Venti Mud

I’m proud to announce the arrival of a new Portland foodblog, one hosted here at foldedspace. Amy Jo presents From a Corner Table, her forum for restaurant reviews, cooking tips, cookbook evaluations, and all around foodie goodness. Amy Jo has a long, rich history with food, and I look forward to reading her blog. Check it out!

We had no power when we got to work this morning. A quick call to PGE revealed that a tree was responsible for the outage, that a crew had been dispatched, and that they expected to restore power (to the 1567 customers affected) by 8:45. Wow. A computerized support system that’s actually useful.

There’s not much that can be done to make boxes when your equipment has no power. We offered to take our crew out to breakfast or coffee, but they declined. They sat in their cars to keep warm. A couple of them made a run to the “Chinese market” for sodas and deep-fried food.

I sat in my office and tried to read tomorrow’s book group selection by candlelight.

I was cold.

“I’m going to Starbucks,” I told Jeff.

“Get me a venti mocha,” he said.

“What size is that?” I’ve never been able to understand Starbuck’s sizing system. I have no idea why they insist on using such strange terms.

“It’s the largest,” Jeff said.

At Starbucks, I asked the waitron if they still had chantico mix. “Yes we do, sir, would you like one?”

It was a tough call. “I would like some,” I said, “but I’d probably better not. I’d probably better learn about your other non-coffee drinks. Let me try your hot chocolate.”

“What size would you like, sir?”

“Large,” I said. I was cold.

“VENTI MOCHA! VENTI HOT CHOCOLATE!” shouted the waitron to the young woman standing at the steamer three feet away.

When I saw the size of the venti drinks, I liked to have died. What the hell, people? Do you all really order drinks this large? Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Nobody needs that much coffee or hot chocolate.

On my drive back to the office, I sipped my hot chocolate. Calling this drink “chocolate” is generous. It’s more like “tepid flavorless” or, as I like to think of it, “tepid mud”. Was there any flavoring at all? It was as if a thickening agent had been added to water and heated for a few seconds. The drink tasted vaguely of platic. It was disgusting. Where I used order a six-ounce chantico — a drink of pure, delcious chocolate — for $2.65, I had just spent $2.55 on a venti mud. I rolled down the window and dumped the venti mud into the rain.

I shan’t be buying one of those again. I guess I’ll have to try the vanilla steamer or whatever it’s called. But not a venti. Nobody needs a venti anything.

It’s now 8:50. We still have no power. Jeff, who had been sitting in his truck keeping warm, just came in to give me an update. Jose, who had run to Woodburn for something, drove by the site of the problem. Apparently the power outage was actually caused by an automobile accident. A car struck a power pole. Jose says that the workers at the scene have just placed a new pole in the ground (!?!) but have not begun to string the wires. We’ll probably be in the dark for another hour.

Buy Low, Sell High

Today is the day: after a year of working on debt elimination (an ongoing process now focused on two remaining large debts), I actually get to have some fun with my money. I get to begin investing.

This may or may not be a good thing.

Several years ago, the MNF guys formed an investment club. We pooled a thousand dollars and voted on which stocks to purchase. Then, every month, we each pooled another $300 to buy something new. We dreamed big — we were going to be rich!

This worked well for a while; we had caught the very tail of the tech-stock boom. However, things quickly headed south. We threw good money after bad. We didn’t approach our investments from any sort of logical perspective: our choices were based on emotion rather than actual research. A couple of us were resentful after we’d spent hours researching particular stocks, only to have our suggestions passed over in favor of passionate arguments from people who had done no research at all. (I still make snotty comments about Autobytel (ABTL), which I wanted to purchase at $1.58/share.)

The group lost money, but we learned a lot. I don’t regret the experience.

Now I’m ready to give it a go on my own. I still lack market wisdom, but that will come with experience. Paul C. and Nick have been giving me advice, but ultimately I’m on my own. Until I get a feel for things, I’m simply going to “buy low, sell high”. (Paul is urging me to develop a set of parameters for both the purchase and the sale of stocks. I’m sure his advice is sound.)

What have I selected as my first investment? I’m going to pump money into a 2005 Roth IRA, trying to max it out by April. As a first step, this afternoon I’m putting $200 into General Motors (GM), which is trading near historic lows (and which also pays a quarterly dividend).

I hope I get a chance to sell high!

Two Types of Christmas

A couple of weeks ago I delineated the differences between Roths and Gates when it comes to Christmas shopping. (Summary: Gates finished shopping sometime around Thanksgiving; Roths still aren’t done.) Today I’d like to observe a few other differences between these two types that become apparent at Christmas.

Stocking Stuffers
Gates: Many little stocking stuffers, few of which actually fit in the stocking. When together, take turns opening. When apart, open one a day until Christmas. Still do stocking stuffers.

Roths: only a few stocking stuffers, all of which fit in the stocking. One is always an orange. One is always cash. None are wrapped. Stocking is simply turned over and dumped on the floor on Christmas morning. No longer do stockings.

Opening Gifts
Gates: All gifts are passed out. Everyone sits calmly and takes turns opening gifts. Kris opens a gift: everyone oohs and aahs. J.D. opens a gift: everyone oohs and aahs. Tiffany opens a gift: everyone oohs and aahs. The process can take days, weeks even.

Roths: Gifts are passed out. While they are being passed out, everyone opens everything at once in a flurry of paper and bows. There are a lot of hurried thanks. The whole process takes ten minutes.

Food
Gates: Traditional Christmas fare: ham, sticky buns, etc. Not enough food for the entire group.

Roths: Home-made pizza! (Or, if we’re really lucky, fondue!) Cookies! Cake! Lots of it. Yum.

Celebration
Gates: Christmas day.

Roths: Christmas eve. Christmas day is for going to the movie theater!

TWO WEEKS of daily posts? Bwahahahahah! And here I thought I was ready for a hiatus. I’ve already written posts for the next two days, too, and have several more nearly finished. Lisa’s logorrhea is contagious.

Ice King

Beware the Ides of December!

Is it just me, or has this been a cold winter already? When I rolled out of bed this morning, I checked the local weather. According to the web site, the temperature was “-4, but feels like -8. (That’s “25, but feels like 18” to those of you who do not speak centigrade.) Very cold. It has been like this for days.

As always during anomalous weather, I’ve checked the National Weather Service for recent data. I made a lovely table of the temperatures for the past week, but for some reason I cannot get it to format properly in the weblog. I’ve posted it here, on a separate page. Go look at it. Isn’t it fun?

