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April 30, 2005

Out Front on HIV

I'm glad to see that the Strib is still covering the story involving Rep Emmer and his bill to eliminate state funding for MAP. This story in particular really highlights all of the efforts MAP has made over the last 22 years.

Bravo, Strib & Warren Wolfe!

Story reprinted below because articles on the Strib website expire.

Article reprinted from the Star Tribune.

Out front on HIV

Warren Wolfe
May 1, 2005

For a decade, Minnesota's war against AIDS has relied literally on hand-to-hand combat -- activists from the Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP) handing out thousands of condoms in gay bars and urging sexual caution.

Now AIDS workers say that troubling new trends are forcing them to take the fight into far more challenging combat zones.

More gay and bisexual men have found the Internet to be a new meeting ground for anonymous and unprotected sex, fueled by rising use of the drug crystal methamphetamine. And the rate of HIV, which leads to AIDS, is rising among heterosexual African immigrants.

Prevention has slowed the AIDS epidemic in Minnesota since new HIV cases peaked at 367 in 1992. But for the past decade the number of new cases has stayed stubbornly around 300 a year.

"We're concerned that with these new problems, the HIV numbers may go up," said Tracy Sides, an AIDS epidemiologist at the state Health Department.

MAP's challenge grew more complicated Friday when the House passed a budget bill excluding it from Health Department funding. The cut was proposed by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, who said he objected to sexually explicit language on a MAP website.

"It's ironic," said Lorraine Teel, MAP's executive director, "that some people think it's OK to use sex to sell cars and soap, but not HIV prevention."

One of the MAP foot soldiers entering the new AIDS battlefront is Andy Ansell, a k a PozAnswerMan, who cruises Internet chat rooms. That's where men can hook up for PNP -- short for "party and play," or unprotected sex, often including drug use.

Another is Dori Makundi, who teaches African-born men and women about the risks of unprotected heterosexual sex.

"Our traditional face-to-face contact in gay bars has been tremendously successful," Teel said. MAP trains and sponsors the crews that last year handed out about 120,000 condoms. "New infections have been kept in check."

"But the world is changing, and so are we," Teel said.

With 60 employees and about 1,400 volunteers, the 22-year-old MAP is the state's oldest and largest nonprofit agency fighting HIV and AIDS. It uses a wide range of education, counseling, disease testing, legal help and social services, state health officials say.

Since Minnesota's first case, reported in 1982, HIV has infected 7,547 Minnesotans. Of those, 2,697 have died.

New drugs since 1995 help people with AIDS live longer. But the dark side of that success, officials say, has been a more relaxed view of the risk of HIV.

"Too many of my patients see HIV as just another chronic disease," said Dr. Keith Henry, an AIDS researcher and a physician at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Cruising for trouble

For the past four months, Ansell has spent most weekdays from 3 to 5 p.m. visiting two gay-oriented chat rooms on the Internet.

With national surveys showing that about 55 percent of gay men don't always use condoms, Ansell counsels men about the risks of specific sexual practices and helps those with HIV cope with the disease.

"A lot of people just don't know enough about how to stay safe," he said, his fingers flying as he juggled two online conversations with gay men.

Ansell, HIV-positive for 18 years, is a health education coordinator with a MAP program called Positive Link, begun by men with HIV to help others cope with the disease.

MAP staff members say the online contacts appear to be more open and honest than those made by the condom crews in gay bars.

"In the bars, we get five seconds with somebody," said Keith Pederson, a coordinator with another MAP program, PrideAlive. "But online, in the privacy of their home or office cubicle, people get right to the point, a real teaching moment."

Internet outreach is becoming increasingly important, said Kip Beardsley, state AIDS director at the Health Department. "To connect with communities of people at risk of HIV, you have to be where they are."

Online inquirers typically are polite, grateful and graphically explicit.

"If you expect to communicate with high-risk groups about sexually transmitted diseases, you have to talk the language -- body parts, sex practices and all," Ansell said.

Some legislators such as Emmer say some explicit language in AIDS prevention work is gratuitous and childish. The health budget bill passed by the House would require state-funded AIDS prevention work to avoid sexually explicit language. And it would eliminate MAP's Health Department funding, which totals 10 percent of the nonprofit's $4.4 million annual budget.

The Senate health bill does not include HIV spending restrictions. MAP lobbyists expect them to be proposed in amendments on the Senate floor.

