This is Stylish Blogging?

Jon over at 2Slow4Boston tagged me with the chain letter "Stylish Blogger Award".

First, I need to mention my tagger and provide a back link to his blog (done!)

Next, I need to tell you all about 7 me-stuff facts..

but..there is also a game going around where you list 26 facts ("from A-Z").  I will split the difference somewhere between so I don't have to do that one too, ok?

Finally, I need to tag some huge number (15?) of other bloggers to do the same thing. 

(I think I will reduce that number a bit, else the entire blogosphere will bog down writing up these lists.)

In random order:

1. I like building things. My wife and I rebuilt our house completely and landscaped the garden in three phases over the course of 12 years exactly the way we wanted it. I did lots of the work myself.
2. I am 6' 1" tall and right handed...my wife is left handed. 
3. I like things that fly. In high school my friend Carleton and I built this. I also used to build and fly radio controlled gliders.
4. I convinced my dad we needed to learn how to fly sailplanes ...we both learned to fly together in one of these. 
5. My dad was an engineer and designed  this observatory...
6. My wife Toni and I have been together since 1984 and married since 1990. We don't have kids but we love visiting our nieces and nephews 8)
7. I can roll my tongue up (but not down), wiggle my ears, raise one eyebrow a la Mr. Spock (only the right one)  and move my big toes separately from the rest of my toes. I can also juggle (rusty though).
8. I play the baroque alto recorder..my first big (for me, at the time) purchase when I got a job was this. Alas, I have not been playing it much the last 10 years or so.
9. I like all kinds of music.
10. I like good food and wine. I mostly eat healthy: lots of vegan things but I also eat fish and meat and ...well...anything, in moderation. When I eat things that are bad for me, I make sure they are Very High Quality Bad Things.
11. I studied Japanese for 6 years and don't get to use it anymore. ..Zanen desu, neh?
12. I have a BS in astronomy from University of Massachusetts (in Amherst Mass, where I grew up from 7th grade on).
13. Our current favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory 8)
14. I like fish-keeping..I had aquariums as a kid and now I have two Koi Ponds.  We like cats but gradually became allergic and can't keep them now. Boo. 8(
15. I have an MSEE in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon. Here's a picture of me with my Master's project partner, Bob and our baby, the "DS-1"..it seems to have been the second  digital music synthesizer in the USA at that time. The year is 1978..we were both very very young  ;)
16. My wife loves to travel and taught me to love it too..we go all over the place whenever we can. 8) 

I hereby now tag 3 people across the Big Pond so that this virius prestigious award can spread over there too:


Denmark: Lynne at the Way to Copenhagen 

Lynne is training to run her first marathon. I found her blog when I was researching this marathon (which I'll be running in on May 22th)


South Africa: Staci at She Runs In Sandals

I think Staci found my blog when I posted about making a pair of home-made huaraches. She recently nailed her 2nd marathon in her goal time of sub 5 (4:48 ..and yes, wearing sandals)! Comrades here she comes!


Ireland: Thomas at Diary of a Rubbish Marathon Runner 

Thomas is anything but a Rubbish Runner..he's a busy family man training to run a sub-3 hour marathon and it  looks like it just might happen...his 'secret' trainer seems to be whipping him into super shape. I also learned the great word "knackered" from reading his blog 8)