Graeme

Happy 18th Birthday! Have a great day, and welcome to the world of adulthood

That begs the question ... which is CJ? Superhero or Villain? Or just a poor, misunderstood goat?

Does that imply that you're yet to encounter the food that is both very healthy AND incredibly tasty?

That's Steve's (wildone) story, not mine. I will admit that I was allowed a sneak peak, since my name appears in it, but I didn't write it.

*cough* I'm an engineer... a software engineer, but still an engineer. *cough* The only reason I'm not using this emoticon: is because I used to be as socially inept as Vladimir -- possibly worse. I have since been educated and can now be safely allowed loose in public (for short periods of time)

Merry Christmas, CJ! I hope you like that story -- I certainly did

Ah! Now I know what they are. Sadly, they aren't that popular with my two boys -- we've tried them....

Happy Birthday, Vincent! Have a great day and a great year ahead!

And fags are quite popular here in Australia. Many people slip away from work for a short period of time, just to have a fag Some people like to share fags, but most have a one-to-one relationship (albeit, shortlived) was their fag. I'll say now that I'm not that sort of guy, but I don't have any major objection to any of the guys around here liking fags.....

I need to do something about that...

You're doing fine. The main players all have distinct personalities. Barbra and Jon are probably the weakest -- Barbra because she doesn't have a lot of air time, and Jon... I don't know. He's there, but he's not central enough to get a good feel for his character. It is distinct from the rest, though -- just a bit more opaque. Gunter is another one who could probably do with more play so we can see his personality more -- but as the security guy, strong and silent works really well. It would be interesting to know what he thinks of Chase and Brandon, but he's professional enough we may never get to see it. As for the minor players, Steve and Wilde are developing nicely. Zeke is, again, more of a background character, but he's still standing as a unique character. In the second thread, all three major characters are well developed.

I've eaten at an Outback Steakhouse. The food isn't Australian, anyway....

Chips is the generic name in Australia for both of these things. We understand Fries and Crisps, too, but (at least where I live), most people just say "chips". Which type is derived from the context. If we're talking as part of a meal, it'll be french fries. If it's a packet of chips, it's crisps. If it's party food, it'll usually be crisps.

Words can change their meaning, and it is through common use that they do so. For example, "faggot" is a piece of wood. "gay" is an emotional state of happiness. At least those were earlier meanings of the words. "gay" is going through another change at the moment where it means "uncool" to today's youth (That's so gay!). While we are in the interim period where a lot of gay guys take that saying (That's so gay!) to be insulting to them personally, it is not intended that way by the majority of users. It does create an unfortunate link between homosexuality and being uncool, but the more it is used in the later sense, the less it mean the former. I'm not condoning the use of these words as insults, but I'm pointing out that they are insults being used that do not imply that the person/object/action in question is homosexual. If this new interpretation of the word takes hold, and if the homosexual community allows the word to be taken away from them, then it loses its power to insult/denigrate homosexuals. I'm putting a simplistic view on the matter, but hopefully people will understand what I'm trying to say. For a more complex treatment of the subject, please see Drake Hunter's essay on the power of words.

I agree that Zeke seems okay, but don't forget he was a bit uncomfortable saying goodbye to Brandon in the earlier chapter. He's not relaxed with Brandon -- something is still stressing him. Steve appears to have a problem, but I get the impression it's not the obvious one. Wilde -- we just don't know a lot about. He's the quiet goth guy in the back.... At least they tried to pick something appropriate. You have to give them points for that. Brandon picked it, and he picked it because it came from Australia (which is usually a good enough reason for picking something), and because he knew they were going to Australia (a good idea for anyone who doesn't live here). I don't have any reason to suspect CJ has an ulterior motive in the choice of the stone. Do you?

I suspect he's still swamped with work that piled up while he was away. He indicated in the latest story thread that he was short of time to respond.

Welcome! I'd suggest posting the lyrics in the eFiction section, rather than in the forums, but that's just an idea.

BBC reverses decision to censor The Pogues Common sense sometimes wins.....

Political correctness gone too far As others have said, the "offensive" word, in context, is clearly not an attack on homosexuals. Some people may argue that using it as an insult denigrates gays even if they aren't the target, but it can also be argued that using the word where it clearly isn't applicable to gays weakens the insulting ability of the word against gays. As a side point, the first time I heard the word "faggot" was also in a song (the word is only just starting to arrive in Australia as an insulting term for male homosexuals. When I grew up, the appropriate insult was "poof" or "poofter"). It is still played regularly on the radio stations here, and (I suspect) around the world: Dire Strait's Money for Nothing.

No, that's not me And those are kangaroos. Wallabies are a lot smaller. If Jack wants to come to Australia for Christmas, he's allowed to. I'll even allow him one nip at my nose We normally save the cold weather for Winter. It just seems more organised that way. Christmas is a time for fun and games, and good weather really helps with that. That's why we scheduled Christmas for Summer.

The possible absence of a cliffhanger in one chapter does not prove that cliffhangers are never used. Assuming that chapter 18 did not end with a cliffhanger (an assumption I am not willing to raise to the level of 'fact'), all that means is that you didn't use a cliffhanger in that chapter. It provides no data as to the existence, or non-existance, of cliffhangers in other chapters.....

According to http://www.mydr.com.au/tools/weight.asp, your optimal weight for your height (5' 8" = 175cm) is 60-75 kg, which is 132lb to 165lb. According to http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/bigimage...tweightfull.jpg, 140lb is well within a reasonable weight. 150lb is also in a reasonable weight, though at a high level. By all means go for 140lb, but according to these two sites, that is BELOW the average optimal weight for your height. Where did you get the idea that it is at the upper end of a healthy, normal weight? Oh, and http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm has 140lb at the BOTTOM of the healthy range AND only if you have a small frame.

Last year I sent this out to some friends via email. This year, I've decided to just post it in the public forums, so everyone can get a taste of what an Australian Christmas is like. http://www.kenduncan.com/echristmas WARNING: This is a flash e-card and is approximately 1.7MB in size.

Unfortunately, there ARE people who want to get HIV. I'm not saying this is the case here, but it's possible.

I thought commando meant going without underwear. The white cotton shorts would be shorts -- not boxer shorts. eg. like the ones that tennis players used to wear. So he's wearing shorts without underwear.