So, I’ve been trying to collect a $6.15 refund from Ebay for the last 75 days. They keep saying they’ll send it to my paypal, then say they can’t, I need to attach a credit card or my bank account (which I won’t dare do). And it just goes on and on. Well I just finally said fuck it, keep the damn money, and closed my Ebay account. I would totally close my paypal account too (also owned by Ebay) but that’s how I get my lulu royalties.

The maker of an instrument used in circumcisions claimed that injury was impossible with its use, but after an infant lost a portion of his penis during an operation with the Mogen clamp, a judge awarded $10.8 million in damages against the company.

The judgment handed down Friday in New York involves an Atlanta lawyer who has been crusading against circumcision as a dangerous and unnecessary practice.

Attorney David Llewellyn won a similar case in Atlanta last year and the injury behind that prior lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court put the New York clamp manufacturer on notice about the danger of the device, his current lawsuit said.

The baby in the current case, identified in court documents only as L.G., lost the entire glans, or head, of his penis after it was pulled into the jaws of the clamp, according to a federal magistrate’s order. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein ordered Mogen Circumcision Instruments of New York to pay $10.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the Florida boy, now 3, and his parents.

The parents “are extraordinarily distraught and angered that this company tells people it can’t happen,” Llewellyn said.

It’s unclear whether they will ever collect the money. Mogen is already in default on a $7.5 million judgment in 2007 from a Massachusetts lawsuit, Llewellyn said.

(more at ajc.com)

RIPON, Que. – A Quebec man, fed up with his skyrocketing property taxes, carted more than 200,000 pennies down to City Hall to pay his bill. But he was denied, and asked to simply cut a cheque.

Normand Czepial of Ripon, Que. — less than an hour’s drive northeast of Gatineau — arrived at City Hall on Wednesday with a children’s pool filled with 213,625 pennies.

Czepial’s property tax bill reportedly rose by nearly $4,000 dollars last year to $6,400. Czepial tried to pay with pennies to protest the hike.

Ripon Mayor Luc Desjardins was surprised to see the stunt, but had to tell Czepial to find another way to pay his bill.

Under the Currency Act, nobody is obliged to accept more than 25 pennies as payment for any product or service. Normand Czepial, unfortunately, was 213,600 over the limit.

A now-defunct Web site that catered to gay youth is now ensnared in a federal bankruptcy proceeding that the founder says could result in as many as 1 million profiles being sold to creditors, putting its former subscribers’ privacy at risk.

XY, which billed itself as a young gay men’s magazine and could be found at XY.com, ceased publishing in 2007. Its founder filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, which could put names, addresses, e-mail addresses, unpublished personal stories, and other information about gay minors into creditors’ hands.

The Federal Trade Commission recently expressed its concerns, saying in a letter to creditors and attorneys involved in the case that “any sale, transfer, or use” of XY’s personal information “raises serious privacy issues and could violate” federal law.

XY’s creditors have hired a lawyer to obtain the personal information held by the magazine and Web site. But because XY.com’s privacy policy said that “We never give your info to anybody,” any personal data should be “destroyed,” wrote David Vladeck, the head of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, in a letter this month.

The question of who owns personal data collected by a failed company–and what should be done with it–is not exactly a new question.

A decade ago, as the dot-com bubble collapsed, failed companies scrambled to sell assets to appease creditors. In 2000, Boo.com sold its customer list to Fashionmall.com. The same year, Toysmart.com, majority-owned by the Walt Disney Co., tried to follow suit, but abandoned its plans following pressure from state attorneys general.

But none of those bankruptcy proceedings included information as sensitive as the customer list for a magazine and Web site that targeted gay youth between 13 and 17 years old who were in the process of grappling with their sexual identity.

(more a cnet)

(Ed note: Man, I miss XY Magazine. I still have dozens of copies. It never was on time and it really did just crash and burn, but man was it so satisfying to have that flying the faces of all those fuckers who try to put you down as a gay kid. I highly recommend finding some via the internets.)

It’s July! JULY! You know, that month that brings America independence, fireworks, BBQ, and afternoon and evening thunderstorms. It also means we’re about 6 weeks away from BP possibly finally maybe probably not cutting off their massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurrah! Wait, whut?

The summertime song is allegedly destined to be “California Gurls” by Katy Perry featuring Ludacris. But you know, I’m more particular to Kat DeLuna’s “Push, Push” (featuring Akon, cause you know everything features someone.) And then there is that patently silly “Pretty Boy Swag” by Soulja Boy. Wait, he’s a pretty boy? Oh… wait.. no… he says “no homo” in the song. Psha! Like us respectful fags would accept you, assclown.

On to more important news: The economy seems to still blow for most, but thankfully my local economy is really picking up some steam. I’m trying very hard to adjust and make sure I’m putting some away now that I’m not spending so much on things like car payments and full coverage insurance. I could use some health care, god knows. And I don’t mean the kind that comes in a cocktail glass.

Pride Weekend is once again moving in Atlanta. We didn’t have it in June -again- which blows donkey balls. Last year, it was on Halloween which apparently worked out really well. I just went to the parade which was cold but nice as always. The Latinos looked like they were celebrating the hardest. The rest of us should look to that and be reminded what it’s like to have some real fire in our pride. This year Atlanta Gay Pride is on my birthday weekend, October 9th.

But before that happens, I gotta do the Alchemy thing with Kaze up in the North Georgia Mountain. It’s kind of like Burning Man, but on a smaller scale.

Also coming up is another fine edition of DragonCon. It’s Labor Day Weeekend, always, always, always. Maybe you should come and join me. It’s a lot of fun, the most accessible geek celebrities, and will make you rethink that whole “nerds don’t get laid” stuff.

Finally, I’ve been thinking a lot about Magic: The Gathering again suddenly. I bought a terrible terrible version of it on Steam the other day called Duels of the Planeswalkers. It’s also on XBOX. It’s horrid. Don’t buy it. It was a waste of money to be sure. You can’t even build your own deck? WHAT? Magic: Online is cheaper and certainly is making me think about it a bit. There’s also a new Core set coming out in two weeks. Is this something I could get into again? If it’s still played, maybe I could even make some new friends. I’d chalk this nostalgia up to the fact that I’m 31 (almost 32), but that would imply that I’ve grown up in the meantime, which we all fucking know is not true.

Anyway, that’s the update for now. Don’t forget to buy some books.

1. World Cup.  Alright, everyone’s got their vuvuzula stuff out of their system by now right?  I mean, this thing has been underway for a while and the competition is heating up.  There are bad ref calls and whatever.  What I just learned is that the United States wants to host the Cup in the future.  Why?  While the US Team is doing fine and dandy, people don’t really care.  They may pretend to care just like they pretend to like classic films like Casablanca when they haven’t ever really seen it.  I’m more than okay letting the world enjoy their World Cup without America feeling like she has to get all into it.