Neither the PrideAlive program nor the material that disturbed Emmer receives state money, but Emmer said any use of sexually explicit language by MAP shows that it "can't be trusted to do the job right."

Condoms in bars

The core of the fight against AIDS remains face-to-face work with gay and bisexual men, who account for about 60 percent of all HIV cases.

Dampened by drizzle, Pederson and his crew dodged from bar to bar in downtown Minneapolis one recent Friday night, dispensing smiles and protection against HIV.

Amid the din of music and voices in the Saloon, volunteer Nick Hahn connected with bar patron Jonathan Schulze just long enough for Schulze to grab a few condoms from the proffered tray and smile in thanks.

"Everybody says he's HIV-negative. Maybe so, but man, I never take a chance," said Schulze, 26, waving a packaged condom for emphasis. "I'm always protected."

Like most AIDS prevention workers, those working the bars try to encourage safer sex, not safe sex.

"We talk about all types of protection, including abstinence. But the minute we start preaching, we lose them," said Pederson, 44. "We're talking about risk management."

The fight against HIV probably won't end, he said, at least not until scientists develop drugs to kill the disease.

"People take risks, and most younger guys never went through the years of losing dozens of friends to AIDS," he said. "It's too easy to get complacent."

"That's why we need to be out here -- on the streets, on the Internet, in the African community -- reminding people to think: Don't take drugs that blur your judgment, use protection with sex, and for heaven's sake, don't hesitate to ask for help."

Work with Africans

HIV prevention work is harder among new immigrants from Africa, where AIDS has killed millions. Cultural, religious and social differences among those new Minnesotans make sex and HIV difficult topics.

"You can't overestimate the stigma of AIDS in the African-born community," said Sides, the AIDS epidemiologist.

African immigrants are about 1 percent of Minnesotans, but last year they accounted for 20 percent of the new HIV cases, more than half of them women.

"For many of them, sex is very private, something you don't talk about," Sides said. "Even starting the conversation is difficult, let alone convincing people to be tested for HIV."

Makundi is trying to break through those cultural barriers with a new MAP program called the African Service Initiative.

"First we want to help more people get in for HIV testing," said Makundi, who came from Tanzania eight years ago.

Most immigrants are not familiar with health screenings. "In Africa, you go to the doctor when you are sick. So people think if you get an HIV test, it must mean you already have AIDS and are dying," she said.

"We have to convince people that it's safe to talk, to be tested and to get help, whether you test negative or positive," Makundi said. "We're crossing these barriers one client at a time."

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April 28, 2005

Miscelaneous Entry

Addicting game to waste your day away.

Locate actual cell phone towers!
Sprint
TMobile
Verizon (though not as cool as the other two)

Fiddy-cent jewelry that's hipper than hip.

Make your own DVR - I'm just enough of a geek that I may try this ;-)

Somebody took it up the poop-shooter ...

Let it Be is closing down it's retail location, but will continue on the 'net - read on:

Open email from Let It Be owner Ryan Cameron:

When I was a kid, my mom used to tell people that I learned how to read off the labels of the 45s my older brothers had passed on to me. While it did not provide an extensive vocabulary, by the age of 5 I certainly knew who the Beatles were and their song titles. Later I progressed to LPs (again, passed on) that I wore out beyond recognition with that cheap little phonograph that my parents had bought for me. I was hooked and I never turned back.

Music has always been the background to my life. I knew when I was young that I wanted to work in a record store, and just after turning 16, I was. I wound my way through, working at various stores, knowing that someday I would own one of my own. In 1987, my dream came true. I've always strived to have the best store possible. Over the years, many co-workers have passed through the doors (Paulie, Sam, RIP). I credit them, as much as myself, for making our store a success over these years. And of course our customers who have supported us in surviving retail for 18 years.

Over the past 5 years, the music industry has changed dramatically. What did not change was our desire to maintain a great store despite the changes. Music was always our concern. No bongs, incense, refrigerators, etc. Just music. Who knows how the music world will change in the future, but there will ALWAYS be great music. There will always be great record stores (virtual or brick and mortar). Independent record stores are the lifeblood of the industry. I encourage anyone reading this to support indie stores, as they are ground zero for the music community.

