Gone. Finished. Done. Good riddance. BUH-BYE, loser.

Oh, happy day. :) Congrats to all my married friends and those who have been waiting for this day. This entire fight proves that endurance, patience and love eventually triumph. #lovewins

The changes made today have removed the teeth from the law - the threat of a boycott worked!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/02/mike-pence-religious-freedom_n_6996144.html

"The revised law explicitly bars a business from denying services to someone on the basis of categories that include sexual orientation and gender identity..."

This means Indiana's LGBT protections are back to where they were before (which clearly need to be worked on, as the state lacks comprehensive LGBT protections). But it does put the law in line with the federal law it was originally modelled after and other states that have this law. (In fact, it's somewhat better than other states, as it explicitly mentions sexual orientation and gender identity, which some states do not.)

Another article:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/02/397042514/indiana-arkansas-struggle-with-changes-to-religious-freedom-laws

"Lawmakers meeting in Indianapolis on Thursday approved changes to the law to prohibit service providers 'from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods, facilities or accommodations. It also bars discrimination based on factors that include race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or United States military service...' It is the first time the Hoosier state has defined either sexual orientation or gender identity a protected category."

I think I'm actually finished packing for Pennsic with 8 days to spare.

 

I guess that means it's time to start a new project! :-D

Thanks, SCOTUS, for being reasonable (well, 5 of you, at least). :)

It's interesting to watch today's decision come down for a few reasons.

First, this is happening exactly as I've always predicted. The next step is for someone to get married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage, then move to another state that doesn't, sue, and watch the 14th amendment kick in and basically decide that every state just legalized marriage equality (it may happen state by state before then, but I doubt it).

Second, since I came out in 1987, I was witness to the shift in activism from the previous LGBT generation. Because of the horrible AIDS crisis that was just coming to fruition politically, my generation was ACT-UP and "we're here, we're queer" and NGLTF and, essentially, a great deal of "mainstreaming" in order to achieve our political goals (which were incredibly prevalent and timely at the time, given people were dying all around us). Contrast that to a lot of the previous 20 years' worth of community activism, which was more about establishing our own unique identity as a community, including doing away with such classically heterosexual institutions like marriage. I mean, get married? Who'd want to do that? Let's create our own families and relationships and to hell with those "normal" people. It was definitely a time of free love, even if it was tinged with a glacially slow change in societal attitudes (the 70's were better than the 50's, just not by much). So the idea of my progenitors celebrating - or even contemplating - marriage equality was, I'm sure, a completely foreign concept (as if it could ever happen in their lifetime anyway, right?). And now watching the last 20-30 years change even more as the next generation is coming out and establishing its own set of priorities, it's pretty interesting to watch indeed. :)

And, lastly, Scalia needs to take a long walk off a short pier. That man is a scumbag.

I cannot express enough how grateful I am to myself when I go to do something at work only to find that not only have I already done it, but I did it in such a way that it can be done amazingly easily and quickly the next time I have to do it. I may be a chronic procrastinator, but when I do something, by jove I do it exceedingly well. :)

Got my tax return/Valentine's Day gift to myself today - "The Five Doctors" on DVD and a BlueTooth keyboard for my phone. Alas, the keyboard has to be replaced, but still, w00t. :)

Amazon box arrives. "Yay!" :)
Isn't for me. "Aw." :(

Flight's booked - New Orleans for a Big Gay Wedding at the end of the month. :)

P.S. Fuck Delta right in the earhole.

So yesterday the Board of Directors of the SCA, after a months-long debate period, ruled thusly (and unanimously):

"Each competitor in a Royal List must be fighting for a prospective consort of the opposite sex unless the Crown has elected to permit a competitor to fight for a prospective consort of the same sex."

What that means is that two men or two women can now fight to be King and King or Queen and Queen of their kingdom, with the caveat that the currently reigning King and/or Queen has the option to deny them entry to the competition.

This is what we're calling "inspirational equality," as the idea behind it is to have the ability to fight for the one who truly inspires you, regardless of who it might be. It's also not just an LGBT issue - who says a daughter can't fight for their mother, or a brother fight for his brother, if that's who truly inspires them to greatness?

