Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Other than making sure you have at least a bit of green on, I don’t really know anyone that actually does anything to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I realize it is a good excuse to drink a few beers, but usually it being Tuesday is a good enough excuse to drink a few beers.
In actuality, I’m a quarter Irish. My origins are split up evenly four ways. However, I can never remember exactly how. I believe my mother’s side of the family is Scotch and Irish and my father’s side is English and Welch. Whatever the breakdown, I’m one Waspy guy.
On a totally new subject, I was reading the Express newspaper on the subway ride to work this morning and saw the story about Josef Fritzl. He is on trial in Austria for a variety of horrendous things: incest with his daughter that resulted in him fathering seven of her children, killing her 2-day old son, his daughter’s enslavement in his basement for years, etc. What struck me odd about the story was the mention of the fact that Fritzl wore a mismatched suit at his trial. Did Cojo, from Entertainment Tonight write this story? All the terrible stuff this guy did, and they had to add a crime of fashion.
Also on the front page of the Express was a story about all the outrage over the AIG bonuses. Of course, the only people in the entire world who think this is a good idea is the people getting the money. As a Federal employee, I get paid with taxpayer’s money, and I got to tell you, if they decided to give me a bonus, I would take it. Conversely, I also pay taxes, and I happen to know every dime I pay in taxes is going directly in AIG executives’ pockets.
I also saw in the paper that President Obama is going to be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Thursday night. The blurb says this is the first time a sitting president appeared on such a program. I immediately thought of Richard Nixon’s appearance on Laugh-In, saying, “Sock it to me?” That was played during the campaign in the fall of 1968, so he wasn’t yet a sitting president. I was only 7 years old, but I remember it. Damn, I’m old.
I’m not sure that appearing on the Tonight Show is such a good idea for the president. If he was going to be a talk show, he should have picked something a little more hip, like David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Tyra, or perhaps Nightline. If he really wanted to connect with the American people and make a political statement, he should be a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race. At any rate, you’d think he’d be too busy for talk shows at the moment. The Republicans are going to accuse him of being a celebrity again. That worked out so well for them before. Oh well. We should indulge him a bit and let him enjoy his popularity. I wonder who Dave will have on that night (it’s a rerun and will be delayed because of the basketball tournament).
This Blog is Over
Tuesday, March 17
Monday, March 16
New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest -- #185
"And when the fish realizes it isn't an actual worm,it quickly lets go and I kick him to the shore."
This is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest cartoon for this week. My caption for this cartoon is above. Let me know if you come up with a caption too. Click on the link above to enter.
Sunday, March 15
The Real Harvey Milk -- Online for Free
Before Sean Penn won an Academy Award portraying Harvey Milk in the film Milk, the 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk won an Academy Award for Best Documentary. I'm a little behind on my Netflix queue, but today Shane and I finally got around to watching that documentary, which had been sitting around the house for a couple weeks. Since the new film, Milk, was just released this past week, my plan was to first watch the documentary and then send it back and get the Sean Penn version on Blu-Ray. We haven't seen the new film yet, but we are very anxious to see it after watching the documentary. It was quite well done.I highly recommend the documentary. Using local San Francisco television stories and personal interviews with people in Harvey's life and those affected by his life, it was a highly emotional story. Harvey's story is a reminder of both how far we have come in gaining gay civil rights (he was the first out elected official in the US) and how far we have to go. The work that Harvey did in defeating a ballot initiative to ban homosexuals from being teachers in California reflects the struggle we continue to fight today for gay marriage.
The good news is that you can watch the entire documentary for free on your computer by clicking here.
Blowing Up Virginia Bridges Set to Opera
The music is from the Barber of Seville by Rossini. This is a video produced by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) of bridges blowing up all around Virginia. I used to commute over the old Wilson Bridge (between Maryland and Virginia), which was destroyed in the making of this video. It is no wonder taxes are so high when they go around destroying bridges just to make YouTube videos.
