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This is the permanent home of all the posts I wrote in September 2002. This archive is part of grubbykid.com, a weblog.

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September 30, 2002

EU, ICC and US and lunacy

The EU is in the final stage to granting US citizens immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC). For one, this is unnecessary. The ICC is only evoked when the country of citizenship refuses to prosecute an alleged war crime. In the US we generally are zealous to right any wrong and prosecute crimes in a judicious manner. This is a country of law, and will be for a while. Just look at the uproar over this mother, and the outrage it caused. The pressure that the Bush Administration is putting on this issue alone is baffling, and frankly is not the course we need to take when trying to build a war coalition for an uncalled- for war.

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from the Professor's mouth

Professor: This is what happens when the ADA is implemented in Germany.
Class: Germany?

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sUCk

Just goes to show that you can't spell suck without UC. I've completley moved into our studio space where I will endeavour to learn for the next nine months. The university provides computer access, but with a price: many of the available ports and uses that the internet has to offer is curtailed. I don't mind not being able to use p2p, but they have completley shut off ftp to any site outside of the UC intranet. Nice, so if I wanted to upload something to my site, I can't. I have created a blog at Archi- porn that chronicles my senior thesis, but I cannot upload or alter files on my remote ftp site. I guess UC wants me to use their server space, with their rules and regulations. No thank you.

Thank you UC - you have spoiled my fun [and more importantly, my productivity] yet again.

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September 29, 2002

Historical perspectives

The "Southern Cross" better known under the nickname "Stars & Bars", was never the Confederate Flag. Rather it was a Confederate Naval Jack first used in 1863 which is similar to the Tennessee Battle Flag. What this boils down to, is that those who proclaim the "Stars & Bars" as a piece of history, are really caught up in a large manipulation of history, primarily by the Ku Klux Clan. The "Stars & Bars" was never the Confederate National Flag; rather it was a rally to war. This is the reason why the KKK chose to center their attention on this Naval Jack. This is why when those who claim to try to hold onto their history, and deny that the "Stars & Bars" is a racist symbol, are deluding themselves. This is why the "Stars & Bars" should be left in the museum, not on bumper stickers or on state capitols.

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September 26, 2002

The rise of the X-Industrial Complex

The Prison-Industrial Complex is just as insidious as the Military-Industrial Complex

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HyperPhysics [its Phun]

Go learn about physics from HyperPhysics, a great resource for those in need of details or generalities.

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September 25, 2002

Welcome Back

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Who says philosophers can't take a joke?

A Universal Philosophical Refutation

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IKEA and replicable furniture

IKEA is sporting a new ad campaign with the centerpiece being a Spike Jonez commercial. Oh no, the right and left sides of my brain are in conflict. Do I succumb to the siren call of Scandinavian furnishings or resist crass-consumerism? Either way, the commercial is a brilliant 30 second piece of work, that all who are interested in suspense and filmaking should watch. Eitherway, "...you crazy, it has no feelings. The new one is much better!"

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I go to Fake U.

mathowie has a great article about fake diplomas with the kicker being an email exchange between a Washington Post reporter and a representative of a fake university.

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September 24, 2002

dot.Bust

Pyramid Scheme Dot Com - How I Realized The Internet Bubble Was A Pyramid Scheme by Bob Hiler is a great insight on the internet bubble and some probable causes.

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Ken Burns :: Civil War

Are you watching Ken Burn's documentary Civil War? You should be, because you would learn about the darkest years of this country. You thought this day was horrible; try stretching it out over five years and over 970,227 casualties. That works out to be 25% of the population. While thinking about the Civil War, go spend some time with this nifty Flash presentation of the months from the Seven Days Battle to the Battle of Antietam by the Washington Post.

If you were wondering how I could tie all of this into today's current events? Well during the first airing of The Civil War, U.S. Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf [ret] was being compared to George C. McClellan [the notoriously slow to act Union General duing the early part of the Civil War] by civilian officials who had no previous combat [or military] experiance. In General Schwarzkopf's book It Doesn't Take a Hero, it is revealed that right before the commencement of the air attacks, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney gave General Schwarzkopf a special gift: "(A) complete set of videotapes of Ken Burns's PBS series, The Civil War." The venerable Suck.com [now, alas, no more] discussed this revelation and other problems with the current administration in ChickenHawk Down

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September 23, 2002

I would like to be the first to welcome our Evil Overlords

Go and Google Go to Hell and lo and behold, Google ranks Microsoft as No. 1, Hell.com No. 2 and Aol No. 3.

