It's another hot one. It's going to be in the 90's today. Stay cool everyone.

Who says gays don't have more fun and aren't at the center of the social stratosphere? I don't say that and after reading this article, you can't either (nyah,nyah,nyah). Check it out.

NEW YORK, NY --Gays and lesbians who read the nation's top gay newspapers are more socially outgoing, travel more frequently and are more concerned about health and fitness than the general U.S. adult population. These generally held perceptions about the country's gays and lesbians are supported by statistical findings in a just-released reader survey conducted on behalf of the National Gay Newspaper Guild.
Harris Interactive conducted the Guild reader poll and posed the same questions to a statistical sample of the U.S. population. Further comparison of off-beat topics shows that compared to the general population, the gays and lesbians that were polled:
-- are twice as likely to own an iPod;
-- are half as likely to own a Chevrolet or Buick vehicle, but more than twice as likely to own a Honda;
-- are more likely to have rented a car in the past year; and
-- are three times more likely to have a personal trainer.
"The Guild's survey provides invaluable demographic information about a highly targeted cross-section of readers from the nation's leading gay and lesbian publications," said Todd Evans, CEO of Rivendell Media, the company that organized the Guild in 1982. "Over the past 20 years of doing this report, our survey has become a benchmark resource for insight into our community."
The National Gay Newspaper Guild first surveyed its readers in 1984 to provide a reader profile to prospective advertisers. The poll is noted as one of the first statistically reliable demographic marketing studies of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) market. Conducted every four years since 1984, the Guild survey has become one of the premier U.S. sources for LGBT marketing data.
"The idea for a survey began as an advertising sales tool for member newspapers, but it has evolved to become a notable statistical profile of gays and lesbians as a target consumer market," said Evans.
Technophiles
In addition to an affinity for the iPod (17% gays, lesbians vs. 8% general population), gay and lesbian respondents in the guild survey also proved to be heavily into gadgets and the latest technology.
Those that have Internet access at home are more likely than the average U.S. adult to have broadband (66% vs. 57%) instead of a dial-up service with twice as many LGBT high-speed surfers opting for Wi-Fi access at home (25% vs. 12%). Guild readers were almost twice as likely to own a PDA or Personal Digital Assistant (25% vs. 13%) or own a wireless e-mail device such as a Blackberry (7% vs. 4%).
Gay and lesbian wireless customers are more likely to have added features on their cell phone such as a camera (25% vs. 20%) or services such as text messaging (75% vs. 66%) and e-mail (39% vs. 32%).
Readers are just as likely as the average U.S. adult to own a home computer (94% vs. 95%); however, it's more likely that the computer of choice is a laptop (46% vs. 29%). While IBM compatible computer systems were most popular among both sample sets (83% vs. 84%), Guild readers are three times more likely to own a MacIntosh (15% vs. 5%).
Guild readers also are more likely to use online travel reservations sites than other U.S. adults with airline Web sites being favored by a majority of both groups (70% vs. 54%).
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
The surveyed gays and lesbians had more than twice as many college degrees as the average U.S. adult (67% vs. 25%) with the graduating class earning more than three times as many graduate degrees (28% vs. 8%).
The gay and lesbian sample was three times as likely to belong to a health club (51% vs. 17%), with gym members three times more likely to have a personal trainer (13% vs. 4%). They also are more than twice as likely to get massages (36% vs. 14%).
Of those surveyed, the Guild readers were more likely to consume champagne (30% vs. 12%) and imported wine (43% vs. 19%) but also more likely to consumer domestic beer (76% vs. 72%). Also, readers were more likely to be brand-loyal consumers (52% vs. 38%).
Ford was an equally popular car maker among both groups (14% vs. 19%). Hondas were more than twice as popular among gays and lesbian car owners (11% vs. 5%) while there was a marked disagreement in Chevrolets (7% vs. 18%) and Buicks (1% vs. 4%).
Readers tended to have higher personal and household incomes and higher household net worth than the average U.S. adult. They were more than two times as likely to have an individual income over $50,000 (43% vs. 21%) and almost two times as likely to have a net worth over $500,000 (26% vs. 14%).
Social Creatures and World Travelers
Gay and lesbians in the poll tend to host parties at home with a clear preference for dinner parties (12% vs. 5%) and cocktail parties (10% vs. 2%) over cook-outs (7% vs. 8%).
When it comes to dining out, the gay and lesbian in the survey were half as likely to have dined out only one to five times in the past 30 days (16% vs. 37%), while twice as likely to have dined out more than 10 times (48% vs. 25%).
Guild readers also are more than three times as likely to have been to a night club (43% vs. 14%) and more than six times as likely to have been to a live theatre performance (15% vs. 2%) or museum/art gallery (13% vs. 2%) two or more times per month in the past year.
Nearly nine in ten surveyed gays and lesbians have traveled within the United Sates in the past year compared to seven in ten U.S. adults (87% vs. 70%). Readers were almost twice as like to have taken a trip outside the United States in the past three years (58% vs. 28%). Guild readers also took more than twice as many flights for personal travel in the past years (average 2.9 vs. 1.3 trips). They also were more likely to have rented a car in the past year for personal or business use (mean of 2.7 vs. 1.1 rentals).
The National Gay Newspaper Guild (www.nationalgaynewspaperguild.com) represents the top LGBT local newspapers in the nation and has a member circulation larger than the leading national LGBT magazines combined. Member publications include Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco; Bay Windows, Boston; Between the Lines, Detroit; Dallas Voice, Dallas; Frontiers, Los Angeles; Gay & Lesbian Times, San Diego; Houston Voice, Houston; New York Blade, New York; Philadelphia Gay News, Philadelphia: Southern Voice, Atlanta: Washington Blade, Washington, D.C.: The Weekly News, Miami; and Windy City Times, Chicago.
Methodology:
The 2005 NGNG Readership Survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive within the United States between October 10, 2004 and March 21, 2005. The interviewing was administered to nationwide samples of 3,801 adults (aged 18 and over) who are readers of a NGNG publication and a separate general sample of 2,731 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over).

The thought of the day: It's not premarital sex if you have no intention of getting married.