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Pride

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

This year’s was the best Pride Week we’ve had in years. All the events were really fun, especially Julie Goldman and the then the drag show Saturday night, which concluded Pride Week. My parents and little sister Ashley came to the show, too. Ash photographed the show while I filmed it. Below is the drag show in its entirety:


Unfortunately, early on in Pride Week some UMaine students decided to vandalize the Pride Flag pole and steal the pride flag. As a result, we held a pride flag raising “part II” on Wednesday, with a turnout of over 200 people! It was a great way for our community to come together and reaffirm our respect. Nonetheless, another attempt was made to steal the flag the next night. However, just yesterday I learned that the people responsible have been caught, and they may be charged with hate crimes. I’m sure more will be published once police release their names and more information. Below are two stories recently reported concerning the theft of the pride flag:




Today is Earth Day, and per tradition, a group of UMaine students always gets naked, paints themselves in green paint, and rides around campus on bicycles. Some pics for your enjoyment 🙂

UMaine students naked and riding bikes for Earth Day

UMaine students naked and riding bikes for Earth Day

UMaine Pride Week 2011

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

I just finished the poster for UMaine Pride Week 2011. This is our busiest Pride Week since I started here at UMaine! Everyone is welcome, including members of the general public.

Nintendo 3DS

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

I waited in line at the mall yesterday at 8:30am to get my Nintendo 3DS and let me just say it was well worth the wait, the cost, and the months of having it on reserve! It’s awesome!

I was immediately impressed with the 3D effect, which is, of course what makes this device so revolutionary. I predict the 3DS is the start of a coming stream of consumer-level, glasses-free 3D technology. I can just imagine how this technology will be applied to computers, mobile phones, iPods, and beyond. The 3DS offers a volume control-like slider that allows you to adjust the strength of the 3D effect. I would say that at the maximum level, objects appear to dip into the screen (as if you’re looking through the 3DS) about one inch, and pop out of the screen at a couple centimeters, close to an inch. But don’t underestimate it – it’s really amazing!

I only bought two games since I wasn’t crazy about the 16 launch titles. I got PilotWings Resort, a title I’ve never played before, and Super Monkey Ball 3D. I’ve played SMB on almost every gaming platform available.

Images from PilotWings Resort


The 3DS has a 3D camera, though right now the pics can only be viewed on the 3DS until more products take advantage of the file format. Nonetheless the 3D pics are pretty cool. Many of the features of the 3DS will be released in coming software updates (online downloads), such as the Virtual Console, meaning we’ll be able to play popular SNES games from the past! I have not tried all the built-in features/games yet.

Picture I took of myself using the internal (2D) camera


I created a Mii in my likeness, much the way I have already done on my Wii. I posted pics below. The augmented reality (AR) feature is especially cool, allowing you to play games that appear in the real world, and place your Mii in the real world, as if virtual characters existed on countertops and couches. My imagination is running wild with ideas about possible ways to apply this AR technology.

My Mii and various AR poses


Overall I’m really happy with the 3DS and I feel like it’s just the beginning; the upcoming software features and new game releases are very exciting. I only have two complaints: 1) The battery life is horrible, usually lasting maybe 2 hours with the 3D at maximum, and 2) Eyestrain develops relatively fast after about an hour of constant play. I initially felt a bit nauseous, but I think it’s passed. The cons are heavily outweighed by the pros, however.

More Agumented Reality

Reading

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

I’ve been very busy with my classes and completing my senior research paper this semester. Not sure if I’ll be marching in May or not because I need to complete a couple stray classes this Summer, but we’ll see. In any case, I’ll have my Biology degree by August.

Not a whole lot going on in the gay rights world. Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill failed to get past the legislature. The 9th Circuit refused to lift the stay on Prop8, so we’re in for a long haul in that court battle, which won’t pick back up until this Fall. On the other hand, Obama signed the United Nations Gay Rights Resolution. The focus of this resolution is on developing nations where gay people are persecuted, even jailed or murdered for being gay (though it could be argued the US still has a long way to go in distancing us from that sort of behavior).

I’ve been reading a lot. Aside from textbook reading, I just finished Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, which was awesome. I definitely recommend it! The movie Adaptation (2002) is loosely based on the book and stars Meryl Streep and Nicolas Cage. It’s kind of bizarre and takes liberties with the Orlean’s writing, but it gives a good visual supplement to a book that is profuse with rich imagery.

I’m nearly finished with Scott Rosenberg’s Dreaming in Code and, continuing Matheson’s bibliography from What Dreams May Come, I’m about halfway through The Other Side of Death by Raymond Bayless. I have to admit the latter is kind of dry. I’m also working through Thich Nhat Hanh’s You Are Here. Hanh is one of my favorite authors, but one does not simply read through his books – it’s more of an instructional book in leading a life of mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition. I’ve read maybe ten of his books so far.


