I was much too sore from dancing to even think of something interesting to write this morning. However, I feel the need to post something new. I hope those who read the posts are enjoying the photos. Most of them are ones I’ve taken. There are only three on here that I did not take.

The former fellow graduate student called me again last night to see if I was going to SF today. I told him I’d call him this morning. I was unbelievably busy yesterday, which means the same may be true today. If I’m not that busy, I can make myself busy. As you can see, I don’t want to go. Everyone has likely changed quite a bit. I was an older graduate student with a small child. A good friend of mine had changed a lot in three years. I haven’t changed much at all. My friend was surprised that I even looked the same, maybe younger.

Another friend of mine is going to Hawaii soon for two weeks. I wish I could go. My trip to Hawaii was the most relaxing trip ever. We never even left Honolulu, so I haven’t seen all of Hawaii. There is so much to do, and I only had four days.

The photo is of one of the talking birds at the Hilton. Lucky birds.

Technorati: Hawaii, San Francisco, macaw, photography

I haven’t done much surfing this morning, but I would guess that lots of people are posting about the incidents that are now known by “9/11.” I’ve seen many posts over the weekend prior to the anniversary. It was tragic. Unfortunately, it changed things for the worst as I see it. I think we have lost more than we gained.

The tragedy is often compared to Pearl Harbor. I visited the Pearl Harbor Arizona memorial this summer. These two incidents were very different and had very different results. The Pearl Harbor survivor I met had such pride for this country and his role. The country came together for Pearl Harbor and our entrance into World War II. While there was some fear of Japanese and Asians (who we treated abominably), I think the fear of Arabs today is much stronger.

Like Mr. Fab, I won’t be watching the news or reading about 9/11 stories. I also don’t want to relive it. I was lucky that it didn’t touch me personally.

The world seems to be working normally. See, the fear even gets me. I hear an airplane flying overhead. I can hear the cars go by with people going to work or school. I woke up with sore, over-worked muscles. I don’t know what my day will be like, but I don’t feel like doing anything.

Technorati: 9/11, Pearl Harbor, flag, September 11, World War II

I survived the Tahitian dance workshop. I still have a lot to work on. I have some trouble walking and doing the moves at the same time. Being able to dance low (crouching almost) is still tricky. I almost fell over a couple times. I need to remember “balance.” I downed a very large bottle of water during the class, plus snacks.

I enjoy it. I’m sure that when I’m better at it—when it’s easier—I will love it. For now, it’s practice, practice, practice. Tonight though, I think I’m going to bed early. The workshop was 3 ½ hours. We took breaks, but my legs muscles aren’t developed enough yet. Soon though. Those quads are starting to appear. I finally have calves. See, I have always had chicken legs. I was called “chicken legs” though most of school. Soon they will be chicken legs no more. It got to the point where I was self-conscious wearing shorts. I stopped caring sometime in college. The Midwest gets too hot in the summer to wear pants.

I’m sure you wonder how I got into hula/Tahitian dance. This summer I went to Hawaii for the first time with my son. I was mesmerized by the dancers I saw. It is so beautiful. It looked like it would be fun. I never saw how much the dancers sweat. They must drip like me and the others at my halau. I needed a new hobby anyway. I get bored easily, and I love to try new things all the time. So, I began dancing in the middle of August. I have a long way to go before I’m good at it, but I hope it won’t be too long. Every week is a challenge—and I love a challenge. It’s really great exercise as well. That’s just a bonus. I hate to exercise, so this is really good for me.

I may be overly ambitious. The purpose of the workshop was to teach what you need to know to try out for competition. Tryouts are in a month. Wish me luck.

Technorati: Tahitian, Hawaii, dance, hula

R did call this afternoon, but it was too late for me to go to San Francisco. Another guy is there as well from graduate school. Remember R is staying in a “gay-friendly” hotel. I guess to save money the two are sharing a room. R said the desk clerk did look at them funny when they requested 2 beds. I don’t think he believed me that it was a “gay” hotel. I wish I could be a fly on the wall. Neither one of them is ready for SF.

For the first time in a long time, I woke up this morning not knowing what I was going to post. I don’t even have plans today. I emailed R back on Thursday about when I was free today, but I didn’t hear back. I gave him my phone number to call when he gets in, so we will see if he calls. Guess I foiled his plans to get me naked. Too bad.

