Queereaders discussion

Let us know what you're doing and what you're up to lately in this thread

On a summer road trip with my sister Lisa & my nephew Dylan. Today we're rafting on the Colorado River. Fun but wow, the water is cold! My feet actually started to hurt and turn numb!

the water is so clear!

Right now I'm sitting here admiring Greg's pictures and thinking about what I want to watch on TV. It's humid as a dog's balls outside.

Rambling Reader wrote: "the water is so clear!"

It was Rambling Reader! You could see the trout swimming everywhere - the water was amazingly clear! Dylan had a lot of fun wading out in it. I went out to my knees, but Lisa wouldn't dip in more than a toe (numbingly cold like snowmelt - perhaps it was?).

Another highlight for me was the petroglyphs. Dylan was kind of bored with them, but it's hard not to feel a kind of awe standing under petroglyphs perhaps a thousand years old.

Chatin' with a friend in Greece, doing dishes, reading email!

How is your friend in Greece doing Kernos? :)

He seems fine. No violence where he is. Big problem was long ATM lines. As he's off for the summer he'd just wait till the middle of the night.

It must be pretty crazy Kernos the period of upheaval they've been experiencing - glad your friend has a job and is doing fairly well.

Nancy wrote: "Right now I'm sitting here admiring Greg's pictures and thinking about what I want to watch on TV. It's humid as a dog's balls outside."

Sounds like a relaxing day Nancy, but I really hate humidity! Hope that part gets better soon!

It's a steamy 93 today, but at least it's dry. I went for a walk (7541 steps, according to my Jawbone).

Now I'm preparing lunch.

One of the post-docs where I work is agonizing about her upcoming trip to Greece. She desperately wants to spend time with her family, but is worried about the country's financial troubles and problems she may encounter there.

I didnt sleep long enuf last night and have been vegetating all day. Don't feel like doing anything but settling into bed for the night.

Gonna go get new glasses in the AM. I'm wearing a 15 year old pair. Broke my newer ones. Theyre having a 2 for 1 sale. Then to Sams. Then to work. Tomorrow's gonna be busy.

@Nancy Has the post-doc asked who ever one asks about safe travel. The banks open tomorrow which will help a lot.

Hey, Kernos. Have you looked at the online glasses sites? One gives the first pair of glasses free, all have great deals.

I'm trying to learn Scrivener right now. ergh!

Good work on the exercise Nancy - something I need to do more of after I finish this road trip!

Kernos, sounds like it's time for a new pair. Bummer the new ones broke - prescription glasses can be expensive!

Next time I need a pair, I'll check out online Jason. Thanks! By the way, what do you mean by scrivener? My mind goes to Bartleby, the Scrivener, but somehow I think that's not it. :)

Today on my road trip, I'm passing through Zion on the way to Vegas.

Greg wrote: "Good work on the exercise Nancy - something I need to do more of after I finish this road trip!..."

Thanks, Greg. I'm down 25 pounds and have 15 more to go. A combination of diet and exercise and supportive family and friends has helped a lot.

Wow, a great achievement Nancy! Not an easy feat to lose that much!

I actually lost nearly 70 pounds, but put some of them back on. Thankfully, my job keeps me active. If I don't take the bus, I can easily walk 3 miles per day during the week. Lately it's been so hot, though.

That's an amazing amount Nancy! Wow! Can I hire you as my trainer? ;)

Greg wrote: "That's an amazing amount Nancy! Wow! Can I hire you as my trainer? ;)"

You'll be sorry in less than a week. ;)

How Nancy. I've lost 30 and have 20 more to go.

Was just checking out the flash fiction challenges over on the M/M Romance board. Check out this photo prompt

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I knew that the plane that dropped the first A-bomb was named the Enola Gay.

I knew that the pilot had named the plane after his mother.

I didn't know that he was the cigar smoking pilot who was surrounded by hotties... Most of whom were still too young for long pants! Yowza!

Kernos wrote: "How Nancy. I've lost 30 and have 20 more to go."

I use My Fitness Pal. Keeping track of everything I put into my mouth has worked wonders.

Congrats on the weight loss, Kernos. I find it is much easier to lose the weight than it is to maintain.

