Thursday, January 18, 2007

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!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, it's scary when transformers blow. Back in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte I remember huddling in my parents' room, watching the exact same thing happen.

Chickadee said...

I love calamari and I thought I would never eat it, but once I did, it was great!

I have odd memory triggers too. I think it just means we have open minds. :)

My 13 are up.

Leanne said...

You are such a crazy big fat tipped pen guy! I love it! LMBO!

Calamari isn't such a big deal. Sorta tastes like string cheese, only the cheese would be rubber. :P

#8 - Michael W. Smith comes to mind. He is amazing, and it's amazing how he gives all and has for years. I love how God provides for those radio stations that offer commercial free Christian music and manage to gain enough contributions to stay on the air across the nation. It's incredible.

Happy Thursday to you, thank you for stopping by!!

Angela/SciFiChick said...

Calamari is one of my favorite foods!
Neither of my computers even have floppy drives. You better copy those over before you have no choice! LOL

Dane Bramage said...

HA! I still have 5 inch floppies! I have no clue where I would go to get the stuff off of them though. I guess I could store them with my 8 track tapes.

My Thursday Thirteen #26 is up. Better late than never. It is the 13 Favorite Bible Verses Edition Stop by if you get a chance

Barb said...

1. Me either!
2. Me too!
3. I smoke
4. I GOTTA have a good wet writing pen.
11. I have a couple of floppies, too...

Heather Smith said...

Great 13! I'm the queen of post it's too! They are everywhere! I even use them to post Bible verses that I need to be reminded of through the day!

Mags said...

Happy TT, but...you should really try calamari!

Make sure it's super crispy and you have a yummy sauce. That'll help you over the first hump.

K said...

Lists like these are fun and interesting to read!!

Thanks for stopping by my Thurs 13 earlier!

Anonymous said...

Those are some pretty funny things. I made my kids try calamari before I told them what it was. They love it now. My ex dips, and has since before I met him. When he complains about child support, I remind him of his $10+ a day habit and tell him he could put that to his kids' college fund each month instead. He doesn't like that. :D But it's fun for me. :D I like gel ink pens.

Mary said...

I love your list, just cool bits of info about you. Sorry, I love calamari :D I also love the Geico commercials, and fat tipped pens. I can barely write with the skinny ones, and my horrible penmanship is tolerable with a fat pen. :O) Thanks for visiting my TT:O)

Michelle said...

I've never eaten Calamari either...and now every time I hear it I think of Kelli Pickler from American Idol!

I like those Geico commercials too, but I like the ones with the Gecko more (I'm an animal person).

I'm super obsessive about washing my hands, so no worries there. I don't like to cook for the main reason that my hands get too dirty and "gross".

I have scores of 3.5 floppies...I always think I might need them, you never know when you need to revert back to the floppies! We have games, documents, all kinds crapola on those things.

Super cool TT, I loved it.

Unknown said...

Thankyou for your kind comment about my son. It has been tough, but I can see the light ahead of the tunnel as he gets older, it's easier to deal with.
I like random TT's like yours.
It's nice to get to know you better.
Calamari's great if it's not over cooked, then it just tastes like a rubber band.
I have an obsession with watches too. I must have about 5 or 6. Seems like every year I need a new one.
Happy Thursday to you and thanks for stopping by!

Caylynn said...

Great list! Nice to learn more about you. I can't imagine eating calamari either.

Thanks for stopping by and have a good day!

Qtpies7 said...

I like calamari, but it depends on where you get it, and how they make it. I like them from a fast food type place on a military base that made them look like onion rings, lol.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I used to homeschool my kiddos, too, and I think they are pretty well behaved, they are still kids, though!
I forgot the most annoying stupid thing people say about being able to afford them. Oh well!

Bubba said...

mmmm....calamari! One of my faves!

Also, #7 (the CDs) is legal...as long as you don't distribute the copies.

Happy TT!

Emily said...

Hear hear to #8!

Chris said...

I was just reading this thinking 'me too'.

The floppies, the CD's, the calamari and the post-its.

Great 13 :-)

JHS said...

Dang, I was saying "Me, too" a lot while reading that but you got a MUCH higher nerd score than I did. What's up with that?

I do the same thing with CD's. Always have. And I have 5 1/4" floppies I can't part with. I guess I could pull my old Leading Edge computer out if I really want to check what's on them. That would be the computer that started out as a dual floppy. Remember those? And I was so proud of myself for installing a hard drive in it! I spent way too much money on all that, but I thought I was big stuff because I had an Epson letter-quality printer that produced Times New Roman when everybody else still had dot matrix Arial. AND I had a 2400 baud modem so I did my law school research on line instead of driving to the library. That way I could do it while the kids slept and hubby was at work.

Unbelievable. I'm think I'm officially old, so I'm leaving now . . .

Stop by and visit!