rm | Aug. 27th, 2010

Patty leaves for Cardiff on the night of September 23. I love having firm dates and it's a few days later than previously anticipated. It also falls nicely after the equinox and before my mother's birthday and the Butch Voices conference, so I can just focus on that when it's happening.

We also talked about how this will be weird and different than digs ("It's not like you'll just be 'on a dig' where you're just gone; it'll be like a long distance relationship for a few months"), her likely class schedule, and our weird phone hatred, which has never really been an issue, since calling is rarely viable or necessary when she's been away), and all in all, I think we both feel a lot better than we did 48 hours ago.

Meanwhile, I need your help. Many discount airlines in Europe fly through Not Heathrow. Can anyone speak to me about public transit options from Gatwick and Stansted for getting to London or Cardiff?

Last night I tried to explain Max Headroom to Patty. She said, "Baby, I don't understand the '80s." Also, that it sounded like a horror movie. Additionally, she had some serious concerns about the blipverts.

Meanwhile my lack of final, official, public Dragon*Con schedule is making me moderately verklempt. Also knowing everything that needs to be done between now and Aug 31 or Sept 1 or Sept 2, as the case may be. This has been a very intense, disruptive month with a lot of professional commitments to execute on.

Also, failed to CLEAN ALL THE THINGS last night, but did manage to Clean Some Stuff, so that's cool. Laundry night tonight. My life is full of glamor.

I continue to be fascinated with the Chilean mine rescue. NASA has been brought in because they are the only folks with experience related to this type of isolation.

Department of I Should Have Known Better: Is anyone else completely riveted by the trailer for The Social Network? I felt a lot better when I knew Aaron Sorkin did the script, I'll tell you that. But as someone who's been online since 1990 and worked with and for an assortment of freaks, geeks and self-aggrandizing boys who thought their version of how people talk to each other was going to change the world or their pocketbooks, it hits me where I live. Change the numbers and the names and it's not a story everyone, or even anyone, cares about, but on some level it's a story I've been in the middle of or adjacent to more than once. Predictably, when I mentioned this on Facebook where people from those days in my life could see it, they treated me exactly as they did when I was 19, like I was melodramatic and annoying. I've always cared too much about story, and sometimes, that one in particular: where we were all rich and we were all outlaws.

I remember debates about this sort of thing in the US: A German pop-singer has been convicted of having sex without alerting partners to her HIV-positive status.

trinker is looking for some trans resources to support a friend. Can you help?

Surgery is no longer required for gender changes on PA driver's licenses.

Outrage of the day, pt. 1: Want to be president of your middle school class at a particular school in Mississippi? Not only do you need a B or better average, you need to be white. This is one of those links where you'll read the first bit, be appalled and figure it can't get even worse, but yes, this one keeps getting worse.

Outrage of the day, pt. 2: Ladies, want a raise? To be a better negotiator be sure to clean your vagina. Do we need to discuss my particular relationship with filth again?