Something Random

Mercutio

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ddrueding said:
I was forced to dump someone only to be promptly dumped for a completely new reason.

David, how the FUCK do you get involved with two different human beings in so short a span of time?

Seriously. Impart your wisdom.
 

mubs

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i said:
I read a book once.

It was blue.
Reminds me of a joke my Irish friend told me years ago. This Irish farmer walks over to his neighbor's and finds him working underneath his vehicle. "I'm going into town, need anything?", he asks. After a moment comes the reply, "Yeah, get me a fan belt. For a blue van".
 

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Mercutio said:
ddrueding said:
I was forced to dump someone only to be promptly dumped for a completely new reason.

David, how the FUCK do you get involved with two different human beings in so short a span of time?

Seriously. Impart your wisdom.

I think the trick is to stay in practice. 80% of my friends (4 of 5) are female. And I at least make an opening pass on every (seemingly) single, moderatly attractive person I meet in a social environment. I'm a fairly anti-social person, if I didn't make myself, I wouldn't do it at all. Considering who I'm hanging out with, it's not that difficult to have 4 or 5 choices a night. Typaically I give the conversation about 10 minutes, and if it's managed to go anywhere interesting, I give her a second screening. Second screenings typically involve advanced thought and continued discussion; chess, othello, or go, while continuing the conversation. This shows whether they are being honest about their interest in the topics we're discussing.

Stage three is the most fun. Typically starts with a casual brush of the knee that maintains contact and increases in pressure slightly while maintaining eye contact. If she's not interested, it's easy enough for her to move her leg and break eye contact. Here's where you have the chance to be a jerk. If she does both, back off and get out without further advances. If she does one or the other, repeat second screening and try again. If she presses back with her knee and keeps eye contact, take her home...you won.

But I should be talking, I'm currently nearly single with only a week til my birthday :(
 

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I've got pretty much everything from both Niven & Heinlein. They're my two favorite SF authors. I also pick up John Varley works and a few others. Beyond the circle of authors I regularly read, though, I admit that it's tough for me to give a new author a try; I'm very stuck in my ways. But in general I love Niven & Heinlein's works. Some aren't as good as others, but they almost all have something interesting (and not necessarily flattering) to say about mankind.

I cut my SF teeth on Niven's A World Out of Time back in 8th grade. Moved on to Ringworld (and all of the sequels). Read all the N-Space stuff, Gil the Arm, Draco Tavern, Pak Protectors, Puppeteers, Kzinti, etc. Good stuff. I've read the side-trips into Dream Park and the worlds of Mana (The Magic Goes Away, etc.). I liked the DP books but wasn't as in to Niven's fantasy constructs.

I think Niven & Pournelle summed up Heinlein nicely with the treatment they gave him in Footfall. And the posthumous Grumbles from the Grave gave some interesting insight into the man. I recently picked up the paperback of Heinlein's never-before-published first novel For Us, the Living but haven't read it yet.
 

Mercutio

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Jerry Pournelle lost all appeal for me as an author the first time I read his column in the old version of Byte magazine. I was maybe 14 years old, but I knew enough to fix a broken computer.

I figured, if I can fix a computer at 14, and this dickwad can't even manage to work his word processor, but is qualified to write a headline column in a famous computer magazine, there's something wrong with the world.

He'd talk about the uber-expensive PCs he had (386s with 4MB RAM!) and how he'd call up the guy who wrote the Macro Interpreter for Wordperfect because WordPerfect wouldn't print right. Or something like that.

Then he'd namedrop all the famous and more talented people he was working with at the moment, and that would be his column.

This post from rec.humor.funny isn't exactly the same as one of his columns, but it's close enough for practical purposes.

post from rec.humor.funny said:
Parody Bit

Usees Column by
Gerry Pourwelle

When we finally got home from the monthly Rambling Writers Conference (this time in Djemaa-el-Fna), we found Fractal Manor's main hall shoulder deep in brand-new state-of-the-art totally free computer hardware and software for me to check out. Drat. I'll never get around to most of it, of course, and probably will end up dumpstering 90% or more. What I really need to properly handle all of the wonderful things companies send me absolutely free to review and enjoy with no obligation whatsoever on my part, is a trash compactor.

I thought I'd start by reconfiguring my main computer, the Hyena 986SXDXMCMXCIV. Right now the sectors on the hard disk run clockwise, but I heard a rumor that you can squeeze 0.2% more throughput by running them counterclockwise. It's worth the effort. Recommended.

