Getaway

On Saturday Marc and I set sail on a cruise down to Mexico! This is our boat, but there won't be any snow behind it (DC has seen some flurries)... Stay posted for some pics.

Maybe you'll be able to see me on the webcam!

New Travel Website - OutAdvisor.com!

3 friends and I are excited about the new LGBT travel website we have launched! Check it out and spread the word!

OutAdvisor.com is a free website where you can create and review worldwide listings for travel, dining, and entertainment businesses that are a part of the GLBT community. You won't find chain restaurants or run-of-the-mill hotel chains here--OutAdvisor has a handpicked list of Gay-owned or Gay-friendly businesses entered by travelers like you! And it is free and easy for business owners to add and update their own information.

OutAdvisor has 5,500 + global listings for GLBT-owned/run or GLBT-friendly:

* Hotels, Guesthouses, and B&B's
* Bars and Clubs
* Restaurants and Cafes
* Cruises, Tours, Vacation Packages, and Travel Destinations
* Bookstores, Galleries, and many more businesses!

So go where you want to go... Start searching and plan your next trip out of town or your next night around town! Please visit the website, register, and pass on the news to your friends!

OutAdvisor Supports the GLBT Community

OutAdvisor is owned and run by members of our community, our reviews and ratings come from our community, and our site is here for our community...in more ways than one! In addition to providing this service free to the community, we also contribute 10% of our profits to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered charities and non-profit organizations within our community. By using OutAdvisor, we all benefit.

Please register and join us today at OutAdvisor.com!

Favorite election images

What a night on Election Night! There were so many emotions leading up to it, and seeing crowds flooding into the streets in some major cities topped it off for me. I was amazed by the crowd pressing into the park in Chicago to see President-elect Obama. I thought it was great that he did not walk onto the stage alone, but hand-in-hand with his family. Seeing them on stage was when the magnitude of reality set in for me...what a strong and inspiring First Family! Our future is once again hope, no longer fear and incompetence.

Tues. Nov. 4

I hope you all are excited about voting! This is an amazing time for our country. A bright future is ahead of us.

Vote early if you can...most places allow early in-person absentee voting up until Monday. Visit your election board office or web site for more information.

Welcome to BUF!

I hope I didn't eat there!

Full Article

Vote Democrat if you want a tax cut

I surfed over to the Barack Obama website today and was pleased to find a Tax Cut calculator prominently displayed on the homepage. This comes on the heels of learning that "Joe the Plumber" will actually benefit more under President Obama's tax cut plan and get nothing under McCain's tax plan. That's right...McSame wants to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, not the middle class.



So give it a try. My tax cut under President Obama: $500. Under McSame: $0. I could not find a similar tool on the John McCain website. In my opinion, during the tough economic times ahead I think both candidates will need to raise taxes to keep things afloat. Since I have had a fortunate life, I am for it as long as our dollars are spent wisely, like on the environment and important social programs, and not on war or drilling for oil.

What's going on.

I haven't been blogging much as I try to decide what's next...a blog of a different kind? Writing articles of some type? So stay posted to see what is new.

On a different note, I've been sucked into Facebook, which is a great way to stay in touch with peeps and all their doins. That was one of the main motivators for this blog. So log in and hook up with me there!

Happy Fall!

My pumpkin is the one in the middle!

Lunch

Today's lunch came from a box. Not the most exciting (though I do love eggplant parm). However, it was great to see that it was manufactured in Buffalo...right on French Rd! I have driven by this Rosina factory too many times to count.

Top Ten

From the Tonight Show's Top Ten Surprising Facts About Sarah Palin presented by residents of Wasilla, Alaska:

#2: To improve her foreign policy experience, she recently went to the International House of Pancakes
Deputy Mayor and Chiropractor, Kris Larson

[Sadly, I think this *did* double her knowledge about foreign policy. I wonder if she could see Russia from IHOP?!]

Clean Power...Clean America

Don't forget easy steps you can take to reduce your energy consumption:
- Combine your errands
- Turn the lights off when leaving a room
- Wash your clothes in cold or warm water
- Let your dishwasher air dry instead of electric heat
- Add a vegetarian meal to your week
- Reduce the amount of shopping you do!

Every bit helps!

On the Bay

Our friends Chuck and Carlos took us sailing on the Chesapeake Bay for Labor Day weekend. We had a great time! As you can see, there isn't much to do on a boat but relax and enjoy the water and wind. The boat's name was Windhover and was a new 39' sailboat rental out of Annapolis, MD. This was the first time I've been sailing...it was fun to steer and do all the rigging when we changed directions.

Inside

Sailing was kind of like camping...sit around and relax, enjoy the outdoors, get a little bored, go to bed early, get up early. Except unlike camping, you have the convenience of a kitchen and refrigerator. And these digs were niiiice.... We slept down below, but otherwise we were always on deck.

Wye Island

Our first night we dropped anchor on a river along Wye Island. It's a nature preserve and was a quiet place to drop anchor for the night. We had dinner on deck and watched the sun set over the water! The second night we spent at Dunn Cove. (The sunset pics from here are not to be missed.)

Download for free 9/23

Love him or hate him, Michael Moore tackles the toughest questions and problems. His newest film will be free to download on 9/23. I hope it inspires you to vote [Democrat/Change/Our Future]!

