8 Things about Meme
Vijay (who is getting into a bad habit in tagging me) has tagged me with the following meme:
1. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
3. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been
tagged.
OK, so first off, why are those who are tagged with this meme called “players.” Is this some sort of reality show? I wonder if someone is keeping score, and how the scoring is actually calculated. Do you get creativity bonuses, or bonuses for honesty? Do you win some sort of prize if you win at this meme? I need to know these things!!
The second question I have is regarding the use of the word “random.” Do they really have to be random facts? My mind does work in a somewhat random fashion (as regular readers of this blog will quickly attest), yet I am having a difficult time finding a way that these facts can be truly randomized. I actually would favor doing a meta-analysis on my facts and determine retrospectively which ones are most prudent, but I’d need some smart people to help me on that one.
OK, so here are 8 “random” facts about me:
1. I am the 5th of 6 Children. Interestingly, so is my wife. The statistical improbability of that happening is so high, that I wonder if Zaphod Beeblebrox will pop out and steal our car. We both have 3 older sisters, 1 older brother, and 1 younger brother.
2. I have been to 47 out of the 50 states in the US. I have not been to Alaska, Hawaii, or North Dakota. I know that you all figure that a rich doctor like me should spring for a family trip to ND, but I really think it may seem a bit pretentious. If anyone has some good suggestions as to what to do while in North Dakota, or if some travel agents know of any ND cruises or sight-seeing tours, please let me know.
3. In high school, I started a dog-throwing team. We didn’t really ever throw dogs, we just made up some rules (the dogs were starched and painted blue) and got our picture in the yearbook. We also had the sports columnist write about our exploits in the dog-throwing competitions. I guess I haven’t changed much.
4. I have had facial hair for nearly half of my life (at the present time, I have a goatee).
5. My grandmother traveled from northern Germany to California - by ship, then by train - to marry my grandfather (this was right around the turn of the century). They had been “pen pals” - he in Holland, and she in Germany - and he had already gone to California to start a new life. She knew no English, but made it successfully (thank goodness, or I would not be here).
6. I actually did have to walk into the wind across open fields in sub-zero weather to walk to school. I grew up in upstate New York, and walked 1/2 mile to school - which happened to be up-wind from our house. I remember having to walk there when it was -30 degrees F wind chill. I can’t wait to bore my grandchildren with that fact. One year the snow got so deep that I had to walk nearly twice as far, as the fields were covered in over 6 feet of snow for most of the winter.
7. I grew up in a family with the odd combination of being scientists (my father has a PhD in physics), and “born again” Christians. Unfortunately, it means that you are misunderstood in both groups. Fortunately, he really didn’t care and left an incredibly good example to follow in both areas.
8. I once escaped from a steel chest encased in Plexiglas and surrounded by shark-infested waters. It only won me fleeting international acclaim.
9. I never lie about things.
10. I am not good at keeping track of which number I am on in a list.
So there you have it. Now you know about me and my life. There is nothing more to tell. Aside from that, I am a generally boring person.
Now I have to tag 8 people! Yikes! So I tag:
I hope everyone checks their links and can see that I tagged them.
June 17th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
#7 … would love to have grown up in that household!
Science confirms faith in our family.
Faith confirms science …
I know how in the 2 circles they are many times misunderstood ..but they should not be.
My parents were both educators … that, having been raised in a Christian family …is also a quite interesting combination as well.
June 17th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
LOL as usual. I’m sure you’ll never bore your grandchildren. Somehow you’ll embellish the “in my day, I had to walk…” story enough to entertain them.
Happy Father’s Day.
jmb
June 17th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
A goatee! You really must have that mad scientist look. Does your hair resemble Einstein’s?!
I have a mushtache, which is pretty much expected in males in India. I tried a goatee once, my wife refused to look at me, so I shaved it off after about 10 minutes
June 17th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Don’t tell my wife, but I’m letting my beard grow in order to bring back mutton chops. By this time next year everyone will have them. Just you wait and see.
June 18th, 2007 at 3:42 am
LOL…You crack me up! I especially like the one about telling your grandchildren about having to walk to school….I like it because it is a reality in my life. My grandkids will complain about going to school when it is freezing cold outside. I tell them “well atleast you don’t have to walk a mile to get there.” Usually this is followed by my smart aleck son saying….”Don’t forget the part about no shoes mom. tell them how you had to do that with no shoes”…..:)
June 18th, 2007 at 4:45 am
Hello Rob,
While grateful you would think to dump, em, bestow this honor upon me, I’ve stopped my blog at this point. 8 people is sure a lot to tag. Thank you anyway, for thinking of me.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:05 am
If you go to the south part of North Dakota, you could go to Mt Rushmore
June 18th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I’ve been to North Dakota. The beaches don’t live up to the hype.
I also had to walk several miles to school (in Northern Iowa) in all kinds of weather. Never thought a thing of it. In fact, it was the best part of the day.
Did the facial hair once upon a time. Not a look I care to remember.
I’m pretty sure God doesn’t have a problem with science. I think he’s a little disappointed in what we do with it sometimes.
Oh btw, good news Dr. Rob, my anti-virus software updated and I no longer get false positives viewing your pages.
June 18th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I hear the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople is especially nice.
Yes, Having a Goatee - especially with some gray in it - has made me seem wise beyond my years. It is good to give that illusion.
Clark: I look forward to the upcoming surge in Elvis sightings.
Dean: I may quote you on God and Science.
June 18th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I just got my copy of Mere Christianity in the mail but my wife has grabbed it to read first. I promise I’ll get to it soon but in the meantime will be reading Everyman by Philip Roth. It might be a good choice for that idea we discussed.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
I meant to say are a lot to tag. I hate when I do that! Chemo brain at 5:45 am. Sorry for the grammatical error.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
You Boring.. like .. yeah right !!
Cold.. lemme tell you about Canukistan (as my hubby likes to call us *lol*)
Scientist & religion - my best friend’s father, who was a dear mentor to me, had a PH D in Chemistry & collected bibles. He even took me out once so I could start my own collection. Not that it grew much after, but a dear reminder of a dear man.
And this face hair thing… interesting trend in the comments
June 19th, 2007 at 10:19 am
[…] don’t get a new Tag Heuer watch (I am partial to Movados, myself), but I have been tagged by Dr. Rob over at Musings of a Distractable Mind. So the meme is “8 Random Things” whereby I list 8 random things about me and tag 8 more […]