Westie

Awww, thanks guys for your messages And a very special thanks to my Paya, who made my birthday fun, took me out for a FANTASTIC meal and is now gonna sit with me to watch a film. PERFECT Thanks again everyone West

Acts 11:9 Do not call anything impure that God has made clean..... kinda wipes the slate clean

I really enjoyed this whole story Mark - really fantastic. The last chapter was a good closer. I did openly cringe at the mistakes in the "investiture" as a Knight of the Bath, but only a geek like me is going to notice those sorts of inaccuracies All in all - a really exceptional story..... SO.... When's the next one?

Well, i have to say that a Youth Hostel is not for me.... I need certain comforts... like a private bathroom and a non-dormitory style rooms (paya and I need our privacy) Though, I suppose we dont all need to be in the same hotel just as long as we are all nearby. I have to say that i usually stay in the Earls Court Area because of the reasonable prices and very good access to all the best attractions. The last two times in london however, I have stayed within the City itself (the company paid) - i found it very unsatisfactory. For the obvious security reasons, i wont say on here which hotel im going to book, but i think the earls court area is where we will be....

Earlier this month, the HM Government passed the electoral reform bill. This contained a number of reforms, but the two main points are (1) Equalization of the sizes of constituencies, (2) a reduction int he overall number of MP's and (3) a referendum on a change in the voting system. Our current voting system is called "First Past The Post" or FPTP, which is to say, you cast your vote, and the person with the most votes wins. It's relatively simple, and actually the vast majority of nations in the world employ it. The proposed change to the voting system is to move to "AV" (Alternative vote, whereby you rank the candidates in order of preference, and, if nobody gets more than 50% of the vote, they eliminate the candidate in last position and distribute all the second preferences. Its a costly process (£250m to be precise), and makes (in my opinion) a mockery of the "one person, one vote" rule, because supporters of fringe parties will effect the outcome disproportionately. the interesting thing is the polling. When you ask people "Should we change the voting system to AV" they wholeheartedly support it. When you ask the rather different question "AV is a system whereby [explain the system] - would you support a change to AV" - most people say no. This would indicate that while people support reform, they do NOT support the Alternative Vote as an option. When you look into reasons for supporting reform, it also seems that people are confusing "political reform" (removing underlying corruption, creating a more honest and open process etc) with "Voting reform". The "Yes" camp seem to be selling the idea that Alternative Vote will eliminate corruption in politics. It Wont. and they are confusing people in order to weight people in favour of changing the system. Anyway, for those who might be interested, the "no to AV" website can be found here West

Mark, why isn't JP Crampton on this list? Its time Brad took his place as head of the family - its time to remove that obstacle....

it always works for me.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSveKqj1IRQ *** edit - apologies, changed the video, as i only cared about the lyrics, i didn't realize how appalling the original video was....

Yeah, i just couldn't resist the urge to point out such blatant double standards still loving the story though

Seriously? you think these things warrent an execution? How about we turn the tables and say that Brian is in prison and on death row... in the real world, is this something you find palatable? i appreciate that this is a story, but let's not kid ourselves here.... Brad is signing Brian's death warrant - let's not pretend this is anything more than a reprehensible action on Brad's part. This is not an eye for an eye. This is doling out a higher punishment than the sum of his crimes. I admit, his crimes on themselves are heinous, but let us be clear that this makes Brad less of a man than he has the potential to be....

Some of you might have seen my last blog entry which basically said that I was being made redundant from my role at work.... Well, yesterday I was informed by my Divisions MD/CEO that there was never any question of me leaving the company I work for, and that effective next week I would be moving to work for the senior management team supporting bid work and looking at financial controls. I should be happy I guess..... it's a huge compliment. but for two reasons i'm a little disappointed. (1) They removed my "at risk" status, which means that if I leave the company i wont get a pay-off leading to (2) They severely restricted my choices.... that said, in the current climate, i should be very glad to be employed at all, especially in a senior position...

Blah. Its a free site. I'm not saying don't complain, but don't demand additional services either. PS - do you realise that if you had phrased your post "Hey Guys, I got some ideas for you" and said thank-you for the hard work, you probably wouldnt have got a negative reaction? PPS - YOU'RE RIGHT!!! I did some experimenting with negative rep myself (on some posts I disagreed with, above). It DOES have quite an impact on someones rating. PPPS - Lugh - I wasn't on the list of interesting people either..... damn.....