2. Oil Spill. OMFG, is that shit still going on? You know, when I made my first Facebook post about that, it was already two weeks old. Now it’s more than two MONTHS old. Beaches are getting trashed, lives are being devastated, and it’s become quite the nightmare environmental scenario. Worse, the relief wells are still not due to be complete for over another month and you know, I am not all that confident that’ll fix things either. This situation cannot be minimized. It really is THE most important thing in America right now. It practically screams what’s wrong with our government, our industry, and our energy policy what with all the corruption and inaction across the board.

3. Afghan War. A big time general got kicked out because he said lots of negative things about those in charge in an article published in Rolling Stone. First, Rolling Stone still exists? Secondly, I want to know why we’re still in Afghanistan. It ain’t to fight Al Qeada like was originally planned. They’ve moved on to Pakistan. Is it to fight the Taliban? Is it to fight people that only fight us because we’re there fighting them fighting us? I thought I elected Obama to get us out of these wars. Wait, that brings me to…

4. President Obama. He hasn’t closed down Gitmo. He hasn’t brought home our troops. He hasn’t really done a very good job at bringing our economy back. He kept many of the Bush era policies of warrant-less wiretapping and secret prisons. He’s half-assed the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. He’s half-assed nominated liberalish people to the Supreme Court. I’m going to say what many of my liberal friends won’t… he’s not been an effective leader. Yes, I know it’s only been such and such many months. Yes, I know he inherited many problems. But he’s had plenty of time to suck on his own. He completely has bungled the Oil Spill. He continues to not be a good leader in economic policies that reform the way things are done. Handing out cash isn’t a solution. His one big win of Health Care isn’t even really that impressive considering it lacks a Public Option and the implementation of the effects are all way diluted with time. He has squandered a majority in the house and senate and now with mid-term elections looming, under his leadership or lack thereof, there are overwhelming predictions that Republicans (and even more terrifying Tea Party members) are going to be roaring back. Son, I am disappoint.

5. “Later, Skater: On Tour!” Buy your copy for summer reading today. Sales haven’t been great, which is confusing me. I mean, I sold and gave away lots and lots of copies of the original “Later, Skater” The sequel is bigger and better and downloadable for instant gratification for only 5 dollars. FIVE DOLLARS! Get it today to help keep me encouraged about my writing.

So it’s June. I seem to be making less and less personal posts over here when I really ought to be doing the exact opposite. The main problem, of course, is that nothing really typically happens in my life that I feel warrants a post about. At least not about my actual life.

I don’t have much of a life. That’s the sad thing. I guess I do what most people my age do. Work. Sleep. Shit. And move on from day to day. But that’s not really a very rewarding existence is it? Of course, many people my age are married, divorced, involved in relationships, taking care of children, or whatever. I’m doing none of those things, so it’s a bit more empty.

I did pay off my car this past week. That’s kind of a big deal since it frees up a consider chunk of money I make every month. I mean, if you subtract a car payment and the cost of paying for full coverage insurance, that’s some serious chizz.

In other news: I worry about my nightclub hang out. It’s suffered from strong declines of people. More in the last month than had already declined in general since the start of The Great Depression part Deux. I still enjoy going for the most part. I mean, interactions with other people that aren’t my family and work and customers are probably a good thing for my fragile sanity. I could really use some friends outside of that place though. I only see Kaze rarely. I only see Elf rarely.

My world outside of the digital seems to get smaller and smaller. I fear it may one day disappear.

DAYTON — Police are still searching for the young woman in her 20s, driving a silver SUV with a sunroof and a tire mounted on the back, who got $2,000 in cash instead of burritos at a Taco Bell drive-through.

Police on Friday, May 14, released video surveillance footage of the woman as she went through the drive through at the Taco Bell on Brown Street, close to the University of Dayton campus and Miami Valley Hospital.

Instead of a bag with her order, she got a bag containing the restaurant’s morning bank deposit — about $2,000.

An employee said she was working the drive-through window and mistakenly gave the customer the bank deposit. The manager explained it was store policy to put the bank bag containing the deposit in a Taco Bell bag. The manager would then drive up to the drive-through window, and an employee would hand him the bag.

Police contacted a customer who was in line behind the SUV. He said he could not remember the license plate on the SUV. He and the employee described the driver as a college-age woman with black or brown shoulder-length hair, wearing a white T-shirt with a red sweater, zip-up jacket or sweatshirt over it. Her driver’s window apparently didn’t work because she had to open her door to get the bag. The vehicle has bumper stickers on it.

A search through the neighborhood for the vehicle was fruitless.

A mother has warned of the risk of children spending hundreds of pounds on “free” online games available through Facebook after her 12-year-old son ran up bills of more than £900 without her knowledge.

The woman, who prefers to remain anonymous, discovered last month that her son had spent more than £900 on FarmVille. He had emptied his own savings account of £288 and had used her credit card to the tune of £625 to pay the bills.

FarmVille, one of the most popular games on Facebook, allows members to manage a virtual farm by planting, growing and harvesting crops, trees and livestock. New users are given virtual coins to set up their farm, and the revenue from matured crops can be used to maintain it. But those who are desperate to progress more quickly can buy extra virtual coins using real cash.

The mother said: “The first use of my card was on 14 March. I discovered it on the 29th and the card was stopped at that point. Any transactions after that date were already in the system, so what I thought was a £427 spend turned into £625 over the next few days.

“The total spend is about £905, but the credits are still rolling in. Facebook and [game creator] Zynga will not refund anything as [the son] lives in my house. Facebook has disabled his account and Zynga has unhelpfully suggested I use password protection on computers in the future.”

She contacted her credit card company, HSBC, but was told she would only qualify for a refund if she reported her son to the police and obtained a crime number. “He would be cautioned and I have been told that this caution would stay with him. Obviously the idea of a stupid farm simulation jeopardising his future earnings is not something that I want to consider,” she said.

She added that her son was “very shocked” when confronted with the amount he had spent, but it was clear he knew what he was doing. “When I asked him why he did it he said that they had brought out ‘good stuff that I wanted’.”

She does not blame Facebook, Zynga or HSBC, saying that her son was the one using the card and is entirely at fault. But she added: “I do think they need to shoulder some responsibility in this business and put systems in place to stop this happening again. The fact that he was using a card in a different name should bring up some sort of security and the online secure payment filter seems to be bypassed for Facebook payments.”

A spokeswoman for HSBC said that had the credit card been used on a gambling site it would have started alarm bells ringing for “unusual usage”. But because the card had been used to buy Facebook credits HSBC did not consider the transactions to be suspicious, even though £625 was spent in just two weeks.

Michael Arrington, founder of the Techcrunch blog, criticised Zynga last year for “monetising” the game, and warned that people who didn’t have access to a credit card to buy extra virtual money could use “pay by mobile” companies instead.

