NotNoNever

Certainly in the UK we have a strong concept of legacy and the provision of enhanced possibilities using the new facilities. If our media thought that very expensive new venues were to be scrapped en masse, there'd be a multimedia riot. Indeed, there's even been some conflict on which course of action to pursue for the main venue when the games are over. And all sides are looking to the most productive way to use it, rather than scrapping it or working it down to mere spectacle. That's London. I'm pretty sure Sydney was the same.

Groovy. Funny, touching, and well written - dialogue needs a touchup! That said, I'm a wee bit confused about what is fact and what is fiction about where the Grimms got their story But it was a great wee read!

You lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky bugger. I'll snif your armpits when you get back if it gives even the 'whiff' of what it was like! Mhm!

Hmmm, Laphroaig. Prince Charles' favourite apparently. The Glenlivet 18yo is very good (but try the 25 - un bee leavable) There's something called Islay Mist, which a deluxe blend. It's sorta like Laphroaig light imo, and pretty good. I have a bottle of Talisker atm, too. Lovely orangey notes. Did you know that the family that created Talisker came from the nearby island of Eige, and were renowned as the best distillers in the area. There's a story about one of their number who went off to either Rum or Skye on his pre-wedding night, found another girl and didn't come back. Ah, the myths of the mists!

No, indeed. Probably what we'll do is neuter their more human functions. Just like happened to many gays. Ship them off to have their brains washed so they think the right things. Artificial it will definitely be. Intelligence? Not so much.

That would have warmed even the heart inundated by all that snow and hail. Lovely, and ever so sexy, without even so much as a penis type word. Mmmmmm

Never mind about old James Savik. What about new James Savik? Look how he is.

QT, I seem to remember a query from CJ, I think, about your new handle. I don't remember him giving you the Momma Q option. Does this mean you are getting more in touch with your feminine side? Are we about to see you in a frilly frock in your gallery? Is this the latest stage in the coming out progression you mention in your advice? Do you secretly lust over the stilleto pages in the home shopping catalogues? There's gonna be questions. Especially from Granny Q, and Daddy Q2.

You're 19. Does she really expect to know everything about your relationships? Should she expect to? Has anybody tried to explain to her that her holding of knowledge is not a pre-requisite to a thing being 'so'? What is the bit of knowledge that you didn't share? That you are fully gay, rather than bi? That you like to look and buy, rather than just read the catalogue. Does she want a picture of you kissing a guy with your ankles at your ears? Or did you deliberately not tell her the sufficient of full facts in the first place? Did you deny any element of this new relationship? Like he's your boyfriend? There comes a time when the ties have to be broken in order for them to survive at all. Tell her to accept her wee boy is a bum bandit and get over it ('cept, not in those words). I said tell her. Don't ask her. Your dignity is not predicated upon her acceptance. Your happiness shouldn't be either. If she expects that your happiness as an adult should have its foundation in her liking you for what you are, then, for your own sake, you need to make a complete break till she accepts. To do otherwise is to sacrifice your health and wellbeing on the altar of her viewpoint. And that's no way to live. The facts are the facts. She has to learn to live with them. Some sons are gay. Get over it.

I'm not even going to bother reading this, as I've read it at least twice if not three times before, elsewhere. What always fascinates me is the concept of gravity. Planets have it. Stars have it. Class has it. And I think that's why I end up back at this story and its sequel so often. It is lovely in the extreme.

Awesomely cute! God, us men can be soooooooo blind, sometimes!

Yeah, I'm with Bugeye. Irritating, the whole bloody lot of them! But, still, I liked them, especially Jack. Drake needed a slap! But at 17 that's hardly surprising. It's difficult enough then to get a sense of direction. I think you wrote the two main characters and the dragons very well. The concept of the dragons was actually very thought provoking. I felt a bit if Michel Foucault in there somewhere! Faye - until her background was explained I couldn't give two hoots about her, and Terry pretty much the same. IDK - somehow it just never cohered into a page turner for me, but there were things that really kept me wanting to go on. Jack, Drake, and little nibbly kisses! mmmmmm

well, guys and gals, the argument is self defeating! Hoy was talking about the history of British sport period. Not the history of British sport in their own contexts. Bannister etc way far back were impressive then, but ridiculous now in terms of their times. Not to denigrate their achievements in context, but in history? Comparing oher people who have competed over time doesn't work either, because Wiggins is obviously at the top of his game atm, which will have taken him a whole long time to achieve. It doesn't work with the likes of rowers or boxers because they have loads of time to train between events. Wiggins does this daily for oodles of days, back to back, that takes serious class. Torvill & Dean don't compare, because that is skill, not endurance. Let's not forget that ice dance is rather disputed as an Olympuc discipline because it has a high degree of subjectivity - a similar reason to why snowboarding and synchronised swimming were so challenged. BTW, in my opinion, T&D were superb - that Bolero - OMG! Wiggins gets up with people like Scott or Bonnington for their achievements, because of their sustained effort over a long period. Which is why I brought up extreme cross country runners - that's fitness and application. Jonny Wilkinson? Get a grip! 1966? Get a new achievement (or manager or team or something). Daley Thompson? Never had a lunchbox like Lynford! Pinsent etc? Short bursts over a long number of years. Adlington? Nope! The swimmer boy - it's like jumping off a log - backwards! And anything cricket? Pulleeze! Take six ten yard runs and swap to the next guy cos you've failed! That's not dedication, it's deadication. Y'all will be claiming soon that ping pong is a candidate, though should that not be wiff waff? Take a long hard think about what you, personally could do, and how close could you get to any of these people, relatively. And then I think you'll find that in terms of human fitness, dedication, sustained competitive challenge, Wiggins is one of those you would feel least likely to be able emulate. And if that's not convincing enough of an argument for you, think of this - Wiggins has been dubbed Le Gentleman by the French. In terms of powers, that's deitic, by the way