The average temperature for the past week is about 34.6. Last year in December, the average monthly temperature was 45.2. (And the average for all Decembers is 42.8.) This past week has been, on average, ten degrees colder than last December. It feels like twenty.Last year, it didn’t drop below 32 once in December. Our low in January was 27. That was also our low during February. (You’ll remember that we had very strange weather for an entire month starting on Valentine’s Day: not a single drop of rain fell.)

I’ve been cautious on my drive to work this week. The roads haven’t been that icy, but slick patches lurk here and there. The real danger comes at midday: I expect the roads to have cleared, and then something surprises me. On Tuesday I drove to Salem in a heavy fog, some of which had frozen to the road. Yesterday afternoon the sky was sunny and clear during my drive to Hillsboro. I was on a winding country road that dipped into a shaded gully to cross a creek. Just as I approached the bridge, I noticed it was icy. “Crap!” I thought as the car slid from my control. Fortunately, the tires found traction in time for me to recover without incident, but I was much more alert for the rest of the afternoon.

Most winters I can handle the cold. In fact, I like it. Most winters I complain that Kris and her friends keep their homes too warm. I call them Ice Queens. This winter, however, despite weighing more than I ever have before, I am cold. Very cold. Cold all the time. I am colder than Kris, and vociferous about my coldness. I’ve been spending a lot of time in my car, delivering Christmas baskets to customers. This would be fine if the damn heater worked. I hate Fords.

The cold weather isn’t all bad. At times it’s rather beautiful. The days are clear and bright; the nights are filled with stars. As I was leaving Mac’s house last Friday afternoon, we marveled at beautiful sunset: thin fingers of clouds glowed red as they stretched toward the horizon.

Mitch called last night. “Dude, go outside and look at the moon,” he said. “It’s awesome. There’s a ring around it, sort of like a halo, and all sorts of clouds. You should take a picture.”

“I’m in the bath,” I said. “I’m trying to warm my inner core.”

This reminds me more of Halloween than of Christmas.

I never did see the moon last night, but I saw it this morning. It still had something of a halo about it, and it looked almost spooky through the trees. Because I was carrying my camera, I stopped to take some photos. I was too cold to set up a tripod, though, so I intentionally took shaky handheld shots, hoping for some sort of cool effect. I’m not wholly displeased with the results.

Behind the Silence

If I haven’t written much here lately, it’s because of a combination of three factors:

I’ve been sick and mostly feel like sleeping, or just sitting in one place doing nothing.
At work I’ve been busy, a condition which has manifested itself by requiring me to drive all over Portland and Salem.
As happens a couple times each year, I have a mild case of writer’s block.

My illness seems to be ebbing, at last. “You must be feeling better,” Kris said this morning after I marched around the house singing “The Simon cat is grey, the Simon cat is grey, hi-ho the derry-o, the Simon cat is grey” and “Kris Gates has no hot water, Kris Gates has no hot water, hi-ho the derry-o, Kris Gates has no hot water”. At this very moment, I’m able to breathe freely through both nostrils, which is a major achievement in Roth health. (I can hear Jeff in his office, coughing, however. His cough has declined, but still lingers.)

For some reason, December always means driving at work. Customers seem to order more samples, big projects come to fruition, and, of course, there are holiday baskets to deliver. It’s beginning to look as if I’ll be on the road every day this week and every day next week.

As I drive, I continue to listen to lectures from The Teaching Company. I’ve finished the How to Listen to and Understand Great Music course, and have moved on to The History of the English Language. This course has its moments, but on the whole is less engaging than the music course. The instructor is less dynamic, and he spends too much time reading lists of words. We’re supposed to marvel at how, for example, the pronunciation of “line” has changed over the centuries, but it’s not that fun to listen to him recite the differences. “So what?” I find myself thinking. “Tell me something interesting.”

Sometimes the course is interesting, as when the instructor discusses how English was once a much-more inflected language, a language in which nouns had gender and case endings, much as modern European languages do today. He suggests, indirectly, that this might be the reason the words “he” and “his” linger in the language as placeholders (and objects of feminist wrath).

I was also interested in his discussion of the formalization of the language. English comprised many regional variations until the middle of the fourteenth century. At this time, official scribes began to adopt Chancery English, a sort of London legal dialect, as the language of record. Over the next hundred years, this Chancery English gradually became the language of Parliament (a position French had occupied since the Norman invasion in 1066). When William Caxton set up the first English printing press in 1476, he hastened the adoption of a standard English by employing Chancery English as the dialect in which he published books.

These sorts of bits are interesting; the history of word pronunciation is not.

Sometimes, however, I don’t listen to anything as I drive. Sometimes I drive in silence, looking out at the fields and the rivers and the hills. I especially like to drive in the fog. Yesterday I took the long way back from Salem, driving home through the Silverton hills, sailing my car through seas of fog, surrounded by oceans of green pasture. At one point, I slowed and stopped to watch a pencil-legged blue heron: it stood in a field, watching, watching, watching. And I watched it.

As for the writer’s block, there’s little I can do about that. It’s a state that comes and goes. I don’t often suffer from the condition, but sometimes I do feel tapped out, as if I couldn’t possibly write another word. Fortunately, this state generally passes after a week or two. There are signs it may already be passing.

On Monday, as I was driving to Hillsboro, I passed a dead cat and was struck with an idea for a story. I pulled to the side of the road and spent five or ten minutes scribbling notes on a yellow legal pad, sketching a character, outlining a plot. If I ever post the tale of a young man who can raise animals from the dead, you’ll know when the idea hit me.

Personality Types

At one point last night, our book group discussion veered toward personality types and how they interact. Several of us have been exposed to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A couple have made use of Enneagrams. We tried to guess where members of the group fit into the various personality scales. (Today on our walk, Jason and I continued this game.)