The indebted 12-year-old has not used his mobile to pay for virtual money, his mother said, but only because his older brother lost all his credit buying a ringtone a couple of years ago.

“We sound terribly technologically unaware don’t we? I wouldn’t mind but I am always explaining that all of these online offers, ringtones and games are a scam designed to take money off stupid people. Kids know best though.”

I dunno about you, but I love reward programs. But I only like the ones that actually reward me. Sometimes my CVS card gives me a few dollars free here and there which I spent to buy candy while fawning over this hot straight guy named Juan on Friday and Saturday nights. Oh man does his long hair and brilliant smile make me want to bitch slap his girlfriend and steal him for my very own.

But I’m getting off topic here.

Here are a few rewards programs I’ve been using online for quite sometime and how rewarding they actually are.

1. Swagbucks.com.

Recently this site changed their denominations for their Swagbucks, which is essentially a point system used to get things. There is more than a little work you have to do in order to get rewarded, but I find it fun. It takes me about a month to get enough Swagbucks to exchange for a 5 dollar gift card for Amazon.com. In the past, I’ve even traded them in for 5 dollars deposited directly into my PayPal account.

Of course, this is without me doing any of the real big ways of getting Swagbucks. I only check out their blog and facebook and use their toolbar search engine. You could find it more rewarding than I do. Still, I give Swagbucks my seal of approval for being a legitimate program that actually works.

2. Opinion Square.

Honestly, I don’t really like taking surveys like I used to. But I don’t mind the ones I get sent to my email from this rewards program. See, if you don’t qualify for what they’re looking for, instead of getting jack squat like you do at most places, you get a token for their instant win game. Even better, you cannot lose when you play that instant win game. You’ll at least get 25 points closer to whatever you’re shopping for in their rewards catalog.

This program takes kind of a long time for me to be rewarded. But when I do finally reach my goal of 2 AMC Gold Movie Tickets (allowing me to see any movie regardless of when it was released) I certainly am happy. Besides, it doesn’t take much of my time at all, unless I DO qualify for a survey. And those get me closer to the reward faster. My opinion is that Opinion Square is a legitimate program that actually works.

3. MyPoints

This is the rewards program I’ve been a part of since 2000, but sadly it’s becoming one of the slowest to cash out lately. Essentially, I allow myself
to get spam emails sent to me. I click on them. I get points. I’d get more points if I actually have a use for and buy whatever the spam email is selling, but that doesn’t happen very often. I’d also get more points if I shopped online via the MyPoints store. But that doesn’t happen very often either.

Still, even at its glacial pace, I still get rewarded and it doesn’t take that much time to work their system. I usually turn in my points for Target Gift Cards, though I’ve also got ones for Chili’s or even gas cards back when it was like a million dollars per gallon. One time, I actually won one of their jackpots that they run seasonally. That was pretty cool and got me lots of free stuff. MyPoints is a classic and is a legitimate program that actually works.

4. MyCokeRewards

What can I say. I saved the easiest and best for last. While I’ve complained that they keep changing how things work over on Coke’s website, I have to tell you this program pays out the most. Yes, it can be very annoying trying to figure out what the codes are on the tops of Coke products. And yes, it’s very annoying you can only enter 120 points worth per week now. But every month, I’m earning a free silver AMC movie ticket (allowing me to see a film for free, just not on opening weekend) and a large drink.

Of course, that’s just what I’m getting. There are lots of other things on there that I’ve snagged too. A pair of Avatar limited edition 3D glasses recently were going for 40 dollars on ebay. Even though I’m not a huge fan, I’m getting Entertainment Weekly for free for a number of months. In fact, you could bury yourself in magazines pretty quickly over there. They also have Napster MP3 downloads, POGO memberships, and lots and lots of Coke printed items.

So I absolutely recommend MyCokeRewards. Especially as many Cokes this household and my grammies household go through. Maybe if you look around, you’ll see you get your 120 allotted points per week pretty easily too at this legitimate and highly rewarding program.

This week, I get my paycheck and some tax credits from the government. I’ll pay one bill like normal, but what I may be able to do is completely finish paying off my 2005 Ford Focus. As things stand, it has 3 more payments to go, so I could just let it ride. But, I think it’d be much cooler to do it sooner and get it over and done with.

For the first time in about 8 years, provided nothing goes wrong (so I’m knocking on my fake wood desk here) I’ll have a paid for car. And that just makes all sorts of other dominoes fall. I can lower the coverage on the car from full to something more suitable. That will lower those monthly payments. With this extra cash flow, I can seriously attack debts. I can look into getting health care. (Since it’s painfully obvious that our democratic Senators aren’t interested.)

I am very excited, but also very hopeful that this all works to fruition. It will be absolutely amazing that during this down economy, I may be better off than I’ve been in several years. (While everyone else was seeming to do gangbusters.)

Not necessarily money related, work is certainly underway in the editing of “Later, Skater: On Tour.” I’ve worked my way up to this really great scene where [blank] gets to [blank] and due to the fall out of that, [blanks] [blank] which I think is really powerful. These characters developed quite a lot over the entries of the first book. But in giving them a sequel, they practically jump out at you, evolved and matured even more. I can’t wait to share it with you.

I’m looking to try and stay on the April release just like the last two, and of course I’ll continue to try and tempt you leaking more details as I keep editing.

SELMA, Ind. — Police say a fifth-grader handed out about $300 to others on the bus ride to his eastern Indiana school. Problem is, they say, the cash was among some $10,000 he took from his grandparents’ safe.

Delaware County Sheriff George Sheridan says the boy was riding the bus to Selma Elementary School when he handed out the money on Friday, the last school day before Christmas vacation began.

Children who received the ones, fives and twenties told teachers and the principal, and the sheriff’s department was called.

Officers found the boy carrying the rest of the cash, which was returned to his grandparents. Police weren’t certain what he intended to do with the money or how he got it from the safe.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment to, as far as I know at the moment, get the broken tooth removed, do a root canal on the one next door, and get a bridge. I think there is more involved, but that’s the general idea as I understand it anyway.

I know I’m probably in for a lot of pain, but to tell you the honest truth, I’m already in quite a bit of it. And I don’t mean actual physical pain. I mean, that I just feel so miserable about this and how it’s making everything else worse.

My mother’s stepped in and has worked out a loan for me that will cover the cost of these procedures. There’s even a bit more left over for me to pay off some more expensive debt that I have floating around, kind of consolidating it into one place at a lower fixed rate. It’s probably a very good thing, but of course I still feel so terrible about it all.

Worse, I’m losing hours this week because of it. I really have to get this all to work together. I need to get things moving in a positive direction, because this shit is seriously not working out so well right now.

