Dragon tagged me with a meme that has been circulating the game-o-sphere for a few days: what are five things you don't know about me. I would once have been able to say "1 - I don't do memes", but since this is my second, that's really not going to wash. In any case, if it's good enough for Lum, Brian, Raph*, Matt and others, then it's good enough for me.
Of course, those who know me IRL, and a few others, might know some of these. But I'll bet that two of them are new to everyone in the world.
1 - I tried to create a mechanical flight simulator when I was ten. I had just used two computers by then - both Commodore Pets - and neither had a flight sim on it, so I don't know exactly where the idea came from. We were building a house at the time, so I had loads of materials available, so I tried to draw a scene on the back of a long roll of heavy paper and make two winders at the top and bottom of a flat board, masked by a piece of wood with a hole for a windshield. The effect would have been a little like an isometric-view scroller, but for the fact that my utter lack of artistic ability lead me to give up in disgust. Not for the last time, my technical plans were foiled by artistic ineptitude. Me and Hitler both.
2 - I can count to any number up to 1023 in binary on my fingers faster than you can do it in decimal or out loud.
3 - When I was young - some time before 11, again - my father explained traversable circuits to me, with an example of a square with a St. Andrew's cross, explaining that it couldn't be traversed. Bad idea. I started tracing it out on paper, then on my hand, then in my head, and my brain got stuck. I still do it sometimes without really noticing, when reading or thinking. It's a kinda mild OCD-type thing. Interestingly, he also explained the four-colour theorem, but I lost interest in that after less than six months of bull-headed experimentation.
4 - Today, I had to pass up the invitation to apply for an absolute dream job. I mean, the sort of job where you don't care what you would be doing, just to get to work there. Topical!
5 - My grandfather (during the war, a combat engineer) rather unwisely taught me to make a powerful depth-charge, which I once, just as unwisely, tested with some friends in the Wall'O'Kirk pool. The material needed for the charge was very easy to get, although nowadays you'd have to nick it from a school or lab. The variable timer mechanism would make you weep with its elegant simplicity. The result was terrifyingly effective, and there were soon a surprising number of dead eels on the surface of the water. I hope you don't mind me declining to post the recipe.
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*When I trackback to raph's site it seems to post the entire article so, being a good citizen, the link is http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/12/27/the-5-things-you-dont-know-about-me-meme/ if you want it)