CNN: "Houston-area rapist preys on men":

A rapist who preys on young men has struck five times in the Houston area since mid-September, and police said Monday there may be even more victims who are too ashamed to come forward.

He said some victims may be reluctant to come forward because of their ages and "a pride thing" that makes men more reluctant to acknowledge being the victim of a sex crime.

Using the same methodology that victims often do not report crimes against them, perhaps male-on-male rape is a larger problem in our society than one would wish to acknowledge.

In preparation for the Town Hall meeting on January 9 the city council's finance committee put together a movie to help us bone up on what the city penny pinchers are all about.

Bloomberg Plans New City Office and Fund to Help Poor

By DIANE CARDWELL
The city is planning to spend an extra $150 million a year in public and private money on the core priority of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s second term: combating poverty that is hidden beneath New York’s vast wealth.

The effort would involve the creation of a new city office that would operate in part like a philanthropic foundation and in part like a venture capital company. The program, called the Center for Economic Opportunity, would administer a $100 million fund to support experimental programs, like giving cash rewards to encourage poor people to stay in school or receive preventive medical care, or matching their monthly bank deposits to foster greater savings.

The office would also oversee a program giving tax credits to impoverished families to offset child care costs. Programs are to be constantly evaluated, and those that cannot show success will be terminated. The administration has hired Veronica M. White, a business planning and management consultant who has worked in housing development.

The effort is classic Bloomberg in that it emphasizes nontraditional solutions and enlists the private sector to tackle problems that have historically vexed governments. Mr. Bloomberg has turned to fellow philanthropists to help improve the schools, to finance a Republican national convention in New York and now to build a ground zero memorial. But yesterday’s announcement represents the fruit of his efforts to fight poverty in his second and last term as mayor.

“When you do things with public money, you really are required to do things that have some proven track record and to focus on more conventional approaches,

If Olyblog were to host and produce end-of-year Olympia based awards, what categories would we have and who would be the nominees for 2006?

For my two cents, if Lifetime Achievements were offered I'd say that one should go to Barb O'Neil.

So just in case anybody missed it (I did), Internet neutrality has been at least temporarily upheld. I'm happy.

Almost every week this is the "What's on the city council's plate this week" review. I don't cover everything, so if you want the full rundown, read the packet and agenda yourself.

Not much to report for the last city council meeting of the year, but there is an interesting item on the land use committee, which preceded the council meeting.

"Neighborhood Connections" are walks/bikeways that connect some of our cul-de-sac neighborhoods around town. While in some neighborhoods in Olympia driving from point A to point B can take you in a long, circle route, walking may be easier with the aid of these city allowed and private property owner built paths.

The land use committee "provided direction" to city staff last Monday to pursue more neighborhood connection projects.

Read more...

Woo hoo! The power is finally back on! Holy &#$! the place is a mess. Huddling and body heat are amazing things. Our perishables perished. Wow.

I believe in coffee and pie. No matter what storms bluster and howl outside, the two cosmic circles will always prevail. Think about it. You have a cup of coffee made of circles, stare down at your cup and watch the swirls of java do their swirly mysterious steamy best to distract and relax you. Warmth in a cup. When you are ready, most likely after drinking some of the dark brew, turn your attention to the plate, which is most likely a circular plate. A wedge of pie is part of the whole, a piece of pie, a slice of circle.

How utterly mind blowing is that? And we are not talking anything difficult to acquire here, but sometimes challenging enough to add that extra thrill of achievement. From diner pie under fluorescent lights to a whole homemade pie lit by lantern light cooling on your kitchen counter, it is all about circles and comfort and outright yumminess.

Coffee & Pie are the dynamic duo of goodness, combined they have the power to take a so-so situation and make it fun.

And if anyone dares try to harsh your buzz (gawd forbid you give yourself a bad time, no self-guilt trips allowed) consider punishing them by babbling about mystery circles. Make stuff up, claim you must go forth and........you will surely be left alone to enjoy your coffee and pie.

Or you can invite others in, pour cups of coffee and slice that pie, while the circle of simple pleasure expands. Hospitality is a circle. Share.

World peace? Sure thing. Just sit everyone down in a circle and serve them Coffee and Pie.

Good thing I checked in, turned out the body hadn't been posted and all I had was an empty headline.

Friday night I was supposed to go to the annual Christmas play at Faith Assembly of Lacey. Had the show gone on then it would have been pitch black. I suppose we could have pretended we were listening to the story on a radio. The show was postponed to Sunday night.

I don't attend that church (just visited twice in 98 or 99) but one of my future sisters-in-law goes and is in every play. This year two S-i-Ls were in it. This is the fourth year I've gone. I've missed Stardust but not this.

It's not my place to critique a church play: it's regular people volunteering their own time to put the show on for reasons other than profits or personal glory. There was coffee and pie, so even with loud babies and giggling teenagers it was fun.

5:15 p.m.    Doors Open
5:30 p.m.    Open House (have a slice of pizza and visit with Councilmembers
                   and City staff)
6:00 p.m.    Mayor's Welcome
6:15 p.m.    Groups Discussions Begin
7:45 p.m.    Discussions Wrap Up
8:00 p.m.    End