Yearly Archives: 2009

A Rare Day Off

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I have been working a lot of extra time lately at my job, in writing huge reports and proposals then going on a three-day out-of-town trip. In exchange for all that time at work, keeping me away from my duties to my community, my partner, and my family, I have been given a rare mid-week day off today.

What am I up to? as you read this, I am probably tending to a number of things around home, my community, and perhaps updating my website. Whatever I am doing, I am doing it in boots and leather. You’ll see. I’ll tell ‘ya later….

Meanwhile, remember–

Life is short: wear your boots, wear your leather, and by all means, SMILE!

Cop Galleries: Internet Viewing Observations

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These are results of a totally unscientific study of internet viewing of my Bike Cop Rodeo Galleries.

I announced these galleries first on the hotboots.com “Boots on Line” board on October 12. I am fairly well-recognized on that board as a regular participant, so lots of people read my posts, regardless if they reply to them.

During the one-week period from that announcement until October 19, my statistical analysis software indicates that about 4,400 different computers were used to follow the links from that post to my website. I can not say that 4,400 individuals were counted, as I think that some people used a computer at home and a computer at work (or elsewhere) which counts as separate “visitors” where the visitor may be the same person.

Of the visitors generated from links on the BOL board, 80% of these visitors looked at both sub-galleries (one gallery is of the boots and one is of the cops). Those looking at the subgalleries often viewed most or all of the individual photos by clicking on each one which results in a larger image than that shown on the thumbnail image in the gallery. These views totalled over 20,000 in a week. Not bad… lots and lots of interest.

One does not have to register to view the Boots on Line board, so there is no way for me to know how many people actually read my posting there but did not follow the link to my website. However, I think a large number of readers of my post actually did. Larry (webmaster of hotboots.com) makes it very easy for people to follow links posted with a message.

Interestingly and in comparison, I posted a message about these galleries on the “abootfetish2” Yahoo Group, which has been around for a long time, and shows about 1,545 members. Not all of these members are active nor all receive or read messages sent via that group. Yahoo group list maintenance is a devil of a task, and I don’t blame Jared, the site owner, for not deleting members who have bouncing email addresses.

Nonetheless, the posting of a link on the “abootfetish2” Yahoo Group resulted in about 300 visits from different computers in the same one-week comparison period. That is just a drop in the bucket compared with users of the “Boots on Line” board. Further, only about 25% of those visitors actually clicked on a link to either of the two subgalleries of boots or cops. Most visitors generated from the ABF2 group just viewed the entry page which explained the event and showed one image for boots and one image for cops. Then left… that is, they surfed on somewhere else.

I cannot explain nor would try to guess why the population of viewers of this gallery who came from a link from the “Boots on Line” board viewed the subgalleries and most if not all of the photos that I painstakingly cropped, edited, and posted — compared with visitors from the ABF2 group who did not. Perhaps it is because the BOL Board is truly web-specific, meaning that you’re already on-line viewing a page on a website, and it is easy to click on a link and view what’s there. With the ABF2 (or any Yahoo Group), most viewers come from a link embedded within an email message. They may click on the link, but then return to their primary task of reading their email and responding to messages. Their “purpose” for using the computer then-and-there is related to email, not web surfing.

I have no other ideas as to why the viewership from the BOL Board is so much higher than from the ABF2 Yahoo Group. Participants in both internet activities are definitely guys into boots (and cops, and leather, etc.)

Your thoughts?

IQ Test Requirement

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I had an uneventful flight back home from Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday morning. I just wonder, though, with all the security restrictions in flying these days, why they do not require an IQ test before issuing airline tickets. The following is a true story, which I wrote down as it happened so I wouldn’t miss it. It was hilarious (to me), as well as sad.

[Preface: nobody wants to pay Useless Airways its rip-off fees that they charge for baggage handling at US$20 – $30/each, so for puddle-jumper flights like this, most folks do like I do, and carry their small suitcase with them. We know that we can leave it with a ramp attendant who will load it into the plane’s baggage compartment without charging a fee. Plus, when the flight lands, you get the bag back immediately as you leave the plane, so you don’t have to wait at baggage claim to get it back.]

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The gate agent called for people to board our small regional jet bound from Charleston to National Airport (please, don’t call that airport by the name of the former President who fired all of the air traffic controllers!)

My fellow passengers and I walk down the jetway and then down a set of stairs at the end of it, onto the tarmac. We see our plane and walk toward it. We put our small suitcases with the gate tag next on a cart near the stairs that go up to the plane. This is standard, normal procedure. What was a bit unusual, though, is that the flight attendant wasn’t anywhere to be seen as we walked aboard the plane.

