Archerr

Last night I did my taxes. It's so easy when you have all your paperwork and you use Turbo Tax. Input a few numbers, fill in some address, and include you direct deposit info and bam! you've got your taxes done. Turbo Tax makes it so easy. They ask you all the questions and figure out what applies to you based on your answers. If you haven't used Turbo Tax before you should look into it. I should get my refund in about 2 weeks. I'm getting a pretty decent amount back. I know I could change my withholdings so that I get more back each month but I prefer it this way. I get a chunk of money back so that I can make some purchases.

Now, what to buy? Well, of course I'll put some in savings, some towards the credit card, and buy things with the rest. I'm thinking about a new lens for my camera, which I'll have to do some research on first. I need to get another battery for my camera for back up when the original one dies during a shoot. I would also like to get a 4 gig card for my camera. Again, some research will need to be completed before purchasing any of these items. I'm also thinking about Photoshop Elements 3.0, Quicken 2005, and an iPod Shuffle.

Today Apple updated the PowerBook line of laptops. I don't need a new laptop but the "out of the box" features look pretty good. When I get a new laptop, I think I'll opt for the 12 inch Powerbook. I currently have the 17 inch one but it's just too big. I thought having a big screen would be nice but I can't fit it in my briefcase and takes up a lot of space on my desk at work. Even though I have size issues with my current Powerbook, I'm very happy with it. It already has everything on it...wireless options, superdrive, lots of ram, huge harddrive, the works. I haven't maxed out it's use yet so I won't be getting a new Powerbook anytime soon. It is a year and a half old but it's still doing the job. Plus, I think I would rather wait until Apple can produce a cool new G5 laptop. When they do, I'll get a new laptop.

Last night W invited me to some wine tasting and purchasing at Pearsons Wine and Spirits on Wisconsin Avenue in DC. I met him at his place and then we went to Pearsons. Pearsons has been around since 1933 and looks the part. The place is packed from floor to ceiling with bottles and bottles of wine organized and categorized in neat square compartments. There's also lots of liquor stocked around the place. In the back they have a table set up with several different kinds of wine from different labels. In a little wooden bin they have a scant collection of wine glasses. You select a wine glass, and a type of wine you'd like to try and the steward will pour you some. The steward quickly realized that W knew what he was doing so he let us pour for ourselves. I learned from the first tasting not to pour too much. I just wanted to enjoy the bouquet and taste the flavor of the wine. Well, I poured too much of the first one I picked and had to finish drinking it before choosing another. I didn't make that mistake twice. Between tastings you cleanse your glass. I'm not sure what it's called but there's another glass into which you pour the cleansing water. We tried a few reds and then tried some whites. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a wine connoisseur. I'm usually white trash when it comes to wine. I tend to drink white zinfandel. However, with W's expertise and the opportunity to try different wines, I picked out several wines that I enjoyed. It was time to purchase.

W and I made mental lists of the wines we'd like to find in the store. The steward directed us to the bottles we were looking for. Each time he mentioned what the discount would be if we bought a case or more. Of course, I was only looking to buy a few bottles. I have never spent more then probably $10 for a bottle of wine. I spent a little more on a few of the bottles I ended up buying. We took our little cart and strolled through the store picking out our bottles. W has an extensive collection of wines already but is always looking to try new labels. I picked out four bottles. I purchased a 2003 Alois Lageder (label) Pinot Bianco (grape), a 2002 Montagny 1er Cru Viognier (basic white table wine), a 2001 Echelon Shiraz, and a 2003 Echelon Pinot Noir. W said I made some good selections to start a small collection and develop a palate for certain wines. I never thought I'd enjoy white wines but I must say that I really enjoyed the Pinot Bianco and the Viognier. I know I don't care for dry wines. I enjoy a more fruity, sweet wine. W steered me in the right direction to the type of grape I'd enjoy.

After we made our purchases, W bought an additional bottle that was already chilled for us to enjoy. We got back to his place and opened the bottle. He showed me how to enjoy the aroma and savor the taste instead of just drinking the wine. He also showed me how to have an almond and then taste the wine and see how the woodsy taste is highlighted with the almond flavor in your mouth. He is quite the expert I must say. He also taught me that basically white wines should be chilled and reds should be close to room temperature. He said you can keep reds on the counter for a few days but it's best to chill it after you've opened it. I learned so much about wine in one evening thanks to W. We enjoyed a glass of wine while having some great conversation. I had a great time with W tonight. He's a great guy. He invited me to visit a Virginia Winery in a few weeks with a few of his friends. That should be fun.

Even if I didn't watch the weather to know that we are supposed to have some wintery weather coming our way, I'd know it by a few signs that always tell me disruptive weather is on the way. I don't feel it in my bones or anything like old people do. Usually, there are two ways I know the weather will be changing.