I slid the shrink-wrap off version 7.126 of DiskMember Gold (I know, you thought I'd never upgrade from version 4.79, especially after all my bad-mouthing of versions 5.33 and 6.02, but what can I say? Only a Corinthian drinks kevis in a Veronese cantola.) and fired it up. No joy. I reread the documentation to no avail, then scanned the whole manual in, OCRed it, spell- checked the file and uploaded it to BIX with a question mark appended.

While I waited for a response, I tried the software out on the TriskaDeck 1313. This is the machine Bill Gibson uses when we collaborate. It loaded fine and ran fine, but it seems to have automatically moved every hard disk sector to a random location and erased all the File Allocation Tables. Luckily I had backed up the entire hard disk to a CD-ROM with the new BitByter 7000 CD-ROM Mastering Deck (only $40,000 and worth every penny. Recommended.) so in only 6 more hours I was back where I started.

While the disk was humming, I checked BIX with the Niebelungen Valkyrie we keep in a corner for when Sandy Solzhenitsyn is here writing. No answers yet.

On the chance that he might have some insight, I buzzed Bill Gates. He mumbled something about it probably being a hardware problem before excusing himself. That seemed plausible.

I called Jan Toady, president of Hyena, who indicated that a helicopter of ground-assault technical assistants was hovering near Fractal Manor 24 hours a day and that all I had to do was give the word and they'd parachute in. (Based on my own experience, I think Hyena offers the best service in the business, and not just because I mention their products every month in my column which millions of avid computer buyers read either. I bet you'd get the same service I do. Recommended.) I chuckled and said I'd try to puzzle it out a little more myself. He said okay and then talked me into accepting a free laptop with holographic display and telepathic mouse. A nice guy.

I also got Mike Spindler, Lou Gerstner and Ross Perot on a conference call, but except for a few offers on tractor trailers full of new equipment they couldn't help me.

My wife Svetlana (whose reading program can teach anyone with a $3000 computer how to read, and which is now available for PC-compatibles, Apples, Macintoshes and the Cray XMP for only $49.95 plus shipping and sales tax where applicable, have your MasterCard or VISA card ready and call 1-800-555-1212, operators standing by 24 hours a day) stuck her head in to say Hi.

That gave me the idea to try calling my sons for help. Number one son Bud is now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but when I called him he was busy in the War Room with the Secretary of Defense and some darn nerve gas missile crisis. It's always something with those civilians. Second son Robbie was in the middle of performing emergency brain surgery on the President, but promised to get back to me when he had a breather. Chip was arguing a landmark civil rights case before the Supreme Court when he answered my beeper message, but he seemed to think it was hardware. That would confirm Bill Gates's idea, if you'll recall. It could be true. On the other hand, it could be false. On the gripping hand, it could be some combination of hardware and non-hardware. A tough call, any way you looked at it.

I must have caught youngest son Ernie in an aerobics class in his college dorm room, because he seemed to be having trouble breathing when I called, and I could hear a husky female voice in the background saying, "Don't stop." He only said, "Check the plug, Dad" and hung up. His comment started me thinking.

The Hyena has this long black wire sticking out the back that terminates in a plug-like connector. The plug has two parallel flat metal prongs, and a third round prong about half an inch below the midpoint of a line segment joining the two flat metal prongs, if you follow me. A little searching behind the desk where Jack Updike likes to work when he visits revealed an outlet in the wall with a corresponding arrangement of holes. It seemed too good to be true. I tried inserting the plug in the outlet. No joy. A quick call to Steve Hawking suggested that it was a space symmetry problem, and I rotated the plug 180 degrees and tried again. It slid home perfectly.

Well, I'm about out of room here now. Next month I hope to get to this big red switch located on the side of the Hyena. Close study of the manuals suggests that it is somehow related to the functioning of the plug in the outlet. I'll have the whole story for you in the next column, along with a report on the Jet- Setting Pen-Wielders Seminar in Montevideo.

This month's favorite game is still Checkers. There is something both deceptively simple and enticingly complex about this game that I have yet to master. Highly recommended.

The book of the month is Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, on CD-ROM with clips from Hercules Meets Godzilla. It's like being there.

Continent of the month is Australia. Give it a look.
 

Tannin

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Where do you dig this stuff up? That's more like Jerry than Jerry is.

