January 2009 Archives

I was waiting in line at Kmart, and I glanced over and saw the cover of a tabloid magazine with a cover story of "Who's gay?" (It might have been the National Enquirer.) They had some celebrities pictured, among them Neil Patrick Harris and Rush Limbaugh.

Neil Patrick Harris (who is attractive, charming and seems like a bright, well-grounded guy) has been openly gay for a while now. I haven't heard any rumors about Rush Limbaugh (and I REALLY should not be thinking about this before dinner), but I just wanted to proclaim that if Rush Limbaugh has dabbled, we don't want him! The straights can have him. We do have standards to maintain, after all.

I have e-filed my taxes for a few years now. We just got our W-2's yesterday, so I did my taxes last night. Wow! Already accepted as of today, and I should be getting the return by next Friday. I am planning on using it to pay off some of the car loan.

I had a low level tooth ache for much of yesterday. I was hemming and hawing about calling the dentist. I had been in for a checkup only a few weeks ago, so it seemed odd that there might be something major that developed that quickly. With the weather being so awful yesterday, and the grouchiness from feeling out of sorts, I didn't bother going home for lunch.

After completing taxes, I ended up taking a nap. The dogs slept with me, as they invariably do. I am a firm believer in that there is usually nothing so bad that can't be ameliorated by puppy snuggles. I am definitely feeling much better today, so I think that whatever the tooth ache was about was a bit of transient weirdness. Of course, some late night frolicking helped improve the mood as well. ;)

I posted this at my Facebook profile, but figured it could work as blog fodder as well.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs (or the + sign) on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I was born in Rochester NY at the same hospital my great grandmother died in.

2. I am the oldest child in my immediate family. My mom is also the oldest, as is her mother. My maternal grandfather was an only child.

3. I have been working at the same company since December 1, 1986 - I am frightfully dull!

4. I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) for a few years, back in the 80's to early 90's. My heraldic device was "Argent, semy of delves perceived sable, in fess 3 writer's quills gules" or 3 red feathers on a background of floppy disks as it appears.

5. I am fairly politically involved. I have no aspirations to run for office or for a party position, other than being the webmaster for the Erie County Democratic Party.

6. I am a lifelong teetotaler, a nonsmoker and non drug user. Still, I like to think that I have my redeeming vices.

7. My father and I weren't particularly close. He wasn't close to his dad, RJ. RJ never met his mother, Lovina,  because Lovina died giving birth to RJ. Lovina's father died in a mining accident before Lovina was born.

8. My grandmother remarried about 3 years ago at the age of 88. We jokingly refer to her husband as hey boy toy, since he is 6 years younger.

9. When my parents remarried after their first divorce, my sister and I hummed "If Mama Was Married" from Gypsy until Mom shot us a look that would have stopped a freight train. I was also wearing a Farrah Fawcett t-shirt. Yup, my family oozes class and sophistication.

10. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. All but 1 of the cats sleep with me each night.

11. I have been meaning to redesign the Erie Gay News web site for some time, but I end up not getting around to it.

12. I took piano lessons on and off until early college years.

13. As kids, I had brown hair, my sister was a blonde, and my baby brother has red hair. We have the same mother and father. (Red hair crops up on mom's side of the family.)

14. I was an editor/Chronicler for the local SCA publication and then the Principality publication for about 5 years or so. The first run of Erie Gay News (from January 1993 to December 1999) was 7 years, and we are at a bit over 6 years with the current run. This means that I have been doing a monthly newsletter of some sort on a volunteer basis for something around 18 years now.

15. I got to be a committee person (lowest rung on the ladder) for the Erie County Democratic Party by writing my name in for the position because I couldn't think of anyone else, and I thought I had to put down something. I swept to victory on the basis of that singular vote.

16. I didn't particularly identify as any religious orientation growing up. Around 1990 or so, I became involved with Paganism, which is where I feel most at home.

