C James

I see that Shadowgod is in the lead, with 100% of the vote! My reasoning is thus: When he had his title, Shadowgod had a higher chapter posting rate. Therefor, we can assume, returning his title to him (and dealing a blow to that usurping goat!) would encourage him to write more. Also, Shadowgod well and truly deserves his title: Need I mention LiS 26?

Yes, He does, doesn't he? Perhaps he sold his soul to the Dark Evil Incarnate? I prefer Kayaks, but whitewater rafting and kayaking is FUN! With a Kayak, you can end up upside down, underwater. That can get interesting if you've lost your paddle. With rafting, that can get interesting too.. I remember one time rather well; the raft went over a rock, tipping forward over a drop, in such a way that it catapulted the person in the stern out of the raft. That was me. So, I got to experience much of a class 4 without a boat. But that's not crazy... Crazy would be, say, climbing a glacier. That in itself isn't crazy, but doing so while nine years old, well, that could be. Of course, that pales in comparison to being caught by one of Shadowgod's dizzying cliffhangers.... Now, now, Your Cliffhangeryness, accusing me of a less than scrupulous PM campaign! Shame on you!

Aww, Drewbie, how could you take the side of Dark Evil Incarnate? And I've never made unfounded accusations... All I've said is that Shadowgod is Satan. But Eric, you know that a goat would never have anything to do with a cliff! Hrmmm, I find it quite interesting that Wildone now talks like Shadowgod!! I think I know what the EEEvil plan is... Six weeks from now, the 2008 GA Member's Choice awards will be beginning! I suspect that there is a dark and evil campaign to manipulate the election and get me re-elected King of Cliffhangers! Shame on you!!!

Hrmmm, so you mean the emoticon brings Shadowgod?

But drew... Just look at this! Living in Surreality 26 Surely that is proof, as if any is needed, that he is Evilness Incarnate? And remember... Shadowgod = Lord of Darkness! That's the literal translation, though "Dark Deity" is accurate too. Eric!!! E Tu? Don't you want to be on the side of goodness and light? Or has the Siren Song of the forces of darkness and shadow wooed you? Well, I beg to differ! The Dark Conspiracy has already crosses international boundaries, no? Hrmmm, being a mercenary, I think you must charge.

Why? The Scar already knows of the General's role against his nukes... He already knows that the General knows Eric. And he knows (we can assume, due to it being public knowledge via the press) that Eric and Brandon killed Dimitri. What could The Scar possibly learn to change anything in any way? Well, been as you wouldn't certify the chapter cliffhanger free, somebody had to. Eric!! What cliffhangers? You know I never use cliffhangers... Your duckie is Evil, and thus in league with Shadowgod!! Thanks! Okay.. I promised pictures!! Here's three of the place I had in mind when Eric picked the party location. To put the last two into perspective, the are taken from the same direction, about fifteen feet apart. The pool view is what you see from inside. ) Forget the bird cage, but this is what I was trying to describem sort of. Eric's is more spanish style, and less cluttered, but the concept is the same: a large area, with about a third of it roofed over and the rest open to the sky, with pools and a view. BTW, these pics are not from La Palma, but from a hilltop hotel in Jamaica. I remembered thinking, while I was there, "what a great place for a party!" and so, I used it. Now, for the Volcano pics. Here's a pic of a minor steam and ash venting from the lava dome of Mt. St. Helens, in early September. Here's St Hellens itself, same day. To put the sheer power in perspective; that crater is a mile wide, and St Hellens is an enormous mountain; it also used to be a heck of a lot taller; it was once known as the Mt. Fuji of the Cascades. When I took this, I was standing on a ridgeline (Johnsot Ridge) over a thousand feet above the valley floor. When St Hellens erupted, the landslide and supersonic blast scoured the ridge down to bedrock, and it's five miles away. Now, here's a pick taken looking the other way, north. The flattened trees (the are literally shattered, the stumps are splintered) don't stop there. Trees were flattened like that for thirty miles. I had to knock the REs way back due to bandwidth issues, but if you look close, you can see the remains of fallen trees.