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September 22, 2002

Neticatte

Neuroprosthesis News was a promising site, but now I will never read it because the author makes such an ass of himself on MeFi, blatantly self-linking and staring a flame-war that will eventually cause him to be banned from MeFi. When will people realize that trolling will never get their point across, and will in fact, limit the amount others will listen and tolerate. Goodbye neu, please leave MeFi until you can maturely engage in rational discourse.

UPDATE - 21:45 20020922
It has come to my attention that there might not be any connection between the author of Neuroprosthesis and there person who appeared on MetaFilter. Unfortunately whoever was neu, their account has now been deactivated, and the MeFi world can get back to its business. andrew makes a good point about self-policing and how the mob affect can form, and things could get ugly.

UPDATE - 12:00 20020925
It seems that things are getting ugly on Neuroprosthesis News and on Metatalk. I know that the person in question has visited my site, and others who have commented on the fracas. I only hope that neu can get some perspective: it is just a stupid website. We are not calling into account your credibility, intelligence or passion in your field. I suspect you are a good person that has just let things get out of hand. Many of the links and thoughts in your blog are interesting and informative; please stop this foolery before any more harm is done to your credibility. Those on the Internet are forgiving, but to a point. This is not a threat; I am not high on the blog/internet celebrity ladder [or on it at all] I am just someone on the sideline watching what could get ugly. Resolution really is the best thing.

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Diesel Sweeties

Diesel Sweeties chronicles the life of a Robot [Clango] and his ex-Porn Star girlfriend [Maura] and a whole cast of characters including Zeldman [my favorite]. This is one of the funniest original comics I have seen in a while. Pick up a shirt while they last, Hu-mans.

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September 21, 2002

'The Experiment'

So if you were shocked by the Stanford Prison Experiment or the The Milgram Experiment, then Das Experiment will be the movies for you. It uses the Stanford Prison Experiment as a basis for a thriller movie. The trailer looks alright, but the apparent added plotlines [sex, love] and expanded story threads could turn an already chilling experiment into Ho9llywood fluff. Either way, I think this would be a good movie to see. It opens in NYC and LA this week, and assorted cities the following weeks. Check out the official website for the selected city near you.

begin snarky
On a side note, this is why I hate Cincinnati, I can never see a good film here, or a play, opera, concert or other essential cultural engagement for at least six months after it opens on the coasts. Provincial Backwoods, or non-cultured city?
end snarky

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Kentucky Politics

Ahhh, lovely Kentucky. Gov. Paul Patton admitted on Friday [9.20.01] to having an "inappropriate personal relationship" with a Tina Conner, who is suing him for sexual harassment, claiming he sicced inspectors on nursing homes she managed, driving them out of business, after she ended the affair.

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Only on the internet could you do this...

Female or Shemale, need I say more?

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September 20, 2002

What's My Pirate Name?

Dirty Tom Bonney

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean - not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

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Political Pin-ups

Meet the North Carolina Ladies of Liberty a libertarian pin-up calendar that is part of a fund-raising drive by North Carolina politicians. To drift back into 1996-ish, Rachel Mills [a NC House District 31 canidate] is babalicious. Swing. Seriously though, politics has now degraded into the lowest form of marketing: appeal to sex. Eitherway you see it, those ladies have some gumption, and I say good luck to them. Thank god Janet Reno didn't have a Pinup Calender. Hey, if they can get thier message out, who cares how?

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September 19, 2002

You know you want to...

Smack my Monkey

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I'm taking my ball home...

In the last 48 hours, the world has gone from brinkmanship [FoxNews], to strategic retreat [CNN] to sheer lunacy [MSNBC]. Three acts, in 48 hours with any number of outcomes.

Please get me out of this warped Fellini film. I just can't make this up.

