By SUSAN THURSTON, St. Petersburg Times

Lisa Duncan and her family never spent time in their backyard. Sand spurs covered what was left of the grass. An old shed rusted in the corner.

The yard was so ugly, Duncan thought it should win an award. Earlier in November, it did.

Nick Peterson didn't find love on "The Bachelorette," but it may boost his career as a personal trainer.

Peterson spent five weeks as a contestant on the ABC reality show this year, vying for the affection of bachelorette Ashley Hebert. When he didn't get a rose, he returned home to Tampa, Fla., and started boot camps for brides-to-be.

An avid reader, Vicki Long considers it cruel to let a book stand on a shelf gathering dust.

Instead, she says, books should be savored, pondered and shared -- over and over again.

She gives them the wings to fly away.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Imagine sweating so profusely that you destroy your clothes and feel embarrassed in public.

That's the curse of super sweaters, people suffering from a condition known as hyperhidrosis.

Who hasn't been called a geek at some time or another? Whether it was for wearing floods in high school or standing in line for the opening of "Lord of the Rings," everyone has felt the sting. But, depending on what you're into, being a geek can be cool, smart and hip. Some people even flaunt it. Here are a few who have made their geekiness part of their identity -- and name.

For all Trekkies, comic collectors and gadget gurus, here's a day just for you. On Wednesday, the world celebrates Geek Pride Day. (Who knew?)

Geeks, nerds and whoever else wears thick glasses and a pocket protector can publicly boast about their geekiness without being labeled as weird. It happens on May 25, which coincides with the release of the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977.

Even before Prince William and Catherine Middleton shared their first kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, fashion designers and wedding planners were taking notes on every detail. They knew that whatever the Duchess of Cambridge had -- from the dress to the decorations -- would become an instant hit in the bridal world.

Growing up in a family of North Dakota cattle ranchers, Dr. Neal Barnard lived on roast beef, baked potatoes and corn. Italian food was considered exotic. Chinese and Thai simply didn't exist.

The Tyrannosaurus rex is scary, the dilophosaurus is annoying and the brachiosaurus, well, it's just huge. The prehistoric past meets the present in DinoQuest, a new dinosaur exhibit at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla.

This exhibit, starring 20 animated dinosaurs, runs through May 1. Here's what to expect.

For Maks Rozanovsky, the most difficult part about co-starring on a nude reality TV show wasn't the shyness and embarrassment that come with life in the buff.

It was the wind and cold.

"It was challenging even for me, and I'm a polar bear," said Rozanovsky, who was born in Ukraine and has swum in icy lakes and oceans.