America is the great experiment of democracy that is as simple as a series of symbols and as complex as a living, breathing document. She can be uplifting, entertaining, insightful and utterly remarkable. We have the freedom to stand up as one nation and bear witness to our inalienable rights in action. We plan and dream for a bright future... and so we proceed, lifting up one another both here and abroad. Leaders rise and fall, a great sea of ideas enters the public discourse, and each community builds and rebuilds. In this land, we celebrate a history that is at once inspiring and beautiful and sorrowful and challenging. With each step, the great experiment is shaped and renewed as the hand of the Almighty One stretches across its fertile fields, majestic peaks, and life-giving waters. From many voices, one nation rises to face a new dawn.

I've just set down my bags from Homecoming Weekend at William & Mary... and it's already time to pack for the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Fest in Florida! Next weekend is the 9th annual competition in Flagler where my extended family gathers to celebrate with good music, food, and waves... and it seems to get better each year. Josh and Brad bring the tunes, the Hobgoods bring the boards, Fuel brings the cameras, and Flagler brings the incredible food.

Last year, my buddies Patrick and Austin threw down a whole lotta awesome for the Unite mural. This time around, they're joined by Scott Hancock from The Glue Network to slam through new hat designs like crazy. 100+ crazy. I'm gonna have to find a way to hang at their booth and watch the surf comp at the same time. Oh yeah.

Update: "The hats were a huge success. Seventy + hats were sold. Boys and girls, parents, friends etc. walked away with smiles and a small piece of Tommy Tant. He lives on through all of us. As bonds grow and new relationships form, more anticipation grows for the next Tommy Tant event." -Austin Blasingame

Last year I came up with a list of great web apps and most of them still hold as top-notch services. But what about desktop applications? Not everything you need fits into a browser... so I put together list number two: some of the best in free Apple desktop apps.

• BBC Radio Widget: I like listening to music at work but I don't want to drain my iPod battery, fill my work computer with music, or deal with customizing Pandora. That's why I employ this Dashboard widget to stream any BBC station live. My favorite? Radio Wales of course.


• Backpack Widget: the cool kids over at 37Signals have some amazing apps. And this tiny wonder can make your Backpack work a little harder for you.


• Radar in Motion Widget: alright, I'll admit it. I'm a weather nerd. All it took was two years of meteorology in high school and I can read any radar screen and tell you what's gonna roll in later today. This widget gives you beautiful animated weather on both a regional and metro scale. This definitely comes in handy in an office without windows.


• Sing That Tune Widget: in five years when the collective data we know about our music - lyrics, related artists, song recognition, most played track of the day in Cleveland - is at everyone's fingertips, then we'll really have the ultimate playlist app. But for now, you can impress your friends by remembering what comes after "Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev, Rockefeller, Campanella..."


• CandyBar: the ultimate designer's timewaster. Apple's gleaming icons not enough for you? Look no further to customize and organize your computer icons with an endless supply of free icons.


• Transmit: if you ever need to send big files, edit a webpage, or organize your iDisk... look no further. FTP doesn't need to be a scary three-letter-word. When used with your favorite text editor, this app opens up a whole new world of getting things done fast.


• Screen Ruler: designers, add this to your toolbelt. It's pixel perfect. Looking for a Dashboard variety? Use BeRuler.


• Google Earth: now in its fourth version since 2005, this is one program that just gets more fun (and dare I say educational?) the more you explore. If you haven't flown through the Grand Canyon before, now's your chance.


• Flip4Mac: Quicktime is remarkable media player, but in a world of Windows Media content, you'll want to download this to play wmv files on your Mac.


• Cocktail: everyone's computer gets a bit sluggish now and then. Clean it up! I find a nice spa day is just what the doctor ordered at least once a month to keep my Mac in tip-top shape. Fabulous!


• Skype: your brother lives in Hawaii, your coworker is at a conference in London, your buddy wants to meet across town. Bring them all to you with the best online video and audio chat in the world. These guys are reinventing the way we use phones.


• Inquisitor: if you use your browser's search bar throughout the day, save yourself the boring step of typing in google.com and install this bad boy. Lightning fast search results and autocomplete suggestions in the tradition of Spotlight.


• MarsEdit: last but certainly not least, the keeper of my blog... this is one powerful and intuitive blog editor that publishes every word I write for every site I manage. Not bad for a thirty day trial and twenty-five bucks.

Coming soon: your cheers (and jeers) for the most popular iPhone apps...