Let It Be Records will be closing our doors on or around June 15th. A redevelopment of our block has led me to the decision of whether to relocate the store, and I have decided not to do so. There are many reasons for my choice, some personal, some business, but it is my choice. Even if we stayed until the full length of our lease next year, I had already made the decision not renew it. I've owned the store for almost half my life, and feel I really need to change gears. I will be concentrating on my mail order business of rare vinyl and CDs, based at www.letitbe.com. My co-workers will go on shaping the local music scene in their own ways. Many are DJs who spin their musical favorites regularly.

Thanks again to all the customers over the years, all my co-workers, the bands/musicians who have supported our store with in-store performances, my parents & family, my wife Kellie (owner of Via's Vintage Wear-24th & Hennepin), and my dear departed dog Calvin. I couldn't have, and wouldn't have done it without you.

Let It Be,
Ryan Cameron
Owner

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April 25, 2005

Google ads oopsies

I tend to use the word "Republican" too often in my posts. I say this because Google is always serving up ads targetted at Republicans. Case in point is this ad that appeared today. Apparently 'college republicans' are so worthless they're auctioning them off to the highest bidder! Somebody quick - call Dubya and tell him there's a clearance sale!

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April 24, 2005

Republicans targetting M.A.P.

M.A.P. is a state-level nonprofit organization that's been active in the community since 1983. Their website at www.mnaidsproject.org states their mission as:

Our mission is to lead Minnesota's fight to stop HIV and enhance the well-being of those affected.

Pretty admirable if you ask me.

I know some of the folks involved over there and they're a great group. They've raised more money for AIDS causes than any other person or group in this state. They are wherever they are needed, whenever they are needed.

Now they're being targetted by a republican legislator - Rep. Tom Emmer, (R-Delano) wants to cut the anual state funding of $425,000 because he doesn't agree with two pieces of the literature they're publishing.

The literature in question are two zines published by Pride Alive - a project of M.A.P. that is funded through private donations.

The zines are called Shameless and Outsight. Both publications are available in print and online.

I've said it before, and I'll stress this again - I'm no political expert. I don't know the ins and outs of how 'the system' works. But I do know that M.A.P. is a wonderful organization where people work not for the nonprofit-sized paychecks, but for those they are helping. I believe this is just another example of the Republican party targetting homosexuals.

This is shameless. People are fucking dieing here, and they want to take away the little money that M.A.P. is provided because they don't agree with some of the literature? The literature is targetted at the folks who are at-risk for the disease - do you expect them to print biblical passages? (NOTE: I'm not knocking the bible, just using a hypothetical example)

For the facts, see the StarTribune article. Since the S'trib's articles tend to expire after a few weeks, I've copied and pasted it's content in below.

Irked legislator targets AIDS-prevention funds

Warren Wolfe, Star Tribune
April 23, 2005

The website is at www.pridealive.org. The material may not be appropriate for all audiences.

A Minnesota legislator who said he was "shocked and disgusted" by explicit language on a gay-outreach website has won approval in a House committee to eliminate all Health Department funding for the state's largest AIDS-prevention program.

A measure sponsored by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, would end $425,000 in funding for the Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP). It would forbid state funding for "websites, pamphlets, or other communications that contain sexually explicit images or language." The bill next goes to the House floor.

Emmer said he objected to language and images in articles on the website of Pride Alive, a program sponsored by MAP that targets gay and bisexual men. The articles were from two Pride Alive magazines, Shameless and Outsight, published in printed and electronic forms.

While defending the website language, MAP said Friday that no state money is used for the Pride Alive project or its magazines, which are supported by private donations, a distinction noted on the Pride Alive site.

"The language is appropriate for the gay and bisexual audience it's aimed at, written with language that communicates directly with them," said Amy Weiss, MAP spokeswoman.

State Health Commissioner Aggie Leitheiser said her department is talking with House members about Emmer's amendment to the Health Department budget bill. "MAP has been a pretty good partner for us, doing things we can't do. But as far as sexually explicit language, I'm not sure what that means."

Said Emmer: "I'm not trying to change anybody's lifestyle. People can do whatever they want. I just don't think state money should be used for this childish and offensive language."

Emmer said he hasn't talked with Health Department officials about his concerns, and he isn't sure how to define inappropriate sexual language. "Maybe that's a role for the [Health] commissioner," he added.

Health officials said the department's review committee has approved AIDS-prevention material supported with public money, based on federal guidelines.

