The Santa Conundrum

He's fat, he's jolly, everyone loves him. Why does being overweight work for him and no one else?

In the past 4 days I've had not one nor two, but several people complain to me about how they are fat. While some of these claims were really critiques of the current skinny/slim fit fashion ethos, all of them have been couched in the terminology of "fat," and not one of them has had a legitimate claim to that word.

In my past I've pushed close to 270 and been as low as 175, and even then, I felt fat. So I understand that people can be uncomfortable with or critical of their body regardless of their actual weight. That being said, I feel that couching this consistently in terms of being fat is causing some serious issues.

Off to the gym,
Then to a fitting,
claiming they're fat.

I won't lie and say that certain statements and actions by friends of mine have me worried. I fear that "manorexia" is spreading amongst the gay community and I'm worried for our community's continued health (both mental and physical). If people are getting sent the signal that they are fat when nothing is further from the truth what sort of mental anguish is that placing on them, and by extension those people who are overweight.

In my life I've come to accept that I will never have a six-pack. At my lightest I was still in a size 36 because of my hips (damn birthing hips) and quads (strong from carrying around all that weight) and any excess weight gathered around my waist. Even now, after months of working with a trainer, I've made definite progress on my body, however I've made it abundantly clear to him that I don't care about losing fat as much as I care about building strength. I won't do idiotic diets or decrease the things I enjoy (mmm, bread, mmm) just to get a six pack.

Anyway, I'm not sure where exactly I'm going with this except to say that I'm a combination of worried, annoyed, and sympathetic, but I feel like everyone should give themselves and others a freaking break once in a while. Next time you feel fat or are gonna call someone fat, think about Santa and how that's what everyone loves about him.

Note: I recognize somewhat my own hypocrisy in that I get a certain je ne sais quoi out of going to Bear Happy Hour and being one of the thinnest people there.

so how much IS that oh so fresh feeling worth to you down there? About 6 Grand!

so i'm not one to buck back at the various ways technology makes my life ah may zing

from my kick ass cell phone to instant streaming movies to my ability to never again have to ask for directions it's pretty clear that technology is pretty fucking kick ass in todays age

but what happens with technology combines forces with one of the most intimate acts a person is forced to commit (thank you Mother Nature) about a bazillion times a year?!

this

the worlds first six thousand dollar john by INAX (is there nothing those crafty small-handed japs can't do?! ^_^) that does everything from auto raises the seat when it 'senses' you approaching to washing your bum with two (because clearly one can't handle this dirty job) water jets that can be set to 'massage' AND plays soothing music that tricks your brains alpha waves to relax your body so you're the most efficient you can be when having to drop some kids off at the pool

lets me honest, as far as johns go, this is the Rolls-Royce in todays world but honestly, six grand so my butt can be massaged while being serenaded by soothing muzaks is a bit much

but what say you??

o_O

To The Cloud!!

so it's been the norm tech trend to cut the cords and compute via the airwaves

i mean come on, kids today are using three to four times more technology they we did at their age, that's a huge increase in such a short period of time and it's is only going to get wider at the rate technology makes leaps and bounds forward

but in this country where one of the biggest contributors to pushing innovation is the US Government (we practically owe our commercial airline industry to its award of an innovative contract with the Wright Brothers many moons ago) it's a sure sign that 'Cloud Computing' is the new state of the art and if you don't know you betta ask somebody

the news first of GSA taking its entire email client system to the cloud via Google created some huge waves in the IT industry but compared to other federal agencies GSA is small potatoes

enter the juggernaut USDA (US Department of Agriculture) with a workforce of over 120k strong announced recently that it's shifting its entire IT environment to Microsoft's Cloud Power

i for one as a Federal employee (who also understands the reasons why people are crying for a federal pay freeze but also think it's bogus when you really compare apples to apples the pay rates of Federal employees to their private sector equivalents you'll discover that Federal employees DO NOT make more in salary and are far more restricted if they choose to leave public service and land a better job within the private sector due to extensive ethics laws and regulations ... but that's another blog) and happy to see this major shift having worked within multiple Federal agencies and the gods know i know how much is spent to maintain multiple competing IT environments and the pieces needed to keep it all going on its legs

having a complete cloud environment may not cost less to maintain but overtime it gives the agency or company the ability to flex its IT muscles as the market demands or industry changes which would equate over time to less money needed

all that being said, how does any of this apply to a regular joe schmoe?

well i've taken it upon myself to look into it first hand but looking into totally free cloud'ish offerings from Microsoft such as it's Windows Live offerings to Google's Google Docs, Gmail, and now Google Voice (one number to RULE THEM ALL!!) offerings so if you didn't know it more and more people are running majority or pieces of their lives in the clouds

but are you?

i've been testing out the Microsoft's Live and Live Essentials to compare to my full time Google Gmail account and honestly, kinda digging the programs and features so far

what say you peoples?

o_O

For Shame, 100MC! For Shame!

By my count, this blog site has twelve authorized contributors. How is it that this blog site is as quiet as Todd Palin during the Troopergate investigation? I mean, seriously. You are some of the most boisterous, loquacious people I know, even the quietest among you.

Since her christening, eight contributors have actually, you know, contributed content to the site. Only three have written anything in the past month.

What gives, y'all?