Given this dialogue only seriously started just a couple of years ago (something we queers in Clan Blue Feather had been kidding around about for 20 years), this is a huge first step. Alas, the BoD didn't take a more decisive forward step by leaving that caveat in, but based on what I know of their deliberations, they felt like they hadn't gotten a clear mandate like they'd hoped (they recently did a Society-wide census and although a majority favored equality, there were clearly areas of the map that did not). Given that, they came up with this imperfect (ha!) step. I'm hopeful that it will prove to the nay-sayers that not only is it not a bad thing, but it's actually a very good thing for the SCA, and the Society won't crash and burn because of it. (Similarly, the SCA got better when they made other changes, such as letting women fight, making positive changes for the disabled to access events, etc.; we're supposed to be re-creating the best of the Medieval period, after all.)

So, being all excited, a lot of people started celebrating this victory, even while acknowledging there is still more work to be done (it will definitely be interesting when the first royal couple decides to deny a same-sex couple the right to fight, which will likely end up back in the BoD's lap and we'll have to re-evaluate yet again, but I'm confident equality will win out in the end). And certainly there were those who were opposed to the idea altogether that have rumbled and threatened to boycott any same-sex reign and whatnot. What I found most disappointing, though, were the ones who supported IE but who were also grumbling about it, that it didn't go far enough, that it wasn't really a victory at all, etc. Certainly they had a point, but I felt their timing was kind of shitty.

After getting into a couple of online discussions about it, I wrote this to a friend on LJ:

"... I'm more concerned that [so many people] were so quick to jump on the news as bad rather than good. Not only did it feel like my feelings were being shit on, but [also on] all those who were taking a moment to celebrate the progress before buckling down for the next wave of work to be done (not saying you or anyone did it intentionally, that's just what came through my filters). It also kind of struck me that the first person I saw post about it was Master Guiseppe (joeguppy), who has not only worked hard for this change (as in personally in touch with members of the BoD discussing the matter passionately), but is also the husband and co-Baron of the first same-sex baronial pair in SCA history (along with Master Giles). When a whole bunch of people come down quite vocally and basically say, 'Stop celebrating, this isn't a win at all!', it read to me like a backhanded slap to [them]. ([They] didn't take any of it that way, but I did.)"

I'm more than willing to admit that some of this also stems from other things going on of late (as in several people, friends and strangers alike, both disrespecting me and feeling free to shit all over my feelings), but the whole idea of one group of people telling another group of people that they were wrong for feeling so happy about what they saw as positive change just struck a nerve. Then again, maybe I'm just a cranky old man... MAYBE. :P

Regardless, I, personally, am quite pleased with this step, and I realize there are more steps to take to make the SCA a better place for all those involved. Onward! :)

I CAN HAZ KILT! w00t.

Just sent off two letters of recommendation for dear friends who deserve recognition for their talents (one in the SCA to get him his damned Laurel already, and one who works at Walt Disney World and is just amazing at his job). Never the wrong time for a kind word!

The Bad News: I made a serious accounting error.

The Good News: It corrects substantially in my favor.

(The Meh News: It's work money, not mine. Alas.)

1. Go here: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/scale_of_the_universe_2012

2. Be amazed at the scale of things across the universe.

3. Scroll left a little until you get down to the water molecule.

4. This is what you'll see:

( Read more...Collapse )

5. Click on it for a description.

6. Be amused. :)

7. Go drink some water!

Thank the lord and little green apples my desktop is up and running again, with more memory and a wireless card to boot. I less than three my geeky IT-type friends! :D

What started off as what could have been another wet, rainy day turned into quite a lovely day in the Animal Kingdom (which Marlene missed by staying home again). Started off with my first trip on Expedition: Everest (awesome!), then met up with David, Ryan, Matt and Trevin to see The Lion King show and ride Dinosaur (which I never knew was the same track as Indiana Jones in Disneyland). The boys had reservations so we went off on our own for lunch, and just as we finished I saw Chris, Mark, Matt and Wade, so we ran off to do Everest again, then we saw the Finding Nemo show. Afterwards we split up, and Mom and William and I did the train ride and the safari after one last ride on Everest (alas we missed the last bird show). Did a little shopping (new hat, man bag and t-shirt), then came home and ordered Bob Evans for dinner. All in all another great day, and I was surprised how many new attractions there were that I hadn't seen since my last visit (which admittedly was in 2000).