EDIT: Turns out, it’ll be two days of fun. Tomorrow -AND- Wednesday.

I’ve come down with something very strongly and quickly as of yesterday evening around five. I don’t know what it is, but it feels different than what ailed me post-con. Fever. Sinus issues. The aches could be from doing the truck on Tuesday as usual or it could be a symptom.

Too bad Dr. House isn’t practicing medicine anymore. Sorry for that slight spoiler alert, but we’re two episodes into the new season and sometimes you need to be shocked into remembering to watch again, right?

I hate feeling sick.
Worse, I hate that I don’t have Health Care.
I mean, it’s been this huge ass national debate — read: Yelling tennis match — for the last eleventy months it seems. I’m one of the uninsured!

It all happened when my Pizza Hut got bought out by a franchise and dumped every.single.last.one.of.my.benefits. No 401k. No vacation. No health care. No accident free rewards program. Jack shit.

Get another job, you may say?
Um, I should fucking lucky I HAVE a job right now.
But how long can I continue saying that if I have to occasionally call in sick? And by occasionally, I mean two full days and two half days in September.

I’m actually pretty confident my job is secure since when I am there I’m the best there is. I’ve only moderately complained that the work load has increased by about 100% due to the cutting of the second daytime driver AND cook.

Yeah, we run a restaurant with just a manager and a driver. Isn’t that fucking insane?

And that kind of leads me to wondering, maybe that’s what has got me sick. Sure, DragonCon and the 40,000+ weirdos that attend probably had something to do with it. And my sister and her Kid Rock Look Alike Boyfriend have three dogs and I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to at least the big brown one.

But I quit smoking over 6 months ago. I eat more healthy than ever before with lots of veggies and water and all that.

So maybe it’s the stress.
Oh and the fact that I don’t have health care.

Why not buy some on my own, you say?
Have you seen the terrible economy? I couldn’t really afford health care on my own over a year ago when things were half-assedly decent. An extra 120 dollars a month now is really hard to find. Especially reliably every single month.

But you know what?
I’m not going to let this get me down?
No sir!
Not even when the Republicans are bickering about how we can’t afford any heathcare bills like the ones perposed.
Not even when the Democrats want to fine people for not having healthcare. (Um, gee, if I had the money, wouldn’t I buy it?)

I will feel better.
I will go to Alchemy this weekend with DJ Kaze and conspire to write my 4th Novel.
And maybe just maybe things will start to improve all around me due to some of my positive energy at work and in my own personal economy.

Oh, yeah, and I turn 31 years old next Friday. Holy shit.

Travelers flying out of San Francisco International Airport can be the first in the nation to wipe away some of the damage their flights wreak on the planet by swiping their credit cards.

Today, the Bay Area’s largest airport unveiled three Climate Passport kiosks with touch screens that determine how many pounds of carbon dioxide a trip will produce, calculate the sum an environmentally conscious traveler should contribute to projects in San Francisco and California that help reduce greenhouse gases, then allow fliers to purchase certified carbon offsets.

“We realize people are going to fly,” said Steve McDougal, executive vice president of 3Degrees, a San Francisco company that helped SFO develop the program. “This gives them something they can do to reduce their impact. This is just one of many small things people need to do.”

The kiosks are located near the entrances to Terminal 3 and international terminals A and G – behind security checkpoints and perched in front of large signs reading, “Keep our skies blue. Purchase your air travel carbon offset here.”

Setting up the Climate Passport program cost $190,000 in airport funds, said Kandace Bender, deputy airport director.

Judging from the reaction of the first two travelers to take a test spin of the touch screens, it’s not clear whether the program will fly.

Soon after a press conference to unveil the kiosk in Terminal 3 concluded, Shane Johnson, 39, a traveling salesman from Vancouver, B.C., strolled up to take a look.

“What is it?” he asked.

Johnson punched in his starting airport and his destination – Vancouver to SFO and back – entered the number of passengers in his party – one – and hit the “add flight” button and the “calculate my flights” button.

His round trip would produce 1,186 pounds of carbon dioxide, which could be offset with a contribution of $7.26, the computer said. Johnson chose not to tap the “purchase now” button and slide his credit card into the kiosk.

“I don’t live here, so I prefer to make my donations at home,” he said.

A few minutes later, Bostonian Ari Peskoe, catching a flight home after a job interview, stopped by the machine and became the first person to purchase a carbon offset at SFO.

“My flight was free, so I thought buying some greenhouse gas reduction was the least I could do,” he said.

His one-way trip home, the computer concluded, would produce 1,999 pounds of carbon dioxide, which could be offset for $12.24.

Despite his purchase, Peskoe said he’s a bit skeptical about the concept of carbon offsets. Some critics question whether some of the programs that receive money are effective in reducing carbon dioxide.

McDougal said he understands such doubts, but that the projects funded by SFO fliers have been approved by an independent third party.

Climate Passport contributions fund the Garcia River Forest, a reforestation project in Mendocino County where redwood and Douglas fir trees are being added to a forest that had been heavily logged. They also go to the SFCarbon Fund,which is steering the money to Dogpatch Biofuels, a bio-diesel fueling station in southeastern San Francisco.

TOKYO — Police on Tuesday sent prosecutors papers on an alleged case of child prostitution involving a 14-year-old boy in Kanagawa Prefecture who paid 60,000 yen to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he met on an online dating site. The boy, a third grader at a Tokyo junior high school, paid out of the more than 100,000 yen he had saved in cash allowances from his parents, Kanagawa police said.

They sent local prosecutors documents on the boy’s ‘‘indecent act’’ in a railway station toilet in Sagamihara on March 1, when the girl was a 13-year-old first grader at a junior high school. Police quoted the boy as saying that he carried out the act because he ‘‘had money and was interested in sex.’’ He enticed the girl by portraying himself as an 18-year-old in a message posted from a personal computer at his home.

riminals running an ATM card-skimming scam made a big mistake this week: They tried to hit the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas.

As the conference was kicking off a few days ago, attendees noticed that at ATM placed in the Riviera Hotel, which plays host to the annual event, didn’t quite look right, according to a senior conference organizer who identified himself only as Priest. “They looked at the screen where there would normally be a camera,” he said. “It was a little bit too dark, so someone shined a flashlight in there and there was a PC.”

The ATM looked like a working system, but when people would put their cards in the machine, it would scan their card information and record the PIN numbers they entered. He didn’t know how long the ATM had been at the Riviera.

Conference organizers notified local law enforcement who hauled away the machine on “Thursday or Friday,” said Priest, who said he works as a “civil servant” in his day job.

Credit card skimmers — small devices installed on top of card readers to steal information — and fake ATM machines are a common problem. Once the criminal records the card information and PIN number, he can use that to create a fake ATM card and then empty the victim’s account.

