"San Francisco writer, publisher and humorist Robert Wayne Davolt, 47, died on the 16th day of May, 2005, after a brief battle with cancer… in which, obviously, the cancer came out slightly ahead," begins his self-written obituary. Robert's irony and straight-forward honesty comes across in the written word just as it did in the few liquor-enhanced conversations I had with him in Daddy's. Robert was committed to the Leather Community and involved in a lot of other areas of San Francisco that mean little to me. It didn't matter.  I'll miss his willingness to share a conversation and his ability [...]

... and finally an updated website! Friends in Ashland have a terrific vacation home in the Conchas Chinas area of Puerto Vallarta.  They've had a web site for several years, but it has some problems that made it difficult to find on search engines and awkward to maneuver around. A while ago they asked me to update some pictures and edit in search-engine promotion-type stuff.  "No problem!" I said. Wrong! Gory details for web designers only

A month ago the DSL line went down, and I phoned EarthLink customer support in friendly downtown Bangalore.  So much for chance of getting effective support. Pitifully common and unsurpising details about bad off-shore support

Showing Saddam Hussein "Justice American style" sounds a bit like a John Wayne boast. But, as part of the Administration's PR effort, President Bush says we're showing Saddam and all of Iraq American justice by our exemplary treatment of the ex-Iraqi dictator.  The United States says that we're going to turn Saddam et al over to Iraqi-run tribunals and let the evil doers be judged by their fellow countrymen.  Sounds good, eh?  Read why it isn't good

A free after-school program for young Tenderloin/Western Addition children is holding an auction on eBay this week.  The charity, Up On Top, is selling goodies ranging from a week in a Puerto Vallarta condo, a Jardiniere dinner, and autographed books to tickets to the opening night of Fidelio. The after-school program gives some kids from very low-income families a safe place to go after school.  When they're at Up On Top, they're with adults who help them with their schoolwork and let them know that they are valuable members of our community. I'm not an online auction aficionado, but I've bid [...]

Sharon McNight, our favorite cabaret singer, closed her Betty, Betty, Bette tribute to Betty Hutton, Betty Grable, and Bette Davis last night at the Plush Room. Geoff, Harlan, Blurkerbear and I helped David celebrate his birthday by cheering on Sharon. The show was good fun. Sharon is a superb show woman, and she filled the spaces between songs with a lot of details about her three subjects.  The music was tamer and more limited than some of her past shows (such as Songs to Offend (Nearly) Everyone).  But, what a voice!  Besides, as Sharon said, how often in San Francisco [...]

As non-skiers non-gamblers visiting in the shoulder season, we've enjoyed the chance to relax, see scenery, play, and eat these last seven days.  The upscale restaurants in the Casinos no longer are loss leaders:  their prices show their intent to be a profit center.  However, a few area restaurants truly provide a dining experience.  Here's our recommendations. South Lake Tahoe Restaurants

ESTJ-The Supervisor The Detailed Results

Twenty years ago we dated for nine months or so. From the first, we talked about how neither of us thought we'd be a couple walking hand in hand together into the sunset.  But, we said, we had a good time together while until Mr. Right showed up.  I was captured by a sunset-walking relationship first, and Mike and I stopped dating. We remained friendly, but not friends.  When we broke off, Mike decided he would resume drinking, even though he called himself an alcoholic and had not had a drink for many years.  Mike's decision to return to his drinking turned him away from me [...]

Both Geoff and I tried to tell people ahead of time that we'd be incommunicado April 17 - 24th for our post tax season unwinding and computer game family therapy session. We're enjoying Lake Tahoe and each other. We aren't counting puffs of different color smoke. We aren't gambling or cavorting from bar to bar. We're not even checking email: I am in transmit-only mode uploading blogs, comments, and pictures.  Of course we did leave word with key people on how to reach us in an emergency.  Funny what's an emergency. Each of us have gotten a message from the Real [...]