I always used to enjoy reading his Byte column, but that was long before you were 14, Merc, and the hardware he used to talk about was completely foreign to me at that time. (We are talking state-of-the-art CPM machines, some of them with actual floppy disc drives! Yup, real bleeding-edge stuff that I wasn't to see in the flesh for another five years or so.

But it wasn't the machinery, let alone the information (or possibly misinformation) about it, just that the column always read well. Well, better than a lot of the other colums in the old Byte. I still have quite a few copies around the place somewhere. One has a major story on the front page about the absolute latest thing under development and due to hit the market Real Soon Now: 16 bit procesors. Yup, 16-bit! Wow!

PS: I've read one or two of Pournelle's books. Don't actually remember anything anbout them. Niven, of course, is another matter entirely. I've read nearly everything of Larry Niven's, much of it many times.
 

mubs

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That post from rec.humor.funny was hilarious, thanks for sharing it, Merc. I vaguely remember that Jerry's columns were indeed like that (only read a few, was never a big fan of the guy).

It's interesting how multiple conversations happen simultaneously in a single thread.
 

Buck

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Wow. This is a jolt from the past. The name Jerry Pournelle doesn't ring a bell, but the writing does. Son-of-a-gun, I read Byte when I started learning BASIC. After doing some searches on Google, some other nice articles are popping up, like Byte's interview with Steve Wozniak regarding the Apple I and Apple II; or an article on the 'new' MC68000 chip. I also found a brief computer history segment here.
 

Mercutio

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ddrueding said:
I think the trick is to stay in practice. 80% of my friends (4 of 5) are female. And I at least make an opening pass on every (seemingly) single, moderatly attractive person I meet in a social environment.

But I should be talking, I'm currently nearly single with only a week til my birthday :(

Don't feel too bad. I was in a stable relationship for seven years and, coming up on my 30th birthday, The 40 Year Old Virgin is only 10 years away from being autobiographical in my case. Yes, it's a funny, funny, funny movie that everyone should see. It's also more than a little depressing for some of us <cough>.

The next question is, how do you remain friends with all those girls after you've hit on everything that stood still long enough?

'Cause I'm picturing Marlin Perkins narrating something not unlike the interplay between a leopard and a gazelle on the African plain at the moment.
 

ddrueding

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The trick to not pissing everyone off is in the subtlety. It's imperative to find the correct balance so that if she's looking for something, she sees it, but if she isn't interested, she doesn't notice. The best one is if you note someone looking at you when glancing around a room, instead of looking for the typical half-second with maybe a nod; look for a full second and start a slight smile. If she's interested, she will start smiling and you should walk over there. If she doesn't smile or turns away, just move on. That was an opening pass that didn't piss off or embarrass anyone, you can get away with that all night and still not cause any drama. It helps of course to have a mild reputation as a harmless flirt, and if you can build into that reputation that you have shown a couple of the (non-tart) women a good night on the town in the past and not blabbed about it (that's the women's job). You are golden.

The important part is that the escalation is not a line, it's much more exponential. Once you catch them looking, there's no point in beating around the bush before talking to them and inviting them to sit next to you. Once you catch them checking you out, feel free to start physical contact at a very low level (see the knee manuver above). Once they are interested in physical contact, there is no point in not holding both their hands and looking into their eyes. -The next part you need to leave up to them and can hours.- Once they appear uncomfortable about all the people around, it's time to "get out of here".
 

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Tannin said:
Hmmm ... let me see.... Not in order, just as I think of them:
  • Lord of Light
  • Lord of the Rings
  • Glory Road
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
  • Protector, The World of Ptavs, and the Ringworld books
  • Anything by Gavin Lyall.
And also:
  • Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and sequels
  • Stranger in a Strange Land (not as keen on this as I was, but still)
  • The first Amber Series
  • Starship Troopers, Red Planet, Between Planets, various others from the man.
  • The Man Who Sold the Moon

    NB: These are things I loved when I was young and still love. I'm not listing what I have discovered since then, nor things that I used to think were brilliant and now don't. Just the things you can read at 10 or 15 and still read with equal pleasure when you are 110.

    They are a mixed bag. If you want a list of genuine outstanding literature from the above, I'd suggest:
    • Lord of Light
    • Lord of the Rings
    • Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    • The Man Who Sold the Moon

    These will all still be famous in 100 years.