17. In addition to the annual Erie (GLBT) Pride Picnic, I also help with Drenched Fur (local bear run/furry gay male thing) and Pagan Pride Day. Curiously enough, both local events started in the same year.

18. I adore shrimp in just about any form. When I go out dining with friends, it is what I usually order most of the time.

19. I am fairly mechanically inept and am usually terrified by anything remotely resembling home repair/maintenance.

20. I was president of Comic Acropolis (local comic book club) in the early 1980's. The vice president and I appeared on a local late night horror movie show, which I think may have been my first media whore experience.

21. I think that I was the first fully out area GLBT person when I appeared on the local CBS affiliate as part of a news story in May of 1992 about a local murder that had happened in December of 1991. When I hear local folks fretting about being public, I try to be supportive of where they are at, but pushing 17 years of being as out as I am and seeing other folks, I usually think that they are being unrealistically paranoid.

22. I just about always have my PDA (a Palm TX) on my belt. Some friends say that it is not a meeting if I haven't whipped it out at least 4 times.

23. My all time favorite comedy is "What's Up, Doc?" Most of my immediate family can quote from it extensively.

24. It is not unusually for me to be an archivist or historian for family, friends and the communities that I am involved in.

25. I did local community theatre for a very short bit around 2000-2005 or so. Last role was when a friend desperately needed someone for a staged reading of Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. I ended up reading the part of a disabled lesbian rabbi.

Okay, I must admit to guffawing when I saw this linked on Datalounge. And it is utterly perfect that the the canister for rimming has 'Mo right on the label. (Quite a few straight folks may not get this reference. Don't worry, you probably don't want to but if you do, here you go.)

 

Rimming Sugars

These sugars are specially blended with ingredients that complement our cocktail mixes. For the Grammercy Park Cranberry: turbinado sugar and orange, layered with maple, vanilla and spice. For the Modern Old Fashioned: turbinado and brown sugars, enhanced with a hint of orange. And for the Eleven Madison Park Spiced Pineapple Cooler, lemon essence and pure cane sugar. To use them, simply moisten the outside rim of the glass with a wedge of citrus, liqueur, simple syrup or water; then, holding the glass at an angle, slowly rotate its rim in the sugars to a depth of 1/4", keeping the sugars outside the glass. 4 oz. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

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Rimming Sugars | Williams-Sonoma

Aw, ain't love grand? Cheers to the devoted dads. As a bonus, they look like they are already set for formal wear for the wedding. ;)

Gay penguin pair tie the knot

By STAFF REPORTER

Published: 27 Jan 2009

A PAIR of GAY penguins are so loved-up they have been given a WEDDING service.

The besotted male birds turned out to be such a great parenting pair their keepers thought they deserved a reward and let them marry.

They were once given the cold shoulder at the wildlife park in China for stealing heterosexual couples' eggs to nest as their own.

But after being allowed to try out with eggs rejected by their mothers the couple have become the zoo's best penguin parents.

Now keepers at Polarland Zoo in Harbin, north east China, have rewarded their devotion with a wedding day.

One wore a tie and the other was dressed in a red blouse – a traditional Chinese bridal colour – as they stepped into their icy wedding room to the music of the Wedding March.

Keepers then served them their favourite dish for the occasion – spring fish.

"They have been a good couple and deserved their reward," said one keeper.

Gay penguin pair tie the knot | The Sun |News

I am intensely proud of the great start that President Obama has had. We need an open and transparent government, and President Obama is following through with action. Good for him!

Obama to Bush: I Can Release Your Records. Don't Like It? Sue.

On his first day in office, President Obama put former president Bush on notice. His administration just released an executive order that will make it difficult for Bush to shield his White House records--and those of former Vice President Dick Cheney--from public scrutiny by invoking the doctrine of executive privilege. Shortly after taking office, Bush handed down his own executive order, amending the Presidential Records Act to give current and past presidents, along with their heirs, veto power over the release of presidential records, which are considered the property of the American people.

