My New Role Model

"The people I hang out with have sense. They'll just say something like 'Thanks, I was getting a little thirsty.'" -- commenting on her habit of occasionally tossing a drink in the face of a friend, for effect

“I've dated men my age, younger than me and older. The only difference is the young ones are quicker at taking out the garbage.”

"Come on - phone sex is the biggest joke."

"I still sweat bullets if I go on The Tonight Show, but I tell myself, 'You can either have fun tonight or you can be shy and miserable.' You ask my friends or anyone I work with now -- nobody would say I was shy."

....I think Lara Flynn Boyle is my new role model....

Gay Pride in San Francisco

Our weekend in SF was excellent -- until the Monday we flew back. I ended up with the flu and flying home with a fever -- in fact, I was so delirious, I thought I saw Mr Magoo in a dress....

[some photos already posted on Picasa -- more SF stories and photos to come]

- T

Nature versus nurture versus gay bombs

Today I'm sharing a link to a buddy's blog -- you won't believe the ridiculous news story he writes about.

Apparently, from the same outfit that brought you $600 toilet seats, there is now the $7.5 million plan to create gay bombs. In an effort to distract the enemy during time of war, the military spent millions upon millions of dollars trying to develop strong aphrodisiacs that would turn enemy soldiers gay.

The military claims they've since abandoned the plan.

(The story goes on to say that the Air Force proposed this idea in the mid-90s -- but I think the enemy was already using it on my Army unit back in the 80s!)

-T

I've found Bush's base!

Albanians lined up to welcome President Bush to the capital of Tirana on Sunday.

[photo courtesy Damir Sagolj/Reuters and the New York Times]

Recent polls put President Bush's percentile approval rating somewhere in the low 30s/upper 20s. I'd assumed they meant among American voters.

Bush On Tour has been in Europe for the past week. Along with attending the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm in Germany (a beautiful seaside resort built in the 18th C. on the shores of the Baltic -- wish I'd had a chance to visit...), he has been wowing fans in Prague, Poland, Rome and elsewhere.

(To be honest, he's actually been riling up citizens in various countries throughout Europe, causing protests and political actions to erupt in places that haven't seen this much unrest since before the fall of Communism.... But we won't split hairs.)

Oddly enough, the only place he's arrived to flag-waving onlookers has been New York Washington Chicago Los Angeles Poughkeepsie Tirana, Albania.

It seems the Albanians are infatuated with GWB. Apparently, from afar, the Albanians have come to love our president. The Albanian prime minister greeted him as “the greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times.” Wow. Ever in all times? Alexander the Great, Saint Paul, Attila the Hun -- Bush is greater and more distinguished?

I was reading recently about groups in the South Pacific that worship the strangest of gods. One area of Vanuatu reveres Prince Philip (Queen Elizabeth's husband) as "simply divine". Elsewhere (on the same island, no less) there are some who worship a mythical WWII-era American known as John Frum -- it's called a cargo cult.

Albania has issued three stamps recently with President Bush's likeness on them -- they've also named the street in front of their parliament after him.... According to the NYT, even the Iraq War is popular there. Sorry Saint Paul, apparently your missionary work has been superseded.

- T

Blog and Life Revamped - Part II

This picture is from Big Springs, Nebraska. It's a small town just off of I-80 in the western part of the state, close to the Colorado border. It was one of the towns we stopped in (if only briefly), on the remainder of the January trip from Wisconsin to California.

We hit a lot of states in a short amount of time: Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, the tiniest northwest corner of Arizona, Nevada -- and, finally, California.

I really enjoyed the drive back through the center of the country. My only regret is that we didn't have additional time to stop and see more of these small towns.

Some highlights: I was amazed by how historic and picturesque Dubuque, Iowa looked. Beautiful old brick buildings in a valley along the Mississippi. It would definitely be worth another visit sometime, if I were in the area.

I would have liked to see the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln -- I've seen pictures and think the architecture alone would be worth a stop. (And not just because of its nickname: The Penis of the Plains. [Thank you Wikipedia for that bit of trivia.])

If Big Springs, NE (just off the interstate) was that photogenic, imagine what was to be found even further from the highway?

One disappointment (no offense, Coloradans!) was eastern Colorado and Denver. Not the highlight of the trip, by any means. Dusty, unappealing -- and Denver itself was pretty unattractive and ramshackle. We drove through mile after mile of body shops, strip malls, drab residential areas with little appeal. (It didn't help my overall impression of the city when we got into an accident with my newly-purchased Element in Denver. Luckily, the damage was none too severe (just some rear bumper repairs needed). We completed the drive and had the repairs done in San Diego.)

I DID really like the rest of Colorado west of Denver. What an amazing sight -- snow-covered mountains climbing up into the sky, deep valleys down below and I-70 right in the middle, hugging the side of the mountain as it heads west. I wish we'd seen more of it in the daylight -- thanks for driving through Colorado that evening, Tj.! I was in no mood to drive after having the accident in Denver....

We drove all the way through the Rockies and stayed the night in Grand Junction, CO -- then continued on through Utah the next day (another place I definitely want to get back to -- the bit we saw driving through was stunning), arriving in Vegas that evening. Bill flew in from San Diego and met us there -- the three of us had a great couple of days partying, seeing some of the changes/remodels at the casinos, gambling, eating too much.... Typical Vegas entertainment -- over-the-top and lots of fun.

We completed the trip back from Vegas the last week of January -- we got back to San Diego, I settled in and then reality (work!) started again on February 5th.

OK, now we're up to date -- I can blog in 'real time' from here on out!

- T

HDTV?

OK, we interrupt my previous train of thought for this quick request. Who among you few readers of this blog have an LCD or Plasma TV? What are your opinions on: which is better -- LCD or plamsa and why? which has the wider viewing angle? is 1080 resolution necessary? 1080i or 1080p? burn-in problems? Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, Sony, Vizio, Westinghouse?

We're probably looking at either LCD or plasma, a cable HDTV DVR box, HDMI connector to the TV, and still using our TiVo boxes for non-HDTV shows (which we will then view on the new TV).

Tips? Reviews? Things to watch out for? Any help is appreciated. I've scoured the web for data, but this is one topic where there is TOO MUCH information available -- much of it contradictory....

- T