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For the Educators in the Audience

The Bush Directed Department of Education is in the midst of renovating their site [thank god] that has lately come under fire for alleged censorship. The department will remove thousands of pages from the site, along with stranding thousands more in folders inaccessible from the redesigned site, thus for all intents and purposes destroying the data. In addition, the Department will remove the ERIC digests, a 30-year collection of research digests of approximately 10240 pages of research briefs, from the site. Of all the traffic to the site the ERIC digests are the third most popular item for site visitors, according to Lawrence Rudner, director of ERIC. What this amounts to is Orwelliam manipulation of data and historical documents. I implore the government to create a set of guidelines that make such examples of the Spoils System disappear. All information published onto any governmental website must be retained and archived in a judicious manner, in a logical, easy to find location. Simply shoving files into the back of file cabinets' no longer works, all departments of the government must operate under full disclosure not only by the current administration, but also by past administrations. Any file, data point or article that is deemed worthy of posting to the Internet, a public entity, must stay there. This removes the burden on classified documents being removed, since they had no reason being on a public site anyway. There is a clear public benefit and value to a transparent government.

This act by the Bush Administration in conjunction with the silencing of scientific discourse and the continued refusal of Vice President Cheney to hand over transcripts of the Cheney Energy Task Force are evidence that the Bush administration hold many Americans in contempt, while deeming the administration above the law. Never before have I witnessed an Administration that is so contemptuous of the people it claims to serve, or act in a more arrogant manner. In the words of John Stewart, "Do they think we're retarded?"

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Bush Irony of the Week, Part II

Yesterday President Bush spoke at the East Literature Magnet School in Nashville, Tennessee as part of his Educational Initiative. His remarks have created quite a reaction from the community: Often reality is more entertaining than fiction - here is a real audio recording of the speech. As can tell by the link, I have chosen to link the transcript via a google cache. Once the Wayback Machine has archived the page, this link will be valid. The point is, with the current administration's propensity to censor documents, scientists and ideas that are contrary [nytimes] and contradictory to the administrations own view, I believe the original transcript that is offered at the Whitehouse site will be scrubbed of any mention of this guffaw. The one thing this administration cannot tolerate is bad publicity or contradiction, just ask Colin Powell.

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Bush Irony of the Week

President Bush signed an Executive Order sealing documents concerning Area51, the non-existant, secret location.

Please.
Stop.
The.
Irony.

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September 18, 2002

Hello brother, hello sister

We are all decedents of Charlemagne. From a MeFi thread concerning other ancestral anomalies.

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More on Bandwidth Theft

If you all thought I was being mean, over-the-top or excessive when it came to bandwidth teft, you sould see how heather href="http://harrumph.com/020727.shtml" title="heather champ :: reacting to theft">reacted to similar theft. Again deep-linking, inline-linking, framing or other such liking that deceives, alters or perpetrates confusion of ownership is bad. Linking, citing and asking before you use [and link from my server] images and content - good.

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September 15, 2002

Pop v Coke v Soda

The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy

So this study on linguistic geography that has been making the rounds breaks down the ever widening national divide in the Pop/Cola/Coke wars.

I say pop, but when I want to be facetious I say soda. I have never, will never say Coke to mean pop/soda. It was interesting that the results match my anecdotal evidence that southerners call pop/soda Coke, since Coke is based in Atlanta since 1886.

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P2P - Porn to Porn?

Private Media Group, Inc., a Spanish adult entertainment company [or Pornmonger as I like to call them] has offered to aquire Napster for 1 million shares of Private Media common stock, values at approximately $2.4 million. Yeah-ha. Nothing like some more porn on the internet. It isn't like KaZaA or any other p2p doesn't have terabytes of porn on it.

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September 14, 2002

Property Theft

Hey, you are an idiot who links other people's images in BBS threads [scroll down until you see the image] and steals other's bandwidth. Your website is http://www.cincinnatiuprise.com, and since I cannot get an email address off of the BBS site or even your site, here is the WHOIS record and here is the administrative contact of the site. [source] My website resolves to 216.29.244.26 and my hosting provider is Dayton Digital.

UPDATE
I have found your email address, it is marshal@cincy-home.com. So that mail address is marshal@cincy-home.com for all of the spambots in the area.

For posterity, here are the images: So be this a lesson. If you want top steal images from me, don't. Ask, and I probably would give you the original hi-res image. Just be glad I did not replace the original image with porn.

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First Concrete Road

Did you know that the first concrete road in America was located in Bellefontaine, Ohio and was opened on July 9th, 1892?

Yup, me 'neither.

