Former Member

For all of Dustin’s claim of it just being sex, it’s clear that he fell for Aiden. But Aiden was warned to stay away from Dustin by his mother and wanted to keep Dustin a secret. Naturally, this is when Dustin decides he no longer wants to be a secret. They’re both sending mixed signals to each other. It’s no wonder that they can’t get on the same page. They haven’t even figured out which book they're in! ;–)

The artist kept it? ;–)

First we see Joseph retrieving Orson & Elias from the airport. We see the love between all three of them. Next we see a loving father/son scene with Greg & Mason. Then a loving scene with Bruce & Jenoah. Jeremy feels the love from both Elias and Mason next. Harlan experiences love for his father and love from his Don. And finally, Elias and Orson are reassured of Joseph’s love for them both. I wonder what the theme was? ;–)

In October 1988, Dusty Baker (future SF Giant’s Manager) hit his 30th home run. Glenn Burke ran onto the field to congratulate his teammate. Burke raised his hand over his head and Baker slapped it. They are widely credited with inventing the high five. Bay Area native, born in Oakland, played basketball for the Berkeley High Yellow Jackets, LA Dodgers, Oakland A’s. His trade to Oakland was allegedly due to homophobia. A’s Manager Billy Martin was homophobic and he received little playing time. Burke competed in the Gay Games in track (1982) and in basketball (1986). He played for many years in the SF Gay Softball League. He died of AIDS-related causes in 1995 in San Leandro at 42. (He was 6½ years older than me.) Glenn Burke was part of the second round of installations. This map appears to be incomplete since Rainbow Honor Walk claims to have honored 44 LGBTQ+s. Glenn’s plaque is on the southwest side of Market Street (near the word ‘street’ in both 17th and Market Streets on the map.

The keyboard is the standard size. Apple hasn’t had a laptop with a smaller than standard keyboard in years. The keys on a laptop might feel odd because they don’t travel as far as the keys on a traditional keyboard when you press them. When you setup your laptop, did you select the Portuguese (or Brazilian Portuguese) keyboard? Or did you choose the US English keyboard? If you want to add a second language, you can do that in  Menu>System Preferences>Keyboard>Input Sources – you can add hidden languages but clicking on the + and scrolling to find the one you want (Farose, anyone?). If you’ve selected more than one language, you’ll see a Flag in the Menu Bar. You can switch between languages there. The International Keyboard does differ physically from the US Keyboard because there is an additional key and the right edge is slightly different. But if you are using the US (electronic) keyboard layout, the # and @ should be where you’d expect them to be even if the keys themselves are not labeled that way. The UK Pound symbol (£), naturally, is Option # (Option-Shift-3). The Euro is Option-Shift-2. Also under the Flag menu is the option to Show Keyboard Viewer which brings up a miniature keyboard that visually changes when you press the Shift, Option, or both the Shift and Option keys simultaneously. It also changes depending on which language you’ve selected in the Flag menu (French, for example, would be AZERTY rather than QWERTY). And if there’s a special glyph you’d like to use that’s not shown on the Keyboard Viewer (there are hundreds more in the Fonts installed on your Mac), Show Emoji & Symbols. You can find useful glyphs like the Interrobang (‽), all sorts of arrows, various technical symbols, and other novel glyphs (like ℃ and ㎓ or ㏙). All of these glyphs are part of Unicode, so nearly every modern OS should display them properly if they are set to display Unicode (as opposed to an older ISO international standard or a proprietary layout like Windows or DOS). (You can change the Default encoding used on a Mac in the Safari Preferences>Advanced.) On the US keyboard, Option-C gives you ç, Option-N followed by A gives you ã. For glyphs used in other major European languages, Option-A gives you å, Option-E ´ (you’d use Option-E followed by E to get é, for example), Option-` (followed by E gives you è), Option-U ¨, Option-I ˆ, Option-O ø, Option-N ˜ (commonly used in Southwestern US for ñ), and there are others hidden around for more obscure glyphs. Danilo could use Option-\ and Option-Shift-\ to get «» (the French quotation marks).