On a whim, I took an online combined Myers-Briggs/Enneagram test. The Myers-Briggs measures four pairs of personality traits (the following descriptions of which are taken verbatim from the Wikipedia):

The terms Introvert and Extrovert (originally spelled ‘extravert’ by Jung, who first used the terms in the context of psychology, although ‘extrovert’ is now by far the more common spelling) are referred to as attitudes and show how a person orients and receives their energy. In the extraverted attitude the energy flow is outward, and the preferred focus is on people and things, whereas in the introverted attitude the energy flow is inward, and the preferred focus is on thoughts and ideas.
Sensing and Intuition are the perceiving functions. They indicate how a person prefers to receive data. These are the nonrational functions, as a person does not necessarily have control over receiving data, but only how to process it once they have it. Sensing prefers to receive data primarily from the five senses, and intuition prefers to receive data from the unconscious, or seeing relationships via insights.
Thinking and Feeling are the judging functions. They are used to make rational decisions concerning the data they received from their perceiving functions, above. Thinking is characterized as preferring to being logical, analytical and thinking in terms of “true or false”. Thinking decisions tend to be based on more objective criteria and facts. Feeling, which refers to subjective criteria and values, strives for harmonious relationships and considers the implications for people. Feeling decisions tend to be based on what seems “more good or less bad” according to values.
Judging and Perceiving tell us which of the two preferred functions, the judging function or the perceiving function, is used in the outer world. Those who prefer Judging use their preferred judging function in the outer world and their preferred perceiving function in the inner world, and those who prefer Perceiving use their preferred perceiving function in the outer world and their preferred judging function in the inner world. Judging prefers making decisions and having closure and perceiving prefers to continue accepting data and to leave their options open, waiting to decide later. (The terminology may be misleading for some — the term “Judging” does not imply “judgmental”, and “Perceiving” does not imply “perceptive”.)

What personality type am I? I tested out as an INTP, which is a common result for me. That I am Intuitive and Thinking have never varied since I first took the personality inventory sixteen years ago. I constantly straddle Perceiving/Judging, though, indicating that I have no strong preference for either mode.

What might perhaps surprise some people is that I most frequently score as an Introvert, and a strong one. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like socializing with people (I do!); it merely means that the way I recharge my “batteries” is from spending time by myself. (Sometimes, though, when I take the test, I come out as an Extrovert. Not often, but it happens.)

I’d never taken an Enneagram before. Jason, who is an INTP, too, says that he is a 5 on the Enneagram, which is common with INTPs. I, too, am a 5.

A more thorough Enneagram test again indicates that I am Type 5, Detached. It also indicates that my “variant” is “Omni”. (I have no idea what all this means.) In other words, I scored high on Detachment, scored evenly on all the other indicators, except I had low scores for Anxious and Helpful. (My score for Helpful was atrocious; I’m a self-centered bastard!)

The following (revealing) exchange occurred at one point during the evening:

Naomi: Jenn, I don’t know how you do it. You are so organized.
Jenn: HA! These two [indicating me and Kris] think I’m unorganized.
Kris: It’s true. We think she’s unorganized.
J.D.: It’s interesting how our self-perceptions differ from how others view us. For example, many people have complained that I see things in black-and-white, yet I feel as if I view the world in subtle shades of grey. I’m never sure of anything.
Jenn: HA! J.D., how do you feel about television?
J.D.: TELEVISION IS EVIL!

Isn’t self-deprication fun?

My condemnation of television is an example of viewing things in black-and-white, as I suppose is my desire to demonstrate the literature is better than science fiction, etc. etc.

These are classic T behaviors in the world of Myers-Briggs. It’s just who I am. Maybe I need to stop denying it and embrace the fact that the way my mind works is to separate things into dichotomies. I may think I see in shades of grey, but I may only be deluding myself. Or, I may consider things as having shades of grey, but once I actually deal with them, I have reduced them internally to black and white. (Yikes! That makes little sense.)

Also last night, Lisa revealed that she and Kristi were recently discussing my tendency to maintain ties with old friends. “He keeps his people,” Lisa told Kristi. I’ve never heard it expressed like that (Kris says I’m “stuck in the past”), but it’s true. I value friendships, new and old, and prefer to keep even minimal contact rather than lose connection completely. Just an interesting bit.

UPDATE: I forgot to include shorter tests. On this shorter test I scored as an ENTP. (It phrased its Introvert/Extrovert questions much differently.) On this word test, I score as ENTP. On the shortest test of the bunch, I score as ENTP (with a heavy extrovert score and my Perceiving/Judging split exactly 50/50). This version of the MB is interesting because it gives a score for the actual you and the ideal you. Again I scored as ENTP, but my ideal type was ESTJ. And on the final test, the longest of the bunch, I came out again as ENTP, and again my ideal type was ESTJ; the type to which I am attracted is also ENTP.

You can find a whole passle of personality tests here.

Comments

On 18 July 2005 (03:18 PM),
mac said:

so…what do you think I am? I took the test and will tell you after you guess!

On 18 July 2005 (08:15 PM),
J.D. said:

Mackenzie, I think that you are: ISFJ, though you may be ESFJ. Am I close?

On 19 July 2005 (07:59 AM),
mac said:

I scored as an ISFP, though I don’t remember the percentages. I agree with the IS and F, but I’m not so sure about the P. Good guess :) you know me well

On 19 July 2005 (08:36 AM),
J.D. said:

I’ve made some guesses at types for various people I know. Lower-case letters indicate low-confidence; upper-case letters are traits about which I have greater confidence. How correct am I?

(I’m going through and adding actuals in parentheses as people report results.) How well did I predict?

J.D.: INTp (ENTP)
Kris: isTJ (ESTJ)
Mom: ISFJ (ISFJ)
Dad (dead): ENTP
Tony: EnfP (ENTP)
Jeff: IsFj (ISTJ)
Nick: ISFJ (ISFP)
Tammy: EstJ (ESFJ)
Claudia G.: ESFJ
Christopher G.: IstJ
Tiffany: eSfJ (ESTJ)
Pam: eSTJ (ISTJ)
Mackenzie: ISFJ (ISFP)
Jeremy: ESFj (split ESFJ and ENFJ)
Jenn: EsFP
Joel: Esfp (ENTP — I should have known! I think we have similar temperments)
Aimee: EnFJ (ENFJ)
Lisa: istj
Craig: iNTJ
Andrew C.: iSTp
Courtney: enfJ (INFJ)
Paul C.: INTJ
Dave: ISTJ (ISTJ)
Dana: eSfP
dowingba (whom I’ve never met): iStj (ISTP)
Kristin: Istp (INFJ — my biggest miss!)
Steph: esFJ
Kim K.: IsfJ
Sabino: EstP
Julie: estP
Celeste: estj
Marla: EsFJ
Denise: ESFj (ESFP)
Paul J.: INfj (INFP, though I was way off on the P)
AmyJo: INfp (ESFJ — another huge miss!)
Jason: INTj (INTP)
Naomi: enFJ (INFJ)

Here’s an intersting thing: the more I think about FJs, the more I realize that they’ve got a completely different mindset from my own. It’s a whole other world. They’d rather do what it takes to maintain harmony in relationships than be completely honest. That’s not wrong, of course; it’s just foreign to my way of thinking.