"There is a role for language that may be jarring for some people, and which is appropriately targeted to specific risk groups," said Kip Beardsley, the department's AIDS director. "But we don't pay for that."

Losing Health Department funding would cut the MAP budget by about 10 percent, including money for the state AIDS hot line, HIV testing clinics and HIV prevention outreach programs, said Lorraine Teel, MAP executive director.

"This amendment is telling us to shut up, and we won't shut up," she said. "We are doing important public health work to protect Minnesotans

Emmer, an attorney, said he might be persuaded to restore some MAP money but not to change the prohibition against sexually explicit language because "it's just plain wrong."

Warren Wolfe is at wolfe@startribune.com.

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April 23, 2005

Valentine's Day Eve, part four

Continued from Valentine's Day Eve, part trois.

I settled into my room with a book I had brought - Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. My room being directly outside of the common area made it easy to hear what was going on with the rest of the gang, who had mostly settled there.

I was too shy, too scared to socialize with them at this point. So, I hid with my book, in my room, pretending to read, on my plastic-sheeted-two-inch-thick mattress.

10:30 came around before too long - bed time, with lights-out coming at 11:00. Mike and Jeff, my two roommates came in and shut the door. They each took up residence on their respective beds, acting as if this was home to them - their behavoirs showed no signs of anxiety or abnormality - they were quite at home in this situation.

Mike rested on his side, head propped up with one arm, flipping through a magazine. Jeff laid on his stomach over a pillow, legs bent up at the knees, thumbing a magazine.

I had never seen either of these two in my life, but here I was sharing a room with them in a poorly constructed alcohol treatment center for the gays - in Eden Prarie, MN - rated the highest income per capita of all of the metro area suburbs. Of course we were tucked in the back of town next to the Simon Delivers distribution center.

Mike had unkempt longer black hair. He looked to be right out of That '70s Show, and most certainly a stoner, as he barely embodied a bit of energy.

Jeff on the other hand, was full of energy. His legs kicked back and forth in the air and he was thumbing through the magazine quite quickly - clearly not reading any of the editorials, but perhaps stopping for a second or two on pages that contained ads for some pseudo-steroid protein powder.

Jeff broke the silence by asking, "So, what's your drug of choice?" It rattled off his tongue so fast and with such practice, that he must have asked it numerous times before this.

"Um, alcohol I guess."

"How old are you," he responded back almost before I finished my response to his previous question.

"Twenty-four."

"Do you have a boyfriend," again so fast I imagined he had a repertoire of questions he rattled off to every new-comer he ran across.

"No."

"How many times have you been in treatment?"

"Um, none. This is my first time. How many times have you been in treatment?" I asked, rather puzzled by the question.

"This is my third time," he responded, as if three weren't that many times.

"You know the success rate is only 1 in 10 for treatment? Even less for gay people."

This was an interesting turn in the conversation. First he drills me with questions, asks me if I have a boyfriend, presumably to see if I'm available, and then throws this at me after finding out this is my first visit to treatment? I was really put off by him - why would he tell me this on my first night in treatment?

"How do they measure success rate?" I was truly curious.

"By the number of people who are still sober a year after treatment." he reported.

Ben was still casually perusing his magazine, head propped up on one arm that had to be close to falling asleep on him. Not a peep out of him yet.

"Do you wanna play Attack Uno?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know what Attack Uno is, but sure - I don't think I'm going to be able to fall asleep anytime soon." I reluctantly agreed.

"Oh, you should ask the nurse for some Trazadone - they hand it out like candy around here. That'll knock you out! They start you out at half a pill, but I'm up to two a night."

"You're kidding me! Aren't they supposed to get people off drugs and alcohol here?" I was astonished.

"Yeah, but lots of folks have been passing out for years by drinking. You take away the booze and they can't sleep, so many of us end up taking sleeping medication."

"Mike, you in?" Jeff asked.

"Uh, yeah, uh, sure," Mike sort of semi-mummbled back, as he slowly moved to the floor.

We gathered in a circle on the floor and played Attack Uno for the next hour or so, after which we all took back to our beds.

I learned that Jeff was in treatment because he'd been ordered here by the court system after the police had raided his house, taken everything, and he was likely facing jail time. He was 25 years old and had amassed the beginnings of a career in sales.

