Is it me of is the American Family Association just looking for trouble? Their latest boycott request is against McDonalds. It’s all about their Vice President of Communications Richard Ellis for his decision to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and them not stopping him from doing it. They sent a McLetter in response to it but apparently it didn’t do any good as the McBoycott is on.

Feel like rolling your eyes every time you realize you’re living in a country where Two and Half Men is a bona-fide hit? Have a look at the comments that people are leaving on the boycott site and tell me how you feel.

Apparently House of Jerky is having a contest where the first prize is a years supply of jerky. All you have to do is make a video saying how much you love House of Jerky’s jerky and upload it. For those interested the details can be found on their website at http://www.houseofjerky.net/ (guess the .com was taken).

I’m told there is a “Motel of Jerky” contest too but that’s something different altogether.

Picture it: Hamburg April 2, 2004. A lithe German whom I deeply love slides a ring on my finger and suddenly I’m a married man with all the benefits that the law allows including a visa, shared bank account and a reason to buy maultauschen every week. After 6 years he finally made an honest man out of me. (Photographic proof here)

Lately I’m having another “I was country when country wasn’t cool” experience. This flood of gay marriages going on here reminds me that I’m in fact still married. For convenience purposes really. We own property and assets together and for as long as we do the marriage will keep them between us.

Two friends are getting hitched this summer and while I’m stoked for them and the fact that it finally means at least some equality on a state level, seeing it all over the news some how cheapens it for the rest by the sheer glut of it all. It’s like showing people waiting in line for concert tickets or the iPhone. I’m sure when it all settles down it and is less publicized I’ll have a little more respect for it all.

But I guess still part of me is bitter because it wasn’t an option when I needed back in 2003, nor on a federal level. We moved to Germany then as Frank’s visa was about to expire and our only other option was for him to renew and stay in a job that he hated. In the end I’d become a miserable person overseas feeling hampered by the barriers in my mind leading him to make choices that would bring our time together to an end after 9 years.

He’s a good guy though. He taught me a lot about life and showed me the world outside my own. And he can still make me feel better in any situation with just a phone call.

And while my heart is mostly mended my platinum band sits in the drawer as a reminder of better times.

Cops now charging for gas used to catch you (Via Autoblog)

The high cost of fueling up is affecting just about everyone at the pump. But it’s also costing us at the grocery store, the airport, and, beginning July 1, it could bump up the cost of your speeding tickets, too. When a north Atlanta suburb spent 60% of its police fuel budget in only five months, it was faced with cutting back on patrols, raising taxes for all, or passing the cost on to speeders. The final decision was a no-brainer for the city of 7,700, and beginning in July, all speeders will be slapped with an additional $12 fuel charge. The added charge will raise ticket revenues up to $26,000 or more, and the costs will only be passed on to those who break traffic laws and not every citizen. The Atlanta city council has unanimously passed a similar proposal to include a $10 - $15 fine for ticketed motorists, and many more cities are sure to follow suit in short order. Yet another reason to get a really good radar detector.

Fully story on AOL Money

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Sunday night I was out and had a missed call and voicemail from an anonymous number on my mobile. I played the message and it’s landlord. He’s called before and again, like my birthday, I assume he got my info off my rental agreement because I’ve never given it to him and he’s never given me his.

In the message he says that in spreading his version of my business to the neighbors it seems the guy next door saw something. Apparently late in the morning there was someone standing on landlord’s porch. Described as a heavyset white guy who was ringing the doorbell and talking on a cell phone. I’ll give you 261 guesses who the fat man was.

Seriously, thanks for nothing Barnaby Jackass. The insurance person comes tomorrow to have a look around and collect some info. I just hope he butts out but I’m sure he won’t.

After talking to a friend this weekend I’m starting to wonder if finding another place with a little more space, privacy and security for a little more money might not be a bad idea.

UPDATE: I read this back this morning and it felt a little off to me. I wrote this last night when I was in a mood. Just wanted to make it clear that I don’t blame the landlord for any of this. It’s my fault and I made a mistake and I’m paying for it. My point is that his nosyness is continuing to annoy me at a time when I really don’t need more aggravation. I’ve also decided to do a little mailing to the immediate neighbors letting them know what happened in hopes to prevent it from happening to someone else.