Saturday, March 14
Amazing Advertisement for a Bank in Argentina
I found this video on the Bilerico Project website (www.bilerico.com). There posting by Jeremy Bishop said it well.
A friend passed this Youtube posting of an Argentinian bank advertisement that is simply jaw-dropping and touching. What an interesting take for an advertisement - a bank being generous to you, makes you reconsider your own bigotry and lack of compassion. Wow and definitely worth the time it takes to view it.
Of Course There's a New Shuffle -- I Just Bought The Old Style
As you might recall from a previous post, I recently bought myself a brand new iPod Shuffle. It is a pretty, blue one. Naturally, within days, Apple launched a brand new Shuffle that has four times the memory (up to 1,000 songs) and is half the size. Oh, yes, and of course this Shuffle talks. It announces the names of the songs and the playlist. And another thing, you can have multiple playlists. I'm not buying the new Shuffle until I lose my new, blue Shuffle or accidentally wash it in the washer. They are going to have to wait a few more days to get more of my money. Apple can bite it.
Unless that is a very small key, I don't think this Shuffle is half the size of the old style Shuffle. How do they get a key to stand up like that anyway?
Friday, March 13
100 Facts About Me -- BrainTuner Update
In my recent post listing the 100 Facts About Me, number 89 was the following: "My best time on BrainTuner is 13.0069 seconds. It is a game on the iPhone that the object is to indicate whether 20 math equations are true or false. My goal in life now is to get a time under 13 seconds."
Today, I had the day off and I took a nap late in the afternoon (I know, it's a rough life). When I woke up (thanks to the phone ringing), while I was still groggy, I played BrainTuner on my iPhone. I previously broke the 13 second barrier earlier this week, but I was surprised to get an 11.0221 seconds score. I don't think I will ever improve on that time.
Thursday, March 12
Springtime Around the Corner, Part 2
these same daffodils pushing through the snow. The snow is gone and
the daffodils are starting to bloom. The trees are starting to bud and
the cherry blossoms should be in full bloom in a couple of weeks.
Wednesday, March 11
Orbit's Fabulous Fruitini Gum -- Is That Cat Urine?
I recently stopped at a gas station and went in searching for some cinnamon, sugar-free gum. They didn't have any, so I got some Orbit "Fabulous Fruitini"-flavored gum. I like fruity things. Many people consider me fruity myself, so I thought, "why not?"
Now, I've owned many cats during my life and have emptied many litter pans. That is the first thing I thought of when opening the cellophane on the packaging. It has a strong scent and that scent smelled like cat urine. I popped a stick in my mouth and began to chew. It tasted like cat urine too, or what I imagine cat urine would taste like. Fruity cat urine, but cat urine nonetheless. I don't think I'll buy another pack, but it isn't so horrible that I'm not using this pack. Perhaps this is the first in a long line of cat urine-scented products. I can hardly wait for the candles and bath soaps.
Tuesday, March 10
A Matter of Taste (Or Lack Thereof)
Shane and I went to my Mom's this past weekend and had a nice visit. We noticed a new addition to her guest bedroom, which used to be my bedroom. She bought this lamp at a yardsale at her brother's house. She was astonished to discover my Uncle Jack was selling this lamp that was made from the first deer he killed. I love my Mom dearly, but this is gross.New Yorker Caption Contest #184
Unless you're selling chalk, we don't need any.This is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest cartoon for this week. My caption for this cartoon is above. Let me know if you come up with a caption too. Click on the link above to enter.
Monday, March 9
100 Facts About Me -- The Complete List!
For the past few months (starting January 5), I've been slowly posting the 100 Facts About Me, 10 Facts at a time and with a few lies thrown in for fun. Interestingly, nobody ever correctly guessed which of the made-up facts were lies. The lie from last week was number 10. I have never gone to a psychic.