Mike was only 19 and from New Jersey. His parents had pretty much disowned him unless he cleaned up his act. So much so that after he graduated from his last treatment center in New York, they sent him to Minnesota to continue treatment. When he graduated from this program they weren't going to let him return home until he stayed sober for a few months after treatment.

I laid in bed that night staring at the ceiling. There were green glow-in-the-dark star stickers placed on the white drop-ceiling panels. Everytime I moved the plastic sheet creaked, and I found myself moving a lot because after settling in any one position for very long my ass would sink through the mattress to rest on the hard plywood beneath it.

I worried about what was going to happen over the next few weeks. What I would be returning to at home? Would my roommate abandon me? What would work think? How would my family react? Would I have any friends now that I would quit drinking? What was involved in this whole treatment thing? So many questions, and nothing I could do about it. I was definately not in control of this situation.

All that, and they had taken my cell phone away from me.

To be
continued ...

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Prank calls to Moe's Tavern

Hugh Jass
Pat Magroin
Holden Magroin
Amanda Hugginkiss
Mike Rotch
Phil McCrackin
Wayne King
Ivana Tinkle
Anita Bath
Oliver Klosoff
Bea O’Problem
Seymour Butts
I.P. Daily
Homer Sexual
Al Coholic
Jacque Strap

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April 22, 2005

Flaming drama queens

You know the type - flaming drama queens who love gossip and make a big deal out of the smallest little things in an effort to live in an imaginary Melrose Place.

Sorta gives the saying, "My mouth is on fire" a whole new meaning.

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April 21, 2005

Sharing sex toys

I think the business model behind Netflix is pure genius, which is probably why it caught on so quickly, and eventually forced Blockbuster to follow suit.

... but now this company is also following in Netflix's steps! You subscribe to their service for $20 / month. Then you order away ... Here are some of the items they offer:

• Dildos (numerous varieties and sizes)
• Vibrating butt plug
• Art Deco Vibrating Butt Plug
• Ravenous Rabbit
• Anal Mini Tongue Vibrator
• Impulse Jack Rabbit

WOW. I'm not sure what else to say. I'd never consider letting my roommate use my anal beads - why would I let a complete stranger?

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April 19, 2005

Mixed feelings

I just got back from The Firm, where I haven't been on a regular basis for the last couple of weeks.

... err, I mean months

... or, I mean half-years

Okay, so I've been a couple of times since last Thanksgiving, but not many.

I feel great, in that post-workout sorta way. But at the same time I feel like I could die. I could barely get down the protein shake. I really miss working out all the time. You get such an energy rush, contribute to an all-around healthy lifestyle, endorphins are pumping, and you just feel so much better about yourself.

Then why is it that it's so easy to fall out of the habbit of going? I've gone through these cycles several times in life. But I had a pretty good go at it this last time around. I was at that gym at least four times a week for a year, and then poof - I stopped. What's up with that? Thinking back on it, I think it started when I got pretty sick around Thanksgiving. Some virus that knocked me out for a few days had disallowed me from going, and then I was 'recovering' and then I was 'catching up on work' and the excuses and rationalizations for not going kept coming. And pretty soon people stopped asking why they hadn't seen me at the gym, and I no longer needed to make excuses.

This story is starting to sound familiar ...

Thank Gawd Dallas is on shortly.

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April 18, 2005

Another biggie is on the fritz

What's up with the 'net these days? The other day the MS Office website was on the fritz, and now Blogger! Granted, Blogger tends to have a bit of a reputation for this stuff, but it's owned by Google - presumably, one of the most reliable websites in the nether ... so what's up with this?

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April 17, 2005

Nice, Microsoft, nice

I guess it happens to the largest of websites. I snapped this screen grab last week - it was a weekday in the middle of the afternoon:

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April 16, 2005

MMMMmmmm ... Lunch!

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I love Anderson Cooper

Do you think he'll ever come out of the closet?

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April 14, 2005

... of mosquitos and rainbows

The date:Monday, April 11, 2005
The time: 8:00 pm
The place: My office
The incident:

The first mosquito of the season - ack!!!!

The date: Sunday, April 10, 2005
The time: Mid-afternoon
The place: Grant St, driving westbound between LaSalle and Marquette Ave's
The incident:

The first rainbow of the season! Check out the gallery as I chronicle the sighting over an entire two block span from the perspective of my driver's seat and to the annoyance of many nearly-missed pedestrians and delayed vehicles behind me :-)

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Republican state senator publicly comes out

I don't understand these folks. Republican gay guy who's FOR the ban on same sex marriage - WTF is that all about?!

