Remembering … A Tribute To Matthew Shepard

-It was ten years ago today that an openly gay Wyoming college student by the name of Matthew Shepard was found tied to a fence, after being savagely beaten and left stranded.

The beating was so brutal that a description of his injuries, even a decade later, is hard to imagine and difficult to listen to.

Five days later, he was dead.

McCain And Palin Losing By Throwing Dirt

-The economy is down the tubes, and so is the McCain and Palin republican presidential campaign team and their bid for the White House.

The economy is turning more voters toward Obama and Biden – with record numbers of American’s registering to vote.

As of today … this is how the nation looks:

Blue = Democrat
Light Blue = Weak Democrat
Red = Republican
Light Red = Weak Republican

White = Tied

Steve Has Doctor’s Appointment

-Hello everyone and good morning.  Rain, rain go away – come again some other day – We’ve got rain here in the northland this morning and lots of it.

-Outside in the back yard it is 46 degrees. Color weather radar is showing a lot of rain over Minnesota this morning. Not looking like it will be a nice day outside at all.

-Today weather forecast for our corner of the world is: Cloudy with scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs 53 to 58. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

-Yesterday, Steve was busy around the house before the birthday party and after the birthday party – moving his collection of DVD’s around – re-arranging this and that and all kinds of good things.

Earlier in the afternoon we attended a small birthday party for a young lady that we know … complete even with ice cream and cake.

It was fun to see her open her birthday presents and enjoy her “special day”.

The balance of our day was pretty much spent relaxing … and not doing a heck of a lot. The weather was cool and for the most part cloudy all day. I guess that’s the one thing I dislike about fall here in northern Minnesota – is that the cloud cover is such, that near Lake Superior you really don’t have to many days where it is bright and sunny.

The big lake keeps the clouds close to it, and therefore going out for a radius of about five miles from the lake – there are usually clouds.

-We had an unusually large amount of “tourists” in the area this weekend. Steve and I noticed when ever we got out onto Highway 61 – that the traffic was just bumper to bumper with cars. A lot of people were in the northland just to look at the fall colored leaves … and away from the big lake, they were very colorful.

-Here are 10 ways to stay energized:

10. Make your own energy products.
If you’re going to resort to a brick of grains and protein to give you short-term “power” or “energy,” you may as well have it be cheap—and tastier than those foil-wrapped roofing tiles. Same goes for re-hydrating drinks, which can be easily mixed at home. Foodie extraordinaire Alton Brown has recipes for three different home-baked bars, as does About.com’s Sports Medicine section. Of course, there’s always the free stuff flowing from the tap for true replenishment.

9. Listen to brain-stretching music.
Among other tips offered up by software programmer Brad Isaac for beating “brain drain,” the exhaustion that comes from sustained concentration, is working a little Mozart or Bach into your playlist. There’s no overly hook-y melody to pull your mind away, and the harmony of so many instruments together relaxes your mind. Strings and brass not your thing? Try the non-intrusive, up-tempo ambient of Groove Salad.

8. Deal with job burnout.
Even if you’re generally happy with your job, the people you work with, and the work you’re doing, small annoyances and responsibilities can build up over time, until a dark, angry cloud hangs over you seven and a half hours per day. Seriously—feeling overwhelmed by your tasks was the second most frequent response in our poll on energy zappers. The Simple Dollar blog recommends scheduling an immediate vacation to take care of piling-up home stuff and set your mind free. Web Worker Daily suggests finding a new project. However you handle burnout, keeping an even head about your job gives you a lot more energy to spend on stuff that’s a lot more fun.

7. Schedule around your energy peaks.
Writer and speaker Michelle Dunn describes herself as “very organized,” but there are times of the day she just can’t be productive. So when she’s about to hit a lull—like right after lunch—she schedules errands and tackles non-thinking tasks, and otherwise schedules around her energy. Of course, not everybody can just run off to Target whenever they’re feeling blah, so 43 Folders honcho Merlin Mann explains subtle ways to work inside your schedule.

6. Get outside—even if it’s cloudy.
Even if you live in one of those areas with perma-gray skies for two-thirds of the year, getting outside every day can give you a vitamin D boost and the resulting mood and energy improvements. The National Institutes of Health recommends getting 10 to 15 minutes of sun each day, and a layer of sunscreen if you’re getting more. Even better, you get away from the screens, voicemails, and low-level humming of the office.

5. Crank out some morning exercises.
You know those mornings where you have to get right up and do something with a deadline? The groans about coffee and sleep fall away, and you usually get it done. Give yourself a now-now-now pushup cycle right after your breakfast, and you might just shake off your sluggish self-doubt and get moving. If you’re looking to get more out of your morning time, personal trainer Dan Boyle offers a two and a half minute core routine that’ll definitely leave you aware that you’re awake.

4. Eat the right nutrition mix.
Sugar and bread give you a quick jolt of energy, but ultimately result in an insulin-powered crash later in the day. Too much meat doesn’t give you enough of the quick-firing stuff. Balancing out your lunch, instead of just eating leftover pasta, can have a big impact on your day, according to the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source. As Lifehacker guest editor (and current io9 editor) Annalee Newitz puts it:

Remember, carbs come in fruits and veggies as well as grains. And you can get protein from meat, dairy, fish, eggs and beans (like soy or pinto). The perfect lunch might be veggies with fish (mmm, nicoise salad, anyone?), and the best snack an apple with a little cheese.

It’s also not a bad idea to keep the heavy meals for morning to ensure better sleeping patterns.

