The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln

So, have you heard the talk shows lately on the assertion that Abraham Lincoln was gay? Even as a gay male, this is a pretty big shock to me. The book will be released in Jan 05, and after I've read it, I'll have to rethink my position on the subject.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743266390/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-3800601-6273558?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

I do believe two men can share a bed and not be intimate. I do believe that some men need "intimate" relationships with other men, but that doesn't have to include sex. And yes, I do believe many married men are attracted to other men, but that doesn't make them gay.

So, let's read between the lines. Whether Lincoln was gay or not, he definately needed and desired a close relationship with other men. Today we call that a best friend. I see nothing wrong with that. Why? Because I've had best friends where we were intimate in a non-sexual way, but it didn't make either of us gay. For me, that type of friendship isn't weird. For those that have never had that, first, I'm sorry, and second, I totally understand why you would think that type of relationship is weird, queer, strange, gay, etc. But that doesn't make it the label that you are I have to give it.

For once, I'd just love everyone to swallow their flippin' pride and open their eyes to their prejudices. Unless you know EVERYTHING, how can you possibly label everything? You can't. It's simple. I learn something new every day...there are very few relationships I feel qualified to label. Definately not President Lincoln's.

If he was gay, I don't really care. He was a great man.
If he was straight but had best friends that "slept over", then so be it...he was still a great man.

So, even though I was shocked...I'm open to the suggestion that Lincoln was gay, or bi, or straight with really good men friends. I'm sure those less open minded are simply denying the thought, the evidence, and even the notion.

It's like the scene from Philidelphia all over again...

"Are you gay?"

If you are offended by the question, why? If Lincoln was gay, and you are offended, why?

I'm thin, hung, and addicted to sex...if spam ran my life

I've just never figured out spam. How can it be so incredibly off-target? Do the originators of SPAM have no thoughts or feelings to those they send SPAM to? I all for earning an "honest dollar"...but come on, let's work on the HONEST part and less on the dollar part.

I was thrilled to see Microsoft sueing folks for SPAMing hotmail accounts without putting the legal, "PORN" warnings in the subject line. I've a few hundred e-mails I'd love to throw back to the companies just to tell them how incredibly fricken stupid it was to send me that e-mail.

For a moment, let's assume that the SPAM targetting me in a logical way. By now, I'd have lost the 200 lbs they think I'm overweight by (I'm 6'0" and 175lbs...isn't that in range or even on the thin side?), I'd have gained 3" on my private part (but I'd really rather not!), I'd have increased my cup size (apparently I need bigger breasts too?), I'd of refinanced my house about 22 times a month, and I'd be screwing either horny moms, or watching 18-year olds lose their virginity (ummm...hello...I'm gay! at least target the right sexual preference!). And finally, I'd of bought all my software at such ridiculously low prices, programmers would be making minimum wage. Sheesh.

Will the SPAM never end? I mean really...will it?

WoW!

As many of you may know, World of Warcraft began selling Thanksgiving week. I believe over 200,000 copies were sold or presold on the first day...amazing. They've already added 40 servers, or something around there, to meet the demand. Astounding.

Since I was travelling Thanksgiving week, I figured I'd buy my copy, but not install until my travelling ended. I was able to read the first 80 or so pages of the manual on my drive back from TX (when I wasn't the driver of course!). I was pretty amazed at some of the things I read. Creative and intelligent features put in a game to provide entertainment...have all other online gaming companies forgot about that aspect of gaming? That we game for fun and enjoyment?

After installing the game, and getting the patch completed (yaye for DSL!), I played a bit. It's amazing...simply no other way to describe it.

Most of my on-line friends from Dark Age of Camelot have moved to WoW. Many of my friends from EQ2 that are here in Colorado also moved to WoW. I'm waiting for the negatives of the game...I just haven't found many yet. Travelling is slow...that's about it...until you learn to use the flight paths (stunning feature by the way!).

Coke stock falls...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=1&u=/nm/20041111/bs_nm/food_coke_outlook_dc

I read this article and it made me laugh a little bit. As America, and I'm sure other countries as well, get more educated on dietting, etc., it seems many of the "big" companies in the U.S. are taking the hit in the pocket book. Are they so idiotic that they cannot adjust?