Paul Koering is publicly outing himself after pictures of himself in a gay bar have surfaced online - apparently people are trying to force him out of the closet. A tactic I'm not sure I agree with, but in some instances, this being one of those instances, I certainly understand it.

A close friend of mine was hit on by this guy in a bar. My friend happens to be half this man's age. I have to ask myself - if you're against gay marriage, but you're still chasing after barely-legal tail, does that mean you're for random hookups? One-night stands. Sex outside of marriage? Are those sorts of behavoirs viewed positively in your conservative constituents eyes?

Photo and much of this post comes from the Star Tribune - read their article, too.

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April 11, 2005

Manic Mondays

Had a rather manic day - meaning I haven't had breakfast yet. Instead of bitching about it, I'm just going to recap some interesting things I've been exposed to today:

This little bugger is a wireless webcam. It'll stream video, snap pictures on a timer and email them to you, or just act as your regular webcam - except it's wireless so you can put the thing damned-near anywhere, within reach of an electrical outlet, anyhow. "No, I'm sorry, I don't know anything about the camera in the ceiling tiles above your shower. My Word, that's just awful - who could have done something so invasive?!" $200 retail. Read about it on Gizmodo.

Victoria Gotti is my new favorite pastime. Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet, tune into Growing Up Gotti on AETV. The rich and famous daughter of a mobster serial killer turned single-mom / gossip columnist. She's got the house on Long Island and my fantasy job. She's a total nutjob and she's fabulous - I love her.

And speaking of AETV - have you seen Dog The Bounty Hunter? It's a hillarious show about a white-trash family of convicts turning do-gooders. They've cleaned up their act and now make their livings as bounty hunters - and let me tell you, I wouldn't mind one of "The Dog's" nephew/helpers pinning me to the ground and slapp'n on the cuffs.

And this is way too cool - this guy somehow merged the real estate and rental listings from craigslist and Google Maps to make one tool that you can browse real estate and rentals from a map view - VERY FUCKING COOL. And can I just say again how much I love Google Maps? Thanks.

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April 10, 2005

Ouch

I paid $32.01 to fill up my VW Jetta today. I'm not talking a big-honk'n Hummer or Suburban. I'm talking a regular every gay boy on the planet drives one VW JETTA! I only put about 12.5 gallons in the thing!

Maybe my next car should be a hybrid? The Prius is cool, but a little akward looking.

The Civic is neat - and it looks like a real car, but probably a little small for me (same problem with the Jetta).

The Accord is just more money than I want to spend for an Accord.

The Toyota Highlaner would be awesome, but I'm not ready to drop $40,000 on transportation!

The Ford - um, well ... it's a Ford.

Then there's diesel - the Passat is offered with a diesel engine, but I'm afraid it's probably just too slow for my tastes - that and it's noisy and puffs black smoke out the rear.

The Jeep Liberty is now offerred with a diesel, but it's a Liberty, and only women drive them.

What's a girl to do?

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Free iBook my ass!

Ok, so a while back I put up a link and image in my sidebar advertising a free ibook. It was some scheme I ran across on somebody else's blog and I said I would try it out and report back on my findings.

Well ... here's what I found:

NOTHING

The gist of it was this:

1. Sign up for a free iBook
2. Complete one of several online offers - some of these costed money, others were free.
3. Get 18 other people to sign up for their free iBook and successfully complete an offer - same offers mentioned above in step two.

That's it - sounds easy, right? Well here's what my experience was:

I signed up for a credit card offer. I was approved and they sent me a new card. Then I went back to the website to see if my status was changed from 'not having completed an offer' to 'having completed an offer.' It had not changed - the site was still showing that I needed to complete an offer in order to be elligable for my free iBook. I checked the FAQs, which stated it sometimes takes a couple of weeks for your offer to show up as having been completed.

So I waited.

One month later my offer "still had not been completed." What a joke. So I began reading through the FAQs again and noticed there was a manual option to click if "you had completed an offer, but it wasn't being reflected on the website." So I clicked that, was prompted as to which offer I completed, I specified my offer, and nothing happened.

So I waited another month.