"[Obama]'s putting former presidents on notice that if you want to continue a claim of executive privilege that [Obama] doesn't think is well-placed, you're going to have to go to court," says Anne Weismann, the chief counsel for Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW).

MotherJones Blog: Obama to Bush: I Can Release Your Records. Don't Like It? Sue.

How creepy! I just got an email purportedly from Rev. Steve Aschmann that reads:

Hello,
How are you doing?hope all is well with you and family,i am sorry that i didn't inform you about my traveling to England for a program called Empowering youth to fight racism,Hiv/Aids,and lack of education.
I need a favor from you as soon as you receive this e-mail, I misplaced my wallet on my way to the hotel where my money,and other valuable things were kept. Urgently assist me with a soft loan of $2,500  to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home.
I will appreciate whatever you can afford and i'll pay you back as soon as i return,Kindly let me know if you can be of help? so that i can send you the details to use when sending the money through western union.
Regards,
Steve Aschmann.

It sounded extremely suspicious, not to mention the fact that Steve's grammar and spelling is quite good. I emailed back and asked him to call me on my cell phone. I also called the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Erie, and they verified that his account had been hacked.

I didn't want anyone to be taken in, so I forwarded an email to the Erie GLBT email list, and the United NeoPagan Council of Lake Erie board and Erie Pagans Yahoo group lists. I also posted an article at the Erie Gay News site.

I got a call back from Rev. Steve, and it seems that this had created all kinds of problems for him. He was touched by people who had contacted him to see if this was the case. Quite a few of them were wise and replied to the email, asking for more details that they could verify.

I had sent a reply and got one back. No identifying info or clarification. How dumb does the forger think I am?

My friend Dave came up with the idea of collecting signatures on a congratulations card and lobbying newly elected US Congressmember Kathy Dahlkemper about GLBT issues. We had been gathering signatures for a while, and we were able to set up an appointment for this afternoon at her Erie office. 7 of us went to talk about legislation for hate crimes, ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, marriage equality/domestic partner benefits and the Employee Non Discrimination Act. Overall, I think that things went quite well. None of the bills are currently introduced in this session, but we thought that starting a dialogue now was a good idea.

As it so happened, her office was having their official grand opening later that afternoon, so some of us came back. I had a nice time chatting with folks. I noticed that the big congratulations card that the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie circulated was prominently displayed. Things felt like they had gone quite well.

About a year ago, I spent much of my year end vacation scanning in issues of Erie Gay News that we only had in print and posted them as PDFs to the newsletter's site. I am a very big believer in preserving history.

Today, I got a phone call from a woman about her cousin, a nun who died back in 1994. She was looking for a poem that her cousin had written, and found Erie Gay News while googling. Deb had written an obituary and mentioned some achievements.

The woman who called me was very pleasant and friendly, and I felt great that we helped someone find out more about a loved one.

Interesting! Eden got Love.

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of. Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you. While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life. You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

Neat! Too often, politicians and others weasel out of doing the right thing because it is supposedly not politically smart. However, the study below shows that standing up for the equal marriage rights of same-sex couples IS the politically smart thing to do!

New Study Shows Pro-Marriage Legislators Win Elections

Contrary to some political expectations, voting to support the freedom to marry and opposing anti-marriage measures helps rather than hurts politicians, a new study Pro-Marriage Legislators Win Elections released by Freedom to Marry unequivocally shows.

For many years legislators across the country have voted on laws aimed at ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. Others have been asked to vote on state constitutional amendments aimed at discriminating against same-sex couples and their children by denying them the freedom to marry and other legal protections. A review of all of these votes from 2005 to the present shows that legislators who vote to end marriage discrimination for same-sex couples are consistently re-elected.

