33 years ago, on July 26th, something very important happened: I celebrated my 0th birthday with both of my parents, Judy and Joe Pirillo. My two younger brothers were -3 and -5 years old at the time, so they’re not likely to remember the event. And where were you on that fine day?

Birthdays are fun, aren’t they? On my fifth birthday, I got to fly around in a Cessna plane above the city of Des Moines, IA (thinking I wanted to become a pilot). On my sixth birthday, my parents hired a magician (thinking I wanted to become a prestidigitator). On my seventh birthday, I don’t remember much because someone spiked the fruit punch (just kidding, but wouldn’t that be a wonderful story for the grandkids). On my eighth birthday, I stopped keeping track of my birthdays as I was quickly becoming… an “old man.” Remember the days when 21 was old? Yeah, neither do I – and they say that memory is the first thing to go.

I’m now living in my thirties, and life is pretty good. Just wrapped up our sixth annual conference, I’ve got a few improvements coming for both TagJag and Lockergnome, there’s talk of reuniting with my ol’ TechTV cohorts, plus I’m getting married in December. Here’s to hoping that this birthday will be uneventful! That is, beyond the nice dinner Ponzi and I will be hitting in the evening.

If you want to write and say “happy birthday,” feel free – but please, don’t send any animated Web cards with background music. Actually, what would be the most awesomest present of all (since you asked) is selling out the words on my revamped chest. It’ll kinda be a present for both of us, I suppose. Giving and receiving at the same time is good karma. But, even if you don’t wanna set up a link on my virtual torso, I’ll totally still love you and not tell your friends that you looked at the site. Consider buying a word if you’re looking to get promotion for your own Web site or blog – to give you any idea – you probably already visited and clicked a link or two there, eh? Well, I’ll have a happy birthday, anyway.

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