Welcome, Pranksters!

Greetings, Pranksters! I'm very honored Becky Sherrick Harks allowed me to do a guest post on Mommy Wants Vodka today. For those of you who are new to my corner of the blogosphere, a bit about myself...

I'm a member of the birthing class of 1970, born, raised, and lived in Iowa my whole life, with the exception of two years spent at Western Illinois University. I initially aspired to be the Next Big Thing in radio broadcasting, especially sports, but then reality hit me upside the head with a week-dead fish. And I didn't get the message for, oh, 10 years... After wasting spending all of my 20s as a radio news reporter in small towns, I wised up and got into the computer field, where I've been working technical support in Ames, IA ever since.

I love basketball and tennis, and used to play them 100 pounds ago. Golf, cycling, and running are now my primary means of working up a sweat. I'm a member of Color Biotics, associated with the Central Iowa Cycling Club. As a former radio announcer, I have a love of music more than a talent for it, but hope to learn guitar someday. David Attenborough documentaries are my favorite form of entertainment, and I would love to do voiceover narration as a career someday (anybody got connections? Hit me up.)

Random stuff:

Favorite authors: Dan Simmons, Josh Boyd (Amazon, web) and Jim Coppoc (Amazon, web).
Favorite musicians: U2, Rush, Jen McClung (Web, iTunes, Facebook), Desdamona (Amazon, iTunes, Facebook).
Favorite historical figures: Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Susan B. Anthony (sorry about the coin, Susan).

And for those of you who are so inclined, please hit up my Bike MS badge at the right to make a contribution to my charity. I have an ambitious fund-raising goal this year, and every bit helps.

Much love, Pranksters. See you soon.

Foundation Beyond Belief Website Is Live

Congratulations to the Foundation Beyond Belief, http://www.foundationbeyondbelief.org/. From their site:

Foundation Beyond Belief is a new 501c3 charitable and educational foundation created (1) to focus, encourage and demonstrate humanistic generosity, and (2) to support a nationwide education and support program for nontheistic parents.

The Foundation will highlight ten charitable organizations per quarter--one in each of ten areas (health, poverty, environment, education, human rights, and more). Members join the Foundation by signing up for a monthly automatic donation in the amount of their choice, then set up personal profiles to indicate how they would like their contribution distributed among the ten categories. Maybe you'd like to give 25 percent each to human rights, poverty, education, and the environment. We'll distribute it accordingly. By year's end, you will have helped support a dozen organizations in the areas you care most about.

Many, many props to those behind the Foundation. They'll do good work -- without any gods. Imagine that.