Graeme

And I think you've discovered the REAL reason for this. We have to remember that C James is under the delusion that's he's a shy and retiring lurker. Having an overly popular story would not fit that image, so he's worked hard to reduce his ranking in the search engines so he can pretend to be a lurker for a bit longer....

The original URLs are no longer valid. You need to bookmark new ones

Because while they had the right to be there, they weren't supposed to be there, especially without any sort of security. Now Brisbane is a lovely city, and there are some great people there, but lunatics can be found anywhere.... Also, Jerry doesn't know that the guys had been in the container (a container containing a dead body and nuclear weapons....). The ending indicates that at least one of the photos shows the guys inside that container.... They'll get it from Helen on the former issue, and who knows what The Scar will do about the later. :wacko:

Hmm... I suspect you're being sarcastic, because I certainly didn't find it boring. It was different in character to some of the other chapters, but definitely not boring. There was a bit of humour (involving Eric, naturally), tension (what was going to happen when they arrived) and drama (well, I think murder is drama....).

Chapter 30 is now available.... I'm not bothered by the ending. :wacko: And it is good to see that Eric sometimes has priorities higher than sex....

Happy 18th Birthday! Welcome to the weird world of adulthood.

This sounds similar to the urban myth about reusing plastic water bottles. In summary, I would take it with a huge dose of scepticism. On the original topic, though, I remember that a similar situation was reported in the UK a couple of years ago. The researchers found measurable doses of pharmaceutical products in the water supply (I think it was Vallum, though it may have been Prozac). Essentially, so many people are using the products that they are getting into the water supply. This is one of the reasons I'm really sensitive to the over-use of medication. Especially medication that affect the mind.

Not at all. The topic is "Love me for who I am". That's all you're asking for I've just finished reading through the exchange above and I have to say that I found it very interesting and informative. Many of us (even those of us who have spent their life in the closet) in countries like Australia, the USA, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and most of Europe, don't realise how far things have progressed for us, and how much other countries still need to go for just basic rights. As Kevin said, it really puts things into perspective. Good luck, everyone!

Congratulations, Kevin! You're one of the reasons I have so much confidence in the future of the world. Your insightful and thoughtful posts show the type of character in the younger generations that the media rarely reports. The more I get to know you, the more impressed I am. I wish you all the best for the future, and I look forward to reading many more of your posts in the years to come.

Congratulations, Robbie! Now, what are you going to do about that cute guy in the Statics class? There's no point in having a working gaydar if you never act on it.... Think of it as a calibration exercise -- you need to be sure that its working, and that means talking to the guy.

That will depend on whether The Scar's death will have an impact on the matter of the bombs. If he's done something so that if he's killed, then the bombs go off, then I don't think he'll be killed..... However, if only he, Dimitri and Vladimir know the signals to detonate the bombs, and one of them needs to be alive to trigger them, then his death will mean that no one will have to worry about the bombs -- they won't go off.

I believe Vladimir will survive, even though I believe The Scar will want him dead. Vladimir is highly intelligent -- socially inept, but highly intelligent. Some of his plans may be anticipated by The Scar, but I suspect something Vlad organises will allow him to escape the fate The Scar plans for him. As for Dimitri -- while The Scar would like to eliminate him, I think he recognised that not only is Dimitri is professional, but because he's professional it would be a major risk to try to kill him. If he fails, everything he's planned for will fail, too, because Dimitri will have no reason to keep it a secret anymore. So, even if he would prefer to eliminate all the loose ends, The Scar will not attempt to kill Dimitri. There's one more possibility that I've just thought of -- that Dimitri is ordered to kill Vladimir, but hides him away instead.....

Happy Birthday, Mattie!

Bah humbug... Seriously, congratulations to the Indian team. It was only a matter of time, with so many of the Australian team retiring, that they'll be knocked back a peg or two and shown that they're not invincible. Our job now is to make sure we blood enough newer players to fill in the gaps left by the old guard. Give us a year or two and we'll be back on top

An extremely timely question Currently, I'm happy with the job, but not happy with the new manager I've got -- to the extent that I'm seriously considering changing. My options are to transfer within the company (my preferred option), but if I have to quit, I've already started looking at what my options are. My wife thinks she can get me a job with her company (as her boss, actually -- which is where we met, but that's another story). I also suspect I could survive contracting to my existing customers. I don't want to make any decisions now, though, because I've got a months leave coming up. I don't want to do something now that's really just due to me needing a holiday....

I rate coca-cola and pepsi just above sarsparella as my least favourite flavours. I usually go for lemonade (which has nothing in common with what the USA calls lemonade ), though I'm also very partial to lemon and lime flavoured soft drinks, and Lemon, Lime & Bitters (LLB) in particular For mixed drinks, I usually use dry ginger ale.

Shadowgod has managed to confuse the issue by using principle instead of principal. From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Main Entry: prin

I believe this is the first time we've started on the silly posts on the day the new chapter has been released.... Doesn't anyone have anything interesting to comment on about the chapter?

G'day, Edward and congratulations on getting your story published!

And I heard it was a good concert, too! The only concert I've been to at the MCG was Paul McCartney many years ago. We managed to get seats on the hallowed ground itself.... I just knew CJ was going to do something to make sure I didn't go. And after I had gone to the expense of getting a digital camera with an extra long zoom lens so I could take some good pics of the guys for posting here at GA. Sorry, everyone -- no pics....

I notice, with distaste, the lack of a "No animals were harmed in the writing of this chapter" disclaimer. That poor echidna... Eric didn't even bother hunting up some ants for it to eat! Overall, another good chapter, CJ! The Scar's plans are progressing nicely... or not so nicely, depending on your point of view.

Happy 18th Birthday, James!

I beg your pardon, but I didn't know we could negotiate a price with the record companies or software houses. I thought they set a price and effectively tell us to take it or leave it. While some people are simply taking the "free" versions, I think you'll find that many of them WOULD pay what they consider to be an equitable price. It is the fact that there no option to negotiate such an equitable price that leave them without an option (though see below for my comments on iTune). I believe that many people are in this category. They object to paying a large amount of money for a CD when they only want one or two songs on it, but they'll pay a couple of dollars to get those songs. The success of iTunes is, I think, evidence that people WILL pay what they see as an equitable amount. The prices they were previously charged were not equitable, and (just like at the time of Prohibition) they took illegal action in protest. You've reminded me of another point. What about libraries? For those who believe in copyright this strongly, should libraries be banned, since they pay one set of royalties to the copyright owner, and then let hundreds, if not thousands, use the copy they've bought? I don't want to come over as an apologist for pirates, but one reason they are prevalent is because prices are perceived to be inequitable. People would pay if the price was better. As a simple example, people BUY pirate copies of CDs and DVDs every weekend at markets around the world. Most will know that they are buying pirated copies, but they still pay for them. If the legal owners sold them at that price, people would pay them instead. It is not all just free vs pay. There will always be an element who prefer to not pay for something, but I firmly believe that the vast majority will pay reasonable prices. Piracy flourishes when prices are not reasonable....

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Happy Birthday, Dan!