Andrew Q Gordon

Sorry, I don't have time to do this right now. Too many other things that need my time at the moment. Andy

Yettie, Podium, Thank you both. I'm a tad overwhelmed at the moment with the baby, work and taking baby to see my mom who's just finished her chemo, but I'm saving all the info and may hit you back for more help. Much as I want to do this now, I don't want to do it half ass and muck it up. But the notion of TOS is something I hadn't thought about. I'm not a big fan of writing explicit sex, but there might be the odd penis or girl part tossed him here and there and maybe some implied or outright penetration so it might fail the TOS of a sight so I need to look into that. But for now, I'm off to cook for the monster - err mother in law so she can spend the day with her granddaughter - 'lil Q. Andy

Matt, I saw that - I opened it at work, then got called away and evidently the screen saver didn't kick in cause he was waiting for me when I got back 30 minutes later Thanks

Thank you everyone - it was - despite the crappy MRI from hell - the best B-day ever - I post a picture of 'lil Q trying to sing Happy Birthday to me along with Mike. Thank you Sam for starting this, to Y_B for the new wheels for my walker, to Matt for the Eye Candy - yes I'm not dead, just married And to Mike, Cia, Bill, Jonathan, KC, Andy, Sharon, Breeze, Vic, Benji, W.L. Dark, Ramon, Bleu, Connor, Krista and Steve, thank you for thinking of me!!!

LOL Thanks Dave, much appreciated

Well that would explain why people keep mistaking him for the King of Cliffs. Clearly he does not use Cliffhangers. Now that he is ineligible for the crown this year, people will actually vote for she who is most deserving - Cia!! (CJames and I both agree on this and have formed a committee to ensure the crown goes where it rightfully deserves.)

Marco, I too am saddened that stories I started and liked are not completed, but as a writer I can say sometimes it happens. Sad but true. Now I get your gripe that it would be nice to have some answer - like - hey guys sorry, I'm not likely to ever finish this because. . . . I've seen that happen with a couple stories. Others the author has just disappeared without a trace. Yes Dom is one of those. That said, and I know this is me making excuses for others, but as Tim and Gene said, this is a free site, free to read and free as in we who write don't get paid. Things have greatly changed since GA began. Once there was 1) find a publisher to accept and publish your work or 2) Post it for free on line here or on Nifty or some other place. Now however there is ePublish it yourself. I know, you're saying, not shit sherlock, but my point is people's focus can change. Maybe they've decided to try their hand at getting published and have been devoting their time there. maybe, life just interrupted and this part has taken a back seat. It still doesn't prevent them from saying that, but it happens and like you, I am saddened, (though not disgusted). My only suggestion is to move on to others who have completed their stories and if you're not too angry, sit tight and hope your old favorites come back and finish what they've started. Getting mad at them on here won't bring them back any sooner, and it might turn them off for good. I doubt Dom wants to poke his head into his forum and read people trashing him for taking a hiatus. It might just get him to say - whatever, who needs this. Andy

Well that chapter certainly ended with a . . . . um . . . it ended well. Something that came to me as I was reading this. If they make Granger an Earl or a Viscount, he would certainly be an anomaly at sea wouldn't he? While there are certainly younger sons of the nobility and older men/admires who've become Lords - Jervis for example - you didn't see too many titled nobility commanding ships. Once they become Lord whomever - say Clifton for example - if he became Marquise in place of his dad, he wouldn't be expected to sail off as captain of a ship. So with Granger - even being newly minted - he will be something of an exception. Just thinking out loud as to how that will play out in is future dealings. Good chapter.

Okay so none of the other DC folks are chiming in so I can see this falls to me. I guess what I need to know is what is more important to folks? Price but a metro ride to get to places or convenience but a bit more money? I also need to know budgets - how much are we talking? I know what areas to avoid and what areas are okay. I can then look around and give you some options. to be honest I don't exactly book hotels in DC area so I'm not that up on what hotel is nice inside or not. I will not be able to check out the hotels for you, but you can make your choices based on the websites. So I already know Ryan wants down town or close to down town - I'll look this weekend and get back to you.

Thanks Dark, I'll check her out.