The first is that my sinus' always act up the before a major weather change. Today my sinus' have been acting up. My nose will spend a few hours completely clogged or it will be runny and need tissues constantly. When this happens I know the weather will be changing.

The second sign is that my students at school really misbehave. Around Wednesday their behavior started to go down hill. Today their behavior was just awful. They wouldn't stay seated, they kept talking all day, and they got on each other's nerves most of the day. In the 18 years I've been teaching, this has always been a sign that bad weather is on the way.

And if those signs don't work, I can always watch the news to hear the winter weather will be returning to the DC area this weekend. Hopefully it won't be so bad to cancel my photo shoots this weekend.

Today is the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. There were memorials all over the world today. While millions of Jews were killed, there were also thousands of gays and lesbians put to death. I couldn't find too much on the net today marking the loss of the thousands of gays and lesbians in the holocaust. However, Towleroad mentioned a special issue of The Daily Out. You can download a PDF version of the article. I read it and found it very interesting to see how gays and lesbians were treated at the concentration camps. It was also very sad. I think our country is going backwards. I hope we never return to this type of discrimination. A quote from the article that made me stop and think:

"It is important that we remember all victims of the holocaust but as there are fewer and fewer survivors over time we need to learn some valuable lessons about how hate and prejudice of all kinds manifests itself and what it can achieve if left unchallenged."

A movie you must see is Bent. You will think differently about the holocaust and being a gay man.

This week the new Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, objected to the airing of an episode of Arthur on PBS because it featured a segment of the show that showed the lives of two lesbian couples. The show is partially funded by the Education Department and Spellings said, "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the life-styles portrayed..." PBS has decided not to air the episode. Of course christian conservatives were very happy to hear this.

It's sad, very sad. Everyday there is something on the news against gays and lesbians. I fear the future for gays and lesbians in our country. With the way things are in our country against gays and lesbians, I wonder, are we at the very beginning of a possible gay holocaust?

After it snows your car gets covered with that nasty white salt that they throw on the roads to melt the snow. Since the snow we had last weekend, my car has been almost completely covered with salt. My side windows were a cloud and hard to see out of in darkness. I decided to stop by the car wash on my way home from work today.

I haven't taken my car to be washed in awhile but knew it would cost some money to have it washed. I pulled into the car wash and sat in line with the others wanted to rid their cars of the salt. The board that lists the prices wasn't in view yet so I wasn't sure how much it was going to set me back. The weather today was pretty nice. It got up to 46 today and the sun was out for quite awhile so the line was rather long. I finally got up to the board and saw the price for a super wash was $18.50. Damn, that's higher then I remember it being. But my car really needed it so I decided to go for it. I also decided to get that stuff put on the wheels that make them really shiny. Add on another $1.50.

They vacuumed out my car and drove it up to the door. I watched as they pre-washed parts of the car. I wanted to yell over the noise of the car wash for them to give a little extra scrub to the wheels but I didn't. I feel that if I tell them how to do their jobs they will do something bad to my car. They won't of course but I always feel that way. So I watched it as it went through the wash and it was looking pretty good. It came out the other end, one of the guys jumped in and drove it to the drying area. 6 people got to work drying my car. Not bad. There were a few marks on the hood that didn't come out that probably need some scrubbing but at least it was clean and all the salt was off.

I got in the car and realized why I hate to have other people wash my car. They always move the seats! I don't know about you but I work for what seems like hours using the power seat thing to get my seat just right. Then I never move it. All the way home I kept moving it this way and that and it still didn't feel right. You know how you get something just right and you get used to it being that way. I hate when I have to fix everything. Then I look out the window at the passenger side mirror and realized they had collapsed it to go through the car wash and didn't put it back so I couldn't see out that mirror. Again, I get used to using that mirror and it bugged me all the way home that I couldn't move it without stopping and getting out of the car.

When I got home I got the mirror back in place and I think I got my seat back in place. I guess I should expect this when I go to the car wash. I just hate it though. I shouldn't let the little things bug me. I'm too set in my ways and like having things just right. Oh well, the car is clean at least.

Today is the 21st birthday of the Macintosh computer. There wasn't any buzz online that I could see but I wish it a happy birthday anyway. The Mac has a been a great computer for me since 1990 and I know I'll continue to use Macs and buy Macs in the future.

Today they announced the nominees for the Oscars. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't seen any of the movies. I think I'll try to see at lease one of the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars at the end of February. I thought it was interesting that The Passion Of The Christ nor Fahrenheit 9/11 were nominated for any of the major awards. I guess both were on the opposite ends politically to be considered for the awards. Better to ignore them then recognize them. I did not see the Passion nor would I ever but I did see 9/11 and thought it should have been nominated at least for Best Documentary Feature. Oh well, what can you say. I was very pleased to see Alan Alda finally got a nod for an Oscar. I hope he wins. He's been a favorite of mine for years. And it was fun to see that Hillary Swank is up against Annette Bening again. They were up for the same Oscar in 1999 and Hillary won. I kinda hope she wins again!