I find my way to my seat, which is near the back of the plane. Then I see this, umm, “individual,” moving down the aisle carrying a rather large rollaboard suitcase. He lifts it up and tries to push it into the overhead bin. The problem is, the overhead bins on these small regional jets are not very large. His suitcase was at least 4″ (10cm) wider than the opening of the bin.

Instead of it dawning on him that his bag is too wide, he turns it 90 degrees and tries pushing it into the bin again. Duhhh… still doesn’t fit.

By then, a line is queuing up as he is blocking the aisle. But no matter, after all (to him), he’s the only one in the plane.

So instead of figuring out that the darn bag won’t fit in the bin, he turns it 90 degrees again. I kid you not. He pushes and pushes, and the bag won’t go in. It’s nowhere close.

The person standing nearest to him (who he is blocking to get to his seat) politely suggests, “why don’t you put the bag under the seat in front of you?”

The guy doesn’t say a word. He apparently is getting frustrated, and scrunches up his face like he is trying to solve a complicated jigsaw puzzle. So he drops the bag 45 degrees and gets a corner of it into the bin, and then pushes and pushes until he turns so red in the face, I thought that he was going to explode.

The bag ain’t goin’ nowhere. And by now, the line of passengers is out the door.

The flight attendant works her way down the aisle to see what the problem is, and tells him flat-out, “sir, your bag won’t fit. You should have bag-tagged it and left it on the cart outside. Here…” (she pulls the bag toward her and attaches a bag tag to it). “Let me take it for you and have it gate checked.”

But instead of releasing his grip on his bag, Mr. Struggler says, “well, it fit on the other plane.”

“What other plane?”

“The one that I flew here on.”

“Well, sir, some of the larger jets have larger overhead storage bins. This jet doesn’t. Just let me gate check it for you so these people can get to their seats.”

“Well, let me try one more thing…”

Believe it or not, he wants to try again and Einstein has figured it all out. He reaches up with one hand and grabs the bottom of the storage bin and pulls down on it while trying to stuff his suitcase into the bin. Thank goodness those storage bins are made of strong stuff. While it bowed a little bit, it did not break. And all the time, Mr. gotta-store-his-bag has an expression on his face like, “I know I can make this work if I pull down and push the bag hard enough!”

By then, the flight attendant is getting anxious. Passengers waiting to take their seats are beginning to call out and tell the guy to move out of the way.

The attendant grabs the bag and says, “sir, I am going to gate check this bag. Have a seat!”

She took the bag and everyone standing between her and the door moved so she could squeeze by them to take the bag out. Mr. Einstein, however, stands there with his mouth agape, still blocking the aisle. Someone finally told him to please move so they could get by. He finally did, and when he did so, some people exclaimed, “yeah!” and clapped.

Okay, Mr. Einstein may not travel very much, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that his bag wouldn’t fit. I don’t know why he was so insistent on trying to stuff his big bag into such a small space.

This incident gives me renewed respect for the crap that flight attendants have to put up with all the time.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, and we even landed early. My partner picked me up at the Metro station on my end, and we got reacquainted.

Here is a photo that I took out of the window of my plane as we were about to land at National Airport.

Afraid of "Looking Gay"

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Like a lot of people, I surf the internet and use Google as my guide. Sometimes I find the most amusing writings posted on various forums.

Most internet forums allow people to go by anonymous screen names, so they say a lot of things without fearing that people will know who they really are. But what they say reveals more about who they are than their name.

Among the biker community, there are a lot of people who express some form of fear that by being seen wearing a certain type of motorcycle clothing (chaps, for example), or having a particular brand shown on the clothing implies that one is gay. So they use a slur “that’s gay” to associate their negative opinion. Here is a cut from one such forum:

I see a lot of people on here who are more worried about being considered a “HARDCORE” biker, instead of just riding and enjoying life. These same guys absolutely won’t ride ANYTHING else except a Harley, yet claim they won’t wear anything Harley, cause then you look gay and are a billboard for the brand. Content Source

What is it about straight guys who make blatent statements such as “wearing a Harley-branded jacket looks gay?” I guess it’s alright to wear Harley T-shirts; man, there are zillions of them and bikers (even riders of other brands of motorcycles) wear them.

I’ll tell you what it is about straight guys who make such statements:

  • They are insecure.
  • They are immature.
  • They are afraid of what they don’t know (gay people)
  • They reveal that they sit on whatever brains they have.

