lookin

So if you're so smart how come you're always hungry?

Sorry, we were all out of Gym Bunnies so I brought you a nice Opera Queen instead.

Not so far, though I have managed to poke a few pansies.

We are not alone. Germany has the same list of concerns that we do. The problem is not only that the loss of privacy will be very difficult to regain, but that the will to hang on to what's left is so weak. We are now raising a generation that not only doesn't expect privacy, but perhaps has never known what it is or how to put a value on it. I wonder if the last half of the twentieth century, where I have spent most of my years, will someday be looked back on as 'the golden age of privacy'. I expect there will come a time when we damn well wish we had it again. I don't know if I'll be sentient when that time comes, and part of me hopes not. As I said earlier, this stuff makes be glad to be pushing seventy, rather than twenty.

Sent this to a Brazilian friend. He's still laughing.

This stuff makes me glad to be pushing seventy, rather than twenty. Nothing he says comes as a surprise. I only wonder why his article limits this technology to U. S. government and law enforcement. Does he think it won't fall into other hands? Or get pushed. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a drone is a good guy with a drone! - Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle and Drone Association

Please pardon the highjack of the highjack, but this calls to mind an old drinking ditty. . . . . . . . . . . . . There once was a girl from the Azores Who had syph, crotch cricket, and sores! Not a dog in the street Would touch the green meat That hung in festoons from her drawers! . . . . . . . . . . . .

And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

. Honestly, Paolo, nobody can afford to live here!

Thanks for keeping us updated, ihpguy, and please let us know what you decide to do. I'm glad you have - or soon will have - both options open to you.

In all senses of the word!

I'm not saying some Brazilians wouldn't do it. I'm just saying I wouldn't do it. And I bet not all Brazilians do it either. Not when there are so many other good things to eat. According to this World Bank survey, per capita income in Brazil is less than a third of what it is in the U. S. I'm no expert, but I can't see how they could be paying more for everything than we do. There must be some bargains somewhere.

The thing that always puzzles me about these comparisons is the tendency to use the cost of U. S. branded products in a foreign country. Personally, the last thing I'd eat in Brazil would be a Big Mac and the last thing I'd drink would be a Coke. I wouldn't buy spaghetti, or Levi's, or Nike's. I doubt the majority of Brazilians buy these things on a regular basis either. I have a friend from Brazil who visits family twice a year and his suitcase is always full of clothes and electronics that cost a fortune in Brazil. But, when he's there, he eats the same food his family eats and it's not expensive at all. He's told me how much it costs to fill his family's pantry, and it's a fraction of what it costs in the U. S. Same for another friend whose family lives in Mexico. I'm not saying I couldn't pay $3.50 for a box of spaghetti in Brazil, but why would I? It's not like I'm in Kansas any more.

I'll say! I'd have guessed too too kind.

Actually, a couple of us got here in 1959, but we tried to blend in.

What a good idea! I wonder what kind of moody black and white shots our Birthday Boy would take.

Among those of us who are gay And looking for someone to play, Our rational nudeness Trumps national rudeness And leads to a pretty nice day.

I once had an overnight for ten bucks, two beers, and a roofie. Actually, scratch that, the ten bucks was for the roofie. Glad you're back out on the streets. Had he known you were laid up, so to speak, I'm sure Tomcal would have brought the party to your room.

It seems to be a 'hang' issue for me as well. Once a page continues loading, it's zippy enough. Using the limited diagnostic tools in my Safari browser, it looks like there are close to a hundred elements that have to load before I get to the completed page I'm on now, and my guess is that one of those elements is not responding reliably fast. Can't tell which one, but your programmers should have a better diagnostic tool that identifies the miscreant link. One hint is that, for me anyway, the culprit is early in the loading sequence. The Safari progress bar gets about ten percent into the loading process, and then hangs. Not always, but often enough to be annoying. As it's happened since the last software upgrade, I'd recommend they focus on something new that's been added early in the page load process for "View New Content". And please thank them for bringing user names back to the "View New Content" page. Ip Ip Array! Update: Just discovered the hang seems to arise right before the Flirt4Free banner loads. Maybe something to do with that site's recent difficulties? Update to the Update: Just found there seems to be a hang at this element: maintitle.png Also early in the loading process.

I've been to a dozen or so countries over the years and owing, I guess, to a rather nondescript appearance and a natural diffidence, have nearly always been addressed by locals in the local language. I used to take it as a compliment but, since the passage of the Patriot Act, am now concerned that I might be letting down the side. Lest there be any such misunderstandings in future travels, I've decided to take a few precautions.

Perhaps she's free to come sing at your house. Provided, of course, her shoes don't smell.

Can't speak to Brazil but, in ParisRio's defense, rates have gone up considerably, in this country at least. When I was in my twenties, I could get laid for the price of a sarsaparilla and now, not even a half-century later, the increases have been unreal. In fact, I recently had a guy tell me he wouldn't touch me for a million bucks. Talk about inflation!

National Security ! A-a-w-k ! ! ! War on Terror ! ! Don't know the answer but I'm becoming increasingly convinced the question is, "How do freedom and terrorism exist in the world together?" Until we figure that out, I expect freedom to continue taking a hit, no matter who's in the White House. Before 9/11, we had the luxury of not concerning ourselves with that balance but the pendulum has now swung mightily in the other direction. I'm not too surprised that we haven't yet found the answer to the question, as it's not an easy one, but I am surprised that no one seems to be asking it. Might as well start here. Any ideas?

No matter how inexpensive, Tom vows this is the last time he'll order a merkin from Kazakhstan.

You mean they're not supposed to have a patina?