Thursday Thirteen #23

Thirteen More Useless Facts About John 1. I've never eaten calamari (squid). I don't ever plan on trying it either. Some things, I just can't eat because I can't deal with it mentally. 2. I really like those Geico cave man commercials. Especially the one where the cave man is in the airport on a moving sidewalk and passes a Geico sign with a cave man with a club and the "So easy, a cave man can use it" slogan. 3. I don't smoke, but, I did dip Skoal and Copenhagen for a lot of years. I'm glad that's over. Plus, I was shocked not too long ago when I saw somebody buy some and it was over $3 per can. 4. I like pens with really fat tips and that write with a super black wet ink. Most people I know like ultra fine tip pens. I like mechanical pencils with a big (0.7mm) lead in them. I know, y'all are thinkin', "This guy is a WILD man!" 5. I'm fairly obsessive about washing my hands. I have always been able to hold back panic when I feel that they are dirty or something, but lately things have been bothering me more and more. On a recent trip, I couldn't just hand Lovely Wife food when she was driving and I was riding shotgun, I had to cut it with, and hand it to her on a fork, bite by bite. And we're just talkin' Captain D's fish here, not sardines or something hideous like that. 6. When I was a teen, I loved putting plastic models together. My favorite was a replica of Don Garlits's first rear engine top fuel dragster. It was about 15 inches long and had super soft rubber slicks on the rear that crumpled just like the real underinflated dragster slicks. Another favorite was a big model of an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt. I love the smell of Testor's glue in the morning, it smells like, childhood. 7. When I buy a new music CD, I make a copy on a blank CD and put the original away. I use the copy in the car and for general listening. I just let the copy take the beating and when it starts to skip and act up, I throw it away and make a new one. I hope this is legal. I'm not making and selling copies or anything. I know that back in the day it was legally ok to do this with cassette tapes, so I still do it, only now with CDs. 8. I admire Christian musicians, singers, and band members who try to make a living at it, and put out great music, while knowing they aren't going to sell the tens of millions of CDs that secular bands sometimes sell. 9. Ever since I can remember, when riding in or driving a car, I move my toes in my shoes to the rhythm of the dashed white lines going by in the road. Weird, huh? 10. I LOVE watches. I have a junk drawer that has lots of old watches in it. Mostly cheap ones that the battery has died. My everyday watch is a Casio diver's looking watch with a gold face. They've been making them a lot of years, and I've always liked them and finally bought one five years ago. It's big, tough, and waterproof. My Dad left me a Rolex when he died, but I don't wear it much. It's worth as much as a nice used car and I don't want to have it stolen, plus, Dad's wrist was smaller than mine is, and even with the band all the way out, it's pretty tight. I wear it on special occasions anyway. Funny thing is, I'm a digital engineer, but prefer analog watches. Go figure. And I don't like Roman numerals on the face of my watches either. 11. I still have lots of 3.5 inch floppy disks at home with stuff on them that I can't bring myself to throw away. I haven't gotten around to checking this info out to see if I still want it, and to move it to CDs. Lazy. 12. You know how memories just pop in your head for what seems like no reason? Yesterday it got really cloudy outside while I was out for some fresh air and it reminded me how, during the hurricanes of 2004, when the electical transformers started blowing, how we sat in our living room watching the huge flashes of blue light through our home's skylights as they increasingly blew as their loads increased. That was seriously creepy. It was as if the storm had blue lightning every few seconds until they were all gone in our area. 13. I'm the king of post-it notes at work. The Unix computer I use in the electronics lab I spend a lot of time in has 10 post-its with info on the computer case and monitor. There are about 5 or so with info stuck on the lab table around the computer too. My desk computer has fewer because I tend to spend more time in the lab. I especially like the big post-it notes with lines on them. What a geek. I wish I could have a camera at work, I'd show y'all. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!