25 things

  1. Despite being thought of as least likely to be a father (for an abundance of reasons), I became a father before almost all of my friends.
  2. I have worked at many jobs, starting when I was 14. All of my jobs have been computer-related, no fast-food mcjob ever.
  3. I took 3 years off from working to raise my daughter.
  4. She was born in a minivan in front of the gynecologists’ office on the way back to the hospital after the hospital kicked us out for not progressing enough.
  5. We were the first gay couple to have a child at the hospital where she was scheduled for delivery.
  6. She is biologically related to one of us. We may know which one, we may not.
  7. I am amazed and grateful that her birth did not make the papers or TV news.
  8. Aside from the vaguely buddhist concepts of balance and cycles, I have a very low tolerance for supernatural concepts.
  9. I have yet to watch a full episode of any “reality” show. (This is not intended as a challenge) Daytime TV bugs me almost as much as “reality” shows.
  10. I find it very difficult to go to sleep if there is any light or sound in the room. Once asleep, I usually am down for the count.
  11. Once in 1987 we tried to go see a movie, but didn’t because we had already seen every film that was showing in Austin at the time.
  12. My daughter learned the word “sarcastic” before she was 4.
  13. I accidentally taught her the word “ass” when she was 2.? I consider it a minor accomplishment that she only learned one syllable.
  14. My best moment of parenting ever was at her first visit to the coast; we were all laden with beach accoutrements, and she went running ahead. A wave knocked her over, and I dropped what I was carrying to go rescue her.? Before I could get there, another wave had spun her around. As I reached her, she was getting ready to (deservedly) start wailing. I said, “Ocean, you are getting a TIME OUT!” just as the undertow went back, so instead of crying, I got giggles. Saved the day and every beach trip since.
  15. Since she was born, I have taken about 3000 photos and videos each year, and saved all of them.
  16. The best camera is the one you have when you need it. My phone preference is for a camera with a phone attached, not a phone with a camera attached.
  17. As Dell Computer’s first webmaster, I taught Michael Dell to surf the web back in 1994. The very first webserver at Dell ran on stolen and borrowed hardware (ESDI drives, anyone?) and ran linux 0.93; the first production webserver ran BSDI. I only physically saw that box once, after I had run it for over a year.
  18. I have been on the internet since 1987.
  19. I hate driving in traffic more than you.
  20. I’ve been reading ebooks since 1994, and rarely purchase paper copies anymore. We still have the largest library of any household I know.
  21. We get the local paper daily, and the New York Times on weekends.? About once a fortnight, one of them passes the trash and gets into the house.? Sometimes the survivors get read.? Every time I try to stop the delivery, there is a minor argument, so now I just laugh at it.
  22. I have had glancing blows with fame.? People knowing who I am (without me knowing who they) are creeps me out; I would rather stay behind the scenes.
  23. I have the signatures of Phillip Glass, Charles Fleishman, and Ryan Stiles on my palm pilot. None of them have touched my current one.
  24. I will work very hard in order to not have to work hard.
  25. The only redeeming features of southern California are warm weather and? sunsets over the Pacific.? New York City is superior in every other way.