I was tagged for a meme, which almost never happens, so here’s some Random Stuff about Me.

Da rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Here are six random things about me.

1. I played the accordion for several years, but I recovered.

2. A homeless lady once tried to pick me up in a pizza joint on Hollywood Boulevard. (She didn’t succeed.) My friend and I didn’t realize that she was probably homeless until she left the place with a big trash bag of stuff.

3. Most poetry leaves me cold, but I’ve had “Jabberwocky” memorized since I was eight years old.

4. I play the recorder when the mood takes me.

5. I’ve been to Orlando maybe ten times in the last few years, but I’ve never been to Disneyworld (or any of the other theme parks, for that matter).

6. The first computer I ever used stored programs by punching holes in paper tape. (I was in high school, and my dad built it from a kit.) My friend and I used to save the punched-out holes in those little plastic 35mm film containers. We’d take them to high school football games and sprinkle them in the hair of the people sitting in front of us.

Now, let’s see. I tag Happy Catholic, Phil and Lars at Brandywine Books, Jaquandor, Ian, and Captain Yips.

Technically I ought to leave a comment on each of these blogs, to say “Tag, you’re it!”, but frankly we’ve got a babysitter tonight and they are here. Time with Jane trumps blogging. Ciao!

A meme I’ve seen about: put your iPod on shuffle, and write down the first 10 tunes that come up. In the mood to go the extra mile, I did 20 instead. I used iTunes on my laptop instead, but here they are:

1. “Long Lankin”, by Steeleye Span. (Beware the moors!)
2. “Rotten Peaches”, by Elton John.
3. “Country Road”, by James Taylor. (A churning urn of burning funk.)
4. “Don’t Stop The Dance”, by Bryan Ferry.
5. “The Rest of the Night”, by Warren Zevon. (And his hair was perfect!)
6. “Starman”, by David Bowie. (Ziggy played guitar…)
7. “Earthrise/Return” by Mannheim Steamroller.
8. “Tower Hill”, by Clannad.
9. “I Just Wanna Know”, by Steve Taylor.
10. “Spotted Cow”, by Steeleye Span.
11. “Jingo”, by Santana.
12. “Fermanagh Highland/Donegal Highland/John Doherty’s/King George IV”, by Altan.
13. “Create in Me a Clean Heart”, by John Michael Talbot and Terry Talbot.
14. “Little Triggers”, by Elvis Costello.
15. “Pretty Girl”, by Eric Clapton.
16. “Stage Fright”, by The Band.
17. One movement of a recorder concerto by I’m not sure which composer, with the solo part played by Michala Petri.
18. “Where Do You Hide Your Heart?”, by Amy Grant.
19. “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime”, by the Weavers.
20. “We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang”, by Heaven 17.

On odd selection; apparently iTunes was in a mostly quiet mood. I can’t otherwise explain the absence of at least one track by Jethro Tull and The Who, respectively. And these aren’t the tracks I’d probably have picked to highlight any of these artists. (As if I’d have wanted to highlight Heaven 17 in the first place; that last track is from a compilation of New Wave hits I bought in a fit of nostalgia. This is not the track for which I bought it.)

Via Happy Catholic, here’s a new tool for getting those unsightly marks off of your computer screen.

From the sublime to the ridiculous: John C. Wright has written a lavishly illustrated post on The Beauty Contest Method of Choosing Sides.

I’m especially pleased by that last score….

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages. Kudos to Deb-Bud for this one.

According to Lars Walker,

I know for a fact that every time a pagan deity materializes or the space-time continuum is violated in my neighborhood, the police put me under surveillance.

Stolen shamelessly from Jaquandor:

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com/.

2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.

3. Take their “Career Matchmaker” questions.

4. Post the top ten results.

So here are (ahem) mine:

1. Multimedia Developer

2. Industrial Designer

3. Computer Programmer

4. Interior Designer

5. Fashion Designer

6. Desktop Publisher

7. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator

8. Computer Engineer

9. Video Game Developer

10. Website Designer

Remembering the questions they asked, it’s clear that the folks who put this together have a different notion of “creative work” and “design” than I do. Fact is, I can’t draw worth a darn, which would seem a requirement for a number of these.

(For those who don’t know, I’ve spent the last seventeen or eighteen years working as a software engineer. As to whether I’m well suited to it—well, I’m supporting a family of six, so objectively I’m reasonably successful, and as for subjectively…I do this stuff even when I’m not getting paid for it.)