RealAvalon

That's a pretty big crack, might need a couple coats of man spackle 

Cushions that go with everything 

He must have tripped on it 

In my experience, a typical rider of the policy has been that the home is visited/inspected at least every 30 days. Document when the home has been visited.  If there is any problem with vacant insurance issues, it's been around the issue of "monitoring" the house, and having been around to see what's up with it while it's vacant. 

Flag pole included 

Flag pole included 

Flag pole included 

Flag pole included 

Flag pole included 

Haven't been able to get this question out of my mind.  I keep wondering why the person who doesn't welcome me would want to live near me.  Isn't he also free to move somewhere else?  Are his ties to the community stronger than mine?  Does he have more furniture than I do?

If I were to look for a sign of an unhealthy society, I don't know that I'd look much further than people having to uproot their lives to get away from people they don't like or who don't like them.  The success of our species is based in large part on our ability and desire to work together to do things we couldn't do alone.  When did it become a great thing about the US to tell others to 'Just go.'?  
No doubt I'm overlooking something.  One of these days I may wake up and decide to move away from everybody who doesn't welcome me.  I may even leave a note saying I'm sorry for bothering them.
But that day is not today and, if someone chooses to leave to get away from me, I sure hope the door doesn't hit him in the ass.  
 

I do not see how to discuss this without discussing Politics. Beyond declaring our human empathy (when we have any), there is not much we can add.

That's because we're worth it🤩

Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
My conclusions overall:
*  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
*  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
*  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
* Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
*  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
 
 

Montreal 8/18/23 – 8/21/23
This post is way past due – Sorry.
 Hyatt Place (formerly The Gouverneur)
My husband and I have stayed here and its predecessor for many years.  The current incarnation is clean with modern somewhat cold décor. I don’t think we will be staying there again because the room design flaws got on our nerves this time. See https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/142770-hotels-montreal/?do=findComment&comment=2129974
 Breakfast room very crowded and lots of children.  Only one station to get coffee which creates a line.  Food just OK.
 Homeless situation
Homelessness is a problem in many cities in the U.S, and Canada so it is no shock to see it in Montreal.  Not only in the Village but in the old town as well.
 We didn’t see many homeless around the hotel.  The bank on the corner now has a guard which keeps them from sitting on the steps.  The city over the last few years has reconfigured the park across the street to make it more inviting to passersby. Fewer homeless are gathering there.  Don’t know why.  Perhaps increased police presence.
 We did encounter homeless on St. Catherine Street but no one bothered us.  Still, it is a real problem. The media reported in late July that several establishments closed their “terrasses” because patrons were harassed and afraid to eat outside. The mayor held a news conference and promised more police and social services so they reopened them. 
 https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/06/22/village-issues-mayor-plan/
 Report of attack on shop owner September 2,2023
 https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/restaurant-owner-says-she-and-her-husband-were-attacked-on-their-terrace-in-montreal-s-village-1.6546254
 We did not see an increased police presence.  If anything, it seemed like fewer police then in past years.  We did not feel safe walking St. Catherine Street particularly the blocks just before Taboo and along the park next to it.
 There is no easy answer.
 The Village
The Village has not recovered from the disaster of Covid-19.  We found conditions have not improved in the year since our last visit.  Many restaurants and stores have not reopened.
 Here’s an article from the Dawson College Newsletter I found touching because we used to east in Mozza a lot:
 https://www.theplantnews.com/post/the-gay-village-no-longer-gay
 Something that I think would restore some of the joy would be the replacement of the overhead “18 Shades of Gay”.  Lots of tourists of all persuasions visited to take selfies.  There were plans for a replacement but I don’t know what happened.  Probably lack of funds.
 The Bars
We went to Taboo every night because we enjoy twink types.  There were 10-12 dancers Thursday-Saturday.  Sunday was absolutely dead only one dancer and maybe six patrons including us.
 Dancers were OK.  Some a little heavier than ideal. One blonde from Nova Scotia (I think) was spectacular.  He danced fully nude. The trend continues that the majority of dancers DID NOT dance fully nude. All that we chose for private lap dances were great.
 Stopped by Campus twice in the afternoon and there were no dancers each time and few patrons.  I wonder how it is worth their while to open in the afternoon.  Tried once at around 7 PM and there were still no dancers.  One we met outside was just arriving and said things got started around 8 PM.
 Will we be returning?
Probably, unless reports get worse.  We have been going every summer since 1989 and have so  many good memories of places, restaurants, and yes, dancers.  I hope that the Village will once again return to its vibrant self.
 