Previously unsophisticated criminal gangs are increasingly using these devices, Priest said. “They’re realizing that this is a great way to make money without getting caught.”

The criminals probably didn’t realize that they were installing their ATM in a hotel that was soon going to be flooded with more than 8,000 security professionals, he added.

They were smart enough to place the machine in one of the few spots in the hotel where there was no security camera to catch them, Priest said. “It was literally right next to the hotel security entrance.”

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Some Michigan counties have turned a few once-paved rural roads back to gravel to save money.

More than 20 of the state’s 83 counties have reverted deteriorating paved roads to gravel in the last few years, according to the County Road Association of Michigan. The counties are struggling with their budgets because tax revenues have declined in the lingering recession.

Montcalm County converted nearly 10 miles of primary road to gravel this spring.

The county estimates it takes about $10,000 to grind up a mile of pavement and put down gravel. It takes more than $100,000 to repave a mile of road.

Reverting to gravel has happened in a few other states but it is most typical in Michigan. At least 50 miles have been reverted in the state in the past three years.

JERUSALEM — An Israeli woman mistakenly threw out a mattress she said had almost $1 million inside, setting off a frantic search through tons of garbage at a number of landfill sites on Wednesday. The woman told The Associated Press that she bought her elderly mother a new mattress as a surprise present on Monday — and threw out the old one.

The next day, she said, she remembered that she had hidden her life savings inside the old mattress. “I woke up in the morning screaming, when it hit me what happened,” said the Tel Aviv woman, who asked not to be identified.

She went to look for the mattress, but it had already been hauled away by garbage collectors, she said. Searches at three different landfill sites turned up nothing.

She said the money was in U.S. dollars and Israeli shekels. She refused to say how she acquired such a large sum. “It was all my money in the world,” she said. There was no way to verify her claims, and she refused to disclose key details.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said he was not familiar with the case and no report had been filed.

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot published a picture of the woman searching through garbage at a dump in southern Israel. The picture shows the woman, dressed in a white top and black pants with her back to the camera, picking through a huge pile of trash that fills the frame about 10 feet (3 meters) in all directions.

Yitzhak Borba, the dump manager, told Army Radio that his staff was helping the woman, saying she appeared “totally desperate.” He said the mattress was hard to find among the 2,500 tons of garbage that arrives at the site every day.

He said he increased security at the site to keep would-be treasure hunters away.

The woman said the money had been stashed in a mattress because she had had “traumatic experiences with banks” in the past. She would not elaborate.

It’s been a while since I posted a personal post here so here’s a rundown of what’s been going down lately.

1. Colin and Allie are moving to Maine. They had a going away party last night that was very well attended and lots of fun. Sure, it grew bittersweet towards the end, but I am very glad for them and this new stage of their life. HINT HINT.

2. Courtney aka Elf is very well, other than screwing up her classes and not having a job. On the bright side, the current stage of a transformation is going really well I think. After all, with no current hormone treatment or voice coaching, everyone seems to be taking to Courtney extremely extremely well.

3. Met a guy last night at Heretic while hanging out with Kaze and Tatsuo. He’s Malaysian… very lovely. We had a rather enchanting evening that didn’t involve dancing to Lady Gaga unfortunately, but did lead to playful and satisfying kisses. Considering we did seem to take to one another quite nicely, I have optimistic hopes for this. I’ll try not to be disappointed if nothing comes of it, but I think it could be really quite good.

UPDATE: I talked to him on Memorial Day for about a half hour. We have tentative plans to go see the Pixar film “Up” next weekend.

4. Sales of Freakshow and Later, Skater:

32 print copies of “Later, Skater”
16 print copies of “Freakshow”
7 download copies of “Later, Skater”
8 download copies of “Freakshow”

You can get them here.

5. Money seems to be doing mostly pretty decently. I think a huge difference maker has been that I quit smoking completely. In fact, I have this little script running on my computer that reminds me how well I’m doing:

“PIXIE – Free and Healing for Two Months, Two Days, 19 Hours and 29 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 4 Days and 10 Hours, by avoiding the use of 1276 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $303.90.”

Wow… 150ish dollars a month extra in my wallet goes a long way.

LONDON — “Titanic” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have pledged to help the last survivor of the sinking of the ocean liner. The stars say they have thrown their support behind a fund that would subsidize Millvina Dean’s nursing home fees.

Dean was 2 months old when the Titanic sank beneath the waves on the night of April 14, 1912. She has been living at a nursing home in the English city of Southampton since she broke her hip about three years ago but has struggled to pay the fees.

In October she sold several Titanic mementoes to raise cash.

DiCaprio and Winslet said in a statement that they hoped Dean could rest easier knowing that her future was secure. The Millvina Fund was launched Monday in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

WASHINGTON — Building on populist anger against U.S. financial institutions, President Barack Obama on Thursday called for new federal rules to crack down on credit card companies that jack up interest rates and otherwise take advantage of unwary consumers.

“There has to be strong and reliable protections for consumers, protections that ban unfair rate increases and forbid abusive fees and penalties,” Obama said after a White House meeting with credit card company executives. “The days of any-time, any-reason rate hikes and late-fee traps have to end.”

The White House move, which faces strong opposition from leaders and lobbyists in the financial services industry, builds on efforts in Congress to shield consumers from higher and often unexpected costs at a time when families around the country are feeling a financial squeeze — and are lashing out against the banks and other institutions seen as contributing to the economic meltdown.

As early as next week, House Democrats expect to act on a bill that would make it harder for the industry to impose new fees and rates on card holders and also require clearer disclosure of the costs and risks for users. The bill would codify and expedite rules already proposed by the Federal Reserve Board, but those would not be implemented until 2010.

(more)

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — You’ve heard of nude beaches, but how about a nude dude ranch? Tim Clements hit a $3.3 million jackpot in 2004, and wants to return to the farm life he grew up in. Clements and David Jennings, co-owner of the ranch, said the farm is secluded enough to be in the buff.

But they have two big problems — local zoning laws and a nudity ban in Hernando County.

Clements said they’ll try to get the necessary paperwork, but if they can’t get approval he’ll close the CJ Ranch again to all but friends.

Though their Web site says clothing is optional, there is a caveat: Everyone “must wear pants and boots to ride the horses.”

I stopped smoking twelve days ago. Truly. Completely. Not half assed like any other attempt I’ve made before. When cigarette companies raised their prices BEFORE the government instituted new taxes that were to take effect April 1st, I sputtered and only bought a few more packs before I decided this was the end.

This really would be the end.

I’ve wanted to quit smoking for a long time. Finding myself not feeling well more days out of the week than when I did feel up to speed. Finding myself lighting up another one even though I really didn’t think I wanted one, but just because it was the time I normally had one. Or I needed to have another before I got to where I couldn’t have one.

And then the expense.

I had to quit.