  • Glory Road & The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Brilliant books. I liked Between Planets and Podkayne of Mars as well. Actually, the integration/growth of wireless & networks in general has been reminding me of Harsh Mistress for a few years now. Just because we think neural networks or fuzzy logic is the way to AI, doesn't mean it is the only

    </paranoia> :)

    And for Merc, I find it odd that he didn't like the Amber series, as I found echoes of Zelaznys style in his little pieces of prose he has posted here--the sardonic central character in particular.
 

Tannin

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Funny you should mention those two, Liam. Just yesterday I picked up Podkane of Mars, hesitated, started re-reading Between Planets instead. Perhaps that's why so many Heinlein titles popped into my head just now.

As for Merc and the Amber Series, the later ones are, in my opinion and in the opinion of most critics as well, clearly inferior to the first three, or perhaps first six. The second one, The Guns of Avalon, is a small masterpiece, IMO.

But in reality I rarely read fiction these days. Nearly everything I read now is non-fiction. And I seem to spend more time writing than reading.

Of course, there are those who claim that most of what I write is fiction, but that's another matter. :(
 

Mercutio

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Well, there's the little matter of your posts about nvidia graphics cards...

But the Amber books just didn't grab me. I think I might've waded through two of them before I gave up, but as I recall, I got to about page 10 of the third one and found that I just didn't CARE what happened. Honestly, other than that cute novel I mentioned, I haven't been motivated to read anything by Zelazny since. Give me an obtuse Philip K. Dick head-trip any day.

I have a ten page rule when reading fiction. If I can find anything worthwhile in the first ten pages of a novel, I'm not going to read the damned thing. Authors who have failed the 10 page rule: Thomas Hardy, Dickens and yes AC Doyle - I guess I hate #$%ing Victorians and man, reading those guys is proof there isn't a god - Zelazny, Silverberg, Herbert, all acclaimed SF authors, McMaster-Bujould and Mcaffrey are on a lower tier, but I don't like their stuff either - John Grisham, Stephen King, Dean Koontz (if you've read one of 'em you've read them all!) Patricia Cornwall, all popular authors whose books I've picked up in desperation.

I know Tannin has a fondness for Terry Prachett's discworld books. I've never seen more than two or three of them at any one time. I gather there are dozens.

I'm quite fond of Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series. I read "The Once and Future King" once a year or so. HP Lovecraft is always good for a lighthearted bit of fun.

I'll freely admit that I read science fiction, fantasy and my super hero comic books in preference to anything else. Every once in a while I'll pick up something modestly literate (TC Boyle) or a humorous memoir (David Sedaris).

I've never been fond of mysteries or detective fiction.
Mostly I read to escape. Things that are grounded in reality are unappealing.
 

tazwegion

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Reading is the ultimate form of escapism... personally I've read David Feintuch's Seafort Saga, which was interesting (but not by Merc's '10 page' standards :p), Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Douglas Adams etc. however I predominantly lean towards the naval fiction theme from such writers as Douglas Reeman (aka Alexander Kent), Dudley Pope, Dan Parkinson & various wartime novelists... preferring the 1700-1800's time line :aok:
 

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Interesting news article...I'm surprised they had to hold a gun to force him...unless they were hideous looking.

Or, he regretted it, and needed a good cover story.
 

tazwegion

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Sounds quite feasible Handruin as the old excuse "I was drunk... I didn't know what I was doing" doesn't seem to hold much weight anymore :roll: :lol:

Still on a serious note... women are seeming alot more aggressive these days, in their careers & on the road not to mention in relationships ;)
 

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Considering the nature of men, and the state a man has to be in before such things are possible, it seems he was either partially interested or was certainly able to perform under pressure...
 

Mercutio

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ddrueding said:
Considering the nature of men, and the state a man has to be in before such things are possible, it seems he was either partially interested or was certainly able to perform under pressure...

Oddly enough, one of the things I learned from my ex's partner (who was an enforcement officer of Chicago Department of Children and Family Services for several years) is that if women are aggressive enough, they can make it happen regardless of how the male feels about the subject. I don't want to get specific or anything, but, uh, turgidity is not an essential part of the equation like you think it is.

/gag

Anyway, I saw this today. For some reason it made me feel like a bigger-than-usual loser.
 

ddrueding

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Just finnished my birthday party. Yay. I'm not old enough to look back at my life and wonder what I've done with it (though I'm sure that's coming), I am however old enough to look at my life now and wonder why I haven't managed to make anything of it yet.