My reading’s going to have to take a back seat starting this weekend – I have a Cosmos Black Nintendo 3DS reserved at GameStop and I’m really excited for the release! It will be the first consumer glasses-free 3D technology released in the US and the reviews so far are overwhelmingly positive. I’m especially excited about the augmented reality feature and the ability to take 3D photos. I’m also glad we’ll finally have a Virtual Console for the DS so that it will be possible to download past titles like Super Mario Bros. I’m a little disappointed with the launch titles, though I have already reserved copies of Nintendogs + Cats, Super Monkey Ball, and PilotWings Resort. I’m confident that coming titles like Zelda and Kid Icarus will make it all worthwhile.


Between all of this I’m honing my C programming skills and getting comfortable with Objective-C and the iPhone SDK. I have like a hundred plants growing. My gerbils are doing well. My mom and sister decided to keep our new pomeranian puppies, bringing the total up to 6 dogs, though having a huge number of animals in general has always been common in my familiy, lol. I get to visit them when I go home. They are precious poocademons as always ^-^

I’ll post more updates as things develop. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about the 3DS, my research, and my upcoming paleogenetics website. Oh, and UMaine Pride Week is April 11th to the 16th.


BTW Music Video

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Today Lady Gaga released her music video for Born This Way. I like how she retells the story of Creation, hehe. Enjoy 🙂

DOJ, Obama Will NOT Defend DOMA

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Department of Justice

The DOJ just released this statement, saying it will not defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and agrees with President Obama in stating that DOMA is unconstitutional. This is the best news we’ve had about national marriage equality in years. It will have an impact on future legislation and litigation concerning issues of sexual orientation as the DOJ and Obama have formally recognized it as a class requiring extra scrutiny, on par with race, religion, gender, etc. Here is the release:

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Statement of the Attorney General on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act

WASHINGTON – The Attorney General made the following statement today about the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman:

In the two years since this Administration took office, the Department of Justice has defended Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act on several occasions in federal court. Each of those cases evaluating Section 3 was considered in jurisdictions in which binding circuit court precedents hold that laws singling out people based on sexual orientation, as DOMA does, are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment. While the President opposes DOMA and believes it should be repealed, the Department has defended it in court because we were able to advance reasonable arguments under that rational basis standard.

Section 3 of DOMA has now been challenged in the Second Circuit, however, which has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated. In these cases, the Administration faces for the first time the question of whether laws regarding sexual orientation are subject to the more permissive standard of review or whether a more rigorous standard, under which laws targeting minority groups with a history of discrimination are viewed with suspicion by the courts, should apply.

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.

Consequently, the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in the Second Circuit. We will, however, remain parties to the cases and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation. I have informed Members of Congress of this decision, so Members who wish to defend the statute may pursue that option. The Department will also work closely with the courts to ensure that Congress has a full and fair opportunity to participate in pending litigation.

Furthermore, pursuant to the President ‘ s instructions, and upon further notification to Congress, I will instruct Department attorneys to advise courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the President’s and my conclusions that a heightened standard should apply, that Section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard and that the Department will cease defense of Section 3.

The Department has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of duly-enacted statutes if reasonable arguments can be made in their defense. At the same time, the Department in the past has declined to defend statutes despite the availability of professionally responsible arguments, in part because – as here – the Department does not consider every such argument to be a “reasonable” one. Moreover, the Department has declined to defend a statute in cases, like this one, where the President has concluded that the statute is unconstitutional.

Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed DOMA. The Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional. Congress has repealed the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Several lower courts have ruled DOMA itself to be unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down, and the President has informed me that the Executive Branch will continue to enforce the law. But while both the wisdom and the legality of Section 3 of DOMA will continue to be the subject of both extensive litigation and public debate, this Administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court.

Born This Way

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Yay, first blog of 2011! Been busy with classes and making sure I graduate this may ^-^

It seems that there’s been some controversy concerning Lady Gaga’s newest song, Born This Way, even enough to spur angry editorials by arrogant writers who take themselves way too seriously. People, including gay people, are forgetting the fun and colorful side of music and would place upon society an artificial mechanism for rating what is good taste and what is not, just as many have tried (and all have failed miserably) to do this with any artform.

