Graeme

All I can say is that Joe needs to change the time he's posting the new chapters. By the time I get to see them, everyone else has already made all the decent comments At least we get to see what The Scar is planning, even if we're not sure on how. The implication is that he wants to be able to sell the nukes (hence the 10 year storage date), but we also know from the start of the story that something has recently changed. If he had the capability of making nukes before, why didn't he do so? There is something else that has happened that has prompted this course of action -- The Scar indicated early on that he's taking advantage of a sudden opportunity and he had to act fast if he wanted to use the opportunity. I don't think it is as simple as just building some nukes to sell. One thing I found interesting is how Helen choose Brandon as the responsible person to "leave in charge" of the group. She knew she couldn't trust Eric and Jon, but why didn't she ask Chase and Gunter to contact her if the other boys got out of control? We know she's been impressed by Brandon's street smarts -- but he's falling down in not ringing her. He doesn't have to do anything -- just ring her so she can come back to take control. I'm guessing she's also asked Gunter to contact her, and I hope he does, because Brandon doesn't look like he's going to.

I voted no for the reasons described above by several people. The silly posts start between the end of the serious comments and the posting of the next chapter. It's part of the fun and always has been (and hopefully always will be). Separating them out would spoil some of that fun, as well as making it more difficult because the silliness is often in context of the chapter in question (such as in the discussions on what the next chapter title will mean).

As there were no six-year-olds at the BBQ, I can be pretty sure he wasn't there The people who had invited me were disappointed that I had go before the party was over, but I had to drive back. They suggested I just call in work and say I couldn't make it, but I'd already done that a couple of months early on a trip to Cornwall... As it was, when I got into the car I suddenly remembered that I needed fuel. I managed to find somewhere that was open just outside Shrewsbury (which means I crossed the entire width of Wales without finding a 24 hour petrol station).

One thing I've noticed is that since he's got his own forum, CJ has been "lurking" at an increased rate -- with even more posts that he used to do. I've been trying to keep up with his posting rate, but he's too fast for me....

Clear the cache on your browser and then you'll see his new avatar

I hope the car is salvageable, Frank. * fingers crossed * I hope the other things turn out well. At least you got some quality time with Jacob

Congratulations, Adrian! Both good things to celebrate (and for Bondwriter's benefit... the later is good because they've been quality posts and we want to see more)

I had a 50-50 chance of getting it right (I considered both spellings) but I was too lazy to look up a dictionary... and I've caught.

Giving young people an unrealistic expectation is definitely to be avoided. Giving them fair hope is, however, highly desirable. The problem is that only the person in question can determine what's "fair". For someone who lives in a strongly conservative area, a realistic expectation is going to be very different to someone who lives in a very liberal and diverse area. I suppose I'm lucky in that I would consider many parts of Melbourne to be liberal and accepting. There are sections that aren't accepting -- but I would the majority wouldn't be extreme. A teenager in Melbourne who has a bad coming out (which will and does happen) doesn't have to move very far to find a better environment. The main problem will be if they come out too early they'll have trouble supporting themselves. I agree with Menzo that creating false expectations can hurt -- and hurt badly. It's good to focus on the happy stories, but ignoring the bad ones isn't healthy. As James said above, balance and truth... with a sprinkle of hope

Possibly, but I can't see how I can lose. If Caprican's hit the lead, the voting closes. If we are still behind when he's old enough, then if he votes for The Herd, we'll still be behind -- so no change

You're thinking of croquette Test cricket is the game that you can play for five days and still end up with a draw. One day cricket is a variation that lasts just a day and always has a result. 20-20 cricket is a relatively new variation that is even faster -- it's over in only a few hours.

The Tenby Celtic Water Festival in 1996. I had gone for a weekend drive through Wales and ended up in Cardigan. I went to a pub, and the son of the owners had just gotten back from a year in Australia, so we got talking. They invited me to join them the next day when they went to the festival (the son and his friends were competing) -- and then to come back to Cardigan for a BBQ afterwards I got back to where I was living at about 6am on the Monday morning and then headed into work. It was a memorable weekend

Sounds good, Robbie! I hope you make lots of new friends

Congratulations to India I'm still not sure I like the 20-20 competition, but I'm willing to give it a go to see how it goes. One day cricket has certainly evolved into a complex tactical game from its early days as a slog-fest.

Nope -- All I will concede is that the Herd is currently leading by six votes. We've still got another seven years until my youngest son is old enough to vote. I think it is only fair and just that we wait until then, or until the Capricans hit the lead -- whichever comes first

Your browser keeps a copy of images (and other items) to save downloading them each time. Sometimes you need to clear your cache to make sure you have the latest version, because the browser doesn't realise that the items have changed. How to clear it depends on your browser. For Firefox, click Tools->Clear Private Data, and then make sure Cache is selected to be cleared. For IE, click Tools->Internet Options and then on the General Tab, click on "Delete Files", then "OK".

This is going to be one of those things that will be very individual. For me, writing through it never works. It results in crap. What I do is to write something else, instead. My first preference is to write a scene that is coming up in the story, which I can then drop in when the time comes. If this isn't possible (such as when I hit a block just before the end of the story), I'll write a short story, or start another story, or maybe a scene from another story. The idea is to keep writing, even if it isn't on the current story. When I've written a scene that will appear later in the story, I sometimes find that if I work backwards from that scene, the writers block disappears. This is the case when it is the link between the current situation and where I want to get to that causes the block. By moving past the blocked area and then approaching it from the other side, the block is gone. This has worked several times for me, but it is a solution that is also specific to the situation I found myself in. If the writers block is because just nothing is coming out, then writing something else is the way to go. At least for me

The first thing I thought of when I read the next chapter title was the old drinking rhyme: One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor. I'm not going to speculate on what the title means -- it's too open for interpretation.

No, the formal title hasn't been selected. It's between The Herd and Capricans (sorry, Kevin, the Kidds didn't get enough votes). Since I'm running the voting, the poll is staying open until the Caprican's win... You can find the poll in C James's forum. Apologises to the other GA members for this interruption....

I've had nice weather in Wales, too I remember going to a Celtic Water Festival somewhere in South Wales and having a great time. I can't remember exactly where that was without looking up a map, but I can still remember the day, even though it was more than ten years ago.

Happy 20th Birthday! Have fun and I hope your day, week, month, year, and life are all fantastic and enjoyable

You realised that by mailing Brussels, the price for the rest of the country has just gone up?

Obvious in hindsight....

Happy Birthday, Steve! Have a great day, and a fantastic year. Wishing you all the best -- Graeme

I can see why for Cyclops. Cyclops and CJ share the same special vision, though I'm guessing CJ has more control over his since he's been photographed without his glasses. I don't know enough about the Silver Surfer to comment on that one.