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Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

Everytime I read sections of Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About I start to laugh uncontrollably and am thankful that none of my relationships have been like this. Just look at some of the hiliarity:

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Global trends 2015 - Worth another look

Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future With Nongovernment Experts is a paper that was approved for publication by the National Foreign Intelligence Board under the authority of the Director of Central Intelligence. I have had this link for awhile, and I know it has been about two years since it was en vogue on the internet - that means it has been dead for awhile - but what struck me was the sheer amount of data on hand, and the depressing look on the future. Focusing just on the environmental issues the CIA states that: The CIA, one of the most entrenched governmental agencies states that greenhouse-gas emissions are to blame for Global Warming, and worse "...seasonal Antarctic ozone hole will expand for the next two decades-increasing the risk of skin cancer in countries like Australia, Argentina, and Chile..." If the CIA can finally admit that we are to blame for global climate change, why cannot the current administration fess up? So far the Bush Administration has suspended arsenic-in-drinking-water protections, relaxed wetland protections, chose to drill for offshore oil in California but not Florida and has thus far stalled on global warming solutions. I wonder why BushCo. has gone down this road...hmmm, could it be the masters pulling the strings? The most chilling passages of GT2015 is the section dealing with International Terrorism> I suggest that everyone read this document that has been steering the government for the last two years. I leave you with a passage form Transnational Terrorism:

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Fetish Map

Who knew that Furverts and Pony Play was so closely linked? Katherine Gates brings us the Fetish Map. Man, I'm in the know, I'm hip to the underground, but I haven't heard of half of these fetishes. That is probably good. Main Page Here - great navigation and explination of the fetishes.

I love the internet - where else could you find information that allows those who are uninitiated into a [fringe] group. The articles of the different fetishes are clear and informative, without exploiting those who hold the fetish and the articles explain the different fetishes without wierding out the uninitiated reader. Might not be work safe

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September 12, 2002

Bonus time

When time runs out in a sporting event, and the match is evenly met - a tie forms that requires final resolution. Relationships are not sporting events [although some do turn into those] but each have their beginning, middle, and end. I was expecting ours to be put on hold two weeks ago, but now we have found more time, our bonus time. Time unexpected, but put to good use. A night shared in her city; a meal shared in mine. Moments of togetherness before the mandated leave. These moments above all are worth the small inconvenience of the next three months.

I don't know if our bonus time will amount to any sort of outcome, but I am thankful for the opportunity. The last year has taught me the importance of expressing yourself. Because who knows when the next time you can talk to your friend, parents, fiancee or girlfriend. The world was always uncertain, the past events of September Eleventh reminded us of that simple truth.

How will you spend your Bonus Time?

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September 11, 2002

September Eleventh

This is my small remembrance of the day and week of September Eleventh.
This was my first day of work.
This was my first week in my new apartment.
This was my first week of staying up for hours at night staring at the television.

But now we are a year later. I look back, and ask whether or not we have really changed. Those answers are not to be revealed today, or perhaps ever. The reality is that I still cry watching this. I still stare in awe at the destruction. I see people who have been greatly moved by the experienced: a girlfriend who volunteered at the site and still cannot talk about it, and I dare not bring it up. Friends who have lost relatives and friends on September Eleventh, I have lost track of by sheer distance. A city I have lost track of - if I ever really knew the city.

I still have not lost the sense of helplessness and sorrow. But I realize things are turning around, politics as usual are moving, and that is a shame. But today, I will not discuss politics and the current situation. I will just remember that day. I will remember the families, the firefighters, my frantic search for friends, and the weeks that I cannot remember at all.

Today I will remember, tomorrow I will move on.

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A fallen Victor

On the Day we died
One thousand 'an more
The sun was shining,
the City quiet.

From upon the sky,
a shining bullet,
roaring through the morn.
Laid 'lo the victor mighty,
with a single blow.

The chaos thick,
the weeping open,
the City quiet evermore.
Laid the victor, to the floor.

A clear relay, an open world.
The Earth watches
the victor on the floor.
A second bullet, second decent,
The victor is no more.

Those that saw,
those that ran,
those that morn
throughout the land.

For the victor that is no more.

But on the Day we died
One thousand 'an more.
The sun was dim,
the sky opaque,
a world that was no more.

The time lost,
thoughts forgotten.
Staring at the wind.
No understanding, no reason.
For the victor at the floor.