I finally got back into my writing routine after a weekend of nothing but playing Zoo Tycoon. Beyond that, nothing much. My life is nowhere near as interesting as Greg's. ;)

We're under a tornado warning. Glad we have an underground house no. Hop the power stays on.

@Jason a local was having a 2 for 1 sale and I needed an eye exam so went there. Getting cataracts

Eileen wrote: "I finally got back into my writing routine after a weekend of nothing but playing Zoo Tycoon. Beyond that, nothing much. My life is nowhere near as interesting as Greg's. ;)"

That's just at the moment Eileen! Normally my life is not particularly exciting :)

Is Zoo Tycoon fun? I've heard people talk about it, but I don’t really understand how it works. Is it sort of like Sim City?

Kernos wrote: "We're under a tornado warning. Glad we have an underground house no. Hop the power stays on."

Hope you stay safe Kernos! I remember tornado warnings well from my childhood in Illinois.

In fact, once in grade school, I was in the bathroom at school when the alarms went off, and when I came out, everone was gone. So surreal - wandering around an empty school with the tornado siren going off until a teacher ran up from the shelter to find me.

Luckily our house was never struck, but the next door neighbor's shed was taken away once. Weird how tornadoes strike at random, touching down randomly and then hopping over other houses.

Beautiful photos, Greg! Seems like you guys had a great time.

Wow, congratulations on your weight loss, Nancy! It's wonderful that your friends and family are supportive. Sometimes that makes all the difference.

I visited my girlfriend in Saratoga Springs for New York City Ballet's Saratoga Season earlier this month and just got back last week. I've been incredibly busy, but I'm going to try to make the most of July before August rolls around and work will really start to pile up.

Thanks Lee! :)

Is your girlfriend in the ballet? That must've been exciting to watch her perform!

Yup Greg, she's in the Corps de Ballet. I never get tired of watching her dance. She's off on another tour now and I really miss her.

Lee wrote: "Yup Greg, she's in the Corps de Ballet. I never get tired of watching her dance. She's off on another tour now and I really miss her."

I can only imagine how incredible it must be to see her perform Lee! Sad to be missing her, but I guess if you have to go through these separations, at least it's for something amazing! Hope she gets back to you soon. :)

Only a couple days left before I go back to normal life, but yesterday we drove from Vegas to San Diego. Today we spent the day swimming in San Diego.

Tomorrow we're taking my nephew to Disneyland. Then the road trip will be over, and it'll be back to work .. probably with a big backlog :(

Greg wrote: "...Is Zoo Tycoon fun? I've heard people talk about it, but I don’t really understand how it works. Is it sort of like Sim City? "

Though I've never played this particular variant, I'm guessing that Zoo Tycoon is great fun for those that enjoy micromanagement style games. This style of game is certainly a bit like Sim City but for me the best in class was Railroad Tycoon III. I've spent countless hours playing that and reinforcing what I'd learned about Railroads, History, Stock manipulation, Bonds,and Macro-economics. I'd highly recommend that if you haven't yet, you give one of these style games a try and decide for yourself.

For what its worth... Steam has a special on Zoo Park (a Zoo Tycoon style game for PC) that's $0.49 until July 27th. From what I've read in the reviews its a bit like an update of the originals and certainly playable but it gets some bad reviews from folks that feel it wasted an opportunity to be an awesome update of the original. Caveat Emptor

Thanks for the info Stephen! Maybe I'll check out Railroad Tycoon III - sounds fun!

Greg wrote: "Thanks for the info Stephen! Maybe I'll check out Railroad Tycoon III - sounds fun!"

I've never played Sim City, so you'd probably be better off listening to Stephen's advice rather than mine. Zoo Tycoon 2 (the version I have) is pretty micromanagement-y though--you build a zoo and try to increase its popularity by keeping the animals and guests happy. There's also the option of playing a challenge game, where they give you a prebuilt zoo and set goals for you to hit (e.g. increase zoo rating to five stars by the end of the year) and, my personal favorite, the freeform game, where you get an empty lot with unlimited money and just go nuts.

I'm honestly more into designing cool-looking zoos than actually managing them--I tend to lose interest fast once there's no building left to do.