So I did twelve days ago. I watched videos from whyquit.com . I made it so that I didn’t have to go into gas stations to pay for gas so I wouldn’t be tempted. I gave away my lighter. At Heretic I hung out most of the time with the one bartender that didn’t smoke when I wasn’t dancing. I put a bucket and fill it with 4 dollars every day to represent the money I’m not spending on cigarettes. And I keep track of how much money that is on notepad and will write down what goodies I spend that money on myself.

Will I succeed?

That’s kind of the question I’ve thought daily of course. It’s kind of the question other people seem to have on their minds as I continue on. Will he fail this time? Will he smoke again and be addicted all over again?

I don’t know. I don’t. I know that I can very strongly control if I buy cigarettes again. And considering their increased price (and Georgia is considering raising them another dollar) it’s not like I won’t be reminded one more time before I buy a pack. And there is that nightclub situation to consider where smoking was something I liked doing quite a bit.

So, I don’t really know.

But I do know that for the last twelve days I haven’t and that’s twelve days I didn’t have under my belt completely and totally free any other time I’ve tried doing this.

Went to the dentist today. They say I need a filling on one tooth, a root canal, core whatevers, and a crown bridge whatevers. It’s $2,800 or so. I don’t have it. No, I don’t have a dental plan. (Lisa needs braces.) Even if I did, it’d be fucking expensive.

The filling is at least an amount I can reach ($155) so I guess I can do that and help that part. Of course, it’s not causing me the pain that the other does. But since I don’t have that kind of money, have no way of getting that kind of money, and honestly don’t really know if that kind of money is worth such a thing… I guess I’m just going to live with it until I eventually lose the tooth.

Not much else really to be said or done about it really, I don’t think.

Eight is the average age at which children are given their first mobile phone, according to a survey in the UK.

More than a third of children (35 per cent) own a mobile by the time they are that age, the charity Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) discovered.
Its survey also found that three-quarters of all children aged seven to 15 owned “at least” one mobile.

The charity’s survey highlighted how early children now become financially aware – with peer pressure forcing them to get to grips with money to afford mobile phone ringtones, call costs and computer games.

It found that children as young as seven were offering to do chores in exchange for cash to buy ringtones.

But researchers were also told that by the age of 10, children were shopping online using their parents’ debit or credit cards.

A third of children (32 per cent) have used the internet to buy computer games.

A quarter of the 546 children surveyed have voted in television competitions, which can often cost £1 or more to enter.

But only 18 per cent have bought a book online.

Wendy van den Hende, chief executive of the charity, said: “Children today face a kind of ‘technological tipping point’ forcing them to develop financial awareness at an earlier age.

“It is therefore, vital, that they are equipped with the skills and judgment to make sound decisions about money management from an early age.”

The research also found that average weekly pocket money now stands at £6.32.

The online survey carried out by Populus questioned 1,435 people including 546 children aged seven to 15, 676 parents and 759 grandparents between January 16 and 26.

*** House defeats a bill to delay the digital TV switchover, 258-168. This means that about 5.7% of the population who still use rabbit ears to get TV will be left in the dark because they sat on their fat asses eating Doritos for months and months instead of going out and getting a goddamn new television. Hurrah!!

*** Yet another stimulus bill is winding its way through the Congress. The last 700 BILLION DOLLARS has apparently already been pissed away by the banking industry. Now, with a new President, we got a bill stacked up to nearly 900 BILLION DOLLARS. It’s stuffed with a lot of projects for states like infrastructure and the like, but exactly where is all of this money coming from? Oh, that’s right, the taxpayers current and in generations to come. Somehow, I don’t think we’ll feel very stimulated following the assured passage of this bill.

*** People in India are protesting the hit film Slumdog Millionaire because they say it shows their people in a negative light. Destroying cinemas that are playing the motion picture, they’re obviously not really that concerned about being viewed in a negative light. Slumdog Millionaire is highly considered the front runner for Best Picture in next month’s Academy Awards.

*** Starbucks is going to cut more jobs. Sales are down for the premium coffee shop, but perhaps not for the reason why you’d think. It’s not that Americans are now unwilling to pay so much for a specialty coffee, it’s just that they realized en mass they don’t really look that cool hanging out there listening to lifeless jazz music anymore.

*** You May Not Have Mail: Like many companies, even the US Postal Service is having problems in this economy. Faced with a huge deficit from last year totaling about 3 billion, they’re considering cutting back service to 5 days a week rather than 6. Considering the only thing I ever get in the mail is junk mail, they could cut it down to like once a week if you ask me.

*** Refund? We don’t have your stinking refund! California is broke. I mean, the State of California is broke. So broke, in fact, that if you live in the state and are looking for a tax refund check, you may be waiting for a while. The government there has been running on fumes for the past fourteen months. Where has Arnold been? Mars?

Well here we are: 2009. The subject I think on everyone’s mind is okane. Known to us Americans as “The Shit We Don’t Have Right Now.”

As the United States helped lead the Entire Fucking World into a global recession, I think it’s time to refocus on our budgets and start piling up the cash. I know personally I’m not that great on the subject, but I’ll try and whip it into shape.

Other New Year’s resolutions for myself are as follows:

Lessen my smoking habit. Note: I’ve made quitting attempts before and I’m not asking that of myself this time. But returning to less and less is a favorable option at this juncture.

Dance more, drink less. Alot of my money goes to having a good time at Heretic. Why not go back to the way it used to be and still go and have a good time but dance more. This will not only help my money situation, but also my health as I’ll be moving my groove thing. I may also find this helps me jiggy in other situations as I used to. Read: Have some fucking sex.

Not cut my hair. This one is kind of the easiest, of course. But other than trims, I’m going to strive to not cut my already lengthy hair in 2009. Just call me Sampson.

Feel free to post your New Years Resolutions on this post, or boast about how you achieved your goals from last year. Happy New Year.

A customer stole 50 dollars from me / my work today.

Occasionally a customer will forget or have need to call when I’m delivering their food in order to give credit card information.

9 times out of 10, I make the call and do the transaction, but this time the customer went ahead and did it while I was standing there.

Only they PRETENDED to be calling.

I got them to sign the receipt which is normal practice in this case and went back to the store.

This is when I learn that he hadn’t called the store at all and was just PRETENDING.

The phone number listed on his receipt only goes to voice mail.

I returned to his address within 10 minutes of when I was last there and he didn’t answer the door.

My boss called the police and I had to fill out an affidavit detailing the events as well as a description of the man.

Thankfully I am not, at least currently, on the hook for the 50 dollars.

Confusion surrounds my work place as I was told today that we were becoming a franchise later this month. The details are pretty sketchy right now and rather conflicting as well.

I was told my health insurance was over, but when I called Cigna, they said the new company would roll it over to something pretty much exactly the same. I decided to cancel my insurance anyway. They’ll have an enrollment period in January so I can decide what’s up then.

