Graeme

I don't like that site. They have just listed lots of synonyms without really indicating how/when they can be used. eg. "I hate you!" John hissed. Now, I challenge anyone to actually 'hiss' that statement. You can't do it because it doesn't contain any syllables that can be hissed. You can write it, but you can't speak it.

Forgive me, but I'm going to dissect your version. This is all my opinion, and I would love to hear contrary views, but this is the sort of subtle thing that can make a lot of difference to a story: The fact that he is pondering is obvious from the dialogue. It's why 'said' and 'asked' is used more often, because all you are really doing is indicated who said it. Using a speech tag to say he was pondering is repetitive and unnecessary. Why 'back' at the end? It's unnecessary because it's already clear who he is address. I like this. Action that matched the words very well. I can even see the wistful expression that goes with it, and that's not mentioned. My only problem with this is that it's an odd place for him to nod. I would personally have had him nod and then have the dialogue, rather than interrupting the dialogue with the action. The way it's written he says something, nods, and then continues, but if you look at the words, I would have expected him to have said it all together, without a break. Having 'agreed' is redundant. It's obvious from the dialogue that he's agreed. Since the entire purpose of the last two words is to indicate who said it, using 'said' meets that requirement in a neutral way. Of course, in the context, you could leave it off completely, since it is obvious who is making the statement.

As it is beginning to look like the fires are being brought under control, I thought I'd give an update. Homes lost: 1830 People homeless: 7000 estimated, of which 3000 are living at emergency relief centres scattered around the state Area burnt: over 440,000 hectares. That's more than a million acres. Lives lost: 181, but they still expect that to rise, with some estimates exceeding 300. They have someone they are expecting to charge for deliberating lighting one of the fires that ended up taking a confirmed 21 lives (so far).

Well done, Mark!

For those who are cynical about human nature: Strangers step in to rescue Flowerdale wedding The part that really got to me was the last line. It's the people who give without wanting anything in return that show how generous humanity can be.

We're getting way off topic, but I've got my heart set on getting a Lamborghini.

Unfortunately, they aren't alone. There will be a moderate number of people without insurance, for one reason or another. This has been discussed on the radio, and the announcer made the blunt point that an insurance company makes money by not paying out on claims. However, at least one insurance company came on to say that they will pay out. They can't do anything about people who are under-insured (another major problem), but they will meet their obligations. The situation is complex when it comes to homes, because building insurance typically says that the building will rebuilt, even if it turns out to be a bit more than the estimated value, or they can just take the money it was insured for. What is the best way forward is something that needs discussion. As for the contents, the radio announcer made the comment that it's almost impossible to remember everything that was in a house and wanted to make sure that victims wouldn't be pressured to sign claims that state that no further claim could be made. He was assured that they wouldn't be. Another radio announcer made the comment that it is almost impossible to understand what "lost everything" really means. You want to hammer in a nail -- where is the hammer? Where are the nails? Everything means everything and there is just so much that you don't realise you don't have until you go to use it. Fire is usually not excluded from Australian insurance policies, unless they were deliberately set by someone living at, or owning the property. On that last subject, out of the six major fires here, four have been cleared of being deliberately set, but two are considered suspicious, including the one that destroyed Marysville, where it is estimated 100 people have died, and the one in the Gippsland area where 21 people have died. The fire that destroyed a few homes in Narre Warren was started by human action, but that one appears to be stupidity, not malicious. From what I heard, someone was using a tool that generated sparks (I think it was an angle grinder) on a Total Fire Ban day when they're banned. They'll be charged. There have also been cases where some smaller fires have been deliberately lit, but were put under control quickly.

G'day, Richard! Check out the Writer's Corner and Editor's Forum. If you contact Joe (PM JSmith) and ask for "Author" status, you'll be able access more of the site that caters for the writing community. Good luck! Graeme

I'm more amused by the fact that both are also quite active threads

G'day, SRevol! Let us know if there is anything you would like help with

That goes to show how long it has been since I did High School physics. I had forgotten about the energy required for a phase change, though I remembered it as soon as Greg reminded me.

I don't know but I'll make a good guess The answer is that it doesn't go immediately off the boil. What you are seeing is the cessation of a difference in temperature because the heating source is hotter than the boiling water. This converts some of the water to steam, and that's what you think is 'boiling' -- the steam forcing it's way up from the bottom of the container to the top, and escaping. With the removal of the heating source -- which has been fighting against the water's natural tendency to equalise it's temperature throughout the liquid -- the bottom of the contain quickly achieves an equilibrium of temperature. The water itself is still at the boiling point (though it'll start to cool), but there is no outside source to force the creation of steam, and hence the water no longer 'boils'.

