Former Member

San Diego’s area was Horton Plaza when I was growing up (now replaced with a fancy shopping mall). But it was where all the sailors and marines spent their time looking for tattoo parlors, hookers, and bars. Apparently it was really swinging during the Vietnam War – Jeff probably hung out there! ;–) San Francisco’s is The Tenderloin. My best friend tells me there is a specific block if you want a Transwoman. Other blocks are reserved for other kinds of prostitutes. The area includes Polk St, the Gay neighborhood before The Castro (a few Gay bars are still there). The Tenderloin is one of the few neighborhoods in SF that haven’t been gentrified. ;–) But I was pretty sure that that was what Jeff was talking about even though I’ve never been to Boston (no matter how many times Dave Loggins begged me to please come to Boston). ;–)

On TV too. Every home on TV had a bar and hosts seemed to think it was a normal part of hospitality to offer a guest a drink. Characters like Lou Grant and Jim Rockford had a bottle stashed in their desk drawer. Thurston Howell III and Lovey had their cocktails every afternoon even while shipwrecked. Most husbands were shown having a drink as soon as they got home from a hard day at work. Even Archie Bunker! And everybody smoked everywhere! On planes, in restaurants, in stores, and even in front of babies! In California, restrictions started popping up with the major one banning smoking in working places, restaurants, and bars in the ‘80s. Rob Reiner got a Proposition passed that raised the cigarette tax and put part of the money into anti-smoking ads on TV. The smoking rate in California plummeted drastically. It remains high only among oppressed groups like People of Color, LGBTQs, and the homeless. I can’t remember when tobacco ads were banned on TV, but it was probably not that long before the time the story is set. I can still remember some of the jingles even though I’ve never smoked and no one in my immediate family did either. I know they stopped when I was a child though! ;–)

So there goes one theory that I had: that Simon went to Todd’s place to stay! Maybe it’s just me and where I lived in the ‘70s (California, and Hawaii in the ‘60s), but no one I know would have referred to red hair as ginger. That’s too British. It was much later when I figured out what it meant. I think alcoholism was kept a secret nearly as much as being Gay. Betty Ford’s family staged an intervention in 1978 over her alcoholism and addition to opioid analgesics. It was a huge deal that the former First Lady (Carter won the ’76 election) talked about her addictions and recovery. She also established the Betty Ford Center for treatment of chemical dependency (in 1982). I am forced to censor myself to avoid offending ‘anyone’ over political topics even though it clearly illustrates how far things have changed since then.

We all just read the Reader’s Digest version – it’s included right above! ;–)

Probably the only things in favor of Salamander sex are that the males don’t have to be in physical contact with the females – and it seems a whole lot less messier and easier to clean up after! ;–)

Maybe the guys get PAs, just like Victoria’s royal consort! Since their rings would be hidden under their military uniforms, we’d never know. Maybe Harry just didn’t want to get a piercing! ;–)

Maybe Eric could teach others about gardening? Help him feel needed and valuable. Andy should talk to that school about this! ;–)

And apparently, you dress so it’s clear you aren’t homeless, another group that people get nervous about! ;–) In my area, there’s only one Starbucks. It’s next to what used to be the Public Library branch, so people had the choice of which free wi-fi to use. Now that the Library has moved a few miles away, I’m wondering if there’ll be a massive influx of people wanting to use their connection… ;–)

I had looked up Stardust on Wikipedia as part of my reply to a Comment on another story earlier. It put me in a Fantasy mode which was perfect when I started reading this chapter! Stretch the imagination and exercise the brain! (It’s the only kind of exercise I get.) ;–) Salamander Sam! I got a little science lesson along with Finn on the sex practices of salamanders. It doesn’t sound like it’s nearly as much fun as human sex! ;–)

Well in the book and movie Stardust, there were characters that included Prince Primus, Prince Secundus, Prince Tertius, Prince Quartus, Prince Quintus, and Prince Sexus. If the King of Stormhold had had a few more sons… ;–)

Just a drop of the Old Ones’ blood on a crucial component of Buddy during a blood moon lunar eclipse and…

