C James

TV Dinners have their advantages. The person below me wishes they had not bent their vehicle's rear driveshaft due to not seeing an underwater rock that wasn't there yesterday, and now has to get parts tomorrow and spend Sunday repairing it. Ugh.

I loved Dom's "The Ordinary Us". But, Kevin, I must admit that I'm surprised to see you in an auto mechanics thread! Hmmm, as I recall, though, I was recently expressing surprise there there were in fact threads that you hadn't posted in...

Hey now! :2hands: That "almost" is a bit of an exageration! :2hands: And DFP, as a favor yo yourself, give the forums a try. I think you will find them addictive.

I do too, Anthony, and Sunday as well. The Person below me loves the new profile features since the upgrade!

I'm always happy to nitpick to death help out. :ranger: How did you do it regarding outlining and writing it? Did you plan on the multiple layers from the outset, or did it develop once you started?

2000 Posts Congratulations Kitty!!!! Kitty is the first person other than Myr to make it to 2000 posts, and I would therefor like to strike up the band and inaugurate the BiMillenium Club!! Congratulations Kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frankly, I'm appalled at Australia's lack of consistency! You insist on having Christmas in Summer, and July as a winter month, you even perversely insist upon having largely different constellations in your night sky, so why don't you have the sun rise in the West and set in the East to complete the package? Well, you could ease things a great deal with the DST problem. The fact that you have DST at such odd times compared to the Northern hemisphere makes for a time-table nightmare. I think the best solution is for you to begin DST in March and end it in November, in the interests of reducing the confusion. Hi Knotme! I, too, encounter DST only when dealing with people in areas that have it, or when traveling. I'm delighted to live in a place that is free of it. In the case of schools, for example, I'd much rather have the school change its hours with the season if need be than force everyone to do likewise. What? Me? But I never have anything to say!! Hmmm, maybe I should do a blog post on the merits of being a lurker? But, fear not Kevin, even though i now have a blog, I'm still happy to offer fashion and grooming advice on yours. Heh! I'd like that! I love supermarkets that open 24 hours. One here does, as does Walmart. So, I can go both grocery shopping and clothes shopping at 2am! (and sometimes do). Of course, I'm about as fond of clothes shopping as you are of going to the Dentist, so for me the main attraction is a nearly deserted store that lets me get in and out fast. Given that you live in a big city, you probably have lots of 24 hour places nearby? I live 40 minutes from the nearest store of any kind, so it is a hastle for me to get to a store no matter what the hours. In winter I often get snowed in for up to a week, which can get irritating. Wow, thank you everyone! I was amazed to see that I had vews, let alone comments!!

Thank you for another great chapter!!! I loved the growing intrigue, and I especially like the way that the "enemy" is described as intelligent. I'll be back with more comments after more have read it, but it is a great read!

Hi DFP! Congratulations on the De-Lurk, and thank you for joining us! Give the forums a try: they can be a lot of fun. :ranger:

Hmmm, would something along these lines be plausible? Dear Son: Thank you so much for the invite to the wedding, and for the chance to take a trip so far overseas. What an interesting place Canada is, but Canadian law certainly is odd for allowing a wedding by proxy. I'm so proud of you and Steven for being willing to stand in for the Bride and Groom like that! You played it off Beautifully! That kiss would have done a real married couple proud! I'm amazed that they require that much realisms, but, I suppose the law is the law and it is their country. Strange, isn't it, how oblivious foreigners can be about some things?

I prefer to say the above as how the self righteous have fallen. Doesn't surprise me in the least: Look at all the televangelist sex scandals.

I don't know, Kevin... Kitty might not hit 2000 until Saturday, and you might get there first.. What? It's just a rumor... So, what is your guess on how long it will take to get to 100k?

We have had 246 since hitting 50k, so that's well over 100 a day. if that is anything to go by, it could be about a year. Unless Kevin (AFreindlyFace) has a few high-posting days, in which case it will happen before Christmas. (Hi Kevin! ) That's my best guess. These are some VERY active forums!

Hey, no making fun of my family! :wacko:

Ouch, my side aches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Graeme, those are classics!!! Perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The father is perfect! I was a bit apprehensive when I started to read "another letter", because I just didn't see how it could be as good, but it was. Wow! I truly love humor, so these really, really appealed to me. You know that you just have to write the anniversary letter, right?