On 19 July 2005 (08:49 AM),
Jeff said:

I took the 102 question test… twice. Both times I scored as an ISTJ… which seems pretty accurate, although I envisioned myself more of an INTJ.

As for the Enneagram, I scored as a Type 1, Pefectionism with a “variant” of “Social”. But, my score for Type 6, Anxiety was the same percentage as for Type 1… and I think that would more accurately describe me, as really I feel most happy when I am safe and secure, rather than when I am perfect and good.

On 19 July 2005 (09:39 AM),
Courtney said:

Close…I’m an INFJ, though I can be extroverted at times. I’m a 9 on the Enneagram – the Mediator.

On 19 July 2005 (11:41 AM),
Denise said:

Not that you guessed, but I’m an ESFP:

“Entertainer”. Radiates attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, charming, clever. Fun to be with. Very generous. 8.5% of the total population.

On 19 July 2005 (11:50 AM),
Denise said:

And I forgot to add that I am a 2 on the Enneagram – which was Helpfulness, although 8 (Aggressiveness) was a close second. So I like to help, and if you don’t let me I’ll just forcibly help you anyways.

On 19 July 2005 (12:09 PM),
Amy Jo said:

Just took the 102 question test, but you didn’t predict my outcome . . . wanna take a guess? I’m interested in your perception

On 19 July 2005 (12:27 PM),
J.D. said:

Yes, yes. I didn’t guess a lot of people. As I told Denise via e-mail, I would have guessed she was ESfj. Nick took the test and came out as ISFP. I’m not sure why I put J down for him. Now that I think about it, he’s classic P.

Paul and AmyJo are both difficult, which is one reason I left them off the list earlier. For example, my gut is that AmyJo is an F, but on the other hand, I’ve seen some T behavior from her lately.

AmyJo: INfp
Paul J.: INfj

On 19 July 2005 (12:36 PM),
Mom said:

Jung Test Results

Introverted (I) 70.37% Extroverted (E) 29.63%
Sensing (S) 58.62% Intuitive (N) 41.38%
Feeling (F) 53.33% Thinking (T) 46.67%
Judging (J) 65.52% Perceiving (P) 34.48%

Your type is: ISFJ

ISFJ – “Conservator”. Desires to be of service and to minister to individual needs – very loyal. 13.8% of total population.

I’ve taken this test before but can’t remember my previous results. From what I understand, the Introvert/Extrovert area is the one that generally doesn’t ever change over time.

On 19 July 2005 (12:51 PM),
Tiffany said:

I took the test, but only because you guessed what I would be. I tried to answer the questions how I normally feel, not how I have felt the last few months so that may affect things greatly. I came up with E (82%), S(75%), T(69%), J(84%).

On 19 July 2005 (01:09 PM),
J.D. said:

Interestingly, I think the 102-question test has a pool of questions from which it draws, and you’re never guaranteed to have the same questions. I know it reorders the questions.

I just took the test again, and I came out ENTP.

ENTP – “Inventor”. Enthusiastic interest in everything and always sensitive to possibilities. Non-conformist and innovative. 3.2% of the total population.

I’ll admit it: I am an Extrovert and not an Introvert.

On 19 July 2005 (01:21 PM),
Kristin said:

I have not taken the test for a few years, but the 2-3 times I’ve done it have yielded consistent results: INFJ. Sorry, JD. I hover pretty closely to “P”, however. Interestingly, Roger is an “INFP.” So much for that “opposites attract” thing. :)

On 19 July 2005 (01:21 PM),
Mom said:

What immediately struck me about this latest result of yours, J.D., was that the description would certainly have applied to your dad.

On 19 July 2005 (01:27 PM),
J.D. said:

Mom, you’ll note that my guess for Dad is ENTP, too. He was a lot more T than me, though. (Nick says he thinks I’m more F than I give myself credit for. This is interesting because Naomi insists that I’m an F not a T.)

Kristin, I also had trouble guessing yours. (Any guess where I have three lower-case levels indicates I had trouble.) In fact, I almost had you down as a J. And I didn’t think you could be both S and F, but guessed that you’d be a T instead of an N. This is all quite fun to me — can you tell?

On 19 July 2005 (01:30 PM),
Amy Jo said:

ESFJ: “Seller.” Most sociable of all types. Nuturer of harmony. Outstanding host or hostess. 12.3% of total population.

The Enneagram results play into some of my worst fears about being a worrisome control freak. Type 1 Perfectionism, 90%, Type 2 Helpfulness, 73%, Anxiety, 60% . . . “I must be perfect and good to be happy.”

On 19 July 2005 (01:44 PM),
tony said:

You where close big brother, I am a ENTP

Extroverted = 64%
Intuitive = 65%
Thinking = 63%
Perceiving = 63%

I was labeled as a “Inventor”

On 19 July 2005 (01:53 PM),
Jeff said:

Yeah, I can see Tony as an “inventor” (like Dad). JD, not so much… not that we don’t all have some Dad-like tendencies (Tony’s spelling would be another fine example).

PS… Hi Tony!

On 19 July 2005 (02:05 PM),
Kris said:

My result was ESTJ, but the extrovert was 52% versus 48% introvert. This feels pretty right to me; I crave both alone and social time. I was much more one-sided on the other three, and was surprised by the 79% on Sensing. Then again, perhaps that explains some of my scientific tendencies.

“Administrator”: (8.7% of total population) Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Tower of strength. Hmmm.

I’m sure it will come as no surprise to many that my enneagram type came out as 1(Perfectionism 83%) and 8 (Aggressiveness 70%). I, too, am happy when I am perfect and good as well as strong and in control; strong sense of ethics and high standards for self and others. Watch out!

On 19 July 2005 (02:21 PM),
Denise said:

J.D. – did you seriously think you were an Introvert? Come on….

On 19 July 2005 (02:59 PM),
JEREMY said:

I am thoroughly embarrassed to have spent 15 minutes of what has been a VERY busy day to do this, but I got a VERY persuasive message from JD!

50%/50% Split between ENFJ and ESFJ
ENFJ-“Persuader” Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 2.5% of the population.

ESFJ-“Seller” Most sociable of all types. Nurturer of harmony. Outstanding host or hostesses. 12.3% of the population.

Enneagram Results

Type1: Perfectionism: 80%
Type2: Helpfulness: 60%
Type3: Image awareness: 66%
Type4: Sensitivity: 26%
Type5: Detachment: 13%
Type6: Anxiety: 30%
Type7: Adventurousness: 73%
Type8: Aggressiveness: 63%
Type9: Calmness: 36%

I scored as a Type1 – according to the test I am idealistic and strive for perfection. Morals and ethics drive me. I live with an overbearing critic that never rests! (oops – i forgot the word “internal” right before “critic” in the previous sentence – some of you may find this very humorous) I am always comparing myself to others and are overly concerned with external criticism.