W.L.: not sure patience is the right word. She is truly a good nanny in the sense she understand things and we have total confidence she'd be good in a 'crisis.' The issues was one of wills - I think so at least. Mike is home and he wasn't very forceful at first. She had her ideas of what is best, we had ours. She thought she could impose them on us, but we - Mike - pushed back and now - at least today - things look like they are back on track - she even said something to me about her adapting to our schedule so- we'll see right? Westie: That's not harsh, believe me if I had a ready alternative I'd do it. My sister said almost the same thing as you. The problem is - at least in DC area - finding a good nanny is hard because day care slot - good day cares that is - are hard to come by. We're on two waiting lists and don't expect to get a slot until Jan 2013. Firing her would likely result in a worse solution - hiring someone who didn't really have a clue or whom we didn't have confidence in. RIck: I agree with what you've said so far, everyone has an opinion. I almost told someone who was pissing me off that opinions are like assholes - everyone has one, but no one wants to hear theirs. Mike told me to be good so i was. She really isn't 'bad' though the testing her theory did really frost my you know whats. But we're hopefully we've turned the corner - fingers crossed.

Do I really now? Okay, but I'll put it in a spoiler for those who don't want to read it.

Mike, My personal take on fantasy is that if you get too bogged down in the 'details' of the 'fantasy' you lose people. There are a few things draw readers into a story, details on super powers, wizardry, space ship technology - probably aren't high on the list. To me, it's the characters and how they interact with each other. I tried to do that with Purpose - to create a dynamic between Will and Ryan, while showing the internal struggle Ryan's arrival unleashed inside Gar/Will. To me, the vengeance and super powers were a side plot to the the relationship between the two. As for alter ego? No, I don't lose sleep over those who escape justice, they always get theirs in the end. It was an idea that came to me watching a movie where a sub character was really cool and from that the story spiraled into existence. I had envisioned a series with this originally, focused more on the supernatural than the emotional, but after writing this, I don't think that would be as easy to do create as I envisioned at first. But we'll see. I just have a few other things I want to do first. As with tax season, life with baby is a bit of a time demand - just a bit Thanks as always - Andy

I had this vision of George with his suspenders holding up his trousers down in the hold supervising the work. Nice image. Good to see Robey alive an well and back on board. Weston's statement that he had but one friend in the fleet was telling - though I suppose if you had to have a friend, Captain Howard is a good man to have. Though it does seem that only those without friends or influence got sent to shitty parts of the empire. Makes you wonder who'll Granger will get for midshipman if none of the high bred want their boys going their.

Mark, Several short questions - I've tied to go back and find the answers but wasn't able to find them without re-reading everything Who is Llewellyn's father? What happened to Brookstone? He was one of the Lt's on the old ship right? You mentioned that there was a space for Winkler in the new cabin - was that a slip up on your part? Last we heard he hadn't decided if he was going to stay on land and enjoy his new wealth with his rather well hung 'friend' or return to sea. That's all for now I suppose - more as I think things up. Andy

Thanks Gene: Why?? [and no you are not. ]

Cia - thanks. I was hoping some of those graphics folks would see the post and respond. Maria gave me something to look into so we'll see if that pans outs. Gene - uff Great answer - you put so much effort into it, too bad I can only give you one like. I'm going to read this over tonight and then tomorrow and see what I understand and don't, then if I have questions, I'll PM you. Thanks again for the help, that was exactly what I was looking for. Andy

I am going to cross post this on the writer's corner forum cause I think I'll get more eyeballs there. I have two needs that I would like a bit of help on. The first is a web site - I need to start one. As many know, Anyta and I co-wrote a book that is being published around the end of summer. I wanted to get a website up and running to help promote the book. I know that Facebook allows author pages and I intend to create that, but I would like my own website too. I've looked into the domain/hosting aspect, and really they all look alike to me. They all promise about the same things etc etc. So does anyone have a website and if so which web hosting company do you use? I do not want to use Go-daddy for 2 reasons, 1) I've heard they're not the best, but 2) they support right wing politicians and causes and while that is their right and I respect them for taking a stand, I won't support them as they support people and issues I oppose - so they're out. The next part is how easy - or hard - is it to create a site? Are there some sites that are better than others at ease of website creation? Okay on to part two. I'm working on a story I plan to ePublish. I need cover art for the ePublish. If anyone is or knows a good graphic artist, I'd like to talk to them to see what's entailed, how much etc. Thanks to anyone who can help. If you'd rather not post your answers in public, PM me or email me at Belsport09@gmail.com Andy

I am going to cross post this on my forum, but I suspect I'll get more eyeballs here. I have two needs that I would like a bit of help on. The first is a web site - I need to start one. As many know, Anyta and I co-wrote a book that is being published around the end of summer. I wanted to get a website up and running to help promote the book. I know that Facebook allows author pages and I intend to create that, but I would like my own website too. I've looked into the domain/hosting aspect, and really they all look alike to me. They all promise about the same things etc etc. So does anyone have a website and if so which web hosting company do you use? I do not want to use Go-daddy for 2 reasons, 1) I've heard they're not the best, but 2) they support right wing politicians and causes and while that is their right and I respect them for taking a stand, I won't support them as they support people and issues I oppose - so they're out. The next part is how easy - or hard - is it to create a site? Are there some sites that are better than others at ease of website creation? Okay on to part two. I'm working on a story I plan to ePublish. I need cover art for the ePublish. If anyone is or knows a good graphic artist, I'd like to talk to them to see what's entailed, how much etc. Thanks to anyone who can help. If you'd rather not post your answers in public, PM me or email me at Belsport09@gmail.com Andy