A GA member has asked me to post a request for information, due to their desire to remain anonymous in this regard. The member is in need of leads for a computer-tech job that allows telecommuting. If you have any knowledge of such a position, please post in the thread or PM me. The member has A+ and Network+ Certification. Thanks for any help or advice in this matter. CJ

I've just become aware of a conspiracy!! Against me!! And Benji, they're after you too! Yes, the Axis of Steveeevil is about to make a move! Don't beleive me? HEre it is, straight from the Dark Evil Incarnate himself!! https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php...;showentry=8300 The relevant passage... This is a CONSPIRACY!! And what's this about 6 weeks? What are they up to? It is clear that the Axis Of Steveeevil is clearly an international conspiracy! CJ

Good news on your family member! Small steps, over time, can cover any distance. WHAT??!?!? OK, here we have a meeting of the Axis of Steveeeil! The true source of Evil in the world... And, um, plotting? Against ME!?!?!?! Poor, sweet, innocent and defenseless ME?!?!? Shame, shame!! You big bullies... And, um, 6 weeks? 5 weeks? Until WHAT??!?! Evil stalks the land.. and its name be Steve... CJ

Good catch! Yes, this is the bit that implies The Scar knows who Bradson is and what he did. Well said! The General did see a little of the dossier, but that was during or immediatly after the nuclear hunt. Enough to know of Clump's relationship with the Carlise's parents. However, as you point out, he wouldn't have access to it all, and certainly not after the higher-ups gave him the old heave-ho. The General had access to the Carlshitski's interview notes. They would have been interviewed right around the time of the nuke hunt, and he'd have access to that due to need-to-know. However, anything coming in after he parted company with the government, not likely. BTW, the title of chapter 15 is "Worth a Thousand Words".

Yep, I meant Mt. Gambier. Just becuase it's full of water, does not mean that it's not active. I can think of several active volcanos with water in their craters between eruptions. I can also think of a few that are under ice. And what? Me, use whatever definition is convenient?

For there to be fresh volcanic ash, it merely means that there's been a little venting, just a small ash column. Nothing to worry about. Just some local color. The quake... Earthquakes and volcanoes go hand in hand. It was a 5.5 quake that triggered the main eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980, causing the entire north flank to collapse, in the largest landslide ever seen by human eyes. I've been there; I highly reccomend seeing it. I stood on Jonston ridge six weeks ago (named for one of the scientists who died there during the eruption) which is a thousand feet above the valley between it and St Helens, and five miles away. It was scoured down to bedrock. The sheer power... it's hard to visualize unless you can see the results. Of course, not all eruptions are catastrophic; Kilauea in Hawaii has been erupting nonstop for over 20 years, and it's very well behaved; mainly lava flows. Cumbre Vieja is usually well-behaved, too. BTW, I don't see that the camera is anything to worry about? Sure, The Scar is looking at it, but I see no indication that he plans to steal it, or do it harm? Therefor, the camera, as far as we know, is safe, and thus no cliffhanger. I think we can now safely certify this chapter as cliffhanger-free? CJ Good point Graeme! Santo Anato, in the Cape Verdes (about thousand miles from the Canary Islands) is the one The Scar, General Bradson, etc, are on. It's volcanic, but is not known to have a volcano that has been active in historical times. La Palma, where Eric is, has Cumbre Vieja, which goes through eruptive cycles a couple of times a century, on average. An, um, Graeme, considering that you live close to an active volcano, perhaps you better learn some vulcanology? (Mainland Australia's only active volcano, though it hasn't erupted in a couple of thousand years, is about 130 miles to Graeme's west.) It's Iran that's holding the two marines, not Iraq. When I was at Mt St Helens, I talked to quite a few people who live in the area. The ones downwind get an occasional dusting of ash from the ongoing small eruptions, and think nothing of it. There are some vulcanologists, but that's more due to the convenience of St Helens than anything else. For a recent example, remember the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean? The Soufire hills volcano erupted, devastating most of the island. But how much do we hear of it now? (It's still erupting, BTW). There are about 1500 active volcanoes in the world (roughly 600 on land, 900 under the sea) . A volcano is, as a rule of thumb, thought of as active if it has erupted within the last 10,000 years. (there are several in Nevada, for example). People often mix up the terms active an erupting. At any given time, there are between 20 and 40 volcanoes erupting (on land) worldwide. Generally speaking, vulcanologists pay the most attention to, and monitor most closely, ones like Pinatubo and St Helens, that have a history of explosive eruptions.

Thanks Drewbie! Well, there were many clues in this chapter, to all manner of things. BTW, to those interested, I'm keeping the geography and geology as realistic as I can. The island is quite real, and if anyone wants to peek in google earth, they'll see it as described.

Due to me being horrendously late with the chapter, I tried a new method: I sent it to you, Shadowyness, Captain Rick, and Emoe all at once. I then created a master copy from Emoe's, and as each came back in I edited all accepted changes, plus changes I made in response to comments, into the master copy, then sent it off to Bondwriter for his zeta-reading. This did NOT work well: The beta readers and Emoe ended up pegging some of the same typos, and thus it was a duplication of effort, and unfair of me to inflict on everyone (Sorry! I wasn't thinking..). 15 is already in beta, so hopefully we won't face the problem again. I also have eight chapters still on my HD, written in the past two weeks. The reason I've been so late is I needed to make certain that some details in later chaptewrs match the ones we're looking at now, and couldn't do for certain until I'd written them. BTW, the only reason we have a chapter this week at all is due to the speedy efforts of my team. And, Your Amphibiousness, we eagerly await your certification of the chapter as Cliffhanger-Free! Ok, the chapter thread is here, thanks Drewbie!

Sorry, yes, Chapter 14, Prelude to War, is late. I was super late sending it to my team, and only through their efforts do we have it at all. However, I'm having internet trouble today. The best I can say is it will be up by noon, Arizona time (MST), today. Sorry for the delay.

I'm sure I added to it by stripping emoticins out when I quoted. Peter! Don't you know? I never use cliffhangers! I do indeed research them, (I can, for example, point to a comprehensive list of Shadowgod's cliffhangers) but I never use them myself. Wildone!!! I'm shocked, shocked I tell ya! How could you call me, of all goats, evil!??!?! Now, let me correct a few misaprehensions... The area Wildone visited is Hoover Dam, and not all of Arizona is like that... It's mainly basin and range country; broad flat valleys between desert mountain ranges (the ranges do, yes, look like the canyon are Wildone is showing us). If you head east from the dam, in 20 miles you're in a broad valley all the way to the big city (Kingman). One you leave that burgoning metropolis, you head East on I40, and enter the high country. There, well, it's greener than Wildone saw, but equally precipitous. In fact, the road to my house skirts a canyon that, although it hasd trees, is very much like the one Wildone was at. It's single-lane, and if you lean out the window, you can look straight down... It's very fun in icy weather; it slopes towards the drop-off. Now... hrmmm, that bridge... That's a clear case of the states of Arizona and Nevada rising to new heights of incompetence. That thing has been under construction for TEN years. To put that into perspective; it took four years to build hoover dam. My guess; it will take another five years before they open that darn bridge. However, there are some hair-raising bridges in the area. One in particular comes to mind; it crosses the Colorado river at the north end of the Grand Canyon. There, the Colorado is in a narrow gorge much like Wildone is showing us, only deeper. It's about a thousand feet from the bridge to the water. If they ever finish that bridge at hoover dam, it should be similar. It will cut the drive time to Vegas down by over an hour (currently, the road snakes down into the canyon, crosses the top of the dam, then climbs out, and there's always traffic delays). I wasn't actually in the area when Wildone was there... I was busy hiding from Graeme and Talonrider, who were after me! Now, with wildone calling me evil, (I'm nice, sweet, innocent and quiet! Far from Evil!) I have come to an inescapable conclusion... There is, in this world of ours, a truly dark and malevolent force... It is the Axis of Steveil! It's founding philosophy seems to be truly evil requires one to be named Steve! CJ Slander, i tell ya, Slander!!! Why, look at the last chapter of Changing Lanes... It was Amphibiously declared Cliffhamger Free! I am confident that 14 will be likewise certified. CJ

Hrmmm, does this mean that you don't consider chapter 37's ending to be tense at all? Well, Okay, if you insist.

Please join me in wishing a very happy birthday to Emoe, my editor and friend! Happy Birthday Emoe!!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: :king:

Thank you Sandra!! I do admit that the end of chapter 37 was, shall we say, ever-so-slightly-tense. CJ

OOPS! REgarding the above two posts, that's MY FAULT: I took out the smilies when I quoted the posts. The GA software has a limit on the number of emoticons in a post, so when I'm quoting several posts, I often exceed the limit and have to go back and remove some from the quoted material before it would allow me to tpost my reply. Sorry for the confusion!