The significant thing, which was not covered in that clip, but was in the longer BBC packages using that clip, is that he has held the yellow jersey after each stage, from day one, which is an extremely rare thjng given the varied nature of the stages as they go through the mountains. To be king of the hill shows a breadth of power that is very unusual in someone who also leads the time trials / sprints. As sport goes, how many British athletes have achieved the ultimate in events which call for this level of endurance? Running a marathon a day for twenty six days doesn't touch it, either, because that is not very uphill, and is at the runner's pace, not a competition pace. I mean, have you guys ever tried cycling up a hill, never mind a bloody mountain, never mind several mountains for days on end after several days of foothill and flat cycling. This is some serious shit. Name another sporting achievement that comes close. None of the ordinary sports do. You'd have to get to extreme cross country for that, and even then the mountain elements are not as mad high as the alpine stretches of the TdeF. Anyway, Yettie, to dispute the claim you'd really need to provide an example of another event / sportster who has achieved anything so remarkable, so we can compare.

This is a sensitisation issue, which is quite common in chemical related work (yes, flux is a chemical). First and foremost, get it checked by a doctor, preferably your own, but also ask for a work referral to an occupational specialist. Next, you should not, under any circumstances, be welding anything, or using small metals, with or without electricity, without gloves. If you can't do the job without gloves, you shouldn't be doing it at all. Your employer should know that, so it seems as if they are being negligent, to me. Speak to them, and as for a different type of glove, even if it is the thin latex surgical type which give you much better finger sensitivity. I suspect, though, that these will not survive the work as there will be a lot of sharp edges etc.. Your employer is duty bound to (probably, depending on country) to ensure that you have safety equipment suitable to the needs of the job AND to the individual. Ask them for a different type of glove. Hygiene is important. Before starting to work on the materials wash your hands with warm or cold water and a mild soap. A strong soap, especially if used with hot water acts as a degreasant and removes all the natual oils from your skin, so thats not good. Then apply a barrier cream to your hands. This is particularly helpful in skin conditions. These are standard engineering and fabrication practices. If you are having to reuse any gloves, wash them out at the end of the day and let them dry. The sweat from your hands will accumulate salts in them and thus will also dry your skin out and lead to and exacerbate any skin irritations. After working, observe the same hygiene rules. Your employer should have all of the above available to you. When you see your doctor, you should let him know the flux brand, and also any hygiene products so that he can assess any interactions and also the effects of his own treatments. As you have established a pattern of effect in this lab, and a pattern of relief in the other lab, ask for a transfer back to the other one. This could only be temporary while allowing your hand to heal. Healing treatments will be far less likely to work if under constant reinforcement from the work practice. I think all of Zombie's advice is good, but remember that that is only an insurance for if your employer does not make reasonable adjustments for you. It is far better for all concerned to address the problem mutually. If you have a union, consult with them too. Lastly: do not under any circumstances forget that you are also responsible for your own health and safety at work, just as much as your employer. If they are providing gloves and you are not using them, you are very much in the wrong, and it will affect later actions badly. Unless you can establish a pattern of coercion to work very quickly, which is only possible without suitable protection, AND you can show your representations on the matter, AND you can show a dismissal or ignoring of you issues and concerns, you will get nowhere. They will blame you, and with some justification, unfortunately. You must use gloves, and you must highlight the issues to your employer. That's only fair. Good luck

Great story, loved the premise, loved the drama, loved Luke, loved Ryden, Helen was a worried frantic mother, so her irritatingness can be forgiven However, although I liked the tense and dramatic wake up (clever, very clever) I just felt really let down by the ending with a short epilogue. It felt like you got bored and narrated the end, instead of wrote it. Still, this only reduces it to 9/10!

Nice. Short, but complete. Unusual, that.

So you're in charge of everybody's dreams during the night, and now this little critter is in charge of your nightmares during the day, yet you have fallen in love with him. My god, he's gonna have to shapeshift into something dramatically wetdreamlike to make up for that little lot. If not, Dargon sounds like he might do Cute IS the word.

rather be a sucker than a f! Anyway, something said by some great man or other to remember: We don't stop playing because we get old. We get old because we stop playing. () | | | | _____ | |_____ |-------------------| |===========| |-------------------| There's a wee cake for yooooo! xx

Shame for the jumpers in. Apparently allowing a story to unfold as you colour it is doomed to pointlessness. How does a life fare in this scenario?

Heartwarming, and touching. Those of us who've had 'the conversation' know well how good it is for it to go down with acceptance.

I liked the circle of life, and the deveolpment of the circle into a spiral. Very interesting and stimulating. Not sure about the grandfather, though. That's lost me a bit.

Goodness. That was horrible to contemplate. Not bad to read, though!

Yay! Thats was fun

Intriguing. No pace to deal with, just a constant stream of progress. Interesting that even the grass turned against the gate!