The victor empty,
an island far.
Not reeds of strength,
but piles of bones.

A single candle burns so bright,
For the victor at the floor.
A body harmed, but spirit bright,
We have risen from the floor.

jrp - 2002.09.11

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September 9, 2002

MTV and irrelevance

This whole Who Killed Tupac story is vaguely amusing, but what I am most angered with is the current media arrogance and blind allegiance to Biggie Smalls. Yet the most arrogant is MTV who end every report about the LA Times story with, "We would like to state that MTV has not verified the story." As if MTV is the end all, be all of reporting. Give me a fucking break. MTV is the McDonalds of television; MTV produces, packages, spits out, and regurgitates neat little products, instead of playing music. The planned propagation of produce in bite-sized morsels that the masses consume is what the behemoth has become. To call yourself Music television is irony at its best. During Prime Time, you have not one music program, rather you are content to show Sorority Life for three hours straight.

MTV you are not revolutionary.

You are not hip.

You are not groundbreaking.

Any claim of being hip, or groundbreaking or even relevant is a patent lie, and you know it. You are in the business of creating markets for crappy music to help your parent company Viacom [with the RIAA cartel] push the latest "music craze". Wonder why the boy/girl band phase only lasted about 4 years and now we are in a nu- metal/80's rock-new wave crap that is permeating the accursed network.

You are vaguely amusing, because when I watch you, I watch to mock you.

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September 8, 2002

Archi-porn

Now announcing Archi-porn, a companion site to my Senior Thesis research. In 24-72 hours, you can also access the site at http://www.archiporn.com. I decided to separate out my Thesis dealings so that I could point my professors to that site and keep some sort of professional distance between my personal life and school. I know it sounds futile, since both sides of my life cross over and cross-pollinate, but it at least gives me some solace that my professors will not read about my personal life, when in fact they often times live it with me.

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Server Suicide

Watch the countdown of the Tsunamii.net Crush Server as it counts down before it activiates a 15-ton crusher thus commiting suicide.

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September 6, 2002

FBI Loses Hotmail Account

According to Wired.com it seems that the FBI may have overlooked a crucial e-mail account used by Zacarias Moussaoui when agents examined computers known to have been used by the suspected terrorist.

Moussaoui, now defending himself against terrorism conspiracy charges stemming from his alleged involvment in the Sept. 11 attacks, recently requested that prosecutors turn over their records of messages sent and received through his Hotmail account.

Nice, I am glad that the preeminent law enforcement body in the United States can bungle simple data/evidence collection. Is this the same organization that BushCo is tapping to use on the so-called War on Terror? What happens when an assignment of greater importance is required? Is this the same pattern of incompetence that was on the Front Page by an FBI insider? I hope that this is just an isolated event, or our War on Terror would be in jeopardy. He he.

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September 5, 2002

Truth or fowl

A REUTERS Story and photo on Yahoo! News, is making a big fuss on the net. The juxtaposition of a photophoto of Ground Zero and harsh language for the 'war' on Terror is causing some headlines in it's own right. Nothing like a meta-discussion of the subject. Get to it before it is scrubbed.

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Lazy Thursday Nights

There is nothing better than watching Hoosiers on a thursday night. The movie was based on the 1954 Indiana State champs, Milan Indians. The actual championship game was played between the Milan Indians and the Muncie Central Bearcats. The actual championship took place in 1954, not 1952 as in the movie, and the score was Milan 32, Muncie Central 30.

My favorite scene is when they enter in the field house for the final game and Gene Hackman measures the distance from the basket to the free throw line: 15 feet. And then measures the height of the hoop: 10 feet.

"You might recall these are the same dimensions as our court back in Hickory."

How true.

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September 2, 2002

On the Turning Away

Yesterday my current female companion and myself went with friends to the WEBN Fireworks downtown. What a clunky term "female companion." Not just a friend, yet not into the realm of girlfriend. What is the proper term to use? Girl I am dating? Girlfriend-in-Training? After past experiences, I have become ever cautious with titles and phrases dealing with people. I guess it is a case of once bitten, twice shy.

Continue reading "On the Turning Away"

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Bliss & Congratulations

Congrats to Dooce and Jon on thier Eloption in Yosemite. Great use of a photologs, and beautiful pictures. Man...wedding in Yosemite...hmmm. That would be cool.

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