Graeme

I like to use Australian animals as avatars, and usually photos I've taken myself. It gives me some individuality while still preserving a degree of anonymity.

An interesting question. I don't know the legalities (and certainly I don't know the USA legalities), but my understanding is that we don't have a reciprocal relationship here. It is okay for a minor to approach an adult for sex, but it is illegal for the adult to accept that approach, or to approach the minor for sex. It is a situation where the adult is responsible for making sure they stay legal -- arguing that the minor initiated the encounter is not a valid defense.

Thanks, Emoe! My opinion of Dex has taken a nosedive -- that was too easy to decrypt....

What he said.... Seriously -- I don't have a problem. Even if the officer tries to initiate things, any adult on the internet who is communicating with someone they believe to be a minor MUST act as if that person IS a minor and avoid anything of a sexual nature. The ONLY defense I would accept is if the person could demonstrate that they believed the person to NOT be a minor, and I would have to see good evidence to support that belief.

Happy 23rd Birthday, Vance! :music: :music: I hope you have a great day and that your year ahead finds you happy, healthy and prosperous.

I agree with the anonymous beta-reader. Unnecessary detail can detract from the plot. The key point was that Steve ended up with a dart in him. The odds of Chris looking in the right direction to see a flash OR to see the dart as it flew are so slim that it's not worth wondering about. Unless there is a plot reason for Chris to see it, why complicate the matter with detail that doesn't add anything to the story and could confuse? Having said that, I'm drunk, so please take any advice with me with a large grain of salt (or beverage of your choice).

I was going to write something profound in this thread, but I think I'll do that tomorrow... or maybe the day after.

I don't know what it is in the USA, but my understanding is that approximately 40% of the fuel price in Australia is taxes/excise. One petrol station advertised a price as $X.XX per litre, plus tax. The government immediately passed a law to make it illegal to advertise petrol prices without including the taxes -- the cynics said they did it so most people wouldn't know how much the government gets of every dollar we spend on fuel.

You've misunderstood -- the hidden webcams are something he did in his effort to be an utter bastard. There are OTHER hidden cameras watching him being a bastard, but as these are focused on Eric and not the boys, they haven't found them yet. Feel free to go back and change the name of the chapter. I hereby relinquish all rights to the phrase

My view is that since it's your birthday in Australia, you're entitled to celebrate it now

Happy 18th Birthday! I hope you have a great day and an even better year ahead.

The theory is sound, but as shdowgod points out, the first ones hurt are the station owners, and they are innocent in this. The main problem is that I've seen two version of this here in Australia, each naming the other major fuel supplier as the one to boycott. As such, its usefulness is severely depleted. Ultimately, people tend to either stick to the same supplier, or to go with a supplier of convenience (eg. the first one they see when they need to fill up). Trying to get people to pick a specific supplier is difficult -- you've got a lot of social inertia to get over.

Thank you for sharing that with us, Ruby. Life isn't simple -- I know that all too well. My own life is complicated, as you can see in this essay I wrote a couple of years ago for The Mail Crew in the Author's Speak section of their web site. Initial connections and long term relationships don't always go together. From what you have indicated, he may be seeing his ex-boyfriend in you. I don't know what is right for you at the moment, but I wish you all the best. There are several people involved and you are going to have take all of that into account with whatever you decide to do. Good luck! Graeme

I don't think I can add anything at the moment. I'm going to need to think on this, and maybe re-read the chapter. One thing, if Eric was smart, he would have left a voice recorder where the guys couldn't see it when he went for his swim. He would have expected the guys to talk, and they might have let slip something useful to him. Indeed, they did -- the fact that Dex has the real datastick. Also, if he was smart, he wouldn't be assuming he was given the right password. If they die, and he believes they are the only ones with the right password, then he loses. He shouldn't let them die until AFTER he has confirmed he can decrypt that data. If that's the case, I'm expecting him back in the near future to tell them that the password was wrong (I'm assuming he will use a cellphone to give the password to the Thaddeus, who will then confirm that he has the wrong password). Of course, he's blown it by telling the guys that he can't let them live, so why should they give him the password in the first place?

