Happy Solstice!

[http://www.dummy.cyberpass.net/~robert (Robert)]

Happy Solstice!

Here's my update.  Please hit delete now to skip over this.

Please do not any longer try to look me up in yahoo's search (previously known
as four11).  I am not listed because I don't like the lack-of-privacy.  Please
confine your searches of me (in case you lose my e-mail address) to:

http://www.whowhere.com
http://www.switchboard.com
http://www.populus.net
http://www.findmemail.com
http://www.emailbook.com
http://www.everythingemail.com
http://everythingemail.net

Always look me up by my work address/e-mail, not my home address.  Of
course, you can always use obvious keywords, too, which should work.

I was thinking about this the other night.  I'm probably more likely in
this area to get killed by a car walking around than get killed by an
earthquake in Ca/the west coast.  It's hard to believe that a
majority of people around here are Christians.  (I had always thought that
killing was supposed to be a sin.)

I always feel like I'm angry here.  It can really get depressing.  It's
not only the drivers, either.  (Actually, I think I'm learning to mellow
out with this.  One must learn "Zen Driving".)  Noelle and I were in
Coolidge Corner in Brookline, birthplace of J.F. Kennedy, a supposed
bastion of liberalism, and we walked by this guy blabbing to his friends.
He was saying "He's definitely a faggot.  I could squish him, he's like
bread."  Now, I'm not sure if standards have changed, but it seems that
"faggot" is a derogatory term on the level with "nigger" and "kike".  I
got angry, but I held it in.  I mean, what can really be done?  He has a
right to say whatever he wants.  I never had had such an experience when I
was in the Bay Area (though, I do know there are hate crimes committed
against homosexuals there).  (This experience made me realize why Tom
Jennings, a homosexual punk rocker and hacker extraordinaire, is such a
gun supporter and NRA advocate.  I mean, someone acting on their hateful
feelings can ruin you whole day if not your life.)

This made me wonder how cultural institutions around here survive when
there are such nincompoops.  When Noelle and I went to see "Dear Jesse", a
movie about this homosexual man from North Carolina and his feelings
towards Jesse Helms, there were hardly any people in the theater besides
ourselves.  The same was true when we went to a video sponsored by NOW
about the killing of abortion-providing gyneocologists in Pensecola
Florida -- there were not that many people there.  (By the way, both of
these movies were at the Coolidge Corner Theater, a cool non-profit
theater (close to where this bozo was shooting off his mouth).)

I realize that the only way I can survive here is to try my best to avoid
getting angry and depressed due to all the jerks around here.  I've been
taking herbs (St. John's Wort, mostly) to try to avoid this.  I guess this
is a part of east coast living, and that I'll always be in perpetual
culture shock.

The group I have been starting, Boston No Kidding!, has been a
slow-starter.  I'm guessing that the childfree lifestyle is on the wane
these days.  I don't really mind.  I can wait for as long as it takes to
get more people.

Because of this, I've not been doing other activities as much.  I haven't
been doing RSI Action (though I have attended a few events), nor ZPG stuff
(though I have attended a few events of these, too).  Noelle and I do
attend a few vegetarian events, but only as attendees.  (During one event,
I was asked if I wanted to play drums in a band.  It was very tempting,
but my hands still have daily pain and I am still afraid.)  I do attend
Boston Linux/Unix Group meetings as well.

The house is still screwed up.  I've been slowly fixing some things.  I wish
I could have got more done when the weather was warmer.  I guess I'll have to
wait 'til next Spring.  The water heater died and probably we'll have to
delay getting natural gas (we have oil heat now).  But hopefully we can
get gas installed for a stove, anyway.  We now regularly run a
dehumidifier and a fan and these seem to control the smell in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, it's still cold in there, but we may get that fixed by
installing a return duct on the floor.

The Whole Foods here is definitely not like the one in Berkeley.  I asked
them (Bread & Circus) to carry vegan cream cheese substitutes, but I was
told that it is their policy not to carry any item which has hydrogenated
oil in it!  This policy incidentally eliminates most vegan cheese
substitutes.  Whole Foods in Berkeley was a dream for me.  (Harvest Co-op
was also a dream, but they finally closed down their store in Allston
(next to ), only 4 months after we became members!  It was just
like in Berkeley -- only months after I started shopping there, Berkeley's
Co-op shut down, too.  Maybe I'm a jinx!)  Luckily, there's Trader Joes
which at least has some things for me.  Nevertheless, it is difficult
being a vegan in Boston (Cambridge would be easier, but, as everyone
knows, driving around here is a nightmare.)

'Til next year!