Lucky

A weight-challenged individual has sued the White Castle restaurant chain, claiming that they reneged on a promise to make their seats wider to accommodate people of girth. "A 290-pound diner claims the White Castle chain has violated the civil rights of its more sizable clientele by not following through on promises to make its tight booths bigger to accommodate their bellies. Martin Kessman, a 64-year-old New Yorker, filed a complaint after he could barely squeeze into the fast-food restaurants booths and bumped his knees on the table's metal supports, the New York Post reported." The article was cited in today's SFGate.com, where readers weighed in on the subject unmercifully, with most chiding the man for not losing weight, and others making much more crude comments. Here's a sample of the disdain which faces the weight-challenged today: Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/hottopics/detail?entry_id=97327#ixzz1XlE1W0aN When they enlarge the seats, it will only enable him to get fatter and sue again claiming the same thing. Your brain is suppose to tell you, "Man, I can't fit in the seat anymore. I better stay out of fast food joints for awhile." But nope. In this country, we'll pay you for being too big. Now enjoy the enlarged trough we built for you and all the free hamburgers you can eat since you've won your lawsuit. Why not sue to have a drive thru put in so he only has to run the PowerChair into the van and not deal with all the sweaty waddling? Wow, now there's a real Fat Bas*ard for you. How about, go on a diet and get a life? Oh, just take out all the tables and give them couches, beds and tv trays so they can deteriorate in comfort. *** Fortunately, you too can go to SFGate.com and add statements of support for the slider supporter.

kennethinthe212.com adds yet one more:

The article states: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, “there was quite a few really hot, buff prostitutes that were really tough,” Rob Bennett recalled. “ I can't say a word about the late 70's as I wasn't there, but in the early 80's some very hot guys were working Polk Street. The customer had the advantage of being able to see and talk to a hustler before hiring him, unlike today's internet catalogs of boys. Unfortunately, MsGuy, I won't admit to being more than a casual observer! I will say that one of the beautiful guys I have ever seen was a Polk Street boy. One Thanksgiving Day business was so slow that he offered himself to me for $15. I can't tell you if I was thankful or not... But I did enjoy the tempo of the times, days before AIDS came to our attention and Polk Street succumbed to becoming more of a skid row. Just as we have lost Stella's and the Gaiety, as Montreal's strip bars lose some of their luster, Polk Street too is just another story in the history books.

The NY Times today reports on an internet hacker, apparently from Iran, whose hacking skills seem to surpass those of others I have read about. He has been able to change the security certificates of websites, thus allowing himself to take over, for example, Google in Iran. This would then allow him to eavesdrop on every Gmail communication, denying privacy to those who might oppose the government and be organizing against it through Gmail messages. Granted, I am the last person who understands what this guy is capable of doing, so I invite Oz, TY, or other computer whizzes to read the article and tell us what I am missing, or getting wrong. One thing I am sure of: The internet is nowhere near as secure as some would have us believe! Article on Baddest Guy on the Internet

Chrome is so adept at putting advertising in places I don't expect it that the browser is too frustrating to use. If Google is the future of the Internet, we're all in trouble. I want a browser that doesn't see my wallet as its primary target.

The Weekend market is a must see, in my opinion, and that would keep you in Bangkok at least a Saturday or a Sunday. Going to Pattaya on a weekday means you will avoid the weekend tourist crowd and perhaps save on a hotel rate. The boys will still be there. Why not stay the following weekend as well? That's a pretty short trip for such long flights. This is what I would choose if I had the short trip: Friday and Saturday in Bangkok, Sunday and Monday in Pattaya, then Tues and Wed back in Bangkok? On the other hand, if you went to Pattaya on Tuesday and Wednesday, you could take the taxi from Pattaya right to the airport in Bangkok, thus saving you one taxi fare.

Who said we were done with Polk Street? The stories I could tell...

Spending too long in the bathroom on a 9-11 flight could mean that fighter jets will be dispatched to scare the shit out of you, authorities reported today: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/09/11/international/i134733D24.DTL&tsp=1

I Googled BiBottom Boy, and what I came up with is a video of him being spanked naked! See if this link works for you: BiBottom Boy Naked and Spanked

A gay man endorsing a Mormon for president, a Mormon who is also a very conservative Republican and has shown no interest in civil liberties for gays or any other group, except perhaps Mormons. Who says we are not self-destructive? What has he done to make an income lately, Epigonos?

Good advice from guys who know the territory.

I know a guy who can post 42 threads in a row. Surely that counts for something?

Townsend, it's so sweet of you to post this interesting and historic thread. (I felt bad that no one responded!)

We have followed your advice, Oz, and the bf and I are watching season 1 now. We like it, despite some rather gruesome stuff. But the family that watches meth shows together stays together...I think!

May I ask where you are staying in Rio...or how you find the hotel prices?

