I always win

7205 days . That’s how long I took Sustiva. My doctor is switching me to bictegravir. It’s available in combination with two other medications I’m already taking — tenofovir alafenamide and emtricitabine — in one convenient daily dose . Nearly 237 months . That’s how long I have gladly accepted the neurological side effects of Sustiva. Could it have affected my relationships? My job performance? Who knows. I was just so happy to be off indinavir sulfate (Crixivan). I remember telling my physician at the time: I don’t care if Sustiva leaves me baked for half the day. I’m done with the nausea and eight-hour dosing windows of indinavir. It had been three years (1997 – 2000) and the demands of the cocktail’s regime were taking a toll. I can’t remember exactly how many pills it was per day. I can tell you that it was a lot . one left! 19 years, 8 months, and 23 days . Long enough to see it become available in generic format. In 2000, it cost about $449 CAD per month. In 2019, th...

I'm not a musical theatre gay. I've reluctantly attended shows in the past and enjoyed myself ( Mamma Mia! comes to mind). But it's not how I like to spend my entertainment dollar. One of Toronto's current offerings is a production of Matilda the Musical ; it's being advertised heavily on local tv. If it's as chock-full of caterwauling as the ad, you couldn't pay me to be in the audience.

Joe, if you lose your teaching job over this [doubtful], know that you have a future in selling your sweaty jogging shorts online. Put me down for a pair. more on Joe Killoran: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/how-a-shirtless-jogger-got-frustration-off-his-chest-with-rob-ford/article19416121/ http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/01/you-dont-have-to-be-some-partisan-maniac-to-be-angry-with-this-mayor-shirtless-jogger-explains-why-he-heckled-rob-ford/ http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/4595033-the-problem-of-overprotective-parents/ http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/2011/08/24/religion_or_equality.html

There was a StevieNicks -off on tonight's episode (season premiere) of NBC's Up All Night . Reagan is packing up her office, playing " Edge of Seventeen ". Suddenly, she hears the same song coming from Ava 's office. They're in the middle of a spat. She stares at Ava. Ava shoots her a dirty look, cranks the volume, and throws down: Not to be outdone, Reagan turns her volume up even louder, and holds up the speakers: I love it so much.

I've made great progress in the diet, reaching my goal weight (205 lbs) nearly 2 months ahead of schedule. I was able to stick to it... pretty much. There were days when I had some extra oat bran: snacky times when I was staring down a sleeve of saltines, and (wisely) opted to have some yogurt and oat bran instead. On the Victoria Day long weekend, I gave in and had some alcohol. Luckily, I didn't seem to do much damage. Onward to the consolidation phase . which I'll be on for 237 days (5 days for every pound lost). I'm off to the grocery store to get some apples, whole grain bread, and cheddar cheese. BODY STATISTICS, END OF CRUISE PHASE weight 205 lbs ↓ (47.4 lbs) 19.7% body fat ↓ 61.5% water weight ↑ 38.7% muscle mass ↑  4.0% bone mass ↑ body statistics, 3 June 2012

Doing well! Made it through Easter weekend without having any candy or chocolate (or wine). People are starting to really notice the weight loss. I need to buy some new pants. Above all else: I feel fantastic. body statistics as of today

Dukan recommended 6 days of attack phase for me; I ended up doing 8. I simply ran out of time to go shopping for the allowed vegetables. I'm still feeling pretty good. It was a long work week, and (as usual) I was quite tired by the end. I did have a couple of cravings for something sweet & processed... something easy and boxed. I chalked it up to lack of sleep, and stuck to my guns. I started the cruise phase yesterday. I almost can't believe I've gone 10 days without eating bread, pasta, or starchy vegetables! I don't think that's happened since I started eating solid food as a baby. This is awesome. I know there may be difficult times in the next few months... times when I really want peanut butter or an alcoholic beverage. But the end of July will be here before I know it.* If I can keep my eyes on the prize (205 lbs by the end of July), I'll be fine. BODY STATISTICS, END OF ATTACK PHASE weight 245.8 lbs  ↓ (6.6 lbs) 26.8% body fat  ↓ 56.1% ...

I'm no worse for my choice of oat bran. From page 54 of The Dukan Diet : "If the bran is not thoroughly sifted, it is not sufficiently pure and contains too much flour. [...] ...it is after it has been sifted for a sixth time, B6, that oat bran has negligible fast carbohydrate content." Fast carbohydrates: a scary concept for someone trying to kick his carb addiction. So, I wrote the manufacturer of the oat bran I bought. Their response assures me that I'm not ingesting the equivalent of bleached wheat flour. Now I'm feelin' so fly, like a B6. STATISTICS, BEGINNING OF DAY 6 weight 247.4 lbs  ↓

DAY 4: I feel great. Felt great yesterday, too. Hopefully, I'm through the worst of the carb withdrawal. Dr. Dukan says it's all due to the ketones ... in some dieters, the effect can be euphoric. My system has also adjusted in other, um, important ways. Yesterday, I was beginning to feel a bit like Nibbler . You see, I was a day late starting the oat bran component of the diet. In last week's preparatory shopping, I couldn't find a product with milling & sifting properties listed in the book . Being prone to rule-following, I spent most of Saturday morning in a resumed search for oat bran. (It's why my first meal on Saturday was delayed.) From what I can tell by trolling the Web, I'm not alone. More on this in a future post. To summarize: I bought oat bran on Saturday, and "things" are better today. STATISTICS, BEGINNING OF DAY 4 weight 248.6 lbs (no change)

