I haven't been asked any questions like these, or at least not that I can remember. I am in the school of thought that I would not look for the hidden agenda but try and answer it at face value.

I much prefer the intractable problem style of questions i.e. how would you deal with an unresolvable situation. These are great because you are asking people how they would deal with a problem with no correct answer so you are really asking how, why and in what manner they would find and apply a compromise. Something that I feel we have to deal with every day.

I am not so keen on the fake mix of the technological with the abstract, the T-SQL coffee filling being a great example, as I feel there is a danger that it neither truly tests the technological skill nor the person's personality. (So if the next person who interviews me reads this I guess I'll have to answer one after all ;-))