A tribute to my living-with-his parents-friend, Thoma: Adult children living at home can be costly.

boo.com has a crazy site but lots of cool t-shirts, which are the staple of my wardrobe.

I was told that it's virtually impossible to talk about me without mentioning the fact that I'm a lesbian. It makes me wonder -- I'd always consider being gay to be something that's sort of low on the list of things that I am, behind being adopted, doing dog rescue and having this weird Web-based life. And yet, other people perceive it as higher on the list than that. Why? I'm like to think that I'm so open about it that it's a non-issue. After all, it seems odd to me that most of my friends are straight and are people's wives. Maybe I should start referring to people as "my straight friend". But most of them are so the irony would be lost.

Andrea's mom came to visit last night. We picked her up at the house of some relatives in San Francisco. It was the usual sort of meeting, where they try to remember to speak mostly English on my account. I was thrilled that I finally know just enough Chinese that it wasn't that hard to follow along. But gone is the allure of the imagined conversations I told myself they were having about exotic things.

How can you ever know how a company's going to do? The world is no longer filled with stable companies looking for people to perform specific jobs. Instead, it's all about some schmuck with an idea trying to pull it off, handing out stock as if it was worth something.

I love the medicine combination on this piece of software -- PillPal

Alice starred in her first movie yesterday, but it takes FOREVER to download. She's so cute, it's worth the wait. You're been warned.

Saw another phine movie last night. Detroit Rock City didn't change my life, but it did keep me laughing. I can't sit through long drawn-out movies that make me think anymore. Has the one-click wonder of the Web robbed me of my attention span?

Jewish people always seem to be right on.Reform Rabbis Approve Gay Unions -- no exception. From Marnie.

Got an email from a recruiter today. But not any recruiter, one from an established, decent-sized company that I was itching to work for a couple of years ago. The job is everything I want to --Web Content Manager. All the buzzwords I'd hoped for. The thing is, I just got here 6 weeks ago and I'm not sure leaving is the right thing to do. Damn this hopping job market and damn my marketable skills.

Someone from Senac wrote to me about using their forums, clubs and other utilities. I don't really want them, but if any of you do, there they are.

In case you're wondering, my initials are for the Emerald, Queensland, Australia airport. Find yours here. Thanks John

"I speak with my Johnson" -- Howard Stern

The basis of love is compassion. And if it's not, it ought to be.

So many things on the Web (and in the world) defy description, includingLouisiana Pollywogs - Louisiana Songs for Kids.

Last night, I cooked dinner, and like the challenger on the Iron Chef, I made an unprecidented fourth dish!

I am so addicted to Word Racer.

According to this, my fingers are too long for me to be a lesbian. What does that mean?

I briefly dated a rather butch-looking woman in college. These days, she's posing as a man, and passing. Does that mean that I'm straight?

Kottke's right. "Replace all instances of "The Holy Spirit", "God", and "Christ" with the word "marijuana" or the phrase "copious amounts of alcohol" and suddenly those pictures start to make a lot more sense. Teens Hit at the CITGO Station.

My middle school days weren't pretty. Not only was I kinda dumpy, short on fashion sense and had a bizarre attraction to other girls, the kids were downright mean. The only solace I found was at this church. I didn't really beleive in what they were preaching, but the few tenuous friendships I had depended on that church so I 'amen'ed with the best of them. I'm sure that if my little friends had an encounter with the holy spirit like those kids at the Citgo station, I would've been down there writhing and frothing with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Of course, as soon as I mentioned my bizarre attraction to other girls, my church friends weren't nearly as welcoming as they had been. I hope that they're more understanding these days. Their ignorance turned me away from God. And where am I now? Oh yeah, a happy heathen!

Admittedly, the Web has made the world both bigger and smaller at the same time. But some sites seem to forget that unless their jobs are all tele-commuting, it would be nice to know where exactly they are located.

Ever wanted to know what Jeeves was thinking? Now you can know! Thanks TBTF

Last night, I was reading Newsweek, minding my own business and there it was. A big picture of Mark Breier, former CEO of beyond, in an article about failing Internet companies. When he started there, I didn't know much about the exciting world of startups, I blindly assumed that since he was from Amazon, he knew what he was doing. Nobody can pinpoint the exact cause of beyond's slide (although I therorize that it started with the aquisition of buydirect in Feb. 99) but now that Breier's gone, everyone feels comfortable pinning it on him. Is that fair? Is it true? The stock remains in the toilet.

This article quotes some former employees. It's weird to think that having worked there somehow makes us newsworthy (not that the author talked to me). At times, it felt like a family, now here's our family business in a national magazine. It's odd, very odd, and sad.

Remember how the Douglas Adams series, he says that the answer to life's biggest question is 42? I think I've found the question: Is Yoda Amish!? Thanks Amy.