I was a little pissed to hear that Bush is asking for another 80 billion for the war. The deficit for 2005 is projected to be 485 billion. What is that man thinking? There is no way he will be able to cut the deficit in half in the next 4 years. What a fuckin idiot.

I had a wonderful phone conversation this evening with Homer. He told me the tale of his quest for a public restroom on his way to work this morning. It was quite hysterical! I couldn't do it justice by recreating it here. Feel free to ask him about it sometime. Rest assured that he did not pee his pants...this time.

I think this is the first time in more than a year that I have missed posting something. Yesterday I was just too busy and didn't make the time to write anything. I had plenty going on but just didn't write anything. For those of you who check in here daily, I'm sorry for my lack of posting yesterday.

Yesterday I started the day digging my car out from the little bit of snow we had. They warned us about possibly getting 10 inches but I think the most we got was 4 inches in my area. Other areas saw less accumulation. After cleaning off my car, I had a photo shoot with a new model. He also happens to be a photographer himself. I think I got some nice shots. They might be a bit more erotic then my usual photos. He and I traded tips and shared what we knew about photography. We might plan a shoot together sometime in the future.

Then last night I hosted a small get together for some people from work. I had to de-fag the house though. Myself and 2 women from work were entertaining a third woman. We were keeping her busy so she wouldn't find out about her surprise party. We hung out here for awhile, drank some wine, had some snacks, and chatted about school shit. That's always fun. Then we headed over to a local bar where her husband and about 50 friends were waiting to surprise her for her 50th birthday. It ended up being a total surprise and she had a great time. I had a few too many beers for a school night though. Luckily we went to school two hours late today so I was able to sleep a little later.

It was a very busy weekend and I have busy weekends to come as well. But I'm going to do my best to post at least something everyday.

The snow began to fall around 10:30 this morning. It started out slow and the flakes were as small as gnats. Now it's falling like cherry blossoms in spring. The flakes are as big as nickels. The sky is almost completely white with each snowflake fighting for space in the air. The ground is already covered with a thick blanket of white. It's expected to continue through the night and on into tomorrow morning. Those who predict the weather are saying there will be up to 10 inches of fluffy frozen water droplets by the time it comes to an end.

Before it started snowing heavily, I decided to take a walk in the white goodness. I took my camera to record what I saw. I walked around the condo grounds all the while my hair becoming flecked with white. I stopped in a few spots to take photos of bits of snow sitting on branches or resting on logs. It was so quiet I could hear the fall leaves crunch under the snow as I took each step. You couldn't hear any children playing. You couldn't hear the roar of cars driving on the beltway nearby or any plows pushing the snow to clear the way for those brave enough to venture out. The flakes just continued to fall silently and stack up on the ground unnoticed. It was quit a beautiful scene. Once it finishes in the morning, I plan to head out again and document what took place during the night. It will be very quiet early in the morning.

In going through all the photos I have in iPhoto I found this old photo of my mother. She's known for cutting off people's heads in photos and never knowing how to load the film into the camera. Years ago I scanned hundreds of family photos and now have them in iPhoto. I found this one and thought it was really funny. I think the caption should say, "Is this thing on?" What do you think the caption should say?

The weather man is calling for a major snow storm this weekend so I went to Giant today to get a few things. When I got back there was a package for me. It was my iLife '05 that I ordered last week. I was so excited because I have the whole day off and I could spend some time playing with the new apps. I had planned a photo shoot for today but the model canceled on me so I had the day free. I loaded the software and updated all the things that needed to be updated. I then began with iPhoto. Since that was the program I was looking forward to most, I started it up and it updated my library to the current version and everything was great. Then I started playing with the features. This is such a nice upgrade to an already nice program. You can order really cool books full of photos you choose. I spent way too much time creating a book of 100 of my best male nude photos. Then I went to upload it to Apple for them to print it out for me and then I got a message saying they weren't taking orders for the new book styles until later this month. I was bummed. No problem though, I can save the book until they have the service ready.

Then I spent several hours wasting time reorganizing my almost 5000 photos. You can rename film rolls, make new film rolls, move photos around so easily. Maybe you could do that before but I just discovered it today. I now have every photo that is on my computer cataloged in iPhoto. And I have every library named with a title that tells me what photos are in the library. Then I collapsed all the libraries so it would run smoothly while scrolling through the long list of libraries. I have digital photos going back to 1997. Of course the quality of photos that old is awful. I'll keep them anyway. They look fine on screen. Now that I have an organizational structure in place, I will continue to keep all my photos organized and easy to find. I'm very pleased with myself even if it did take me all day.

