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Vital Statistics
| Name: | Michael P. Sheppard | |
| Official Nickname: | Shepmeister This nickname was never officially adopted by Mike, but due to the insistance of a friend of Mike's that 'Shepmeister' was his nickname, it became official by default. |
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| Official Seal: |  The Harbor Seal |
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| Official Stamp: | US 25 cent postage stamp Mike chose this stamp as his official stamp because it reminds him of a simpler time. |
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| Official Instrument: | The Kazoo The Kazoo, also known as the 'Great Equilizer' bring all musicians up (down) to the same level. Some Kazooists get fairly exotic with their music, but these people are overachievers, and should be ignored. |
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| PGP Key: | PGP Key for Sheppam | |
| Official Berry: | Blueberry The blueberry, known for its anti-oxidizing nature also has a delightful flavor which goes well with almost anything. New research show that the blueberry may also prevent aging, so under a steady diet of blueberries, your quality of life will improve, and you may even live forever. These properties made it top choice for official berry. |
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| Official Fruit: | Blueberry The blueberry, now believed to be nature's most beneficial antioxidant may also help prevent urinary tract infections, and blindness. The blueberry was adopted as the official fruit in January of 2005. |
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| Official Limit for Movies: | 4 Hours Per Day This limit was officially adopted January 8th, 2005 after a 13 hour movie marathon. The need for an official limit was recognized early on in the day, and the 4 hour limit was passed unanimously. |
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| Official Cartoon: | The Transformers Mike first saw this cartoon in the fall after coming home from elementary school. Even at that young age, he was amazed by the duality of the characters portrayed. Each of the robotic characters had a humanoid form, but also a second form which reflected the nature of their soul. The transformers also touched upon other philosophical issues such as economics, justice, friendship and mercy. The transformers would become the doorway to a greater world in Mike's life, as well as pave the foundation for one of his longest lasting friendships. |
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| Official Cartoon Character: | Optimus Prime Respected by friend and foe alike, Optimus Prime was the ultimate leader, and the champion of the autobot cause. In the great battle when all seemed lost, he sacrificed himself to save his fellows, showing his courage, and his great capacity to love. Optimus prime was truly one of the greatest cartoon leaders of all time. He was adopted as the official cartoon character of Mike in 1988. |
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| Official Bird: | The Duck The duck, widely praised for its versatiliy on land, sea and air has long played an important role in the life of Mike. Beginning with a story written about ducks in the 10th grade (The duck is getting bored, we must act now!), the duck has guided Mike on a magical journey of self-discovery. The latest appearance of the duck was in 'Crouching Duckling, Hidden Piglet' a Short Animation created by Mark Brady and Mike Sheppard |
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| Official Fish: | Carp There is an old saying, 'Carp Diem', which very roughly translates to "I'd rather be fishing". While fishing is one of the most boring things you can do, it is also perhaps one of the most relaxing. Without taking the time for introspective reflection in our lives, we will often miss out on many of the greatest things that life has to offer. The official fish of Mike was chosen to remind us all of this simple truth. |
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| Official Bovine: | Cow The need for an official bovine was recognized in 1995, but the choice of an official bovine wasn't made for nearly 10 years. Numerous debates were held concerning which bovine to chose, but eventually all of the parties got bored with the debates, and chose the option from the top of the list. |
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| Official Rock: | Granite Granite is a volcanic rock consisting mainly of quarts and feldspar. It is exceedingly hard, and can be used for buildings or monuments. It can also be used to repel intruders. It was the natural choice for official rock. |
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| Official Motto: | I take nothing for Granite! Whilst this motto may seem to be on rocky ground, it is actually quite punny. Officially adopted in January 2005. |
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| Official Gem: | Emerald Emeralds are pretty. |
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| Official Fossil: | Lemur The Lemur, which resembles a monkey/fox hybrid is one of the greatest mysteries of our day. When did they get to Madagascar? Did they come from Africa, or Asia? Did God just drop them in Madagascar, or was there a great Lemur migration from somewhere else? Mike likes mysteries, so Mike likes Lemurs. |
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| Official Song: | Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota The simple beauty of this song is surpassed only by its practicality toward modern life. We not only learn several vacation options, but we also learn to never trust a stinky hitch-hiker named bernie, and we learn that in the end, happiness isn't a brand new camera, but a choice that we can all make. |
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| Official Folk Song: | Cows with Guns Subtle messages of revolution and political upheaval are carefully interwoven within this song. The revolution may never come, but the message will never be lost on us. Cows with guns was chosen as the official folk song to remind us all, that any day now, the cows may come to kill us. |
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| Official Dance: | Running Man Adopted as the official dance in 1998. While unable to perform the dance, Mike was still able to embarass all those around him by trying. |
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| Official Grass: | Fescue Noted for its greenness, and its grassyness, fescue was the natural choice for official grass. Fescue comes in both tall, and short varieties. |
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| Official Insect: | Dragonfly The dragonfly, while sounding vicious, will actually back down when confronted with a baseball bat. It has a simple beauty that makes it more tolerable to be around than many insects, so it became the official insect of Mike. |
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| Official Cereal: | Nature's Path Organic Optimum Power Cereal Breakfast Flax, Soy, Blueberry This cereal replaced the old 'legacy' official cereal in 2005. Expensive, but delicious and full of fiber, it is the best cereal on the market. |
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| Official Flower: | Spider Flower Being confronted with the need to choose an official flower, Mike shouted out the first flower that came to mind. He can only claim, that it was late, and he was tired. |
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| Official Tree: | Cedar In his youth, Mike had a bookmark made from cedar wood. It smelled nice, and performed the useful task of marking pages for him. When the time came to choose an official tree, he remembered all that cedar had given to him, and he honored those memories by chosing cedar. |
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| Official Emotion: | Rage While rare, Mike is occasionally driven to an emotional state of rage. He generally deals with it by warning anyone who comes in contact with him by uttering the phrase 'RAGE'. Rage comes in 3 degrees - 'Rage', 'Ultimate Rage' and 'Ultimate Rage Supreme'. When driven to higher levels of rage, Mike has been known to tear up cardboard with his bare hands. |
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| Hobbies: | Bicycling Reading Drawing Origami Monkeying with Computers Trying to learn musical instruments |
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| Favorite Foods: | Blueberry Pie Blueberry Pancakes Chicken Fried Rice Spaghetti Doughnuts |
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| Favorite Beverages: | Pomegranate Juice Tea (Many Varieties) Grape Juice |
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| Favorite Socks: | Smartwool Mountaineer Socks Performance Athletic Socks ingenius Athletic Socks |
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| Favorite Sports: | In no particular order: Badminton Baseball Bicycling (Mountain or Road) Death Frisbee Soccer Tennis Volleyball |
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| Favorite Movies: | Spiderman Army of Darkness Napoleon Dynamite Babe |
Boycotted Products
| I am unhappy with the advertisements from the following sources, so I will not use their products or services: | ||||||
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Resources
| mySQL Manuals | PHP Documentation |
Bicycles I Own
| Gary Fischer | Klein |
| Santa Cruz | Sun |
Other Bicycles
| Kona | Ellsworth |
| Khs | Trek |
| Burley | Nashbar |
| Cannondale | Univega |
| Novara | Jamis |
| Mongoose | Diamondback |
| Schwinn | Litespeed |
| Raleigh | Fuji |
| Giant | Bianchi |
| Redline | K2 |
| Santana | Kestrel |
| Co-Motion Tandems |