I am, if i'm not too immodest, quite successful career-wise. I'm 26, and without the advantage of having training or a degree, I have risen to quite a senior position within a large company. I have worked very hard, and put my blood sweat and tears (and 18 hour days) into one company. I have completed tasks that were, shall we say, morally grey? I have subjugated my conscience and my pride in order to further the aims of the "company". Last week, I was informed my role was redundant. Some of you may know that I have spent much time AGONISING over sacking 16 people last year. I hated doing it. Now, I find my role is redundant, I feel very much like i was used to do the hard work and then dropped like a stone once everything was put back into shape. As it turns out, I have been offered another role within the company. The question is, Do I really want to work there any more? Do i want to work for a company that constantly requires me to suppress my personal morals, convictions and beliefs? I have been offered another role. The money still needs to be sorted out, and it would mean working away during the week, living in a hotel.... coming home only at weekends... there is a lot of stress to that sort of commute.... and there is a lot of uncertainty and cost... but at any rate I am seriously considering taking my payout and running .... Decisions are hard.....

I have to say, that I love the paragraph that refers to Paya and me Its very accurate, especially when you talk about my beauty ) Im disappointed that you left out some of the best parts of the weekend.... Stuart, singing "It's raining men" in the kareoke bar, Bleu trying out the pole dancing, and me and Paya competing in the "endowment contest".... and I dont think I'm giving too much away by saying that Nephy is the most convincing dominatrix I have ever met. * I had a great weekend Nephy - you (and everyone else) were an absolute treat West *Please note, these events may or may not have actually taken place. They are here for comedic value only. Unless of course they are true - in which case they are here to underline my point. If you want to know more - next time, COME TO THE MEET :D:D:D:D

I would suggest that strip poker is "off the cards" for me, but I have a "special friend" at the meet (with benefits) that will allow me to indulge in alternative activities. I shall not be drinking Gin and Tonic, as that SOOOOOO middle class Dah-lings, but I shaln't say no to a glass of nice wine (nothing from the "new world", dear - don't be crass) or indeed a nice single malt. My preference is either for a Laphroaig or a Lagavulin. Straight up, room temperature. Ice is for the offlanders. I am very much looking forward to meeting everyone who is turning up, even those from France

Matt Carswold from Bloodlines. Possibly in a 3-some with Wade Danfield

yet again, i think someone is paying childish games your rep mark..... consider it done

XML schema? You're wrong

WARNING - THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO POINT TO THIS POST I woke up at 4am this morning. I just couldnt sleep.... So i started writing...... creating character profiles..... and then i thought (being an IT Geek) - wouldn't it be great to have a place to store all my story notes..... so by 9am I had a database structure in place. I know there are already programs out there, but they are inferior to me simply because (1) I didn't design those ones (2) I can get to be my own Database Administrator, and like the power trip (3) Most of those programs INDEX on the character first and last names I got to the point of setting up a little referential integrity, when i thought.... WHAT THE #?&! am i doing??? I guess im just bored and need an outlet...... Seriously - when you start playing around with databases just to pass the time, there is something wrong in your head....

Damn you Arbour. You introduced politics into the story, and now I'm more interested in the outcome of the vote than i am in the hot guy action taking place around it. Shame on you!

Can't help it if i'm a details man let's start the campaign to get Arbour's rep back up in the 300's

I suspect that the people who actually buy the record are vacuous teens who dont actually take time to analyse what the song means. That said, If you read the lyrics to the whole song, I think its done in an ironic way - its just cardle's interpretation doesn't lend itself to an accurate message.

in nazi germany, the tatooed identification codes onto the arms of jews. Same thing, better technology

OK. So, I'm writing yet another blog entry. Mainly becuase my Paya is working and in an effort to support him I'm trying to be less demanding of his time. It's true - i'm an attention whore. So I'm being a good boy and distracting myself while my man does what he needs to do. 'tis the season then..... NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.... This is the year I get fit and healthy. Not just for me, but for Paya too. Just before Christmas, the doctors managed to get to the bottom of some medical problems I've been having. This should help A LOT This year I will finish a whole story. I have an idea. i know the story from beginning to end. Now I just need to get it to paper. This year, I will learn to control money better. I dont need that iPad, or a new laptop, or an upgraded iPhone. This year I will read one book per week. I used to do this regularly - but since meeting my man i have slipped a little. This year I will make a study of Czech and eastern European history. This year I will learn Czech to the point where, at our Christmas Dinner NEXT YEAR, I will be able to hold a full conversation This year I will reprioritise my life. Paya and I come first in all things. No more putting others before our own happiness. I will worry less about work I will learn how to make potato dumplings as well as my mother in law I will tidy my room ... HONEST

A clever and engaging - and disturbingly plausible - account to an age old question

This story has a number of themes that I find often in Mark Arbour stories. We have the setting: Paris, at a turning point in history. There is a unique set of events unfolding in the world around the characters, but at the same time the characters are not obsessed by these events. Sure they are pivotal, but they do not overtake the story. Another theme is the futility of war. Mark - as he often does - casts war as a destroyer force. He masterly crafts an atmosphere that accurately conveys the pointlesness of fighting. This story is very much a tale with the melancholy of war as its background. A final, and most powerful theme is Sex as a Healing force - both emotionally and physically. With this short story, Mark has once again shown us he is a master Wordsmith and craftsman.