purposes...

Isnt Ireland enough??

I'm not sure if something like Boards would work elsewhere either... the irish are a singular nationality and we have just the right mix to make Boards work I feel... any bigger and we might not be able to cope with the volumes... any smaller and it might not be self-perpetuating!


I honestly dont know what to say in answer to the second question. I'm rather flabberghasted hahah... um, I do not know. I dont wear smelly stuff because it makes me sneeze so I smell of soap I guess/hope.

DeVore

Babybuff wrote: »

Thoroughly enjoying this read. It is a pleasure to get to know you or at least to know little bit about you. Your personality has managed to raise the standard of AH a couple of octaves so keep it up I'm feeling proud for some stranger I've never met and probably never will meet but it says a lot about you and it's all good so kudos.
I'm not sure if I have any questions but it's been fun reading the answers so far.

wait..wait, inny or outie?

Oh... um, thanks. Now I'm all bashful ...


Innie, I find outties oddly creepy and a bit wrong lol. euuuw!

ScummyMan

What phone do you have? Are you a "oh look at me I have an iPhone, its got millions of apps! Half the time its broken, but who gives a feck its touchscreen!" kinda guy..or have you stuck to the tried and tested Nokia? :pac:


Great thread btw.

DeVore

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

This Michael O'Leary hatred thing has me intrigued. I personally think he's done more good for this country than bad. He has very similar traits to you IMHO, maybe you should try and work together for the common good.

I dont know that he has similar traits to me. He's rude and I'm not.
What good he may have done for the country is, imho, coincidental to him making a lot of cash. I dont begrudge anyone a lot of cash, good for you, but I dislike it when its made by way of how he treats his staff and customers. I dont think the Good Of Ireland is really up high on his list.

I will freely admit that this is a personal and emotional opinion because of bad experiences my father and mother and I have had... but that in itself is fair comment from first hand.

6. I take it you are unattached. Does settling down with someone and having little DeV's ever appeal to you?

I'm unattached, mostly because I'm probably a nightmare to live with
I do like kids, a lot. I have a nephew and 3 nieces who I dote on. The idea of having a kid of my own isnt repellent but it is a 2 year project and I fear that I would start feeling constrained and resentful in time. I think far too many people get married and have kids without thinking it through and then find they didnt want them. Thats very sad.

I like my life at the moment, some doors open and that closes others but who knows, maybe some day but time is not on my side.

DeVore

McChubbin wrote: »

What is your view on pineapples?

What's the most naked you've ever been in public?

Pineapples are good. I approve of them


I dont have much problem with nudity. I dunno if it counts as "public" but I was almost naked in The Covies quite a bit, partly (I'm convinced) because the crew thought it was hilarious to get me to do crazy stuff. Come to think of it, there was quite a bit of near nudity in it (not just mine!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5jYerQ99dE
(Do not look at the man boobs. Ignore the man boobs! Jesus was I really that fat?? What a fat bast4rd!!)

Thats me at the start playing Jim Blaney, in the bath.. stay for the seaweed / fish bit. I play a hallucinating family man. (Yes, thats a real fresh fish they bought that morning in the market).

I also ended up in bed with a "priest" in the trailer for this episode.

I make a fool of myself all the time in public. Might as well do it to entertain others sometimes



Come to think of it I may have ended my political career already hahah...

The Sparrow

Since you have mentioned Sherlock a few times, have you read the original Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories? And if so, thoughts?

Personally, based on series 1, I wasn't a big fan of the Sherlock TV series. I remember the first episode being good but after that it got a bit dull and predictable imo. Plus, I think I missed the gaslight and Victorian setting of the books.