The next person to post in this thread...

Wow! No, I never have. No plans to, either.

TNP knows something about Gideon Welles.

The name seems familiar from somewhere, but that's all.

TNP likes hard-boiled eggs.

Fuck yeah -- hard-boiled or fried over-hard.

TNP has a yen for soft-cooked eggs.

Yeah, love them so.

TNP wishes this winter would go away, like, now.

Nah, I'm still doing all right. Spring will come when spring comes.

(Welles was Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Welles)

TNP can name two other U.S. Secretaries of the Navy from memory.

Yes I can, but I'm 100% sure i'd be wrong. Adm nelson or trafalgar aren't on the list, pretty sure.

TNP will answer his or own TNP promptly, for the benefit of knowledge-seekers.

the US had a navy in that racist Lincoln's day???? yeah I guess merrimack and monitor and all that -- still.....clue me in! i enjoy military history, just am not very knowledgeable

oh shit apparently Trafalgar was not an admiral or even a person at all. you need to educate me!

eta to play along TNP knows something cool about naval history in the US and will share

Sure! The U.S. Navy was quite small at the outbreak of the Civil War, but expanded rapidly under Welles's very capable leadership, both to build and maintain a blockade of the Southern coast, and to support the armies moving and fighting along the inland rivers. In four years it grew to become one of the biggest and most powerful in the world, but was quickly scaled back again after the Confederacy's fall.

U.S. Secretaries of the Navy I can name from memory include Welles (under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson), John Connally (under JFK; later Governor of Texas and in the President's limo during the fateful Dallas visit), John Warner (under Ford, I think; later a U.S. senator and husband of Elizabeth Taylor), and John Lehman (under Reagan; led the Navy during its huge expansion in the Eighties).

TNP has a favorite historical factoid to share.

Um....Gaius Caligula was a serious pervert? (according to Suetonius, IIRC)

TNP knows the rank structure of the US armed forces, but couldn't necessarily recognize rank from the sleeve insignia unless he or she really stared at it and thought about it for a while.

Generally true.

TNP has been to Rome.

Never! I've spent time in Genoa, Florence, and Turin (Genoa is a terrific city, full of charming people and beautiful parks), but never had a yen to go down to Rome.

TNP likes relaxing in urban parks, people-watching, and checking out what's what in general from a comfortable vantage.

Yeah, that's good enough fun.

TNP likes Popeyes chicken better than KFC.

I've never been to a Popeye's -- and I always think of KFC as pretty ghetto.

TNP lurves him some fried chicken, though.

Very much so. Never have it at home - only when I go out.

Q: What did Gandalf say when the hobbits asked him how they should prepare his chicken dinner?
A: "Fry, you fools!"

TNP likes bad puns.

Is there any other kind? Yes, I love puns.

TNP loves crowssword puzzles too. Like, a lot.

No, never really cared for them, which surprises a lot of people who know how much I love words.

TNP listens to the NPR puzzle segment every Sunday morning.

You know, I used to head to the coast with my dad in his car semi-regularly on some weekends, and I avidly "played along" over the radio (that and the "Car Talk" puzzles). Will Shortz baby! I think he might be the king of all nerds!

TNP hasn't listened to the radio in a long, long time.

False. I do just about every day.

TNP has owned more than three cars in his or her life.

Naw, probably exactly three, actually.

TNP really despises car repair (but is actually a good shadetree mechanic) -- just hates it, is all, and that's why I will never own another car. Big fucking hassle to be fixing some retarded machine all the time. Also, they are aesthetically incorrect,

Although "retarded" is not the word I'd choose, yes.

TNP has learned something recently about U.S. Grant.

Well, yeah, thanks to you.

TNP gets good stuff off the encylopedia pretty regularly.

More from books and Wiki than the encyclopedia these days, but as a kid I'd read the encyclopedia a lot. Browsing was and is one of life's intellectual pleasures.

TNP has shoveled snow in the past two weeks.

holy shit no thank fucking gawd.

TNP hates shoveling snow.

Yes.

And TNP is not only sore all over but just is tired of the tedium of life.

Well, I'm always kind of sore, but no, I'm still kind of interested in stuff.

TNP had strand dreams last night.

For once, no -- actually was housesitting at my parents' place this weekend, and their guest bedroom has a super-comfortable bed. Well, my dreams are never weird, they're just vivid and about mundane stuff.

TNP likes surrealism.

Now and then, yes, but not a steady diet.

TNP has drunk orange juice in the past 30 days.

No! And I like citrus fruits, it seems to upset my tummy.

TNP uses a lot of vitamin C, every day, for some damned reason.

Yes, it's the rare day that I don't have a glass of OJ.

TNP regularly takes a vitamin supplement.

Yeah, I guess so, take cod liver oil capsules largely for the Vitamin D.

TNP finds the history of scurvy kind of interesting.

Yes. I've read a bit about Capt. Cook and what the Royal Navy did to fight it.

TNP has seen a solar or lunar eclipse in the past six months.

No :(

TNP has a great clear view of the stars right now, which is also nifty!

Just looked out the window, but no, it's quite overcast.

TNP owns or has owned a telescope.

I think I built one as a nerd child -- maybe it was a periscope lol. Never owned a real telescope -- that would be kind of neat toy, actually. Though I'd probably break it in short order.

TNP is having some wine tonight!

Didn't last night, and probably won't tonight.

TNP can see a flag from where he or she now sits.

Actually, no, which surprise me a little bit.

TNP had pancakes on Pancake Tuesday.

No. I had the chance, at our church, but didn't.

TNP usually doesn't give up anything for Lent.

I guess this makes me a bad man, but, no. I just don't see the point.

TNP has been called a fictional character IRL in, say, the past twenty years. in my case no shit a couple people muttered "Ron Burgundy!" twelve or so years ago. to be fair I was wearing a turtleneck, a sportcoat, and carrying a briefcase on my way to hold office hours or teach -- I thought it was pretty funny, but for some reason I remember that. no shit, that's true! speaking of *Anchorman* eta that was before the movie -- I barely knew what they were talking about but i still got the joke...sometimes undergrads can be funny too!

Not that recently, but when I was in college, a guy I barely knew blurted out that I reminded him of Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island. I was both pissed off and amused.

TNP used to watch Gilligan's Island a lot.

Ah, yes, in the sweet days of my childhood.

TNP used to serously believe you could cure amnesia by dropping a coconut on the sufferer's head.

Being unaware of any credible medical research on that topic, no.

TNP likes the taste of coconut.

Not really -- coconut MILK though is one of the best things to have in your pantry.

TNP suffers from allergies of all sorts.

Dust, pollen and pet dander. But nothing too bad.

TNP has had allergy shots.

Nah, pretty lucky.

TNP has had major surgery in the last five years.

Gawddamm no! That just sounds horrific.

TNP only likes going to the hospital because (a) need to see a doctor housed "on-campus" (b) visit/assist someone (c) because of their magnificent cafeterias.

True enough. When I was in law school, I often ate at the hospital cafeteria.

TNP likes meatloaf sandwiches.

Hell yes!

TNP hasn't had a proper meal in a few days (enough calories is enough, but I mean a real meal).

False. Just tonight we had pepperjack grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Really hit the spot on a cold night.

TNP has seen the musical Blood Brothers.

Nope. Never heard of it.

TNP has a plan to start feeling physically better. Only drink alcohol once a week, and not all day, every day