Monthly Archives: February 2007

Swimsuits

Who knew swimsuits wear out so fast? Apparently, everyone who swims regularly I guess. The suit I bought when I started water aerobics in September is already faded and falling apart, which really surprised me. I’m used to a suit lasting for a couple years. But then, I wasn’t getting in the pool three times a week before now, either.

So I bought this suit from a swim store here in Indy at lunch. It’s 100% polyester, so it should last 8 months to a year. And it’s more modest than most, which I really like, frankly. I’m pretty self-conscious about showing off my parts. Especially now that the pool room has giant windows facing into the wellness center and into the lounge/wireless area, since they remodeled at the Y. It’s like being in a fish bowl. And people love to hang out and watch the water aerobics classes; it’s a little weird.

My New Swim Suit
My New Swim Suit

(Yes the name of the suit is “Ocean Aquatard”. That doesn’t kill my enthusiasm for it.)

I also got a cheaper lycra/polyester blend Speedo suit from Costco this weekend, so I’m going to alternate wearing them and see which lasts longer.

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Kill Batty Man – Scary Jamaican Blog

Joe.My.God points out this scary homophobic Jamaican site Kill Batty Man, hosted on google/blogger for over a year.

The site gleefully advocates violence towards gay people (often referred to as “batty men”) in the country of Jamaica (which has a long history of rabid homophobia, including some recent incidents I’ve noted here) saying while anti-gay violence will “hurt Jamaica” economically, it’s still a “good thing”.

Free speech issue surround this of course, but inciting people to violence isn’t protected free speech. You can flag the site as offensive and contact google to complain.

UPDATE: Google has placed a warning on the site, citing offensive content.

Continue ReadingKill Batty Man – Scary Jamaican Blog

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Wheat Intolerance

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A friend pointed out to me that she has Rheumatoid Arthritis (which I’ve written about recently), and that under the care of her doctor, she has eliminated wheat from her diet to control her RA symptoms – because they’re triggered by a wheat intolerance. So I’ve been doing a lot of searches on the subject, which will be showing up in my regular links lists tonight.

I really need to talk to my doctor about wheat intolerance and the link to RA, because there’s a lot of information there about symptoms that sounds strikingly familiar. But from everything I’m reading, simply cutting wheat out of my diet without getting tested for wheat intolerance first wouldn’t be a good thing at all, because I would need to carefully supplement my nutrition at the same time, or I’d have other problems, so it’s not something I should just jump in and do.

But this gives me some hope that maybe if this is the source of the inflammation and is aggravating my joints and lungs, I could manage my health issues without long-term medication and maintenance, which would be awesome. Not that going on a wheat-free diet sounds easy if that’s the ultimate solution, but the medication route certainly has it’s bad points.

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Delicious Nut Sale – Update

Several years ago, I posted a memo that went around at work — It was a fund-raising notice from Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana announcing their “Delicious Annual Nut Sale” to raise money for their programs. Funny, right?

Yesterday, one of the folks from the organization found the post on my blog and wrote me to let me know that they still have nut sales going on to fund-raise for their not-for-profit work:

Just wanted to say “thanks” for posting … even in humor we hope to bring more attention to the importance of spay/neuter for dogs and cats.

By the way, we still have nuts to sell. Even malted milk balls. Delicious is right!

Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana, Inc.
P.O. Box 55917
Indianapolis, IN 46205-0917
Voice Mail 317.767.7771
Fax 866.771.0358
www.spayneuterservices.org
Available:
27 almond $7
17 clusters $8
8 malted milk $6
22 peanut $5
45 pecans $8
60 deluxe mixed $7
(sorry, no more cashews)

The also have some fun t-shirts for sale at their website.

Delicious, funny, and for a great cause – that’s quite a trifecta.