It amazes me that one man in Yuma AZ could take down the power network of a whole region. No doubt those who oppose us have studied this, especially after the northeast lost power in a massive blackout a few years ago. Power where I live stayed on, but just a mile or two away it did not. I do not want a big generator. It would probably get buried in earthquake debris anyway, or neighborhood thugs would see that I had it and steal it from me! I did see an emergency radio advertised for $70. It had a USB port to charge your cell phone. But then, even in this power outage, cell phones were jammed. No doubt my friend CharliePS will have all of this emergency backup. Now, if I can just get to his house after the quake or the blackout...but what if doesn't let me in???

1.4 million San Diego customers are without power, and the outage has now spread to areas east of Palm Springs, where temperatures are 109. The cause is unknown, but the gridlock is massive. From mydesert.com: A massive power outage spread across Southern California, parts of Arizona and into Mexico today, leaving millions in the dark. The outage, which began at 3:30 p.m., has affected Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego Gas and Electric customers, which together span Imperial, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. Most of the eastern Coachella Valley — including Bermuda Dunes, Coachella, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert and Thousand Palms — has also been affected. Neither utility has an estimate of when power will be restored. “We don’t know what happened to the line; all we know is that the line went out,” a San Diego Gas and Electric spokesman said during a press conference. "Prepare to stay home tonight without power," a SDGE spokesman tweeted. The outage appeared to be triggered in Arizona, where several consecutive hot days could have contributed. It looked to be a voltage instability in a transmission system. It was the first known time the entire system the entire system has lost power in a major event, the spokesman said. All 1.4 million SDGE customers across Orange and San Diego counties are still in the dark with no estimated time to restore power, the utility tweeted shortly after 5 p.m. At least 50,000 customers were in the dark in Yuma, Ariz., and the outage also spread into Mexico. The California Independent System Operator Corporation is helping to restore power, a SDGE spokesperson said. It warned “some areas” could be without power into Friday Stay tuned! Fantasy Springs Resort Casino near Indio still has air conditioning during the outage thanks to backup generators, the casino tweeted.

Is the huge power blackout in San Diego a harbinger of Sunday? 1.4 million people have lost power in an (so far) unexplained blackout...

Public nudity may be on the rise in San Francisco, but penises are not, as those who seem to want to flaunt it all are usually the ones we most want to cover up. At least that's how I see it in my gym locker room. But, the increasing willingness to bare all in SF has raised some concerns. It seems that the nude ones are not covering the seat upon which their bare derriere plops. Unsanitary, some say...me too. "Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced legislation Tuesday that would require nudists to put something under their bottoms if they take a seat in public and to cover up when they're in a restaurant.: Both the LA Times and the SF Chronicle website have discussed the issue. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0908-public-nudity-20110908,0,4290865.story http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/07/MNVK1L0TD9.DTL

So did the Politics forum get consolidated with the Pub after all?

Occasionally the bf and I go up to the In and Out Burger for a Saturday night meal. We try to avoid the others, although Chick Fil-A would suit me if one were in my area.

Droid X.

Sad as it is to learn for those of us who have made the pilgrimage to the grave of Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh, Scotland, the legend of his maintaining a vigil at the grave of his deceased owner for 14 years is poppycock. Apparently the story was made up to encourage pilgrims to his grave to visit the hostelry next to the graveyard. Yet the legend lasted some 150 years until now debunked by a Swedish historian,who says the dog did not stick it out through hail, snow, and frost. The historian claims that the story was made up by a pair of men interested in financial gain. They used a stray dog, trained him to stay near the cemetery, and replaced him when he died. This shattering story parallels the loss of the Santa Claus myth for some dog lovers. Children have left their favorite toys at the dog's grave. Gift shops nearby have made a fortune selling images of Bobby and other bric a brac. There are Bobby mouse pads and Bobby bottle openers. The Wall Street Journal revealed the news of the deceit in today's issue. Even beloved Internet legend Lucky has visited the graveyard where Bobby is memorialized, and is shattered to hear that the legend is not so. Condolence cards may be added to this thread. The Legend, from rampantscotland.com: Did You Know? - Greyfriar's Bobby According to the commonly accepted story, Bobby was a Skye Terrier dog belonging to a Jock Gray, a farmer from the Pentland Hills, who regularly dined at an inn in Grassmarket, not far from Greyfriar's Churchyard. When Jock Gray, died in 1858, the dog refused to leave his master's grave. He turned up regularly for 14 years at the inn at Grassmarket which had been frequented by his master and was fed there by locals who were taken by the dog's devotion. The story may have been embellished by John Traill, the owner of the restaurant. Other versions suggest that the dog belonged to a local policeman and that while the dog was frequently found in the churchyard, it was also looked after by residents in the houses in nearby Candlemaker's Row. Greyfriar's Bobby died on 14 January 1872. The story first came to prominence in the 1890s when Eleanor Atkinson, an American, first wrote the story which became a first reading book for a generation of many Americans who now love the story so much. The cute life-size statue to Bobby (undoubtedly the most photographed dog in Edinburgh) was erected on top of a drinking fountain outside Greyfriar's Churchyard shortly after the dog's death and in more recent times Walt Disney made a film about the dog's devotion.

A poster on another site, BgMstr4U, posted this link to an article claiming that Rick Perry is likely to be the GOP nominee: BgMstr's Link

You are going to stick with MER? Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MER.