What's interesting is that I've played at Chris Perkins' table before (way back in 2000 or so, before 3e launched), and he can be a superb DM. He had a good sense for the dramatic, a great dungeon design sense, and he's a good enough artist that his quick dungeon sketches were really evocative. He ran a fun game.
That being said, I really don't like a tendency to say no instead of yes. That makes the game less fun for everyone in my opinion. If a door is frozen shut and a PC has a fire power, I'd rather have the DM say "yes, but..." instead of just "no."