I was also going to say that they are young, but unfortunately I have read or heard such statements by people older than I am, and who should have matured by now and know better.

I do not own much Harley-branded gear, but that’s because I have found alternatives that have a better value for the price paid. I have taken time to get measured for and buy top-quality, custom-made leathers that fit me well. Most Harley-branded gear is overpriced for the name. A lot of it is made in China, where quality control is suspect. I tell ‘ya, leather fetish stores like Mr. S., 665Leather, or Northbound have surpassed leather-for-the-masses retailers like The Motor Company (Harley) in producing superb, functional, and good-looking gear. After all, I own and wear a lot of leather gear so I know what I’m talking about.

As the original author of the post I quoted above began his statement, there seem to be a lot of people on internet forums who are much more concerned about portraying the image of a “hardcore biker” than by just getting out and riding to enjoy life. There are stereotypes that they have been brainwashed to believe that, to them, implies that the “tough-guy bad-ass biker image” (a “hardcore biker”) is the opposite of “gay.” By extension, these are some who believe that it is not possible that some bikers can be “homosexual.” (oooohhh, “that” word!)

I have said before and I will say again: Bikers can be gay and gay men and women can be bikers, as the two are not mutually exclusive.

Ignorant and fearful forum posters should get over it, and get a life. Get out and ride, and enjoy it. That is what it is all about.

Life is short: ride and have fun!

Boots on the Cobblestones

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Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina, USA. I am here for a meeting for work. The meeting is going well. It’s busy, and nice to meet some new folks and get reacquainted with some people I have met and worked with years ago.

Last night, the group went to dinner at a pub not far from the hotel where I am staying. Charlestown is a very old city, and the downtown has many cobblestone sidewalks.

After dinner, several of the others wanted to go out for a drink elsewhere. I was tired and wanted to return to my hotel, call my partner and catch up on the news and hear his voice. I miss him a lot when I travel.

As I was walking alone back to the hotel down the lonely cobblestone walk, I heard my cowboy boots making a very distinctive “boot clunk” as a walked along. The clunk was reverberating on the buildings and walkway. It was an interesting sound — a Bootman on the street.

I thought no one was around, but a guy came up behind me. I was startled a little bit, and he apologized. “Didn’t mean to scare you, man. But I heard those boots and wanted to get a closer look.”

Turns out he is a Bootman himself. He admired my Nocona ostrich cowboy boots, and told me about his Justins. Soon enough, I was at my hotel. He smiled, and said, “keep the boots on.” I smiled back, thanked him, and told him to do the same.

A nice encounter on my way back. My partner laughed when I told him about it.

Life is short: wear your boots!

What Is Not Mutually Exclusive

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To me, there are some things that people write or say that implies that they believe that the following things are mutually exclusive:

  • Being a ‘biker’ and being gay. I’ve blogged a lot about that. I am both. There are a number of gay men who like to ride motorcycles, and who enjoy the “biker presence” (however that is defined.)
  • Being gay and masculine. Yes, I am both. The former is my sexuality and the latter is my observed behavior.
  • Being gay and not being into fashion. Yep, that’s me. I’m just a regular guy who prefers boots, jeans, t-shirts, and leather versus suits, ties, dress shoes, and formal wear.
  • Being gay and not being able to dance. Yes, it is true, and I am evidence of it: not all gay men know how or like to dance. (I, for example, am a quarantasinestrapede).
  • Wearing leather jeans and shirts in public (and no one saying anything). I still don’t get it, but I get an email at least once each week from someone who has questions about wearing leather in public. I have blogged ad naseum about that matter. Suffice it to say that I wear full leather often in and around my community, and hardly ever does anyone say anything, or if they do, what they say is complimentary.
  • Wearing leather or denim jeans tucked into tall boots (and not being called ‘gay’ pejoratively for doing so). There are some who rant on various forums that “only gay guys wear jeans tucked into boots,” or when they see a guy with jeans tucked into their boots, they say, “that’s ‘so gay’!” Oh fiddle-faddle… a demonstration of a weak mind. If you have nice boots and want to show them off, draw on your self-confidence and do it. Nobody gives a darn, and if they do, it’s their problem, not yours. See my Jeans and Cowboy Boots info on my website for more details.
  • Being nice and being honest. Yes, it is possible to be both. It has to do with living up to high standards of integrity and decency. Just goes to show why my partner is my life-mate, and what my real friends are like. I value integrity and being nice about it.

