So for a while in 2006 I had a myspace page. I saved a bunch of the stories about myspace that I had posted there. I’ve since deleted my account, and I only realize now that I never took a screen shot of it (I like to keep stuff like that) so I can’t post that here, which is too bad really because I did a nice hack job on my page and wrestled it into shape nicely I think - which was no small accomplishment, and I do mean “wrestled” - it was a bigger pain in the ass to code than practically any site I’ve ever messed with. I went back to Myspace to read something today and got slapped again by their idiot layout.
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Since High School it’s been suggested that a good rule of thumb answer for American men is about 1 in 10 are gay. A friend at work today suggested that although we’ve been told that for a long time, he heard that it wasn’t actually true. This of course spurred me on to do some quick internet research on the topic.

But first, some wisdom from People like Us in Singapore:
http://www.plu.sg/main/facts_05.htm

What is the purpose of asking how many people in a population is gay? Certainly, it is a minority, however one defines it, but does it matter whether it is x% or y%? Is respect for a minority, their liberties and rights, to be calibrated based on numbers? Do people become less equal in law and in our conscience, the fewer they are?

The most vocal denials that I could find of the 10% estimate for gay males in the US were on Christian right wing sites like family research council et al (I won’t provide any links to their site folks, sorry). I consider sources like these obviously biased.
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Sam was a good dog. We actually cut our honeymoon short to go pick him up when he was old enough to leave his mother, so we raised him from a pup. As a lab he had that characteristic lab termperment which is basically energetic but kind, loyal but friendly, good with kids. No more will I hear the clickety clack of his toenails on the hardwood floor, nor his demanding bark to be fed at 6am. I’ll miss him when I come home and he’s not standing in my way with a shoe in his maw (or something else he picked up on the way), his wagging tail banging against the wall. There have been a lot of firsts since he’s been gone, each one difficult. The first time I’ve had to make sure to set an alarm to wake myself up for work in a long while, the first time I’ve dropped food on the floor and he wasn’t there to rush over and glom it up; But the last times were harder - the last time I hugged him, the last time I told him to “go to bed”; even scooping the yard, I never thought that would be something I’d miss! Goodbye Sam, you were a good dog and we’ll miss you.

I struggled with creating a custom icon for OSX for entirely too long before I found Fasticns which makes the process so completely easy it’s silly. If you’re an OSX developer wanting a custom icon for a bundle, or you just want to personalize your Mac a little bit, check it out. The screen shot shows the program’s rotating cube to which you drag images, and a custom icon I made from the cover of an Aidan Meehan book on Celtic spiral art which I also heartily recommend.

The weather was glorious, about 65 degrees F (I prefer days that aren’t so hot), and I got over to CP for a morning ride on Saturday. There weren’t too many folks there when I arrived, maybe 5 or 6 vehicles. Its only the third time I’ve been over there this season, and the second time I went I rode with a friend late after work and we only did 6.5 miles and one Black Diamond. This time I was going to hit them all and try to make it under an hour. The whole trail is about 9 miles when you do all the optional routes, and at the end of last season I was able to complete it in about 50 minutes if I booked. I’m rusty though, as I could tell from my first time marker (3 minutes over), but I wasn’t tiring, so I decided to attempt to do all three of the impossible hills in the back. I never make the first one, but the CLIMB guys had lain down some wood chips and the trails were really dry, and for the first time (ever) I made all three hills! I finished at 1 hr 7 mins, but it was a good ride. The new XTR high-rise dérailleur makes a big difference on the climbs, making it alot easier to get into the right gear on the way up.

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It was finally warm enough (for me, thats at least 50F) to go out riding today. I’ve been doing some stationary riding in the basement, but it’s so boring that I never do anything like the kind of riding I do outside and I slack off to maybe once a week. Although I’ve managed to keep off the weight I lost last year so far, I’ve been slacking in that area as well so today’s ride was a bit of a wake up call. I only managed to get in 8.5 miles (and road riding is a lot easier than trail), but it was so good to get out again. Today’s lesson: don’t forget the little clip on ear muffs for when it’s windy and chilly. Luckily I brought mine today, because at about 3 miles my ears were in serious pain. I popped those babies on and I was fine for the rest of the trip.

My road bike is almost 30 years old! I resurrected my dad’s old bike last summer in anticipation of the annual 40+ mile cancer benefit ride I’ve been doing with some friends at work for the last couple years. It’s way too big for me (27″ frame!) but I can still manage it safely with the seat all the way down. I much prefer to ride trails on the mountain bike, so I didn’t really want to drop a lot of money on a road bike so I just put some new tires on the Fuji, did some minor adjustments and service and I was good to go. I added a cyclometer after this picture was taken, and I still need to get a water bottle holder.

Cathy has been spinning using a spindle for about two years now, so her new spinning wheel (made in New Zealand) was able to go right into service. Check out her crafts on her own Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathycrafter/