fatcogblog

Truck Nutz are everywhere

toomanyTomcats — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:57:38 GMT

I am falling over laughing watching Wonkette.com completely derail the GOP's attempts to revitalize their party. First some republican party person, all down on her luck and depressed, thought to work with the youngins and put together www.rebuildtheparty.com , asking for ideas on how to re-energize their party. Some ideas seemed genuine at first. Then, a few hours later, it gets posted on www.Wonkette.com : http://wonkette.com/404325/american-people-give-republican-party-major-responsibility-big-ale-on-truck-nutz#comment-174142 All day long Wonkers have been bombing the site with MUCH better ideas: please- just stop Put a gun to his head be more gay But the one that ppl really got excited about was: Truck Nutz for All!! They were inspired by one of many suppliers of this fine product (now banned in the penis shaped state of Florida): http://yournutz.com/ It has pulled away from Ron Paul supporters who originally infiltrated the site. For a short time, when you Googled 'truck nutz', the RTP site was the first hit. Now it's been blocked or something- it doesn't even show up. Here's the realtime 'customer feedback' from rebuild the party.com: http://ideas.rebuildtheparty.com/ I can't stop laughing.

I'm a Star

toomanyTomcats — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 01:32:24 GMT

A few weeks ago a Chron reporter contacted me about the credit card and other consumer debt drying up. They used some of what I had to say. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/25/MNPS13N281.DTL There's some good comments at the end. Some a little wingnutty, while others make a good point- the banks lending us money got a 700bn bailout, while they raise the floor interest rates, late fees, and other spurious charges. And they also ding merchants for accepting cards at their store. It makes you want to not pay off the bill and walk away from the cards. For Vanity sake, here's the article: Over the past 40 years, credit cards have become fixtures in the American wallet. But the worldwide financial crisis and increased regulatory pressure in Washington are starting to reshape the lending system in ways that are making plastic harder to get and more costly to use. <<Related story: Students learning from financial crisis>> Images Karen Walters saw her interest rate soar and her minimum ...The San Francisco 49ers, Vice President of Stratigic Plan...The San Francisco 49ers, Vice President of Stratigic Plan... View More Images More Business * Ducks come back against Cardinal 35-28 11.08.08 * Brazil demands sweeping global financial overhaul 11.08.08 * 5 convicted in Wells Fargo check forgeries 11.08.08 * Automakers struggle to survive past mistakes 11.08.08 The changes will affect American consumers differently, as they carry nearly a trillion dollars of credit card debt, according to Federal Reserve estimates. For the majority of cardholders, who pay off their balances each month, this buy-now, pay-later system will remain a convenience that often comes with discounts and other benefits. But nearly 50 million Americans carry balances from month to month - they're called rollovers in credit card parlance. And many of these are hard-pressed families who use credit to cover the rising prices of gas, food, health care and housing, said Elizabeth Warren, a law professor and debt expert at Harvard University. "It would be wonderful to report that all we have to do is cut back on extra spending, but most of the people who carry credit card balances just can't pay their expenses on their declining real incomes," Warren said. Signs of tightening in the credit card market began to appear last fall, said Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com, a Web site he founded 10 years ago to track things such as balance transfer offers promising low or no-cost introductory rates. "A year ago, many of these offers had very aggressive teaser rates with 12 months of zero percent interest and no fees," Arnold said. Now such offers are "very, very rare" and many come-ons charge fees of up to 3 percent of the balance transfer, while introductory rates may hit 3.99 percent and last only six months. Card issuers also are demanding higher credit scores, he said. "Historically, consumers have used these transfers as life preservers to manage their debt," Arnold said. "The rules have changed." When credit cards first appeared in the 1960s, they were "very hard to get, almost status symbols," said Carol Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association. But the plastic currency grew common during the relatively booming 1980s and 1990s. "Credit card companies had money, rates were reasonable, it became so every family had one," Kaplan said. "Now the industry is sort of tightening credit standards. It's harder to get a higher limit. It's harder even to get a card at all." The stricter standards are partly a reaction to economic conditions that make it tougher for cardholders to make payments. "More and more credit card users are having difficulty paying more than the minimum on their credit card balances," noted Standard & Poors. Difficult to get credit Scott Crawford, of DebtGoal.com, a Web site in San Francisco designed to help people manage credit, said consumers will have to adjust to an environment in which credit is tougher to obtain. "What we essentially have is a crisis driven by too much borrowing and too little saving," he said. Warren, the Harvard debt expert, said this shift will make life harder for working families who have used credit cards to stretch paychecks that can't cover the basics. In testimony before Congress in July, she used federal data to show that the typical family has seen its income fall more than $1,000 between 2000 and 2007 after inflation, while food, gas, housing and health care costs have risen more than $4,000. "There are no easy ways out," Warren said, adding that people are getting second jobs or holding yard sales in an effort to stay afloat. Profitable way to lend Issuing credit cards has long been one of the most profitable forms of lending. "Credit card earnings have been consistently higher than returns on all commercial bank activities," said the Federal Reserve in a June report. The report said big credit card banks send out billions of direct-mail pitches to land about 1 new customer for every 200 letters. The Fed said the volume of these direct-mail solicitations peaked at 6.05 billion in 2005, falling to 5.8 billion in 2006 and 5.2 billion in 2007. That works out to 26.7 letters per adult at the peak, sliding to 25.6 and 23 letters per adult more recently, based on a Census Bureau estimate of 226 million Americans 18 or older. "Much of the falloff in solicitations during 2007 took place during the latter portion of the year as solicitations of higher credit-risk prospects were curtailed in the face of rising credit card delinquencies and difficulties in the mortgage market," the report said. Attorney Gail Hillebrand, who tracks the finance industry for Consumers Union in San Francisco, likened credit card sales tactics to the practices of subprime mortgage lenders who offered low introductory loans that later rose to levels beyond the borrower's ability to pay. She singled out a practice under which some card issuers routinely raise low introductory rates to punitive levels if the payer is late even once. These are sometimes called hair-trigger delinquency rates. Redwood City resident Karen Walters said she was stung by such an increase when her payment arrived the day after it was due. Walters, who had run up $28,000 in charges during a period of unemployment, said she had been whittling down her debt since going back to work by paying far more than her $230 monthly minimum. But after her day-late payment, the card company raised her free introductory rate to 28.99 percent. That tripled her minimum payment to $592. She argued with the company to reverse the increase but said the best she could get was a promise to consider lowering the rate again if she was on time for six months. Such practices have come under intense regulatory scrutiny in Washington. In May, the Fed, which oversees banks, joined the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration in proposing new regulations that would, among other things, prevent card issuers from boosting rates this way unless a cardholder was more than 30 days late with a payment. The banking industry is fighting the proposed regulations. Edward Yingling, president of the American Bankers Association, has called them unprecedented and likened them to price controls that would discourage lending because it would not allow card issuers to set interest rates at levels adequate to offset their lending risks. "This is particularly perplexing, as the result will be a reduction in credit availability at the very time the Fed is working to increase access to credit," Yingling said in a statement. But the Fed remains on track to put the new rules in place before year-end - although it may be months before they take effect, in order to give banks time to make the adjustment. Meanwhile, Congress is mulling legislation that would go beyond those rules in some regards. One fact that undoubtedly stiffened the resolve of policymakers was a record 65,000 letters that flooded into the Fed offices during the public comment period. Credit card tribulations Pacifica resident Howard Hall was among those who wrote to tell Fed officials how he had run up $15,000 in card debt after he lost his job in 2001, fell behind in his payments and saw his 8.9 percent rate shoot up to 29 percent - raising his monthly minimum payment to $400. Hall said he was able to climb out of debt because his wife was working and they were able to refinance their home. Now back at work, Hall asked what would happen to a single parent or someone without his advantages "once they fall into a credit death spiral." Oakland resident Tom Martin might have some tips. The 38-year-old homeowner, who had gotten in and out of $10,000 in credit card debt in the 1990s, was determined not to let that happen again when he went through a recent period without a good job. He took on roommates to cover the mortgage, quit driving his car and used his credit card only for emergencies like furnace repair. Such austere measures helped keep his card debt down to $3,000, which he is paying down now that he is back at work managing a bicycle business in Oakland. "We even grew vegetables," said Martin, who has sweet potatoes in his front yard. "They make a good ground cover and they don't take much water." Credit card tips Lenders are tightening standards. The majority of card holders who pay off their charges each month will be relatively unaffected. But those with big balances who have used transfers to manage their debt will find that tougher. Curtis Arnold with CardRatings.com offers these tips in this changing environment: If you use balance transfers to manage debt, consider an offer that locks in a rate for the term of the loan. This might be higher than teaser rates that start low but rise later. But locking in a predictable rate could be safer than hopping from transfer to transfer. Never miss a payment. Ask your card company to extract the minimum from your checking account or pay online. -- Make extra payments whenever you can. These are applied to the principal and help whittle down your debt. Learn about debt-to-limit ratios. Using more than 30 percent of a card's credit limit hurts your credit score. If you have multiple cards, try to balance out your debt so that no one card has a debt-to-limit ratio over 30 percent. Keep unused cards active by making token charges annually. This preserves the credit if you need it and prevents the bank from canceling it for non-use, which can hurt your credit score. If you are in the hole, quit digging. Use your card only for emergencies, or pay off any new charges at the end of the month to avoid worsening the situation. E-mail Tom Abate at tabate@sfchronicle.com.

Companies to Boycott Over Prop 8

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:07:30 GMT

The Mormon church was the single largest monetary contributor to the "vote yes on proposition 8" campaign. The Mormon church gets its money from church-members and its business holdings.The following is a list of organizations that are either owned by the church outright; owned, founded or run by Mormons in executive positions (a portion of whose salary is tithed to the church); or in which the church owns a large percentage of stock. STOP GIVING THESE COMPANIES YOUR MONEY! 1-80O-Contacts AES corp. Affiliated computer services AgReserves lnc. (agriculture) American Express Apx Alarm Avista corp. Azul Bain Capital Black and Decker Bonneville comm. Cadence Design Central Pacific Bank Cornerstone Realty Income Trust Inc. Corvis Cygnus Inc. Dell Computer Deloitte Touche Diebold Dionex Downey Savings and Loan EarthShell Franklin Covey Headwaters Inc. Hillenbrand Industries Hollywood Entertainment(Hollywood video) Host Marriott (Marriott hotels and resorts) Huntsman Chemical Jet Blue (Really?) JP Realty K-BIG FM radio Los Angeles Key Corp. Knight Transportation Kroger foods (Ralph's and Albertsons) K-Swiss lnc. La Quinta Properties (t-a Quinta hotels) Latham and Watkins lomega Merit Medical Systems Micrel Semiconductor Micro General Microsemi Corp. Monaco Coach Myriad Genetics Novell NPS Pharmaceuticals NuSkin Oakley Oil States International Phelps Dodge Corp. Priceline.com Ryder Systems (Ryder trucks) Sky West Airlines Spectra Sunrider Int'l. Swift Transportation Telefonica Brasil Tropical Sportswear Williams Companies Inc. Zions Securities Corp For further information including additional companies, names, titles and contact information: www.mormonstockindex.com www.famousmormons.net www.mormon.org/mormon/mormon410.html

elections and parties

toomanyTomcats — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:05:03 GMT

I voted absentee a few weeks ago. I'm registered green but identify as a green democrat.I was quite surprised in the choices- none were 3rd party candidates. none repbublican. most of my reasoning for the choices made were fairly obvious. But the nagging and disappointing questions I had about all the contenders were, why weren't the greens (or any other non demo/repub challengers) even remotely close in terms of issues and values to present a legit platform to the democratic or republican incumbent? it sucks to have 2 choices that are so narrow. In any other race, or platform review, obama would be considered a progressive republican, not a liberal democrat. I don't feel duped. I feel I made the right and best choice based on the options at hand. but jeez. maybe the greens can work on fielding non wingutty candidates to local offices before they tackle the highest position in the nation.

Get offa my lawn kids....

toomanyTomcats — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:44:57 GMT

http://wonkette.com/404042/mean-lady-doesnt-give-candy-to-obama-supporting-children

Anchorage Paper endorses.....Obama...

toomanyTomcats — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:08:09 GMT

They can't even bring themselves to back the governor of their own state. Even they find her unqualified to be a backup for the president, or to break a tie in the Senate, which is an unlikely scenario for this election season. http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/567867.html And tell me how giving 700bn to a handful of corporations, and 200bn in 'bottom up distributions' to the wealthiest 1% of the few remaining corporations paying US taxes is not 'socialist'.

TomCats Ringing Endorsements for this Election Season

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:55:20 GMT

Daxles blog on various state and local propositions prompted me to post my choices. I'll keep the presidential choice a secret, but it is prolly obvious which pairing I went with. Here they are: US Representative, 9th congressional district: Barbara Lee- She's not a bad choice, but it would be nice to have a reasonable challenger. Considering the options of a libertarian and a republican (with Charles Hargrave changing his party affiliation from Libertarian to accept the republican 'nomination'), I have to stick with the incumbent. The 2 write ins that are on smartvoter.org have little if any information online. Same thing with Charles Hargrave- no website, no position paper- not even on the state republican website. James Ayer seems reasoned and rational, but I have an issue with most libertarian candidates and their cries of 'states rights' and 'personal liberties' trumping every argument. State Senator, 9th district: Loni Hancock- The republican challenger, 'Claudia Bermudez is the daughter of Nicaragua's Col Enrique Bermudez of Dark Alliance fame, who is reputed to have organized the LA based crack-cocaine schemes to re-supply the Nicaragua Contras in the 80's'. I found that on the www.blackvoternet.com website. Yikes. Marsha Feinland from the peace and Freedom party has a great platform but I don't think she will be very effective in the powerstructure to actually get many of those planks enacted. State Assembly, 16th district: Sandre Swanson- I do think Swanson needs to move on and make some room for a more take-action candidate for his district. James Fasion is a total mess though. For example, his first answer to the Smartvoter.org Issues Review about CA energy independence shows he really does not understand issues. He calls for a 'standard' flat $.25 per gallon of gas tax. That would increase the tax about 6 cents, as the total gas tax -state and federal- is limited to 18 cents per gallon. Yet he thinks it will be reduced. Will his 'research' on other issues be similar, like on abortion, education, basic economic theory, etc? Oakland City council, at-large: Kerry Hamill- Oakland does not need another Nancy Nadel type vote on the council, at least for the next couple years. Chalk it up to poor timing, but living among the really poor decisions of Nadel and Brunner, I can't add another vote to that. Hamill is widely recognized as a trojan horse for an eventual Mayoral bid by Don Perata. She has much support from De La Fuente. I did not vote for DeLaFuente when he ran for mayor and i think that was a mistake. Dellums has been the most horrible and absent mayor Oakland has seen in a long time. DeLafeunte has his own warts, but I think a lot of the issues Oakland is struggling with would not be so acute. So, lets see what another vote for non wingnutty progressives can do for Oakland. AC Transit, Director at-Large: Christian Peeples- he will be replacing Rebecca Kaplan, as she is attempting to run for Oakland City Council (see above). I may have made a mistake in this option, as Peeples has been part of the group that spent millions of dollars on the unneeded and poorly designed Van Hool buses, but Joyce Roy strikes me a mercenary candidate- she's running for office with a chip on her shoulder. She seems to be running more out of a personal beef. AC Transit, Ward 2: James Muhammad- This was a mistake. I can't change my absentee vote at this point. But he's not that bad. He's run 2 times previously and lost, and is running on a financial accountability platform, but I can't find much more about him. AC Transit could use his expertise, but not at the expense of rendering decision making useless at thay level. BART Director, District 7: Marshall walker- I like the idea of an urban planner ont he BART Board. East Bay Regional Park district, Ward 1: Whitney Dotson- he has the backing of East Bay Bike Coalition. His challenger is an outspoken opponent of bicycle use in any park. Maybe I'll make another post on propositions and local measures. This is a long enough posting for today. Vote.

In defense of Bill Ayers

toomanyTomcats — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:05:13 GMT

i was led to this article from a friend and fellow tribster. It's posted on the world Socialist Website, a political view that I usually have more and more trouble beliving in and following. I have my reasons for being at odds with it, but my fundamental beliefs of what society and government should do remains the same. I have learned and experienced firsthand what the social contract means. it's not 'every man for himself', but more everyman working together according to their best abilities. But enough about me. Bill Ayers is written off as the Bogeyman of Politics Past, these days; they were active before many of us were born and is no longer in existence. It sounds to me he abandoned radical politics when we turned himself in, did some time and emerged with a more progressive set of ideals to act upon on. he is now firmly entrenched in Illinois Liberal politics, working alongside conservatives and religious types as a housing advocate. Sounds like he rejoined reality. Would the McCain camp slander a born again x-tian who had the same path of salvation? http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/ayer-o17.shtml In defense of Bill Ayers By David Walsh 17 October 2008 Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and his supporters are continuing to pursue their smear campaign against former Weatherman radical Bill Ayers, now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In its desperation, the McCain campaign is attempting to link Ayers to his Democratic opponent Barack Obama, claiming that the Illinois senator has been “palling around with terrorists,” in the words of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee. In the final presidential debate Wednesday night, McCain returned to the issue, declaring, “I don’t care about an old washed-up terrorist. But as Senator [Hillary] Clinton said in her debates with you, we need to know the full extent of that relationship.” He went on to claim that Obama had “launched his political campaign in Mr. Ayers’ living room” and that the Illinois senator “chooses to associate with a guy who in 2001 said that he wished he had bombed more, and he had a long association with him.” Ayers once hosted an event for Obama early in the latter’s political career and they both served on the board of an anti-poverty group, the Woods Fund. Ayers contributed $200 to an Obama campaign in 2001. Ayers, now an elementary education theorist and author of several works on the subject, left his radicalism behind him years ago. Like many of his generation, he slid back into liberal and community politics. A private citizen, with no official position in the Democratic campaign, the former Weatherman has become the victim of a ferocious and cowardly assault, aimed at furthering McCain’s electoral ambitions. Ayers is coming under attack from people who have the enormous resources of the American state and media behind them. The effort is unlikely to move public opinion or put McCain in the White House. However, given its source and the type of social element the Republican Party is attempting to whip into a frenzy, it raises the real danger of violence against Ayers and his family. The campaign is utterly cynical and dishonorable. The attack on Bill Ayers needs to be placed in its political and historical context. Born in 1944 in a Chicago suburb, the son of a prominent businessman and philanthropist, Ayers was radicalized by the civil rights struggles and the Vietnam War. In his memoir, Fugitive Days, he writes of his thinking in the late 1960s: “Humanity itself, it seemed to me, was what was at stake. The humanity of people in Vietnam and around the world, the humanity of Black Americans, and, finally, my own humanity. You could not be a moral person with the means to act, I thought, and stand still. The crisis demanded a choice. To stand still was to choose indifference. Indifference was the opposite of moral. If we didn’t speak out and act up, we were traitors. To fail now was fatal, and so there was nothing that could justify inaction. Nothing.” However mistaken his eventual political choices, Ayers’s was part of a generational experience. His sense of horror over US crimes in Vietnam, the destruction of a small nation, and his shame that this savagery was being committed in the name of the American people were sentiments shared by thousands and thousands of college and high school students, and young people in general. The massive, lethal bombing raids, the use of napalm and other barbaric weapons, the razing of countless villages, all justified in the name of the fight for “democracy,” sickened vast numbers of Americans, as did the unceasing lies and propaganda of the US government, under both Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson and Republican Richard Nixon. It is entirely to his credit that Ayers took up opposition to the war in Vietnam. The best members of his generation did the same. It is useful to compare him to Sen. John McCain, his principal accuser, both as a human type and in regard to the ‘violence’ in which each engaged. McCain’s father and paternal grandfather both became four-star US Navy admirals. In fact, McCain’s father was commander of all US forces in the Vietnam theater from 1968 to 1972. The vast majority of those who served in the American military in Southeast Asia were conscripts who had no choice in the matter. Most didn’t want to be there and many came to hate the war and the army officialdom. McCain, on the other hand, welcomed the opportunity to participate in the Vietnam War, to drop bombs and kill human beings who had done him and the US population no harm. He had no scruples about it. When he was shot down in October 1967, McCain was taking part in Operation Rolling Thunder, an aerial bombardment campaign conducted against North Vietnam from March 1965 until November 1968. His specific target, which he failed to hit, was a power plant in the center of Hanoi. On December 31, 1967, the US Defense Department reported that American planes had dumped 864,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam during the operation, compared with 653,000 tons of bombs dropped in the entire course of the Korean War and 503,000 tons in the Pacific theater during World War II. Estimates of civilian deaths caused by US bombing in Operation Rolling Thunder range from 52,000 to 182,000. The war eventually killed a total of more than 3 million Vietnamese and wounded another 600,000. As a leading member of the Weatherman group, Ayers admits to having set off several small bombs, which blew up a police memorial and damaged public buildings. No one was killed or injured in those actions. Ayers was never charged with, let alone convicted, of a crime. His greatest sin, one might say, was holding very confused and disoriented views. An examination of his political views is not the subject of this article, but, in any event, they were not of a criminal character. Influenced by anarchism and Maoism, cut off from the working class by the reactionary AFL-CIO bureaucracy, Ayers never found his way to genuinely Marxist and socialist politics. Instead, his youthful radicalism led him to terrorist operations. This was, above all, an expression of extreme frustration. He was no doubt a courageous and idealistic individual. Not to his credit, he eventually found his way to ‘respectable’ politics. There is an element of tragedy in the political evolution of Ayers and a good number of others of that generation. On what moral scale shall we weigh McCain and Ayers? In however confused a manner, the latter conducted a struggle on behalf of the oppressed. The same can hardly be said of McCain. Another key element in the Ayers controversy is the reprehensible role played by Obama himself. The problem is not that the Democratic hopeful ‘consorts’ with terrorists, but that he is a craven opportunist and careerist of the first order. To the extent that Ayers was a figure with a reputation and connections within certain political circles in Illinois, as well as, apparently, a fundraiser, Obama seized on that and made use of it. When, as he entered the national political arena and the once-advantageous relationship threatened to become a liability, Obama turned his back on his erstwhile supporter and repudiated him, declaring Wednesday night, for example, that Ayers had “engaged in despicable acts with a radical domestic group. I have roundly condemned those acts.” This is not merely a personal failing of Obama’s. In recent years, the Democratic Party and the media have enthusiastically joined in the effort to discredit opposition to the Vietnam War and legitimize this imperialist atrocity. It is not simply a matter of defending old wrongdoings, but preparing to justify new ones, all over the world. Thus, Obama never misses an opportunity to refer to McCain as an “American hero,” when he could more properly be identified as an “American war criminal.” There is an utter lack of principle at every level of the liberal establishment. No one in the mainstream media, with the honorable exception of Thomas Frank writing in the Wall Street Journal, has come to Ayers’s defense. The New York Times has accommodated itself to the McCarthyite attack on Ayers, describing him in one recent editorial as “a violent, 1960s radical” and referring in another to “Mr. Obama’s ill-advised but fleeting and long-past association with William Ayers, founder of the Weather Underground and confessed bomber.” We catch in this affair a small glimpse of what is to come if Obama is elected: craven cowardice in the face of right-wing provocations and treachery toward his supporters on the left, if only of a liberal character. One might add, as a postscript, there is such a thing as personal honor, standing up for people who lent you support. Even during the anticommunist witch-hunts of the Cold War, there were liberals who defended Alger Hiss and others. One can only say of Obama’s behavior in this episode: What swinishness!

Freezing Man- it's no longer just an ice cream truck.

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:31:18 GMT

This was posted on the PDF email list and thought it would enjoy a wider audience.... There's some confusion as to whether it's the 21st or 28th, but it will be the end of November. From: Robyn Broyden <rbroyden@gmail.com> Subject: [chicago-list] Help the first (un)official Antarctic regional BM event!! To: chicago-list@burningman.com Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 5:09 AM I can hardly believe its happening, but McMurdo Station is actually going to be hosting the first (un)official regional Burning Man event to occur on the Antarctic continent... YAY!! Our date is Black Friday, Nov 21st, since the only 2-day weekend of the entire season will be Thanksgiving weekend (we don't get T'giving itself off, but Saturday AND Sunday instead... woohoo!! Kickoff for the festivities is Friday). Our event is called "Freezing Man"- how appropriate!! Anyway, since this is all happening in just a month, we're in a dead panic. Since recieving mail from the US can take up to a month, the planning committee is up against a wall in trying to get anything ordered in time to make it down here if we want anything from off-continent to add to the festivities. Anything you guys can think of to share with us to help make it happen and actually feel like Burning Man would be freaking awesome... Body paints blinkies schwag/gifites (small, mailable) art extra costumes HULA HOOPS or HOOP MAKING SUPPLIES photos love movies or anything else (except Playa dust- NOOOO Playa dust can be introduced to the continent, unfortunately) you'd like to contribute to help seed the budding Burner community here, would be a huge gift!! (actually, there are a lot of folks here that go to the Burn, but we only got the word yesterday that our event was approved, so no one was quite prepared to get it going this fast). I promise that all those who contribute anything to "Freezing Man, Antarctica" will get some "cool" schwag mailed back as a thank you... just be sure to include your return address with your items! Also, any IDEAS you have for small-scale stuff we could *do* would also be welcome... Mailing addresses you can use are below... I would recommend splitting stuff up between the people listed, in case the mail-sorters in New Zealand decide I'm getting too much stuff for my own good (if you send it all to me), and hold packages back (silly military...). Mailing guidelines include: NO packing p'nuts (they're banned from the continent) NO porn (banned from NZ customs) NO alcohol (very sad, but true) NO explosives/fireworks NO plants, dirt/Playa, produce, animals, rocks -packaged/non-perishable food is fine though -Use green or the white customs forms, with general descriptions of items (ie- "clothing", "decorations","light bulb", "craft supplies", "toiletries", "toys", etc) -if its SMALL and HEAVY, use one of the "Flat Rate Priority Boxes- Domestic" for the best rate. The postal rate is whatever it costs to mail something from Illinois to San Francisco (not international postage... so its not outrageously expensive, just normal domestic postage rates... but go "Priority" so we can get it in time.) Include your return address (inside the box) if you want your item back!! Addresses: Pick ONE of the names below- Robyn Broyden, RPSC Scott Gilbert, NANA Jason Bryenton, RPSC Cary Marger, RPSC and use the following address: McMurdo Station PSC 469 Box 700 APO AP 96599-1035 To those that take the time and effort to gift us with the energy of the Chicago BM scene, we are eternally grateful!! After this event, we can officially say that Burning Man is alive and well on every continent on Earth!! Much love from the frigid south, robyn aka Lavendyr _______________________________________________ chicago-list mailing list chicago-list@burningman.com lists.burningman.com/mailman...ago-lis

TomCat is in town. Bay Area Tour begins today!

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:29:28 GMT

I was in Las Vegas for the annual Interbike convention and arranged a little side trip to Oakland to re-unite with Nicole, check out my house, and hang with my friends for a bit. I texted a little note to some of yall about meeting up at Heinholds first and last chance saloon in downtown Oakland, at 49 webster. http://www.yelp.com/biz/heinolds-first-and-last-chance-bar-oakland#hrid:caMYFfnLz6ovUHZc48zswg/query:heinholds I'll be bike mobile as usual and plan to be there at 8pm tonight. Sunday there's the Folsom St Fair. I'd like to go to that, and I'll be in street clothes. No time for costumery. and My frilly panties got destroyed in the wash last week. After Folsom st, we plan to S0ak, starting around 7pm. If you are really desperate to hang out with me, On monday I'll be at the CA DMV office on Claremont in Oaklad, 9am, to square away my drivers license one last time. Then it's off to the airport for a 2pm flight.

Vote! vote!

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:00:24 GMT

Recently I have been volunteering to sign people up to vote, make sure their voting records are updated, etc. I usually go with the Obama supporters cuz they are pleasant enough to talk with. I've helped quite a few citizens get their voting records cleaned up, some republicans, libertarians too. But mostly democrats. No greens. When they ask why I'm doing this, I say voting gives you the right to complain. Nothing really changes. If voting actually changed anything it would be criminalized. They gasp, then kinda nod along. That said, I think there are fundamental differences between Obama and McCain. - McCain has said repeatedly this election is not about issues or platforms. Obama has tried to focus the debate on the issues, not the personalities running. McCain has repeatedly tried to make it about celebrity and personality. Is that how the McCain flavored executive branch will behave for four more years? - Obama has laid out a rather comprehensive economic policy that is not reactive (though the last time I saw it was in July so I'm sure it's been changed due to recent events) but visionary. McCain has tweaked the current bush plan, making corporate tax cuts permanent, as one example. - He is completely pro family and pro choice. McCain has, at best flip flopped on abortion, Palin holds extremist anti choice views. - I guranteee you Obama wouldn't veto MLK day as a national holiday for almost his entire career in political office. - Obama wants to get out of Iraq as fast as possible. McCain wants to stay for as long as possible. - Obama wants to encourage alternative energy sources, energy conservation, and transit modes other than 8 mile to the gallon SUV's. McCain just wants to drill more. And go nukular I could go on I guess, but that's enough. I've identified as an anarchist for many years, and still harbor anarcho tendancies. I almost married a socialist (that would have been an irreconcilable event in short time I suppose). I have volunteered for many wingnotty organizations (Food Not bombs being one of my favorites). I was very active in Oakland community actions, and I do miss it. I feel I made some positive changes in the 6 square blocks we kept tabs on. For the last 10 years I have registered Green, and will remain so for as long as that party reflects my ideas and feelings. But voting Green for the highest office in the nation without any grassroots foundation is ludicrous. The Greens would have a much larger and longer term impact if they were to actually organize as a political party, instead of as a politics club (like most chapters are in this country). They should also brush up on some history- and study the fundamentalist rights tactics. Run for lowly local offices like PTA elections, Municipal district and transit seats, etc. When they gain the experience, voter base and political capital, that is when candidates should seek higher office, like city council seats, sheriff (why not??), tax assessors, and state representatives. Sadly I do not see this happening for a while. I do hope we at least all try.

Darren Quit- Rumours.....just rumors....?

toomanyTomcats — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:21:39 GMT

I'm glad I gave all yall my info a couple days ago. I'm backing up my blog postings and will save them on google docs for now. I've carved out a space on facebook and I've gotten used to twitter. Do I build a community in Ning? not sure if I want to commit all that time to do that. I just may not do anything. I'm gonna miss you all if tribe finally ceases to be an active site. And I do hope the tribe management see's the importance of Darren now that he left. I figure he's been dealing with volumes of criticism from the user base, and his boss, and it's just him and only him holding it all together. There's a reason an IT department is a DEPARTMENT- it takes dozens to make it work. There may be a low profit with a free site like Tribe, but hundreds kicked down 50-60 a year to keep it going. That's an indicator that we are willing to allow it convert it to a membership site. until I see you here or elsewhere, Off into the ether and I'll see you later.

Exact location for Burningman

toomanyTomcats — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:33:32 GMT

One of our camp mates got out a lot early, and got placed! We are on corvair at 2:45. The Man side, not the Mountain side. See you soon! We'll be there for sunday sunrise.

Where are YOU camping?

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:19:19 GMT

Only 3 weeks before I start driving to Black rock city with Nicole! And this time we are not the shower donkey. The suby will once again get all dustified. Another adventure for my dream car. Edit: I'll be camping with ByB. we are placed on Corvair, at 3 0clock. I'll be doing a lot of rangering this year, mostly Intercept/ RnR, from 10 to about 4 or 6 am. And a Dirt shift in the City during the Saturday Man Burn. It should be quite a different scene in the deserted city with all the cacophony and chaos around the Stick in the middle of the playa. So, tell me where yall are camping. if it's a super secret location, send me a pryvate message. If you are working on some fabulous art installation on the playa, give me the name and/or estimated location and I'll be sure to come by. or try this website: www.whereareyoucamping.com I left plenty of time to do things like meet friends and actually have some fun unlike the previous couple of years.

Anyone need an adorable trike?

toomanyTomcats — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:55:48 GMT

If I found this trike lying on the side of the road in Oakland CA, I'd cream in my pants. Instead I find in in Annapolis,MD and was a little disappointed- how the hell am I gonna get it back to Black Rock city??? So, here's the jist of it. It's a wicker wrapped bike with a front basket, Bamboo grips, bamboo fenders, etc. It's got 20" wheels, a front brake, a slightly squeaky band brake on one of the rear wheels, a newish gel seat. cransk are cotterless. rims are steel. It's a compact trike, fitting smaller people ideally. It's perfect for burningman! It needs a week in the desert to really give it some character. And a Character to give it a week in the desert. I'm willing to put a bit of time in it, cleaning, replacing tubes/tires, and brake pads/cables, and will try to find an appropriate basket for the rear. I'll pack it up and stick in a box and you pay for shipping. I''ll try to post pics on tribe or on my flickr account. Those of you who know me will probably counsel me on the dangers of starting a bike pile out here in Annapolis. I get a little out of control with crappy junky cracked out crackhead bikes sometimes. My shed was taken over by the cancer of 30-50 bikes and frames (not to mention the bins of parts and shit ton of wheels) in various states of disrepair. I survived off it all last year, and am still getting referrals from many of my customers. I wish I could be there for them. I am digressing. This trike, and the 3 other mixties I found (see it;s already a pile- where is it stored?....uhh...., the bosses house. Bosses wife is NOT HAPPY) have suddenly given me some inspiration in this sleepy boaty town. They will be Velo -Orange project bikes for someone soon. and I have something to do on the weekends, tinkering with stuff around the apartment. And the boss now thinks I'm truly nuts. When I visited him in april i was scrounging around dumpsters looking at bikes that were being thrown away. He's like whatthehell are you doing? I told him if you give the local kids some bikes, they are less likely to rob your house. He said this is Annapolis not Oakland....Maybe he's right. I think that's what got me the job actually...... 7/21- Update- I added pics to Flickr...... http://flickr.com/search/?q=wicker%2Fbamboo&w=all&s=int It needs a wicker rear basket- working on it. I'm on the lookout for a panda too....

iPod charger via breasts and bras...?

toomanyTomcats — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:52:07 GMT

Who knew bras had another function? http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/bra-power-breast-charge-ipod.php Guys, just keep on movin'. Ain't nothing to see here. This post goes out to all the big-breasted women who can hear the echo of their own internal monologue in Adrienne So's comment in an article at Slate: As a woman who loves sports, I've always found the concept of breasts bothersome. If all goes according to plan, they will fulfill their intended function for about three of the 70 years that I have them. The rest of the time, they alternate between getting in my way and embarrassing me. Thank you to Adrienne So for asking the question: can we harness breast energy and put it to better use? TreeHugger and Instructables teamed up to make a working chest charger which relies only on the rise and fall of the chest during breathing. So the question seems viable. Adrienne discovers in her research that a size D-cup breast in a low support bra can move up to 35 cm (!!!!!) during exercise. Now, we all know that none of us with D-cups are wearing "low support bras" during exercise. But there's a lotta bouncing going on even with the best, most expensive sport bra money can buy. So the subject has potential. Since Slate scooped us on this one, we won't give away any more secrets. You will have to pop over to Slate to see what Adrienne learned in her survey of sports experts, nanotech fabric specialists and the inventor of the Lightning Pack power-generating backpack. It's certainly at least as good an idea as running around half-naked in a solar powered bra!

Hub Crawl tonite!

toomanyTomcats — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:11:22 GMT

Pink Buhnny and I decided to throw together a last minute hub crawl tonight. First stoPp is The Missouri Lounge on San Pablo. 5:15ish. Eventually we will make it to the Kona Club for BnB's birthday party. Eli's, The Graduate, and Seranader is on the list, and maybe a late night excursion to the White ho too.

Renting my house by June 15th....

toomanyTomcats — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:19:21 GMT

Hardwood floors throughout, the living room is warm and cozy with pocket doors between the dining room. The eat in kitchen was updated about 5 years ago so it has a microwave, gas stove, dishwasher and a lot of food storage. Some small electrics are included (coffee maker, toaster oven, etc). There is a washer/dryer(!) off the kitchen. The bathroom has been restored and features a clawfoot tub and pedestal sink. All 3 bedrooms are 9x11 or thereabouts, each with a closet and tallish ceilings. One room is very sunny and has a view overlooking the backyard garden. Theres plenty of car parking on the surrounding streets. About The Neigborhood: Close to all amenities, short distance to Oakland International Airport, Childrens’ Hospital, Port of Oakland, UC Berkeley, Emeryville’s International Plaza, Bay Street Shops & Restaurants, IKEA, Best Buys, Home Depot, Movie Theater, Oakland Library, National Holistic Institute and JFK Arts Campus. It is a mile from the bustling Temescal and Art Murmur districts, less than 2 miles from College ave, Piedmont ave restaurants and historic downtown Oakland. The Emery-go-round, which is two blocks away, provides free transportation around Emeryville, to Bay Street shopping area, IKEA and BART. The new and developing San Pablo Ave shopping area is within easy walking distance. Many great shops and restaurants are already there, like Arizmendi Pizza and Bakery, Manzanita (vegetarian) and Forenzu restaurants, with more to come. Community – You would join an eclectic and diverse group of active neighbors working to create a model neighborhood. We are doing it. This is a pro-active neighborhood. The neighborhood is a diverse group of great neighbors who know and care about each other. It is a mix of new and old with a lot character, and characters of the older neighborhood, but with many new people coming into the area. It’s quiet compared to other urban areas. Everyone is super friendly and you'll rarely leave the "hood" without saying hello to someone. What you MUST be comfortable with: The neighborhood is typical Oakland: better than some parts of town, worse than others. I've fared pretty well so far and am actively working to improve it. It's a very diverse urban neighborhood; we have middle and working class students, church ladies, crackheads, lawyers, activists, teachers, artists, and drug dealers all in the same neighborhood and sometimes even on the same block. If you can’t get along with all sorts of people this community will not be a good fit. If you are looking for a neighborhood that is socially and ethnically homogenized, with manicured lawns and everyone driving a new car this isn't it. If you like different kinds of people who are friendly, share their various backgrounds and make caring, interesting neighbors you will like this street. About Commuting: Located on Market Street, between 37th and West MacArthur, the house is near all major freeways. The entrance ramps to 80N, 580E and 24 are within a block. The 80 bus is at the corner. It’s really close to the MacArthur Bart Station: 11 min. walking ( I walk fast and timed it) or a 5 min. bike- on a singlespeed. Cats are OK. A well behaved dog is OK. Additional pet deposit may be required depending on how large your menagerie is. Rent is $1750 a month w/ 1 month security deposit. I am flexible with payment of the security deposit. Trash and recycling is included. Other utilities (PG and E, Water) are paid by tenant. Move in is June 15th and possibly earlier. 3716 Market St at West Macarthur Blvd