Soda pop in general has many negatives that most Americans are becoming aware of. For non-diet soda, the sugar content is really high and so is the calorie intake (roughly 5%-10% of our recommended daily calories in a single 12-20 oz. soda!). Caffeine is getting more and more negative press when taken in high single doses, like a soda or cup of coffee, rather than spread out over the course of the day. Finally, for all soda, the ascorbic acid in it eats the calcium right out of our system...if our body doesn't have any, then it takes it from our bones...calcium is normally a deficiency in the average American diet already.

So what can Coke and the other soda companies do? They sorta moved in the right direction with C2 and Pepsi edge...they have 1/2 the sugar as normal soda without sacrificing much taste. Coke unwisely chose to go with Aspartame (very bad sugar substitute that is unhealthy for lots of folks and pregnant women) while Pepsi went with Splenda (cheers to Pepsi!!). The result is Pepsi Edge tastes much better than C2 simply because it doesn' have the diet taste that C2 and aspartame create.

As I slowly phase soda out of my diet, 3-4 a day was just too many, I have little to no sympathy for the soda industry. Soda on tap tastes much better than a can or bottle, yet soda on tap at say Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc. rates right up there with robbery as far as costs go.

Unhealthy + Expensive = Death.

They are digging their own graves and have noone else to blame but themselves.

Movies, games, and shopping...OH MY!

Is it just me or is this year incredibly packed even before December has hit? Well, certainly some things are "just me"...but I'm sure it appeals to tons of others as well.

Great movies are coming out...not just in theatres, but the DvD releases are killing me! Shrek 2, Harry Potter, LOTR:ROTK long-arse version, etc. etc. etc. Movies coming out include Kinsey, National Treasure, The Incredibles, and others that I'm really looking forward to seeing.

Computer games are in full gear right now. As most of you likely heard, Halo 2 was released today. It's expected to sell $100M in copies today alone...wow! 5 million are expected to buy it in November...and 10 million copies overall...simply amazing. I haven't even finished FABLE yet for X-box...nor KOTOR (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic) and KOTOR 2 is coming out in December! Everquest 2 was released today (though it's not very tempting to me for some reason) as well. Later this month, World of Warcraft is being released...many are Beta testing it...and claim it's a blast. Darn it! I hear Half Life 2 is coming out soon as well? I haven't even gotten Doom 3 yet! I know I'm a geek...but I'm losing major points this season!

Now, throw in that we are supposed to be shopping for Christmas already (even though I've got one friend off the list already!) and it's no wonder America sees the holidays as stressful...we have too much to do. :)

Ok, off to Best Buy I go...I gotta buy something, anything, at this point!

And so it begins! (COLD!)

The snow began on Sunday, but that was hardly the extent of the cold weather here in Colorado. On Monday, the drive to work went from a pleasant 35 minutes to a marathon 85 minutes. Most snow storms leave snow, packed snow, and maybe some ice on the road...this one just left 2-3 inches of ice. :( And a chilly 11 degrees on Monday night/Tuesday morning....bbbbbbrrrrrrr!

Did I mention that my Mom moved in about 2 weeks ago? Long story, but I'm glad she is back in Colorado and seems to be getting motivated to find a job, etc. She does chatter a lot in the morning...I'm trying to get her to stop waking up at 4:00 so she doesn't disturb me or Scott. She also isn't allowed to smoke in the house or garage. My house, my rules...she can go slowly kill herself and/or destroy her lungs in her own house. Most of my family are smokers...all of them know I hate it, think it's discusting, etc. :) But I love them anyhow.

With her being diabetic, I'm trying to encourage her to eat better, reduce her carb intake, and am cooking to reflect that. I love to cook, but my Mom doesn't. She's very good at cleaning up afterwards. While she's unemployed, she's been cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, etc. I think the house is cleaner now than when we moved in!

Tomorrow we will have the results of the presidential race as well as the Senate, House, and a few Governor seats...should make for some good reading or light depression...either way, it's exciting to me for some odd reason this year.

--Jim

Yet another ride!

