For some time, there have been a few espresso stands that use women in bikinis as a way to entice customers to visit.
I've heard of one in Maine, and there are several near Seattle.
These caused quite an uproar from the citizens in the area when they first opened. In my view, I thought it was a totally reasonable way to attract customers. What's wrong with women in bikinis? The whole thing seemed way overblown.
Unfortunately, it turns out that a few of the women working at one of the espresso stands did some things that have cast a pall over every bikini barista: they took it too far. Allegedly, some of the women would, for a fee, strip naked while preparing drinks for customers, or allow customers to touch them while they were naked. Unfortunately, this is defined as 'prostitution' in the city of Everett where this happened, so the headline reads "Baristas accused of espress stand prostitution," which makes it sound much worse than it really was, even though it was pretty bad.
You had a good thing going, and wasn't it enough just to piss off those silly conservatives who blanche at the thought of a beautiful, scantily-clad woman serving coffee? Now you've ruined it by crossing the line and actually fulfilling their worst fears. This is a step back that undoes all the progress you've made.
I feel bad for you, being accused of prostitution is one of those things that, like any sex crime, stays on your record for life and will make getting jobs difficult. It seems a bit severe to me, but the damage is done. I don't think bikini espresso stands have a future now (at least, not for a long time). You screwed up, and now it's too late.
FWIW, I never went to one of them. I never saw one of them, but I supported them. Until now. Silly baristas.
After a night out with friends and an emotionally draining day, I slept in a bit and headed east on I84.
The drive was long but the decision not to take I90 across Washington was the right one. No offense Washington but eastern Oregon is much prettier; besides, I am not even entirely sure how many times I have crossed Washington so part of it is probably the newness factor.
The playlist consisted of a mix of songs I can sing along to. Umlaut seems a bit confused, but overall seems to enjoy the somewhat frequent stops and exploration of new smells in new locations.
I stopped at a Char Burger for lunch, the food was meh, but they had guns on the wall and more importantly pie.
The drive was long and I rolled into Boise around 10P and found a room at a hotel. Apparently everything closes at 10P in Boise (at least where I was) and the only thing I could find for dinner was Taco Bell. I must remember to pick up some bread and other easy to eat dinner foods, or otherwise eat dinner earlier.
Due to a need to sleep, I did not take off nearly as early as I thought I would. It was all good though since the plan was only to go so far as Portland, OR.
After a few final errands and good-byes Umlaut and I hit the road and headed south.
I made a pit stop at a Mount Saint Helen’s visitor center and at Mrs. Beesley’s for a quick late lunch early dinner. I am not even sure where it is, but Jennifer knew.
Jennifer is a friend who graciously said she would put me up for the night, but then had to go to Seattle at the last minute so she left me the key all the same so I could stay the night anyway.
I was exhausted when I got there; though the drive was relatively short it was emotionally draining. To know that I was driving away and though I would be back for visits, I was leaving the amazing friends I had made in my almost twelve years in Seattle.
When I arrived at the little white house on the corner I was greatly impressed by the amazing bathroom.
After taking some time to relax, I called some other friends in Portland whom I had not seen since college and we went to the Kennedy School House for a late dinner and a few beers. Though I was exhausted, I am glad I made it.
I managed to get to bed at a decent time; then stayed there until fairly late. Finally at nearly noon, I hit the road… on to Boise.
More photos available on flickr.
There's a lot of debate about circumcision. Just taking a quick look around, I read one article that said discusses how circumcised men are at a lower risk for STDs, but another on the same site talks about circumcision can lead to a higher risk of STD.
Ok, never mind the STD risk. What about the fact that you're mutilating a man's body for reasons which have been lost in the mists of time? Why is it ok to circumcise a boy, but female circumcision (especially in Africa) is treated with upmost contempt and disgust by the West?
Ok never mind the ethics. Which looks better? I am reminded of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine says that circumcised penises just aren't that fun to play with. Most of the women I've ever spoken to on the topic agree - it's better when it's circumcised.
But never mind looks, which way feels better? Is cutting skin off the most sensitive part of a man's penis really the right way to highten pleasure? I've never read a before & after report from anyone, but I imagine that's what we'd need to settle this debate. Imagine an uncircumcised man who, after years of healthy sexual relations, gets circumcised, then goes out and has healthy sexual relations for years again, and then finally writes about it in a way that answers the question. Volunteers anyone?
It can't be me, I didn't get a choice, by the time I discovered my penis, my foreskin was already gone.
So I ask you as lovers, parents, and friends, what do you think? Is one or the other more fun or more erotic? Does an uncircumcised penis turn you off? Those of you who are parents, which did you choose, and why?
For those of you not in my neighborhood or circle of friends here on Vox, you're limited to a very few set of posts - a handful - maybe 10? Normally I try and post at least once a week, sometimes more often, sometimes less, but if you'd like to see more of the conversations & pictures, and if you'd like to partake in the comments and discussion, just ask to join my neighborhood!
One of the other co-Founders of InGuardians, Ed Skoudis, has always been a master of the Windows command line. Before you Unix and Linux people turn up your nose, you should know that he's also amazing on Linux/Unix. Ed has an excellent blog, Command Line Kung Fu, that he collaborates on with Hal Pomeranz, of Deer Run Associates and SANS and Paul Asadoorian of Pauldotcom.
It seems that the iPhone and iPod Touch's strongest innovation isn't in the far better design/user interface than previous pocket computers. Instead, it appears to be developing an easy, accessible, distribution channel (in the App Store), instruction (in the videos that teach you how to develop for the platform), and even the libraries, which make it far easier to create highly-functional applications. As developers create more applications, the temptation to "jailbreak" the phone has to be rapidly decreasing for techies and non-techies alike.
I thought of Etsy and a folksy, quaint little crafting site. Who knew that you could get things like pendants made to resemble your vulva? It's not made from molds, rather, from a description (or if you prefer, pictures of) your vagina. The artist even has some ready-made pendants in case she has one that already looks like you!
Get yours (and learn more about them) here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24652872
Today I made Tomato Tuna Melts, these are perfect for a hot night because you can microwave them to melt the cheese and since there is tomato instead of bread you do not get that weird gummy effect with the bread.
I took halved roma tomatoes emptied them out, the guts were chopped and added to a bowl with diced green apple, celery, juice from half a lemon, about 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, ground pepper and sea salt and a can of tuna fish. After mixing it all together I stuffed the halved tomatoes with the tuna salad and then topped with grated cheddar and jack cheese. I then put them in the microwave and heated them until the cheese melted.
I served them on a bed of lettuce with some rosemary bread and cucumber salad from last night. It was a nice filling but cool dinner with a little bit of warmth in the tomato.
Since most of my stuff is boxed up in a storage unit my creative outlet has moved to food.
It has been a really nice summer in Seattle, hot, not too humid, not too dry, just overall really decent. That said though one of my favorite things to cook is chili and stews, it isn’t exactly the right weather so I have been trying a few other things.
Tonight was a Mediterranean inspired meal. I cheated on the falafel and used the “Fantastic Foods” brand that comes in a box, but made the rest. I used quinoa instead of cous cous on the tabouli which turned out really nice, though I could have increased the lemon and parsley (which just seemed really bland as far as parsley goes) a little for a bit more punch. The cucumber salad was really simple, onions cucumber, yogurt, dill. It was a nice cool dinner for a hot night.
