25 Random Things (Kevin Edition)

Rafe, you are not the last person on Facebook to do 25 Random Things.  After your post, Jane browbeat me into finally putting my list together.

1) I can force my eyes into a disconjugate gaze–looking in slightly different directions.

2) My wife can also force her eyes into a disconjugate gaze.  This gives a whole new meaning to, “Love at first sight.” Our daughter inherited this superpower (among others).

3) I have large hands but can nevertheless fit my entire fist in my mouth. In fact, I held a record at my oral surgeon for largest mouth opening.

4) I cannot stand the taste of even the smallest piece of lettuce.  I contend this is a rare genetic trait.

5) I once ran a mile in 4:26.  I also once bench pressed 225 lbs 26 times in a row.  I was the same height but weighed 65lbs more when I accomplished the second feat.

6) The first thing that attracted me to my wife was the assurance with which she handled a full-sized Chevy Blazer.

7) I knew I was going to marry my wife one month after I met her.  Moreover, we were only 20 years old at the time. I reject the hypothesis that this is a result of confirmation bias.

8) My wife and I lived with Steve and Laurel right after graduating from college.

9) I used to be a pretty good cook–until my wife become a professional.

10) My wife and I don’t celebrate Valentines day (and we’ll be having our 18th anniversary in December).

11) I have a lot of trouble falling asleep in the presence of any stimulus (auditory, visual, tactile or even just internal mental dialog).  Nevertheless, I require about 9 hours of sleep per night.

12) I really enjoy personal conversation with people I know.  I really enjoy speaking publicly to strangers.  It’s very hard for me to initiate personal conversations with strangers.

13) I feel that my short attention span is my greatest intellectual flaw.  I would be a terrific software developer if only I could pay attention to a programming problem for more than a few hours.

14) I reflexively reject any group ideology (even when it has merit).

15) I’m an agnostic but I’m not viscerally afraid of dying, only intellectually.

16) I honestly think Fletch should have won an Oscar (for writing).

17) I’m pretty sure I was mostly a jerk in high school.  I’m pretty sure I was still quite a bit of a jerk in college.

18) As a freshman at Stanford, I got a D in honors physics, thus crushing my hope of becoming a physicist.

19) As a sophomore at Stanford, I received an A+ in a Master’s level decision theory project course, thus solidifying my membership in the Bayesian Conspiracy.

20) I didn’t take a single computer science course at Stanford but I’ve spent most of my adult life in the software industry in a “technical capacity”.

21) I exercise about 14 hours per week.

22) I am absolutely convinced that I would have been a dramatically more successful athlete if I knew in high school everything I’ve learned about training over the years.

23) I think professional mixed martial arts (AKA “ultimate fighting”) is safer than professional boxing.

24) My best source of stress relief is having a professional MMA fighter trying to bash my brains in.

25) I have trained to the point where I am perfectly capable of seriously hurting another human being in dozens of ways.  One of my biggest fears is ever having to use this skill.

Related posts:

1. 25 Random Things