Thank you, Eric! Of course there were no cliffies... There never are, in my stories. Thanks W.L! Felecia is... interesting, in many ways. Eric... well, Eric... umm, I can't say anything at all about that comment, without it being a spoiler. Bondwriter!! Me? Use cliffies? I never do! And if I were going to, it would have been in 13, due to the whole Triskaidekaphobia issue. When have I ever done such a thing as that? As you yourself said, in my siggy, "we all know that CJ doesn't use cliffhangers" Yes, goat-buddy, I quite agree! For some reason, many here do seem prone to implying that I use cliffies... BTW, did anyone notice that there is a pool in the location Eric chose for the party? (and that reminds, me, I need to post a pic of it...) Thank you!! BTW, while I don't use cliffies, I do admit to the occasional perhaps-ever-so-slightly-tense chapter endings. OR, PEST, for short. Conner! Don't go! Stay and help deffend your fellow goat from these scurrilous accusations! BTW... The title for Chapter 14 is "Prelude to Battle". Speaking of which... There's been a problem. I had to make sure that I had some details right, to fit in later. The only way to do it was to write far enough ahead before finalizing ch 14. The good news is that I worked hard and wrote several chapter's worth this week. The bad news is that 14 was only sent out to my team about half an hour ago, so we are certainly looking at it not being posted on time. But, on the bright side, the additional chapters I've written should help provide a needed buffer against further delays. CJ

Well, you are unarguably correct regarding the resort's location; it is indeed somewhat isolated. It's also undefended. (no bikers, other than Jim). BTW, given the clues in this and coming chapters, anyone who is interested can see the resort on google earth. I believe it is easy to do so now, just from what is posted. Bondwriter!!! The files are indeed names "Cliff01, cliff 02," etc, on the website as well. That's because the original title was "Changing Lanes in Full Force". It was only when I tried to reduce it to an acronym that I realized it was in need of shortening... Felecia is... interesting. She's in a male-dominated field, and she's the boss. Actually O think this shows that I don't have issues with women in positions of authority, lol! Eric did well, I think.

Greetings, oh Amphibious one! And thank you for the certification! I will point out that I moved the last scene with Eric forward from 14, specifically to avoid ending it with him being tempted by Tequila. See? I recognized a possible cliffhanger and took pains to avoid it! Of course, i do this often, as I never use cliffhangers... The Scar did indeed lose much in that fire; his face is quite unrecognizable, and General Bradson had only seen (in LTMP) a couple of photos of "Jerry". General Bradson never met The Scar previously, so there is no way for him to recognize him. Benji! This chapter was amphibiously certified Cliffhanger Free, so of course, no cliffs! The goats, of course, being goats, would not be on cliffs (a goat, after all, as we all know, would never have anything to do with a cliff!) There are, however, some major clues to a major upcoming problem, and they are, amongst other places, in the description of the resort. BTW, I'm still hiding from the Echidna and Talonrider, but... I'll see if I can sneak out long enough to post the picture I based the party venue on. Well, goats are common on those islands, so it just seemed to fit. General Bradson is in... somewhat unpleasant company. BTW, someone (I can't say who as it was via PM, though they certainly can if they wish) caught a big goof on my part. At one point, I called the Land Rover Yuri is using a Range Rover. I've fixed it, and my sincere thanks for pointing it out.

Now, whatever makes you say that? You are a postaholic! Don't blame me!! I didn't make that island... Thanks! There are interesting arguments on both sides of the La Palma danger. Some (like the study I linked) claim an enormous slide, nearly half the island, and then hundred-foot tidal waves slamming into the US Eastern Seaboard. On the other hand, the study is flawed. The question is, how much? Here's two flaws; One is that the structure has been seen from water tunnels. La Palma is famous for its water tunnels, and that's reasobable, except for one thing; there are none on the volcano in question, just the extinct volcanos in the north. Second flaw: long runout slides do occur. There have been many in the Canary islands in the distant past. However, none are as big as the one postulated. For example, the pevious collapse at La Palma, several thousand years ago, would have only been large enough to hit the US Eastern Seaboard with Tsunamis akin to those of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Basically, the threat is indisputably real; the big question is: how large is it? However, it's safe enough, as long as that volcano isn't in an active phase. BTW, in case anyone missed it, here is the link again, to the La Palma tsunami study. BTW, have I mentioned thr\e title of Ch 13? Falling to Earth. CJ