I know a lot about The Ladies. I have talked to a few of them and even read novels written from their perspective. Over time, I have learned a few things. For example, I have determined that women like men who drink orange juice.

Consider the following items and events that orange juice plays a role in:

• Breakfast in bed.
• Mimosas or screwdrivers
• Every grocery store visit.

These are components of a healthy relationship - something I will never have because I don't like orange juice. I can't stand the stuff.

For one, it makes me sick. Secondly, apple juice is tastier. Plus, you can see through apple juice, which makes it safer to drink in case there are syringes in it.

So this is an apology to all The Ladies of Colorado. I am flawed. And I will only bring ruin to you. Unless you're into apple juice. Then we've got it made.

I have been battling nerd flu for most of my life.

At times, I was able to overcome it (when I was in a band in high school, for example), but I invariably return to my nerd roots and start talking about phasers, orcs or supervillains.

And now I am a fan of Battlestar Galactica, the geekiest thing I could get into.

I watched the miniseries and loved it volcanically. It's a blend of Terminator man-vs-machine drama with the spatial range of Star Trek plus the underdog status that made me love Firefly so much. My buddy Madams let me borrow seasons 1, 2 and 2.5, so I've got plenty of stuff to watch.

Sci-fi is awesome. So are robots. I am so happy!

As I've been trying to go out a bit less to save money, I've begun reading again. I used to read loads of books, but adulthood obliterated that habit with its obligations and responsibilities. Happily, I have been able to carve out a few hours each week for books.

I am presently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It was written in 1999 and as much as I loathe using the expression, it's a coming-of-age book. I usually avoid these, as I found my early teenage years awkward enough without having to relive them in print.

However, Perks is pretty good. The narrator, Charlie, strikes me as autistic or maybe way too cerebral. At times, it's hard to identify with him because he tends to dissect meaningful events in his life, whereas when I went through similar situations I retained very little details about them.

Or it could be that I have the memory of a goldfish. I've been accused of such in the past.

I'm not done with the book yet, but I'm amused by some of the early '90s references I've found. (The book takes place between 1991 and 1992.) Kurt Cobain is mentioned. I haven't thought about him in a long time. I will be moving some Nirvana onto my iPhone shortly. Probably all of In Utero.

I just played around with a site called TweetStats and got some fascinating information about my Twitter usage. There's an option to generate a tweet cloud based on the stuff you update about. Here's mine:

It's funny that @jennyjenjen is such a central part of my cloud. She's one of my closest friends, but this rendering would lead you to believe that we are married. We are not. She could do way better than my dumb face.

I will try and post one of these every month or so to see how my cloud topics change. Very fun.

I rocked Ignite Boulder a few nights ago with a presentation on "How to Sing Your Way Out of Danger." Wielding an Epiphone Casino and my golden voice, I melted the crowd's brains with a blend of sensible exposition and fiery song.

I also learned a few things, not just from my performance but from the other presenters as well. Here are the key takeaways.

People love music
There were three presenters with music as a topic or component of their presentations. And people were crazy for it. From rap to the music industry itself, future Ignite presenters should consider incorporating some tunes for maximum effect.

In-jokes are hilarious
Tech events in Boulder get very self-referential. For those of us who know the jokes, it's a riot. For those that don't, just ask around - it will make future events way more entertaining.

Beer sponsors make life worth living
Big props to Deschutes Brewery for providing 3 kegs of great beer. I wasn't able to sample it, as I am getting over an illness, but I've had Mirror Pond before and it's exceptionally tasty.

Women look great in fake mustaches
Seriously. I didn't think so at first, but it's true. They should be standard equipment whenever you buy a new handbag.

I love living in Boulder
The fact that events like Ignite take place so close to my house makes me well up with tears. I love this community, not just because it's full of geeky peeps, but because it's welcoming and amazing. Love it.

Photo credit: Stepan Mazurov

Pepsi's new logo is kinda weird. It's been compared to a leering smile, the Obama campaign logo and a beach ball.

But with Lawrence Yang's contribution to the conversation, it is now being compared to obesity:

I totally love this. And it's probably very accurate. I drink quite a bit of soda, which can't be very good for me. Thank you, Mr. Yang, for giving me a chuckle and making me think.

(Thanks to @bwyman for the heads up.)

This is the creepiest story and mugshot I've seen in a while. To quote the Knoxville News Sentinel:

Nationally renowned moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton was sentenced to 18 months in prison today for illegally brewing spirits and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sutton has spent more than three decades building a reputation as one of the South’s top makers of white lightning. He’s starred in various documentaries about the tradition and penned an autobiography, "Me and My Likker."

And the mugshot (brace yourself):

Even if I were capable of growing a beard like that, I probably wouldn't. However, I totally wish "Popcorn" was my nickname.

It finally happened. And I couldn't be happier.

I'm on the left. @EvanBlake is on the right. Whoa.

Day 2 of PodCamp Boulder ended with easily the coolest demonstration/discussion ever: How to do the dance from Thriller.

Led by the wonderful Mimi, we learned a series of moves (zombie walk, sumo steps, scary sideways hands) and were able to complete the dance reasonably well.

Here's a video of the Podcamp crew getting our Thriller on. I'm on the very far left, but I am out of frame for most of the clip. My dancemoves would have melted your screen anyway...

Here's another video of us learning Thriller. It's much longer and way more awkward. I have caught myself practicing my moves when no one's looking.

I attended the first day of PodCamp Boulder less than an hour ago. It was my first PodCamp, and I had no idea how loose and open it would be. I drank a bunch of PBR.

PodCamp is an "unconference," where attendees decide which topics they would like to talk about on the spot. You write down ideas on a big whiteboard and then you plot the talks you would like to deliver on a time chart. At the Boulder PodCamp, there were around 40 people and the general theme was new media.

There are some amazing discussions planned for tomorrow. "Social Network Etiquette," "How to Dance to Thriller" and "WordPress Plugins" - just as a sample.

I will be presenting on "Social Gaming," which is the movement in video gaming where people interact with each other to achieve a goal, collaborate or just to make gaming more social. It's nothing too groundbreaking, but I am passionate about it based on my experiences with World of Warcraft (11 million players and growing).

I elected to speak for only 30 minutes tomorrow. I hope no one throws a shoe at me.

(Photo by Andrew Hyde)