DAY 2: Although I didn't intend to, I ate breakfast very late today... it was more of a brunch. I had a nap this afternoon, and then ate a full dinner (leftover steak, albacore tuna, a kosher dill pickle, and fat-free yogurt). I spent the evening reading more of the Dukan book , but I was feeling... off . And then I re-read the part where Dr. Dukan talks about the protein needs of the human body. 1 g of protein per 2 lbs of body weight. So I audited my protein intake for the day. Sure enough, it fell short: 109 g instead of 125 g. Important stuff. If we don't get enough protein in our diet, our bodies have a nifty way of taking it from places we may not want it to... like our muscles . A big tall glass of skim milk, and I was back on track. I honestly felt better afterward. STATISTICS, ONE DAY UNDER MY (CONSIDERABLY LARGE) BELT weight 248.6 lbs ↓ 27.3% body fat ↓ 55.7% water weight ↑ (proving that my lost weight isn't water)

After a long weekend of immobilisé (and a life-long battle with emotional eating, I decided to take action: I embarked on The Dukan Diet . I began making preparations earlier this week. I sought advice from a friend who lost 50 lbs on Dukan. I purchased the book, an electronic scale, and some kit items to bring my attack & cruise phase lunches to work. After reading the first couple of chapters, I had enough information to go grocery shopping. (I'm such an assimilator .) I began the diet this morning. I'm not hungry, and I feel fine... for the most part. (I briefly daydreamed about freshly-baked bread with butter, and when a coworker announced they were going on a coffee run, I jokingly put in an order for a mixing bowl full of doughnut holes, a quart of homogenized milk, and a big spoon.) That's the problem, right there: I'm a carb & fat addict. I realized this over Christmas, when I read The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler. I've put in an ...

I've been devouring recent media coverage (including some in Swedish, with the help of Google Translate) about the rocky state of affairs at SAAB , and I'm pretty heartbroken/crushed ( förkrossade ) about it all. What I hadn't considered was how Mrs. Viggen * felt. This morning, she was so verklempt that she blew her rad out. Luckily, I had a safe place to immediately pull over to. I shut her down, opened the hood, and called a tow truck. Her first owner took delivery in October 1999; I got her in March 2003. The radiator was original; I certainly don't judge it for failing after 12 years / 136000 km. The experts at Beacon Motors had a new rad installed by 3 p.m. I'm back home now, looking out at her... parked in her spot. I love this car. I love SAAB. * SAAB 9-5 Wagon + SAAB 37 Viggen jet fighter + Carol Burnett's "Mrs. Wiggins" = Mrs. Viggen articles Looks Like Saab's Last Gasp (Motor Trend) "Inside Saab" blog post on the applicatio...

1 Girl 5 Gays grindr Johnny Weir Adam Lambert gay characters on 90210 omg my school won't let me take my boyfriend to prom and then there's this progress is essential; even nice it's also hard-won and ongoing

My friends and I have all freaked out about how young Taylor Lautner is (born in 1992). But as Ellen danced to C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" today, I realized that Lautner was born after that song came out. It charted a full year before he was born. Oh, and Madonna's "Vogue" ? Released almost two years before Lautner's birth. I decided to re-write the lyrics to "Vogue". It's how I feel this morning. what are you looking at? old, old break a hip break a hip look around, everywhere you turn it's walkers they're everywhere that you go you try everything you can to stand up and not die in the bathtub when your health fails and you long to be someone younger than you are today I know a place where you can get away it's called dementia and you get it when you're old, old feel your body break to the music hey hey hey fuckin' old let your body go with the flow you know you have De...

...greets the world at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I believe this stunningly beautiful man is a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation . I've had a special reverence for the First Nations of Canada's west coast since I was in primary school. I did a project on the Interior Salish . They are wicked cool. I love you, wolf guy.

I'll love you forever . GM , you suck. You left the brand to grow dusty on the shelf, where it atrophied and ultimately died.

Roth's hometown ( Morrisville PA ) is not in the southern US. The last time I checked, if you're north of the Mason-Dixon line , you're in the north. (The article can be found here .) Whatever. I still cringe when I hear "I Love College" — just as I cringe when I see/hear/ read about Eminem . Despite Roth's claims in ILC ("I love women" and "don't have sex if she's too gone"), the video has a fair share of misogynist imagery . And I've read enough about his other songs to conclude that he has a lot to learn about how to treat women with respect. Oh, and Asher? Putting two condoms on is not * an effective means of protection. * http://www.nyu.edu/shc/promotion/condoms.dental.dams.html http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1139.html

I went on a spending binge this week: $683.54 on credit. To put things in perspective, I have no income at the moment. My entire severance went into an RRSP back in December. Since my layoff, I've been living on my vacation pay payout, a non-registered mutual fund, income tax refund, and credit. My EI benefits will kick in next month; until then, things are pretty lean. Why, then, am I spending like a drunken sailor in port? I'm a gay man, so shopping is pleasurable. Groceries are a necessary purchase; many items were picked up at sale prices. The "personal care" category was high this week — I needed sunscreen, which isn't cheap. I broke my Ray-Ban Aviators , so I replaced them with a less-expensive house brand. Justifying the rest of it becomes difficult. Could I have waited to buy the new Tori Amos CD? Probably not. But I also bought CDs by Alphabeat and P!nk , and the new Stevie Nicks concert DVD. I washed my car twice — I'm conv...

Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and who won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday. She was 86. Rest in peace, Bea. My adoration for you will live on.