November 7, 2009

Top Ten Somethings (NJM8)

Here I am pretending to be in Central Time (or maybe Mountain Time) and posting post-midnight again. Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually try writing during the day for a change.

I looked at today’s NoJoMo prompts, but none of them struck me (when I thought about "the one that got away" I thought about a huge Northern Pike I caught fishing as a child, and just as I was pulling it into the boat the line broke) – so instead, let’s have a list:

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Me (not that I think I’m important enough that people want to read a list of things about me, but it might be a fun exercise)

1) When I was kid, I wanted to be an oceanographer or a National Geographic photographer when I grew up. Jacques Cousteau’s National Geographic specials on TV were a big thing back then, and the idea of deep-sea exploration in small submarines really appealed to me.

2) In college, I studied Telecommunications – which in the early 80’s meant radio and TV production. There was a very small (like an hour’s worth) discussion of communication over computer networks at the time – the internet was still mostly ARPANET then, and nobody had any idea that we would be here twenty+ years later. I really enjoyed directing TV (it’s one thing I wouldn’t mind doing as a job if I didn’t do this), and I also worked the midnight – 4a.m. shift as a DJ at the college radio station – maybe we’ll have some stories of the kinds of callers you get in that time slot on a college campus at another time.

3) All of my computer knowledge is self-taught – related to #2 above, I never had a Computer Science course of any kind in college. I learned programming starting with my first job after college, and have just had to learn constantly since then. Languages I’ve worked in (at least enough for somebody to pay me for): DBase III+ (loved the dot prompt), Clipper, DBase IV, Assembler, COBOL, Borland Turbo C, Visual Basic (several versions, plus MS script versions), Java, some early AI language that I can’t remember the name of, ASP, ASP.NET, JavaScript, C++, C#. There might be others, but those are all the ones that I can recall using for paid jobs.

4) As a little geek, I liked Star Trek – but my real, real favorite show was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Favorite cartoon: Speed Racer.

5) My entire family (granparents, parents, siblings) worked or works in the auto industry – except for me. Which explains why, when we are all together for family gatherings and discuss our careers around the dinner table, I can get sort of left out. My only work in the auto industry was a one-summer stint in college in the Marketing department of Pontiac. Most of my summer’s work was writing a study of why Pontiac should have discontinued the fourth-generation Grand Prix (which they didn’t – they kept selling it for several more years).

6) I’m not tall – I clear something north of 5′ 8" on a good day.

7) I can cook – pretty good, I think. I like to cook, when it is something that requires some skill or trying something new. I can make a proper roux, I can brown butter without burning it, I can make homemade carmel (although sometimes it takes two tries to get it right), I can slice and chop like the dickens – I could make somebody a pretty good sous chef, if I needed a job. I have my wife (and by extension, my mother-in-law) to thank for my appreciation of good cooking skills – I grew up in a household where most everything we cooked came out of a packet or can.

8) I eat too much sugar. It is not unusual for me to have Frosted Mini-Wheats or Frosted Flakes and Pepsi for breakfast. When I eat Pop-Tarts, I always tell myself not to eat both of them (because it will give me a stomachache), but I always do. I like donuts, I like cookies, I like almost any kind of candy – but so far, I am not (okay, maybe a couple pounds) over the healthy weight for somebody my size. However, I’m at the point in life where this kind of eating is going to suddenly catch up with me.

9) I have always tended towards working late hours (one of my past bosses called them "vampire hours") – I find the best time to do programming is sometime after 10pm (or 11, or midnight, as the kids have gotten older), when everything in the house is quiet and I won’t be interrupted. I can get twice or three times as much work done from midnight to 3am as I can in a similar timespan during the day.

10) I’ve read the Lord of the Rings trilogy at least six times, and the Silmarillion twice. As a pre-teen, I would have been very happy to pack it all in and move to Minas Tirith. I also played a lot of D&D in my teens – but that most everybody knows, because I’ve talked about it before. I always preferred being DM over being a PC (go figure – the name stuck). My first paid job (other than mowing lawns) was teaching D&D to little kids at the local game store in town.

Well, that was fun!

The DiaryMaster

*laughs* I remember thinking to myself, the first time I saw reference to a DM here on OD, “We have a Dungeon Master…? Awesome!!” I actually think this was a very interesting entry! Thank you for posting it!! 🙂 Take good care, DM!

sadbluedonkey

November 8, 2009

Well, I found it interesting. 🙂

originalsinner

November 8, 2009

I met Grace Hopper (writer of the first COBOL programs) once. I was working on the Washington Naval Yard, and I immediately knew who she was, because she was very advanced in her years, and still in uniform. I helpedher through our construction site, so I looked not unlike a friendly boy scout with her on my arm, even though I was a grubby construction worker. I loved Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and I still love to reread Tolkien’s works.

mynameis...