I’m told any vacation hours would be paid off via regular check soon. I don’t have any vacation hours I don’t think. Not unless they count partial credits from October to now which I doubt.

I’m fairly sure things like my Accident Free Hours are toast as they likely won’t have that kind of program.

I don’t know if they’re just laying us all off and then rehiring us or just keeping us all on and at our pay rates and everything. Do I lose my seniority? How affected is my day to day job going to be?

And then there is the 401k that’s become too small to roll over to a traditional IRA thanks to the downturn in the global economy. I know for sure I don’t want to accept a payout and lose half of it to taxes and penalties.

Looks like uncertain times are coming very close to home now.

I got this in my inbox tonight.

Beginning December 11, 2008, the Amazon Honor System will be discontinued. This means that PayBoxes on member websites and PayPages on Amazon.com will no longer function.

That means that handy dandy link on the left hand side that some of you used in the past in order to donate cash money to your lovable, hard working, and downright smexy webmaster isn’t going to be there anymore.

I’m not sure how I’ll be able to take donations in the future. I’m sure PayPal is an option in some capacity but I’m not quite exactly happy about the idea of throwing my support for such a corrupt company such as that.

How disappointing!

*** WaMu fails. J.P. Morgan buys it up.

*** Lots of screaming, even Treasury guy Paulson was on his knees at one point, but no deal was reached in the Big Bank Bailout of 2008™.

*** There are Chinese people in orbit above the earth RIGHT THIS MOMENT!

*** I responded to a personals ad on Craig’s List. We’ll see what happens, if anything. (No, it wasn’t for hot tranny action, but I’m willing to experiment.)

*** Retards think that Clayton State College lost their accreditation when Clayton County schools did. They didn’t.

>>> John McCain suspended his Presidential campaign today because he feels he needs to go back to Washington and help work on The Big Bailout™ that doesn’t seem to be what anyone wants.

>>> Except Bush. And Paulson, the guy who’s running the Treasury. Especially since the initial plan was to have no oversight.

>>> Obama still wants to debate on Friday, but is going to visit with Bush and McCain at the White House tomorrow.

>>> Did I mention that neither many Republicans nor Democrats are liking The Big Bailout™ plan that may not even really work and doesn’t address the core issues that created the financial mess?

WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned reluctant lawmakers Tuesday they risk a recession with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures unless they act on the Bush administration’s $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry.

Despite the warning, influential lawmakers in both parties demanded changes in the White House-backed proposal, and conservative Republicans recoiled at the prospect of federal intervention into private capital markets.
Six weeks before the elections, both major party presidential contenders also insisted on alterations in the administration’s prescription for the worst financial crisis in decades.

Bernanke’s remarks about the risk of recession came in response to a question from Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who seemed eager to hear a strong rationale for lawmakers to act swiftly on the administration’s unprecedented request.

“The financial markets are in quite fragile condition and I think absent a plan they will get worse,” Bernanke said.

Ominously, he added, “I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way.”

GDP is a measure of growth, and a decline correlates with a recession.
Dodd later spoke disparagingly of the administration’s proposal. “What they have sent us is not acceptable,” he told reporters after presiding over a lengthy Senate Banking Committee hearing at which Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged swift action by Congress.

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the panel’s senior Republican, added, “We have got to look at some alternatives” to the administration’s plan.

The legislation that the administration is seeking would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets held by endangered banks and financial institutions.

Getting those debts off their books should bolster the institutions’ balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in the credit crisis. If the plan works, it could help lift a major weight off the sputtering national economy.

The White House and key lawmakers have been in negotiations since the weekend on terms of the legislation. It was not clear what impact the new congressional complaints would have on the discussions.

“Nobody is happy” about the bailout request, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., although he spoke of possible passage of legislation by the weekend.

“Nobody wants to have to do this,” agreed Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader. He said he was hopeful of a quick agreement.

“I understand speed is important, but I’m far more interested in whether or not we get this right,” Dodd said at the hearing.

Later, he told reporters he hopes for legislation soon.

“But it is not going to be a blank check or a simple signing on to a bill that sends a blank check to this secretary or any other secretary.” He noted that either Obama or McCain would probably be appointing a new treasury secretary after he takes over in the White House.

Across the Capitol complex, Vice President Dick Cheney and Jim Nussle, the administration’s budget director, met privately with restive House Republicans, some of whom emerged from the session unpersuaded.

“Just because God created the world in seven days doesn’t mean we have to pass this bill in seven days,” said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.

Added Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., “I am emphatically against it.”
Still, prospects for legislation seemed strong, with lawmakers eager to adjourn this week or next for the elections.

Differences include a demand from many Democrats and some Republicans to strip executives at failing financial firms of lucrative “golden parachutes” on their way out the door.

The administration balked at another key Democratic demand: allowing judges to rewrite bankrupt homeowners’ mortgages so they could avoid foreclosure.

Paulson, seated next to Bernanke at the committee hearing, objected strongly when Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked if $150 billion might be enough to get the program started, with a promise of more to come.

Paulson said that would be a “grave mistake,” and would fail to give the markets the confidence they need to rebound.

Paulson repeatedly fielded questions from committee members asking why taxpayers should accept the burdens of a bailout.

“You worry about taxpayers being on the hook?” he replied at one point. “Guess what – they’re already on the hook.” Paulson suggested that the fallout from the credit crisis would hit everyone’s pocketbook unless forceful action was taken. Moreover, a flawed and outdated regulatory system, which didn’t catch abuses, needed to be overhauled, he said.

Despite the unresolved issues, President Bush predicted the Democratic-controlled Congress would soon pass a “a robust plan to deal with serious problems.” He spoke before the United Nations General Assembly.

In his testimony before the Banking Committee, Paulson told senators that quick passage of the administration’s plan is “the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people and stimulate our economy.”

But even before Paulson could speak, lawmakers expressed unhappiness, criticism of the plan and – in the case of some conservative Republicans – outright opposition.
“This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it’s un-American,” said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky.

I’m drowning.
I know I am.
Drowning in debt.
Drowning in loneliness.
Drowning in depression and sadness.

…

I didn’t go to the Yaoi Panel. Well, I did, but after the initial opening, it went immediately to the usual antics of hen da ne who while are very generous and wonderful sponsors of the genre, need to 1) stop singing and 2) make yaoi paddling its own panel.

While I’m sure it got better from there, I found myself realizing I was in my 8th Yaoi After Dark panel and not wanting to be. I wanted to be up in the Artist Alley with my friends Fang and Nemo whom I see perhaps as many as three times a year despite the fact they only live on the other side of the city.

So, if I can be forgiven, I left the Yaoi After Dark celebration before Violaine really had gotten the show on the road. Was the panel good? Dunno. Was it a swan song? Dunno.