My favorite part of this whole excercise:

My variant is…. you guessed it…. SEXUAL!!!

Wooooo fucking Whooooo!

Overall I score highest on assertive traits, followed by compliant traits, and lowest on withdrawn traits.

You happy now, MF?

On 19 July 2005 (03:34 PM),
Pam said:

ISTJ – “Trustee”. Decisiveness in practical affairs. Guardian of time- honored institutions. Dependable. 11.6% of total population.

this description fits me pretty well. i never would have dubbed myself “guardian of time-honored institutions,” but it really fits (I often call myself “traditional”) perhaps it’s why I am so ill at ease with all this hi-tech stuff. Most people peg me as extroverted because I am loud and outspoken and like to chit chat, but I work better alone and often feel mentally drained after a big gathering.

And no shocker: Perfection (83%), Detached (70%), agressive (63%)

On 19 July 2005 (04:01 PM),
J.D. said:

Michael (an ENFP) writes in with the Myers-Briggs light bulb joke. How many of your personality type does it take to change a light bulb?

ISTJ: One worked in the past, so one will work now!
ISFJ: Only one, me, as long as it is OK with everyone else.
INFJ: Does the light bulb really want to be changed?
INTJ: Could you please define change? And what exactly do you mean by a light bulb?
ISTP: One.
ISFP: Zero — the ISFP is happy just sitting there and experiencing the dark
INFP: Two: one to change it and one for support
INTP: Hmm…light…, illuminate… I=10.76LT(I/4f)(F/V)² Hcos40+If
ESTP: None, till I check the breaker.
ESFP: Who cares – the important thing is that it would be fun!
ENFP: Well let’s see, there’s one to notice the bulb is out, and one to make a new lampshade, and one to read a magazine article on alternative lighting means, and one to draw a picture of a candle, and…
ENTP: One, but only after tightening, wiggling, shaking, testing, etc. to make sure it’s not something else.
ESTJ: The cost/benefit ratio would dictate only one.
ESFJ: At least two – let me get on the phone and call someone to come over…
ENFJ: But that was my favorite light bulb!
ENTJ: YOU!!! CHANGE THAT DARN BULB!!!

After having discussed this all with Nick for a long time this afternoon, and after having thought about Kris and Pam, two of my favorite Ss, I’ve come to the conclusion that an S is much more literal-minded than an N.

On 19 July 2005 (04:12 PM),
Jeff said:

I read this and immediately thought of Nick:

ISFP: Zero – the ISFP is happy just sitting there and experiencing the dark

On 19 July 2005 (04:18 PM),
Mom said:

“ENTP: One, but only after tightening, wiggling, shaking, testing, etc, to make sure it’s not something else.”

I can’t count the number of times your dad did that, J.D.! LOL! And I’m quite sure I’ve seen Tony doing the same thing.

On 19 July 2005 (04:25 PM),
Nikchick said:

I’ve always come out INFP, even after periods where I thought I’d massively changed/come out of my shell/become more comfortable with myself.

On 19 July 2005 (05:18 PM),
Tammy said:

okay I gotta do this too. There was no surprise with my results. Here it is.

Extroverted (E) 89.66% Introverted (I) 10.34%
Sensing (S) 68.57% Intuitive (N) 31.43%
Feeling (F) 63.16% Thinking (T) 36.84%
Judging (J) 58.06% Perceiving (P) 41.94%

So I’m an ESFJ as is 12.3 % of the population. I’m a sellar and make a great hostess.

Anyone who knows me knows how true this is! it’s amazing!

On 19 July 2005 (07:43 PM),
Aimee said:

ENFJ – Spot on, J.D.

I want to know how you guessed … About all of us, really.

I took this test earlier this year for nursing school and thought it was bunk … But, now that I’ve achieved exactly the same score I’m beginning to wonder about these Meyers-Briggs tests …

On 19 July 2005 (08:02 PM),
Joel said:

Close JD: ENTP

On 19 July 2005 (09:05 PM),
Paul J. said:

I (67%)
N (60%)
F (60%)
P (82%)

On 20 July 2005 (06:57 AM),
tammy said:

This truly is strange on a couple of levels. Jd, I just noticed how you had me figured out. You actually had me as thinking indtead of feelng which kinda of surprises me but it is totaly amazing how close you got to all of us.

Another funny thing is how ESFJ’s say, at least two , let me get on the phone and call someone over. Every time my husband and I do a project I try to get others to help and he hates it. This weekend we set up the kids pool and I kept declaring the job far too great for us and I couldnt see why he didnt call another an to help. He gets so upset when I suggest such a thing. Now i can tell him that it’s really not something I can help. I’m an ESFJ after all!

I tried to figure out which one he is before I checked the lightbulb dialogue and I guessed him as an ISTP. Then I go up and look and the ISTP Says ONE! I think I pegged him! We are on opposite ends of the spectrum! That answers a lot of my questions!

On 20 July 2005 (07:29 AM),
dowingba said:

That Wikipedia article is exceptionally badly written. “Judging and Perceiving tell us which of the two preferred functions, the judging function or the perceiving function, is used in the outer world.” Hyuck!

On 20 July 2005 (07:41 AM),
dowingba said:

By the way, I’m:

“ISTP – “Engineer”. Values freedom of action and following interests and impulses. Independent, concise in speech, master of tools. 5.4% of total population.”

On 20 July 2005 (03:24 PM),
Lisa said:

INFP
A piddling 12% of the population suffer in my gray zone.

On 20 July 2005 (04:06 PM),
Lisa said:

Typo. I meant 1% of the population is INFP.

On 21 July 2005 (10:18 AM),
Lynn said:

I am an ISTP. “Engineer”. Values freedom of action and following interests and impulses. Independent, concise in speech, master of tools. 5.4% of total population.

I’m a type 4 on the Enneagram: I must avoid painful feelings to be happy. Well, duh?

Be Careful What You Wish For…

When we moved into this house, we bought each of the cats a new collar, and gave each a shiny new personalized nametag. Simon and Toto still have theirs. Nemo lost his in the first week. We bought him a second collar, and a third, but he lost each of those just as quickly.

It’s an easy neighborhood, so a collar isn’t too important. However, Nemo has a nasty habit of hiding when we call for him to come in, especially if it’s near dusk. After a couple of particularly fractious bedtimes, we recently bought him a fourth collar. For good measure, we added a little brass bell.