The Grave-Allegro finale from Handel's Organ Concerto no. 14

There are some basic bits in System Preferences>Accessibility. They're nowhere near as comprehensive or complete as the standalone software, but for those who just need a little bit of help, they’re there and free! Apple started offering early versions of the utilities way back in the ‘90s. You can even have the computer switch from black text on a white field to white text on a black field which can be easier for some to read. ;–) System Preferences is also where you can customize the font and color of subtitles (where available) when you watch movies on your Mac. I turn them on when watching movies because I have neighbors who might not appreciate my blasting my stereo in order to hear some of the dialogue on some movies. I can leave the volume lower while still understanding what’s being said. A seriffed font is supposed to be easier to read in smaller sizes; yellow is more visible than white on most backgrounds. ;–)

Eric, you do realize that the ring itself is a symbol of eternity: a never-ending band of precious metal. ;–) There is also software available that lets you dictate into the computer and it translates that into text. It will read the text back to you and you can edit what you’ve written. There are at least two authors on GA that use that sort of software. ;–) I also have an efriend who is quadriplegic. He uses a mouth-stick to navigate on his Mac. Computers can assist even people with major disabilities communicate with others around the world. I’d never have met him otherwise since he lives in Tasmania, Australia! ;–) I know the issues with your eyes are much less severe than the examples I mentioned above. I know you’ll get through them just as you’ve gotten through other difficulties. You’re strong and you have many friends who love you! ;–)

Jeff’s evil identical twin brother? No, I got it! Simon’s father! (Or maybe the minister at Simon’s parents’ church!) ;–)

A sequel would be a nice prize! Your two other stories feature three of the most unlikeable characters ever (Tyrone, Dewsbury, and Jeff Don), far outdoing Donnyboy Jeffy here! Andy is even more annoying than Robbie at his worst and hasn’t been endearing or enchanting. Slow Bob is frustrating. But I like David, Simon, and the little we’ve seen of Todd! ;–) Oops, mixed up the characters and stories!

Someone I knew, Brian (his Trick Name, but that’s what we all called him), had ALS and was depressed and isolating back in the ‘90s. A mutual friend encouraged me to visit him since we both had Macintosh computers and an interest in Beta/VHS/LD videos (he was thrilled to get naked pictures of men on his computer, video porn files were years in the future). There was an unidentifiable, but powerful stench in his house. It turned out he wasn’t laundering his clothing (because it was too difficult to go to a laundromat). The mutual friend washed all his clothing and the stench went away! ;–) At that point, the ALS was just becoming apparent, but was only slightly debilitating. It was a bother to pick things up off the floor, so the floor was covered with bits and pieces of all sorts of things. Whatever got to be too difficult to do, he just stopped doing. (My friends used to tease me that I was reminding them of Brian when they really wanted to annoy me!) He was a hoarder, so some of us started to slowly clean things up for him. His relatives basically ignored him through this period. Eventually he needed a caregiver and one of the friends moved in to do that for him. When he died, we got rid of his enormous collection of pirated porn videos and other things that he wouldn’t have wanted his family to see. His niece and nephew swooped in to monetize whatever they could including his house. His partner had been murdered around the time he was first diagnosed with ALS, so at least there were no issues with a partner getting kicked out (besides, as the younger partner had been more at risk for that happening to him). He was in his mid-50s when he died.

You can pair it with a Bluetooth (physical) keyboard too!

But they’ll always have the Bruce Springsteen music video! ;–)

One of the problem with computers at public libraries is that they usually aren’t very fast and neither is the internet connection (faster is more expensive in both cases, and the library has other, higher priorities). Eric isn’t likely to notice, but virtual reality tours of gardens might not work with slow computers and a slow connection. The US has some of the slowest connection speeds in the industrialized world, partly because of our large physical size. ;–)

My elderly (Lesbian?) Aunt and her ‘roommate’ used to have a computer, but they gave it up when they got tired of having problems just sending email. And their Tech Support (my brothers, since it was a PC, not a Mac) were 450 miles away. Smart Phones aren’t a good option for the elderly since their screens (even on the monster-sized models) are too small to see text clearly). The tech industry hasn’t really realized just how big the market is for a large-screen/large pixel display with a full-sized keyboard and minimal function computer. Apple has the Mac mini which can be paired with a full-sized keyboard and your choice of mouse/trackpad/trackball and large display. But they don’t really market the model or update it very often. It does come with all the basic applications that most people need and there’s absolutely no preinstalled adware! Like all Macs, it’s particularly great for anyone whose first language isn’t English! During setup or with a few clicks, you can quickly and easily switch to a second language (or even multiples!) even if the language doesn’t use the Latin alphabet or is a Right-to-Left language! It also has a better set of Accessibility tools than the competition since they’ve been working on them longer. It’s very easy to change the size of the cursor so it’s more visible – if I jiggle the ‘mouse’ (wiggle my finger on my trackpad), the cursor temporarily increases in size to make it more visible when I’m not sure where it is on my screen(s). My impression is that many elderly users prefer a desktop computer because of the larger display and because the computer doesn’t play as central a role in the lives of many of them as it does for many of the rest of us. Engineers think that everyone wants more, tinier pixels on their displays. They’ve only recently started to design displays with more pixels for easier to read text that’s larger (eg Apple’s high-resolution Retina products), a feature that’s part of the Operating System, not the physical screen. I remember reading a story about Ford engineers who wore special fat suits so they could experience what it was like to not be able to bend as easily or as far. The goal was to make them more empathetic to their customers who had mobility issues. Clearly, the lessons still haven’t been applied across the entire model range since cars are getting sleeker, lower, and more difficult to get into and trucks & SUVs are getting larger, taller, and more difficult to climb into. Or maybe the product planners and designers need to wear the suits for a while too! ;–)

Pix was named by the same people who named November! I think they consulted a Palin or a Hollywood actor (Gwyneth, maybe?). Or possible one of those companies employed by car manufacturers to come up with names that are meaningless or ‘inoffensive’ worldwide. ;–)

My mother didn’t realize I am Gay until I wrote a letter to my parents complaining about how they were treating me. I was in my mid-20s, but still living in their home. I would tell them when I wouldn’t be home that night, but they still made a big fuss about my not having gotten home until the next day. I warned them that I was old enough to move out and that I had the right to stay over with someone else if I wanted to. I was bluffing since I couldn’t afford to move out at that point and I wasn’t ready to move in with the guy I was seeing at the time. I also hadn’t been invited to move in with him. (Years later, he was arrested – something about an underaged boy. And more recently I found out he died in prison. He had, at one point, interviewed Anita Bryant for Playboy Magazine, among others.) From the letter, they deduced that I am Gay. They misidentified the guy I was seeing, thinking it was a guy who was only a good friend. They wouldn’t speak to me for a couple weeks. It was just before US Thanksgiving at the end of November(!) and I had thought about celebrating with one of two families who always treated me like I was one of them (my Filipino family and my Mexican family)! But my parents started talking to me just before the holiday – they wouldn’t have wanted to explain to relatives why I wasn’t there! ;–)

1) Ember, the protagonist 2) Novy, Brady's son 3) Ember, Ember's niece ;–) And after I wrote this, I noticed the question was answered twice already! ;–)

Just how many Novembers are there in Australia? ;–) January was named after a Roman god. February was named after a purification feast that was celebrated during the month. March was named after the Roman war god. April, May, and June are kind of dated, but well-known women’s names (there isn’t complete agreement on the origin of April’s name, but May and June were named after a goddesses). July and August were named after Roman Caesars. September, October, November, and December were originally the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months in the calendar. ;–) This story is the first time I’ve ever heard of November used as a personal name and now there are three of them so far! ;–) In the US, there are people named after luxury companies and products. Tiffany (after the jewelry store) is not uncommon, but I’ve seen Lexus (the name invented for Toyota’s premium brand) and even Kia (the rather prosaic Korean car brand)! This seems to me to be more common with parents who are less highly educated.