My gingersnap cookies

2 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses
Up to 1/4 c. water as needed


Combine sugar and butter. Add egg then molasses. Stir in dry ingredients and water (good luck stirring without it); shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 10 to 15 minutes.

opportunities

They come along everyone once in a while, often just by chance or luck. For example, a friend of mine was just offered a job (a "real" (end air quotes) job) at a teeshirt company. She is likely going to turn it down because it doesn't fit into her plans, and I personally feel she should, but that is not my place to say. Anyway, this chance truly came out of nowhere. A man walked up to her and felt she would be good for it. I was jealous for a moment. I truly was, but I refused to let those negative feelings enter my mind. So I pushed them out. And now I am being asked to help with a community theater project. I might be the leader of it. holy fuck. What the hell am I getting myself into? But, if you read regularly, you will know that I am a man of "doing" and that I often tell people that they will usually regret not doing something more than they regret taking an opportunity. This sort of thing can only be a good thing, because if it a bad thing, I will not let myself get sucked into it. I know how to keep myself safe legally and safe financially. And I might really be doing something great here. But time will tell.
I also received two very good leads on jobs via text message from a family member. One would be a very large step up in my life. I could quit my two current jobs if I got it. The other is a small step up.

Moral: good things happen to good people, and patience is virtue. But there is no harm in giving it a little nudge.

The Bleeding Vlad

4 parts Campari, 3 parts Bombay Sapphire, 2 parts Lime= The Bleeding Vlad. it has a beautiful bitter undertone with a floral foreground.
This is the drink I invented yesterday. I thought it was a gimlet, but apparently a gimlet is gin, a spot of lime, and soda. So as I confirmed with the bar tender what I wanted I said, "oh, that isn't the gimlet I want. I want gig, campari, and lime. No soda." So alas, the Bleeding Vlad was born. just like the squeaky clean martini (a certain San Francisco girl and I disagree on what a squeaky clean martini is).

Is it OK for your boyfriend to...

Response to an email:

Dear B-----,
It sounds like you love your boyfriend very much, but I can not tell you what is acceptable behavior between you. Have you talked to him about your opposition to him masturbating? And to what degree do you opposite it? Ask yourself what you expect of him, and go from there. Make sure that you both have a clear understanding of where he stands. But ultimately, it is his body, you can't force him to give up masturbation no more than he can force you to have sex every time he feels a lingering in his loins. You might nag and coax, but you musn't force.

It is ok for your boyfriend to...
Masturbate with just his imagination?
Masturbate with the aid of searched images or videos of no particular person on the internet free of charge?
Masturbate with images or videos of no particular person he has saved/ downloaded from the internet free of charge?
Masturbate with the aid of images or videos of a particular model/person (who he has no contact with) on the internet free of charge?
Masturbate using images/ videos of no particular person from the internet that he paid a subscription fee for?
Masturbate using images of a particular model/ person (who he has no contact with) that he paid for?
Masturbate with the aid of a free of charge chat style (text based) communication with a person who is a random stranger, if no further contact will be made?
Masturbate with the aid of a free of charge chat style (text based) communication with a person who is a random stranger, further contact is possible?
Masturbate to a one way video chat (he is not seen by the model/person) where he is able to communicate (text) with the model/ person? (These are all pay services)
Masturbate with a stranger in a two way video chat situation, if no further contact will be made?
Masturbate with a stranger in a two way video chat situation, further contact is possible?
Masturbate with a random stranger in person?
Masturbate with a person who is not a stranger?
Have oral sex with a stranger for free?
Have oral sex with a stranger in a payment system?
Have oral sex with a person who is not a stranger for free?
Have vaginal/anal sex with a stranger for free?
Have vaginal/anal sex with a stranger in a payment system?
Have vaginal/anal sex with a person who is not a stranger for free?


Where do you draw the line for someone you love? Where do you draw the line for yourself? And where do you think he draws the line?

Good luck!
P.S. make sure you practice safe sexual habits. Pregnancy and diseases DO HAPPEN.

lessons

I think that i just learned something important... I am not sure how to say this, but there are bad people out there in the world. I mean, you all know that, but there are people that are a different kind of evil... a personal evil. They want others to be angry or sad. Why? I am not sure. But, just be warned. There are people who just want to hurt you.

Water Tank

I would say "fish tank" but there are no fish in it. I have solved my filtration problem in the simplest way possible... two filters working in parallel. Anyone who knows me personally knows my computer, Sheila. Sheila is a testament to my philosophy on problem solving; bigger is usually better, and redundant is always a good idea. In this case, both applied to the fish tank problem. I have been trying to get a single pump to filter an appropriate sized tank with a astronomical sized piping system. By using a second filter pump, I can eliminate 75% of the piping, AND cut down the load by half (actually more, because the reduction in piping also reduces the amount of water that needs to be moved.)
Moral: When faced with a difficult problem, you might be better of completely starting from square one. I had invested a small amount of money to build the piping system, but it completely destroyed the first pump. When I threw out he whole system, I solved my problem in a totally different way.