I’m drowning, you see, and the only thing I think that could help me tread water for a few more hours wasn’t going to be sitting (or rather standing since it was a huge crowd) in that panel.

…

I only went to AWA for one day. 25 dollars. I really couldn’t afford that to be honest. I’m behind on my car note. I have car taxes to pay next month technically before my birthday, but it rarely happens that way. My credit card is maxed out. And I have no money.

I try to stay at work longer than my shifts and I call asking if they need any help when I’m not there. But work is a tricky thing since it costs some money to do it and if I’m not getting tipped enough…

I’m trying hard to change things in my life that will make things work again. Because, things used to work. But as of right now, I’m drowning. Or maybe I’m already dead and will require resurrection.

WASHINGTON: Acting to avert a possible financial crisis worldwide, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board reversed course Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the U.S. government an ownership stake in the troubled insurance giant American International Group.

The decision, announced by the Fed only two weeks after the Treasury Department took over the quasi-government mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is the most radical intervention in private business in the central bank’s history.

With time running out after AIG failed to get a bank loan to avoid bankruptcy, Treasury Secterary Henry Paulson Jr. and the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke convened a meeting with House and Senate leaders on Capitol Hill at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to explain the rescue plan.

They emerged just after 7:30 p.m. with Paulson and Bernanke looking grim but top lawmakers generally expressing support for the plan. But the bailout is likely to prove controversial, because it effectively puts taxpayer money at risk while protecting bad investments made by AIG and other institutions does business with.

What frightened Fed and Treasury officials was not simply the prospect of another giant corporate bankruptcy, but AIG’s its role as an enormous provider of financial insurance, which effectively requires it cover losses suffered by other institutions in the instance of defaults of securities that they have purchased. That means AIG is potentially on the hook for securities that were once considered safe.

If AIG had collapsed — and been unable to pay all of its insurance claims — institutional investors around the world would have been instantly forced to reappraise the value of billions of dollars in debt securities, which in turn would have reduced their own capital and the value of their own debt.

“It would have been a chain reaction,” said Uwe Reinhardt, a professor of economics at Princeton University. “The spillover effects could have been incredible.”

Financial markets, which on Monday had plunged over worries about AIG’s possible collapse, reacted with relief to the news of the bailout. In anticipation of a deal, stocks about 1 percent in the United States on Tuesday and were up about 2 percent in early trading in Asian markets Wednesday.

Still, the move will likely start an intense political debate during the presidential election campaign over who is to blame for the financial crisis that prompted the rescue.

(Ed note: The executive branch is using public money to prop up private enterprise, with no oversight from the legislative branch… isn’t that fascism?)

All hell continued to break loose in the United State’s financial markets. More investment banks failed (Lehman Brothers). Others were quickly married to other banks (Bank of America / Merrill Lynch). Oh, and still others are teetering on the edge of failing as well (AIG, WaMu, Wachovia.)

The Dow dropped over 500 points.

The Fed pumped in another 70 Billion. Not that that money actually exists in any real sense of the word.

Pretty much devastation every where you look. But hey, McCain says the fundamentals of the economy are strong. ORLY?

Meanwhile, oil prices continue to go down, not that it will help much at the pumps. Refining capacity continued to be at a declined pace due to the fallout destruction from Hurricane Ike. The price at the pump in much of the Southeast is well above the highest rates in history.

Speaking of Ike. There are around 37,000 people in Galveston that are overcrowding shelters that are low on food and water and other resources. While many are to blame for not heeding the evacuations in the first place, it does beg the question were any lessons learned from Katrina?

At this rate we won’t need the colliders in France to create black holes in late October to ruin everything.

As a massive storm pounded through the heart of America’s oil zone, the pumps of metro Atlanta were feeling the impact Saturday.

In what hinted at a replay of the near-panic that followed Hurricane Rita, prices around the region exceeded $5 a gallon in some places. Some stations ran out of gasoline, and some of those still open found lines forming.

At an Ingles in Cumming, usually a discount station, regular sold for $5.20 a gallon before dropping later in the day.

The national average cost for regular unleaded was $3.73 Saturday, compared to $3.68 Friday, according to AAA. The highest recorded average price nationally was July 17 at $4.11.

Prices had started to tick up early in the week as Hurricane Ike took aim at the Texas coast. Then the refineries, production platforms and rigs shut down as Ike drew closer, and price hikes accelerated.

Metro Atlanta’s average price for unleaded was $3.75 as of late Friday afternoon, up from $3.61 on Thursday, according to atlantagasprices.com, which compiles motorist reports. That’s up 19 cents from one week ago.

Late Friday, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order activating a state statute against price gouging that allows prosecution of stations that raise prices excessively.

Another year, another DragonCon, another hurricane striking.

It’s been a long, long weekend so I’m pretty much dead. Hopefully work will allow me to miss unloading the truck tomorrow morning. I couldn’t imagine lifting 4000 pounds at this point! I did decimate my finances pretty sufficiently enough, but hopefully if one payment gets posted correctly I won’t have gone into the negative.

I’m very sorry for those affected in the Gulf Coast area by Hurricane Gustav. It’s so cyclical the way the weather works bring death and destruction year after year. Please continue to be safe.

I’m going to recover from the con now and we’ll get back to regular updates on both of the sites possibly as early as tomorrow.

–love, PIXIE

Considering I go out pretty much every weekend, Pride Weekend for me was just more. More nights. More people. More everything. Including more nothing, as in, I still managed to not get any.

I was offered, but the guy who did was none to my liking despite us having some things in common. He just didn’t have the looks I’d need to appreciate making the beast with two backs with.

As for my own pursuits, I managed to drive a guy that I’ve known for a few months home, and nothing happened there either. He’s taller than I, short short blond cropped hair, and is a few years older, yet looks a few years younger. And though we’re kissing friends, that’s where we still remain.

Still, the extended weekend wasn’t too bad of a bust. I spent just shy of what I expected thanks partially to Kaze and Tat being so generous as well as managing to sweet talk my way on The Bodyshop’s guest list. To bad DJ Duo Yoshi Mac put on a marginal set. In fact, all the DJs seemed to be taking no chances with their oversized crowds.

I have one more day off, tomorrow, before I go back to work bright and early Tuesday morning. And I think that’s just fine. I need to get my finances boosted back to smoother levels anyway.

As for updates on the site: Provided thunderstorms don’t strike yet again tomorrow, I’ll be back to posting a handful of shotalicious goodies then.

Ah yes, one more bit of information: Elf’s housewarming party on Thursday went down as actually one of the highlights of the whole weekend. While I was surrounded by breeders, this fag actually took it in stride and had a good time even when I wasn’t following my favorite trap around like a lost puppy.

Happy Pride to you all whenever your area celebrates such. And honestly, be proud year round!