November 8, 2009

hm. very nice.

Yay ten things we now know about the DM! Thanks for sharing!

Very interesting! Thanks for posting this. Nice to learn some things about the guy who made it all happen. =] I’m a die-hard Tolkien fan. First picked it up when I was 11, and through high school I read The Hobbit and LotR 10 times and The Silmarillion twice. I’m going to start on the Children of Hurin someday soon, when my brain gets out of burn-out mode.

Kharizma

November 8, 2009

My boyfriend is the head developer for some media firm out of NY. He prefers the late hours, as well. No phone calls, no interruptions. He can just program and get a lot done in a short amount of time.

It’s nice to know about the person running our favorite site. Makes it feel a little more homey. Not like…homie as in “what up homie g”…but home-like. 🙂 Like a ma and pop joint.

The_Blind_Archer

November 8, 2009

How about a photo? 😉

Teflon Superhero

November 8, 2009

My partner is learning to be a chef right now, and it fascinates me her enthusiasm for cooking. I can’t make rice or even spaghetti right lol. BUT one thing she cannot do is bake and that seems to be the one thing I’m awesome at. So we kind of need each other to have a ‘well balanced’ diet! 🙂

Teflon Superhero

November 8, 2009

Blind archer is right on. Isn’t the People’s Liberation Front for the Picture of the DiaryMaster still floating around somewhere? As us geeks like to say “Screenshot or it doesn’t exist” 😛

..::Angel::..

November 8, 2009

As much as I harp on at my Husband about hi LOTR’s movie a thons, I love the movies and would move to Minas Tirith in a heartbeat. The white city all the way.

It’s always nice to learn a little about someone :o)

Did you also watch (and love) Kimba? I did. My brother made me watch Speed Racer and I made him watch Kimba. Did you watch on channel 50? We did. Of course, we lived in SoCal. Do you remember ON TV? Man, we’re old. Of course, you are older than I am. 🙂

..::Angel::..

November 8, 2009

You know what I think about the Silmarillion, is that it never was as good as Belgarath the Sorcerer or Polgara the Sorceress. As much as I wanted it to fill a void, all it was, was just a collection of facts. I want a story behind it. Still I ♥ LOTRs

Emm-Irene: "Chianti Rose"

November 8, 2009

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA- was one of my 2 favourite programmes as a child.With Richard Basehart & David Hedison (Admiral Nelson & Capt.Crane) and the star of the show: ‘SEAVIEW’ the submarine. How I adored that show. L.O.T.R. – my husband adores. Emmi

memelou

November 8, 2009

you should write more to introduce yourself. it makes you feel more like family than the mythical OD we never see. 😛

I enjoyed this entry.

desserae

November 9, 2009

its good to learn a little about our OD God!!

Mirror_rorriM

November 9, 2009

Being a current casuality of the automotive industry, I am glad for you that you took a different path from most of your family members. :o)

November 9, 2009

LOL @ Dungeon Master 🙂 I remember DBase III, my dad used to use it loads in the mid 90’s 🙂 Oh and you can never have too much sugar 🙂

Yes, that was fun…to read.

Inside Me

November 9, 2009

Great list! 🙂 xoxo

Deve

November 9, 2009

Was the Seaview one of those submarines where divers could leave it through a hot tub? I could never believe atmospheric pressure could be strong enough to keep the ocean out at any serious depth–but I wanted to believe. I loved the way the computers had large panels of meaningless lights and especially loved the way the computers spit balls of flame and sparks across the room when they wereunhappy. Pyrotechnics are so much more stylish than a blue screen with an error message. Do you think Steve Jobs designed the Seaview computers?

Armariel

November 9, 2009

I doubt you’ll get to reading this note lol..but I tried to read the Silmarillion once, & I didn’t get past the first couple paragraphs…it was just too hard to read. & it’s not like I’m that person who has poor reading comprehension, I’d read the series & everything, & just couldn’t get the silmarillion…the way it was written was just too confusing.

Woman of many hats..

November 9, 2009

I appreciate this info – I figured you were a bit of a geek but self taught? Amazing!

Violet

November 9, 2009

OMG I had forgotten about the People’s Liberation Front. LOL. Used to belong to that, trying to get you to post a picture. My husband has read the LOTR series about 10 times. That’s the only thing he has in common with you, though. Only thing he does late at night is sleep on the couch in front of the TV.