Thanks Eileen!

I'm studying a History as Film unit where this week we have to do 300 -- an offensive, Orientalist, heterosexist/homophobic film that robs gay people of their history. Bah, spit.

Later, however, I can write an essay on how much I hate it.
For my first essay, I'm writing about historical films from Yakut, Buryat, Mongolian and Kazakh directors, although we don't study any of these. :) I can twist an essay topic to my interests, I'm an expert in that. Was hoping to talk about those Korean films from the queer-film thread, if I can find an angle...

Bryn wrote: "Later, however, I can write an essay on how much I hate it.
For my first essay, I'm writing about historical films from Yakut, Buryat, Mongolian and Kazakh directors, although we don't study any o..."

I'm curious to hear about some of those films from Yarkut, Buryat, Mongolian, and Kazakh directors Bryn! Maybe share some info in the film threads when you're done with the paper? I'd love the info! I've seen only a few films from those regions.

Thanks for your interest in my odd & obscure interests, Greg. :)

Do you speak the languages, Bryn? I know yuo have studied the cultures in depth.

I'm lying in bed, surfing the web, about to go to sleep? Yeah, boring, I know.

Bryn wrote: "I'm studying a History as Film unit where this week we have to do 300 -- an offensive, Orientalist, heterosexist/homophobic film that robs gay people of their history. Bah, spit."

I find it too hilarious to be mad at it. It's too over the top for me to take it seriously. I know someone who did a vid for 300 remix with Madonna's "Vogue" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NrU...)

Ugh, back at work today and buried in e-mails and emergency needs for software fixes - this is going to be a long day .. long days!

@Greg (rant:) Speaking of software fixes, I'm having to set up a new PC (Windows 8.1 Pro) so we can run new billing software required by big changes in medical regs. I'm a Mac type and find Windows frustrating. It doesn't even show drives connected on the desktop. I cannot get the damned thing to show up on out LAN. At least it connects to the internet OK.

That and a gaggle of breast biopsies is what I've been doing this week.

On an up note I have been reacquainted with a web-friend whim I really like. We've been chatting a lot via Facebook messenger.

@Alex, I need to get a sense of humour with 300, and your video helped a lot with that!!! Healthy ridicule. I feel better.

@Kernos, the languages remain a future ambition I'm afraid. I don't acquire languages easily, and things to finish first. In my next life I want to translate the stacks of epic poetry from these areas that hasn't yet been translated into English -- that's a worthwhile job to do.

Kernos wrote: "@Greg (rant:) Speaking of software fixes, I'm having to set up a new PC (Windows 8.1 Pro) so we can run new billing software required by big changes in medical regs. I'm a Mac type and find Windows..."

Computer problems can be very frustrating Kernos. I made the mistake of going to my optometrist the first day they went to computer records, and they were running hours behind. It was a mess! Hope your Windows billing system problems have been getting better!

Thanks Greg. We have an appointment with the software company next Thurs to help us get it installed which is not a good sign. I suppose it is appropriate if they make sure everything is secure. But geez, I've manually installed php/MySQL progs without too many probs.

This weekend, I'm fighting ennui, trying to write a review for Another Country, and catching up on neverending household chores

Today we gathered up all the cans, bottles, and glass and took them over to the recycling center .. a major sweating pain in the blazing heat.

Then we went to the movie theater and watched Ant Man. Delishiously cold theater! I really wish our apartment had air conditioning on days like these! The breeze from the beach is usually enough but it sure wasn't this afternoon!

How was Ant-Man, Greg? I have trouble seeing Paul Rudd as a super-hero, but do have it pre-ordered.

It's a 60 mile drive for us to go to the movies. That plus the movie costs can give us 3 DVDs or so, so we await new movie arrival on DVD. We cannot stream either due to bandwidth limits of Satellite or cellular 'broadband'. I'll probably see Ant-Man around Xmas.

That is what I am doing now: Checking out new DVD releases on Amazon, blu-ray.com and TLA. Then Chris is giving me a haircut and I've got to cut up veggies for the weeks salad. We're watching the Terminator series now and I'm looking forward to T2 after dinner (salmon and salad).