I just want to say I love Born This Way and I continue to be one of Gaga’s little monsters. I love her unique style, she has incredible musical talent, and I think she is also perhaps an important political and social figure for the gay rights movement, as well as questioning youth. Whatever anyone has to say about her, she’s got number one on the charts. She is an incredible individual and artist, and a role model for being true to yourself. Love you Gaga! <3

In the religion of the insecure
I must be myself, respect my youth…

No matter gay, straight, or bi,
Lesbian, transgendered life
I’m on the right track baby
I was born to survive…

I’m beautiful in my way
’cause god makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track baby
I was born this way

Giga Pets

Friday, December 31st, 2010

I was surprised to see that the 1997 Digimon Virtual Pets (Digivices) are selling for a lot on eBay right now. I’m seriously debating selling mine. I have a dark blue one (the one that looks like a rectangular rock) in really good condition, but it’s always been my favorite giga pet, along with my Pikachu GS 2. I miss my Talking Nano Puppy – I lost him a long time ago. I don’t think I ever owned an actual Tamagotchi. I wonder what happened to their popularity?

My little sister, who is now 13, has almost no memory of virtual pets, though I did make sure she had the Pikachu GS 2 when it came out years ago, along with a couple of the more “modern” Nanos. Granted, her generation also has no memory of life without computers. When I was her age, the most advanced technology was a pixelized Oregon Trail played on a desktop that would make a long clicking sound whenever it had to process the unfortunate death of a squirrel or bison. You’d think everyone’s life now exists on their iPhone or other device.

Speaking of iPhones, there is a horrible selection of virtual pets. You’d think that with modern processing speeds and the ubiquity of portable devices, there would be a plethora of virtual pets. Imagine if iPhones had debuted in the early 90’s! I can only find a few legitimate virtual pets in the iTunes AppStore – the 3D iHusky, 3D Touch Pets (Cats or Dogs) and the 2D (but perhaps more expansive) Kimimon. The latter option comes closest to the original concept behind the 90’s Tamagotchi, though it is far more advanced in both options and graphics. For now we must settle with things like the Pokewalker. I think it would be nice to find emulations of these past giga pets, for any platform.

Perhaps the days of giga pets are long gone, left to a digital grave, a fad of the 90’s. But I’m sure there are those who, like me, hope the phenomena will one day be resurrected, much like the pets themselves.

Digipet Growth Chart

Dieting and Stuff

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

I read an article today about the top 20 worst foods of 2010. I was actually a little surprised by the disgustingly gigantic calorie, fat, sodium, and sugar content of some common foods, particularly those sold under the guise of being healthy. I’ve always been very suspicious of processed food – my dad follows the extremely strict Pritikin diet, and I try to follow the Okinawan diet, in general, though it takes skill to avoid food labeling trickery. I knew that nearly all restaurant food and freezer isle food is to be avoided, but I didn’t realize how bad it’s become! Some single meals carry more than a day’s worth of calories, pushing 3,000 calories! That’s way, way too much to eat in one day, let alone one meal. You can read more here: 20 Worst Foods of 2010.

Over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. This leads to many complications such as diabetes and heart disease and generally reduces a person’s lifespan by a decade or more. It is easy to eat junkfood, and I’m not just talking about fast food. Junkfood includes about 90% of the cereal at our grocery store, most of the meat, almost all of the processed food, whole milk, etc. There is little regulation on food, meaning words like “organic,” “immune boosting,” “heart healthy,” and “rich in whole grains” are totally meaningless. The FDS does NOT regulate these words, so you have to do a little homework yourself and be careful to read the nutrition label, particularly in terms of serving size. Weight gain is a direct result of caloric intake – if you eat more calories than you burn, then you’ll gain weight. For most of us, that means eating 2,000 or fewer calories each day. I could write a book on dieting, and we all know there are many, but these are some good rules of thumb…