That guy is likely on a road to a breakdown, or worse. I do know a married couple who are a gay guy and a lesbian, but they are long-time friends who married for legal reasons, and there is no illusion of marriage in the conventional sense between them. (though, they have been friends for so long they sure seem like a married couple sometimes!). I also know of gay people who are in straight marriages for real, but that is often a road to disaster, and I think the only hope for it to work is with total honest, not self-denial about what they are. BTW, one of my freinds, I found out recently, thinks that "gay marriage" is actually defined as a gay guy and a lesbian getting married. I think it would be worse than being in the closet. It is denial and self-deception, living a lie that you believe in. I was like that until I was 19: I didn't admit to myself that I was gay until then. Prior to that, I came up with every excuse that I could think of. I am not into casual sex, so I was able to convince myself that all I wanted to be was "best Friends" with a guy. I just liked looking at hot shirtless guys for self-improvement ideas. And the fact that I didn't want to date girls? I just wasn't attracted to girls and certainly never wanted to get married, so the fact that I was so frantic to keep myself out of sexual situations with them was perfectly normal. Of course, i kept it all to myself because I wouldn't want anyone to think I was gay. Yep, those all sound hysterically funny now, but back then, i really believed it, and that is what I suspect the "ex-gay" guy is going through. It will play with his head over time. With me it sure did.

Hi Krista!! Yep, DST is not popular with Farmers, which is why I always laugh when one of the reasons for it is given as "Farmers need it". The reason is that they often have to be working at sunup, regardless of what the clocks say, so the DST change puts them an hour further out of sync with their communities (where everyone else changes their schedules relative to the farmers twice a year). And what? Me? Prolific? That's just a rumor! I'm just a quiet and shy lurker! I've been thinking of starting a blog for a while, and finally took the plunge! And what, me, long winded? But I almost never have anything to say? Thank you for being my very first comment on my very first blog! Thank you Bob!! This looks like a lot of fun! Hi Graeme! Western Australia confuses me a little: if Perth (the vast majority of the WA population is in that area, right?) is the deciding factor, why does New South Wales have DST but WA does not? Sydney and Perth are at roughly the same Latitude. If ACT means Australian Capitol Territory, that would be Canberra and Jervis Bay which are in effect islands surrounded by NSW (except that Jervis Bay is on the coast), so it would make sense that they follow NSW. If the extra hour in the evening is useful, wouldn't it make sense to go with DST all year round in those areas that presently have it? What is bothering me the most here (in the US), though, is the change in dates for it beginning next year. It's been pushed back to early November for the end of it, which is about six weeks prior to the winter solstice (in the Northern hemisphere). That means that around 65% of the natural change in day length between winter and summer solstices has already occurred, so why not just make DST year-round and save the hassles of the changes? Also, the change in DST start and end dates in itself bothers me, because it will play merry heck with a lot of self-adjusting electronics and software. Just my opinion... Thank you all for commenting! I wasn't expecting to have any readers, let alone comments!!

Hmmmm. I have to respectfully disagree there. I think what Pete did was awful: to start with, he was unfaithful. Secondly, he declined to discuss things, and just moved out, no notice, bang, when it suited him. I felt that a long-term partner such as Eric deserved far, far better treatment even if it was over. Just my opinion. GREAT!!! I'd love to see where this leads, and maybe hear more of their backstories. Thank you!

