25 Random Things About Me

I suppose this is the in-thing to do, so here goes…

  1. I give 1/16 of my clothes to Goodwill each year, and replace half that amount. In time, I will have what I need.
  2. I am a political junkie and have followed politics since 1992.
  3. I did not vote once in my life, including primaries and special elections, because I had mono freshman year in college.
  4. I’ve never voted for a republican, in any election, for any office, at any level, and I don’t plan to. I consider myself a liberal, but I cannot stand the democratic party, and several of my beliefs are consistent with republican ideology.
  5. I am an environmentalist, almost to the extreme.
  6. I always walk up and down escalators, and never just ride them.
  7. I am a proponent of intellectual property rights, and I have the habit of evaluating a site’s permalink structure.
  8. I never give money to bums, and when I cannot ignore them, I give them dirty looks.
  9. I think gaming peaked with NHL ’95.
  10. I spent three years chasing my future wife before she agreed to date me. I still hold that against her.
  11. I don’t think The Office is that funny anymore but I guess I have to watch it.
  12. I spent $100 for a high-tech antenna and several hours on my roof only to discover that I get the same number of channels with a rabbit-ears antenna directly behind the tv.
  13. I know almost nothing about cars and have to trust whatever anyone tells me is the problem.
  14. I prefer to bag my own groceries.
  15. I love movies and television but despise anything Hollywood-related.
  16. I grow a red beard, which is what some people call me. My other nickname is “Mean Mister Mustard,” although nobody calls me that. I use humor as a crutch.
  17. I love to write, and I blog often (too much, really). I also talk to myself.
  18. I’m an extremely anal editor. It is not unusual for me to send follow-up emails to correct minor errors I may have made in a previous email, even with friends. I spend hours of thought analyzing the placement of commas, semicolons, and the word “and.” (I am not sure about the comma after the word “semicolons.”) I dream about syntax.
  19. I don’t like it when people with dogs cross the street to avoid meeting my dog. That is exactly why their dogs have become anti-social. I stop-and-stare at these people.
  20. I do not believe in a god, and I consider myself quarter-pagan. (The other three quarters are atheist, agnostic and deist.) I would like to believe in karma.
  21. I do not watch a lot of sports, but I do follow the Buffalo Sabres and Syracuse basketball, and I try to go to a handful of A’s games every season. I read Bill Simmons religiously.
  22. My favorite cuisines are Mexican and French, and I love my wife’s cooking.
  23. I am only able to read on the train to-and-from work so I manage about one book a month. I guess I could read at home, but that is not realistic.
  24. I would switch jobs for money over happiness. I would much rather provide for my family than have a best friend at work.
  25. I think I’m better than everyone, and someday, I will get my comeuppance. But not today, and hopefully not tomorrow.