• View the report Pro-Marriage Legislators Win Elections

Freedom To Marry

My friend Paula sent this to me, just asking "Funny or sad?" It's both, but I have to admit that when I first read the headline, I pictured a very queeny version of Rocky the Squirrel (sort of a rodent-based version of Buddy Cole) saying something like, "Well, I was gathering nuts at the Mineshaft, and then somebody's poppers caught fire. Mary! What a mess!"

Firefighters: Flaming Squirrel To Blame In Jones Wildfire

Students Moved From Elementary To High School

JONES, Okla. -- A squirrel caught fire, sparking a blaze Wednesday morning that resulted in the evacuation of an elementary school in Jones, fire officials said.

Firefighters: Flaming Squirrel To Blame In Jones Wildfire - Local News Story - KOCO Oklahoma City

This was pointed out by some friends and also linked from Datalounge. Seriously cool! Sure, it remains to be seen what is actually followed through on, but a White House that gets that LGBT equality IS a civil rights issue and states so in a very public and official manner is a HUGE change and something of which to be very proud.

It is intensely meaningful to me that we are included in this way. Here's to progress!

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
• Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
• Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
• Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

Civil Rights

We have a big screen TV in the conference room at work. The president sent around a message that the inauguration was there for anyone who wanted to watch. I should mention that I am pretty certain I am in the majority here, so important to be somewhat circumspect about talking politics.

There were a few people in there, never more than 3 at a time (including me.) The video and the sound were out of sync by quite a bit. (Typically, about a section or so behind.)

At one point, one of the co-workers wandered in (whom I do not believe to be a Democrat) and said something about that he didn't know whether he was happier that Barack was getting in or that the other assholes were leaving. I smiled and demured on making a comment.

Inspiring and very cool for the entire event. I am hopeful that this means that things can now move forward. Very excited about the change and possibilities!

Okay, this is too surreal for words. Did he use mint jelly for lube? Was he caught with a bestiality video like "Taking It on the Lamb" or "Much Ado about Mutton?" Maybe he enjoys crossdressing as Shari Lewis. If he had sex with both a baby ram, as well as a baby ewe, would he be baa-sexual? (Yes, my brother came up with that one years ago, but it was too good not to use.) One wonders if he was Scottish. (Old SCA joke: "Scotland. Where men are men and sheep are afraid.")

Ultimately, ick and horrible. But this IS comedy gold.

SANDY LAKE -- A Sandy Lake man is charged with cruelty to animals and two other charges after breaking into a Mercer County barn and having sex with a lamb.

Mercer County man charged with having sex with lamb
Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:22:00 GMT

Deb got done laying out the February 2009 issue of Erie Gay News last night, and I entered her corrections and sent it off to the print shop. I go to pick it up tonight after work, before belly dance class.

I also posted the articles, although I did like I usually do and set them to not appear on the front page or in the article RSS feed until tomorrow.

However, I am experimenting with the Erie Gay News twitter feed, so I posted the articles as tweets with links. I am curious to see if that changes anything.

I got this from a tweet from Kristin

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

Sigh. Fortunately, this one was my fault. I went out to Craze to take some photos for the issue of Erie Gay News that goes to bed tomorrow. I misjudged the distance when getting out of the parking lot, and managed to get stuck in a snow drift.

A couple of guys tried to help me by pushing. No dice. I then started shoveling with the small shovel I keep in the trunk. Just then, a guy pulled in to the parking lot with a pickup truck. "Do you need towed?", he asked. He had a towline in the back, and he was able to rescue me. I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. ;)

Not sure how accurate this is, but it was fun. Sharon got Alt.

You Are "tab"

Some people might try to say that you're always spaced out. You do tend to be a dreamer, but you're also a great multitasker. You work quickly and efficiently. So it's no problem if you goof off a little while you're working. And if people want to think you're flakey, that's fine. You're getting more done than they are.

The new car has remote keyless entry, which is sort of cool. However, this morning I went to go to work, started the engine, closed the door and proceeded to brush off the snow. The driver's side door wouldn't open. "Hmm, maybe it is frozen shut.", I thought. I checked and all of the doors were locked. Dummy me had inadvertently pressed the button to lock all of the doors. With the engine running. When the temperature was -7.

