What are you talking about with PrEP? It’s not tied to having insurance, there are LGBT sexual health clinics where you can get free PrEP even if you don’t have insurance. If you go the traditional route for medication and get a prescription through your PCP it’ll depend on your insurance, but that’s also not always the safest route. Granted if you live away from the city, you will have to go the traditional route, because there aren’t likely to be any LGBT clinics nearby unless you decide to drive into the city for your quarterly appts.

In the 90s, health insurance was almosy exclusively tied to your job. There were a couple policies that you could get if your job didn’t offer insurance, but they were expensive. Today, if your job doesn’t offer insurance or if youre out of a job, you can not only get insurance on the marketplace, but you can even get financial assistance. That financial assistance didn’t exist in the US 30 years ago outside of Medicaid. It’s not universal Healthcare, as seen in other countries, but the ACA is overall an improvement on the system.

I agree that there are still rights to be won and attitudes to be changed so that people can live their lives openly without threat of violence, just noting that the overall situation is better now than it was 30 years ago. For example, I saw a story about a trans teen in North TX (a small town north of the DFW metroplex) in the last couple years. If that story was from the 90s, it would’ve been about the death of the teen and that’s what I was expecting. Instead, the article was about the teen being kicked out of a school play because they were trans. It was a relief that the teen was still alive, which shows some positive growth, however there’s still work to be done.

The younger generations are better at inclusion and I’m hoping that trend will continue. As the Silent Generation and Baby Boomer politicians (who have been ruling for the better part of 60 years) leave office, I’m hoping they are replaced by younger, more open-minded politicians. I’ve seen articles mention how in some elections that’s happening, it just hasn’t reached the leadership of the various branches yet. Hopefully, when it does, we can reshape the system to help everyone and build better defenses against those who would abuse their power for the rich. My concern is that if the conservatives are rallying behind a goal, while progressives grow increasingly pessimistic, that we may not see shift that we really need to make progress.

Yes, 30 years ago the AIDS crisis was still going strong and, in the US at least, same-gender relationships were illegal and the LGBT community didn’t have a right to work, and on top of that same-sex marriage was illegal. A lot of rights are rolled into marriage, including the ability to remain at the bedside of your loved-one when they are at the hospital or on their deathbed, arranging and/or attending your partner’s funeral, and being allowed to remain in your house after your spouse dies. Through the 80s and 90s, gay men were losing partners left and right and some were kicked out of their partners’ funerals and then kicked out of the house they had lived in for decades because the title was in their partner’s name since they couldn’t sign together.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was also started in 1994.

Same sex relationships weren’t made legal until June 26, 2003 (Lawrence v TX) Same Sex Marriage on June 26, 2015 (Hodges v Obergefell) Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace was barred in the US June 15, 2020 (Bostock v Clayton)

Even with all the holes Republicans drilled into it, the Affordable Care Act helps many people get health insurance. We also have medication that prevents the transmission of HIV and that prevents the onset of AIDS, saving many lives.

In 1995, the internet was in its infancy, at least compared to today and was largely text-based. If a website had a bunch of pictures, it took take 5-15 minutes to load depending on your location, provided nobody killed the connection with an incoming call.

Sure the mindset nowadays is much more pessimistic, even thought the ruling class from the 90s is aging out of power. We just need people ready to push us forward as more of the silent generation and baby boomer politicians leave office.

Liam Neeson would be a force to contend with.

Qui-Gon Jinn

Zeus

Aslan

R’al al Ghul

A-Team

His character in Taken

Gotta get a pearl necklace to match the pearly gates!

I remember sitting and watching the stars or scenery when Oblivion first came out. There are a couple nice spots overlooking meadows or lakes where things are peaceful.

Also watching the sun rise in Hyrule field in Ocarina of Time. Although, that could have also been relief that the field was becoming safe.

Overlooking Lake Hyrule in Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess was also nice.

Pick up an outdoor hobby like disc golf, tennis, pickleball, golf, something that you can enjoy with other people. You can usually find an amateur league of various sports/games and that’ll keep you going when they ask if you’re coming or you’re signed up to play on a team for the season.

You may even enjoy the company of those people and do other sports/activities together.

Turning it into a game can also help.

Remember, it’s more about slowly creating a sustainable habit of moving your body that’s important. You don’t need to run a 10K tomorrow to be successful.

Maybe you can make a map of the parks around your city and put a fun sticker on each park after you visit for 30 minutes, regardless the activity. Idk, just kinda throwing stuff out there.

Why wouldn’t you talk about a bear wearing its dresses?

Yes, the bear is wearing multiple dresses.

If nobody wants them, then they are worth $0.

It’s the character Lucifer from the show Supernatural

Really? I’ve only had one job that required my social security card. I’ve worked in multiple school districts, as well as food and hospitality jobs and only 1 of the school districts wanted to see my social security card.

Meet up has a lot of groups with a variety of activities. You can find hiking, biking, swimming, reading, knitting, quilting, art of various forms, board game, DND, video game, canoeing, kayaking, trivia night, yoga, meditation, foodie, singles, couples, and ither groups to be part of.

That’s not true in TX cities. I’ve lived in DFW, Houston metroplex, and Austin and have never had less than 15 polling places. They might not be next door to your work, but they are within a few monute drive.

TX was also the first state to allow early voting and mandates that polls are open at least 9 hours the first week and at least 12 hours the second week and final day of voting. That’s the minimum, not maximum. There were also polling places open on the weekends.