Yep, I've decided to take the plunge and start blogging. My plan is to post on a variety of things, prety much anything. For example, my first real blog post will be sort of political as it will be about Daylight Savings time. So, welcome everyone (assuming that anyone but me ever comes here! ). Now, on to my Rant of the Day: Daylight Savings Time! I live in Arizona, and one of the things I love about Arizona is that we are not burdened by Daylight Savings Time. We don't have to change our clocks every spring and fall, and I love it. (note: on the Navajo Indian reservation, they do observe daylight savings time, though the rest of the state does not) This begs the question: Why does anywhere bother with Daylight Savings Time? I can see some arguments for it, maybe, in more northern state where the Winter days are even shorter, but why have it anywhere in the Southern half of the country? We seem to get along just fine without it in Arizona, and the lack of it is exceedingly popular amongst residents. The only issues that seem to ever arise are from occasional confusion with airline and train schedules, plus TV broadcasts on some stations, due to the rest of the nation changing its clocks twice a year. It can get slightly confusing when making long distance phone calls, too, but that is quite minor. With DST, each year there is one 23 hour day and one 25 hour day, causing all kinds of headaches in scheduling, record keeping, etc. The most laughable reason given in support of DST is that "the farmers need it". Evidently, anyone saying that has never asked a farmer about it! Farmers need to be up at daybreak, regardless of what the clocks say. It is of no use to them, and some hindrance: the changes serve to put them more out-of-sync with their communities (everyone else can change their schedules to the DST, but farmers cannot). Fuel savings are often mentioned as a reason for DST, and played a role in the recent extension of DST by three weeks (beginning next year). The fuel savings are quite negligible, and could be vastly exceeded by common sense: for example, allow and encourage urban businesses, where practical, to vary their work hours to avoid rush hour traffic. Instead of 9-5, try 8-4, or 10-6. This has been done with some success in Phoenix, and it does alleviate some traffic congestion, which in turn saves on both fuel and air pollution (not to mention time, frustration, and lives). The energy savings often quoted for DST are based on a reduced need for electric lighting by having sunset one hour "later" each day during DST. This did have some truth decades ago, but now is largely if not completely ofset by workers coming hom in summer closer to the hottest part of the day (and thus increasing the use of power-hungry air conditioners.) If energy savings are the reason, a far better argument can be made for having DST year-round; no changing of the clocks. California is talking about this for that very reason. However, in California's case, a better argument can be made for terminating DST: their power crisis is a peak-load shortage, and that is exacerbated, not helped, by having people return home closer to the hottest part of the day. So, in essence, one could argue that California would be better off observing DST in winter, and not in summer, the opposite of the rest of the nation. Also, the latest boondoggle, the extension of DST a few weeks beginning next year, will raise trouble with all the devices that adjust the time based on date, and many will thus show the wrong time. My position is that, given the costs and hassles of DST and changing the clocks, either adopt it year-round, or do away with it. Schools and businesses that need daylight are quite capable af adjusting their schedules rather than their clocks.

:king: :king: Happy Birthday!!!! :king: :king:

I've been sitting here staring at a blank entry box because I'm speechless. Wow, Nick thank you! I'm, I don't know what to say! "The Muse" (My fall anthology entry) was fun to write, and definitly a change of pace for me. I really didn't think it would go over very well at all. Congratulations, everyone! And Nick, thank you for doing these awards. They mean a lot, to a lot of people. CJ

Congratulations LB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very happy for you, as I know how much you craved being in your own place again. On thing though: When i saw your post, I assumed that the pic to the right was of your new apartment, and my first thought, for a moment, was: "It's spacious, but why a horse in the living room?"

Done!! The thread is here... And thank you again for the critique of mine, that was indeed helpful!!! So, what does everyone think: Should I write a sequel to "the Muse"? Whoa!!!! I was just writing a joke title for the "sequel", and it suddenly occurred to me that it would make a perfect title for the multi-chapter story I that want to start posting in a few days!! The Muse did indeed strike!

Black Swans, by Graeme, is a very poignant tale, with a bittersweet ending. It (to me) seems to have several underlying metaphors: That life comes full circle, and that betrayals often carry a most terrible price. There was much left unsaid but alluded to: What was John McMasters? Why was he alone? I think the key there was when he was explaining the differences between white and black swans, and how, when younger, A young male black swan will often leave a companion for another. My guess is that John McMasters was, long ago, in a relationship that ended through infidelity. But was he the unfaithful one, or the victim? Either way, he seems condemned to be alone by that years-past breakup, feeling regret, and loss. My hunch is that the regret is due to himself being the party responsible for the loss of his relationship. I think the following line holds many clues, but I can

I'll give it a try with Black Swans, but I'm not as good at it as Knotme is. I'll start a thread in the Story Cafe when I've read it. Thank you!! But, but, but... Joel wrote the second and first-person parts, so don't blame me... The second-person part was my attempt at a bit of verse as well, and it was supposed to sputter and fail so that Joel would discard it. Second-person voice is somehow disquieting to a lot of modern readers, and is difficult to use, which is why it so seldom is. Agreed on the "nows". The "sage" bit was indeed tongue-in-cheek. I liked the "leap" because it portrayed something different than him just standing up, but I did use it twice, my bad! (same with the re-use of scudding, oops!). THANK YOU Knotme, I REALLY appreciate this!!