 

Today - Magic Kingdom! I have an appointment with the pirates at 3:30 so wish me luck!

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Now that all that ordering is done (I got us down to under $10K), I get to reap the rewards - it's like Christmas around here! (And yes, I ordered a couple of things that I didn't *need*, but will enjoy anyway - the perk of being the "everything but the books" guy! I have a weakness for office supplies in general, and Post-Its in particular...)

Thanks to urban_bohemian for cluing us in that Go The Fuck To Sleep, which is currently the #1 book on Amazon.com in pre-order, is available FREE from audible.com... narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.

I'm sorry, did you hear me? Why are you still reading this? GO NOW AND DOWNLOAD OMG!

P.S. He needs to do "The Raven," and every other book ever written.

Er, Miss Manners answered the question I submitted:

"DEAR MISS MANNERS -- At this time of year, I try to be respectful of the diversity of the people I may meet by wishing them "happy holidays." I like to think this neither assumes what they may celebrate nor imposes upon them what I may celebrate, but still manages to convey my good wishes toward them.

However, I have recently begun to think this may not be entirely appropriate. After all, some people may not celebrate anything at all this time of year, and I would not want to inadvertently offend them. I also think it might be even more respectful to show some interest in offering more than just a generic farewell.

Do you think it would be appropriate to first ask, "Do you celebrate a particular holiday this time of year?" I could then tailor my farewell to their response, from "Merry Christmas," to "Happy Hannukah," to simply, "Have a lovely day." I want to find a balance between being festive and friendly without appearing unduly personal or rude.

GENTLE READER -- Please do not go around interrogating random people about their religious affiliations and practices. It is disrespectful of their privacy. Besides, the number you might offend would be considerably larger than the number offended by being wished a generalized or wrong holiday greeting.

Miss Manners is well aware that there are some who do take offense at any such wishes, specific or not, including "Have a lovely day." If you really want to protect yourself, you would be better off asking, "Are you the sort of person who makes an issue out of a simple expression of good will?"

But as that, too, would be an invasion of privacy, Miss Manners is afraid you will have to take your chances or wish everyone a happy winter."

I actually submitted that two years ago. Neat! :)

Today I saved a turtle:



I are great. :P

Today is Friday for me, thank little green apples. I have plans for my 5 days off, but none of them include travelling (some of them include sleeping, and I got a jump start when I fell asleep in front of the TV last night). With any luck they'll let us go a little early.

Alas, my tooth is hurting, so I hope it doesn't get any worse. Bah.

Otherwise, hooray! :)

Who's your Obamassiah now!!!

Thank you. I feel better now. :)

P.S. I'm still holding out for California, but preliminary results are't looking good. Also doesn't look good in other states with similar measures. Bah. :(

Maybe it's because I just finished re-reading Immortal Coil, which ties together so many artificial intelligence plotlines so well in the Star Trek universe, but I decided to be a complete and utter geek and catalog all the artficially-created intelligent life forms seen over the course of 5 series and the movies. So, in all its HTML glory, here it is:

( Canonical list of androids, robots, sentient computers and programs in the Star Trek universeCollapse )

Corrections, additions and comments greatly appreciated. Thanks! Enjoy!

Spent much time shopping for grocery goodies for dinner tomorrow. The menu shall consist of:

---

Cheese Course

French Baguettes
Broccoli
& Green Apples
dipped in
A Swiss Emmenthal & Gruyere Cheese Fondue

Meat Course

Red Potatoes
Carrots
Cubed Beef Sirloin
& Chicken Breast
cooked in
A Vegetable Broth or Canola Oil
With A Variety of Dipping Sauces

Dessert Course

Strawberries
Pound Cake
& S'more's
dipped in
A Bittersweet Chocolate & Cream Fondue
With Caramel Sauce

---

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!

Edited to add: Forgot the potatoes and carrots!