"It's the law...!"

Photos this week are fireworks for the 4th of July, Photos of San Francisco, and school posters...

Wednesday June 26 was a memorable day for the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) community in the Bay Area.... With the passage of the two Supreme Court decisions, marriage between two people of the same sex is now legal in California and the federal restrictions on recognition of same sex marriages is removed. To top it off, this is the weekend of the SF gay pride parade – the most ‘out’ day in the year ...it will be a major celebration this year!

Fourth of July fireworks

‘We were happy and gay riding the school bus today!”  Such was the meaning of “gay” just a few decades ago.... Today when I visit high school classrooms I sometimes hear “That is so gay!”...  Used this way the term is a serious insult and a challenge – This ignorance about the GLBT issue goes deep into our cultural history.  With adolescents (and some older folks too) the issue is often the person’s insecurity about his or her own sexual identity – their fear that “it might happen to them...” Safer to laugh about it and call someone else “gay”...or to blame gays for being the way they are.

San Francisco

I grew up in a small Central California city where ‘there were no gays or lesbians”  - not overtly anyway... it was a taboo topic.  No one recognized or talked about it.   Oh, some people twittered about the two middle-aged librarian ladies who lived together – but they were such “nice people” and it was wonderful that they could find mutual company in each other.

It wasn’t until I went away to college that I really encountered the issue – Living in the dorm, young college guys were naturally curious about sex and asked questions about the gays and lesbians in San Francisco – There were ( and are )  many myths floating around...

Coit tower neighborhood - SF

1.     “You can always tell if someone is gay by the way they act, look, and talk”.  Not true -  

2.     “ I don’t want my child to have any contact with a gay person– they might influence him or her to become gay.” A person is not recruited to being gay. It isn't an infection.

3.     “Just look at how his mother coddled him – that’s why he turned our gay.” Having a dominating mother (or father) does not produce gays

4.     “ It’s a decision they make – they could decide to stop being gay if they wanted to.”  Someone does not choose to be gay – it’s not a decision to be made.

5.     “There are counseling programs that can ‘cure’ a person of being gay.” These programs can only repress the natural inclination of the person by playing on their guilt or by inducing fear. They are still gay.

Fireworks - Oaxaca 

So what causes a person to be gay or lesbian? It is still largely an unanswered question.  Studies show that most gay individuals recognize at an early pre teen age that they are different. Most gays experience no sense of choice about their sexual orientation,  their choice is about "coming out" or staying hidden. One guess is that there may be unidentified complex genetic/chemical factors.  Another hypotheses is that it is a genetic/chemical event in the embryo or shortly after birth. Homosexuality is natural in some other mammals – not just humans. Cats, dogs, horses, cows for examples...

In some cultures homosexuals were honored as Shaman or wise men.  In other cultures they became the priest class.  In some Native American cultures they became medicine men given special power and prestige. And in some cultures they are figuratively or actually stoned to death.

Fireworks - Oaxaca 

Can you imagine the intense heart sick pain of having to live life pretending to be someone that you know you are not – and then surreptitiously finding opportunities to practice your true identity in secret? Living in fear of being ‘found out’? This kind of life style can lead to despair, a distorted personality, or at least a sad unfulfilled existence. It can even result in suicide  ( all to common ). The fortunate ones grow up in an open and accepting environment.  Some find a sympathetic counselor to help lead them into an open and honest life.  It can't be easy to "come out of the closet" - but people who do, describe it as a freeing experience. Of course some parts of the US are more willing to accept openly gay people than others.

Bulletin board invitation - Teens can have many sorts of conflicts for which they need help...

I did not learn to feel comfortable with GLBT people until I had a program supervisor who is lesbian.  I have come to admire and like this woman as a person. I have come to feel at ease with her and enjoy her company.   All it takes is knowing one individual to break through  the pattern of prejudice and ignorance... Since then, I have worked with others both lesbian and gay... they are like all of us... some I feel friendly with and some I have difficulty relating to.  I was a little slower coming to feel comfortable with gay men – because I did not have  interactions with any... When Judy and I became members of a church with several openly gay men and women,  we found gay people active in leadership roles, good 'idea' people, funny, easy to talk to...  With them I learned that gay men are much like the rest of us. We have invited them into our home and enjoyed good conversations.  It doesn't taint me to enjoy being with them as friends.

