The Other Blogger

Okay, guys, here's the other half of this blog site. Mark decided he would be up for doing a blog, and this is what he decided to do - ten things about him. So read, enjoy, and comment so it will encourage him to post more! (-:


Here it is - enjoy!




Ten things you should probably know about me if you are reading this blog:

1. More than ever I believe that natural ability or ‘talent’ is highly overrated. This viewpoint was initially stirred by a combination of Malcolm Gladwell and Geoff Colvin, but the more I think about it and observe anecdotal supporting evidence, the more convinced I am. The only thing that I’ve ever been particularly good at is accumulating useless trivia, and that’s something I started doing when I was about six years old and never stopped. Don’t get me wrong—I won’t be confused for Ken Jennings—but I picked up more random facts about history and geography before middle school than most people do before college. But that wasn’t because of natural ability—I just spent a lot more time on that stuff than most everyone else. This revelation has been simultaneously humbling and inspiring.

2. I LOVE dollar menus at all fast food restaurants. Anywhere I can eat well for two or three bucks is a winner in my book. It has really been a determining factor for when I eat fast food. The places that don’t have dollar menus better have really good food or they’re not going to make it. I’m glad Sonic finally joined the party.

3. I have had a love-hate relationship with following politics for the past six years or so. Every journalist is human, so of course various biases will always exist. Because of this, when I really want to learn about something, I read op-eds. Who better than to sell (or decry) an idea than someone who supports (or opposes) the idea? The beauty of op-eds is that biases are mostly transparent, rather than hidden. You generally know where the columnist stands, so you are free to explore other assenting and/or dissenting opinions.

4. I am obsessed with Amazon.com. I have a full wish list and make virtually all of my purchases of books, music, or movies there. It almost always has the best prices, the best consumer information, and the best selection, so there’s no reason to go anywhere else. I even have the perks of Prime membership now. As a confession, I still do go to other bookstores to physically check stuff out—mainly books.

5. I don’t dislike movies, but my attention span and tendency to fall asleep prevents me from watching very many of them. I actually own at least three movies that I haven’t even seen yet—two of which I have owned for more than a year. It’s very rare that I set aside 90-150 minutes to watch one by myself, so unless it’s something that also interests Kathryn I probably won’t be sitting down to watch it. And even if I do actually sit down to watch it, there’s a good chance I will fall asleep, regardless of how good the movie is.

6. I love to read but often have a terrible time finishing books. I might start a book and read on in faithfully for 2-3 days, but I get busy doing other things and don’t pick it up for another 3-4 days and by that point I’ve lost it. Because of this, I rarely read fiction.

7. I spend way too much time on fantasy football between August and December and am in two different leagues. Last year I won one of them and broke even in the other. My reward for the league I won was $80 (from a $10 buy-in). I think if I broke that down to how much time I spent on the two leagues in preparation and during the season, it probably came out to about ten cents per hour. Not sure if this year will turn out as well…

8. I am adopted. It happened when I was less than three weeks old. I couldn’t have asked for two finer people as parents. I feel that I am a living example that adoption should be an option for people who face unwanted pregnancy. I have never met my biological mother, but if I do, I will have a tough time holding back tears thanking her for not aborting me when that would have been the convenient thing to do.

9. I love Kathryn’s family as my own. I couldn’t have asked for a better, more interesting, or more inspiring group as the family of my significant other.

10. I was essentially indifferent to dogs when I started hanging out with Kathryn, but very quickly the exposure to dogs that came with that softened me up a bit. My love for them has now culminated in Brinkley, a standard poodle, who I treat as my own. My life is so enriched by him that I can’t believe that I was ever indifferent to these wonderful animals.