I am more than weary of on-line boards and forums where some people rant about some of the above-mentioned characteristics and claim that the two cannot possibly be shown by one person. They can, they are, and they do.

Pasta and Leather?

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Here I am, in brown leather jeans and tall Wesco harness boots (you’ll have to trust me to know I had on tall boots)… running home-made pasta through the press attached to my mixer.

I love to “make my own” … pasta, bread, and other great stuff to eat. My partner and I enjoy doing this together. I roll out the pasta, cut it, and my partner applies egg white to the edges of the cut ravioli (the egg white serves as an organic “glue” to hold the pasta edges together). I put on some cheese filling, then fold the pasta onto itself.

There you have it: a raviol – o? (Is one piece of ravioli a “raviolo?” Hmmm, I have to check. Certainly, it’s not a “raviolus” since I have no evidence that Julius Caesar enjoyed this pasta dish LOL!)

We did this on Saturday afternoon after I got back from my homecoming visit with my college fraternity. I peeled off the black leather and put on the brown (I change boots and leather often.) It was really yucky weather outside that day, so it was a great time to stay inside and cook. I try to “batch cook” several dishes in advance and freeze them. Then we can still have a home-cooked meal during the week when preparation time is limited.

I also made another huge batch of “salsa del Guido” — it is Guido’s ‘secret recipe’ pasta sauce. (Guido is my chef inspiration). The sauce is great, and goes well with the ravioli, lasagna, stuffed peppers, manicotti… you get the idea. Umm, umm, umm…

Life is short: buon appetito!

You Want A Cop Uniform for Halloween?

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It is inevitable at this time of year that a number of internet seaches for “Cop Uniform for Halloween” or “Police Costume” are ending up on my website, especially on my page related to how to assemble a CHP uniform.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) uniform is the classic, most sought-after cop uniform in existence, made popular by the TV show, “CHiPs” which was broadcast on American television from 1977 to 1983. I tell ‘ya, a LOT of people are looking for that uniform — and not all of them are gay uniform fetish guys, either. Lots of straight guys like to wear a uniform for Halloween, or dress their kids in one.

For those who thought it might be easy to find a source of a complete CHP (or other law enforcement) uniform via the web, I am sorry to disappoint you. It is not possible to buy an authentic, complete California Highway Patrol (or other) uniform. In fact, it is illegal even to sell such a uniform to someone who is not authorized by the CHP to buy one. (This is due primarily to laws that went into effect after the U.S. terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They don’t want the bad guys to have easy access to a uniform that they could use for nefarious purposes.)

However… it is possible, and legal, to put together a replica CHP uniform yourself, as long as you do not wear it anywhere within the State of California, USA, OR assume behavior while wearing a uniform that implies you are a cop. Impersonation is evaluated on two factors: how you look and what you do. If you try to act like a cop in public, such as by pulling someone over, frisking or handcuffing a “suspect,” interrogating someone, etc., then a real cop may think you are trying to impersonate an officer and take you in for questioning and possibly place you under arrest on criminal charges.

Keep the cop-acting behavior behind closed doors, and don’t wear a uniform in the city, county, or state where cops in that uniform have jurisdiction, and be cool. You will be okay.

It is not hard to assemble and create a CHP (or other agency) uniform, but it takes some advanced planning. Considering that this post is first appearing on this blog on October 20, 2009, you may not be able to pull this off for Halloween 2009, but here goes:

1. Get a uniform shirt (any shirt supplier can sell it) in the color “silvertan”

2. Get breeches (if you want to go with the look of a motorcycle officer). You can have the gold/blue “braiding” (stripes) applied from your supplier. Intapol is one source of breeches; there may be others.

3. Get Dehner Patrol Boots (or a similar-looking pair. For a halloween costume, no one will notice if you have cheap knock-off imitations.)

4. The insignia (patches) are worn on both the right and left sleeves up high near the shoulder. They are a bit harder to find, but it is possible to find them at leather fetish shops (choose your favorite) or on eBay. Sew them on.

5. You probably can not find a real CHP badge. And it’s probably not a good idea. You can find a replica badge on eBay, but try to avoid getting one that says “security officer” or something generic like that. IMHO, badges like that are cheesy and make you appear like Deputy Dawg.

6. Get a regular belt (to serve as an underbelt) and a Duty Belt (called a Sam Brown Belt), attached with keepers. Get a few doo-dads to hang onto it — see my duty belt description on my website for ideas. Here is a source.