Our vet recommended either keeping Alice in a crate all day or building a dog run in our "backyard." I use the term loosely because it's really a patio with a fence. If we installed a dog run, there'd be no room for anything else. The other option is to wear her out, keep to her schedule religiously and make sure she knows that we still love her (duh) and hopefully she'll forget all about that little hole in the fence that has since been plugged up.

I decided to foster the 10 year old beagle at the Berkeley Shelter. We'll call her Ellie. It just kills me that, come selection time, the old grey dogs get killed first. I can't save them all, but at least we've saved one more.

Not sure why this is so funny, but it is.

There's a 10 (or older) year old female beagle at this shelter. Naturally, I want to leave everything and go save her, given her age, she's sure to be high on the kill list, but I can't right now and it's killing me. Why is that I want to help every older dog who needs a second chance, but I have no desire to live in the middle of nowhere, where I could have tons of dogs?

As another former employee of Clip2, I feel obligated to link to this article, which highlights many of the reasons that I was unable to do my best work there. Mostly because I just didn't see the point in what they're doing. Especially now, when they aren't even a bookmark manager anymore. What they are, I'm not sure. Thanks to brig for the article.

Has the Web robbed us of civility? Instant messages tend to end without any fanfare or farewell, most of the time we just stop typing. I have one friend who does make signing off a huge production, a full two minutes of "l8r", "c-ya", "great talking to ya"'s and the like. I admit it, it bugs me. I've become so used to the brevity of the Web and instant messages that it's an odd throwback to a friendlier time.

The debate over how much to say on the Web makes me wonder what we're missing by writing shorter and what if anything, we're gaining in writing longer. I think there's a place for both, as long as the expectations are clear. I don't go to a weblog looking for 3000 words, I expect longer pieces to be harder to find.

Network connection is very slow. Did someone break the Internet again?

Have you noticed that a job is no longer called a job, instead now they're called gigs? Does that mean that when I go to play music with an audience that it's now called a job? But then again, I generally refer to pooping as doing a job so really, what is work called again?

ohmygod. Who knew that you could put Whoopi Goldberg on a dessert? Thanks ev for making me look at Whoopi and baked goods in a whole new light.

Alice's big adventure
Andrea got a call yesterday that Alice had somehow escaped. We'd weeded the jungle, aka the patio, and I guess there was a beagle-sized hole there. She got out and ate everything she could find, including:

• guacamole
• cracked crab
• chicken carcasses (way, way more than one)
• cheese
• cat poop

Consider that she's normally 19.5 pounds and you may wonder (as I continually do) how it all fits in her little belly.

We had her stomach pumped and blocked the hole in the fence. To make sure our blockade worked, I waited by the hole until she came out and tried to break free. She couldn't get out so she stood there barking in frustration.

Better that than another escape.

My worst nightmare came true. Somehow Alice got out today. I think it was my fault. Evidently someone found her, though. Good thing I switched collars so the one with the tags that have every phone number related to us on it.

This is why I love South Park, or anything that propels ordinary folks to stardom while still keeping the great stuff that made them famous in the first place. In other words, I'm tired of people getting lame after becoming famous. You don't always have to sell out just because your paycheck gets huge.

Visited the humane society yesterday and fell in love with April, a pointer mix (scroll down, you'll see her). She jumped up so I could pet her without bending down and stood there on her hind legs so I could reach her. She kept falling backwards, but that didn't stop her. The good news is that the kennels were only 1/3 full.

Did you ever wonder what exactly eBay stock holders are buying stock in? Really, you're buying stock in what some guy dug out of his basement. Okay, maybe it's the technology that brings that guy together with another guy who wants that stuff, but it's still kind of weird to think about.

In a related note, Amazon's auctions have but a fraction of the bids that ebays do -- on the same stuff.

In the 70's there was a gas station on every corner. In the 80's there was a bank on every corner. Today there's a Starbucks.

Am I missing something?

Anyone who says that women aren't being exploited anymore needs to see this. It's Howard Stern's dream come true -- just boobs!

If I won an academy award I would end my acceptance speech by saying 'Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered'.

The advantage of having a bunch of email addresses is that I can get multiple chances to win stuff on freelotto without actually spamming my friends, I can just spam myself.

Week 3 (I think) of not cursing. Of course I've lapsed more than once, but on the whole, it's proving to be a good thing. Makes me choose my words more carefully, always a good thing.

I finally added to my growing arsenal of musical instruments with a clarinet. All mine for the low price of $65, so even if it sucks, it wasn't a huge investment. Since I haven't played one in 10 years, it may be slow going. Roughly 1/3 of the notes are the same as on the sax, so I'll be able to play at least that much.

Wow! Hilary Swank won the Oscar for Boys Don't Cry. I was stunned, couldn't stop saying 'Hilary Swank' for at least an hour. How the world has changed, that not only was this tremendous movie made, but distributed and watched widely enough that it could win this award. I only hope that it makes things a little easier for folks who are struggling with their gender identity like Brandon Teena was.

Given that I now live in a state where marriage is officially defined as between a man and a woman, though, I have to wonder if we've really come as far we think.