Big eight

Once again, I've been out of the office for a bit, though anyone looking for me could find me on the comments threads. I've spent most of my online time reading the commentary on the Iraq war funding bill, and may even come up with something profound on it myself eventually. In the meantime, the Farmer has been feeding the surrender monkeys for me, that is, when he can keep his own hands out of the kibble.

Beth sends the latest hot meme our way - a simple request for eight facts about myself. A lot of times in the past, I've been cautious about what I write about myself on the Web - too much information may be hazardous to the Doctor's online health. By now, however, it's reached the point where you can find out just about anything you know about me if you know where to look, and I'm fairly confident that the people who would be most likely to mess with me (certain people I work for) wouldn't know how to go about looking. So with that in mind, and out of my love for Beth, eight fun facts about Dr. Sardonicus:

1. I was an Air Force brat. I attended nine different schools by the time I finished the eighth grade. Seemed like by the time I got to know somebody, it was time to move again. I believe this has affected my ability to form close relationships ever since.

2. I have never lived at any address more than five years. Partly related to #1, but it still took a long time to get established after becoming an adult. The wandering finally has stopped at Pole Hill.

3. I have lived in six different states (Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Florida, Tennessee) and one foreign country (the Phillipines).

4. I have over 1000 albums and CD's in my collection. Some people may consider that to be an impressive number. To me, though, it's no big deal, as I've known people with ten times as many records.

5. I was originally an engineering major in college. I quickly found out I didn't have an engineer's temperament, so I switched my major to communications. Had I known then how I would be making my living today, I would have stayed in engineering.

6. I once met Ronald Reagan. For those of you who've commented about my interesting friends. Reagan came to Wichita State on a campaign stop in 1980. There was no way in hell I was voting for him, but I was curious about what he had to say, and I figured it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He probably shook 5000 hands that day, so I'm sure he never remembered me. (That's not an Alzheimer's joke, BTW.)

7. I've also met Ralph Nader. Three times. He's quite a fascinating man to speak with, and his personality is every bit as rumpled as his public image. He would have made an interesting President.

8. I am certified as a water treatment operator by the state of Tennessee. The Grade IV certification, the state's highest, is rather difficult to obtain. You have to have a good knowledge of math, chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering. It took me two attempts to earn my license. Had I gone on to receive an engineering degree, I would have many more management opportunities in the water treatment profession. Going back to school would be hard for me now because of the hours I work and the difficulty of returning to the student mindset.

The final act is to tag eight more bloggers. The thing about tagging eight at a time, though, is that you burn through the known universe of bloggers quickly; odds are if you're reading here that this meme will soon show up on your doorstep, if it hasn't already. Tell you what, I'll set the tags out on the back dock. Anybody looking for a good used meme can back their pickup to the dock, load it up, and haul it away with them.