Tagged By Jeremy and Lance

Eight Things About Me

1. I'm not as well-read as I should be. I'm not up on the classics. Because I was a clever student, I was able to get good grades in literature classes by paying attention to the things the teacher or professor stressed and often skipped actually reading the book. I can't read Shakespeare. These days I mostly read non-fiction and pop-novels by authors like Dean Koontz and Jeffrey Archer and like them.

2. I have a soft spot for some pretty schmaltzy 70's songs. Close To You by The Carpenters, Everything I Own by Bread, Freida Payne's Band of Gold are just the tip of the iceberg. I like Lady by The Little River Band. On and On by Stephen Bishop. Have You Seen Her by The Chi-lites? Yep.
   

3. I wish I could I sing. Of all the things that I can't do, it is the one that I regret the most. I hear the right notes in my head, I hear when other singers are off key even by a hair, and that is the part that is so frustrating. I know exactly how I would sing it – inflection, intonation, emotion – all it. But I can't do it. Oddly enough, I can't whistle on key either. Faulty wiring someplace I guess.

4. It is getting harder and harder for me to be patient and respectful of religious beliefs of any sort, especially when the believer is intolerant and incredulous over other's equally absurd, unsubstantiated beliefs. This has now extended to belief in alternative medicine. While I accept that chiropractors can offer some relief from back pain, they aren't “Doctors.” They are overpaid masseuses. Chiropractic medicine is based on a theory that disease can be traced to the misalignment of vertebrae. This is patently untrue, and yet chiropractors are widely recognized as medical practitioners. I think that the perpetuation of any myth is ultimately destructive to civilization. You hear people saying things like, “I don't believe in evolution,” or “I don't believe in global warming” as if those things are matters of faith. They are not. Evolution is a fact. Some of its processes are not yet fully understood, but it is not a matter of belief. Global warming is happening. We may not fully understand the causes, but it is a fact. People have trouble discerning fact from fiction because of the perpetuation of myth, especially religious belief. That one probably doesn't count if you have read my blog before. Tough.

5. I am a very fussy eater. Yellow mustard doesn't count as mustard. It should be renamed and considered a separate condiment. (How about smerconish? " You want mustard or smerconish on that pretzel?") If I ask for a hot dog or a sandwich with mustard and I forget to specify that I want brown mustard and instead I get smerconish, I'm angry. Just one example.
   

6. I can ride a unicycle.

7. I'm sick of the computer field. I would very much like to change careers, but my lifestyle depends on my salary, and I'd have to take a huge pay-cut if I were to change careers.

8. One of the biggest disappointments of my adult life was when Howard Dean's candidacy was derailed by those idiots in Iowa because some years before he made some disparaging yet spot-on remarks about the caucuses. Don't even bring up “the scream” okay? Dean was the only presidential candidate in my entire life that I ever really believed in without compromise. When he lost I pretty much decided that I'll always be voting against the candidate who can do the most damage rather than for someone who I actually believe can do some good.

I don't have 8 people to tag. I tag Bobby and Kevin, but I'm not sure either of them are up for it.