SL: Other than computers, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Tweak3D: As I said before, skateboard and work on my car. I have been a skateboarder since my 13th birthday, and I just love it. Here in Bakersfield we have the biggest indoor skateboard park in the United States too, so if I can’t find a place to skate, I just drive down to the park.

My car is fun too, but it’s an expensive hobby. When I’m almost done I’ll post some pics showing how the restoration of this 1984 Mustang 5.0 convertible went. It’s starting to look really sweet.

SL: Do you get a lot more of fan mail, or flame mail?

Tweak3D: We don’t get much flame mail. Usually if someone’s flaming us it’s an isolated incident involving the forum or we’re experiencing server problems. We get loads of fan mail. It feels good to read through the e-mail you get each night and see how many people are really appreciating the work you put into it. It motivates you to wake up early the next day for updates, etc.

SL: Did you fall in love with computers the first time you saw one, or were you influenced by other people?

Tweak3D: I always liked computers but I never even had a PC until I was in 10th grade. My mom scored a 386 25 MHz PC with 4 MB ram. I thought it was cool and I would play on it all the time. I always did my own upgrades, because I could never afford to have anyone else do it for me. I think customizing your own PC is the best way to get hooked.

SL: What kind of advice would you give to people? What if someone wanted to start their own website, what kind of advice would you give them?

Tweak3D: The best way to get a lot of people to read your site is to be unique. If you have the same site as everyone else, nothing separates you from the others. Also, listen to what your readers have to say! Some sites refuse to change things simply because they don’t want to deal with the hassle. If we get enough complaints about something on the site or enough people want a new feature, we’ll always make an extra effort to make them happy.

SL: What’s the favorite part of your job?

Tweak3D: Well there are a couple really cool things. I’d say either getting a bunch of hardware for free to play with, or getting e-mail from happy readers that tweaked their PCs with excellent results.

SL: What’s the worst part of your job?

Tweak3D: The worst part is probably server problems or when I don’t have time to update. Everyone gets bummed out but it’s usually not my fault. It sucks to take the blame.

SL: Is Tweak3D your only job, or do you do something else as well (school, work, etc)? If something else, what do you do?

Tweak3D: Well, Tweak3D is my main job. On the side I also work for a magazine called Incite PC Gaming. It’s a pretty cool magazine, and packed with every issue is a CD. I write tweak guides and autoexec creators for the CD, and occasionally they put something of mine in print.

SL: What do you think about the whole graphics war? The technology moves so fast, do you think that’s a good thing?

Tweak3D: Well, it goes both ways (not like that, you sick bastard). The benefits are obvious... with the latest hardware you can play almost any game at even 1600x1200, and games look better than ever. I still remember the first time I hit 30 FPS @ 640x480. Wow that was a shocker. J

SL: What’s your opinion on overclocking? Do you do it? If so, what do you overclock and how much?

Tweak3D: I’m an overclock freak! Both of my PCs are overclocked. One is a P2 300 SL2W8 @ 450 MHz and the other is a P2 266 @ 333. I even overclock my video cards (GeForce 256 in my 450, Voodoo3 3500 TV in the other box).

SL: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say wood? (Random question, but we need something to entertain you and the reader :-))

Tweak3D: *Giggles like a school girl*

SL: Who do you want to as the next United States president or what character from a computer or console game would make the best president and why?

Tweak3D: I think Gordon Freeman should be the next president. Think about it... the guy is a scientist so you know he’s pretty smart, but he can really kick ass! And if aliens ever invaded the United States (you know it’ll happen some day), he’d put the smack down.

SL: How much money do you make from just Tweak3D?

Tweak3D: People get paid for this!? Err.. I’d rather not say, for obvious reasons. :-)

SL: I noticed you recently joined with the PC Stats network. Can you give us any information on what that is all about and how it helps you out?

Tweak3D: PC Stats is an awesome network. Right after joining they hooked me up with a sweet dedicated server. Now they’re talking about moving me over to Cold Fusion, which I think will help a lot. Also, the ads aren’t bad...;)