25 Things About Me

I kept getting tagged to do this meme,* so I thought I'd get it over with and just link to it again in the future as necessary. Unless I keep thinking of things to add to the list, of course.

  1. This is not, strictly speaking, a random list of things about me; I don't know how I would randomize thoughts from my stream of consciousness.
  2. The first item may already tell you more about me than the rest of the list.
  3. My first year in graduate school I bleached my hair. It came out sort of blondish-auburn. I liked it but never did it again.
  4. Speaking of hair, I have always cut my own hair since I was 20.
  5. I have played 'cello since I was in fourth grade. Most people who know me know this, but I am continually surprised by the occasional person who knows me well but will suddenly exclaim "I didn't know you played 'cello!"
  6. I secretly like the fact that my having a Ph.D. in physics can intimidate people who have Ph.D.s in social "sciences".
  7. I used to be convinced that every guy named his penis, until I found out otherwise. I had to alter my world view.
  8. Many people seem not to know that I compulsively crochet doilies and have done since 1994; I've got quite a pile by now.
  9. I'm pretty sure most everyone knows that I've written and published fiction, mostly adult gay fiction (i.e., gay porn), since 1998 under my pseudonym, Jay Neal.
  10. I have been attracted to men with facial hair for about as long as I can remember.
  11. I don't remember what it's like not to know calculus.
  12. Red is my favorite color; purple used to be, and I still like it, too.
  13. I've always wanted to be better at painting and drawing. During my senior year in college I took two art courses: life drawing one semester, advanced studio the next. I had several pieces in the senior art show.
  14. A job recruiter once asked me what would be my perfect job. I suggested "one that requires a knowledge of partial differential equations". He was confounded but I still think it's the most accurate, succinct answer I could make.
  15. I've never really liked to color inside the lines, except sometimes.
  16. I used to smoke at least 2 packs of unfiltered Camels a day.
  17. When he was president of the Czech Republic, I thought Vaclav Havel was the world's sexiest leader, because of his mustache; Lech Wałęsa was pretty hot, too.
  18. I love deviled eggs.
  19. I also like anchovies.
  20. My two favorite cousins were both adopted.
  21. I generally prefer boxer shorts, or nothing at all.
  22. I recognize that Mozart was a great composer, but most of his music I find remarkably tedious, but there are a few exceptions.
  23. Karl Popper may still be my favorite philosopher; I don't think anyone has ever understood how science works better than he.
  24. I think "meme" is an interesting, if not terribly profound, idea, and very similar to a concept Popper wrote about decades before Dawkins, although I think this internet notion of "memes" is silly and trivializes the concept.
  25. I am old enough that I know–again–that my opinions are correct, but occasionally I can still change my mind.

—–
* Or, to plague Melinda, let's say "I keep getting tagged to meme this".

Posted on February 11, 2009 at 23.21 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Personal Notebook

8 Responses

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  1. Written by rightsaidfred
    on Thursday, 12 February 2009 at 14.51
    Permalink

    5. I have played 'cello since I was in fourth grade.

    Is, by chance, your penis named 'cello?

    I came across this blip some time ago, and I thought I could tease you with it sometime, such as, "I had the guys in the bunker convinced to let you in to escape the Obama administration, purely for your 'cello accompaniment, but then we convinced her to join, so sorry."

    (Denise Djokic)

  2. Written by jns
    on Thursday, 12 February 2009 at 18.55
    Permalink

    No, but that's a very clever guess. All those coded suggestions about playing 'cello could have come in very useful.

    I will supply one hint: the name derives from a comic strip.

    I can see why–in today's US army, at least, as it thinks it is–why she might have been preferred for her 'cello accompaniment in the foxhole, although what a Bach Cello Suite has to do with this song escapes me, but Bach is always pretty, even played with too much vibrato. I recognize the song from the Muzak station played at my Taco Bell, but I didn't know until now that the song was called "Drops of Jupiter". I've always thought the lyrics rather clever, but I have no idea who's doing the singing (in the video or on the Muzak station). I'm very, very bad at pop culture.

  3. Written by chris
    on Friday, 13 February 2009 at 18.55
    Permalink

    I actually know the answer to the cartoon conundrum. think "fez" (and no, it's not major hoople)

    I've heard men refer to their genitalia by names, and as "the boys", and even "Peter and the twins", but I've never given a proper name to mine. odd, because my family tended to name inanimate objects; not only the car, but houseplants, items about the house (I have several owls of various media, all with names), and even analytical instruments when I was a grad student. but never my dick.

  4. Written by jns
    on Friday, 13 February 2009 at 19.15
    Permalink

    It's never too late to supply the name; quality takes time.

  5. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Saturday, 14 February 2009 at 00.35
    Permalink

    Jeff, I think it kind of remarkable for someone devoted to partial differential equations to want to draw and paint more. If I understand correctly, the two pursuits work off different sides of the brain.

    Keep up this madcap, varied pace and you really will be Renaissance Man revisited. And, lest you get the wrong idea, that's not snark. I mean it, and it's a compliment.

  6. Written by jns
    on Saturday, 14 February 2009 at 15.53
    Permalink

    Thanks very much, SW; I detected no snark at all. I sometimes do feel right-/left-brain conflicted, so I do what I can to keep both sides entertained, but it does make one prone to dilettantism. Ah well. I've decided that being very broadly superficial rather than narrowly, thoroughly deep is probably my fate.

    Did I ever mention here that "madcap" may be my favorite English word?

  7. Written by Mary Shafer
    on Wednesday, 18 February 2009 at 21.39
    Permalink

    'I secretly like the fact that my having a Ph.D. in physics can intimidate people who have Ph.D.s in social "sciences"'

    I've found that an MS in engineering will intimidate them, too. Introducing myself as a NASA research engineer seemed to work pretty well, too, particularly when I was working on the SR-71s.

    'A job recruiter once asked me what would be my perfect job. I suggested "one that requires a knowledge of partial differential equations".'

    I spent a lot of my career estimating the coefficients of partial differential equations, using flight data. It was fun. I can still derive the equations of motion starting with F=ma and the sum of moments equals zero. What a useless thing to remember in my retirement.

  8. Written by jns
    on Wednesday, 18 February 2009 at 22.45
    Permalink

    It's remarkable how our minds fill with useless bits of mental prestidigitation; if only one could make a living from them. You make me think it might be fun to derive Hamiltonians from least-action principles, but that's not going to happen for me. But at least I finally think I understand the PDEs.

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