I've been absent for a month and I apologize. I made a password error signing in one day and the Blogger algorithm immediately became suspicious and locked me out. But I'm back. I was in the middle of writing this entry when it happened... When I was high school my friends and I used to play a game of what we called "This, That or The Other?" In other words, of these three things which do you prefer? Most of the time it was things like "Sabrina, Jill or Kelly?" Charlie's Angels. "Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?" "Cocoa Puffs, Frankenberry or Lucky Charms?" You get the picture. Eeny, meeny, miny... One that caught me off guard and that triggered a specific train of thought was when one of the guys blurted out in the locker room "A girl comes in to the locker room, you can only cover one: Pubes, dick or balls?" And at the time, I immediately went to pubes as my answer. I'm not fifteen any more, so I'm not sure why th...

The other day I received a rather startled email response from a friend responding to a note of my own in which I said I feel self-conscious, particularly when my weight increases. She was surprised, I think, because I am rather open about the fact I don't really care who sees me naked and who, in turn, I may see naked.  As I've noted frequently here (maybe too frequently?) nudity doesn't bother me under most circumstances. Mine or anyone else's.  But there's a fundamental difference for me when it comes to being fully comfortable with how I perceive myself, versus my lack of discomfort being nude with other people or around their nudity. ( Great article at the HuffPost on how to be more comfortable nude .) A couple of caveats: I don't, *ahem*, press my nudity on anyone. I'm not a nudist, which if you have read previous posts you understand my thinking. If someone sees me naked it's because they're comfortable with it and the circumstances allow it....

            (The title of this column refers to the very funny line in BACK TO THE FUTURE, as spoken by the main character's rather befuddled father. I'm not befuddled...much...but density is the focus of this entry.) Denser pubes and a leaner tummy As my regular readers are aware, and as I discussed on my last column, I am going through a period of losing significant weight and putting on some serious muscle. I have a long way to go on both counts, but am over some pretty big (pardon the pun) hurdles already. I'm down 55 pounds from my all-time high five years ago, with only around 35 to go to my current target - I'll re-evaluate if I want to go beyond that point once I get much closer to the original goal. I'm feeling healthier and getting two thumbs up from my cardiologist. Sexually my erections are much firmer than they were, and - unfortunately - my sex drive is higher than any time in the last couple of decades. I say unfortunately because my wife is ...

"What ever happened to pubic hair?" - Dr Herb Melnick, TWO AND A HALF MEN In our teen years we - particularly men - spend a lot of time focused on the production of body hair. It's part of the ritual, and those who grow it earliest somehow win some sort of non-existent prize, while the people who grow it last are somehow losers. It really doesn't matter once you've accomplished the goal, but being last in a crowd is never a happy experience. And pubic hair is the most important of those hair growths. It signifies we're adults. (Well, becoming adults. That achievement also relies upon mental maturation and I know people in their forties who still haven't fully developed.) Sperm production..and accompanying ejaculation...are the male measurement of becoming an adult. Unfortunately for women, we get the fun stuff while women get a monthly bout of cramps and bleeding. Yeah, it's not exactly fair. But in both camps the pubes outwardly signify...