Normally, I carry a spare car key, for just such situations. However, I hadn't gotten a chance to do that. So, I was locked out in the cold with a car running. Thankfully, I had my cell phone, and was able to call a locksmith, who came over rather quickly. I am now getting feeling back in my feet! ;)

I guess that having spare keys made is a pretty high order of business for today!

My mom and stepfather picked me up Wednesday to look for a car. We went to 2 car dealerships, and I ended up getting a 2003 Mercury Sable. Amusingly enough, it is white. (If the model is a Sable, shouldn't they all be black??) Sable is also my dog Hecate's middle name, and Mercury is the Roman equivalent of Hermes, who is the deity I feel the closest connect to, in terms of Pagan stuff. So, the car feels okay for silly coincidental reasons.

Happy to be mobile again, but a tad bummed about having a car payment. Sigh!

Eden and Kim, as well as a few others did this, so, here goes:

The rules of this tag are quick & easy:
1. Go to the the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the photo.

I had actually posted this previously on Flickr. The photo taken happens to be of my friends Don and Martin. In April 2002, a local student, Aisling McBride, was talking photos of area same sex couples for an art project. My then-partner and I were also in the photos. People asked her if it was for a class, but it was something that she just wanted to do on her own. I recall that at at least some of the photos were displayed at the Village (which is now the Zone Dance Club.)

Groan! I was hoping that I could get some more miles out of it, but I just checked with the auto mechanic, and it looks like my car is for all intents and purposes dead. (For some reason, putting at least a grand into a car that had 120,000 miles on it didn't seem worthwhile.) So, I called Mom to see if my stepfather could help me pick out a replacement one. I am hoping that could be tonight, because not being mobile sucks.

I guess this kills going to Erie Bloggers tonight. First priority is making sure that I can get around.

Oddly amusing because of the mention from the friend recently about my ex. I got my current car the night we started to break up. Actually, I wondered if I got a better deal on the car because I was more aggressive than I might have been because of being so churned up.

Mom just pointed out that given the market, this might not be such a bad time to get a car. They might be kind of desperate.

Sigh. So much for getting ahead on finances.

I was talking online with a friend from out of the area who has been to Drenched Fur. He happens to live in the area where my ex lives. The friend typically hasn't seen my ex out at all, and my ex had been rather cold/remote with him when they all lived up here. (Come to think of it, my ex had a strong tendency in that direction with a lot of folks.)

Then the friend manages having seen my ex at a Renaissance Fair. My jaw just about dropped. I had been involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism (AKA SCA - a medieval/renaissance group that has been around since 1965) for quite some time, and was basically leaving it when we met. But my ex did a fair amount of eye rolling and usually came off as rather contemptuous. I still have fond memories. My friend did mention that the ex was there with a partner/friend, so maybe he was just going along for the ride.

Still, it just struck me as funny.

Sigh. I was going to go over today to check out the home of someone who wanted to possibly host a folding party. She gave me her address, and said to call if I got lost. (Hmm. A potentially worrisome sign for others.) I wanted to check to see if it was large enough. I explained that I had a GPS receiver, so I would be okay. This would have been the first time to use it to find a new address.

However, on the way way, the check engine light came on. Then it stalled out on the Bayfront Highway near McClelland Ave. I called my mom and asked if my stepfather could come out.

Several people did stop to ask if I needed help while I was waiting. That made me feel good that there was such thoughtfulness in the world.

Carl didn't find anything immediately obviously wrong. The muffler has been loud. It is making me nervous. I already have an appointment this Tuesday to check that out and see why the heater seems to take so long. Not happy to have to scrape the inside windshield.

I got one or 2 cases of the check engine light coming out on the way home, and it stalled out for a bit half a block from the house.

