Somehow, in a life filled pretty consistently with thoughts of food and the consequence of obesity, I had not heard of "gay gainers" until a couple of weeks ago, when Zack Jordan, 29, got in touch via Twitter after reading, and liking, my book, "Fat Boy Thin Man."

Though visitors to 100 Terrace St. in Roxbury could be forgiven for not knowing that the Building Materials Resource Center and the Boston Building Materials Co-op are different entities, the two soon will be one and the same, under the name Boston Building Resources.

“We are making this change to make it easier to explain who we are and what we do,” said Matthew St. Onge, Boston Building Resources executive director. “The public has often seen us as a single organization because our names were so similar, and because the work of both organizations often overlaps."

I've read Gary Taubes's latest story in the NYT Mag, and though it warrants comment, I'm a little hesitant. The problem is that I've not given credence to his previous work, especially his paean to the Atkins Diet, because it advocated so strongly for a course I am sure did not benefit me, and this time I'm agreeing with him.

Turns out my hour with Emily Rooney yesterday was only about 20 minutes, which was always the plan but which I had not fully perceived.

No matter, it was great to be there, a great opportunity and a pleasing conversation. Here's a link to the segment.

In my focused world, the release of Ashley Gearhardt's (et. al) study advancing the evidence for food addiction has been a welcome thunderbolt from several directions. Unreservedly.

But nothing is perfect, and I must quarrel with the report's closing words:

Quite appropriately, stories have been cascading out of the media since April 4, when researcher Ashley Gearhardt, a post-doc at Yale, and her colleagues released a study that correlates people who scored high on a food-addiction questionaire they developed with increased brain activity when given food cues.

Last week, it was her TV show. This week, on Thursday 4/14, I'll be on Emily Rooney's radio show, noon to 1, WGBH, 89.3 FM.

If you're outside Boston and want to listen, you can go to a wgbh.org and follow the "On Now:" prompt at the top of the page.

Please do listen, and call in if you feel moved to.

I'm writing this one, briefly, I hope, because I believe strongly is sharing good news, and in spreading praise when it is warranted.

About 10 days ago, my son knocked over a cup of coffee into my laptop. More than $2 grand, less than a year old, equipped with an extended warranty useless to the occasion, and ruined.

I did what you're supposed to: I powered down and turned it over, even trying to dry it with a hair dryer. But, ruined it was.

I took it into the Apple Store and got the expected news: $1,250, flat, to repair it.

This website, Sociological Images, says that this campaign that purports to fight childhood obesity is shaming to fat kids.

I think they have it wrong.

What I see are short statements by four fat kids who are telling the truth about what it's like to be fat.

It is probably impossible to live a black-and-white life, though certainly addicts like myself will try. The only route to comfortable success is to contemplate the grays and adjust when necessary.

That comes up for me today as I continue a discussion of how our family chooses its protein. To many, that might sound like liberal-sissy stuff, but we are convinced of the essential values of nutrition and responsible consumerism, and wish more people were.