School hall way poster -Oakland

We see gay and lesbian couples who are in long term committed relationships – some lasting a lifetime.  I know two dear sweet professional woman who are powerful forces in their community and firmly committed to each other – they own a beautiful home, enjoy their dogs, and maintain their garden... just like the rest of us.

I am about as heterosexual as you can be – but my life has been enriched by becoming open to people with different sexual orientations.  This has largely occurred because of the open attitudes about GLBT peoplle living in the Bay Area.  (The lives of gay folks can still be a challenge here - there are still homophobes lurking about.)  For me, it only took working along-side people different from me  to find that we have much more in common than we have differences. 

Addiction!

Let me tell you about addiction.  Among Swedes, coffee is a big deal!  When I was about 14 my Swedish aunt started urging me to have a little coffee after family dinners.  (When asked if someone wanted more coffee after the first cup, my uncles would answer “fem droppar mer!”... “Five drops more!”).  I added lots of milk and sugar to mine and liked the flavor... Little bit, little bit I became a regular coffee drinker.

Now decades later I am physically hooked.  First thing every morning I “need” my 2 cups of coffee to shake off the cobwebs.  If we are staying with someone that announces that they serve decaf, I start calculating when and where I can get my “fix”. Going without can actually lead to a headache and a very grumpy state.   We have even started packing a little coffee when going on a trip “just in case”. Now that’s addiction.!

Graffiti on a Niles wall

My other encounter with addiction started when I went away to college.  It seemed like the cool thing to do was to smoke cigarettes.  Like other addictions I started with one once in a while, then daily after dinner, then more frequently.  Eventually I was smoking over a pack a day.  I suppose at the very start the smoking was enjoyable – but after a while it only made a certain tension, dissatisfaction, go away for a while.  That and it just got to be habitual... something to do...

Sign in a Modesto coffee house

I thought about quitting, I resolved to quit, and I failed over and over.  An office secretary once told me that smoking made my breath smell really bad.  A doctor told me that I was endangering my health... and that got to me ... I resolved to quit.   Seriously!  At about the same time I met my future wife, Judy, who was a great encouragement to me.  I had two strategies  given to me by by doctor.  If I felt like I wanted to smoke I took a shower... (it is not possible to smoke in the shower). I got to be very clean those days!.  I also carried a pocket full of "Grape Nuts" to munch on when I felt the urge to smoke.  ...Something about mouth stimulation as a substitute... It was one day at a time for a while – but I quit – and that was many decades ago.  This was a serious physical addiction! ( Research tells us that it takes 21 days to really change an ingrained habit. - and that seems true for me.)

Yuck!

I am not overweight but I have had a challenge for years to deal with eating responsibly.  My wife and I normally try to eat a lot of healthy protein and vegetables.   Every few days I add fish or legumes (lentils, beans, etc.) just like I am supposed to..  The “three great evils” that I try to avoid are foods with processed sugar, foods with saturated fats, and foods with excess salt.  I am good most of the time – but if I attend a potluck or a party and I see deserts and party foods all laid out ... something clicks in my brain.

Political fund raiser

 First I tell myself that I will just have just  one cookie, and before I know it I have eaten way too much.  Is that an addiction?  It isn’t a physical response so its not physical addiction, but it is definitely a psychological addiction.

Pot luck near Corning  N. Cal.

Thank goodness I have never had an addiction for alcohol.  I enjoy an occasional beer or glass of wine.  But it’s not something that I seek out daily. To me a glass of wine before dinner, sitting with friends or family is a great pleasure.

Wine

In my teen age years I had a summer job spraying for mosquitos on irrigated farm land in the San Joaquin Valley – My “beat” included a couple of small migrant towns – where we often went to eat lunch midday.  There I met a variety of down and out “winos” – impoverished  men (usually) who by hook or by crook managed to get enough money each day to buy their dose of Thunderbird fortified wine.

Wino

A couple of them frequently come to talk with us and we often shared food with them. I  found them to be complete human beings aside from their uncontrollable addiction.  What caused it? ... Did they inherit the tendency ...?  Was it their difficult life experience?  ... Or did they just start on a slippery path that led them to this life?

Two winos

 Maybe part of all three.  I just know that I met intelligent capable people whose only goal of life was to get their daily alcohol.  Most of their daily calories came from alcohol, so they were often malnourished.  This condition can lead to “pink elephants” and  worse... It is a downward spiral.