Big mistake.

Now whenever he makes the slightest move, Nemo jingles like a Salvation Army bellringer. But in the most annoying high-pitched tinny way. Sure, this helped us find him last night, but it also kept us awake because every time he shifted, every time he licked his paws, every time he hopped down to go get a snack, he jingle-jingle-jingled us awake.

We took the bell off today, but the collar stays. At least until he loses this one, too.

“It’s going to rain at 3:30,” I announced yesterday morning at ten. Kris’ parents were helping us to set up for our afternoon lawn party. The party was set to begin at three.

We swept and scrubbed and baked and cleaned. At three, everything looked grand. At 3:30 — not 3:29 and not 3:31 — it began to rain. I was quite pleased with myself.

Our lawn party turned into a porch party, but still it seemed to be a success. It’s always difficult for me to tell. I love to entertain, and I love to welcome large groups, but I never feel particularly effective as a host. I’m easily distracted. Also, I’m not especially good at small talk. Too, the mathematics of the situation doom me to failure. No matter how much I want to spend time with every guest, it’s physically impossible for me to spread myself evenly over the three hours people are here. Instead, I find myself drawn to one guest or another, or perhaps a small group. I only wish I could somehow learn to improve my hosting skills. If you joined us on Sunday and I neglected you, I apologize.

While Kris’ parents are in town, my diet is on hold. It’s unfortunate, but true.

I lost eight pounds last month, and had lost five this month before Chris and Claudia came into town. After Saturday (elephant ear and lemonade at Saturday Market, Chinese food for lunch, Benihana for dinner) and Sunday (nothing all day except party food, but that party food included brownies (including sheet cake from Kristin!), and brownies are my terrible weakness), I’m lucky I haven’t exploded.

We made pasta with little cream sauce tonight, and Kris is now baking her decadent chocolate-marshmallow dessert. Tomorrow will be just as bad.

Mike and Jeremy and I were talking about addiction last night. Mike was explaining how he’d just quit smoking cold turkey many years ago. Jeremy said that he’d like to quit, too, but always feels the pull of addiction. That’s how food is for me. Seriously. I love the stuff (especially brownies), and I have to be meticulous about limiting my intake or it’s easy for me to fall of the wagon.

Our weather the past two days has been typical of the Oregon rain that I love: mostly constant, with low hanging misty clouds and a gentle ever-present rain in the air. Normally, I’d be in high spirits. The problem? It’s the end of June and we haven’t had more than a couple of sunny days since mid-March!

Comments

On 28 June 2005 (07:37 AM),
Lisa said:

Well FWIW, I thought that the porch party was a great success. The porches created natural conversation groups (as well as toddler holding pens). True, I didn’t really see you because you weren’t on my porch. It was a good party, though.

Have you gotten all of the grass bits off all your floors yet? I think that the party brought most of the lawn inside.

On 28 June 2005 (07:55 AM),
Joel said:

Oh, that little cream sauce. It’s 10 am, I’m in a very inhospitable place (a biochem lab with a fair bit of radioactive stuff piled haphazardly about), but I would dig into a bowl of pasta and lil’ cream sauce right now with gusto.

On 28 June 2005 (08:29 AM),
Dennis said:

We went with the bell on the cat (to cut down on the predator tendencies). He comes in at night, the collar comes off. Goes back on 1st thing in the morning when we open the pet door.

On 28 June 2005 (09:34 AM),
Kristin said:

We thought the party was a success, as well. Ian and Tristan were certainly not ready to leave–“How come we always leave first?” Of course we did not leave first, but it’s hard to know the fun will go on without you :) Tristan asked the burning question–“Why did JD get rid of his Game Cube? Kids still come there!” I was glad to see them playing outside instead of being vidiots all evening, however. Thanks for hosting–you were most certainly NOT inadequate. Oh, and sorry for feeding your addiction . . .

On 28 June 2005 (01:07 PM),
Courtney said:

The party was fabulous! I only wish we could have stayed longer. And, whoever made that incredible, decadent chocolate dessert with the graham cracker crust, it was amazing! I’d love the recipe. Jennifer’s raspberry tart was excellent too! That’s where I cut myself off, so I missed the brownies. I trust they were heavenly as well. :)

Observed

Tuesday is Sno-Ball day!

The song Lick it Up by KISS is, quite possibly, the worst song every recorded.

I mean to write a follow-up to yesterday’s entry about technology, but I just can’t find the words. I want to write about education, but everything I get on paper is incoherent. I’ll keep trying.

This will come as no surprise to most of you, but getting more sleep makes me feel more rested. Amazing! Consider:

I get up at 5:30 during the week. Kris likes to be to sleep by ten on most nights, but I just can’t do that. I sit in bed reading, or web surfing, or — Kris’ favorite — writing weblog entries. I generally don’t try to sleep until eleven, and it often takes me half an hour to fall asleep. Net result: six hours of sleep, and I often feel exhausted.

While Nick has been in Italy the past few weeks — he just drove in for his first day back to work — I’ve been living a life of luxury. I’ve been coming to work at nine, which means I can get up at 7:30. 7:30! Omigod. You cannot imagine how pampered I’ve felt. If I follow my normal routine, I’m getting eight hours of sleep. Even if I stay up til midnight to, say, play World of Warcraft, and even if it takes me a half hour to get to sleep, I’m still getting an extra hour of sleep. Even seven hours is far superior to six.

What is the moral of this story? I’m exhausted all the time, but I really don’t have to be.

Remember my hypothesis that obsessive play of World of Warcraft was a contributing factor to my recent bout of depression? Preliminary anecdotal evidence would seem to indicate that this is, indeed, the case.

Since I wrote about my problem last Friday, I’ve played the game only once, for three hours on Monday afternoon. I had fun, and I didn’t feel like I was neglecting anything.

I feel great. Kris remarked last night how much my mood has improved over the past few days. It’s as if I’ve awakened from a stupor.

In January I wrote about a moment of self-actualization. This moment actually came about a week into a one-month period during which I set aside the game for other priorities.

Coincidence? I think not.

My fiscal responsibility program continues to work wonders.

Before October, I had a savings rate of zero. I never saved money. I didn’t feel pressed for cash (in the long term), but I never accumulated any capital.

When Tony left Custom Box, we restructured salaries in such a way that I began earning an extra $400 a month (which is a lot of money). Then I paid off all of my debts, which freed up another $350 a month. Finally, I’ve been working to reduce discretionary spending, and have been able to trim another $250 a month. Do you see that total?