 

Yup. Laundry day. And I've got a white load waiting ...

Edmund White writing about himself, how new is that ... (I've read a lot of his stuff, and he can definitely turn a phrase.) 

25 mcg as an ongoing dose is next to useless. If you needed supplementation of your thyroid hormone, a second level should have been obtained within a few weeks of the first starting of the Synthroid.  At that point, an increase to 50 mcg  would be reasonable.  If you are younger than 50, starting at 50 mcg or even 75 mcg, which is the does most of my patient's wind up needing if not more, would be reasonable.  
As far as free testosterone, that total testosterone is low enough that I doubt the free testosterone will be anything but low, but that would have been the test to order.  I did not know that labs were now doing lab tests on demand for patients.  I assume they do not try to charge the insurance company for such tests.   

Good news with this study. However TRT still does come with other risks. Testosterone is considered a super-food for prostate cancer. If there is a history of prostate cancer in your family, be very wary. 

God, I love smart people!

I’m OK but rarely check-in anymore yet alone comment.  It’s just not worth the effort and I have a very busy and full life outside the virtual world.
I just got tired of trying to defend myself from outright lies, distortions and  slander by one verbose poster in particular.  He is welcome to continue practicing his Saul Alinsky methods on others and perhaps fool many readers here.  I will no longer play his games.  It seems he views posting not as a discussion or exchange of ideas but a battle-to-the-death against anything opposing his very partisan beliefs.
I may occasionally post or like a comment but otherwise, I’ve got a real life and my time is too valuable to waste with nonsense.

Really liked this photo so I attempted to draw from it.   Need to work on capturing that "golden hour" feeling

It’s clear @Unicorn that you have had a hard time adjusting to retirement and miss being granted respect by the indigent patients in the clinic you used to reference so often. I do feel, however, you could be more mature and just disagree politely as an adult.
 
Your ponderous responses, with inappropriate illustrations and quoting large chunks of Wikipedia, simply come across as snarky and dismissive. I certainly hope that you are not the same in person.
From living in Spain, owning property there and dealing with officialdom.
 
Not so. As I stated, there are 3 languages that have official status (Castilian, Catalan and Galician).
 
There are indeed Spanish citizens who are intransigent and dislike being spoken to, or having to read menus, in Catalan when they visit Catalonia, the Balearic Islands etc. I have witnessed several such linguistic arguments. 
 
If you had read carefully, you’d acknowledge that I stated it is “deemed a dialect”.
 
The language of the Basque Country (Euskadi) has been controversial. Some separatists have sought official status for it.  There was considerable disruption some years ago in the National Parliament when some tried to use it in a formal session.
The language spoken in Galicia (Gallego) is officially recognised. But it’s simply absurd of you to include Aranese.
I can’t recall the exact figure from the last census but less than 4000 people speak it. All of whom would readily respond in Catalan.
 
Similarly, Catalans and Occitan-speakers in France easily understand each other. When to my surprise, I met some Occitan-speakers in southern France, we chatted easily in Catalan and they told me they often switched to Occitan when they were dealt with rudely by French citizens visiting from other parts of France.

Yes,
I do miss the politics forum.
BUT my comment was more sociological ( which politicians tend to use as a political tool ) but not truly political.
I was a little shocked that anyone feels comfortable these days to declare that the country full of white people are far better looking than the country full of indigenous people.
Not even discussing  whether there's a truth in the matter.
More curious how this is socially acceptable, in today's woke society trends.
Back to the topic...I agree that Columbians tend to speak Spanish in a clear and easy to understand version that suits a Latin American take on the language. Castillian always sounds grandiose and pretensious in comparison.
 

My Tender Matador by Pedro Lemebel.  The story is compelling, the use of language (even in translation) is great.  A story of infatuation and caring between an older drag queen and a younger student radical in Pinochet's Chile circa 1985. 

Well, that's pretty fucking nifty.