Apologies

I must apologize to my family and friends in SecondLife for not being in-world at all the last days.

Let me first tell you that I am doing well but just thinking about and mentally preparing myself for the coming changes in my first life is taking its toll on me.

The tests on Tuesday went well and showed what could be expected. I am overweight. My heart is strong and steady, the blood tests show that my hematocrit and cholesterol and liver values are excellent as always. However my Oxygen uptake (VO2) shows that my physical condition is lousy and my fasting blood glucose indicate that I am pre-diabetic and need to shape up and change my dietary and exercising habits.

I am to have a meeting soon with a dietician who will give me some guidelines about what to eat and on Monday I have a new meeting with my health counsellor where we will decide on the goals we are going to set for the coming three months.

So all can still be salvaged - or so they tell me - but it is going to take some work and commitment on my part. I am so grateful for Diana reminding me that the change will not feel as a punisment six-eight weeks into the program.

Hobbit

Another revelation about the inner life of the laird!

I am a "LOTR-ista". Today I bought this DVD and will be spending some time during the weekend just revelling in it.

Don't worry about telling me how it ends, I know already and have known for years. That fact will not decrease my enjoyment for a microsecond.

Excessive, Cruel & Unusual

On Tuesday Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, renewed his promise to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

The camp opened in 2002 as a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States to hold detainees it had determined to be connected with terrorism. As of March 2013 there remain 166 detainees remain in the camp. Approximately 100 of the detainees are currently taking part in a hunger strike protesting against being detained for years on end without being charged or put on trial and under conditions and with treatment that would be totally unacceptable if the camp was located on the U.S. mainland.

The president said he was going to raise the matter in Congress again, which I am sorry to say I do not understand.

The matter of releasing detainees, who aren't going to be charged or put to trial, cannot be a political decision but must rather be an administrative one, i.e. for the president himself or the Departments of Justice or Defense or agencies under those department to decide.

As those who have read this blog before already know I am an adamant supporter of president Obama in particular and the U.S.A. in general, the camp at Guantanamo and the conditions for the detainees are really one of my few major objections

Justice delayed is justice denied, which is not worthy of the United States or president Obama. Guantanamo Bay is a sordid stain on the American flag and a blemish on the International reputation of the United States, president Obama himself and his administration. So please Mr. President, shut the camp down and release the detainees or charge them and give them a fair trial as soon as possible. Justice has been delayed too long already.

Mrs. Vampi Twine-DeSantis-McMillan-McMillan (Honorary), You've Got Mail

Dearest Vampi,

I didn't read your e-mail to me until late in the night, but I took action immediately and you now have an email with some good news from me waiting to be read. Hopefully the current problem can now be considered to be handled. 

With love always,
Bock

P.S. If you still don't have Internet connection I am hoping that one of our mutual friends in SecondLife has your phone number and will  call you to tell you the good news.

Jason Again

(via +Joe Jervis @ J.M.G.)

Out and proud basketball player Jason Collins was interviewed on Good Morning America by ABC's George Stephanopoulos. I just had to have it on my blog even it is plastered all over the metaverse.

We Welcome Spring - Desperately

Today is the last day of April, a.k.a. Walpurgis Night. On this day we in Sweden welcome spring - whether it has arrived or not. Tomorrow it is spring, whatever the temperature may be outdoors!

Update: The Danish Meteorological Institute (which is usually more correct on my local weather than the Swedish one) revealed today that it has been the coldest April in 25 years.

This evening many of us will light bonfires to chase away the cold. We will also utter incantations and do whatever else may be needed to exorcise and expel all and any remnants of winter. All our winter clothes go to storage and the spring clothes are dragged out It's all an old heathen tradition of course which has been christianized along the way for it to get the blessing of religion.

Spring is unusually late this year. In the far south of Sweden, where I live, we can usually expect spring at least in the beginning of April, but not so this year. Everything seems to be delayed by four to six weeks.

Luckily I have SecondLife, so whatever the temperature may be outdoors in my first life I am going to start wearing my shorts in-world. The populace have been deprived the joy of seeing my wonderful bare legs for too long already.

Out & Proud in Sports

Team sports is one of the the last remaining bastions of homophobia, but the walls of silence and oppression surrounding major league sports are finally starting to crumble.

First out and a true American hero is basketball player Jason Collins, still actively playing in the NBA.

I found this via Joe.My.God. and the excerpts below is from his blog. Read the full article in Sports Illustrated:

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay".

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

"My journey of self-discovery and self-acknowledgement began in my hometown of Los Angeles and has taken me through two state high school championships, the NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight, and nine playoffs in 12 NBA seasons."

"I've played for six pro teams and have appeared in two NBA Finals. Ever heard of a parlor game called Three Degrees of Jason Collins? If you're in the league, and I haven't been your teammate, I surely have been one of your teammates' teammates. Or one of your teammates' teammates' teammates."

"Now I'm a free agent, literally and figuratively. I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want. And what I want is to continue to play basketball. I still love the game, and I still have something to offer. My coaches and teammates recognize that. At the same time, I want to be genuine and authentic and truthful."

A few tweets (Do I need to get a Twitter account I, wonder? Nah, I would never be able to handle the word count limitations.)