Just crossing my fingers that I can get to work and back tomorrow and get it into the shop on Tuesday. Hoping that it is also nothing too costly/involved. (I want to go the to the Erie Blogger meeting Tuesday night. Again, hopeful that doesn't get screwed over for me.)

Last night, I went to the Pittsburgh Bellies performance, which was good. A few friends of mine danced in it. I saw my friend Sharon on the way in. The announcer wasn't familiar with all of the acts, and at one point he introduced the next dancer as Sharon. Those of us who knew her giggled. Things did get straightened out, but her name ended up being the punch line a few times that evening when he was confused about a dancer.

I was supposed to go out and gather signatures for 2 projects, but after I got out of the dance performance, I needed to grocery shop and it was rather too late by then, and I was wiped out. So, I went home and crashed.

The woman in the next cubicle just got a phone call. It became very quickly evident that the caller had called the wrong company entirely and had just happened to ask for someone who had the same name as my co-worker. This was clear when the caller asked to talk to Carol, and there is no one working here by that name.

My co-worker concluded the call, and noted that she was NOT going to be picking up a nun from rehab.

I am visualizing some frail old nun in a wheelchair, with a cast on her leg, looking lost and forlorn in the snow outside the hospital, wondering where her ride is.

Wow! This is a pretty strong statement from the introducer of the law. Bob Barr has realized that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) must be repealed.

Bob Barr: Repeal DOMA

The law that prevents the federal government from acknowledging same-sex marriages and partnerships should be repealed, former Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr wrote in the Los Angeles Times Monday.

Barr introduced the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 when he was a Republican representative from Georgia's seventh district. He wrote in the Times opinion piece that he and President-elect Barack Obama now have the same stance on the issue -- that the law be repealed.

Bob Barr: Repeal DOMA  | News | Advocate.com

I recently found someone on Facebook who had been coming to the open circles Brighidshaven had at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie, back in the early/mid 1990's. She was a student at the time, and she had a perfectly adorable toddler, who always said "Blessed Pea" rather than "Blessed Be" when we used that phrase. We all thought that it was charming.

Lisa asked me how our original High Priestess (HPS) was doing and how my ex was. I had to explain that there had been a rather severe falling out with our former HPS back in 1994, and my ex had left in 2002. I did mention that the local Pagan community was doing quite well.

The sobering revelation was that her daughter is now 19! Crap, shovel the dirt over me as I feel OLD!

Hmm, not entirely sure about this one. (Eden wasn't sure about hers as well.) I am fairly extroverted, I guess.

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm an Extroverted Healthy Self-Knower

A quick silly: I overheard my boss say to another co-workers in the next cubicle that he had "gotten an error in about half the time." I chimed in that meant that we were improving our efficiency - we were looking to make bigger errors in half the time.

I had seen in the news about the crazy guy who apparently had burned down a house and had the police engaged in a manhunt. I realized that the area was very close to where my friends Jeff and Gary live, so I sort of got scared. Gary has been visiting Heather and Tara in NC, and I wasn't sure if he was back yet.

So, I just called Jeff to verify that things were okay. Everything is fine with them. Gary is still in NC, although he was due back last night. Jeff was worried when he woke up and Gary wasn't in his room this AM, but Gary called later to say that he was still in NC. Oddly enough, Gary works at the same place that Mr. Crazy Guy used to work.

When we talked about the manhunt, we joked that "So what? I have had a profile on there for years!"

Jeff wasn't sure, but he thought he had heard that Mr. Crazy Guy might have died in the house fire. Jeff isn't sure, but the house might have been directly behind where Jeff used to live.

I had a call yesterday from my friend Dave, who had been able to get files off of the crashed laptop belonging to my friend Eric. So, while Deb was over working on various newsletter/political stuff on my PC, I went over to Eric's to install the files. Yay! Everything seem to be basically okay. We also chatted and caught up a bit.

I also had been feeling guilty for not cooking from scratch for a while, so I made dinner for the week.

Now, off to walk the dogs. Whee!

I am not sure what happened recently, but I was having problems getting into Dreamweaver, InDesign, or Photoshop Elements. Not good. They had all been working okay.

I tried uninstalling and then reinstalling, but kept getting errors. Not good. I was up until a ridiculous hour. I crashed after launching something, although I got some phone calls that woke me up.

I think I have everything back after a LOT of fiddling around. Pretty much tired and slightly cranky here.

I was out last night, checking on the supply of Erie Gay News at both bars. When I was at Craze Night Club, they had a fairly good crowd. It turns out that they had some bands playing, which seemed to be heavy metal/rock. I bumped into my friend Sharon, who happened to be out. We have known each other since we were kids. Sharon commented that the style was one she would not have ordinarily associated with me. She mentioned not seeing violins, and I noted the dearth of harpsichords. Yeah, she was right. It was okay, but definitely not a musical genre of which I tend to be a big fan.

So, I am back at work after being off for 2 weeks. I am dealing with a few minor blips, but thus far nothing bad.

I should explain that we tend to name our servers after characters from Lord of the Rings. (Hey, we ARE computer geeks.)

I overheard one co-worker saying something about "I could have been named after Aragorn's horse." It was too good to pass up, so I said, "Yes, or at least the back end!" It got a laugh.

Hopefully, I won't find my tires slashed when I go home for lunch. :)

I had a fairly nice New Year. I went over to a small house party that my friends Peter and Tim have hosted for the past few years. It was sort of low-key, but pleasant. Peter is really big on having pickled herring for good luck as the first thing after saying Happy New Year. Slightly less than half the guys went for that.

I went to the Zone after that and danced a fair amount and visited with friends. Much fun! Nearby neighbors, one of whom is the party planner for the Zone, hosted an after bar party so I went to that.

A couple that were close friends of one of the hosts was voicing interest in putting on a leather event here in Erie. We had talked about it before. I was talking with the more vocal half of the couple (who is a hunk) in the kitchen. He walked away after talking about leather stuff, and a guy right next to us was studying some kind of electronic device and telling his partner that the device indicated that he needed 6 units of correction, but he wasn't sure if that was accurate.

Since we had just been talking about leather, my first image was that it was some kind of BDSM monitoring device, and it was indicating that he needed some kind of standardized units of kinky stuff. ("Hmm, that would be 12 minutes of spanking while wearing a ball gag, or 18 minutes without the ball gag, or 3 minutes of flogging.") I visualized his partner getting rough and nasty with a paddle while growling "Yeah, slave! You are Daddy's dirty little boy, aren't you? Take that, worm!" and then switching back when the units were properly administrated to an everyday voice, addressing me with "Hmm, well, this year we are thinking of redoing the living room. It needs to be painted, and I was thinking of going French Provincial." By the way, the device was just for measuring blood sugar since the guy in question was diabetic. Just my warped imagination at work.

The host served a sumptuous Chinese themed buffet with all kinds of appropriate food. He even had chop sticks and the small white cardboard takeout containers with the wire handles. Fun!

My only bit of weirdness is the odd association I have with the containers. When I was in my early teens, I would sometimes go to Erie Pets and Supplies on State Street near 11th St and get pet mice. They would package mice in the plain white takeout containers, so my first thought in seeing those is always mice, not food.

All in all, not a bad start to the New Year!

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday getting the online registration form ready for Drenched Fur, Erie's annual Bear event. (Bear - furry, sometimes larger sized gay males.) This will be the 5th year for the event, and we are sticking with the first weekend in April, and a trip to Splash Lagoon (which is the source of the name, of course.) We had about 20 registrations from advance stuff last year.

Gary, the organizer, opened the registration as of today, He was the first to arrive and the auto number ID field for his event happened to be 666. I jokingly suggested that this meant he should get some Beelzebubble Bath Powder for Splash Lagoon.

We have also gotten 2 first timer registrants after that, so not a bad start at all!