Our Brother Friends will readily admit how ignorant they are about computers. I know nothing, as they fling their respective palms upward into the air.

Their computer had a virus. I could not fix it. I told them to bury deep in files any questionable content they may have on their computer and take it to their local computer shop. A mutual acquaintance had a bad experience at one such place, who told him to never return to the shop because of the filth he had on his computer.

They bided their time with their computer only working in safe mode. Eventually the spied an ad in the gay press by someone who fixes computers for a set fee of $100, parts not included. It took two visits of five and three hours and their computer is not only fixed, it is now running on Linux Ubantu or whatever it is. They plied the repair person with coffee, cakes and kindness and he enjoyed their comfortable home and many of their saved pictures. While I found their new system ...

My experience is that you can't run from your problems. Moving away for a while though may be a good idea because it will give you some space and the chance to be yourself. I often tell people thinking about coming out, that if they are worried about how their family will react then they should wait until they have some independence. This is good because you will have the chance to build your own support network of friends and financial independence should things go badly. Whether or not you decide to tell them is up to you.

You never really know how people are going to react. I had an Uncle who I thought would be the most homophobic person in my family. He was in a biker gang etc. But he turned out to be the most tolerant person I ever met.

Good luck with the move and your family.

Ask me anything

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A couple of weekends ago I was in Sydney visiting friends. This weekend I'm in Canberra visiting my folks. I'll be visiting Perth later in the month for a conference. And am also planning trips to Hobart (for fun), Brisbane (for Valentino) and Adelaide (for fieldwork). Now I just need an excuse to visit Darwin.

While we pursue happiness, we flee from contentment.
- Hasidic Proverb.

A reasonably quiet Thursday evening. Working quite hard right now. Came home, hit the couch. Watched a bit of tv. Filed under: jamesobrien.id.au

Why do you like being nude so much? Can you identify the core reason? Are there others in your family that are nudies? What do they think of this “favorite past-time” of yours? I love the freedom it gives and the liberation. If you experience social nudity with friends, it’s a very equalising and honest way [...]

"If You Want It" - The first track from OMD's return album 'History Of Modern'

Google tells me that today's Random Hotness, Dominick Monteleone, is an actor as well as being a model...

But having a look at his resume on IMDB, I think it's good that he's a pretty face...

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"I want you to funk me"