Coffee at 8:30AM

toomanyTomcats — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:30:04 GMT

I ike to wake up between 8 and 8:30 am, drink some coffee to shake away the cobwebs of dreams, and gain perspective of the day ahead. The slower pace of my morning routine contrasts with the usual chaos and ADD style of my day, running from one mess to another, cleaning up this pile, fixing this bike, writing another email to Taiwan, on the phone with clients, future employers, Family and friends. It's nice to be busy but sometimes the pace is a little stressful and things fall through the cracks. Like the important stuff, relaxation for example. This morning it occurred to me that I have told only a few people about a monumental decision that i made a little more than a week ago. I've taken a GM/ Operations manager position at a small bike company in Annapolis MD called www.Velo-Orange.com . Start date is around June 15th. I'll have the chance to build a company, and create (and re-create) bikes, parts and accessories that the Big Guys are completely missing. This is a once in lifetime opportunity and I can't pass it up, especially with the compensation package- great vacation, vested ownership, health plan, travel to Japan, Germany, France, and really cool bikes- it would be crazy for me to walk away from it. I'll be closer to family, there's an entirely new range of friends and communities to explore and love. I'm looking forward to it. My last posting was about a part time sales and marketing job at the Cycles of change/APC bike shop ( www.cyclesofchange.org/apc ). It's going well, there are so many gems that pop up, so many cool people that I have met, and my mind is exploding with ideas of making it a true community space (repair stand rentals, art bike welding shop, scraper bike meets, guest mechanic wrenching, etc). While that is a great resource for the local residents and the larger bike community, the pay is a little under what I need for survival in the bay area, especially if you own a house.. If the VO gig did not turn up, I'd be able to survive and be relatively happy with it. I'd still have other income from sourcing and product management consulting, but I'd like to think there are larger contributions I can make within the bike industry and associated Biek Kultur. I'm there until May 10th, selling bikes, doing outreach, giving tours of the facilities and hopefully igniting the connections between the Shop at APC and the the larger communities beyond the Naval base population. There are dozens of Burner class cruisers and mountain bikes, and plenty of more quality rides for those who will do more than ride for a week in the desert. And every week there's a new pile of bikes and parts to go through, clean up and post on CL or Ebay. So, lots of change in the air. My sleepy coffee wakeup time ended about 2 weeks ago. Now I need to sell off my shed full of bikes and parts, CL some furniture (anyone need a blue Ikea loveseat and a cat scratching post that doubles as an overstuffed cost Plus chair?), pack up my office and bedroom furniture, decide which books and records I take with me, and determine the safest and cheapest way to transport all that crap across the country (again). Then there's the cheap housing search in Annapolis or thereabouts. And, how do you transport a crazy cat across the country? I'm keeping the house, not selling it immediately, so I'll be leaving behind some furniture for tenants to use (most of the kitchen stuff- pots, pans, plates, utensils, appliances, etc), bathroom stuff, some living room and dining room furniture). The backyard garden that Nicole and I (well, more Nicole- I just got out of the way....) converted to a productive vegetable garden will be harvested by her over the summer (potatoes, hops, carrots, tomatoes, corn, soybeans, and tons of onions and greens). With that in mind. I'll have a room to rent as of June 1, and other to rent June 15th. I'll be interviewing people in the next few weeks, so if you're (or know someone who is...) looking to move out of your current hovel, you could do a lot worse than renting my place, and having a lot of autonomy and a direction with what the house is, as long as the neighbors are respected and you don't burn it down. Man I'm gonna miss a lot of you.

I have a job- and this time it actually pays US cash money.

toomanyTomcats — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:06:38 GMT

Well kids, I've been hired on at the Alameda Point Collaborative and the Cycles of Change bike shop to get their retail 'store' up and running for the 2008 season. It's located on the old Alameda naval base and is a job training site for people in 'transition'. Much of my responsibility is to get foot traffic into the location, which is not exactly a prime retail space. It's in a converted airplane hanger in an empty naval base. But it has a lot of potential. lots of space, a lot of bikes, amazing people to work with. A little bike selling, some mechanic work, and 'marketing' via CL and ebay in addition to providing a service to the burner community is just what I need. it's only 20 hours a week, but that's just fine for now- I'm still going to school at BCC. Jupiter Product evolution is also doing rather well. I'm still finding my niche after a year, but I'm more clear in the direction to take at this point . The Taipei bike show last week turned up a lot of good leads and some potential longer term contract work if I follow through. I could use a couple more customers, but ones I work with currently I really enjoy, with their Interesting and challenging projects. The last 'job' I had was a lot of responsibility but did not pay at all. The APC gig is much more stable with a set amount of hours and I'm actually working with people instead of being in a dingy basement office with a dieing plant or a deaf cat as a co-worker.

Damn cold/ flu....

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:17:49 GMT

After 3 nights of fitful sleep punctured by coughing attacks, I am of the opinion that the cold or flu or whatever I have is not going away on it's own. So, I'm going to ask for some advice.... Last week I came down with the flu- high temp, lots of sweating while asleep, coughing, aching, stuffed nasal passages, mostly. Most of the symptoms have subsided, but the one that has gained is the cough. I feel, or rather hear, my lungs wheezing when I breathe. If I dwell on it take deeper breaths, I start coughing like mad. I'm hoping it's not pneumonia or bronchitis. The hypochondriac in me is saying maybe Larry is visiting me again. But that's just crazy talk...., right? After class today, I plan to visit the Berkeley free clinic, because I am not sure of my health coverage through the school, and the admin offices are closed on the weekends. Since some of you fatherly/motherly or doctorly types, what would you recommend, over the counter, to clear up my sinus passages, deal with the junk in my lungs, and eliminate the cough? I despise taking pills but I think I'm beyond wishing this thing away and I don't want into get any worse. cough, hack, wheeze... Tom

WTF am I Doing?