While I was doing all this work with iPhoto, I had the inauguration on in the back ground. I wasn't watching it because Bushie was on, I was watching it for the historical aspect and to see if anything awful happened (not that I was hoping it would). All throughout the program they did have some cool historical facts about the presidency so that was interesting. I also liked seeing all the protesters there with their signs.

It's back to work tomorrow for one day and then off for the weekend. And if the snow comes as they are predicting, then it might be a 3 day weekend!

Today we had the first measurable snow of 2005. I went to work knowing we were going to get some snow but I didn't know how much and didn't think I needed my ice scraper. It started to snow around 10 AM and snowed hard for a good 3 hours and then it let up. For the rest of the afternoon we only had snow flurries. When I left work I had to use my hand to get the snow off my windshield. It was a light snow and very powdery so it wasn't a problem. I didn't have any problems getting home either. I think we got about 2 inches in my area but that's just enough to cause all kinds of problems in the DC area. I was watching the news a little while ago and there were accidents all over the area. And the traffic has been backed up for hours on certain roads in the area. You'd be amazed at what problems a little snow causes in this area. No worries for me though, I'm home and don't plan on leaving until Friday when it's back to work. They are calling for much more measurable snow this weekend so I might have more pictures. Here are some pictures shot off my balcony when I got home from work today. They aren't pretty, but you get the idea of the snow we had.

As they say, "It's as cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra". Last week had pretty warm temperatures and they warmed us that this cold wave was coming. Well, it's here. It was so cold and windy today that schools in my area opened two hours late to give buses time to get started and warmed up and if any weren't working, time to get them working. It was a nice slow back to school after a 3 day weekend. We're supposed to get some snow tomorrow around noon. But not much. They say an inch or less. We might see a little snow on Thursday. Of course I hope they are wrong and we get a huge blizzard and it screws up the festivities for Bushie.

This week is crazy. We had Monday off, went to school two hours late today, and we'll have Thursday off for Bushie. So I'm really only working 2 and half days this week. Nice! Getting in my little SUV this morning and putting my ass down on my ice cold seats reminded me that I REALLY want heated seats! My next car, whatever it is, whenever I get it, WILL have heated seats.

Things are crazy here in DC for the Bushie thing on Thursday. Roads are shut down, schools closed, security is crazy, and there are just too many republicans in town this week. It sucks big time. I won't be attending ANY of the events planned this week. You won't catch me anywhere near DC this week. Luckily, I live 7 miles from DC so it's not bad out here in the burbs but you hear about it all over the news and the traffic seems a little heavier then usual. It'll all be over soon...in 4 years. I just hope it's really cold on Thursday.

Most people view Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as just another day off. A time to get things done you can't get done during the work week or just do anything you want. I hope at least once today everyone took a moment to reflect upon the reasons we celebrate this man's life. He did so much for civil rights. I was the typical American today. I ran errands, had lunch with my mother, laid on the couch and watched TV, and did laundry. Believe it or not though, I actually did think about Martin Luther King, Jr. today and what he did for our country and for me as a gay man. He led the way for civil rights for everyone. Thinking about what MLK did for the African American community made me realize the gay community has a long way to go. At a time when the country is going backwards and the lack of basic civil rights for gays, we need a man like MLK. We need someone who can bring people together, speak articulately of our concerns, work with the people in power to make change occur. Who will be our leader?

Last night I watched "In The Life" on PBS. The show was about changing portrayals of gays and lesbians on TV. It was interesting but it was the last part of the show where Harvey Firestein gives his opinion on things that got me a little pissed off. He talked about the election and the state of gay rights and what we can. In so many words he said gay people need to come out and be openly gay. While this is fine for your personal life, some of us have jobs that we'd like to keep. We aren't wealthy enough to come out and lose our jobs and still survive. What would be the point of coming out at work and having rights if you're living on the streets. I think rich gay people or gay celebrities can easily tell others to come out because they are in the financial position to sustain not working. Unfortunately I can't do that. I'm sure if I tried to be out at work I'd lose my job so fast it would make your head spin. Or at least go through hell trying to keep it. I'm sure some of my colleagues already suspect I'm gay and I'm sure there are some parents who suspect I'm gay. But I'm not out. I don't have a rainbow bumper sticker, nor am I seen protesting or anything like that. I'm sure if I did those things I could kiss 18 years of retirement goodbye. I guess it just makes me mad when I hear gays say "you have to come out". I understand how being out will help our cause but being a teacher of young children, I can't be out and keep my job. It's that simple.