In the meantime five other folks had signed up with the program through my link. Mysteriously none of them had completed offers either.

It's now been about 3 months since I completed my offer. During that time I've just become frustrated with it, and it's 12k extra that my blog visitors have to download with the iBook image. I've now removed the image and given up any hopes of my free iBook. Ah well, I guess I'll be sticking with PCs ... the Gods don't like Macs :-)

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April 08, 2005

Blogger recover feature

To my friends in the nether using Blogger for their posting habbits, you know how frustrating it is to take the time composing a post, only to hit submit and get an error - now your post is gone.

A couple of days ago, Blogger announced a "recover" feature that auto-saves your entry as you type. Good news here.

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Neverland

Jacko's Neverland Ranch, courtesy of Google Maps.

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April 07, 2005

Dallas

I grew up watching Dallas every Friday night, followed by Falcon Crest. Angela Channing was never quite as sinister as JR Ewing, so I usually fell asleep during the latter, with my parents dragging me to bed.

Even though I can't imagine I understood much of the show, I always enjoyed watching the Ewings and the Barnes duke it out.

Today I'm blessed with the miracle of channel 46 - a.k.a. SoapNet. The months after I was laid off from my first job I saw the entire run of Knot's Landing.

Tonight's 11:00pm (central time) airing of the Dallas 2nd season finalle was another blessing - as the original viewing of the "Who Shot JR" episode was on the air when I was but one year old.

God, thank you for Dallas.

I was doing a little research and came across a wonderful site - UltimateDallas.com. It's got everything Dallas-related you can ever want for. They even have video clips, including the JR shooting scene. And did you know? There's talk of a Dallas film for the big screen by the show's original creator, David Jacobs?!

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April 05, 2005

Sleeping with the enemy

Dustin has been sleeping with the enemy:

You'd never guess he works in retail, would yah?

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There's been a murder

I just walked in the door this evening around 9:00pm. I grabbed a few chicken breasts out of the freezer and threw them into the microwave to thaw. That's when I noticed it - the clue.

My mind started racing - should I open the door, or run and get Dustin? Could I bear it alone? I decided to brave it. I opened the cabinet.

"Ackkkk!!!" I screamed. Dustin came running from his bedroom. What could have happened? That's when we spotted the culprit.

After performing numerous examinations to determine the meat of the crime, I noticed the most horrifying thing:

This was most definately Dustin's doing.

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April 04, 2005

Blog buttons

I came across a neat online tool that allows you to build blog buttons - you know those little 80x15 pixel images that link to other sites like I have listed in my sidebar? It's called the "Button Maker" and I just LOVE it! Here's a button I made for my site:

Now go make your own!

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Ballerina Barbie and ... Tulips?

Spent much of the day cleaning house, doing chores, and paying bills. The stuff I don't really care to do, but have to do in order to keep my life somewhat sain. I decided I'd spruce up my activities by taking a few snapshots of a couple of gifts I received for my birthday: Ballerina Barbie and some flowers - I think Tulips, but I'm not a master gardener, so I'm not quite sure. More photos in the gallery.

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April 02, 2005

Sharing the stage

Your host, Sparkles, shared the stage at First Avenue with a group of coworkers in the agency's annual spoof on the 70's Gong Show.

It's an annual agency tradition to put this show on. Everyone who started during the year must participate in an act of some sort. My group decided on the YMCA.

While on stage I imagined myself as Prince, as this was the very stage he filmed Purple Rain on. In fact, in his early days he performed here all the time. So there I was, acting the princ(ess) amongst a group of village people.

This is us backstage, right before we're due to go onstage.

More photos of the event are in the gallery.

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Another viral marketing campaign

Another viral marketing campaign, presumably run by CPB ... at least that's who runs the mini's ads and the domain name is registered to a guy living on the beach down there ;-) I actually met Mr. Boguski at an event one time. He was being mauled by all of these junior account types trying to work their way into his pants, so I went up and just started chatting with him. As soon as we were out of earshot he thanked me saying, "That's exactly what I needed, dude."

I stumbled across this site after seeing a TV spot to order the DVD. Haven't explored the site in too much depth, but it's a funny concept. Sorta like a satire on viral marketing because it's obviously got some money behind it if they're running a flip'n TV spot.

Thought you all might get a kick out of it.

From CounterfeitMini.com

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