Step-a-bit

November 9, 2009

wait! WHAT!?!?! You’re a REAL Person!LOL

Number 7 <– My Boyfriend also! Everything was in a packet, can, or a box. When he saw be buying things that required more work than just tossing in some water, he decided to watch me cook. It was a good thing! He still likes to leave the cooking to me though and help me if I need it.

As relating to nr 10 – as someone who’s read the trilogy many times – what did you make of the movies? =)

I enjoyed reading this as well! Nice to get to know you!

This made me laugh =) Thanks for this lol.

Crystal456

November 9, 2009

I really enjoyed reading all this.

the Karyn

November 9, 2009

You said you make caramel and it sometimes takes a couple tries… have you ever made dulce de leche? Easy and amazing. Boil a can (literally, a can, not the amount from the can, but the full can itself) of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water (keeping the water level above the can) for 4 hours. Done. Great for apple dipping, ice cream topping, and screwing it all and eating it with a spoon.

PrincessLeia

November 9, 2009

Oooh, I liked your list. I might have to steal the idea for an entry down the line. 🙂

moongate

November 9, 2009

You had fun and we all learned a few things! A win all the way around!

lasergirl

November 9, 2009

Lots of interesting information here about you, and it’s nice to know about the person behind the sword. But it is C-A-R-A-M-E-L. Carmel is a city in California, pronounced as it is spelled. Car-a-mel is a candy, syrup, or sometimes a flavor associated with food.

MageB

November 9, 2009

Smiles. Glad you are here. 🙂 I like those.

offmychest

November 9, 2009

How does it feel to be the Master of your own villiage here on OD? Powerful, I’ll bet!

Hey, we 5’8″ers have to stick together! We’re not NOT tall, just a bit above average, right? —

vaecordia

November 9, 2009

Impressive. The simarillion I found absolutely painful to read. I did manage it once, out of stubbornness.

jjjtripled

November 9, 2009

Interesting….and I thought you must have been a computer geek for all these years!!

I, too, once met Grace Hopper. I’m ancient and once taught those languages, but what, no Pascal, Fortran or RPG? — Once a DM always a DM. You’re my kind of geek.

Enthusiast

November 9, 2009

Wonderful!

:.Naked Truth.:

November 9, 2009

Thanks for sharing Dungeon Master! 😉

Asillia Magdalene

November 9, 2009

I always think Dungeon Master when I hear DM 🙂 I used to reread Tolkien constantly…once I finished Return of the King I would pick up the Hobbit, but now that I try to read so many new books, I’ve lost that ritual.

EWS

November 9, 2009

“However, I’m at the point in life where this kind of eating is going to suddenly catch up with me.” Tell me about it! Age 44 was NOT a good year for my middle. :’-( BTW, I’m TOTALLY jealous that you had a job teaching D&D. Talk about a dream job! lol Eric

Very interesting! I kinda thought some of this about you anyway though….the geeky part I mean. I mean, you ARE the DM. 😛

gray tabby

November 9, 2009

i think you’re interesing enough to want to read about you. you can do more entries like this anytime you want. take care,

Shesolovely

November 9, 2009

That WAS fun! getting to know you better. 🙂 I am such a B-person as well, it is ridiculous. I can be tired all day, but always “wake up” late in the evening and can stay awake far into the night.

Mz Odd

November 9, 2009

voyage to the bottom of the sea. Oh my!! I remember it!!!

Vee

November 9, 2009

i dont get how someone can be 5′ 8 on a good day. if only a persons mood could be measured by height.

If there was a “like” button on this entry like there is on facebook, I would “like” it. Since there isn’t, I stand here with a goofy thumbs up, cheesy grin and nodding.

This was one of my favorite entries that you’ve done.

Clanky

November 9, 2009

That WAS fun! I’m having trouble, however getting past the Pepsi (on? in?) your Frosted Flakes! *smiles*

Zenith

November 9, 2009

I remember when high marks in a subject on data communications meant knowing the difference between analogue and digital.. things sure have progressed since the early 80s.

Itzmarg

November 9, 2009

That was very nice. Believe it or not, but we have lots of things in common. Especially the diet. And, yes, the pounds will start coming on as you get older so watch it. `

Casey Leigh

November 9, 2009

Mmm, browned butter is SO. GOOD. And once you figure out the timing, it really is so easy for being so delicious. . .and people are always impressed. 😀 A bunch of my friends play D&D and I tried to get into it, but you know, I just can’t. I think I’m too high strung. .. I was the barbarian dwarf hanging out in the BACK of the room, so I wouldn’t get hurt.