That said, I have heard (although haven’t researched it) that some very rural areas are more difficult to vote in with only a couple polling places in the county. So that could be the case if you live in the middle of nowhere, but you’ll pass polling places on your way to/from work. Just think of it like you would a doctor appointment and put it on your schedule.

TX is pretty purple and is turning more blue each cycle.

2004: Kerry lost by ~1.9 million votes 2008: Obama lost by ~990,000 votes 2012: Obama lost by ~1.2 million votes 2016: Clinton lost by ~800,000 votes 2020: Biden lost by ~640,000 votes

In 2020, had just 3.5% more of the registered voters cast a ballot for Biden, he would have won. That’s about how many people voted each day of early voting in this election.

It’s also not healthy to withhold that long and could lead to health issues. Ironically no shave November was created to highlight the very male health issues that no nut November could exacerbate.

No caffeine after 2

Take magnesium glycinate and threonate and hour or so before bed (threonate helps me sleep but it can cause vivid dreams)

Make sure you’re comfortable in the bed both in terms of bed firmness/softness and temperature

Use a fan to regulate temperature and create white noise

Create a regular bedtime ritual (brush, floss, skincare, etc) and stick to it

Chamomile tea can help relax

I’ve also found drinking some cool/cold water right before attempting to sleep can help, because your body temperature drops as you go to sleep. I’m also a hot sleeper, so that also helps to cool down my core.

Make a regular sleep schedule and stick to it as much as possible

Write down any persistent thoughts, journal emotions, or create a to-do list from whatever might be running through your mind. Getting that out of my head and onto paper helps to alleviate any anxiety and can help stop my brain from planning and running amok while I’m lying there.

I turn off all the lights and only use some color-changing LED lights an hour or so before bed. White lights are too bright and can keep me from sleeping. Red is darker, yet still bright enough to see where I’m walking. Red lights are also best for night vision, if you go stargazing, make sure you have red flashlights, because white light will destroy your night vision for 20 minutes or so.

I also use a screen dimming app on my phone to bring the brightness down lower than the brightness setting will allow. On Apple devices, this is a regular setting in accessibility called “Reduce White Point”. Android still hasn’t figured out how to mimic that well and the best app I’ve found is Screen Dimmer Plus. It basically puts a Grey layer over whatever images show up on your phone and will mess with screenshots taken and it doesn’t change anything with the top 1/4" of the screen. The Reduce White Point setting on ios doesn’t mess with screenshots and changes the brightness for the whole screen. It’s one of the big disappointments I’ve had with android.

Get Blackout curtains to block light from the windows

Don’t exercise too close to bed. I also can’t take showers or baths too close to bed because they will disrupt my sleep.

Slow breathing and closing your eyes will lying in bed can help if you’re restless. I’ve also found that if I’m having a particularly hard time falling asleep that getting out of bed and reading a book or fiction story before returning to bed can help.

Choose something light and calming to watch as the last thing before you turn off your TV. Nature documentaries like Planet Earth or a light comedy can help you unwind and be a little more calm than watching an action, horror, or drama movie/TV show.

Another thing I’ve read about if you’re restless is to work your way uo your body squeezing your muscles for a few seconds. So start with your feet and flex them a couple times for a couple seconds, then go uo to your calves, all the way up to your eyes. The flex and release is supposed to help release any muscles that are still clenching from the day.

Spending time in nature during the day is supposed to help calm the mind and body, so finding 20-30 minutes to walk around a park could be helpful.

Don’t stress out about not falling asleep. Lying there with your eyes closed with relaxing breaths is supposed to be restful for the body

Potassium might help you relax and I think it’s also supposed to help with blood pressure if you’ve been consuming too much sodium. Not 100% sure on that, but I figure getting blood pressure under control can help you get better quality sleep.

Yosemite Sam could be the Balrog or Lertz.

They left out Weathertop.

When Bugs runs into the Nazgul, he goes into Nazgul drag and seduces the Witch King. He steps around the corner, drops a handkerchief, and calls out yoohoo at the Nazgul, who all start drooling and tumbling over themselves to pick up the handkerchief. Bugs walks passed them, giving each one a little attention and in the process ties their shoes together. After making it around all of them, he drops the handkerchief again and all the Nazgul fight over it, while Bugs zips off the tower leaving his drag clothes behind. One of the Nazgul realizes they were tricked and they all trip over their shoes tied together.

Kind if reminds me of the scene in The Truman Show when they talk about the cereal to the hidden camera.

We were so close to getting rid of him in 2018. Only 215,000 votes! Hopefully with this being a presids trial election year, more Dems will make it to the polls and we can kick him out!

In 2016, Clinton wasn’t that far behind Trump. She only needed 5% more of the registered voters to vote for her (~810,000 votes) and, in 2020, Biden was even closer needing ~3.7% more of the registered voters to vote for him (~630,000 votes).

If you want to avoid the line, go during the first 2 weeks! Polls open Oct 21-Nov 1, with one final day to vote on Nov 5. Polls will be open at least 9 hours the first week and at least 12 hours the second week. We were the first state to have an early voting period, so take advantage of it, there’s hardly ever a line more than 5-10 minutes during the first two weeks.

Check voter registration, important election dates, deadlines for registration, polling locations and hours, and more at www.votetexas.gov

Edit: spelling

Also, don’t forget that Biden received more votes in TX than NY. We have a strong blue presence, don’t be left behind make sure to vote this October/November! There’s many more offices, such as State Supreme Court seats, All US Reps, all TX reps, 15 state Senators, Ted Cruz, and many more positions at stake!

Omg, that’s basically how it’s been in TX too. Just 3-5 degrees cooler up there. Y’all shouldn’t be burning up like that