It’s a weird morning. My cats didn’t wake me up in their normal way. They were quietly sleeping this morning when I got up. It makes me wonder what they were up to all night.

So for today, I guess I’ll watch a movie, read some, surf blogs and maybe get a nap. If I get ambitious, I will do some mild exercising to prepare for tomorrow’s Tahitian dance workshop. I’ll be lucky to walk upright when it’s time to leave after 3 ½ hours of dancing.

Technorati: Saturday, cats, Tahitian dance

Well Apple did it again. They didn’t come out with newly designed iMacs but beefed up ones. Now there’s a 24 inch. They are also cheaper. I just bought mine 3 months ago. I could have saved over $400 on the same model (different chipset). Why do they do that? The same thing happened to me with an iPod, but it was 6 months before a new version came out. No one who bought one recently (and I saw a lot of new owners when I bought mine) is going to go out and buy a new model. The initial cost is just too high. I can see where they are trying to lower the prices, but after spending a few thousand on a computer, I have no plans to go do that again in a few months. Considering the cost of this computer, I will have to live with it for awhile and upgrade to OS Leopard.

I had wanted a Mac for a long time. When they advertised that it would run Windows, I thought “cool, it will run my son’s games too.” I spent hours on several days trying to get Boot Camp and Windows installed and working properly on my Mac. Once you get into Windows, there’s no way back to OS X except for rebooting with the CD. I’m not a Mac expert, so rebooting with the OS CD means reinstalling every time. I finally got fed up and removed Windows and the partition. I still think it left my Mac unstable. Poor computer hasn’t been the same since. I finally found Timbuktu from Netopia, which lets you access other computers remotely without someone there to press any buttons. I think I will still need a new PC to play games, but I wish my son would just play on his game consoles. I hate giving up my computer.

Technorati: Apple, iMac, Windows, PC, Netopia

Here we are again talking about R. You’ve got to hear the latest.

I suggested we meet for coffee on Saturday afternoon. The response I got back was “how about Sunday night?” No, not a reasonable excuse like “I will be tired” or “I need to rest.” My suggestion wasn’t unreasonable either. He’s supposed to arrive at 1 pm, so I suggested meeting at 3 pm. Two hours should be enough time to get to the hotel and checked in—even if the plane is late and you have to pick up luggage. It’s only 15 minutes from the airport to downtown San Francisco.

I mentioned this to a friend, who wasn’t surprised. When I asked why, he said that it’s easier to get naked at night.

Now, I ask you—particularly the guys out there—is it easier to get a girl into bed at night? Does the time of day really matter? If you think you are only capable of getting a girl into bed at night, what does that say about your seducing techniques?

Time of day doesn’t matter to me if it is something All these questions remind me of another friend’s opinion that the women decide whether or not any sex will occur and that if she has decided that it won’t, there is nothing you can do to change that. There are women who resort to tricks to keep themselves from jumping into bed with their date, like not shaving their legs, wearing ugly underwear or super tight and overly difficult to remove clothing. I can’t say that I’ve tried any of that. I guess will power is enough for me.

Anyway, I would say R’s response says a lot about what he has in mind. There’s still no mention of being married. I will bet that he wouldn’t mention it all. I may not find out if he’s going to insist on meeting at night because I’m not going to do it.

I want to avoid the scenario he’s trying to create. I also have a hula workshop on Sunday, which lasts most of the day, so I need a good night’s sleep—in my own bed. R forgets that he was such a weasel more than 5 years ago. He’s a schmuck to think that I would want anything to do with him.

What I wish is that people would be upfront about what they want. Why isn’t that possible? The worst are those who lie—and you know they are lying, but they will argue until you give up in exasperation just to avoid being caught lying. I have an amazing BS detector, and little tolerance for dishonesty.

Technorati: hula, San Francisco, schmuck

Since I agreed to meet an old “friend” from graduate school this coming weekend, I had to find out where this guy was staying in San Francisco so I could find a coffee house. Well, once I found out I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.

