Here are a random assortment of facts about me. Why do you care? You probably don't, but it's my website and I can write whatever I like!
I earned money for my mission and college by making orthodontic retainers.
I have my own recording studio
I play piano/keyboards, trumpet, guitar, and sing, all badly.
I write music. I'm fairly good, but I'm slow.
I'm really smart, but I'm humble.
I don't prepare and eat meals; I eat ingredients.
I have a list of 144 rules that describe the world as I see it.
I run 5K in 23:30 at sea level, 25:00 at 5000 ft.
My resting heartrate is 55 bpm. My maximum heartrate is 201 bpm.
I've never needed glasses, braces, or a cast.
I thrive in cold weather.
My church callings have been:
- deacon's quorum secretary
- teacher's quorum president
- senior patrol leader
- choir member (In my ward growing up there was so many
musicians that you could only join the choir if you were called.)
- missionary to Sweden (1978-1981)
- Sunday school president
- elders quorum president
- ward young single adult representative (1984-1989)
- stake young single adult chairman
- home teacher
- teacher development instructor
- elders quorum instructor (2004-)
- sign language interpreter (~1986-)
- sign language class instructor
- executive secretary
- seminary teacher (1995-2001)
- ward/stake missionary (2001-)
I like X-Files, Letterman, Simpsons, SG-1, Star Trek
I am mortally afraid of boredom
I went on an LDS mission to Sweden
I like to buy broken R/C cars and fix them
I'm fascinated by: black holes, nuclear fusion, psychology, mathematics, genetics, archeology, electronics, particle physics, statistics, and acoustics.
I'm bored by: accounting, philosophy.
I love to make lists.
I'm 5'7" and 177 Lbs.
Favorite spices: lemon pepper, Worchestershire sauce, curry, capers.
I almost never tie my shoelaces.
I get choked up listening to Paul Harvey's "The rest of the Story"
I have $200 worth of boomerangs.
I can explain the physics behind boomerang flight.
I don't like to be early and time my arrival to the minute.
I'm writing goofy science articles I hope to print in a local paper.
I raise Venus flytraps
I enjoy parlor magic and know a few tricks.
I can tear a phone book in half and tear strapping tape by hand.
I have two web sites:
- http://David_Thomson.tripod.com - photos and stories
- http://www.mp3.com/ProblemChild - Some of my songs
Some interesting things I've done:
- I presided in the women's initiatory room.
- I went sailing in the San Francisco bay.
- I went diving in Kauai.
- I stood in the core of a nuclear reactor
- I taught a single college physics class at age 14
- I once dated a sociopath
- I got a ride to school from Henry B. Eyring
- I've tried welding.
- I co-wrote a musical
- I've milked a cow
- I've been thrown off a motorcycle, a horse, and a calf
- I was engaged for a week
- I've played principle roles in four local musicals
(See /j/history: Things I've done.)
I have more projects I want to do than I could finish in five lifetimes.
I like most foods, but not ham, grapefruit, cranberries, or eggplant.
I've published 20 technical papers on digital speech processing.
I don't go nuts over working out, but I stay fit. I exercise two times per week on average.
I graduated with an MS in electrical engineering from BYU.
I grew up in Rexburg, Idaho.
I've lived in Boston, MO, ID, Sweden, CA, UT, and IL.
I collect kids' watches, especially those that advertise something.
I studied Taekwon Do for a year & earned a yellow/green tip belt.
I can't whistle.
I think hats and perfume make girls irresistable.
I don't think girls look good in dark glasses.
I can walk on the back of my toes.
I have 8 patents. Lucent Technologies owns the rights.
I watch all the credits at the end of movies.
I'm hard to read. Girls I date usually end up asking me at random times, "What are you thinking?"
I can see my pulse at a spot on the back of my hand.
I used to have three offices, one in New Jersey, one in Chicago, and one in Salt Lake City. Now I have none.
I can solve complex statistical integrals, but I can't do long division.
I have over 200 CDs, with everything from Aerosmith to Fresh Aire.
Here is my ranking of a few Broadway musicals I've seen:
1. Les Miserables (Chicago & SLC)
2. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Chicago)
3. Cats (London)
4. Fiddler on the Roof (SLC, Chicago, Yellowstone)
5. Phantom of the Opera (Chicago)
6. Theda Bara and the Frontier Rabbi (Chicago - local)
7. Ragtime (New York)
8. Miss Saigon (New York)
9. Schoolhouse Rock (Chicago - local)
10. Faust (musical adaptation at Chicago Goodman Theater)
11. Dance of the Vampires (New York)
12. Dames at Sea (SLC local - awful!)
13. Rent (even worse!)
Local productions I've seen: Secret Garden, Cinderella, lots of stuff at my favorite spot - The Desert Star Playhouse
When I'm about to leave on a trip or come home, I find myself singing.
Local productions I've been involved in:
- It Starts With Balloons (I was in 2nd grade and had one line),
- The Music Man (trumpet),
- Hello Dolly (danced),
- Saturday's Warrior (played Todd),
- My Turn on Earth (played John and Charles)
- Turnips and Buckwheat (played Willard, co-writer, sound)
- Gone with the Wind - satire (assistant director, co-writer),
- You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (director),
- Brigadoon (played Sandy Dean),
I balance my checkbook to the penny.
I like to drive with the A/C on and the windows down.
My goals:
- I want to invent something great.
- I want to die old.
- I want to be a good person.
I've never used shaving cream for any purpose.
Records among girls I've seriously dated:
- Most kids: 5
- Tallest: 6'0"
- Highest IQ: 164
- Longest prison sentence: 3 months
- Greatest distance: 1714 miles