So, I think my horse-back riding group is in great denial that it is indeed winter and we have to stop riding soon. Today, we headed up to Elk Meadows, near Cripple Creek, Colorado, at 7:00 this morning. My first clue that it was either a) early or b) cold was that there was no guard in the entrance to the park...it is $5 to enter per vehicle. However, the thermostat on Eriks truck answered the question for me...definately b)...cold. Try 17 degrees cold...I was so glad I wore longjohns!

Incredible ride, but we didn't see any elk at all. Lots of footprints of big cats (cougars or bobcats), fox, coyote, rabits, and even some wild turkey. :)

Politics makes me ill...

if it wasn't enough to see the political candidates slamming each other on the TV and hearing it on the radio, I've found that work is no longer a sanctuary from the political scene. I work as a contractor for the government and thus, most co-workers tend to be conservative Republicans. I'm fairly middle ground, actually clinging to morals/standards/ideas from both conservative and liberal "agenda". It's funny hearing the conservatives slamming media for being so liberal...yet the conservative talk shows I'm bombarded with at work, are just as accusitory, hateful, defamatory, deceptive, etc. as they claim the liberals are. So what gives? To here them quote scripture from the Bible, and then gossip, etc. is just plain sick.

Pardon, while I head off to vomit in our under-construction restrooms...

...maybe it's the paint fumes and not the radio shows...I just don't know anymore. :)

Winter approaches...

this weekend marks the beginning of the end for me...but in many, many areas.

It's probably the end of the horse-back riding season.
It's the beginning of ski season (or close to it).

I've already bought my buddy pass for Keystone/Breck/A-basin and am looking forward to skiing. I didn't ski at all last year due mostly to my economic situation.

Temperatures will be dipping in to the 20's at night this weekend. No more gardens to take care of...no more grass to cut...but the beginning of shoveling snow, etc. :)

On-line gaming (part 2)...

With high speed access comes the ability to enjoy one of my favorite past times...on-line computer games.

My friend Brad (he'll have to give you his blog link) got me addicted to EQ years ago. However, he and most of his friends quit the game before I hit 30th level. :( So, I ventured out to Dark Age of Camelot. It's been a fun run, but alas, all good things must end and this MMORPG (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) has evolved into a haven for power gamers...of which, I am not.

Brad was nice enough to invite me to EQ2 Beta, which is a blast...but nowhere near as captivating as the original EQ...but I'll keep at it.

This last weekend, I tried City of Heroes...wow, is that a neat game. You get to play as a comic-book-like superhero.

However, World of Warcraft will be coming out in Nov/Dec this year...it looks insane. :)

On-line gaming...

I live a ways out of town...about 16 miles from the nearest grocery, gas station, etc. I don't think it's that far, but most folks do...including interet service providers. Because of this, I've had dial-up for nearly five years. Two weeks ago, Qwest called to inform us that DSL was indeed now available on our dirt-road-accessible, horse-property, last-to-plow-your-area house! I was incredibly doubtful...to the point of calling them cruel and unusual torturing liars...but my partner, Scott, insisted on trying to get it anyhow.

First the modem was not delivered on the day they said it would. My doubts increased.
Then, when the modem did arrive, the letter said that the lines would go active at 5:00p.m. (on Friday night!) to which I raised a curious vulcan-like eyebrow. How would I get tech support if it was the weekend?
Finally, when I did hook it up and try it, the configuration program didn't work and when I phoned tech support, it said all of Denver and Colorado were experiencing difficulties. "On yeah..." I thought, "...SURE they are!" At 9:00 p.m. I tried again...and this time it worked.

A quick browse out to http://www.bandwidthtest.com/ indeed showed that I was receiving 200K/second!!! Over four times faster than my dial-up speed.

Heaven I say...pure heaven.

First posts...

I've begun a blogger to officially ramble in just one location rather than many. Perhaps I'm getting old and forgetful...not to mention bitter. :)

I do notice that I copy/paste more and more as I want to inform folks of things going on in my life. Thank goodness for bloggers!

Besides, I hear this is a required step for my Geek undergraduate studies...so there!

Jim (and yes, I do live in Colorado)