Happy 17th Birthday, Kurt! Have a great day, and may the year that follows be filled with fun, happiness and joy.

I have a mental picture of each of the characters in my mind. This is more a personality picture, than appearance, and when I'm writing a scene I will try to imagine how that person acts and reacts -- and that's how I make the characters unique. To make it easier for the reader, I tend to give the main characters distinct personalities, such as the larrikan, the laidback person, the shy person, the hyperactive person, the intense person, etc. This means that they come over as different people when they appear in scenes, because they are doing what people expect from that character -- they'll notice if the character does something that doesn't seem natural for that person. Physical attributes can also be used. In my first story, two main characters were physically abnormal -- one was very skinny and the other was exceptionally tall for his age. Physical difference can also play into their personalities -- the large boy was also very self-confident to the point of being over-confident at times. Giving characters a passion also helps distinguish them. People have different interests and working those into a story helps distinguish the characters -- the one who will talk cars until everyone around him has fallen asleep from boredom, or the one who is a strong vegan and expresses disapproval everytime someone talks about going out to get a hamburger.

One suggestion I saw is that during classes, things should be as normal, but outside of classes, the day of silence can be observed.

The logic used by the prosecutor could be applied to ANY behaviour that resulted in the driver being distracted. This includes, but is not limited to, holding a conversation, talking on a cellphone, eating, shaving, applying makeup, changing a CD/tape, reading a map or checking the sat-nav system. Negligence or manslaughter charges make sense, but not second-degree murder.

Happy Birthday, Ben! It's been a while since I've seen you around, but I hope you have a great birthday.

I suppose that depends on your definition of "moderate". We have a lot of roundabouts here in Australia and they are good for light traffic, but to say "no waiting" is an exaggaration.

Hi, Kevin, Your comment about finding The Ordinary Us and it making a change is one that I've heard many times. There are a number of stories that have done similar things, and made such a big difference. For me, it was the Working It Out, by Don Hanratty that I read at Nifty. In my search for more by the author, I found another story by Brew Maxwell that had the same characters (with permission) in one chapter. I started reading that one, and found the rest of it was at CRVBoy. That was it -- from there, I followed the links to lots of other sites, and in the process finally accepted my sexuality. While I have personally not posted anything at Nifty, your story, my own, and that of many others, is one reason I keep seriously considering it. The chance to lead other people along that same journey of self-discovery is a big motivation. Good luck with everything!

I thought we were discussing the story? Isn't it obvious that the boys are about to be abducted by Wal-Mart operatives, flown to Australia, and forced to work in the new Wal-Mart store there, while battling traffic problems in small towns caused by the boys driving the charger on the wrong side of the road? It all makes perfect sense to me.... The boys may be watched, but I think their camping trip is probably safe. Unless someone plants a tracking device on them or their vehicle... which given what has happened to date should not be ruled out. The house is at bigger risk, as I suggested earlier. The other possibility is that their trip gets canceled because something else happens before then. What I find interesting is that we don't have a strong motivation for the original bad guys to kill Chris and Steve. While they had the datastick, the bad guys obviously wanted it back. Now that they have "the datastick", why should they still be going after them? It could be that they've realised that the datastick they have is fake, or that Chris and Steve may have decrypted it, or encrypted it again with a different key, but that doesn't explain why Thaddeus apparently encouraged those attackers. None of them would have known what the datastick was, or where to get the original, or to ask for the password to decrypt the data. That attack was either intended as a distraction to something else going on, or there is another reason the bad guys want Chris and Steve out of action, if not dead. Paranoia is good for you....

That would probably put it in the middle of an Aboriginal sacred site.... I would personally suggest the middle of the Simpson Desert.

That report is dated 31st July 2006 -- a long time ago. They may still be trying, but Australian's can be an orney lot at times. McDonalds (the restaurant that produced booklets to explain how healthy and nutrious their food is) had had trouble in some parts of the country with locals campaigning to stop council approval for a new restaurant being formed. I haven't been able to find any more references, so either they're still planning, or they've given up on the idea of bring "civilisation" to Australia....