Continue ReadingDelicious Nut Sale – Update

Meredith Grey’s Heart Surgery

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I know it’s just a television show, but, really. There’s no way they could have her on heart bypass for over an hour, and then have her snuggling in bed with McDreamy not long after. That would fracking hurt – it was weeks/months before Stephanie and I could spoon in bed. I adore the show, but just a tad more realism, could we?

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Reasons I’m Looking Forward to Spring

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  • Can race in and out of gym for water aerobics in a t-shirt and shorts, rather than having to drag my coat and winter gear through the locker room.
  • Can leave water aerobics with wet hair and not feel cold the rest of the evening.
  • 200+ bulbs we planted in the yard will be blooming, and I can start on vegetable garden planting.
  • Maybe, finally, our roof, gutters and balcony porch will be done — and we’ll be able to read and have tea on the balcony at night, looking at the stars.
  • More wedding planning.
  • Route 66 planning.
  • Long walks with the dog around the neighborhood, taking pictures.
  • Getting started on one of the furniture refinishing projects in the garage.

So — how about you? What are you looking forward to?

Continue ReadingReasons I’m Looking Forward to Spring

Nigerian Advisor: Same-sex relationships make you retarded

From Tide Online:

About four percent of Nigerians are involved in same sex relationship, Special Adviser to the President, Prof Friday Okonofua, has said.
Okonofa disclosed this at a public hearing on a bill to prohibit same sex marriage and relationship, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs, in Abuja.
He said the number cut across all sexes and ages.
Such relationship, he said, had exposed those engaged in it to high risk of contacting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS and cancer.
The same sex relationships, he said, caused mental retardation, depression and high tendency to commit suicide.
In his remarks, Deputy Speaker Austin Opara assured that in passing the bills, the House would be guided by the respect for the nation’s religious and cultural values.
“We have values which really frown at the same sex marriage or union and we will certainly consider those values in our deliberations on the bill,” Opara said.
In her address, the chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs, Rep Saudatu Sani, said such relationship was non-existent in most cultures across the world, and Nigeria would therefore not be in the minority nations practicing it.
The bill, Sani said, sought to provide a legal basis against same sex marriage and the proscription of adoption of children by same sex couples.
She said prohibition of same sex marriage was not only justifiable, but also a necessary step to protect public morality.

Um, I think there’s some retardation involved, but I think it’s more on the Nigerian Government’s end, rather than gay people’s.

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Apparently, I’m Chopped Liver

Hmmmm – I guess my 20,000 visitors a day don’t rate a mention on Indiana Equality’s thank you letter for the Rally organizing…

Many, many other businesses, organizations and bloggers contributed greatly to Monday’s success by promoting participation in the rally. A big thanks to Advance Indiana; American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 62; American Values Alliance; bilerico.com; bloomingOUT; Blue Indiana; First Republicans Forum; Gay/Straight Alliance Indiana; GayIndy.Org; GLBT Resource Center of Michiana; Indiana Black Pride; Indiana Planned Parenthood Advocates; Indiana Progressives PAC; Jewish Community Relations Council; Masson’s Blog; Muncie PFLAG; OUT: Indiana University’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Peoples’ Student Union; Outword Bound Bookstore; Purdue Queer Student Union; Reality Magazine; Spectrum (Ball State University); stAllio!s way; The Word; and Taking Down Words.

Why doesn’t that surprise me?
UPDATE: I got a very nice note from Jon Keep about this:

Hi Steph,
I wanted to offer my apologies, on behalf of IE, for not including A Commonplace Book in the Post Rally email. It has been my experience that when anyone makes a list, you run the risk of omitting someone. That was the case here. Our aim was to recognize those organizations that helped make the rally a success. We very much appreciate the support and the publicity that you gave and in no way meant to exclude you.
Please know that your support, and on going support, is greatly appreciated. I look forward to working with you in the future.
Jon Keep
President
Indiana Equality

Clearly, I need to be stop being a baby about these sorts of things and not take stuff so personally.

Continue ReadingApparently, I’m Chopped Liver

links for 2007-02-22

Continue Readinglinks for 2007-02-22