Harrumph, I’ve been tagged. I’m not sure I approve of this glorified-chain-letter stuff, but who can resist a chance to blather on about themselves? So, here are five not-widely-known things.
I’m the holder of a Guinness World Record, along with the 6,451 other British Columbia music students and teachers who gathered on May 15, 2000, to constitute the world’s largest (very temporary) orchestra. We played O Canada, a modern piece whose name I forget, and Ten Minutes of Nine, an arrangement of the Ode to Joy theme. I was in the cello section; there were a mere couple of hundred of us, so we were completely swamped by the thousands of trumpets and trombones from all the marching bands. It was completely putrid, musically speaking.
I met my wife Lauren Wood for the first time at Le Montreux Palace, the grand old hotel where Vladimir Nabokov lived while he wrote Ada, one of my favorite novels.
I don’t suffer particularly from lability, but the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games always make me weep. Even thinking about them has that effect. Go figure.
If you ask me, the most beautiful human to have ever lived is Sigourney Weaver as she appeared in The Year of Living Dangerously.
At Sun, we have role called a “Distinguished Engineer”. I don’t really know very much about what that means, but as of last week, I’m one of them.
Now if this were presented as a Chain Letter I’d stop the chain, but it’s just “tagging”, and everybody knows I’m all about tags. Hmm... like too many online things, this has been a boys’ club, so let’s aim the pointy end of the angle bracket at some non-boys: Lauren, Dervala, Mary, Sass, and Eve.
Contributions
Comment feed for ongoing:
From: John Cowan (Dec 19 2006, at 12:36)
What it means is that Sun is telling the world that the rest of its technical employees are "undistinguished engineers".
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From: Postmodern Sass (Dec 19 2006, at 12:53)
I can't believe you're actually participating in one of these memes! While I am honoured that you tagged me, I politely decline to participate, because, who could possibly come up with anything to top being in the Guinness Book? Jeepers. When you play, you really play, don't you?
Besides, the whole Internet already knows the most interesting things about me (one of which is that I know you). Except, maybe, the Neil Gaiman story, and that'll be posted this week.
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From: foresmac (Dec 19 2006, at 20:28)
I know you didn't tag me, but it was interesting enough I had to do my own.
http://www.chrisforesman.com/effect/2006/12/19/five-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-me-and-probably-wish-you-still-didnt/
Enjoy.
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From: Kragen Sitaker (Dec 25 2006, at 12:10)
So, as a "Distinguished Engineer", do you have a staff? Do you have to spend time managing people? If you want to implement something, can you get other people to help you implement it?
A lot of companies seem to be struggling with the necessity to reward technical folks without moving them into management.
Congratulations, by the way.
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