In about six months time, I’ve gone from saving nothing to being able to save $1000 a month. Unbelievable. My mind boggles. (Of course, at the moment all of this money is being poured into our bathroom remodel, but still: in theory, I’ll be able to save a lot in the near future.)

Here are two examples of how I’ve reduced my discretionary spending, both of which involve books. (Remember that last year I spent over $200 on books and comics every month. (It’s difficult to separate those two number because I buy most of my comics in book form.))

Last week I placed a small order with Amazon. This order has been in-process for about ten days, and because it’s still active and I haven’t received the books yet, it acts as a kind of mental stop preventing me from wanting to buy more. Because I already have a book order in process, I feel no need to obtain other books. Strange, but effective.

Except for last night.

We were in Portland running errands for the bathroom remodel. I insisted that we stop at Powell’s. I wandered the store for half an hour, picking up Latin texts, books by Wendell Berry, Modern Library editions of favorite classics, a compilation of James Bond comic strips, and several other fine volumes. When I sat down with my basket, I had over $100 worth of books. I took them out one-by-one, deliberating. In the end, I decided on a set of Latin texts and the latest Wendell Berry anthology. On the walk to the cash register, I changed my mind. Ultimately, I purchased only the Wendell Berry anthology, which, ironically, had been the first book I picked up. Even six months ago, this scenario would have had a completely different conclusion.

Last year I spent $200+ per month on books. This month I’ve only spent $77. I’m not sure if it’s possible for me to reduce this much further, but I’ll try.

At last the sun has returned. After our month-long festival of early spring sunshine, we suffered a month of wet and grey. It seems, however, that things have returned to normal. We’ll even have highs around seventy for the next few days. I like that.

Comments

On 20 April 2005 (11:27 AM),
Rich R said:

Have you heard the Kiss song “let’s put the X in sex”…it is much worse….much worse.

On 20 April 2005 (12:43 PM),
traitor said:

When Tony left Custom Box, we restructured salaries in such a way that I began earning an extra $400 a month (which is a lot of money).

Wow, you got a fairly large raise to essentially do the same thing you where doing when Tony was there. Now what is it again you do at Custom Box????????????? :) or maybe it should be:( .

On 20 April 2005 (01:15 PM),
Denise said:

I’d have to agree with Rich, X in Sex is much worse.

The video for Lick it Up is definitely in the running for worst video of all time, even by 80’s hairband video standards.

Neighbors and Dreamtime

I took my River Forest Road walk this afternoon, enjoying the warm sun and a chapter of The Far Side of the World. At one point, I rounded a corner and was brought up short. Before me stood the most gorgeous blossoming tree. (A cherry?) I wished I had taken my camera.

A sunny Sunday in March means yard work, and that’s just what Kris and I did yesterday. Kris did lots of little things, many of which escape me; she was busy all day long. In the mid-afternoon, she planted the asparagus. She dug a foot-deep trench one-foot wide, and buried nine asparagus crowns. They’ll live for eight to ten years, producing their first edible stalks a couple of years from now.

Yum.

While Kris worked on the asparagus, I edged the entire length of the garden, ripping out sod and hauling it back to the compost heap. Back next to the rotting eggshells and coffee grounds, I met another neighbor.

Harvey is the first black man I’ve met in Oak Grove. He and his wife moved into the house behind ours nearly thirty years ago. They’ve been married for thirty-three years and have eleven children, one of whom (Joshua, approximately eight years old) sat and listened to us as we talked.

Harvey’s a good guy. When he moved to Oregon from North Carolina, Harvey worked as a chef. Since then he’s gone into business for himself, installing refrigeration units for restaurants. His wife Becky is actually the daughter of Tom’s first wife. (Tom being the neighbor we know best, the friendly guy next door who, at nearly eighty years old, is building his dream home.) When the former owners of our house installed their high fence with barbed wire, they placed a gate between Harvey’s yard and our yard. When the former owners died, Harvey chained it off. Yesterday, he got out his bold cutters and he cut it the chain off. He installed a new lock and gave us a key, re-establishing open communication between the two yards. I think this was primarily a symbolic act, but I liked it.

We’ve now established contact with nearly all of the neighbors. (We still haven’t met the other backyard neighbors, the ones wholly hidden from us by the laurel hedge.) We know Tom and Roberta best, and are grateful for the kindness they’ve shown us since we moved in. (They’re the source of our grapes and blueberries, for example.)

John from across the road is a character: gruff and frank, but generous. (He invited us to glean his Concord grapes, and he donated lumber for us to construct our own grape trellises.) John spends most of his time in Alaska and New Zealand, so mostly his house is occupied by a series of housesitters.

Kurt and Tammy next door are friendly, too; they greeted us on our first day in the house. They’re closest to our age, and easiest to talk to. They live across from Cyril and Helen, an older couple who moved into their house in 1948. Cyril’s great: he has an opinion on everything and is not afraid to share it. He reminds me of Jeremy.

It’s strange that after nine months we already know most of our neighbors. In Canby, we barely knew the people around us, and we rarely had any interaction with them. It’s not like we spend all our time with our new neighbors, but at least we’ve met them, and we carry on conversations with them when we see them. With Tom and Roberta, especially, I’ve had a lot of talks.

It’s nice.

Last night I woke from a truly terrifying dream:

I am standing in a bus shelter with Mac and Andrew. Outside it is stormy in a wintry kind of way. Looking through a window into a coffee shop, I see Joel, all wild arms and crazy faces, telling a story to some stranger. I keep meaning to tell Mac and Andrew that Joel’s here, but they’re engrossed in conversation, and I do not want to interrupt. Eventually, Joel sees us and comes outside and plants a great big juicy kiss on Mac’s lips. “You gonna give me a ride home?” he asks Mac. Mac is hesitant because he’s promised to drive me home, but Joel goads him until he agrees to go. Andrew goes with them.

I take off by myself, in a car, driving to our new house, which is apparently now located on a hillside, up a winding, narrow road. The road is more icy than slushy, but I’m managing.

And here’s a strange part. For a short time, the dream changes scenes and I am no longer in the action. I cannot recall this ever happening before. Instead, Joel and Mac have arrived at their destination, and Joel is all wild arms and crazy faces, telling a story, but Mac is morose. “I should have taken J.D. home,” he says. “He hates to drive in this stuff. He’s no good at it.”

Indeed, I’m not (at least in the dream). I’m driving up the winding, narrow roads, only no longer in a car but in my pajamas. (WTF?) I take great long runs and then skid on my stomach. And this all seems perfectly natural in Misty Dreamland.

