I think I'm the only one in my family, besides possibly my Dad (which is ironic, since he's a minister) who has never given up something [inlink]decoyisryan,13[/inlink] publicly for Lent. Yeah, when I was a kid we avoided eating meat on
Good Friday. At least for breakfast and dinner. You were on your own for school lunch.

Anyway, I thought it was kind of funny when my siblings adopted the practice when they got older. I'm like, did I miss something? Maybe we did that all along and I just forgot? But I don't think so. I remember when my brother visited me in SF for the first time and we went to the Arnold Arboretum in Golden Gate Park and saw these gigantic asparagus-looking plants. It was Lent, and he had given up asparagus. What are the odds? And who the hell gives up asparagus?

I also remember going to my other brother's church the first Sunday in Lent. It must have been for my nephew's First Communion. Anyway, the minister gave an interesting sermon. She suggested, instead of giving up something for Lent - denying yourself something you enjoy - why not "take up" something you've been meaning to do. Get in touch with old friends, volunteer, meditate, read, write. That struck a chord with me, the eternal "be what you are, not what your aren't" person.

This probably doesn't help [inlink]decoyisryan,13[/inlink] at all. But if it were me, I would only give up something I thought would be beneficial to cut back on long term. Otherwise, maybe consider taking up something.


My brother and the giant asparagus

I don't believe I've used the term "radical leftist" - or it's counterpart, "nuts on the Right" - on this site or anywhere else. But in response to (e:uncutsaniflush)'s post [inlink]Uncutsaniflush,168[/inlink] (why oh WHY am I drawn to the hornets' nest?) I have just a few thoughts.

I consider myself a liberal, but I don't expect everyone to share my ideologies, and I respect your right to voice your own. We may debate, but it doesn't have to turn into a fight.

I object to liberals who spend more time criticizing conservatives than communicating their own views. It's easy to "prove" what's wrong. Defining yourself by what you're "not" doesn't tell me anything. It's like the playground bully establishing his authority by beating up the other kids.

That's all for now.

Poissonuer [inlink]mrdt,6[/inlink] - what a great word! I love that.

I was thwarted in my pursuit of fish n' chips last night. Edinburgh Castle was packed to the gills (pardon the poisson pun) for "Rock Out w/o yr Cock Out," which might sound, um, exotic but apparently is a monthly event here. Who knew? Needless to say, I was disappointed, having already rationalized getting chips AND rings as it's been such a long time since I indulged. Probably just as well, since I'm sure I would have hated myself in the morning (if not sooner) - same as last time. Tastes so good going down but doesn't feel so great once it's landed.

Believe it or not, I recently started paying attention my diet too. No really! Admitting you might have a problem is the first step, right? ;-)

Current issue of Sunset magazine has an article about Ethiopian food with links to some recipes:

And if that doesn't interest you, here's a pic my ex just sent me from Clipping and Grooming Your Poodle. Something for everybody.



Ok, I'm off to Edinburgh Castle Pub for fish & chips and a pint or two before X. Packing ear plugs this time.

The Atlantic has some interesting articles this month, namely, the cover story about Online Dating and the Technology column about Google Earth.

The cover story is way too long to even attempt to excerpt here. If you're interested, let me know and I'll email it to you. They get into the "logic" online dating services like eHarmony.com and chemistry.com use to match people up. Crazy, but interesting.

They also included a sidebar of "niche" matchmaking services, which I am posting here as a public service to all you individualists.

Conservative Match (www.conservativematch.com ) "Sweethearts not bleeding hearts"

Liberal Hearts (www.liberalhearts.com ) "Uniting Democrats, Greens, animal lovers & environmentalists who are like in mind and liberal in love"

Good Genes (www.goodgenes.com ) "[Helping] Ivy Leaguers and similarly well-educated graduates and faculty find others with matching credentials"

MillionaireMatch (www.millionairematch.com ) "Where you can add a touch of romance to success and achievement!"

The Atlasphere (www.theatlasphere.com ) "A place where admirers of Ayn Rand's novels can meet, 365 days a year, to network, find shared interests, and perhaps ... even fall in love"

May-December (www.maydecember.net ) "Years apart, coming together"

Golfmates (www.golfmates.com ) "The world's premier online dating service designed specifically for the golfing community"

Riders2Love (www.riders2love.com ) "Bringing Bikers Together ... For a Ride or For a Lifetime"

EquestrianCupid (www.equestriancupid.com ) "The best dating site in the world for friends and singles who are horse lovers"

CowboyCowgirl (www.cowboycowgirl.com) "Join thousands of singles that share your love for the country way of life"

GothicMatch (www.gothicmatch.com ) "Where gothic friends and singles feel at home!"

Single FireFighters (www.singlefirefighters.com ) "The ONLY place to meet firefighters without calling 911!"

Positive Love (www.positivelove.com ) "Don't let STDs control your Love Life"

Singles with Scruples (www.singleswithscruples.com ) "[Emphasizing] integrity and good character"

Private Affairs (www.philanderers.com ) "Discreet Extramarital Personal Ads exclusively for discriminating men and women seeking an Extramarital Affair"

Asexual Pals (www.asexualpals.com ) "Because there is so much more to life!"

The interesting part about the Google Earth article - besides covering the technology in an historical context - is the descriptions of the implementations springing up using the Google Earth toolkit to attach annotations (clickable pictures, descriptions, links) to specific geographical points. They cite Ogleearth.com and Gearthblog.com for news, screenshots and links to some practical examples. Some less practical examples: an overlay from Blogwise.com shows who is writing a blog in your city with links to the blog, and a Flickr overlay on the Geobloggers site where you can see any available photos of the geographic location you're looking at.