Checking my skill set

Generally, I'd throw this into a list of links from blogs for the week, but I wanna see how I stack up against the list of 75 Skills Every Man Should Master.

Checking 'em out in order...not hitting every single one but just the highlights...

#1 - Give advice that matters in one sentence - I tend to be pretty wordy when asked, and I can certainly talk for a long while on most subjects where I'm comfortable, but I'd like to think that I can be succinct when it's called for.

#3 - Take a photo. Fill the frame - I've got that one rocked. I'm feeling pretty confident about my photo-taking skills, and lord knows I take enough of them to have practice, at least.

#4 - Score a baseball game. - nope, no can do...I've been to enough games with Gamer that I should be able to, but I'm without even a lick of this skill. I could stumble my way through reading a score sheet, but that'd be about as close as I manage here.

#7 - Cook meat somewhere other than the grill. - I'm working on this bit by bit and can pan-fry a decent chicken breast or cube steak at this point. I'm actually kinda proud of my parmesan-crusted chicken breasts when I'm called on.

#11 - Swim three different strokes. - Nope. I'm never gonna drown, but I'm certainly not a stylish swimmer. I'm a hack freestyler and a hack backstroker. If I had to be pushed, I might manage a side stroke, but it wouldn't be even close to pretty.

#15 - Calculate square footage - Seriously? Multiply? I can do that in a heartbeat.

#18 - Speak a foreign language. - Nope. There wsa a time when I could let enough German drizzle out to survive, but that time is long, long past.

#19 - Approach a woman out of his league. - In a wide-open setting like a bar, no. Never "picked up" a woman at all. I've dated four women in my life, married the first girl I ever kissed, and I'm not even remotely a lothario.

#23 - Be loyal. - I let my best man - and one of my best friends - live in my basement with his wife for three months this summer because it made his life easier. I'd like to think I've got the loyalty thing down.

#27 - Play gin with an old guy. - I can play your butt of in gin - or rummy or canista. I pay attention to what you pick up and what you pass. I know what card you need, and I've got in my hand. And I won't give it up to you until I've got the win. Ask Calen on this one. I'm a beast. Penny a point, nickle a box, double a skunk.

#28 - Play go fish with a kid. - Again, ask Calen if I've played go fish with her younger.

#29 - Understand quantum physics well enough that he can accept that a quarter might, at some point, pass straight through the table when dropped. - I also understand enough to not lay any money on it happening within my life time.

#35 - Jump start a car...change a flat tire...change the oil - Oh-for

#38 - Tell a joke. - My favorite is the Thor joke. My version isn't the same as thith one, but it's in the same ballpark.

#43 - Install a disposal, an electronic thermostat, or a lighting fixture without asking for help. - I did the last tonight and the second before. The disposal still has me stumped.

#46 - Tell a women's dress size. - I would never ever attempt this one.

#54 - Break up a fight. - Done it. Done it a couple of times. Big props to Doug Studer in helping me up with it.

#56 - Create a play-list in which ten seemingly random songs provide a secret message to one person. - Done.

#59 - Write a thank you note. - Still working on doing it consistently.

#61 - Cook bacon. - Their instructions for 400 degrees for 15 minutes is too short by about ten minutes for my tastes. And you gotta remember to rotate the sheet halfway through. Let me recommend aluminum foil.

#73 - Caress a woman's neck. - Don't ask these things. This blog is partially for my students.

#75 - Negotiate a better price. - I haggle horribly. Hate doing it. Hate considering doing it. Instead, I do my homework and find out what I should pay. I ask them if they'll meet it. If they won't, I generally walk away. If they're close enough, I'm good. I don't negotiate well otherwise.

Any of the others you're curious about? Any that you're particuarly proud you can check off on your own list?