My Seven Things
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David tagged me. I’ve been dreading this moment. I’m not sure if anyone is interested in these little/un/known facts about me, but here goes:
- I have been a subject of a scientific experiment at MIT.
- My Morse code speed is in excess of 40 wpm.
- I do not sleep on my face. I have trained myself to sleep on the back of my head only, thereby saving my face from premature wrinkles from sleep.
- Growing up, in grades 1 though 12, I attended 11 different schools across 3 US states.
- I have been injured so badly that I couldn’t walk unassisted for more than a year.
- There is a charcoal portrait of me by Clarence Washington, somewhere in the Boston Museum of Fine Art.
- In the past 20 years, the number of years that I have been a payroll employee of a company is 4.
I don’t think I’m going to tag anyone. I did enjoy reading some of these types of facts that were presented by the other bloggers. Maybe we should be doing interviews instead of fact listing?
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November 27th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I was sent the same thing. Like you I was a little unsure of how to respond and then I thought it couldn’t hurt to let my readers know a few facts about me I otherwise wouldn’t have offered. Thanks for sharing MJ. I enjoyed your post.
Carrie’s last blog post..Tokyo Street Fashion and the Fashion Police #1
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November 28th, 2007 at 1:58 am
Carrie » thanks. i also enjoyed yours. i really wasn’t sure what to say…. it felt like bragging in some ways. i tried to mix it up between accomplishments and stuff that had happened to me. glad that’s over!
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November 28th, 2007 at 11:38 am
You make me smile today, nice 7 tips of you!
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November 28th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Cami » thanks! i didn’t know how readers would respond to these weird facts. you have a nice blog, btw.
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November 28th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Tell us about the experiment at MIT. It wasn’t psychological, was it? ACID? 6th sense? What? I’m curious! Vern
Vern at Aim for Awesome’s last blog post..What are your Life Dysfunctions?
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November 28th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Vern » what an imagination! lol after i’m done telling you about the experiment, i’ll have to check to make sure you didn’t fall asleep on me!
Hong Tan, a Chinese scientist, was doing a study on humans ability to communicate through sensory channels other than visual and auditory, pursuant to development of a new language and communication tools for those who are both blind and deaf. she chose a group of ham radio operators with Morse code capability (item #2 on my list) because we already know a language that could be adapted to many different domains. i was placed in a room and seated in front of a computer. i was given headphones that fit tightly on my head. the headphones emitted low-level white noise that prevented me from hearing anything. then i was given a “vibrating egg” (i’m not sure where they got that, but i have a good idea!) to hold in one hand while i was to use the other hand to enter the Morse code letter that i “read” by feeling the vibrations. the computer “keyed” the egg and then waited for my input. i made a single mistake by pressing the wrong key, but i was able to achieve 100% copy.
now, there is a legendary CW operator, Joe Parskey, NJ1P, who is able to copy Morse code way above the ability of the egg to send. the egg’s response time was very limited, so Hong rigged up a manual Morse code key that moved up and down in the same manner as a CW operator would use it to send code. Joe was able to copy an incredible 50 WPM (and perhaps even higher than that) just by using his fingers to feel the motion of the key up and down. Joe wrote an article about it in QST magazine. that would have been 1994 if memory serves. thanks for staying awake Vern!
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November 28th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
ha! Jeez MJ. I wasn’t expecting it to be all that complicated! Thanks for the response. When I was in the air force I had a friend that was a “ditty bop”. That’s what we called the guys that worked with code and listened to beeps and things and made them make sense. You were a ditty bop then in the military? Or, you learned Morse just using the HAM?
Vern at Aim for Awesome’s last blog post..What are your Life Dysfunctions?
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November 28th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Vern » i learned Morse as a civilian. i toyed around with it some as a kid (as all kids did in the 60s) but i only learned a few letters. then, one day in 1988 i noticed a new ham radio study materials package at Radio Shack that was produced by Gordon West Radio School. i bought the package which consisted of a book to study the written test, and 2 tapes to learn Morse code. 30 days later i had my novice license. 7 months later i had the top license, the Amateur Extra class. i’ve worked 238 countries on 100 watts. it’s been a fun hobby. now, just as soon as i can get some emails answered here, i am going to set up a station in Taiwan. but so far, i haven’t been able to contact anyone in authority.
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November 29th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing these, MJ!
Sandy’s last blog post..Glamorous Ximending
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November 29th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Sandy » hope you weren’t too bored reading them!
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December 2nd, 2007 at 1:17 am
Sorry MJ, perhaps this was a bad idea.
-david
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December 2nd, 2007 at 2:07 am
David » don’t think that way - it was cool. not sure if the stuff was interesting but it certainly wasn’t published information before!
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