Fuck it. Going to sleep.
 

Tannin

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ddrueding said:
Considering the nature of men, and the state a man has to be in before such things are possible, it seems he was either partially interested or was certainly able to perform under pressure...

Holy crap, David, that is complete horseshit!
  • Sexual arousal is not equal to consent
  • Sexual arousal is not equal to turgidity either. And similarly,
  • Turgidity is not equal to sexual arousal

You can be hard as a bone and completely unaroused. You can be as horny as a tomcat and as limp as a length of string. It is not in the slightest unusual to have a deeply satisfying orgasm without an erection; and it is equally common to be rock hard and not at all interested at that particular moment.

But these are mere physical matters. Far, far more important is the philosophical issue: i.e., that as a thinking, reasoning, adult human being you are not ruled by your gonads. There are a host of possible reasons why you might be highly aroused but very clear in your own mind that you do not wish to have sex. Many of them are entirely appropriate to a social being with obligations and responsibilities to other people. Just to list a few examples:
  • You are on a business trip. You meet an absolute stunner who is willing and eager. But you made a promise to be faithful to your partner. It's not your fault that you feel desire - you are human, it is natural - but it would be entirely your fault if you gave into temptation. You are an adult: act like one. Think before acting. Listen to your conscience, all that usual moral stuff does have a point.
  • You are willing, she is willing, but she is off-limits for some reason: under-age, your best friend's wife, etc., etc.
  • You are willing and eager, she is not willing. This one is a no-brainer.
  • You are willing, she is willing, but you have reason to believe that having sex with her will place obligations on you that you are not willing to fulfil.
  • Etc., etc
 

ddrueding

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Breakfast today consisits of the following:

bev_martinellicider.jpg


+

U8IBL.jpg


Yum.
 

Mercutio

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ddrueding said:
Tea said:
If David was a girl, he'd be a tart.

And what's wrong with that?

It reminds me of a piece I saw in a local art gallery. It read:

"golddiggers are like prostitutes, but smarter"

I think the term that is presently correct is "Himbo".
But I could be wrong about that.

Anyway, David, I think the concern at issue is the depth of your affairs, and the counter-correlation to the length of those affairs.

Personally, I'd say you're doing alright - but then, a few weeks ago I found myself saying "Oh great, a woman touched me this year!".
 

ddrueding

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Couldn't stay away from the forums, now I'm posting in 8" high letters from the HTPC.

I guess that the reason for my rapid transitions between simple affairs is that theey are all in a way rebounds from my last major relationship. Earlier this year I was living in Oregon with a woman I truly loved and in fact proposed to. After she "changed sides" and I could no longer compete for her affection (not being properly equipped) I moved back to Monterey. This just in time for business to really slow and a stunningly severe 1/3-life crisis. So I find myself buying reidiculous toys and sleeping with 18-year old virgins. Am I a bad person? Probably, but I just don't care that much.
 

Mercutio

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Is the X-Mystique awesome or what?

It sounds like you had something happen that is very similar to what I've been dealing with for the last few years. I still haven't figured it out, either, but if you'd like to talk about it, at least you'll find a sympathetic ear...
 

Mercutio

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I read comic books. About 25 titles a month, and probably another 25 that I read because someone is nice enough to scan and post them on the internet someplace.
This week *two* of the titles I picked up explicitly declared certain characters are gay. In both cases, the books are about young teenagers, in books that were supposed to be targetted to younger readers (most comics are read by guys in their 30s). Characters who, were they depicted in the comics of 20 years ago, would barely be old enough for a first kiss.

For that matter, the cute goth chick at the comic store whom I see every other week is dating a girl (and since she's literally the only good-looking 20ish woman I see during my usual week, gotta say she's part of the appeal of buying comics).

Basically my whole "social circle", such as it is, consists of my ex's friends, who are to a one lesbian, bisexual or transsexual (gotta say, she turned out great)

Four weeks ago I was teaching classes for 14 year old kids. How to build a computer. How to be safe on the internet, how to download stuff illegally without getting sued... And I saw that two of the girls were holding hands under their table. Which, OK, maybe 14 year old girls *do* that. I don't know.
Until I met "their" mother... who it turns out had taken in the other girl because her real parents kicked her out over her apparent preference. That mom was pretty open and positive about the whole thing when I asked why she was there to pick up both of them, and so were the girls, once they heard their parent/guardian talking to me.