Kudos to Code Pink

Thank you to Code Pink peace demonstrators who were able to get in to the Republican National Convention during McCain's and Palin's speeches. Appropriate since McCain has said we can be in Iraq for the next 100 years. Why did the media barely cover this? I was watching PBS and they briefly flashed to it but did not comment on it. Republicans haven't banned free speech yet, have they?

Check out this video.

Today's toy

I am liking the clean look of the Google Chrome browser, but so far it is not revolutionary. If there is a speed increase, I haven't really noticed. Supposedly you no longer need plugins (such as flash updates). I haven't seen a way to use add-ins, which is the best thing about Firefox (can you say Flash blocking?).

The Palin timebomb

Just when you think you've seen it all, politicians turn around and
make things even more freaky. Here's my top ten list for why Palin
is a bad choice for VP and Presidential backup. In no particular
order:

1. She's a fine example for the failed policies of abstinence-only
programs and no sex-ed for young people.

2. "Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that
the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task
that is from God."" (AP) Sounds like the medieval crusades? War is
not glorious or righteous.

3. "Palin has never ordered Alaska National Guard to do anything."
(McClatchy Newspapers). She has no foreign policy experience since
National Guards fall under the control of the Feds when they are
mobilized outside the state and even sometimes within the state.

4. She thinks creationism should be taught in schools. The Bush
administration has done enough to undermine the public's trust in
science. Let's rebuild the importance of science and facts as cited
by experts and teach students only what can be scientifically explored and contested.

5. She is willing to restrict a woman's right to choose, even in
times of rape or medical necessity. No one thinks abortion is a
good thing, but for those who are against it, they should first
create systems to educate people about safe sex, provide
contraception, and create systems to support mothers who do not
want to keep the child.

6. Her hand is in the back pocket of the oil industry. Why keep
ourselves chained to old, polluting technology? New wells won't
produce oil for years and will forever change pristine land.
Conservation will take effect immediately and will save far more
energy in the long run.

7. She's no reformer. Out of all the states, Alaska lavishes in
pork-barrel spending and each resident gets hansome payouts from
the oil industry. She has supported both of these.

8. She's got little experience. She participated in local
government of a town of < 10,000 residents. And she's been governor
for less than two years of Alaska--the 3rd smallest state. Its
population of < 700,000 is smaller than most mid-sized cities. Add zero foreign policy experience, she's not qualified to be president if the old man turns for the worse. (Going by the Social Security Admin's statistics, a man of 72 has a 1 in 3 chance of not seeing his 80th birthday).

9. Cronyism. She is under investigation for trying to have people fired because of family turmoil. Since word of her nomination, more money has been pumped in to bolster her defense.

10. Lightning rod. There are so many things wrong with this pick, and the zealots are so feverishly rallying behind the single issue of abortion (wait, didn't they used to be against premarital sex? why are they celebrating it now?), no one is talking about McCain or the larger issues that are out there.

Let me work on others...with this time bomb it's only a matter of time before more turns up!

Sunset @ Dunn Cove...

...and sunrise

White on white

Flipping through channels and caught a bit of the Republican National Convention. Hello, sea of older white men! There are women in the mix, too, but they are also very, very white. It is shocking when compared to the DNC last week--that audience was made up of men and women in all shapes, colors, sizes, gay & straight.

So the non-verbal message from the RNC: If you don't look like US, you don't belong.

Happy Birthday...

...John McCain. You're 72 years old today, which is WAY too old to be president of this country.

Let's welcome youth, energy, change...

DNC week

I'm watching quite a bit of the Democratic National Convention this week. What an exciting time to welcome our first black [future] president. Why pick one word to describe the DNC?

...Inclusive, Inspiring, Strong, Progressive, Exciting, Empowering, Youthful, Uplifting, Visionary, Hopeful, Winning...

Add your own!

Why won't he just go away?

I always thought Lieberman was a terrible running mate in 2000...too conservative for the Democratic Party (like on censorship and being pro-war). And now he's speaking at the RNC? WTF? Hello, Connecticut, you need to get rid of this dude!

While visiting family in Buffalo NY, we all went to Beaver Island State Park to hang out for the day. It has a pretty nice beach on the Niagara River (which runs between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario). We came here sometimes when I was young and I remember it fondly.

Niagara

Marc and I went up to NF again so we could enjoy it during summertime. Pics of the rapids leading to the American Falls, the center of the bi-national Rainbow Bridge, and the Horseshoe Falls.

O's

This is what I'll be doing the next two weeks. The Olympics opened to grand pageantry last night. The technology used to display China's cultural history was pretty amazing. Still, I'm not as excited about these Olympics as I have been about Games in the past. China is a polarizing nation, and though the Games shouldn't be politicized, I'm disappointed with China's reneging on several key promises that were a requirement for their win of the Olympic bid. These key issues are improving the environment, political/religious freedoms, and opening up the media.

Shots from around my parents' gardens outside Buffalo, NY. A nice respite from DC summers.

McSame

The last eight years have sucked for the environment, economy, and our deficit, among many other things. Vote for change in 2008.

Tennis

My new racquet came today! Head radical. And it's orange!

My friends and I headed for the beach this weekend. Fun and sun! Lots of waves! Marc, Randi, and Seth. Also Roger, inspecting the wildlife.