I also must say that I am very thankful and grateful for all those who are able to come out and openly support our causes. I appreciate all those who have come before me and paved the way for the few rights we have now. I think everyone has to do something of course. The way I can help right now is to support and vote for the men and women who can bring about change. We should be angry right now, we should be shouting, and protesting and voicing our disgust for the state this country in but we all have to do it in our own way.

I had a photo shoot with my artist friend, Bob today. We worked with a model we've worked with before. I think I got some really nice shots today. I decided to add another element to some of the photos. In a few of them I placed a pear in the picture to give it some vivid color. I think it looks cool. This model is really good at taking direction and especially at just posing on his own. Several times he was just relaxing and it created the best poses. Check out the photo page to see the photos.

Bob taught me some of the details about how he creates his artwork. I learned a good portion of the process involved. I think I will be able to try my hand at creating the same type of art that he works on so often. He uses his photos to create this amazing effect. Soon you might see some artwork that I create with my photos. I'm going to play with the process next weekend. I don't have any shoots planned so I should have time to create some art. Bob offers several of his pieces for sale on eBay. His artwork is amazing. I recommend you check out his artwork on eBay.

I have no plans to watch the Super Bowl tonight. I will probably have it on in the background while I do some computer work. I may look up during the commercials to check them out. I don't think they are supposed to be as good as years past but I always get a kick out of seeing them.

My brother is coming tonight. He's here from Columbus, Ohio to take a class in the area. I love my brother and we get along pretty well. But I'm sure we'll get on each other's nerves at some point over the next 5 days. Plus, I'm a clean, neat person and he isn't. Nuff said.

I'm usually behind the camera but last night I decided to play with my camera some more. I recently bought a remote control so I won't have to use the self timer and then try to set up a shot. So I took several self portraits last night. It was fun. The lighting was dramatic and I think some of them look pretty nice. Of course once I lose a few pounds I'll take some more. And no, they aren't nude. Just shirtless.

I'm sure I'm probably the last gay man to discover Craigslist. I know you probably already know all about it but it's a place where people can leave all kinds of messages about all kinds of things. There is a men seeking men section. Some of the messages left there are just hilarious. But what intrigues me more are the pictures. Guys will post just about any picture you can imagine. Some are hot and some are disgusting. I was reading some of the messages last night and came across the picture below. My first thought was damn! That's a huge cock! Don't you agree? Where are all the guys like this? And why haven't I met them? Not that I'm a size queen or anything. I mean, I like a nice piece of meat from time to time but damn, that's a huge cock. Now, don't read anything in to that. I'm a top but I can admire a nice cock when a I see one. I know nothing about this guy but he does have a nice cock. I'm just sayin.



On a slightly less related note, this guy posted a picture of himself on his blog today showing his beard. Besides the beard, I find this guy extremely attractive. Too bad he's taken. Again, though, when I see a really attractive guy, I can admire him.

Don't assume from this post that I'm really horny or anything. I'm just thinking that I need a man. Not just any man, the right man. And not the right now man. It has to be the right man for me for a long time. Greg posted on his blog about getting back in the dating pool. I wish him luck. It's so hard to meet guys these days. I've been on Match.com for almost 6 months now. I've met 2 guys. One of them never called again after a month of dating and the other is actually a very good friend now. I don't think the system is any better then any others. I see the same guys on Yahoo and Gay.com so the pool is kinda of topped out. If I didn't respond to your message on Match.com, what makes you think I'll respond to a message from you on Yahoo? Anyway, I feel the same way about dating as Greg does. Rejection is tough but you'll never know unless you try...blah, blah, blah. Whatever. When my 6 months of Match.com expires in February I'm canceling it. If I meet someone somewhere at sometime, great. If not, no big deal. I'll just let it take it's course and be happy with being single, hanging out with my friends, and enjoying my hobbies.

Today is Shawn's 41st birthday. I will be thinking of him a lot today. If you are reading this Shawn, Happy Birthday.

Today I went to a stupid 3 hour long Leadership conference thing. It was very boring and I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. It wasn't worth it. BUT there was a delicious piece of eye candy to look at. He was sitting at the next table facing me. He couldn't have been more then 30 years old, in great shape, model face, and had that "I know I'm gorgeous" attitude. Of course I was checking him out the whole time, not paying attention the presentation. For the first hour and a half of the program he sat there with his legs spread and his fly was open! He knew I was looking at him too. I didn't care. There wasn't anything showing from his fly but it was so obvious it was open. I was surprised he could sit there so long without noticing. A few minutes before the break the girl sitting next to him leaned over and whispered in his ear. He quickly zipped up and I could hear him saying thank you. He looked back over at me and realized why I had been looking at him the whole time. I just smiled back.

