Graeme

I've finally found some time to read this chapter -- nice one, CJ! I've never been that observant. In hindsight there were definitely hints, but if his self-esteem was that bad I would have expected a few more blatant hints -- like getting more upset than he was when Steve originally tricked him into wearing speedoes at a party. Some of it could be argued that as a swimmer he was used to it, but there's a big difference between a sporting event and a social event. Having said that, everyone is an individual so there is nothing wrong with an atypical reaction to selected situations. One thing I'm expecting is that Chris will still have times when he's self-conscious. If the lack of self-esteem was that ingrained, I would expect that it would take some time for him to get over it. He's made some progress and taken probably the biggest step, but a complete change without some backsliding is probably too much to expect. Even though I have a previous chapter didn't have a lot happening, I have to disagree with you on this one. There was little in terms of the overall story plot (just the data stick plan), but there was a lot of character development and that's just as important to a story. A slight pause before things pick up again (eg. when Eric gets home) is good for the readers.

Happy Birthday, Formosa! I hope you have a happy, healthy and successful year ahead

Happy 16th Birthday, Nickolas! Have a great time and I wish you all the best for the coming year.

If it makes you feel any better, the one time I was called up for jury duty (twenty years ago here in Australia), I had to go through the same thing. Three days I had to ring up, and each day I got an recorded messages saying I wasn't needed. As for the Mom handbook -- I didn't think it was written by or for teenagers...

Welcome, Greymaine! We were all new to forums at one point in time, so don't worry about it. The same rules apply as with any other means of interacting with people -- just be polite and respectful. I'm sure you'll do fine

Happy New Year, everyone!

So this is what I get to look forward to in a few years time I thought it was well done. Good job, Sam!

And a big thank you to C James for all his hard work in co-ordinating this project.

I'm here... Technically, all he's implying is that yes, Eric could have been blackmailed. Anyone, after all, could be blackmailed. The correct question is "Was Eric himself also blackmailed?" Sorry. He's safe from the spines... for the moment.

Happy Birthday, PartsBoy! :music: :music: I hope you have a great day

Happy 16th Birthday, nono! As a special present, you have my permission to start celebrating now, since it's your birthday here in Australia.

MODERATOR! I NEED A MODERATOR! C James is giving out state secrets and needs to be shut up. Can a moderator please revoke his posting privileges? Immediately? Please?

Certainly he might have good reasons for what he did. In fact, I believe he definitely had good reasons for what he did. The question is if those reasons were good for Eric, or for the greater good. I'm confident they were good for Eric (a few thousand dollars extra in his bank account -- that has to count as good). I have sincere doubts that he had Steve and Chris's goodwill at heart. Any good that befell them as a result of his actions is likely to have been completely accidental. Just a minor correction. To the best of my knowledge, there is no law preventing a goat from being the legal parent of a fictitious human child. PS: I have also yet to see any concrete evidence to suggest that Eric is human....

Poor Eric... Why does everyone think the worst of him? Excuse me? Where in my comment did I say I was thinking the worst of him? You've assumed that yourself. I never said it. A good point about him behaving himself. However, I disagree with your comment about the Piedmont DA. You may be right, but if the sheriff edited the data presented to the DA, then the DA may have innocently decided there is insufficient evidence to press charges. Another good point. He'll give Eric a chance, but if there are no results in a reasonable period of time, I expect him to take action. As for the definition of 'reasonable period of time'... I don't know. I suspect it will be at least a week, but a lot will depend on what communications can occur between Eric and the sherrif. I expect that to be very spasmodic, because Steve's dad will try to restrict Eric's opportunities to communicate as much as possible.