7. By all means, do NOT wear a weapon (gun, baton, billy club.) Such devices are illegal for an unauthorized, unlicensed individual to wear on the street of most cities and towns in the United States, Australia, and probably many other countries.

8. Optional Damascus cop search gloves set an interesting “tone.”

9. Go hatless or if you wear a hat, choose as authentic a ballcap as you can find. A motorcycle helmet with CHP colors is good, but likely not easy to find. If you choose to wear a ballcap, avoid a generic “security” hat. Remember the “Deputy Dawg” warning above?

That’s about it. It isn’t hard, but takes planning. Go get ’em (at home, privately!) Have fun!

DISCLAIMER: All the information contained in this post is provided solely for the benefit of collectors and fans of the show “CHiPs” to assist them in constructing a “CHiPs” replica costume. In no way is it intended for use in any attempt to impersonate any law enforcement officer.

765 Safer Homes

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All day on Sunday, I carried out my annual project to ensure seniors remain safe: a cadre of some 70 volunteers and I visited 544 homes and replaced 700 batteries in their smoke alarms (some homes had more than one smoke alarm). We also replaced 65 smoke alarms that were over ten years old, which is the recommendation for when a smoke alarm should be completly replaced.

Two major home supplies retailers donated the batteries and smoke alarms. Another major restaurant chain donated pizzas for the volunteers who shared a joyful lunch with some local dignitaries who thanked our donors, the volunteers, and celebrated Fire Prevention Month. We appreciate the donations, even though we got 300 less batteries this year than last. (Honestly, due to the crappy economy, I was really worried that the donations would not come through this year.)

Being “football oblivious,” I had forgotten that the local football team was playing on Sunday afternoon. That’s why most of my volunteers wanted to work an “early shift.” That’s okay, it made for a much quicker and lighter afternoon. It was funny, when I went to an elderly man’s home to swap his smoke alarm’s battery, he thanked me several times for coming, and it was only when I was leaving that I realized why he was thanking me so much. He closed with, “I know you could be watching the game with your buddies, but instead, you’re doing this. Thank you!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I don’t care for football and did not even realize that there was a game being played, until someone told me about it.

What did I wear? I “went brown” since it is Autumn — brown sweatshirt, brown leather jeans, and my tall brown Wesco harness boots. Once again… I heard no comments about the leather, though one younger guy volunteering with us asked me about the boots.

Due to his disability, my partner didn’t run around to do installations with me, but instead, remained at the check-in site making sure the volunteers were all accounted for and had the supplies, directions, and release forms that they needed.

We were all done by mid-day. It was time to come home and have some hot chocolate. Man, even though it finally stopped raining, it was cold all day! My partner and and I were completely wiped out, but we felt great about doing this important civic volunteer work. Once again, everyone rallied to a great cause and carried out a huge project superbly, just like they did last year. It really makes me smile and feel good to know that so many people are safer.

Life is short: replace your smoke alarm batteries today!

Soggy Homecoming

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Saturday, I went to a homecoming party hosted by my college social fraternity at my Alma Mater. Man, what a wet and miserable day. But at least it was only rain, and not snow as has been falling unusually early north of me.

I regret that I couldn’t ride my Harley to the fraternity house. It would have been easier to find a place to park, and “cooler” to arrive on such a ride. However, when it was only 43°F (6°C), raining, and with lots of wet leaves on the ground, even this hard-core biker knew his limits.

It was interesting to meet the new guys and to celebrate the rechartering of my old college fraternity which had closed in the ’90s and only recently was rechartered. They were friendly, greeted me warmly, and were deferential to this “old alum” by bringing me a burger and a Coke and making sure I was comfortable and welcomed.

I realized, though, how much I’ve changed, or should I say what the generation gap displayed. The guys were texting or had cell phones joined-at-the-ear. They had on rap music, and talked about their “techno rave” they had the night before and how much fun they had. I’m glad they had fun, though I told my partner when I came home that such an activity would not have been something I would have liked to do when I was their age. I guess I was born old.

How was I dressed? Well, unfortunately, all of the shirts and t-shirts that had my college fraternity name or logo on them are long-gone, so I wore a black shirt, leather vest, a pair of leather jeans and Chippewa Hi-Shine boots. As usual, no one said a thing about the leather. (I repeat this because some guys who read this blog and continue to tell me that they are concerned about wearing leather in public. Honestly, it is no big deal! Nobody cares!)

Life is short: renew the spirit and enjoy your memories (while doing it in leather and boots!)