  • Eat 2,000 or fewer calories per day. Eating more than that will cause you to gain weight. Period.
  • Focus your diet on “featherweight” foods like fresh fruit and vegetables. Featherweight foods are those foods that have a low caloric density like oranges and whole grain rice. Some foods have virtually no calories, such as celery and dill pickles – you can eat as much as you want.
  • Drink lots of zero-calorie fluids, particularly water. Fluids make you feel full faster and longer, and your body needs a lot more water every day than most people realize. There are many options for zero-calorie beverages if water isn’t your thing. Coffee and tea (without added milk or sugar) both have zero calories. There is some debate over whether diet drinks increase appetite, so be aware of them. I know for me, diet soda makes me hungry.
  • Avoid refined carbohydrates AKA simple sugars. Some studies are showing that refined carbs are the primary cause of American obesity, even more so that saturated fats. Look for complex carbohydrates – they can be found in whole wheat bread and whole grain brown rice. Avoid white rice, white bread…pretty much anything white when it comes to grains. The word “whole wheat” is regulated by the FDA and you should make sure it’s the first ingredient in any kind of bread or cereal you buy. Other labels like “enriched wheat flour” or “whole grain” don’t mean a thing and could easily apply to cheap Wonderbread.
  • Be careful about serving size. Labels can be tricky – make sure you’re not eating more than you think you are. Also be weary of cryptic ways of including sugar in the ingredients, such as “corn syrup,” “fructose,” “sugar cain,” “corn sugar,” and “sucrose.” Remember that “organic” is just a trendy pop-culture word and even if it is truly FDA Certified Organic, organic sugar, organic salt, and organic fat is still sugar, salt, and fat.
  • Eat unsaturated fats and avoid saturated and hydrogenated oils. The latter will send you to an early grave! You don’t have to stop eating meat – there are many lean meats, like fish and chicken, but these are only lean if you don’t add calorie-dense sauces and oils.
  • Exercise. In general, exercise is not an effective way to lose weight. Dieting is really the only way you are going to lose weight, but exercise can help a little, and losing weight should not be your only concern. Maintaining a healthy weight is a big first step in overall health, but it’s not the only step. Trade in the lengthy cardio workouts for short, intense strength-training. There is little evidence to support any benefits from cardio exercise. Brief and intense strength training builds muscle and this process burns calories long after the workout.
  • If you are overweight or obese, your body requires more than 2,000 calories per day to maintain that fat, so eating 2,000 calories each day will still result in weight loss. However, if you are trying to lose weight a little faster, it’s usually good to start with 1,800 calories a day, then move down to 1,500. At 1,500 calories a day, even someone at a healthy weight will lose a pound or two each week. Fasting doesn’t work. First of all, when you fast your body slows down your metabolism. You will feel sick and become tired and weak. Fasting or eating fewer than 1,500 calories per day is unhealthy because it causes you to become malnourished and makes you more vulnerable to illness. It’s better to keep your metabolism working by eating small amounts of food all day long.

Dieting and exercise are the only way to maintain good health – there are no secrets or special methods, like avoiding carbs altogether or taking weight loss pills. The simple answer has always been true. We need to change our attitudes about eating and exercise. I was somewhat irritated when I saw my doctor the other day – she said she thought I might have an eating disorder because I wanted to lose 10 or so pounds. I currently have a healthy body mass index (BMI), I exercise, but I could have a little healthier BMI if I lost 10 pounds or so. Several of the staff and doctors themselves there are overweight or obese – it is reflective of our culture that a doctor working in such an office would see someone such as myself, someone at a healthy mid-range weight, as being too thin. At the University of Maine there are regular programs to help people with eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, yet such eating disorders affect only about one-third of one percent of the American public. It seems that in general there are few genuine programs designed to help people eat healthier and lose weight, despite every other commercial offering a miracle weight-loss drug. Nobody can lose weight for you. It’s up to you.

Here’s an example of what I do. I try to exercise at least twice a week, usually strength-training for about 20 minutes. I drink about one or two gallons of tea every day (literally), along with a little coffee, both sweetened with Stevia. I happen to love tea, but you don’t need to drink quite that much – dieticians recommend about 8 cups (that’s 4 16oz soda bottles) of water per day. I eat low-calorie foods like bananas and canned or frozen vegetables. When I eat eggs, I trash the yoke – an egg is nearly 100 calories, 85% of which is the yoke. Want a nice 100 calorie snack? Scramble five egg whites. I almost never eat red meat. In general I don’t eat much meat, but when I do it’s either fish or chicken. I don’t use any oils to prepare them – water or a very tiny amount of olive oil is good enough to cook chicken. Fish is baked. Herbs and spices are good enough – I don’t need extra oils and sauces. Same goes for sandwiches and salads. For salads I often use vinaigrettes, which have very few or no calories. If I’m near 2,000 calories for the day and I’m still really hungry, I grab zero-calorie food, like dill pickes, celery, etc. Oranges have 80 calories in them, but they have the greatest satiation of any food – that means they make you feel full. At the other end of the satiation index are chocolate chip cookies and Chinese food.

That said, I’m not obsessed. I do eat out occasionally, but you can be careful about what you eat at restaurants, too. Most places now have healthy options or at least give you a general idea about calories and fat in the food they serve. Any diet too strict is always doomed to fail. You have to give yourself some allowances, especially in our culture. A little junkfood here and there isn’t going to hurt you – it’s the habitual consumption of calorie-dense and large portions of non-nutritive crap that makes us fat. Being mindful of what you eat is the best thing you can do for yourself. Realize that eating healthy is your responsibility and you can’t blame overeating or obesity on society, family, or your metabolism. In fact, overweight and obese individuals burn significantly more calories during the day and during exercise than someone who maintains a healthy weight, so there is even less of an excuse, yet an even greater incentive. When you blame others you concede powerlessness; by taking responsibility for your life, you take back control and can affect real change.

On Giving

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Then said a rich man, “Speak to us of Giving.”

And he answered:

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself?

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have – and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

Though the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving

And is there aught you would withhold?

All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors’.

You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life – while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers – and you are all receivers – assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet