Graeme

Thanks, Jason, for a very thoughtful post. I usually try to think of potential reasons for apparently illogical actions, but in this case I didn't. What you've said makes a lot of sense to me. I'm not saying it is what is happening here, but it is certainly a possibility. It is a similar reason (which was made more publicly) for sections of the UK to ban the "hoodie". Even if what you've suggested is not true, it is a good example that there is often more to something than meets the eye. When I was doing software development, I would occasionally get what appeared to be stupid requests from customers. When I spoke to them, though, I found out why they want that "stupid request" and it all made sense -- given their situation.

I'd put it the right way up. Once you've solved it once, you won't really need to read it again, but there are always others who will be seeing it for the first time

Robert Heinlein had an interesting concept in his The Moon is a Harsh Mistress novel. One character declared themselves to be a Rational Anarchist. They were willing to put up with any laws someone required to make themselves feel safe. Making laws to regulate other people, however, they objected to. Making laws to regulate others moral behaviour would fit this perfectly -- it's wrong. Public obscenity, however, is a grey area. What some people find offensive, others do not. This is where community standards have to take part. If the majority of people find something offensive, then it should be prohibited. I don't see that underwear showing fits the bill, though....

There's another simple way to beat the ban -- wear shorts or bathers underneath, instead of underwear. You'll get a similar look, but you can easily argue that they aren't underwear and hence isn't banned. New fashion -- wearing speedoes under trousers!

Thanks for the update, CJ! Enjoy the rest of the trip. And if you don't enjoy it, please try to make sure that the bears do....

It hasn't been that long Really.... What you have described is the technique that all photographers use -- take a lot of pictures and show people the good ones. There are always some, though there have been times I've gone through an entire roll of film to find only one decent photograph.

Ah... A man after Eric's own heart, I see. Personally, I think lots of people are after Eric's heart, but that's another story. Okay, here's the deal. I'll give you sneak peaks at TWO new short stories of mine, if you show me the next chapter sometime this week. Just keep it quiet -- we don't want the goat to find out....

This was twenty-plus years ago, but I think you're right. The sadistic part is what everyone else thinks the referees are.... I think the ad did say masochistic.

That makes perfect sense, and it was what I was going to say. I used to be a basketball referee. As such, I used to get a lot of abuse. It seems that many people thought I was totally incompetent at the job (usually just after I've made a call against their team). It didn't bother me because I knew when I was right and when I was wrong. The only people whose opinion I listened to was the referee coach and the referee supervisor. On the other hand, I've been very badly hurt, emotionally, by negative comments from people I liked in response to something I've said. From a stranger, it wouldn't have hurt, but from them it did. It's another consequence of relationships -- that criticism within a relationship can hurt a lot more. Off topic, slight, but I remember a sign in a basketball stadium I saw a long time ago. It was something like: WANTED: Blind, deaf, sadistic people with the hide of a Rhinoceros to enroll in the next referee school. Must be over 16.

This raises an interesting sociological phenomenon that I've noticed. This is the first generation where a significant number of first contacts with a person is not visual. There are many cases where relationships are started electronically -- email, chatrooms, forums, etc. This reverses what has previously been the norm -- the relationship starts by getting to know a person and their personality, and then they meet physically. It means that physical appearance isn't the initiator of the contact. I personally don't see this as a bad thing. Indeed, I'd like to see the trend continue because I believe it helps people look past the physical and see the entire person -- which is what they need to do if they want to establish a long term relationship.

Happy Birthday, TSL! :music: :music: I hope you have a great day. Thank you for all the help you've given me over the years and I look forward to working with you for many more to come. TSL, aka Vanyel, is the one of the people who is hosting my stories at The Story Lover's Home

I don't normally read them, but then there are few things that I believe I need to be warned about before I start reading. Other people are not the same. In some cases it can be critical. Eg. If a story involves abuse or suicide, then I think it is important that the reader be warned before hand, because they are topics that can be very distressing for some readers. The legal disclaimers are just a formality. They have to be there to protect the author, but otherwise serve no purpose. Personally, I don't put disclaimers at the start of my stories. I don't believe they need them. I have a copyright and disclaimer section at the end, which essentially states that I own the story and that all characters are fictional. That's all -- and I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of readers stop at the end of the chapter and don't read the disclaimer at all.

I'm sorry -- it doesn't look like there are any skydivers here (which I find surprising). It's not perfect, but I'd suggest watching some old WWII movies that show troops jumping from planes. It's not perfect, but it'll give you some basics. Research on the internet or at a library are the only other suggestions I can make.

I'm personally against over-medication. From my perspective, too often drugs are being used to treat symptoms while causes are being ignored. Drugs that affect the mental state of the recipient should be approached with even more caution. Taking multiple drugs should only be done under medical supervision -- drug interactions are not trivial and some are deadly. Having said that, drugs have their uses. It is just that I feel that they are mis-used and over-prescribed. On the original topic, worrying about things is normal. Worrying about things that you have no control over is unhealthy. Unfortunately, it is not simple to control what you worry about. We are talking about the single most-complex organ in the human body (the brain) and it is one that we have only an imperfect understanding of. To try to control what we think about takes time and practise. There is no easy way to do it. I'm not sure what I can suggest, Razor, but how about looking at calming techniques like meditation? They may not work, but if they don't, they may suggest other things you can try.

If you're like me, you'll find your outgoing "self" (eg. the one on the internet) appearing in situations where you're relaxed and/or confident. I'm guessing you're probably outgoing when the topic of conversation is cars, because that's a topic where you know what you're talking about. You know you're not going to make a fool of yourself With Melissa, it sounds like you knew you could say those things without damaging your friendship. This allowed you to say what you wanted to say. As time goes on, I think you'll find there are more and more times when you'll be comfortable being outgoing. I remember one time at a management course I went to where they were discussing different personalities (in the context of how to manage staff) and there was a general feeling of disbelief when I declared myself to be introverted. It was because I was relaxed that I felt able to actively participate -- something I wouldn't have been able to do a few years earlier. Yes, I wish I could be more extroverted, too, but I'm who I am and I'm overall happy with that person.

While I don't believe that ghosts and similar things exist, I'm open to be convinced otherwise. Yes, there are a lot of unexplained things out there, but that is sometimes because of a lack of information. Some things are unknown because we don't have enough facts -- not because of something supernatural or extraterrestrial.

Happy Birthday, Vic! I hope you have a great day and an even better year ahead!

Happy Belated Birthday, Old Bob! :music: :music: Sorry -- I've been offline for a couple of days. I hope you had a great day

One of my online friends was raped when he was ten years old. There is a site, Male Survivor that offers help to the male victims of rape. From what I have heard, it helps a lot of people. What I have found encouraging is that male rape is not being pushed into the back corner as much as it used to be. In Australia, when the NSW Health Department started a website for rape victims, they included a section for male rape victims.

Optimism and pessimism are both extremes in a spectrum. Very few people are one or the other. Pessimism is often a driving force behind contigency planning. Mark indicated this with his initial post, but he then proved he wasn't a complete pessimist by saying he was pleasantly surprised that things weren't as bad as they could've been. A true pessimist would have just worried that that implied that the next day was going to be even worse! Seriously, pessimism helps with tactical planning (given a goal, how do I get there without a mishap?). Optimism helps with strategic planning (what is possible? What could I do?) Both are healthy when experienced correctly. Neither is healthy when taken to extremes.

The only reason I know you're not me is because you like engines and other mechanical things. I became a software engineer so I wouldn't have to worry about hardware. That's someone else's problem. However, I understand where you are coming from because I am the same. The only reason I'm posting this is your last statement. Just because you are introverted and prefer to be a listener than a talker, that does not indicate you have a problem. It is part of your personality and I assure you that there are people out there that like that sort of personality. It is harder for an introverted person to make friends or to find someone to love, but that's just a challenge. It can be done. It has been done. And I'm confident that you will do it. Just don't feel that there is something wrong with you. For the record, I'm envious of the people who mix easily and make friends without appearing to try, but I am who I am and I know I can't change that much. I just remember that all those talkers out there need us listeners or they wouldn't have any one to talk at... er... to... er... with.

Getting back to the story, I realised something interesting over the weekend. When Eric was first arrested (in the story), there were some stolen or fraudulent credit cards in Chris's jeep. I wonder if they were early test runs of the $50K hardware for making credit cards that the sheriff and Thaddeus had bought. If so, it is further evidence that not all of the Peidmont police are in on the crime. If they were, those cards wouldn't have been mentioned. However, the officer who questioned Chris seemed very aggressive -- was he one of the ones in on the deal and was trying to put pressure on them, or was he an honest cop who was being pointed at the wrong target by the sheriff?

Two potential pets. A pair of local feral kittens that we're trying to tame.

I think everyone took it that way. However, some of us enjoy taking contrary views by using inappropriate alternative meanings for words for the context in which they are used. English is a wonderful language I happen to agree with what you said earlier. Home is where you are happy. You have a place where you live, than colloquially is called your home, but it's not where you want to be. For you, it's not really "your home" -- it's the house where you live. That's being crude -- in some respects it is your home, but not in all respects. You're looking for a place that will be your "home" in most respects.