Without knowing the person in question, I would say there's a good chance that he will consider it a date. However, he might also be wise enough to know that he hasn't actually asked you out on a date, but rather asked a friend if he would like to go out. You say it's not a date, so it's not a date, but be on alert for any actions or words that makes it appear like he thinks it could be a date.

Why did he jump up from that rock? Did you forget to warm your hands? :wacko:

Please give me a reason why I shouldn't complain about spamming. That's two threads that you've posted this picture in, which is very close to spamming. Considering the original nature of spam, I think this qualifies as spam

Only if you want it to be.... Personally, I was thinking the same thing about the image, but that could be because of a picture of canned echidna that CJ had posted in a different thread

Thanks, Librent! I'm safe, but there are a lot of people around here who fled from Kinglake (which is why I keep mentioning it so often -- even though there are fires in other parts of the state that have also caused loss of life and property). I spoke to a couple yesterday.... I'm sorry, but I should have thought of this before. ABC Radio (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has been providing non-stop bushfire news since Saturday. You can listen online from the ABC website. At the bottom of the page is a link for a live stream of 774 ABC Melbourne. The good news is that they have just announced that they are currently no urgent alerts in the state. I hope that continues.

I happen to like English cuisine. I remember a great pub called The Poacher's Pocket that we used to go to for meals on weekends when we wanted to treat ourselves. There are also a lot of fantastic Indian restaurants. I think it's a case of getting some local advice as to which places are good and which are not.

Thanks The confirmed death toll is now over 170 and they're expecting it to go over 200. But it wasn't that long ago that they expected it go over 40.... The Healesville Sanctuary, north east of Melbourne, is a great tourist attraction for overseas visitors because it's almost completely Australian native animals. My avatar photo was taken there. Because of a fire in that region, they have evacuated all of their endangered species (including, in some cases, eggs) to Melbourne Zoo. There are just so many stories on the newspaper websites here that I don't know what to pass on. I think I'll just quote a letter to the editor from The Age Newspaper:

They are, however, vulnerable to publicity. The ones here have obliquely been warned -- don't be stingy, or find yourself getting lots of bad press.

You can over use speech tags, but to a large extent people don't really notice the 'said' part unless you draw attention to it. Using lots of adverbs or alternative speech tags (shouted, yelled, snarled, spat, etc) is one way to draw attention to the issue. One alternative I use a lot is to mix action with dialogue:

Unfortunately, that's not CJ. CJ is a black goat (with glowing red eyes).... However, it does prove that his claim that goats will have nothing to do with cliffs is a lie

It's easy -- it knows they are supposed to be black. Redeye is caused by the flash reflecting off the retina at the back of the eye. The retina contains a lot of blood vessels, which is why it looks red. Without the flash, you would be seeing the pupil of the eye, which is black. Since you usually use the flash in a low light situation, the pupil of the eye is typically wide open, and hence when the pupil looks red, it makes it appear as if the whole eye is red.

Hi, old bob, No, we don't have state sponsored insurance for homes. We do for motor vehicles, but that's mainly to help pay the other person in an accident that you're responsible for. It doesn't help you. To do that, and for any insurance for home and contents, you need to have private insurance. And, yes, I've heard of at least one person who doesn't have insurance.... Unfortunately, insurance is one of the first things that goes in harsh economic times. Current news reports are expecting the toll to pass 200. It wasn't that long ago that they were saying they expected the toll to pass 40.... I spoke to someone from the church last night who has lost his home. He was shellshocked. My wife spoke to her doctor, who has lost her home, dogs, cats and horses. We're not 100% sure, because we didn't want to ask detailed questions, but it seems that one of the classmates of our youngest son lost her grandmother in the fires.

No rain in the long range forecast. I attended a community briefing tonight and they indicated that they expecting the wind to shift around on the weekend and there is a risk that the fire will head back in our direction. I don't expect to be in any danger, but we won't be taking any chances. If there's a risk, we'll be sending the boys back to stay with their grandmother again. My anthology entry Bushfire was inspired by the terrain in the Toolangi State Forest -- which is now burning. My first story, New Brother was set in the Yarra Valley -- which is now burning in parts (though Yarra Glen itself is still okay). Falls Creek is fine, though I mentioned Beechworth in Falls Creek Lessons and that's also currently in danger. I haven't been keeping up to date with the fires in NSW, but I hope Dubbo is okay..... :wacko: