Birthday

Today I'm posting birthday wishes to Frank, so here's to another great year...

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

2 days to Hurricane Season

NOAA has officially predicted a "Very Active 2006 North Atlantic Hurricane Season". Go ahead, run out and buy water for 50 people. Or at least make sure you own a flashlight.

Alternatively, like some I know, you could take this chance to move to a geographic area not threatened by hurricanes on a weekly basis for almost half the year.

I do know that after last year, most of us will never see tropical storm season quite the same way again. I don't have to use the excuse that getting older is calming or sobering my thoughts. Last year scared the *&#%@$! out of me, and I saw the lives of several close friends massively changed. While having hurricane parties in the face of worry can be therapeutic, the whole thing will have a bitter taste this year...

Bloody mary me

This is a little ridiculous, but I do like bloody marys, so I guess it's okay... Seriously though, I have less time to drink than anyone I know. I can't think of the last time I actually went out seriously drinking. It was a long time ago...

You Are a Bloody Mary

You're a fairly serious drinker, who's experimented a lot with different drinks. You're a drunk, but a stable drunk. You don't ever let your drinking get out of control.

What Mixed Drink Are You?

Only child

So that's a little scary.. The gadget knows me!

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated. At work and school, you do best when you're organizing. When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic. Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management. You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

Graduation

Frank
Originally uploaded by drinkgoodtea.

He looks like he's just robbed the biggest bank in the world...

Freegans

Freegans. People with no job or other income, living off dumpster-diving. As in, fishing food out of trash cans. And doing this not out of necessity, but as a lifestyle choice. Talk about living one's beliefs about wastefulness in Western society. Read about it here...

Building fences to keep bad guys out?

So I came across this BBC story about vigilante sorts building their own mean-looking fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, trying to keep out immigrants and terrorists and what-not, I guess. They insist this is not xenophobia, so maybe they just don't like funny foreign people. Yikes.

This reminds me of a favorite Weekly Radio Address podcast from December 10, 2005. Go check it out for yourself, it's a riot.

Drink a beer...

For those in search of some new drinking haunts, or doing some travelling in the near future, we have the Top 50 Places to Have a Beer in America courtesy of BeerAdvocate.Com. I think I've been to the Cock and Bull in Sarasota (#6 on the list), but it was one of those nights, I couldn't say for sure, so I should probably check it out again one of these days.

And a surprise...

Your Personality Is Like Acid

A bit wacky, you're very difficult to predict. One moment you're in your own little happy universe... And the next, you're on a bad trip to your own personal hell!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

C is for Cookie

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

that's me..

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 5% Conservative, 95% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Yummy

You Are a Green Apple Jelly Bean

Of all the flavors, you're the most complex and the most real. A little sweet, a little sour, and totally tangy. People can't describe you, but they love you!

What Flavor Jelly Bean Are You?

Graduation

Incredible and an unspeakable relief. Frank is graduating tomorrow morning, getting his BS in Marine Biology. He's had obstacles or wrenches tossed into this mission so many times, I'm so proud of him for pulling through it. This is what he's always wanted, and I'm so happy for him. Of course, pictures to follow.

"A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad." -Theodore Roosevelt

Blogging in blog class

Sitting in Chad Mairn's Enter the Blogosphere session at the VIP Library Workshop 2006 at St. Petersburg College.

This is great, I'm all energized to take blogging into my library. And I'm slightly more convinced that this isn't massively over all our patrons' heads.

And yay for lots of useful links and info sources. I have a feeling this is going to be the best session today by far.