Prowled

Saturday morning I had an appointment to have the 10K mile service done on my car. I drove down to National City (about 8 miles away) for 8:30am. They said it would take about 2 to 2.5 hours to get it done as they were short handed. No problem. I walked about a half mile or so to the nearest Denny’s, had Moons Over My Hammy and headed back to wait in the service center. On the way they called (in just over an hour) and said it was ready. Cool! There was a swap meet near the highway entrance so I drove over there and bought some more shades as I dropped the last ones and the lens cracked and then went back home. I pulled into the driveway and then remembered I needed a gift and a card for a going away party for a friend in the afternoon. I back right back out of the drive way and went to a shop in Hillcrest before returning back home about 11:30am.

I walk up on my porch to unlock my outside door and I see that the inside one is open. WTF?! I immediately thought the landlord had let himself in and was ticked. I went in looked to my left and saw this:

For a split second I thought he’d knocked a bunch of stuff off my bookcase but it quickly became clear that I’d been robbed.

My bedroom window was open a crack and they cut the screen, pushed up the window and climbed in. (see more pictures starting here) They took some stuff and them themselves out the front door.

In the three hours that it took for the police to come (completely understandable) I went through the house with Bill and TJ to figure out what was taken. My Wii (with Mario Kart inside), my digital camera, my video camera, my MacBook Pro, my Freitag messenger bag and the only thing of sentimental value which was a gold chain that my Mother gave me some time ago.

The good news is I’m fully insured with a $250 deductible so it would be the financial equivalent of losing my digital camera alone. I’m a bit worried about identity theft as my 2006 taxes were on the MBP and though they dumped out my messenger bag on my bed my checkbook was in the front pocket. I’ve alerted the banks and credit agencies already so hopefully it’ll be OK. I’ve changed all of my email and online passwords, even ones that weren’t stored. Not much I can do about the…let’s call them art…pictures of me on the laptop other than realize that they are no longer between M3 and me.

People keep asking me if I’m nervous or feel that my home as been violated. Not really. I mean, it was just people looking for small stuff to steal that they could use or sell, like at the flea market I was at earlier in the day. I’m sure they saw me leave and took the opportunity. I don’t think I am or was ever in any personal danger. But as I repaired the screen last night and was putting it in after dark I felt a little spooked. Then laying in bed right next to the window where they came in I felt a little strange. The weight of the day was on me though and I fell asleep quickly.

Oh and where was the nosey landlord during all this? Sleeping. As TJ, Bill, Officer McDonald and I all now know he fell out of bed at 3am and gashed his forehead (but he didn’t go to the hospital), then for some reason (no one knows why) he woke up at 6am and then ate breakfast in his hobby room where he normally opens the windows but (no one knows why) he didn’t yesterday. About 9am he felt sleepy again so he went to bed not waking up (even after I rang his doorbell) until he saw us in the yard talking. You know he’s a diabetic and has bad hearing right? Ugh! As usual it was like VH1 Storytellers with him. It felt like any minute he was going to pull out an acoustic and play Landslide.

I certainly don’t blame him. Watching my house isn’t his responsibility. But when the police officer was dusting for prints and printing me for elimination she commented that an “open window is an open invitation” he didn’t need to reinforce it and use the opportunity to lecture me about it. I have a feeling that he’ll be even more bothersome as well now that he has an actual topic of conversation that isn’t related to the Padres or the Chargers.

Anyway, so just another squall in the sh*t storm that was my week. And to use my new favorite phrase “no one died” so it’s not all that bad. I got a lot of supportive messages and calls from friends (Thanks everyone) and Frank says he’ll send me a new messenger bag to replace the one that was taken. That all makes me feel so good and helps to not completely destroy my faith in humanity as these things can often do.

If anything good comes out it’ll be, as Brian mentioned last night, that hopefully those of you reading this who don’t have renter’s insurance already will get it. These are desperate financial times and people are taking desperate measures to survive.

(About renter’s insurance: I have $20,000 in coverage for about $160 a year which also includes $2000 worth of coverage for what I have in storage. With all the electronics and huge TV’s we all have now it’s easy to lose what we’ve bought over time and not be able to afford to replace it all out of pocket. Theft or fire could be financially devastating for some of you. Check with your car insurance company and see if they offer renter’s so you’ll get a multiline discount. And if you are in the market for a new insurance company try Amica. Their prices beat Geico with better coverage and they’ve won JD Power award for customer satisfaction 8 years in a row. Plus when you call you always get someone on the phone right away…nice in this day and age.)