I've been reading more and more about how important it is to eat breakfast, not just to give you energy, but also for your general health. I'm not sure if it's BS, but I hate the inevitable hunger pangs that happen every day at around 11:00. That's reason enough for me to start eating breakfast, and anything else is a side benefit.

How many of you fit breakfast in with your morning routine? How do you do it? I'm the type of person that likes to wake up as late as possible, as is feasible to get to work on time. Cooking a full breakfast means sacrificing probably another half hour of sleep. So what is my solution? Pop Tarts, or maybe bring an orange to work.

It has been at least a week since I've checked in with you all, and so here I am. Things are fine, but there are some details you should know.

First of all, I noticed over the weekend that I had a nasty back itch. I ran my hands along my upper back to feel for the itch, and I felt GROOVES on my back. I finally took a look, and sure enough, my back is scratched to all hell. Anyone else have a bout with the Ghost Back Scratch phenomenon?

I know what you're thinking, and no it isn't that. It's been a year since a chick tore up my back like that. By the way, why does love hurt so much? I can't tell whether you love me or hate me when you do that, ladies. Gramma worries about me getting hurt, but I don't think she quite has things like that in mind. Suffice it to say, I'm not having that kind of fun lately.

Which reminds me - my best buddy is dating a girl who wants to set me up with a friend of hers, who happens to have a boyfriend already. "We don't like him" - huh? Who is to say that they won't say that about me someday and work behind my back to derail shit? Jerry says the guy is a drug dealer, and pretty much shook his head. That tells me everything I need to know about the situation - if your best bud tells you NO, follow his advice.

God, my back is really itching now. This is distracting.

Okay, I also went clothes shopping, which should surprise some people. I got 3 shirts, a sweater, and a pair of gray slacks. My other gray slacks had the zipper torn off and I've been slacking on replacing them. Why does love have to be so expensive? Actually, I only spent a total of $88 and for me that is pretty good. I'm not a patient shopper. It is not my favorite activity unless we're talking electronics.

Not much else to report, peeps. Work is fine, although I wish the Banking industry were more interested in newer web technologies. I'm going to be doing some very interesting things soon, none of which I am allowed to talk about.

I am going to come to the pot luck dinner, okay, but I am baffled as to what to make. Maybe I will try Ladycroft's zucchini squares. I love them thangs!

Soundtrack for today is Franz Ferdinand, again. Maybe I'll try some internet radio later (Classic rock!) Hey, I really like the song "Fade Together" - I love the guy's voice. The song is a little sad, but I think there is a part of us that likes sad songs too.

I don't have a problem with anything you guys have said re: Don't Ask, Don't Tell. To be fair to Clinton, he supported an openly gay approach early on, but eventually he compromised.

I would bet heavily on this one thing - if someone who isn't used to being around gay folks and feels uncomfortable, or even if they are out and out homophobe, gets their backs watched and saved by a gay soldier, their minds will change in a hurry.

Maybe I'm being a bit generous there. My gut feeling is, and this may not be completely true, that homophobia is pretty damn common in the military. If it weren't, there would be no need for a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, and we would be doing the fair thing already.

Interesting how the Republican candidates phrased their answers - most of them avoided the fairness issue altogether and talked about how the military brass thought the policy was working.

It is true that the Army first integrated african-americans into the military ranks. The thing is, they did not come up with the idea or suggest it to Truman - he issued an executive order demanding it, and was fairly flexible with the commanders in how they implemented the policy. The cynical view would be that he used the military as a tool of social experimentation, but I like to think that he was a forward thinker in this regard. It wasn't all that long after the Korean War before things came to a head in the civilian population.

Do I think the Army was ready for it? Thank you for asking. I can't imagine that opinion the military was all that different from civilian opinion - there were probably people who supported the policy and those who didn't support the policy. I think it is obvious the net effect has been nothing but positive.

Who wants to bet me that Don't Ask, Don't Tell comes up in the next Democratic debate, whenever that is? That Hillary sure is sharp. She's nothing if not cunning and clever, transferring ownership of the issue between parties. Turns out there were multiple people who, let's just say they never had any inclination to vote for anybody on stage to begin with. I'm not sure how anybody can believe that CNN didn't know what was going on. I guess the "paranoia" was justified. If I'm a Democratic, I'm grinning from ear to ear and having a cheeky laugh.

I guess if it were possible to enforce such a policy, I wouldn't mind if the opposition got a voice in the primary debates. The reason why I don't support it is because it is pretty plain to see that it just won't work that way. I wouldn't want to put shackles on the media like that anyway. The only answer is to do what the Democratics did with Fox (minus Kucinich) and avoid going to unfriendly places.

....liberals asking the questions. At least one of them (who knows how many more we'll find out about) is associated with a Democratic running for President currently. Which candidate? I'll give you one guess.



This would be equivalent to someone from a Republican candidate's team being permitted by the media to ask the Democratic candidates what they are going to do to preserve traditional marriage, or what they are going to do to protect the unborn. The fairness of Don't ask, Don't tell is a question that, while it may be relevant in some circles, definitely is not a hot button or important issue to any Conservative, or even most Republican voters.

That kind of a question is, to me, only in context in the general election. It is not even close to being on the map for a Republican primary. Do I want tough questions from the other party in a primary debate? No, I don't, whether it is Democratic or Republican. This is for THEIR supporters to decide which of THEIR people is good for THEM, not good for the opposition. I don't think anyone is really surprised by this development, but the pervasive stupidity of the electorate ensures that somehow this results in Hillary becoming more popular.

The irony in all of this is the simple fact that a very popular and beloved Democratic put Don't Ask, Don't Tell in place. Do you know which one? I'll give you one guess.



To me, this is a complex question that weighs fairness against reality. The fair thing is to allow people to be who they are openly. I consider a gay soldier to be just as brave and worthy of my respect as a straight soldier, possibly even more so. They do not deserve violence and harsh treatment from anyone. Cold, hard reality slaps you in the face, and lets you understand that this isn't just a military problem, it is a social problem, something that isn't easily fixed in an organization such as the US Armed Forces. Homophobes will be homophobes, no matter what you tell them, and some of them WILL treat gays differently. I trust military people to understand what will work and not work with the military far more than a politician vying for votes. This Hillary plant gives one version, and it is worth listening to, but I would think this is something that has to be reviewed carefully, not reduced pitifully to a gotcha moment on TV.

If I were gay, I wouldn't serve. Period. I'd try to serve the country in another way, because I just don't think this is going to be settled anytime soon.

Ah, a new category. Hello!

(e:Joshua) is gone for the week, and that means that I have to feed myself. Normally, I don't do very well alone. I don't know what sautee means (rough guess: heat in pan w/oil?) or how to make pancakes, but to my surprise Yahoo had a link to a page of a "week full of EASY recipes" - Hallelujah!

Smiling because I had hope I wouldn't be eating PB & J for a week, I flipped over to Monday. What are you eating today, Jason? Stir-Fried Noodles and Pork. Cool, I know how to put some oil in the pan and heat some shit up. I looked at the recipe and saw SIXTEEN, count em, SIXTEEN ingredients. No lie.

What are chuka soba noodles? Can I get slivered ginger at Willies? Shiso leaves? Mung bean? When they say match stick, do they really mean match stick? What kind of chilis? I'm more of a six ingredient guy, including water and butter/oil.

Needless to say I clicked over here instead of reading the instructions. My hands are still shaking. I'm pretty sure booze can sustain me, at least until I can get some canned soup and some easy mac. Bon appetit!