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:

1. Chrysalis Angel

2. Enrico

3. Awesome Mom

4. Dr. Val

5. MWWAK

6. TBTAM

7. Mother Jones

8. Wolfbaby

I hope everyone checks their links and can see that I tagged them.