The following is the complete list of the 100 facts about me. They are all true. The last 10 (#91-100) are new to the blog. In the future, I will expand on the story behind some of these facts.
1. I was born in New Jersey. (I moved to Maryland as a baby.)
2. My father died when I was 1 year old in a skydiving accident (where he drowned).
3. I've run 3 marathons (so far).
4. I can name all 50 States in alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds. See the video here.
5. I killed a deer with a bow and arrow (mostly the arrow).
6. I was a vegetarian for several years (and I am again since February 1).
7. I successfully performed the Heimlich Maneuver on my dog.
8. I've worked for the Government for more than 24 years in five different jobs.
9. I've been interviewed on live TV as a Government agency spokesperson.
10. Because I'm deathly afraid of public speaking, I took my present Government job to avoid having to do live TV interviews.
11. A mouse ran up the inside of my pants.
12. I have swallowed Clorox bleach.
13. I had to go to the emergency room once after a run-in with a rooster.
14. I've had plastic surgery.
15. As a child, I played with matches and set a forest on fire.
16. I can juggle.
17. Shane moved in with me, moving from Connecticut to the DC area, less than 4 months after our first date.
18. My best friend in high school got amnesia and didn't know me.
19. At one time, I knew all the words to both Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
20. I have never smoked marijuana.
21. When I was a supervisor at a previous job, I had one of my employees arrested after I discovered he was exposing himself to little girls.
22. I have been diagnosed with a heart murmur.
23. As a child, I underwent a medical procedure several times that used radium-tipped rods -- the size of knitting needles -- stuck up my nostrils, which were supposed to shrink my adenoids.
24. My neighbor Kirby and I caused my sister's arm to get broken.
25. I am a certified SCUBA diver and have seen sharks in open water while diving.
26. I have shaken the hands of both President Clinton and Vice President Gore
27. I sang tenor in my church choir.
28. I have walked on the Great Wall of China.
29. I've been a member of both a volleyball league and a bowling league.
30. I am a Community College graduate.
31. I've had pet gerbils.
32. I took tap dancing lessons, and danced in front of hundreds of people.
33. I've written a country music song.
34. Shane and I own about 5 acres of land in Maine, where we plan to eventually build a house and retire.
35. I have skied at ski resorts in Maine, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and New Mexico.
36. The first real concert I ever saw was REO Speedwagon, and I had won the tickets from a radio station. Survivor was the opening act.
37. I ran my first marathon in 1998 to raise money for AIDS charities and received just under $4,000 in contributions.
38. I did an internship during my last semester in college with the Baltimore News American and I wrote two front-page stories. The paper went out of business shortly thereafter.
39. I helped digitize maps used in the first Gulf War.
40. I buried a man in a cemetery while his young son watched.
41. I played the trombone in my elementary school band.
42. I was in my high school senior class play about a train wreck (that was indeed a train wreck).
43. I got a C in Chorus class in high school because, according to my teacher, my voice was changing.
44. On the night of my senior prom, I had a job babysitting.
45. I was very disappointed with the x-ray glasses I sent away for from the back of a comic book.
46. I was not aware of the concept of homosexuality until I was 11 when I saw a TV news story on the subject, which I thought was hilarious.
47. I've taught classes at my church's vacation bible school.
48. I had to go to the emergency room once with what I thought a an appendicitis attack, but it turned out to be kidney stones.
49. I'm a grocery checker school graduate.
50. I lettered in tennis at college.
51. My little finger on my right hand is shorter than my other pinky, and it has hair growing on the palm side (feel free to throw up).
52. I met Shane online.
53. I had the mumps.
54. I've sold seeds door-to-door.
55. I have college credit in Bowling.
56. A former babysitter of mine got a bit of a crush on me when I became of age, but while I was still living at home with my mother. She threw pebbles at my bedroom window so I'd meet her in the backyard late one night. It didn't really work out for her.
