Dear Daisy,
Working with small monetary funds, I have managed to make our tiny 1997 house look cozy and attractive despite boyfriend's Spartan approach to decorating. How does one contend with a mate who finds it necessary to mark territory throughout the house by distributing small piles of crap (i.e. receipts, change, laundry, etc...) in every vacant corner.
Signed,
In a fix

Dear Ina,
You could dump him, but is it really worth it? While it may sound like a pathetic excuse for those with annoying habits, the truth is people won't change unless they want to change. And the more you force the issue, the worse it can get in many cases. Try subtle positive reinforcement. Sex is always a good reward. If, for some reason, you find him cleaning up, drag him into the bedroom and ride him like he's Seattle Slew. Eventually, like Pavlov's dog, he'll get the point. That is how I trained my husband!

Dear Daisy,
I am kind of shy, and I have never had a boyfriend, I want one, but I don't know what to do, or how to act.
Kendall

Dear Kendall,
I'll let you in on a secret: everyone is trying to act a certain way to attract boyfriends but the trick to attracting a boyfriend is getting noticed. If you do what everyone else is doing you'll look just like everyone else. Instead I suggest you be yourself. But don't approach it like it's a homework assignment; approach it like a role in a school play. Find out what this "you" character is like. What does he like? What does he hate? What does she do in his spare time? How does he dress? What's his philosophy on life? What is it that makes "you", you. Really get into the part and play it like it's your life. You could also just offer to blow him, that works for me!

Dear Rusty,
Because the words "dick" and "pig" were already taken! Nice to hear from you again!!

Dear Daisy,
Is "Queer" a Derogatory Word?

Did you know that today, the word "queer" is most often used in a non-derogatory way?

Once used by homophobes to negatively describe a gay man or woman, the term is now being used by the gay community itself as a positive or neutral descriptive of each other. By embracing a word that was used to attack or degrade, the gay community has demagnetized the strength of the word, making it a common everyday term. This lessens the effect of the word when used against them.

This process by which a word meaning changes from negative or neutral to more positive is called amelioration. The word "fag" has also been ameliorated by gays themselves.

Other communities embrace words used to degrade them as well, such as women using the "B" word to describe each other or African-Americans using the "N" word to describe themselves.
Nonetheless, much care should be taken when using an ameliorated word as some may take offense. For instance, just because gays have embraced the word "queer" does not mean it cannot be used as a term of hate by a homophobe.