Just tonight, one of my students - an fit, attractive woman in her early 40s - was in studying for a certification test in the back of a classroom while I taught a (different) small class tonight. One of the guys in my class asked her if she was single. She said "Sorry, I'm a dyke." I had to stop class for 15 minutes while the rednecks I was teaching with met their first homosexual and saw pictures of her wedding in Toronto.

... and then there's this thing from David today.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being gay. I was amazed to find out about my two young students.
But just now I'm having this paranoia: It seems like everyone I know or meet is gay. I'm at the point whether I'm wondering if there's such a thing as a straight woman in the world.
 

jtr1962

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You want to hear something completely odd, Merc? Maybe it has to do with the circles of people I usually end up hanging out with, but I've never personally known a gay or lesbian, at least not one who would openly admit it. Given that I live in an area of the country which probably has an abundance of them (at least in the East Village), I find this amazing. Of course, the types of people I tend to gravitate towards may have something to do with it. Most of my high school friends were Chinese of first or second generation, mostly very family oriented and pretty shy (especially my old gf), and since I like Asian females pretty much exclusively those are the circles I tend to end up in. Maybe someone has a better explanation for me being probably the only person in NYC who has never met a homosexual.

On another odd note, when my sister went to NYU she always used to complain that the decent looking guys were either taken or gay (mostly the latter). Go figure.
 

tazwegion

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Mercutio said:
ddrueding said:
It reminds me of a piece I saw in a local art gallery. It read:

"golddiggers are like prostitutes, but smarter"

I think the term that is presently correct is "Himbo".
But I could be wrong about that.

LMAO :lol: that goldigger quote is a real gem! :lol:

According to Deuce Bigalow the correct term Merc' is MAN-WHORE a 'Himbo' is a male equivalent of a 'Bimbo' and I get the impression Dave is certainly NOT a blonde airhead :aok:

Homosexuality is NOT a big taboo like it used to be, hell it was prevalent prior to the Roman Empire, society is merely more tolerant of other belief systems than has previously been the case in history... I bet you have met one during you travels jtr' but like you said they most likely wouldn't have admitted to it, AFAIK the traditional Asian customs would prevent many individuals directly bringing 'shame' on their families' honour by being so open ;)

I too have encountered many in my field of employment (nursing) and have found them exceptionally respectful & compassionate, worthy personal traits :mrgrn:

Viva La Retro!
 

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Well, hanging out with gay people has never been an issue for me. I've lived in the East Village and in the Castro in SF. They're both great places to live if you're in a relationship. But then again, if you're still living there when you're dumped, the first thoughts through your head aren't erm, traditional, and rebounds can be illuminating.

The X-Mystiqe is fantastic Merc, I'm listening to it right now (that was part of the upgrade last night). Stan Getz - Nature Boy...awesome.
 

ddrueding

Fixture
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
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Horsens, Denmark
Merc, when did you pass 7000 posts? That's um...a lot. Especially considering the words per post is up there with JTR and Tannin.
 

Tannin

Storage? I am Storage!
Joined
Jan 15, 2002
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Huon Valley, Tasmania
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ddrueding said:
Tea said:
If David was a girl, he'd be a tart.

And what's wrong with that?

Oh, don't take Tea too seriously, David. She just spits these things out that she's heard someone say 'case she thinks they might be funny. I doubt that Tea has an opinion re tarts, good, bad, or in-between.

Me, I have a firm opinion: I like people who know exactly what they are and don't try to pretend to be something that they ain't. A good tart - and I stress "good", meaning by it exactly what I intend to mean and probably not 87 other things other people might read into in - has a refreshing directness and honestly about her. She can make a wonderful friend: straightforward, honest, easy to spend time with.

Actually, gay people are quite often like this too. Well, gay men, I can't really say I've known enough gay women well enough to generalise. But I believe that the whole process of honestly coming out with your (statistically speaking) abnormal sexual orientation in front of the community - family, friends, workmates, and so on - is a very healthy thing: good for the soul. Forcing yourself to be honest with the world in this emotion-charged and sensitive matter can, at least with some people, bring on a real change of character; they become more straightforward and honest and genuine in other ways as well.

Not all people of course! I'm met some really screwed-up and twisted gay men too, needless to add.
 
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