swt61

WTF? I'm thoroughly confused! I haven't exchanged a word with Jacob in years! I have no idea where this is coming from. Bazaar!!! However, I'll attempt a reply at what I can only assume ws some kind of drunken rant. Firstly, I don't distinguish between Queer and Gay people. Or Lesbian, Bisexual and Transexual people. We're lumped into one group for a reason. Because we're all discriminated for our sexual identities. They're all my family in this fight. They all deserve the same respect as our heterosexual counterparts. Secondly, I have no memory of you ever coming out to me. That's not to say it never happened, but unlike many, I'm not at all shocked when I hear that someone is coming out as LGBTQ+. So it doesn't leave a real impression or memory. Especially if it's someone I have very little contact with on a day to day basis. When I came out on this forum in 2010 I believe, I had a few members private message me to tell me of their LGBTQ+ status. I did not share those revelations with this forum, because that's not my place to do so. Nor did I have any desire to do so. I felt honored that they'd want to share that with me, but if and when they choose to out themselves is their business and nobody else's. Jacob and I have never shared any kind of comradery on either forum. He was always standoffish to me, and I let that be. I remember the first time we met face to face. It was in 2010, Chicago Can Jam, just before I came out. I wanted to meet everyone I could face to face before coming out, because I wanted them to meet Steve, not 'the gay guy', if that makes sense to you? Anyway, the day I arrived in Chicago and met several people, a group of a dozen or so of us decided to get some lunch at a local restaurant. Jacob was one of those people. At some point during lunch Jacob announced "hey, you seem like a nice guy. I really expected you to be a complete asshole". Noone really said anything to that. Including myself. How do you answer a statement like that? Especially when it's stated in a public setting? For me that kind of set the tone for our relationship, or lack there of. While I've never put any member on ignore, I pretty much just skipped over his posts. Then came the giant explosion, where Jacob deleted most of the forum, by accident or on purpose. Again, I assumed alcohol related. I had a lot of back content lost forever. Posts and pictures of building things. My turntable, headphone stands etc... pictures that I had no other backup for. And yes, it pissed me off. But we move on. Then when Jacob reappeared I continued to pretty much ignore him. I have no idea of the events in his life. I couldn't tell you anything about him. I've had no contact of any kind in many years. And I've been more than OK with that. I've not encouraged or discouraged other members from interacting with him. In short, I really just haven't thought much about him in any way. Maybe that's the source of his anger? Maybe not? Honestly I don't really care. However, suddenly accusing me of some kind of prejudice against Queer vs. Gay is just silly. It doesn't really deserve a response, but I guess I chose to do so at any rate. Now I'll go back to ignoring Jacob. That's what works best for me.

He's a bear that wears a hat and talks. What's confusing about that? 😋 As far as I'm concerned, movies about talking bears are a dime a dozen.

Actually, I first want to express my deep gratitude for the complete acceptance that I have received from this very fine group of people! I joined this forum of beautiful people at a time in my life where I was again facing idiotic mindsets and manurisms from those around me, especially at my workplace. And this place, and you people were my respite from the ignorance of those that I dealt with at the time.

Elton has "walked the walk" for decades now. At one point in the AIDS crisis, he donated 100% of his American record proceeds to two AIDS organizations that he founded. Between himself and Liz Taylor, they managed to turn the tide of Reagan's "let them die" attitude towards the epidemic. Elton will always be a hero of mine for his unwavering financial and emotional support. This was at a time when I was losing friends every month, and deathly afraid that my own days were imminently numbered. Elton's actions inspired me to join our local Anchorage AIDS volunteer asscociation (AAAA), where I felt like I was actually doing something to make a difference. I have never been in the military, and in no way do I want to diminish what those brave men and women do, but I do feel like I was at war then. This was when many nurses and doctors were hesitant to enter the rooms of AIDS patients, and we were there to care for those poor souls as best we could. As rough and frightening as those days were, that crisis turned me into someone that I can live with today. I'm proud of my actions, when I wasn't sure of the risk I was exposing myself to. And I give Elton and Liz a lot of credit for turning the tide in public opinion. I'll climb down from my high horse now, for another year.

It's basically Elton John at the sight of Stonewall in NYC, talking about how far we've come, but how MAGA are making new anti LGBTQ laws and trying to strip back the rights we've gained. But in his speech he says "no fucking way" which gets an uproarious applause, and a chuckle out of Biden.

Had Vietnamese food and played Pegs and Jokers with Al's Sister and Niece. A fun time!

Well it's the last day of Pride Month, and I can't think of a better ending than this...

I posted this in the photography thread as well, but it has enough woodworking to apply here also...

This guy is one of my favorite makers to watch. He always makes something interesting. This time, the world's most elaborate pinhole camera...

For a second I thought that was Andrew Dice Clay.

How did Alan feel about you exposing yourself to him? 🙈

It's my impression that after AI has had some time, people will again start to appreciate human creativity. Time is a spring. Everything comes around again, though not exactly at the same place. I can appreciate a CNC machine for It's time saving. But my interest in woodworking is as an outlet for the designs that I can't keep from piling up in my brain. I would probably use the CNC to make templates for pieces I need to make multiples of. But I would still want to mill them up myself.

I read that it's a bit thinner than Alaskan halibut and that looks to be true. The shrimp in the Texas gulf looked exactly like the shrimp in Alaska, but tasted quite different. More of an iodine taste in Texas. Because of the cold water, they are slower growing in Alaska, and so much tastier. But the waters here are not nearly as warm, so I imagine the taste of halibut would be similar? They do grow much, much larger in Alaska (upwards of 600 lbs.), but the tastiest are 25 lbs. and under, so that wouldn't matter. What I grew up knowing as "Chicken Halibut". Halibut is absolutely my favorite fish. Blue fin Tuna second and King Salmon third. But, hard smoked Alaskan King Salmon, brined and honey glazed, is the greatest thing to ever come out of the sea. Even better than Gay Mermen! https://www.themountainkitchen.com/smoked-salmon-with-honey-glaze/

I'm interested in bay area halibut. I've never tried it, and am curious how it might compare to Alaskan caught halibut?

I watched a pizza documentary some time back, about Connecticut pizza, and Sally's was mentioned as a favorite.

This was far better than what I was expecting. You have to be from my era to understand the shift in Hollywood that underpinned the "Brat Pack". Prior to this point in time, movies weren't made for teens about teens. This was the beginning of a fundamental shift in movies. Hollywood discovered that teens were a viable market, and it wasn't long until the movie industry was flooded with teen movies. John Hughes was at the forefront of that shift, and other directors followed suit. I remember those films had a real impact on me. So many of my friends had crushes on Demi Moore and Molly Ringwald. While in secret, my crushes were on Andrew McCarthy and Rob Lowe. Anyway, it was a very interesting perspective on a nostalgic time for my generation.