I got cornered by Carin Bondar in Vancouver, and the conclusion of her interview is that I’m the nerdiest non-believer of them all. First teddy bear, now nerd — someday I want an interview to end with the idea that I’m fierce, heroic, and manly.

Not going to happen, I know.

Oh, and I got the dreaded dinner guest question, and I picked Lenin (architect of the Russian Revolution), Darwin (you know him), and Charles XII of Sweden (probably the most impulsive and ferocious leader ever), because they’re all interesting fellows, and the battle at the dinner table would be epic. Charles XII would win, of course. If I just wanted a quiet dinner conversation, it would have been Darwin, Peter Kropotkin, and Aldo Leopold, but my 3 initial picks were designed for maximal chaos.

No, wait…there would be more chaos if I substituted Richard Goldschmidt for Darwin. Need to revise my dinner list now.