Four-Eight-Four [dot org]

Tags: photos, photographs, photography, Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Raymondville TX

I’ve just stumbled upon another quiz that tells me what kind of accent I have (as if I or anybody within earshot when I’m talking had a hard time telling). You may remember that the previous one was something of a failure, since nobody could seem to get more than 90-95% total … sort of like that college professor you had that wouldn’t let anybody get 100 on an assignment, because nobody is perfect. I’m pleased to report that it considers me to be pretty Southern.

Anybody have any idea where “the inland north” is? Michigan? Wisconsin? They didn’t learn me about that in skewl.

Edit: Had to do a screenshot of my results, because the CSS for my blog theme really Nifonged up the HTML table layout. If you wanna take the quiz, head on over here.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen … I have been tagged by Chad W. Smith, Minister of Propaganda of ChattaMac: the Chattanooga Mac Users Group.

I’m supposed to reveal five things you probably don’t know about me (yes, I know … some of you already know this, but I don’t know that I can do this for everybody) … so here goes:

1. The first car I owned (ie, picked out and purchased myself) was a 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT. I had wanted a Fiero GT since I was in high school, and bought it over the objections of pretty much anybody who knew me and was breathing. Just as they all predicted, it broke down pretty much on a bi-monthly basis. Despite all the trouble, I loved that car, and it was a blast to drive and own. I sold it just before I got married, and I routinely kick myself for doing so, especially when I see one driving around town.
2. I survived (without being injured at all) being rear-ended by a loaded semi that was going 30 mph faster than me while on the Beltline (I-440) in Raleigh, NC in 1994. I called my father (who worked about 2 miles away from where the accident happened) and he came to pick me up. He says that if he hadn’t talked to me before he came, and had seen the car first, he wouldn’t have believed that I had survived.
3. When I was in elementary school, I routinely got in trouble for selling stuff to other kids. In first grade, I swiped some kind of book catalogs that we were given routinely from the trash can, and was selling them for 10 cents each. In the third and fourth grade, I was buying items from the school store and selling them at a 10-15 cent markup. Later on, I sold cotton candy that I made at home. Seems the school system didn’t appreciate my entrepreneurial spirit, and put the kibosh on my activities often. Of course, I kept trying, because I was making money and I could buy ice cream at lunch.
4. When I worked at McDonald’s in Lousiburg, NC in high school, the head manager called me “Stud Muffin.” She did so often, and sometimes quite loudly. There’s nothing quite like being summoned from mopping the lobby by a middle-aged woman who yells “Yoo-hoo! Stud Muffin! You have a customer up front!”
5. Every now and then I find myself in an odd mood and listen to disco stuff like “You Dropped a Bomb on Me”, “Stayin’ Alive” and Eighties stuff like “Beat It”, “Smooth Criminal”, and “Cruel Summer”. I also listen to Hank Williams, Sr, even though my wife hates it when I do so.
6. (Bonus Round!) The last time I did something like this (it was over email, actually), my girlfriend started cheating on me and then dumped me a few weeks later. I didn’t listen to disco then, so I don’t think that was the reason …

Time to tag … flyboy, Will, Josh (who needs to post SOMETHING to his blog, so maybe this will jump start him), Olivia (who also needs to post), and Leonard (yeah, yet another person who needs to post). How it got to me:

1. Jeff Pulver >>
2. Steve Garfield >>
3. Steve Woolf >>
4. Rick Rey >>
5. Michael Ambs >>
6. Amanda Congdon >>
7. Jason Calacanis >>
8. C.K. Sample >>
9. Chris Finke >>
10. Derek van Vliet >>
11. Stacy Doss >>
12. MG Siegler >>
13. Chad W. Smith >>
14. Me!

I love Google AdWords. Mostly because, for the most part, no matter what you search for, there will be an eBay ad … which leads to stuff like the following ads:

I’ll let you know about the Aircraft Carrier Sale. Personally, I’m looking for a new one. I’m a sucker for that “new aircraft carrier” smell.