This is a meme going through Facebook - whereby people on your friend list write 25 random things about themselves and then tag 25 other people. I wanted it posted here on my blog as well - so if you are interested here are 25 random things about Boyink….
1. I typically hate memes like “25 Random Things”. I usually blow them off but have enjoyed learning more about people I’ve friended so now feel guilty enough to respond. However I won’t tag 25 other people.
2. I’m neither an introvert nor an extrovert. I’m just a vert.
3. I was tongue-tied until the age of 9. I literally could not stick out my tongue because there was a piece of skin connecting the end of it to the bottom of my mouth. I was getting a physical to go to church camp when the Dr. came across it. He checked my enounciation by having me say the word “Methodist”. I spoke fine, but decided to cut it loose anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a odd feeling. I’m sure my brother and sister were quite impressed with my new tongue-sticking-out abilities.
4. I’m an oddball PC user in a field saturated with Mac users. It’s more lazyiness than anything - I’ve used Windows for years, it doesn’t bother me, it’s actually pretty reliable. The other factor is just money - every time I need to buy a new computer I just can’t bring myself to pony up the money for a Mac. There are few things more boring to me than Mac vs. PC discussions.
5. I’m just about totally sports-illiterate. I grew up in a house where sports weren’t watched so just never got into it. I had a brief interest when I was about 10 - but once I found out that the “local” teams were made up of players who weren’t local I just didn’t see the point. I often marvel at the amount of time and money that is spent on sports, and wonder what a better world we could live in if that money was spent on science and research instead.
6. Showing His wonderful sense of humor, God has gifted me with a 12 year old son who has turned into a complete sports (and sports trivia) nut. I am constantly barraged with facts about games and players I know nothing about, could care less about, and am left trying to figure out the proper response.
7. I have intentionally run red lights in the small hours of the morning when I was the only one out - feeling both guilty for doing so and angry at the fact that traffic lights aren’t smart enough yet to automatically adapt themselves to changing traffic patterns (or at the city people who won’t spend the money on them).
8. I once rolled a Jeep on a mountain trail at 12,000 feet in Colorado. I was making a tough climb and the engine stalled. I had wet brakes so I started going backwards. There were other Jeeps behind me on the trail and in trying to avoid them I turned too quickly and went over 1 1/4 times. I was not injured and we got the Jeep flipped back up, reseated two tires, topped off the oil and drove it back to camp.
9. When I was 16 I passed the testing required to get an Amateur Radio License. As a reward I was offered the choice between a portable ham radio, or a motorcycle. I took the ham radio.
10. I have a terrible memory for street and highway names. I live in the town where I grew up and still can’t give good directions. However once I’ve driven a route I can usually find it again if need be.
11. I have almost a photographic musical memory - in that if I hear the first couple beats of song I know I can quickly tell you what it is and who did it. However if another artist covers the song or it’s re-arranged slightly I won’t have a clue. My wife’s abilities are just the opposite.
12. I was one of the first three kids in my high school with a computer at home (TRS-80). Because I could do the classwork at home I goofed off in class. However I knew more than the instructor and we both knew it. He gave me a C - and it was the only time I recall getting my parents involved to change a grade. He was supposed to move it to a B. When report cards came out he hadn’t, I didn’t fight it again, and it ended up costing me a gold cord graduation. It seemed important at the time.
13. A couple of years ago I taught myself to weld.
14. I take alot of pictures.
15. I have won awards at the local fair for some of those photos, and for a sculpture that I welded together.
16. My wife and I enjoy being quietly counter-cultural. We homeschool our two kids, I work at home, and my wife does not work outside the home. We don’t watch broadcast TV or radio - we got tired of being advertised to so much, tired of how the popular media takes pot shots at our faith, and tired of the inane way it portrays men in general. We do watch movies and listen to a lot of music - but it’s of our choosing and on our schedule. We live in a modest house and (other than the Jeep which is a summer toy) share a 13 year old full size station wagon. We’ve tried very hard to simplify our lives and own less stuff and have found it to be freeing. We get a kick out of being out with our kids and having people ask “Shouldn’t you be in school” and having the kids answer “We are - and you’re talking during class”. Weeell…ok..so that last part is a joke we keep private…but we’re sure tempted.
17. The year I turned 40 (last year), I wrote a book and started a 2nd business that has been successful way beyond my expectations. It will be a tough year to beat.
18. Based on the experience of writing that book, I’m convinced that the traditional publishing model is broken for small-run technical books, and in the future authors will act as general contractor for their own books, hiring graphical artists and editors while remaining more in control of the final product (and earning more money from them).
19. I was once asked to leave a programming job because I was really excited about this new technical development, and thought we should learn more about it and try to do business using it. The development was called “the Internet”, and the owner didn’t get it. Within a year after leaving that job the business was gone.
20. I have done work for every former boss/employer going back 15 years (including the one in # 19).
21. My first job was catching chickens at a chicken farm, pulling them from cages and putting them in carts in which they were shipped off the a soup factory.
22. Other jobs over the years: McDonalds, bus-boy, roofing, siding, putting up TV antennas (including tower work), selling consumer electronics, Production Assistant at a TV news station, True Green driver, and newspaper delivery boy (not in that particular order).
23. I went to my future father in law’s 40th birthday party while dating my future wife. I was around over 20 at the time, and my wife is older than I am.
24. I am not one of those guys who knows how many miles are on the current set of tires, or how many miles the last set went. I also don’t know at any given moment the MPG the car is getting or how long until the next oil change.
25. I have an older brother and a younger sister. We were the first generation on either side to go to college. My father and forefathers were all blue collar workers, manual laborers, farmers, or skilled tradesmen. I feel incredibly blessed to do the work I enjoy and to be self employed. When I get frustrated with my work I always take time to reflect that I get to work at home, choose my projects, set my own hours, sit in a comfortable chair, in a room with windows, with music playing and fresh coffee at hand.
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