Graffiti on Oakland Wall 

Working with Teach for America these last years I had reason to visit some very distressed neighborhoods in Oakland.  In some neighborhoods the unemployment rate is approaching 30%.  No one wants to hire workers with no education, no job training, and a poor work record... The only “profession” open to some is selling drugs from the street.  And they are openly visibly.

Some buyers come in from outside but some are local.  Cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin are real and powerful forces of destruction to individuals and to communities. Their use is surrounded with sadness, loss, and despair.

Altered state -

You and I probabily knows lots of different additions.  I know people addicted to electronic games, gambling, jogging, ice cream, reading, handball, TV novels, baseball, pho... no end to what we humans can be addicted to... Granted there is a fine line between things you just like to do and things that you feel drawn to, compelled to do.  I've got 'em - You got 'em too.

"Here Comes the Sun!"

I dedicate this song to any of you who know the joys of backpacking – waking in the cold mountain air and making the huge decision to leave your warm sleeping bag – to greet the sun of a new day!

MUST VIEW TO SET THE TONE OF THIS BLOG:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOCU0lKF6b8

Early Morning at 9000 ft.

 Our way distant ancestor Dimetrodon, produced no body heat , and was dependent on external heating – When a cold blooded animal ( a exotherm)  get warm its easier to move around to catch food and to avoid danger...You can observe this pattern of behavior today with modern lizards.  Dimetrodon could warm up in the morning by  just turning sideways and collected sunlight... and then they were good to go!  Its tough being a cold blooded reptile.

Dimetrodon - a highly specialized reptile!

Modern birds have many features in common with their dinosaur ancestors.  In addition, they have evolved a 4 chambered heart and a more rapid metabolism (they have to eat more to generate all that body heat).  Such changed have required countless generations of slow progressive modification.  Small positive differences that lead to a slightly greater chance of survival  are retained, the ones without the change die off.   

You and I are endotherms: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endotherm> .  We have to eat a lot more  to be warm blooded - but we can move easily when we get cold.  And we have ways to regulate our body temperature.

Some birds still depend on the sun for part of their morning warming ritual. 

Turkey vulture on a cool morning

My pups love to lie in the sun and soak up the heat.  No question, they are fully warm-blooded endoderms ( generate their own heat) – but hay!, a little sunlight still feels good.  Bask one side then when it gets too hot turn over and bask the other.

These are not my dogs - but my pups exhibit the same behavior - 

Even us humans enjoy the sun at the beach, river, lake, or back yard.  It is one of the pleasures of summer!

A sunny day on a British beach

But lately, technological man has been looking at  ways to generate usable energy besides burning carbon compounds that come from the ground.  One of the most dependable and efficient methods is the use of solar panels on the rooftop of your home.  At first glance the price of such a system is off-putting – but a new installation is eligible for a number of subsidies  that lower the price considerably... in addition. it is possible to either lease rather than buy your new system for additional savings.

A sunny day on a California beach

Judy and I have just gotten a system installed and every day we  generate between 35 and 40 kw-hrs of energy.  The energy is fed into the PGE power grid and we get power credit.  What we use if subtracted from our credit and in the overcast days of winter we will use more than we produce.  Should we have surplus power at the end of the year PGE will buy it from us (at a much lower rate then customers pay for it).  So it will be to our advantage to  replace gas using appliances  to use  electric power.  Its great fun to go on line in the evening and see how much power we produced that day, or I can go out during the day and watch the electric meter running backward!

Yesterdays power production - updated every 2 hours on my computer

Here is the website of an unnamed Sungevity customer whose experiences were much like ours:

Go to http://www.mysolarreview.net to read a log of his full experience:

Solar panels (not our house)  “With the 20 year lease were the following benefits: * Unlike a purchase that comes with a 5-10 year warranty, the lease essentially provided a 20 year warranty. * Sungevity offered performance guarantees. * Sungevity offer "net monitor" - allows them (and you) to monitor  the output of your system at all times. ( on your computer ) * They both warranty the system for the length of the lease (20 years)  including the Inverter, which from what I can tell, seems to have a life  of 10-15 years. So if you purchase, although coming down in price, inverters are about $4,500 right now.

*  There are no additional payments for the life of the unit.”

* We would have the option to buy the unit in 20 years for its depreciated

value.
* Rebates are available to the buyer that greatly reduce the original listed price.

In addition Sungevity is a leading company in the industry and it it very probabily that they will “be around” in 20 years...