3. Put your senses to work.
If you’re stuck at work after a rough night, chances are you’ll be staring at a hypnotizing screen or look-alike paperwork and finding it hard to stay awake. WikiHow suggests a multi-sensory assault on your tired self. Try scenting yourself awake with some essential oils of (or just strong scent of) peppermint or rosemary, or target the alertness-sparking stress points like your earlobes and the skin between your thumb and forefinger. Keep yourself a little chilly, and try to move around a bit—it’s your best shot at not having the boss notice you haven’t said a word since 9AM.

2. Switch from venti to smaller caffeine doses.
Slamming half a carafe of coffee to get alert and productive is kind of like pounding a six-pack to get social and funny—you’re going to miss your mark, in often painful ways. Research suggests that small, frequent doses of caffeine—like tea breaks, caffeinated mints, and even chocolate—do a better job of keeping your brain from feeling fatigued than jitter-inducing java. Of course, if you’ve got the willpower and patience, you could also just drink half-cups of coffee more frequently.

1. Master the power nap.
Taking a nap isn’t calling it quits on getting energized—it’s just running a quick defrag on your neural drive and rebooting. We’ve covered the ins and outs of napping pretty thoroughly here, but if you need a quick take-away, try the Boston Globe’s comprehensive cheat sheet. If shut-eye alone can’t bring you back, try a coffee-charged caffeine nap.

Source: Lifehacker

-This is GLBT history month, and on this date in history here is what happened:

October 6

October 6, 1928-The New York Times reported that George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells had protested the seizure of the lesbian novel “The Well of Loneliness” by English customs agents. The novel had been published in France and was being imported into England.

October 6, 1968 – 12 people in Los Angeles gathered for the first service of Metropolitan Community Church. Rev. Troy Perry founded the church with a primary outreach to the glbt community.

October 6, 1981 – The Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear appeal of The Body Politic. Last resort of appeal exhausted; TBP back to retrial.

October 6, 1989 – The NAMES Project Quilt was displayed in Washington DC, with 10,848 panels.

October 6, 1989 – In reaction to a small, peaceful protest against federal neglect of people with AIDS, about 200 San Francisco police officers rioted in the Castro neighborhood, beating protesters
and passersby, sweeping seven city blocks of all pedestrians, and placing thousands in homes and business under house arrest for the duration.

October 6, 1993 – A lesbian in Bentonville Arkansas announced she would appeal a court decision to give custody to her ex-husband because of her sexual orientation.

October 6, 1993 – Martina Navratilova withdrew from the suit challenging the constitutionality of Colorado’s Amendment 2, which had been approved by voters and would have banned gay rights laws in Colorado. She said it was due to tennis commitments.

October 6, 1997 – The US Supreme Court refused to hear a case filed by Sandy Nelson, a reporter who was demoted because she refused to stop her off-duty campaigning in support of a gay rights initiative in Washington. The Washington Supreme Court had ruled that a law barring discrimination in employment for political views did not apply to newspapers.

October 6, 1998 – Twenty-one year old gay college student Matthew Shepard of Wyoming was pistol whipped and tied to a fence in a field. He would die of his injuries at a hospital in Ft Collins, Colorado.

October 6, 1998 – The Ford Foundation gave a $100,000 grant to the United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches for its programs targeting at-risk gay and lesbian youth.

October 6, 1999 – Donna Brazile, an out lesbian, became Al Gore’s campaign manager. She was also the first African-American woman to manage
a presidential run.

October 6-7 1973 – In Quebec City the first pan-Canadian conference of gay organizations is hosted by Centre humanitaire d’aide de libération.

-Steve went to the dentist on Thursday to finish off his dental work – but the sad thing is that every time he eats something cold now – his teeth hurt. I don’t mean they hurt – but they “really hurt” … badly.

I told him to contact the dentist again … perhaps there is a small spot where they missed the filling or something. Prior to his visit – he really didn’t seem to have to much of a problem with that kind of an issue.

-Things we’ve read…

* People who are modestly overweight have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight!
* If you were to roll a lung from a human body and out flat it would be the size of a tennis court.
* The mask used by Michael Myers in the original ‘Halloween’ was actually painted white.
* Almonds are a member of the peach family.
* Someone on Earth reports seeing a UFO every three minutes.

-It’s back to work for Steve … who will be getting up in about 27 minutes – around 6:00 a.m. He’s got another busy day … as today he goes to his doctor to get a physical examination. It’s been a few years since Steve has had a physical by the doctor (I give him a physical every so often, by cupping his nuts in my hand and telling him to “cough”).

Over the past few weeks, Steve really has not been feeling well. When he eats some sweets, on a few occasions he actually feels a bit dizzy and light headed. Plus off and on now for the past nearly ten years his stomach seems to bother him a lot. He can eat a good healthy meal – but seems to just have problems the next day … and hopefully a full physical examination will determine what is going on inside of him.

If you were to look at Steve – you’d say he is the picture of perfect health – but his tummy just doesn’t agree with everything he eats. The past few weeks, he has cut down on his milk consumption – which has relieved some of this “bloated” feelings that he has.

I’m thinking for one thing – he may have lactose intolerance – which, for some comes from consumption of milk and dairy products.

I’m going to be anxious to get his phone call today, after his doctor’s appointment – to see what is going on inside of him. I’m sure he will have to have a few tests to check things out.

-Well guys, it is time for me to head out of here and find some breakfast for myself. Steve will be up shortly to shower and shave and then to get ready for work. Have a wonderful Monday … Steve and I both plan on it, and we hope you do also.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

-Until next time…