Sorbam: That was our issue, she's doing great why are you upsetting the routine? That's over - one way or another. It is down to our way or the highway. And I'm feeling good that she'll do it our way, but continue to try to get us to change things. J.C.: You can't steal her and give her back when she does a doodle - you take the good with the bad or get nonya. Sharon: She my answer to Cia, we're already ahead of you there

Cia - the water thingy, we've already been giving her water, and we told her if you think she's thirsty give her water NOT more formula. That got us a sour look, but she is doing it. We're trying the cups already, but she's meh on them so it's a struggle. But what we're doing now is we got the arms for her bottle and we're teaching her to hold the arms while we feed her. Lately she's been grabbing them and holding them more and more, so hopefully soon she'll be doing it with the cup. We've got the sippy kind, and the kind with a straw like thingy so we're experiment with which one she'll take to first.

Thanks all. We'll be fine, I'm as stubborn as they come where 'lil Q is concerned. No one messes with the baby bear when the Momma Bear is around. Besides, I'm the boss, this is a great gig for the Nanny - 6 hours, close to home, an easy baby, Mike works from the house so if there's a problem, like the need for a dr. or something, he's here. She doesn't want to quit or get fired. My sense is she didn't want to do the standard 10-12 hour nanny gig anymore but wanted more than a couple-three hours a day, so we're the perfect match for her. She'll tow the line or we'll get someone else. Not really a debate to be had. lol

I just checked and it's there, not sure why you couldn't find it.