I was unable to actually watch the streaming video of the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco today but I did constantly check the Mac sites and read about each new item as it was introduced. I'm not all that jazzed with the new hardware offerings but the software has me interested. Here are some highlights and if you are not a Mac fan you can skip this post.

Apple introduced the Mac mini today. It's a basic computer that doesn't come with a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. It also doesn't come with the latest processor. It only has a G4. It has very little expandability as well. I guess that's why it only costs $499. I'm not sure I know who this computer will be marketed to. Unless you already have the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you'll be spending a lot more on this computer then you think. I like the small footprint and the cool style of it but I won't be buying this anytime soon. I think it should have been built with at least a low level G5 processor.

Apple introduced the iPod shuffle today, too. It's a flash based iPod that can hold either 120 songs or 240 songs. It has no screen to see what's playing or anything for that matter. It is very light and does work seamlessly with your current iTunes. Besides being light, I can't see why I would buy this either. It's cool looking and has lots of accessories but just not for me. I like having my entire library on my iPod. I'm sure there are many people who will buy this and update it daily with their current favorite tunes to listen during the day but I'd rather have it all at hand to pick and chose as I wish. And I think it's a bit pricey for the 1GB edition. They are asking $149 for that model. You can get the 512mb version for $99 though.

iLife '05 was updated today. Each title in the grouping was updated to the '05 version. Most got major updates but iTunes was only slightly updated. The new iPhoto looks really good as well as the new iMovie HD. I have used iPhoto since it was first released. I really like it's organization and it's exporting abilities. It looks like the new update is even better in these areas. Also, the book feature has been changed significantly with new sizes and soft cover options. I know I'll be using this feature more. I already ordered my copy and it should be here by January 22nd. I can't wait to update my current versions.

iWork is a totally new application that includes Keynote 2.0 and Pages. Keynote is a PowerPoint type program for presentations. I have used it before but very little. The new version looks to be much of the same with few additions. What I'm excited about though is Pages this is the replacement for Appleworks. I've used Appleworks for years and years and I have many, many files already in the Appleworks format. According to the web site, I should have no problem importing those documents and changing them to the Pages format. I like this feature. Also, this is much more robust word processor then Appleworks ever was. I'm looking forward to using it and taking advantage of all its abilities. Of course when I ordered iLife '05, I ordered iWork too!

I'm anticipating the opening of the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco tomorrow. Of course it won't start until well into my work day so I won't be able to find out about all the cool new things Apple will introduce until the afternoon. I know many of you are not Mac fans so you could care less but I look forward to this twice a year. At the last Expo Apple introduced the iMac G5 which I now have. I've read predictions about all kinds of things that will be introduced at this year's Expo. The only hardware item I'll be interested in hearing about is the much rumored Flash iPod. Apple should introduce some new software that is of interest to me. iLife '05, iWorks, and updates to other software. I always get excited twice a year about the Expos. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be checking all my Mac websites to read about the new things introduced all day tomorrow. I can't wait!

This afternoon I decided to turn off the computer and enjoy a movie and some popcorn in my living room. I should watch movies in there more often. I have a 32 inch flat screen Sony TV and a Bose surround sound system. You'd think I'd take advantage of these items more often. But I usually spend time in my computer room. I usually have the computer on and the TV on at the same time. I have a 27 inch regular TV in that room. It's a decent set up and I spend most of my time in that room. Anyway, I decided to watch Food Of Love and enjoy a bag of delicious 94% Fat Free Kettle Corn. Doesn't that sound delicious? I put the movie in and began popping the popcorn. This time I didn't burn it. I stayed close and listened. When the popping slowed to 1 to 2 seconds between pops, I pushed the cancel/stop button on the microwave. The directions are pretty good if you just read them and follow them.

The movie was pretty good. It's based on the book "The Page Turner" by David Leavitt. The acting wasn't that great but I did like the story. Plus, Kevin Bishop, the guy who plays the page turner is really cute. He's very young and not a very good actor but not bad to look at. The thing I liked best was the music. The score was perfect. I loved that music. It's mostly classical. Not many people enjoy classical but it fit perfectly with the movie.

During the movie I ate the bag of popcorn I had popped. It wasn't too bad actually. I like kettle corn. It's the appropriate blend of sweet and salt. Of course I washed it down with a bottle of spring water. I have to make sure I drink plenty of water with salty things. I love popcorn but it gets in your teeth. I wish they could make a popcorn without the kernel skin that surrounds the popped pieces of corn. Those little kernel pieces always get in between my teeth. So after enjoying the bag of popcorn I spent a few minutes flossing my teeth. Then I felt something at the back of my tongue. So far back that I can't reach it. Sure enough, it was a piece of that pesky kernel skin that was stuck in my teeth. I could not get it out! It was like it was itching the back of my tongue and making me swallow over and over. I hate that! So to help break it free, I had to eat some peanut butter crackers. Even though I know I shouldn't eat these fat filled crackers, I knew I just had to get that kernel skin off of my tongue. After 6 delicious peanut butter crackers, the kernel was gone and I felt better. I'll just have to walk an extra mile tomorrow to work off those crackers.