Anyone who knows San Francisco will understand. But I don’t know it that well, so I will explain. The conference is at the Moscone conference center, which is near Market and Mission, putting it in the Mission district. Although a visit to the Moscone center website says it’s in the downtown district. Whatever. It’s near Mission, which is near Market St. Why SF is divided into “districts” I have no idea. They aren’t real districts–marked on a map–just convenient ways to say where you live within the city. It’s a bit like a secret code that only San Franciscans know. You say you live in Nob Hill and people nod and seem to know something about you. Nob Hill means you probably have more money than the person speaking to you. And of course there’s Haight-Ashbury, which has turned into yuppie-ville. The hippies can’t afford to live there anymore and haven’t been able to for some time now.

Anyway, Market and Mission Streets have a unique atmosphere. Anyone who has visited SF will know. Although if you get up to Castro and Mission, it gets even more interesting.

Now, this guy is from Missouri. Hasn’t been outside Missouri much. Missouri doesn’t have the various ethic groups that we have here nor does it have the peculiarities that SF is known for. I have to give him some credit for living in a suburb of St. Louis, so he’s familiar with larger cities. But St. Louis is nothing like SF. There is no city in the world like SF.

I hadn’t heard of the hotel he said he was staying at, so I had to look it up. It’s obviously one of the cheaper hotels in the area. R teaches at a community college last I heard. They make less than professors and much less than teachers at either type of college out here. He’s probably lucky to afford the trip.

My internet search on this hotel turned up some interesting information. The building is from 1909. Not everyone who has stayed there has been very happy. It turns out that this hotel is recommended by a gay travel site as being very gay-friendly, and it is run by a gay man. R doesn’t know this. I am sure he doesn’t know this. All of this will make a very interesting stay in SF for him. I can hardly contain my glee over seeing this homophobic nitwit’s reaction when he finds out where he is staying.

I have tried to talk another friend of mine into coming (to take pictures and act gay—just to mess with his mind), but he won’t. But he’s soooooo good at it. I’m sure there will be plenty to disturb R on a Saturday afternoon on Market Street without any help. Small-minded people like R are so much fun to mess with.

Right now, I don’t have any particular coffee house in mind. It’s Market Street. If I can’t find one, then I must be blind. When I mentioned to a friend that I wasn’t all that interested in meeting R while he’s in SF, he wanted to know why I was. Well, I hate going back on my word. But now it is like a train wreck just waiting to happen, and I have to see. I must bring my camera and actually remember to take a picture or two.

Technorati: San Francisco, travel, St. Louis

A conversation with a friend got me thinking about society’s expectations when it comes to sex. Is monogamy truly the norm for humans? What would society be like if monogamy was considered abnormal?

I’m a firm believer in question everything. While asking these questions, I realized that Aldous Huxley asked the same questions in “Brave New World.” That society considered pairing off to be abnormal.

Most of society’s expectations when it comes to sex are insane. Think about the recent craziness, like the debates over a naked breast on a mother’s magazine or whether or not teens should be allowed Plan B and the constant bombardment by sexualized advertising.

I realize that the “sex police” have a long history of keeping society in check. Basically, if you control women’s sexuality, you also control men. It’s terribly frustrating for anyone whose ideas or appetites don’t fit into a little box.

I like to imagine a society somewhere between Huxley’s and our own. Both are about control. I would like to see less control and more acceptance. I will keep dreaming.

Technorati: sex, Huxley, contraceptives, sex, society, monogamy

Today I may be more lazy than yesterday if I can’t shake off the dragging feeling. I’m sure my posture reflects how I feel this morning. The thick clouds aren’t helping either.

I attempted an internet search this morning after reading a blog about drugs in the tap water. I’ve known about this for years, but I want to know if my distiller removes them. Usually I’m an excellent researcher, but it seems that the information I want isn’t really there. How much can you trust the sellers of purification systems? Then you read some really junk science about “live” versus “dead” water. I could probably figure out if the distiller removes the drugs if I knew the compounds and their boiling points. I also have to find the correct names in the lists. It’s too early for chemistry, especially when I didn’t sleep all that well.

I’ll leave you with this link that a friend forwarded to me about a report on Jiffy Lube in Southern California. It seems they have been charging people for services and then conveniently don’t perform them.

Technorati: Jiffy Lube, pure water, contaminants