toomanyTomcats — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:18:04 GMT

I've been blogging on other's blogs about what I've been doing lately. Maybe it's time to post one here. After almost a year of being unemployed, and state assistance ending in August, I've taken some drastic action. I enrolled full time at Berkeley city College, first for an associates degree, and onwards to a bachelors degree. the initial goal is is a Bachelors in business and the hopes that Hayward or Cal or SF State will offer a 'green' undergrad degree when it's time for me to matriculate into the higher level courses. Nothing like that exists- it's all MBA type stuff. Sending out hundreds (HUNDREDS!!) of resumes to dozens of job boards with the only replies are insurance companies (sales), auto dealerships (sales at $200 a week plus some kind of weighted commission) and the armed forces (trolling for 38 year adult men- they really are desperate), I've come to the conclusion that: a. Human beings do not read your resume b. experience doesn't really matter that much because most workplaces want you to follow their rules, despite job descriptions of wanting entrenpenurial (another reason to take English 1A!) types who take little direction and are independent. c. my lack of degree puts me automatically in the NO pile. Cuz it's easier for HR people (if there even people looking at it- usu it's a scanner searching for the right buzzwords) to look for ways to reject the thousands of responses they get from Monster and CL. Ive been doing a lot of work with Jupiter Product Evolution, my sourcing and product management company, but it's not enough to keep me fed and in my house. It has helped, but it's not enough. And I don't think I'm cut out for working from the home full time. It's lonely, a little boring, and I have to deal with Jupiter doing drivebys while I work on the computer. The office across town flamed out because many of the things that were promised on my 'business partners' end never materialized. Like an e-commerce website that works. Like having more control of the sourcing of product; the Euro exchange rate is horrible so a German made bike rack costs 2x as much as having it made int eh already expensive states. Then we have to ship it here. Like having a team of sales reps who can generate sales at the mass market, and another team of reps to handle the dealer market. Like some income from those sales efforts. I came through on my end. The last 3 months I have re-established the sales office and get some new lines. I've managed to reduce the monthly bills, talk down collections agents, set up some recurring payments automatically, began updating the spec of his line of saddles and found much cheaper Asian sources for the other Euro products. It was good for a while, but there's no money coming in- his Italian sales are paying for the US office. When he was here in the states, US sales were paying for his Italy office. There's certainly not enough to cover even a token salary for me right now. So, off to school I go. I applied for financial aid and it looks like it will actually work out for me. Tuition and books are covered and there's some sort of living expense stipend too. I get a student ID for discounts at various places (even 10% will help). BART is so close I can walk- I don't even have to worry about locking my bike up in downtown Berkeley. I'll be driving less, walking more, using my brain more, being in the presence of other human beings (anything is better than a half crazy, all deaf cat). I am really excited to be there. I'm looking forward to being more engaged with the subject matter than I have been in the past. About an hour ago, I get a call from a local Golds Gym type place- they need a buyer/ product manager for their new online store. The position entails working with other buyers, existing vendors, the art department, the Webmaster, and Marketing to make sure the product is online, priced right, and inventoried adequately based on seasonality and weekly demand. Thats basically the position I've been seeking out for the last 18 months- a step above the glass ceiling at Wilson, and growing my career in ways that never would have happened at any of the places I've worked at. I'll know if I have an interview in 24 hours.

the birfday sex survey- ganked from AF

toomanyTomcats — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:59:26 GMT

1. Is there anyone on your friends list you would ever consider having sex with? umm sure- this is a future tense question- I can't rely on past experiences? 2. Sex in the morning, afternoon or night? yes. 3. What side of the bed do you sleep on? the warm and dry side 4. Pork, beef, or chicken? I prefer doggie style. 5. Have you ever had to pull over on the side of the road to puke? No- I just barfed all over the windshield after my friend barfed all over the steering wheel. Not so youthful indescretions in a moving vehicle. 6. Have you ever taken your clothes off for money? no. 7. Shower or bath? Long hot steamy......showers. 8. Do you pee in the shower? each morning- kills the toe fungus. Kidding- just kidding. 9. Mexican or Chinese? Whatever Deidre makes. 10. Do you want someone aggressive or passive in bed? as long as they are not passive-aggressive, I'm up for anything. 11. Do you love someone on your friends list? Yes. 12. Do you know all the people on your friends list? most of them. A few I havent even met. 13. Love or money? love. but these days, money is a close second. anyone want to get married? 14. Credit cards or cash? Cash. 15. Has there ever been anyone in your family you wish wasn't? Sometimes. 16. Would you rather go camping or to a 5 star hotel? Camping. 17. What is the weirdest place you have had sex? Dorm elevator at Barnard. In the pit at a Dammned show. and a few others. 18. Would you shave your entire body (including your head) for money? sure- why not. 19. Have you ever been to a strip club? too many times. The things I do for The Company 20. Ever been to a bar? not today. 21. Ever been kicked out of a bar or a club? Yes. 22. Ever been so drunk you had to be carried out of somewhere? I can't remember. Is that good or bad? 23. Kissed someone of the same sex? I've been kissed by a couple of skinheads on different occasions. Each time they called me a fag and proceeded to chase me out of the party/bar/club. fucking pussies. Did not are for it too much either. 24. Favorite drink? water based. 25. Had sex in a movie theater? I don't think so.... 26. Had sex in a bathroom? Yes 27. Have you ever had sex at work? Yes 28. Have you ever been in an "adult" store? yes- Santacon 2006! 29. Bought something from an adult store? nope- just browsing. 30. Have you been caught having sex? yes- highly embarrassing. 31. Does anyone have naughty pics of u? no 32. Have you ever had sex with someone and called them the wrong name? god I hope not. 33. Who do you think has the guts to repost this? There are so many shameless people on tribe- so there will be plenty

It must remain a secret.

toomanyTomcats — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:29:41 GMT

PLEASE THIS LETTER MUST REMAIN SECRET'' I am Suriya Jungrungreangkit, former Thailand transport minister during Thaksin Shinawatra regime which was ousted by a military coup on Sept 19 2006,and Martial law was imposed by the Council for Democratic Reform, now called the Council for National Security. After the Sept 19 coup, i would have called you on phone , but because the new government is taping the past government officials phone numbers, so it is no longer safe for me to call you, that is why i think it is safe to send you this mail. we are placed under surveillance. However my main point of contacting you is to seek your sincere suggestion and guideline to invest in your country. And please because of my previous position in the government, i do not need to tell you of the absolute confidentiality which we both must have to observe, if we are to go into investment, or rather if you are to help me in investing in your country. From the news publications in respect of the government probes into much of the projects my ministry executed will make you to understand my position with the government now. I thank you very much for taking time to go through my mail, and hope to read from your reply soon, .Thanks for your anticipated co-operation and my regards to your family. Good luck,and feel free to contact me on my email for now(ministersuriya@hotmail.com), until arrangements are made. yours sincerely, Minister, Suriya Jungrungreangkit.

Room for Rent Jan 1, 2008

toomanyTomcats — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:44:12 GMT

I'll have a room for rent the first of the year, as one of my roommates is moving out to take care of his dad, who has some health problems. I have a CL posting: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/roo/457027416.html I've got time to pick the right person, and I want to make a good fit. The room will probably be available to look at in a couple of weeks. If you know anyone, please forward this info on to them.