I had my first photo shoot of 2005 this morning. It was cloudy and rainy but enough natural light came in my window to create some nice photos. I haven't had a shoot since mid December. It was good to get behind the camera again. I took several of my signature close ups and feel pretty good about them. The model was very nice and easy to work with. He interested in posing with others so I might have to set up a "couples" shoot sometime. I took 320 photos this morning in about an hour and a half. The last shoot I had in December I only took about 45 shots. So I had plenty to choose from this time. I've got several shoots planned over the next few weeks so I'll be busy with my photography for awhile.

Oh, and no, I won't be giving any details about last evening. You know what happens when you talk about something too much, it ends up in the crapper so I'll keep the details to myself, thank you very much. :)

I spent several hours this evening with a very nice man. He's an expert at wine, history, art, music, and touch...an intelligent man who can actually hold a conversation that's both interesting and stimulating. That's rare in the gay world.

Congress certified the election results today. Bush won. I was glad to hear though, that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a democrat from Ohio, Sen. Barbara Boxer, a democrat from California, lodged a formal protest against the Ohio vote count. I know it was basically symbolic but I was glad to hear they did it. You can read all about it in a Washington Post article. Of course I'm not happy about it and haven't been since the election but I have to live with it.

First of all, thanks for the comments on the last post. I will NOT be posting naked pictures of myself on my blog. I don't want to scare you away! And believe me, right now, they are scary!

Secondly, today was my friend Ken's birthday. Happy Birthday, Ken!

I just finished reading Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs. I have read all his books so far. I knew I would enjoy this one as well. And I did. It's a series of true stories from his life. I laughed and cried at several of the stories. I found them both thought provoking and humorous. I really like the cleaning lady story. I love the way he writes. He writes like he's sitting down having coffee while telling you a story face to face. He is the kind of guy that I'd like to be friends with. He wrote one story about people contacting him after they've read his books and talk to him as if they've known him all their lives. Well, after reading his books, you actually feel like you might have known him for a very long time. I know that's how I feel. I feel like I could sit down with him and have a great conversation and not have any awkward silent moments. Also, the way he talks about his partner you just know he is totally in love and plans on being with him the rest of his life. I like that about him because of course I want the same thing. I completely enjoyed this book and could relate to so many of the stories. If you haven't discovered the joy of his books, you should really look check them out. I know you'd enjoy them.

Next up is Shameless by Paul Burston. I haven't read anything by this author. I don't even know if he's written anything else. But it was recommended to me by someone (I can't remember who) and thought I'd give it a try.

From the publisher:

Martin is kind, decent, easy on the eyes...and look where that's got him. His boyfriend of four years has run off with a male prostitute, and his friends John and Caroline both have enough excess baggage to fill a Louis Vuitton window display. What's a nice gay man to do? With no one to turn to, Martin decides to relive the wild youth he never had and - at the ripe old age of thirty-two - jumps headfirst into hedonism. But the nights of drugs, hard bodies, and even harder music are about to take their toll. Martin, John, and Caroline will find that as fun as being absolutely shamelss is (and girl, can it be fun!), it also has a price - one that they ultimately may not want to pay.

Sounds like something I might enjoy. We'll see. And of course I'll have a review of the book when I finish reading it.

It's been mentioned on several blogs lately. Homer wrote about it recently, Jimbo wrote about it today, Jake actually took action about it, and Bert mentioned it on a recent post. I think it's the time of the year that makes not only gay men think about it but all people. January is the time of resolutions and most make some sort of resolution to get in shape or lose weight.

I, too, want to jump on the band wagon and make a resolution to lose weight this year. But then again, I think this is a yearly resolution for me. Four years ago I weighed 228 pounds. Slowly over 3 years I lost 50 pounds and got down to 178 at one point. Since that low point I've gained about 11 pounds and today I hover around 190 pounds, give or take a few pounds depending on the day.

I want to be one of those thin gay men who attract other thin gay men. It's very typical in the gay community that most in shape gay men are only interested in other in shape gay men. I know there are those who like the thick look or the bear look but for the most part the thin get the thin, etc. The sad part is, I'm not attracted to the men who find me attractive. I've always been attracted to guys who are thinner and smaller then myself. I don't mean the really lean guys. I just mean the average guys. A little belly doesn't bother me at all. It's so hard finding the ones who find my thicker build attractive.