For those who've talk to me in chat, you know we had a bit of a glitch with the Nanny. We thought we were getting Mary Poppins but what we got was a Nanny 911 reject. We hired the Nanny - let's call her Mary - because she was an older woman - and by older I mean not in her twenties. She has grown kids, been a nanny for a long time, and had good references. She knew/knows a LOT about babies and their developmental stages, she also didn't ask to be paid under the table. That last one was something of a biggie for us. Given my occupation, I can't be paying people illegally. So with much anticipation, she arrived two weeks ago. Within an hour she decided we weren't doing anything right. For nearly two weeks now we've had food issues with her - and by food issues, I mean how, when and how much 'lil Q gets fed. When she arrived she announced that we were doing it all wrong. That the most important element was making sure she got enough formula. She was rather adamant that babies need to get 24-32 ounces of formula a day and that the solid food we were giving her - at the doctor's direction - was to be secondary to the formula. She was told to do it our way, food first then formula, because honestly 'lil Q doesn't get that much solid food yet. After she changed the order, she started cramming formula at a prodigious rate into the baby. The feeding order was 6oz, - cereal/fruit + 4oz; fruit and meat/veggies +6oz; 6 oz: cereal fruit + 4oz. So five times a day she eats. I feed her first thing in the am, then the nanny does the next two and we do the last two. The first feeding she gave her 6 instead of 4 then her cereal then 2 more. after the walk she gave her another 2 for no other reason than she might be thirsty. Her seconding time feeding, she again upped the formula. So I - not being home, wrote her a note saying no no no. Do it our way and I laid out the order again. I explained, nicely I thought, that if she doesn't finish her formula, she can have it later, but she needed to get in the habit of eating not just drinking. I got a note back saying - again - 'lil Q needed between 24-32 oz a day. If you go back and do the math, you will see that our numbers came out to 26oz a day. My next note - what part of 26 does NOT fall between 24-32 was tossed out by Mike before she could read it. But not to worry, I was home on Nanny's 5th day - and when she reiterated the amounts, I asked her when the numerical system changed. She gave me that huh look So I asked, when did 26 stopped being after 24 but before 32. She stopped with that. That day she also told me - at the end of the day - that 'lil Q didn't eat any of her solid foods - I nearly blew a blood vessel in my head because that is when it dawned on my I saw her feeding 'lil Q the bottle before the food. I - perhaps not too nicely this time - reminded her that she was supposed to give her food THEN formula and that it was not open for discussion. Amazingly, since we insisted, 'lil Q has always eaten her food and drank her formula. Go figure. So we figured all was well. Nope, not at all. Mike noticed she was putting an entire scoop of formula and a formula scoop of cereal in 'lil'Q's bowl. First that's too much cereal, but the worse part was this was her way of getting around our feeding regiment - we didn't say don't put 2 oz of formula in her cereal. So we nipped that in the bud and realized how much food she had given 'lil Q in just a week. It was incredible. Now 'Mary' is not svelte. In fact she tells us the reason she can't hold 'lil Q to fed her is because she too fat and her belly gets in the way - her words not mine. So maybe she see's nothing wrong with the baby getting fat, but we do. I know folks are going to say there is no such thing as a fat baby, but when we went to the Doc, 'lil Q was 90th percentile length wise and 75% weight. Clearly she wasn't under fed. We got another discussion about how she needed more food because she was going to have a growth spurt etc. 'lil Q is one of the happiest babies I know. Ask anyone who's met her. She is also very good at telling us she is hungry. IF she needed more food, she'd let us know and we give it to her, that was how we knew to increase her formula from 4oz to 6. Another sit down with 'Mary' Again it was explained, there isn't any issue to resolve. She gets what we tell her and that's it. The Doc was very happy with her development, saying she was doing great. In my mind we were/are doing things right because the baby is doing well. Why are we tinkering with something that isn't broke? Yeah I know there is the idea of it could always be better, but if she's eating, gaining weight, and thriving, why are we trying to change things? We aren't is the bottom line. SO fast forward to Wednesday this week. It is good I work outside of the house, because I'd probably be taking off work for a few weeks while we find a new nanny. "Mary' told Mike that on Thurs & Fri of last week and Mon and Tues of this week, she'd been experimenting with 'lil Q's feeding, giving her 3 oz before her nap and 3 oz after so 'lil Q would sleep at least 90 minutes. So first - who the (@% said she could test her theories on the baby without our okay? If I'd been home I'd have fired her. Mike took a more measured approach, he called me and vented. But the other problem I had was this length of nap shit. 'lil Q sleeps from 10-10 with a 15-20 wake up around 630-7:00 to eat. Most people do it 7-7 but with Mike working at home, we don't get the Nanny til 10 am so this worked for us. The Nanny knows she sleeps til 10 am, because often she is the one to wake her. So by 1-1:30 she's been up about 3 -3.5 hours max. She doesn't need an hour and a half nap that soon. Moreover, we've been letting her sleep as long or as little as she wanted. "Mary' gave her food before the nap to 'help' her sleep longer. Her opinion was 'lil Q woke up because she was hungry but if we fed her before the nap, she could sleep longer. Well yeah, if you stuff me full of food, I could take a nice little nap too. The point is she doesn't need that much of a nap at that time. Coincidentally, a 90 minute nap is about 25% of the time the Nanny is here. Hmm, shorter nap, more work, longer nap, less work. Nope, no correlation there at all. Then came the smoke up my ass. She tried to tell me that 'lil Q needed the nap to recharge and to grow. Of course, how stupid of me. Those 12 hours she slept at night did nothing to help her grow, in fact she didn't grow a lick any time other than that 90 minute nap during the 6 hours the Nanny was here. Right. So we sat her down yesterday - I had to take a couple hours off work to be here. We explained, that there weren't going to be anymore feeding or sleeping issues. We set the schedule in accordance with our Pediatrician. We'd read other books and asked other people before we came up with her routine. 'lil Q was/is thriving, growing, gaining weight, developing at or above expectations. There was NO need at all to change things. We welcomed suggestions, but we didn't ever want to see/hear she changed something, tested a theory, or whatever without asking us first. I realize we don't know everything, far from it, but what I do know, is 'lil Q is in a good routine that has let her develop on track or faster and has left her very happy. Unless there is a reason to change - i.e. she's being harmed or it's inhibiting her development, there is no reason to change. In fact, mucking with her routine is likely to cause more harm than good. I think she got the message. In fact today, she did it exactly as we wanted. But she did say to me that 'lil Q didn't sleep very much and that she was tired but wouldn't go to sleep. I was like, yeah, well my mom told me I rarely slept more than 30-45 minutes, my nieces and nephews didn't do more than that, my co-workers twins don't do more, in fact few babies do so it's probably just fine. Now let's see what next week brings.

Dave: THat's what grandkids are for, you get to enjoy the good times, but avoid the never ending grind Arl: Thanks Y_B: You joke, but grandpa already set up a college fund, a stock fund and a small trust for her. Plus with the cash people gave her for her christening, she has more money than I do now. As for college, she probably will be discouraged from going to either of our Alma Maters. i went to a catholic school and he went to a state school in the commonwealth of hate - err Virginia. So we're looking for more enlightened venue's for the girl.