Today is my 54th birthday, and even though it’s still early in the day, I’ve already been overwhelmed by an embarrassment of riches from well-wishers sending me notes via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. My sincere thanks to one and all. As it’s usually me posting embarrassing photos of friends and colleagues, for the fifth year in a row, here’s some more howlers of me from over the years.

An early studio portrait.

Motorcycles: just one of my youthful indiscretions that prevented me from seeking political office later in life.

If I cut my hair short, it doesn’t look much different than this today.

This is an Easter outfit from when I was maybe nine or ten.

And this is the same outfit, which looks positively restrained in comparison to my Mother and my Grandmother’s Easter outfits.

Ready to party, look out ladies.

My first band, we were rockin’ out.

Probably from around junior high or early high school. I love the shiny shirt, straight out of That 70s Show.

The world of a teenager … circa 1977.

There’s many more where these came from, for a good laugh just check out the photos from the last four years at Beer Birthday Again: Jay Brooks, Beer Birthday: Jay Brooks, Beer Birthday: J (Yes, Embarrasing Myself This Time) and Beer Birthday Overkill, from 2009, when I posted a bunch encompassing my first 50 years on planet beer. Oh, and thanks once again to everybody for the generous birthday wishes.