Last night I took the "before" pictures. I stood nude in front of my camera and took several shots from all sides. In 2005 I would like to lose 15 pounds or at least get back to that 178. I looked pretty good then. I've already started to change my diet and walk more. Today I walked 6.05 miles. My pedometer and iPod Mini are really getting a workout. I'm sure I'll hear from those who say I need to work out, build muscle, increase my cardio, blah, blah, blah. Yea, I know all that stuff but I'm going to do it the simple way. Eat less, move more. That's really all there is to it. That's what I plan to do. Then I'll take the "after" photos and compare them. I don't want to be a muscle boy. I just want to keep my same build but be lighter. That's what I'll be working on in 2005. It will be a slow process. I know that. It took me 3 years to lose 50 pounds so it may take me all year to lose 15 pounds. I'll take my time.

I haven't really been paying attention to my statistics lately but since the year was over and another month of was over, I decided to check out my stats. Looking at my overall visits, I see that it took just about a year to reach 10,000 visits. In the 5 weeks since that time, I've already had about 4000 visits. I think that's pretty amazing. As you can see from the graphic, my stats have continued to grow each month. I don't know what it is that is bringing everyone to my site. I'm not listened on any search engines that I know of. I've coded my site so the bots won't find me. That has really helped with spammers. And keeps me a little more private. If you type my URL into Google it won't return any results. That shows me I've coded my site correctly. But when you type in ARCHERR you get returns from comments I've left on other's blogs. I guess that's one way you can find me. If you type ARCHERR or my URL into Ask.com you get my site info and links to different pages. I don't understand why this happens. Months ago I dug around on their site and found the same coding to keep their bots from crawling my site. So I know the coding is right, I just don't know why they still return results for my site.

Stat whores like Mark might be wondering why I would want to keep people from finding my site. Well, I'm a teacher and I don't want any parents or former students stumbling onto my site by accident. The way it is now they would have to find me on someone else's site. If that's the case, they are probably already reading gay blogs and it wouldn't matter at that point. I think the biggest reason I code my pages the way I do is to keep those annoying spammers out. I've read on several blogs lately that spammers have slammed their comments sections. I haven't had this happen yet (crossing fingers).

I'm pleased with the amount of visitors I've been getting lately. It's up to like 150 hits a day. I think that's great. I just hope that you are enjoying what you are reading or are enjoying following my sometimes boring life through my blog. That's why I read other blogs so maybe you're doing it for the same reason. In 2005 I will continue to write about things I want to write about, post pictures of things I've taken pictures of, and comment on anything that I find interesting. I hope you will continue to check and find out what's up. Thanks for continuing to visit! And of course thanks for all the comments!

Homer has the uncanny ability to call me right when I'm having sex. This is the second time this has happened. He must be able to sense when I'm getting lucky. All I'll say is that I connected today with a guy I haven't seen for a few years. It was the best sex I've had all year! (get it? all year...it's only 2 days old). That's all I'm going say about that.

This afternoon I watched Cold Mountain finally. I've been wanting to watch this movie for some time but just haven't gotten around to it. It was a great movie. The story was amazing. I think they captured the Civil War pretty good. Most of the acting was pretty good. I can see why Renee Zellweger won for Best Supporting Actress. She was amazing! However, I can not say the same for Nicole Kidman or Jude Law. They did not do a very good job of convincing me they were from the south, let alone the United States. Even so, it was a great movie and I really enjoyed the story. Now, the question comes to mind if the part Renee Zellwegger was playing was supposed to be a lesbian. She certainly was showing jealously when Jude Law returned. If you haven't seen Cold Mountain yet, you should. It's very well done and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I might have to think about reading the book. Maybe not. I'm not one for reading historical fiction or straight love stories. I'll think about it.

Last night I went to Ken's house in DC for a dinner party and to ring in the new year. His friend's Perry, Jason, and Doug were also there. We had great time laughing, drinking, having dinner, and chatting. Those guys can get pretty silly after a few drinks. Perry is the king (queen?) of one liners. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I didn't have much to drink so I didn't have any problems driving home. I was a bit worried about other people though. But there were more cabs on the road at 1:30 AM then regular people driving so it wasn't a problem at all getting home. Of course I took my camera and took lots of photos of things going on during the evening. It was a lot of fun.

While at Ken's, I spent some time on the roof while the steaks were being cooked. I took my camera up there with me and set it in many different places around his roof. I took several photos of the scenic view from his roof top deck. I think I got some really cool photos. I let the camera decide the light. I think some of them have some pretty dramatic lighting. Most of the photos, however, aren't level. I didn't have my tripod and was only setting the camera on top of things high enough above the roof to get the shot. I used my remote control to take the photos. You can see from the photos that they aren't level. But I still think they came out pretty cool. I plan to go back to his house sometime at night and take more roof top pictures but this time with my tripod.