Wednesday night

Not going to the gym tonight. Too cold outside for gym clothes. Instead, I'm making hot soup -- vegetable beef, out of the Bear Creek minestrone. Simmering (tenderizing) the stew beef now in V-8 juice and water, with some dill and salt. When that gets tender, I'll add the soup mix and some frozen mixed vegetables. Should be hearty. Used three pounds of meat.

Tonight I removed the "Fox Tab" add-on from Firefox and installed another one, "Speed Dial." The Fox Tab was a mess. It kept propagating unwanted tabs. I hope this add-on's better. (It was easier to activate this one than try to figure out how to fix the other one.) You store your sites like a speed dialer, in numbered slots. Seems fairly orderly and straightforward.

I have to say, the plumbing repairs went very well. That was a load off my mind. After all the hassles dealing with Home Depot in the kitchen.

[Later] Watching "Shear Genius", a hair-styling competition, similar to "Project Runway". Never seen it before. [Was worth watching.]

It's back in the 50s here tonight and will drop down into the upper 40s. When I got home from work and let Lucky out onto the terrace, he was soon back inside, complaining about the cold as if I had something to do with it. Then he hung out with Bootsy on my bed forever. Bootsy needs another bath, by the way.

I thought this was a good column by Frank Rich on Sunday. The title, "Smoke the Bigots Out of the Closet," gave me pause. I live by the Golden Rule and would never wish the way I've been treated as a gay person on anyone (like being "smoked out" as being gay and fired from a so-called reputable company). "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (or "Stay In The Closet Or Else") has been standard operating procedure all across America for years. And Miami, what with Anita Bryant spewing her vile anti-gay "theology" and all, was one of the worst places. I'm glad times are changing.

The occasional outliers notwithstanding, why did such a hush greet Mullen on Capitol Hill? The answer begins with the simple fact that a large majority of voters — between 61 percent and 75 percent depending on the poll — now share his point of view. Most Americans recognize that being gay is not a “lifestyle” but an immutable identity, and that outlawing discrimination against gay people who want to serve their country is, as the admiral said, “the right thing to do.”

No, I'm not happy with the new Firefox. I should never have updated. I might just switch to the Chrome.

I have to reiterate how interesting it was on Monday night to sit in Flanigan's and watch B. and his BF (I figured out who the BF was). It set my own mind at ease. I'm more convinced than ever that my instincts were correct, that this BF is some "shyster" (as my neighbor characterized him) that B. has fallen for. I know that the illegal use of prescription drugs was going on. B. lives back in a secret "netherworld" and I don't think any good will come of it in the long run, sad to say. This guy hooked B. with a combination of drugs and alienation of affection.