C James

Happy Birthday Gary!! :king:

Hi! Welcome to GA and the Forums!!!

James, congratulations. What you did is about the hardest thing anyone can do.

Thank you Jay!! And congratulations on your 100th post, too! My sincere thanks to everyone who has commented on my story, here or elsewhere. I've been overwhelmed by the responses, and I'm now officially hooked! Thanks again everyone! CJ

Ten times that, in fact!

1000 posts!!! Congratulations, Kevin!!!! You make GA a very special place. Your posts brighten the day of us all. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Compaq! I'm sorry to hear that you can't trust your friends, but I can well understand that. I hope things improve for you. I hope you came through Katrina OK, and I'll bet you have some stories to tell!

What a wonderful way to say "Happy Birthday"! That was a really sweet story too. Kevin, I know what it's like to be newly arrived in a new place, and spend your birthday there. I sincerely hope that you did have a great day. Happy Birthday Kevin!!

Happy Birthday Xandra!!!

Happy Birthday BRAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi David!! Thanks for joining us in the forums! I think you will love it here. I know I do. Welcome to GA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!!!!!!! Happy birthday to the friendliest guy on GA! Have yourself a great birthday, and have fun!!!!

Hi James! That's a scary new avatar that you have! I can see a point to the draft c proposal, but it has a serious flaw: it's only being proposed because it fits their goals (which, by definition, is bad science). It makes no sense in another regard: there is no reason at all that even gas-giant size planets cannot cross orbits. Also, Pluto doesn't actually cross Neptune's orbit: Pluto orbits out of the plane of the ecliptic, and the orbits never actually intersect, so don't technically cross (I'm rather shocked at that little oversight in that draft) in spite of Pluto having a perihelion that is closer to the sun than Neptune's. An earth-sized or larger planet could just as easily be in Pluto's orbit, which rather negates using that as a pretext for defining a planet. To me, the simple solution is to set an arbitrary mass (not diameter) limit, but at least acknowledge the fact that it is arbitrary. James, I want to thank you for posting your science articles in general, but this one in particular, and for a very different reason: I was unaware of the secret meetings! I've been sitting here laughing every time I think of that!

Oh good greif, my side hurts from laughing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is high comedy at it's finest! A group of scientists quibbling over semantics that have no scientific application!! This makes even less sense than arguing over the dividing line between "hill" and "mountain". I think it's hilarious that they seem hell-bent on avoiding having to add any planets, and I think it would be highly amusing to find out why (something they seem determined to avoid mentioning!) And they are having SECRET MEETINGS over this oh-so-vital issue! BUAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My prediction: no matter what they decide, they will be bickering about it again within three years, and less if Pluto is "demoted". I was at the Lowel observatory in Flagstaff last week, and one of the techs mentioned that if Pluto (which was discovered there) is "demoted", they plan on orchestrating a letter-writing campaign by schoolchildren to get it overturned! :wacko:

BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JAmes, that was great, but I note that it's a more realistic and imaginative plot than "Snakes on a Plane".

Perhaps they should have called it "Snakes on a box office disaster." Anyone actually seen it yet? I won't be, but I'm curious if the plot is as awful as it sounds. According to the release, someone releases hundreds of poisonous snakes on a plane in order to kill one witness. That has to be the most formulaic and contrived plot I've ever heard! Perhaps the movie will find it's true calling in the medical field: there are many people who suffer from insomnia. Same here.

I have a couple of other multi-chapter stories that I'm working on, but this one is being continued in chapters. Basically, the current story will be "chapter 1". I was originally going to re-write it and add in a full day surfing that I deleted for size reasons, but then I realized that it would work just as well for chapter 2, so that's where it will be.

Wow, thank you, Michel! I grew up in the area where most of the story takes place, so for me it was a bit like going home again. Thanks especially for your mention of colors; that's something I am playing around with a bit in the next chapter. Yeah, you also get a lot of glare and UV at high altitudes, hence the shades... So, a Valley goat, are ya? Humph, flatlanders.... Topics? what are those? Psssst, Jack, just be sure you shoot the right Goat, and not the one wearing shades!

A Happy 3000th to our favorite wizard!!!

Nick, I'm really sorry to hear about your leaving the Committee, and also not being able to wrestle. We will miss ya on the committee, and remember that we are here if you need us. Take care!

The only innovative thing about this movie seems to be the well-run viral marketing campaign. I generally HATE hollywood movies, but this one sounds even worse than most. Ugh...

Matt, I've been to Thailand a few times, and I love it there. I think you will be just fine! If you get a chance, check out the area around Phuket. If you stay on the Island of Phuket, stay on the Western side, it's much nicer, but try and stay outside of the town. I found that it was cheaper to stay in a nice, beachfront resort and rent a jeep than it was to stay in town, and one heck of a lot better! The tourist towns are things I avoid like the plague, and if you don't get out of them you might not like Thailand very much. If you have a 4X4, you can safely drive over the bridge to the mainland, and explore places like Phang-na bay, and down the coast to Krabai, two of the most unique and spectacular places on the planet. One last word of advice: don't take the Phuket-based tourist excusrsions to Phang-na bay. They cost plenty, and heard you around in a group like cattle. Instead, follow the crude hand-panted signs that show the shape of "James bond island" once you cross the bridge from Phuket to the mainland. They will lead you to a small dock where they have charter-guides. So, instead of going in a tourist cattle-boat, you get your own boat and guide, and it costs about 1/5 what the tourists pay. Also, you get to plan your itinerary from a photo book (don't miss the sea cave). The guides can be a bit disconcerting, as they are Moro tribesmen in traditional garb, including their huge machete, but I never had trouble with them, nor did I hear of any. But above all, HAVE FUN! Ummm, but not too much fun! Thailand is the AIDS capitol of the world and has a booming sex industry, and both the male and female hookers can be very cunning in their "pick ups". Beware, but if perchance you do decide to play, at least be safe.

Hmmm... OK, this might be a controversial thing to say, but to me this all seems a bit hysterically funny, not to mention being a colossal time-waster. They are simply arguing definitions, due to the human penchant for categorization. The reality is that there are no clear-cut defining lines between, say, planets and kuiper belt objects. The real issue here seems to be perceptive semantics: They for some reason feel that there is a perceptive difference between "planets" and other similar celestial bodies, so they feel pressed to come up with a clear definition. The problem is, they can't! Nature just isn't co-operating. Personally, I'd much rather them spend their time discussing such things as theories for the origin of the Pluto-Charon system, rather than quibbling over what word to sue to describe it. The former will add to human knowledge, while the latter just wastes our time.

Congrats on your licence, Kevin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for the teeth/shower problem, I've had that too. You mention jugs of bottled water? You can take a shower, or close, with that. pour one over your head to get wet, then lather up, then one or two more to rinse and you should be ok. Or, do you have a swimming pool in your area? Those often have shower heads.