57. Shane and I have traveled to the Union of Myanmar (Burma).
58. While in elementary school, I had to go to a speech therapist to help correct my lisp.
59. I've taught a class in candlemaking.
60. I bite my nails.
61. My favorite ice cream flavor is Baskin-Robbins German Chocolate Cake.
62. I once owned a dark green Mazda Miata. Someone crashed into the back of it one day when I was stopped.
63. At one time, I had more than $14,000 in credit card debt. I now pay off my full balance each month.
64. I currently do not own a car. Our Honda CRV is owned by Shane.
65. At work, I have an interior office with no windows. However, I do have a TV.
66. I once stabbed myself in the leg with a hunting arrow.
67. I'm currently 20 years older than the age my father lived to be.
68. I used to have two cats -- one named Lucy and and the other named Ethel.
69. The first major I declared in college was Accounting.
70. I was in the 4-H. My projects included photography and dog obedience.
71. My best friend in school from the 7th through the 9th grade moved away and I have never seen him or had contact with him since.
72. I get 208 hours of vacation time each year -- about 5 weeks and 1 day -- and I get every other Friday off (because I work 9 hour days).
73. When I talk to someone I don't know on the phone, they often assume I'm a woman.
74. I have been complimented on my blue eyes.
75. I once stood in line to get the autograph of Grandpa Jones, star of TV's Hee Haw.
76. Our rowhouse in DC is more than 100 years old. It was built in 1905.
77. The first show I ever saw on Broadway was The Magic Show, which featured the magic of Doug Henning and was written by Stephen Schwartz, who later wrote Wicked, which I also saw.
78. The last show I saw on Broadway, as of this date, was a play called August: Osage County.
79. My minimum retirement age is 56, which means I can retire from my job and draw a pension starting August 3, 2017 -- in less than 8 years and 6 months.
80. I have dated someone from Africa.
81. I received many severe sunburns as a child.
82. As a child, my brother had to take me inside the house when we were camping in our backyard because I was upset that the moon was falling.
83. I sold rocks door to door.
84. I once gave my mother the following hint about a gift all her children, including me, had gone together to buy her: "You cook toast in it."
85. I have gone white water rafting on class 5 rapids in West Virginia.
86. I did not fly on a commercial airline until after I graduated from college and had to go on a business trip while working for the Government.
87. As of this date, I have been to 30 States, though Shane doesn't think I should count Texas since I was only at the airport. I think if you went to the bathroom in a State, it should count.
88. Shane's and my first date was at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
89. My best time on BrainTuner is 13.0069 seconds. It is a game on the iPhone that the object is to indicate whether 20 math equations are true or false. My goal in life now is to get a time under 13 seconds.
90. I've worked in construction, building houses and putting shingles on roofs. I helped build the house my brother lives in.
91. I have triplet nieces. Shane and I took them (and their mother who is my sister) to London, Paris, and Amsterdam for the triplets' high school graduation present. They are currently attending their first year of college.
92. I am quite pee shy. I have to do math problems in my head to urinate in a public restroom when others are around.
93. I love Shane, even though he does not read my blog.
94. Since the day I met Shane, I have been monogomous.
95. I took piano lessons for several years as a teenager. We now own a player piano.
96. I was closeted until I was 34 years old. I came out to my mother by handing her a letter and watching her read it. She said she was surprised, but wanted me to be happy.
97. I have been to a nude beach.
98. On July 20, 1969, I got into trouble just prior to the televised broadcast of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. I was sent to my room and didn't get to watch it.
99. I have secrets that I'm not telling here.
100. Though there was a time I never thought it was going to be possible, I'm happy with my life.
The following is the complete list of the 100 facts about me. They are all true. The last 10 (#91-100) are new to the blog. In the future, I will expand on the story behind some of these facts.
1. I was born in New Jersey. (I moved to Maryland as a baby.)
2. My father died when I was 1 year old in a skydiving accident (where he drowned).
3. I've run 3 marathons (so far).
4. I can name all 50 States in alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds. See the video here.
5. I killed a deer with a bow and arrow (mostly the arrow).
6. I was a vegetarian for several years (and I am again since February 1).
7. I successfully performed the Heimlich Maneuver on my dog.
8. I've worked for the Government for more than 24 years in five different jobs.
9. I've been interviewed on live TV as a Government agency spokesperson.
10. Because I'm deathly afraid of public speaking, I took my present Government job to avoid having to do live TV interviews.
11. A mouse ran up the inside of my pants.
12. I have swallowed Clorox bleach.
13. I had to go to the emergency room once after a run-in with a rooster.
14. I've had plastic surgery.
15. As a child, I played with matches and set a forest on fire.
16. I can juggle.
17. Shane moved in with me, moving from Connecticut to the DC area, less than 4 months after our first date.
18. My best friend in high school got amnesia and didn't know me.
19. At one time, I knew all the words to both Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
20. I have never smoked marijuana.
21. When I was a supervisor at a previous job, I had one of my employees arrested after I discovered he was exposing himself to little girls.
22. I have been diagnosed with a heart murmur.
23. As a child, I underwent a medical procedure several times that used radium-tipped rods -- the size of knitting needles -- stuck up my nostrils, which were supposed to shrink my adenoids.
24. My neighbor Kirby and I caused my sister's arm to get broken.
25. I am a certified SCUBA diver and have seen sharks in open water while diving.
26. I have shaken the hands of both President Clinton and Vice President Gore
27. I sang tenor in my church choir.
28. I have walked on the Great Wall of China.
29. I've been a member of both a volleyball league and a bowling league.
30. I am a Community College graduate.
31. I've had pet gerbils.
32. I took tap dancing lessons, and danced in front of hundreds of people.
33. I've written a country music song.
34. Shane and I own about 5 acres of land in Maine, where we plan to eventually build a house and retire.
35. I have skied at ski resorts in Maine, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and New Mexico.
36. The first real concert I ever saw was REO Speedwagon, and I had won the tickets from a radio station. Survivor was the opening act.
37. I ran my first marathon in 1998 to raise money for AIDS charities and received just under $4,000 in contributions.
38. I did an internship during my last semester in college with the Baltimore News American and I wrote two front-page stories. The paper went out of business shortly thereafter.
39. I helped digitize maps used in the first Gulf War.
40. I buried a man in a cemetery while his young son watched.
41. I played the trombone in my elementary school band.
42. I was in my high school senior class play about a train wreck (that was indeed a train wreck).
43. I got a C in Chorus class in high school because, according to my teacher, my voice was changing.
44. On the night of my senior prom, I had a job babysitting.
45. I was very disappointed with the x-ray glasses I sent away for from the back of a comic book.
46. I was not aware of the concept of homosexuality until I was 11 when I saw a TV news story on the subject, which I thought was hilarious.
47. I've taught classes at my church's vacation bible school.
48. I had to go to the emergency room once with what I thought a an appendicitis attack, but it turned out to be kidney stones.
49. I'm a grocery checker school graduate.
50. I lettered in tennis at college.
51. My little finger on my right hand is shorter than my other pinky, and it has hair growing on the palm side (feel free to throw up).
52. I met Shane online.
53. I had the mumps.
54. I've sold seeds door-to-door.
55. I have college credit in Bowling.
56. A former babysitter of mine got a bit of a crush on me when I became of age, but while I was still living at home with my mother. She threw pebbles at my bedroom window so I'd meet her in the backyard late one night. It didn't really work out for her.