Hmm... which instruction should I follow? To read or not to read, that is the question.... "Where's that necktie?" "Now don't be like that. We can't do that sort of thing. We won't stoop to his level." "How about a few broken bones?" "That's tempting, but no." "We could pipe Mozart into his room all night...." "Done!" ROFLMAO! As if we really need to answer this one... Nope. As he has already broken the law (or at least stretched it beyond all recognition), I wouldn't be surprised if there was an attempted kidnapping. He would then claim that they were found in his county and arrested and it would be his word against theirs. The other possibility is an assassination attempt. Since he's already tried to kill Chris, he may try again. I'm not sure how that works, from a logical point of view (but who ever said the sherrif was sensible), since if they kill him (and Steve) to stop them from presenting evidence against them (whoever 'them' may be), how will they know whether Chris and Steve have passed on the information to anyone else? I think this one is less likely unless it can be made to look like an accident. The finally possibility is that the sherrif finally listens to his brother-in-law and hear's the part of the bible about forgiving your enemies.... but I haven't seen the flying pigs yet that are supposed to foreshadow that even. Hmm... are flying goats a satisfactory alternative?

LOL Thanks, Sharon. That was hilarious. I'm trying to think how many different types of vinegar we have at home: red wine, white, malt and balsamic, I think. Flour we only have two: Plain and Self-raising, though we've had wholemeal plain in the past, too. Sugar: Four types: white, brown, caster and icing.

Why would he inflict the IRS on our poor Jack Frost after being flattered by being called an emu? The emu is a noble bird.... 'Can' not 'Must'. He is allowed to have slaves. You don't have to have them. It becomes a personal moral issue if you want them or not. Sorry to come in so late on this discussion. I've had limited internet access for most of the last week and I'm still getting caught up on things. Since there is only the Pacific ocean between Australia and the USA, does that mean anything to this discussion?

I'm sorry, but I've watched a LOAD of Thunderbird episodes and in every case where there is a bomb, it is clearly labelled with the word 'BOMB' to make sure everyone knew what it was. If it's good enough for TV, I'm sure it's good enough for terrorists....

Congratulations, CJ! I still prefer the theory I put forward when he reached 2000 posts -- he's an alien goat that doesn't need sleep.

Option 1: Don't bother. There are stories out there that don't correspond to reality but are still good stories. I remember a short story by Isaac Asimov that relied on the fact that Mercury kept one face always to the Sun. Then the scientists revised that so Mercury isn't tide-locked. Isaac Asimov stated that he refused to change the story and said the scientists should've gotten their facts right in the first place. Option 2: Unless it's a major plot point, just fix it and send a revised chapter out. This can be a problem with a site like Nifty, but most hosting sites will accept updates from their authors (I've done it twice to the sites that host my stories). Option 3: Issue a press statement that, contrary to what people thought, the story does NOT exist in the real world, but in an imaginary place where any passing resemblence to reality is purely coincidental.

Los Angeles for work -- a week of internal company training. I used to have a visa for the USA but they changed the rules a long time ago and I haven't needed one for ages.

I stand, or sit, corrected. However, in the interest of fairness, I'll donate my fingerprints (again) to Homeland Security later this month when I visit the land of the free....

Not quite true. Homeland security records fingerprints for people arriving in the USA, and if they have your details they may be able to link the two sets of prints. After all, you don't have to travel to the USA to find yourself in the country -- a flight from Europe (for example) that is diverted to the USA because of bad weather will be enough to find yourself in the country.... However, if you stay in Canada (which is not really a hardship) then you'll be fine

86% is way too high.... I honestly don't know how many posts I have in the "games" forum. My best guess would be around 500. ie. about half. The reason I'm guessing that is because outside of that forum I have some posts in the teen forum (but I try generally not to post there), some in the various writers forums (but they aren't high volume), a handful in Administration, a few in the hosted and shared author forums, and some in eFiction, but mainly only the anthologies and a couple of other stories. The other main set of posts I've done are birthday greetings (it's handy being in one of the first timezones for each day) and other miscellaneous Lounge posts.

Well... it depends on your spelling. Australians use 'aeroplane', which DOES have that extra vowel, so three syllables is legitimate for us (using the rules provided) but it is only two syllables for Americans who spell the word 'airplane'. Isn't English such a wonderfully simple language...? :wacko: