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Let’s meet some more IMAO readers. Today, it’s Wacky Hermit.
What’s the story behind your name? I don’t get out much, I just stay in with my kids a lot of the time, and it makes me kinda wacky. There’s a bit of a Coleridge poem on my blog’s sidebar about a hermit who loves to meet travelers. Mostly I just like to meet people who aren’t hanging from the chandelier, demanding snacks, or sticking Legos down their pants. It makes a nice change.
Where do you live? I live in Tooele (pronounced too-WILL-uh), one of Utah’s many rural towns, about half an hour’s drive from Salt Lake City. It is a very boring hick town where the best shopping is at Wal-Mart.
How old are you? I have a brother. 22 years ago, he was half my age. Our combined age now is 62. You do the math.
Tell us briefly about yourself. I am married with four children; two have Asperger’s Syndrome (a kind of autism) and two have multiple food allergies. My husband works for a very nice software company. I have an M.S. in mathematics and I am a part-time adjunct professor. I like all sorts of geeky things. My laptop has Linux. I can make my own cheese. I’ve done about half the things on Lazarus Long’s list already. And any minute now, I’m going to die of exhaustion. 🙂
What do you recommend should be government policy on monkeys? Monkeys should be trained to operate graphing calculators so that high school students can be relieved of that responsibility and get on with learning some real mathematics.
How long have you been reading IMAO? A few years; I can’t keep track of time anymore. I had to get out a pencil and paper just to figure out how old I am now!
What’s your favorite IMAO post? I love the editorials, Know Thy Enemy, and In My World. Anything by Harvey is good for a laugh too.
What’s you favorite political issue? Education. I can rant on and on about education (particularly math education) until somebody yanks the soapbox out from under me, or until my baby starts flinging his poo, whichever comes first. Usually it’s the poo.
Do you have a website? If so, please tell us briefly about it. I have a blog, Organic Baby Farm (http://organicbabyfarm.blogspot.com), which I update every whenever-the-hell-I-get-a-minute-to-have-a-stray-thought-and-write-it-down.
I also sell my fabulous needlework and tie-dyed baby onesies at http://curiousworkmanship.etsy.com .
If you could ask one question at a Democratic debate, what would it be? “When is it over?” I really have no interest in listening to pie-in-the-sky weasel-talk. I’ve already had to replace the needle in my bull$#!^ detector several times during college. It’s a pain in the butt and I don’t have time to do it again.
If you commented that you want to be included before, you’re still in the running. You can also comment in this post; just make sure you fill in your e-mail on the comment form (only I can see it so you don’t have to worry about getting spam). Eventually we’ll get to everyone. Thanks to everyone who has participated so far!
Nice profile. I did the math; thirteen years ago, I was twice as old as you. I had to use a pencil and paper to figure out how old you are, too. But when I learned algebra, we had to do it on stone tablets.
Ah, I remember the stone tablets. They were just going out of vogue in favor of the wax ones with the little cuneiform stylus. I remember riding to school on a dinosaur, uphill both ways, in the snow, all summer long! Fond memories!
(to the younguns) When I was your age, I browsed the internet with a text-based browser!!!
Good interview. Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.
Until last November I’d never heard of Asperger’s. But my older son was diagnosed with it. The thing is he’s 18 and it took us till then realize that something was up. But his case is so mild that I’m not convinced he has anything aside from a mild social anxiety, wherein he is sometimes at a loss how to respond to what people say and do. But he’s been working all summer in Yellowstone, so I think he is fully able to work through that.
I have no flipping idea how old ANY of you are….and while I don’t recall the stone tablets, I do fondly remember the back of a coal shovel…..
Pleased to meet you WH……
Sheesh – I’m so old I almost forgot what I was commenting about….I do that a lot….get rolling along on a tangent and see a butterfly and then it’s all over with…..
What was I saying??
I got you beat by 1, JimmyCarter. And Wacky, you’re just a “kid!” I used to hate that from the older folks. Keep up the math, though, you know what they say: use it or lose it !!
Though I can’t remember my mathematical education for crap in order to find out your real age, it is nice to know more about you. I nearly choked on the water I was drinking when you were speaking of wandering strangers.
Aw, come on! Elephants never forget! 34 years ago, she was a babe, her brother was six years from being born and Silicon Valley Jim (sorry about the Carter reference) was 21 and I was 22. Ding ding ding.
Sorry I couldn’t figure out any of that, but I’m glad to see you on board Wacky!
Good job, Jimmy, now I will write 100% on your paper with purple pen and use my rubberstamp with the happy smiling star! 🙂
Just kidding, I don’t own any of those lame Kindergarten rubber stamps. And I grade in good, old fashioned RED. To remind students of the bloody fate that awaits those who don’t do their homework.
Well, Wacky, thanks. From an aeronautical engineer (5 out of 4 engineers have trouble with statistics, you know), at least you use that good, old fashioned red ink FEEDBACK on your student’s papers. It’s what they’re BUYING : your knowledge and judgment. These days, hardly ANY teachers have time for it. I know, I’ve had four sisters who taught, and one friend who teaches HS physics.
I thought your blog site was terrific. I’m a father of two sons, both grown up. Your kids are lucky to have you – and a mathematician to boot!
I’ll take a minute to reiterate my do me! sctparker AT gmail DOT com.
OK. If 22 years ago your brother was in a train leaving Chicago and you were in a train leaving New York…..
What the hell is an SAT question doing on IMAO?!? From one math geek to another: There’s only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary, and those that don’t.
p.s. XII & VI
You are just a bit older than me, meaning you are still young!
And you aren’t kidding about Tooele being a boring hick town. I’ve been there. It isn’t pretty.
For all of you who couldn’t do the math, I am ashamed of you! Didn’t you learn anything in the public school system???
FormerHostage, I am teaching my children how to count in binary. They keep getting in trouble when they count to 4 and 132.
WH, Great interview. Your the same age as I was when I was your age. (actually I was 9 years older then too) Goog luck with the snack demanding poo flingers,aren’t they the best. Well, got to go get these stupid legos out of my pants.
You’re 238 years old? That’s impossible!
Great interview Wacky! I’m not going to do the math because my homeschoolers brain is still on summer break and I refuse to wake it up just yet. All I know is that with that many kids you either feel real old or they keep you young (depending on what day it is and how much poo is being flung at you).
Someone needs to do a study tracking the factors that lead cool chicks (hey, I was raised politically incorrect and so shall I always be)to congregate here. Considering the number of women who are crazy enough to drive me to my emergency stash of whiskey it is statistically improbably that there would be so many sane women here…
And also, in the words of Ron White “Pick me, Pick Me!”
I wrote the rambling comment about a study and ended with a Ron White quote…
He’s 34! His brother is 28. I am so smart.
I think Wacky Hermit makes for a funny looking he.
Long time reader, first time poster…because WH is too enchanting to not say anything. Great interview.
But hey, enjoy the poo flinging and legos down the pants while you can. Its one of life’s finest moments and believe it or not, you’ll miss it when those days are long gone.
You really are whacky…I like it! A good friend of mine has Aspergers. He’s an amazing individual.