At one point, I accidentally turn onto a logging road. I can’t tell at first because it, too, is a winding, narrow road. Eventually, however, I realize that it is too winding and too narrow. In fact, the trees and shrubs have squeezed in all around so that I am only crawling now. I am very scared. Very scared.

I think of wolves. I think of bears. “This isn’t right,” I think to myself. “My house is on a big road.” And so I turn around and begin to retrace my path, but this time I’m panicked, believing I will be eaten by snowsharks. (WTF?)

My dream ends when I wake, in a fair state of terror, to go to the bathroom at 11:16.

At least there’s this: if I was dreaming — which I did all night long — I was not snoring!

Comments

On 14 March 2005 (09:53 PM),
Kris said:

While Jd was on his walk, I made a feeble attempt to give the camellias their semi-annual feeding. We think we have twenty-three beautiful camellia bushes here at Rosings Park, but it’s hard to be sure, since some of them blend together into one long hedge and others are so tall (15 feet?) they may be several intertwined. Anyway, the fertilizer instructions read: “drench soil around bush’s dripline. In general, 1 gallon (of dilute fertilizer solution) will be sufficient for 1 plant.” Somehow, I do not think they had our camellias in mind when they wrote those. In the end, I filled the two-gallon bucket up 16 times before I ran out of fertilizer granules, and I’m sure I’ve just whetted their appetites.

On 14 March 2005 (11:16 PM),
tammy said:

Hmm, Kris, maybe I need to fertilize my camelia. I hadn’t even thought of it. That’s exactly what I’ll do tomorrow. Greg bought a new mower. It’s self propelled. I’ve never had a self propelled mower. I’ve always had to strong arm my mower through thick stands of clover in our spare lot. I’m not sure how a self propelled mower will do in that sort of situation but we shall see. I’m looking forward to working outside tomorrow.

By the way is there anything we’re suppose to be doing to those roses this time of year? Pruning? fertilizer? Anything? Mine have all leafed out beautifully! I can’t wait to see them blooming!

On 15 March 2005 (06:44 AM),
Joel said:

I think Mac did the right thing in that dream. Between the two of us, I’d probably be more of a danger to the public if I had to drive on those icy roads. Attaboy, Mac, you’re a great kisser!

On 15 March 2005 (08:02 AM),
Steve said:

JD:
We must be neighbors. One of our favorite bike rides is down Oak Grove Blvd. and down River Forest Road. (We’re on Laurie Ave.)
If we can ever scrape together enough money, we’d love to live on the river. I grew up on a river in NH, and I miss being that close to the water. I think in the meantime I will just have to buy a boat so I can take advantage of my proximity to the boat launch at the end of Oak Grove Blvd.
There is a 5 acre lot w/ river front for sale right now at the end of Laurie Ave. (I posted some pictures on my Blog.) It used to be some kind of greenhouse/nursery, but everything is in ruins now. I think the property is listed with Windemere, but I haven’t seen how much they want.
Well, I’ve babbled on for long enough; time to chase the children off to school.
Steve

On 15 March 2005 (11:55 AM),
Courtney said:

I had a bad dream the other night. To make a long story short, I witnessed a murder and ended up in some sort of warehouse. Joel was there, too, and we hid in a dumpster full of cardboard. Why does Joel show up in these weird dreams I wonder?

Tangerine Dreams and Marshmallow Skies

Sometimes, there’s a man…

One year in the waiting, five days in the making! (Click on stuff!)

Rearing in quaffed monk, you stun me by employing eight windows when the priest is but iodine.

Ming the Merciless says:

From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee. For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

The richest man in the world:

(No joke)

Dustmites the world over love you for your feet.

Homer: A gun is not a weapon Marge, it’s a tool. Like a butcher knife, or a harpoon, or… or an alligator.

Homer: Lisa, if you don’t like your job you don’t strike. You just go in there every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.

Homer: Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?

Homer: Marge, don’t discourage the boy! Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals! (pause) Except the weasel.

Homer: He has all the money in the world, but there’s one thing he can’t buy.
Marge: What’s that?
Homer: (pause) A dinosaur.

Homer: Kids, you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is: never try.

!!!!!!!! 100% NUDE ALL TEEN STICK FIGURES !!!!!!!

You look like someone who has lunched poorly and who has no expectations for dinner.

Eleven Worst Songs of 2004

Free throw contest

Remember Jesus?

[Jesus Quintana tongues his bowling ball]

Comments

On 24 January 2005 (12:37 PM),
dowingba said:

Oh man, I too remember when Simpsons was good. By the way, I turned my speakers down almost instantly upon loading this page. How dare you. I trusted you, man.

On 24 January 2005 (01:52 PM),
Mom (Sue) said:

I laughed when I heard your sound upon opening this site because I recognized the line and the movie instantly, having just rented it from Netflix and sent it back after watching just 1/2 hour of it. I especially don’t like John Goodwin as a psycho — I prefer him as a big teddy bear.

On 24 January 2005 (01:57 PM),
J.D. said:

Well, I’ve had three different people tell me that the sound I’ve embedded in this page causes problems, and each person told me it causes a different problem.

I guess this is why I don’t usually embed sounds in my pages. Watch out next January 23rd, though, because there may be another… :)

On 24 January 2005 (02:32 PM),
Drew said:

That was Khan, not Ming – methinks.

On 24 January 2005 (04:24 PM),
Aimee said:

Maude Lebowski, baby … Who else? (For the record, this is one of the best internet quizzes I’ve seen in a long time …) Did you really come out as The Jesus, Jd?

On 24 January 2005 (04:25 PM),
Denise said:

The embedded sound works for me, man.

On 24 January 2005 (04:31 PM),
Joel said:

According to the “Which Big Lebowski character are you?” quiz:

Why don’t you check it out? Or we cut of your Johnson!

On 24 January 2005 (04:33 PM),
Joel said:

Oh, crap. I didn’t do that link thing right. Which is just the sort of thing the Dude would do, right? Or is that more of a Donny thing?

According to the “Which Big Lebowski character are you?” quiz:

I am Jeff Lebowski, but nobody calls me that. They call me the dude, or his dudeness, or el duderino if they’re not really into the whole brevity thing.
Why don’t you check it out? Or we cut of your Johnson!

On 24 January 2005 (06:46 PM),
J.D. said:

No, Aim, I did not come out as Jesus. I, too, am Maude Lebowski. “I can’t suppress my instinct to be a mother.”