I’m waiting for Jett to squeal like a pig when he and April do something else together! ;–)

Those were some very stiff drinks that could be severed by shirts! ;–)

Ford announced a controversial electric SUV that they are cynically calling a Mustang. It won’t be sold until next year. It will be available with 4-wheel-drive. I’m not sure how it or another electric vehicle will perform in the extreme winter conditions depicted in this story. ;–)

Does that mean that Jocks has a Royal Warrant of Appointment? ;–)

Doesn’t Clay object? I guess it’s not Assault on a Peace Officer anymore, but it’s still assault. You must be incredibly strong to throw him! ;–)

I agree, but they do have a very special relationship that has benefited them both. ;–)

Will Corbin find out about Elias’ full-ride offer that he turned down? Will he match the offer, perhaps at the relatively nearby Academy of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, or Oakland’s California College of the Arts? I hope Harlan won’t need to remain in SF to take care of his father, but maybe he can find a reason stay there anyway and be available to monitor Elias. ;–)

I never realized that drag was a cure for being sick. I’m sure you look fabulous in a gown, even with your facial hair and runny nose. But aren’t high heels difficult to balance on when you’re congested? ;–)

Cider is apple juice, right? ;–)

Doesn’t Makarovia have employment laws that cover allowable hours and time off? I’m sure that the US Secret Service (and other equivalent agencies) gives their agents time off even when they’re traveling overseas. If they rotate through, they can all get time off to rest and do sightseeing or souvenir shopping.

The Costa are being very slippery. Trying to be subtle while also doing what they planned to do from the beginning. I don’t understand why they want Elias, but I somehow don’t think that his turning down the full-ride at the Institute will end their interest. I’m curious about what sort of attempt will be made next.

I think all of your readers would have understood if you had postponed another chapter due to your illness. We probably would have been disappointed. But we would have empathized. ;–)

I’m glad you’re hiding out in a remote corner of the state, far away from me! ;–) Is there a pattern to your changes, or do you know when you’ll transform into a were-Gray Whale and when you’ll become a were-Caveman? ;–)

I think nearly every teenager would be a sex maniac if they had access to an available partner who was into them. Most of the ones who don’t appear to be sex maniacs are actually sex maniacs inside their heads, but manage to suppress it externally. Hormones are surging! ;–)

So, Wayne Gray. Do ‘changes’ occur when the moon is full? Do you lose the glasses and suddenly grow a full beard and turn into a caveman? A were-Caveman, perhaps?

A turkey baster is used in do-it-yourself home inseminations. Or, as on Orange Ie the New Black, you use a long straw or multiple straws linked together. The goal is to get the semen way up inside where the egg is going to be, up where an ejaculation would get it. Thousands of Lesbians and other women have gotten pregnant using the turkey baster method. You are describing the process that is properly called IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). I don’t think that multiple sperm donors are used in most IVF procedures. In some cases, the husband of the egg donor will provide the semen and the procedure is used to increase the chances of pregnancy. In other cases, either the sperm or egg is donated due to infertility/low-fertility of one or the other parents-to-be. And in many cases, a woman or couple will select a sperm donor from a sperm bank. I have heard that male couples will sometimes choose to mix their semen in a process nicknamed ‘The Swirl’ to theoretically anonymize the actual father. But pregnancy does not happen exactly the way we’ve all been taught. There are cases where it’s obvious that more than a single sperm contributed to the embryo. It is more likely that AI (Artificial Insemination) of domestic animals would use multiple sperm sources…

I think there are people for whom writing is as essential to their daily lives as food and water. My electronics are much more important to me than they are to many others. But I hate most aspects of a smartphone – I refuse to be one of those people who are glued to their screens. I’d only miss the phone feature a couple times a year if I still had access to texting and emails. Different people have different priorities and pen/pencil & paper don’t take up much room. Beside Milo might have felt it imperative to record his experiences to prevent a recurrence in the future. Unfortunately, there are many who refuse to learn from the past and are doomed to repeat stupid mistakes!