My favorite type of lemonade is simple: freshly squeeze lemons, some water, and a bit of sugar, and a lot of ice to make it nice and cold.

Definitely vanilla. I think because I like simplicity, plus I think a well-made vanilla shake with real ice high quality vanilla ice cream (maybe vanilla bean even) and good milk is a thing of pleasure. However, I am flexible. A good chocolate milkshake would be good, but I find at times chocolate can be overdone, in other words, too rich.

I am a guy of simple tastes when it comes to eggs for breakfast. Nice, fluffy scrambled eggs make me happy. Maybe with a bit of shredded cheese melted in them would be nice. After that, I do like omelettes. However, I do not like my omelette with too many ingredients in it. An ingredient or two, say ham and cheese, is more than enough. So, you see, simple.

I would say that I am more of a listener. In a meeting, I am not the one who will speak right away. I am the one who will listen to all the options, and if I have to offer something right then and there, I speak. However, more often than not, I will take what I listened to back to my office to reflect upon. Often, after some reflection, I may approach the appropriate party and express what needs to be said. Basically it is a matter of I want to think before I say something. Then again, I am a bit more of an introvert.

I just finished Curtis' book <i>And a Bottle of Rum</i>. It is a history of rum, but it is also a history of the New World. It is a book that I am recommending right now for anyone who wants some history, who wants to learn about a pretty popular topic-- rum-- that people often may take for granted. And, as a bonus, the book also has a section of recipes so you can try to make your own rum concoctions.

No. I do not believe in jumping out voluntarily out of a well functioning aircraft. Maybe I have seen enough news stories, so on, where parachutes fail. I do not wish to be one of those people. However, if the plane was malfunctioning or on the way down to crash, I might consider strapping on a parachute and jumping to try to save myself. But that is the extreme. Voluntarily jumping out of a plane that works fine? I don't think so.

I was able to go on campus out of the library for a while for a photo event. They had a small catered picnic afterward. I was able to bring a plate of food to our student assistant who was on duty at the reference desk. Told her to take a break to eat, and I took over for a while. The smile on her face made me smile. Just spreading the joy a bit.

I did not watch the Super Bowl. To be honest, I really do not give a rodent's derriere about the game. As for the commercials, that is what YouTube and other sites are for, to look them up at my leisure if I feel so inclined. Anyhow, from the looks of it, the commercials' batch this year was not that great, so I don't think I missed much.

No, I do not talk a lot on the phone. In fact, I talk on the phone as little as possible. I dislike speaking on the phone. If at work, and I can walk to their office, I do so. If I can e-mail or IM, I do so. I use the phone basically when there is no other option. On the other hand, my dislike for the phone means I don't call people I am close to, such as family and friends, as much as I should. Overall, I just dislike talking on the phone.

No, I am not really following the presidential primaries. The GOP primary race this year is pretty much a boring affair and a parade of the idiocy that took over that party. I check the headlines to know where they are at and if there is anything of interest (usually there is not), but overall, not following. I have better things to do to be honest.

The all time favorite would have to be <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude</i>. In fact, I make it a point to revisit Macondo every few years or so. It is a book that draws you in, a very rich story that you can get lost in. And in some ways, I always discover something new every time I reread it.

I do have a couple other favorites, but those may be answers to a later question. Ask me, and I will tell you about them.

Valentine's Day is the Hallmark Holiday. That is pretty much what it is. In fact, that decorations for this were out right as Christmas was ending (in some cases, Christmas stuff was still and full price) tells me this is mostly a consumer holiday. If you have someone special, you should be telling them what they mean to you throughout the year. You should get them the treats throughout the year too, not when they are overpriced to take advantage of suckers who need a day to tell them how to treat their significant others. So to the Better Half and me, it's just another day on the calendar. Sure, we may get a nice card, a little gesture, but that is it. We take care of each other year round.

At this moment, the song "Son Desangrado," by Silvio Rodriguez as performed by Soledad Bravo would be the song that describes my life. In brief, it is the poem of a heart that wanders the world, a bleeding heart. At the end of the song, the last stanzas, tell how the heart was missing an ear, so he walked the earth deaf. One foolish spring, he decided to have the ear implanted. And lo and behold, he heard so much evil and curse that he went right back to have it removed and get his deafness returned. Believe me, many are the days I feel like that heart. Anyhow, my translation does little justice to the poetic quality and imagery of the song in Spanish.

Find the song here on YouTube. http://youtu.be/Qu9_wrqZdbU

You can get the lyrics in Spanish here: http://www.metrolyrics.com/son-desangrado-lyrics-silvio-rodriguez.html

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To quote that fellow, I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I tend to prefer good beer. I do like Samuel Adams. Dos Equis, that fine fellow's brand, is ok too if offered. I tend to prefer local microbrews when I can get them, so if I am in a new town, and there is a microbrewery, I will try to check it out. Having said that, I go to someone's home, I will drink what is offered. After all, free beer is good too, and one should be grateful when others are generous.

I am not sure if this was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater. However, the one memory that sticks with me is going to the theater to watch the original Star Wars (as in episode four, as in the first time it came out, as in before Lucas went loco and started to fiddle with the movie). It was in an "old school" theater in the city. The kind of theater that had one screen in it, and they even had nice curtains on the stage. To a kid like me back then, it was an awesome experience, not to mention people back then for the most part knew to keep their yaps shut during the film and before the time of cellphones. That is a good memory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gvqpFbRKtQ&feature=youtu.be

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The fact that we actually got the memo to close the campus, including the library, tomorrow (Friday before Christmas weekend) today. Yes, we still have to go through the rigamarole of showing up to work for half a day, but at least we know up front instead of having to feign surprise.

That would be a Chilean wine: Santa Helena--Seleccion del Directorio, which was available sometime in the mid 80s. I used to share this with my godfather back when I was growing up. Yes, I did not grow up in the continental U.S. where having a drink as a minor is somehow seen as some taboo. In fact, having a couple of glasses of wine with some cheese and crackers during those lazy Sundays when I visited with him and the rest of the family, followed by a nice lunch, not only remains one of the nicer memories of my youth, but it was the time when I learned about drinking in moderation. Maybe one of these days I will write about this more in my blog.

Now, I would also add another Chilean wine, a brand simply known as Gato Negro (Black Cat, which was the red wine) and Gato Blanco (yes, White Cat, and it would be their white wine). Pity you can't get these in the States.

I use a computer pretty much on a daily basis. I use it for my work as a librarian. I also use it at home quite a bit for reading and keeping up on feeds as well as for my blogging. I also make some use of social media, which I guess includes Formspring.

Actually, between the three of them it would be matter of which one is my least favorite. I have no interest in Harry Potter. It is not because I think it is bad or such. It just does not fall within things I find appealing to read. I like my fantasy a bit more grown up; I don't care for teen tales much. Hunger Games to me seems a ripoff or take on Battle Royale, and since I already read Battle Royale, which is both excellent and very graphic, Hunger Games just does not interest me. Twilight Saga is thus my least favorite. I have no intention to read it, knowing it is pretty much a piece of tripe. I have it from good source (my daughter) that Ms. Meyers work is pretty much a waste of time to put it mildly. So, ask me about other books because these are ones I really do not care about.