57. Shane and I have traveled to the Union of Myanmar (Burma).
58. While in elementary school, I had to go to a speech therapist to help correct my lisp.
59. I've taught a class in candlemaking.
60. I bite my nails.
61. My favorite ice cream flavor is Baskin-Robbins German Chocolate Cake.
62. I once owned a dark green Mazda Miata. Someone crashed into the back of it one day when I was stopped.
63. At one time, I had more than $14,000 in credit card debt. I now pay off my full balance each month.
64. I currently do not own a car. Our Honda CRV is owned by Shane.
65. At work, I have an interior office with no windows. However, I do have a TV.
66. I once stabbed myself in the leg with a hunting arrow.
67. I'm currently 20 years older than the age my father lived to be.
68. I used to have two cats -- one named Lucy and and the other named Ethel.
69. The first major I declared in college was Accounting.
70. I was in the 4-H. My projects included photography and dog obedience.
71. My best friend in school from the 7th through the 9th grade moved away and I have never seen him or had contact with him since.
72. I get 208 hours of vacation time each year -- about 5 weeks and 1 day -- and I get every other Friday off (because I work 9 hour days).
73. When I talk to someone I don't know on the phone, they often assume I'm a woman.
74. I have been complimented on my blue eyes.
75. I once stood in line to get the autograph of Grandpa Jones, star of TV's Hee Haw.
76. Our rowhouse in DC is more than 100 years old. It was built in 1905.
77. The first show I ever saw on Broadway was The Magic Show, which featured the magic of Doug Henning and was written by Stephen Schwartz, who later wrote Wicked, which I also saw.
78. The last show I saw on Broadway, as of this date, was a play called August: Osage County.
79. My minimum retirement age is 56, which means I can retire from my job and draw a pension starting August 3, 2017 -- in less than 8 years and 6 months.
80. I have dated someone from Africa.
81. I received many severe sunburns as a child.
82. As a child, my brother had to take me inside the house when we were camping in our backyard because I was upset that the moon was falling.
83. I sold rocks door to door.
84. I once gave my mother the following hint about a gift all her children, including me, had gone together to buy her: "You cook toast in it."
85. I have gone white water rafting on class 5 rapids in West Virginia.
86. I did not fly on a commercial airline until after I graduated from college and had to go on a business trip while working for the Government.
87. As of this date, I have been to 30 States, though Shane doesn't think I should count Texas since I was only at the airport. I think if you went to the bathroom in a State, it should count.
88. Shane's and my first date was at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
89. My best time on BrainTuner is 13.0069 seconds. It is a game on the iPhone that the object is to indicate whether 20 math equations are true or false. My goal in life now is to get a time under 13 seconds.
90. I've worked in construction, building houses and putting shingles on roofs. I helped build the house my brother lives in.
91. I have triplet nieces. Shane and I took them (and their mother who is my sister) to London, Paris, and Amsterdam for the triplets' high school graduation present. They are currently attending their first year of college.
92. I am quite pee shy. I have to do math problems in my head to urinate in a public restroom when others are around.
93. I love Shane, even though he does not read my blog.
94. Since the day I met Shane, I have been monogomous.
95. I took piano lessons for several years as a teenager. We now own a player piano.
96. I was closeted until I was 34 years old. I came out to my mother by handing her a letter and watching her read it. She said she was surprised, but wanted me to be happy.
97. I have been to a nude beach.
98. On July 20, 1969, I got into trouble just prior to the televised broadcast of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. I was sent to my room and didn't get to watch it.
99. I have secrets that I'm not telling here.
100. Though there was a time I never thought it was going to be possible, I'm happy with my life.
Sunday, March 8
Style Invitational Week 807 -- Pretty Graphic Expressions
This week's Washington Post Style Invitational is based on Craig Damrauer's Web site http://morenewmath.com/, which is a compilation of thoughts expressed in the form of a mathematical equation, as in the ones by Craig in Bob Staake's cartoon. This week: Express some insight as an equation or other mathematical expression. For more information, click on the Post link above to go to the contest.
Saturday, March 7
100 Facts About Me -- Naming All 50 States in Under 30 Seconds
In the first list I posted of the 100 Facts About Me, I said that I could name all 50 States in alphabetical order in under 30 seconds. This video is the proof. On Monday, I'm posting the complete list of the 100 Facts. Try to look interested.
Friday, March 6
Didn't This Guy See The Crying Game?
From the Washington Blade:----------------------------
Police were called Feb. 19 at 2 a.m. to the 4100 block of 14th Street, N.W., to respond to a reported prostitution-related complaint. A man told police that he had visited “a known house of prostitution, where he engaged in consensual sex acts with a member of the transgender community” in exchange for money. The man told police that when he learned the person was “a biological male,” he demanded his money back. When the “service provider” refused, the man called police. No report was taken, but members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Prostitution Enforcement Unit were to investigate.
----------------------------------------
He called the police?
Prop 8 Hearing -- Prospects Looking Bleak
Photo: Jim Wilson/The New York Times -- taken outside of the Prop 8 hearing held on Thursday.Several ardent -- and outnumbered -- opponents of same-sex marriage held signs with messages like "Gay = Pervert" and "A Moral Wrong Can't be a Civil Right."
Indications are that Prop 8 will succeed and the civil rights of gay married couples in California will go away. I find this trend of backwards progress very depressing. There are some victories (Connecticut for example), but there are many more defeats.
As a community, gay men and women need to organize and step up the protests. I'm ashamed at how little I have done myself. This is our lives and we can not let this happen. We need to fight this tooth and nail. I've always been the one that thought our rights would come in time, but I'm starting to wonder. There is an amazing amount of disgust aimed at gay people. We have to say enough and not allow it to happen.
Thursday, March 5
Help Mitchell Get the Best Job in the World -- VOTE!
You could help Mitchell get the Best Job in the World -- working for Tourism Queensland (Australia) as a blogger on the Great Barrier Reef.
In addition to the 10 candidates selected by Tourism Queensland, they're giving the world a chance to have its say. The most popular short-listed candidate will receive a Wild Card to interview for the Best Job in the World. So, vote for Mitchell. You can vote once every 24 hours until March 24. He is currently third out of 50 candidates.
To vote and for more information, go to
http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/most-votes
Springtime Around the Corner
As I was walking to the subway this morning, I noticed these daffodils
starting to emerge through this week's snow. I then looked up the
weather in DC on my iPhone and saw that it is supposed to get up in
the 70s this weekend. I am looking forward to running outside again!
Wednesday, March 4
Obama Nominates Openly Gay Man to Be OPM Director
The article below is from http://www.govexec.com/. The full artilce can be found here.
by Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com March 3, 2009
President Obama on Tuesday nominated John Berry, currently the director of the National Zoo, to lead the Office of Personnel Management.
"From turning around the National Zoo to fostering a more productive work environment at the Department of the Interior, John Berry has a tremendous record of effective management in key public service roles," Obama said. "I'm confident that he will provide that same leadership at OPM to help ensure that government works for the American people the way it should."
Berry has a long history in federal workforce and management issues. He served as legislative director to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., for 10 years.
Berry is also known as an advocate for gay and lesbian federal employees. According to the Human Rights Campaign, if confirmed, he will be the highest-ranking openly gay official to serve in the executive branch in any administration.
During his time at Interior, Berry worked to create a grievance procedure for employees who experience discrimination because of their sexual orientation, expand relocation benefits and counseling services to the domestic partners of employees, establish a liaison to gay and lesbian workers, and eliminate discriminatory provisions of the National Park Service's law enforcement standards -- including a ban on security clearances for gay and lesbian employees.
Under President Bush, OPM opposed allowing the domestic partners of federal employees to receive health and retirement benefits available to heterosexual married couples. OPM argued in a 2008 congressional hearing that extending partner benefits was too risky because gay and lesbian federal employees might commit fraud to get them.
Leonard Hirsch, international liaison at the Smithsonian Institution and president of Federal GLOBE, which represents gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender government employees, said in a January interview with Government Executive that he thought Berry would reverse OPM's benefits policy.
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