BlueSoxSWJ

Ack! Another of my biggest pet peeves! Insure: 1. to guarantee against loss or harm. 2. to secure indemnity to or on, in case of loss, damage, or death. 3. to issue or procure an insurance policy on or for. Ensure: 1. to secure or guarantee: This letter will ensure you a hearing. 2. to make sure or certain: measures to ensure the success of an undertaking. 3. to make secure or safe, as from harm. Indeed this is the reason why your own writing is much harder to edit than someone else's - you anticipate what you're saying, and your mind sees what it wants to see. Your point on education is also valid; perhaps the reason I get so worked up about these mistakes is because I actually did have thorough English teachers. In particular, my senior year of high school, my teacher's policy was that no paper could receive better than an A- if it had a grammar, spelling, or punctuation error. It's also interesting to see how common mistakes evolve into common usage, and eventually become "correct" - for example, using "they" as a singular pronoun when gender is unknown or deliberately left ambiguous. Pulp Fiction Scene (contains violence and strong language) Edit: added a bit; fixed spacing issues

Okay, I need to rant, and this is my favorite forum that I lurk/post on, so you guys get it. Today was the day no one could write proper English. I'm not counting casual e-mails, IMs, forum postings, anything written by a non-native speaker, etc. All these mistakes are pulled from professional documents (either reports or e-mails, but formal, inter-company business e-mails), and every single writer has a college degree at a minimum (job requirement). "If you have any questions, simply revise to this address." "[There is some sort of problem.] Please advice." (On this one, Microsoft Outlook corrects "Please advise." to "Please advice." so I guess this one is at least understandable ...) "Do to the weather, ..." "We new this would be a problem, ..." "The drop in price on this security alone caused the fund to loose nearly $1M." And in a (professionally edited!) book I'm reading: " 'Look at that.' He said." (A lot of GA authors do this one, too.) "exobitionist" I swear, I was one "its" vs. "it's" away from replying to grammatically offensive e-mails today with Bonus points to anyone who gets the topic description reference.

Hey, I've been somewhat AWOL lately, but I'm watching MythBusters right now and it turns out to be quite a relevant episode to this story, so I figured I'd post about it. One of the myths on the current episode was talking a random passenger through an airplane landing. Using a NASA flight simulator, the two MythBusters guys were given 2 random scenarios each (location, wind, atmosphere conditions, etc.), and tried one of them totally solo, and one on the radio with a pilot, who was put in a simulated control tower. The result was that, on their own, one managed to guide the plane all the way to the runway, but crashed while landing; the other stalled out the plane and crashed quickly. However, when guided by the pilot, both of them managed to land successfully. Now, granted, these were commercial airliners, not private jets, but it's still interesting to note that two people who had never flown before both landed relatively easily when talked through it. They also pointed out that most new aircraft actually can land on autopilot, so once old ones are phased out, the situation of a passenger landing an aircraft will be entirely unnecessary. (The verdict was "plausible," since it apparently can be done, but never in the history of aviation has it been tried or necessary.)

So, to take a little pressure off CJ, does anyone have some good recommendations? I'll start, I guess ... First, any author on GA is worth checking out. https://www.gayauthors.org/authors.php There's also some good stuff on Awesomedude, especially (imo) anything by Graeme http://awesomedude.com/graeme/ , Captain Rick's Sky's the Limit http://awesomedude.com/captain_rick/index.htm , and Ryan Keith's One Life http://ryankeith.awesomedude.com/one_life/...fe_title_ad.htm Recent offline recommendations: George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones" series (only the first 4 books are out) is a great fantasy series (which is a genre I usually don't like), and one of the reasons I really like it is that no character is sacred - a good number of the "main" characters in the first book are dead by the end of book four. It's refreshing to read a book where the cliffhangers don't involve how someone will miraculously survive, but whether or not they'll actually die (with death being the more common result). There's always the sci-fi stand-by "Ender's Game" series (Orson Scott Card), although the later books in the parallel Shadow series (based on Bean), like a lot of Card's recent work, start to get really political and reflect his strong conservative opinions. Also, the books in the "Speaker" set have a very different feel from "Ender's Game," and many readers only enjoy one or the other. I recommend reading the entire main sequence, and only the first Shadow book. [The books, btw, are "Ender's Game," "Speaker for the Dead," "Xenocide," "Children of the Mind;" paralleled by "Ender's Shadow," "Shadow of the Hegemon," "Shadow Puppets," "Shadow of the Giant."] If you can find them, Jeffrey Carver is continuing his "Chaos Chronicles" series after nearly a decade layoff; books 1-3 are "Neptune Crossing," "Strange Attractors," and "The Infinite Sea." The book that took so long and caused the delay is pretty good, too: "Eternity's End." Book four of the series is currently scheduled for an October release (it was originally scheduled for release in 1998, iirc. The first three books are no longer in print, with the last one released in 1996, so they're kinda hard to find). Oh, and if you haven't read Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," at least the book if not the series, go read it now.

Yeah, I did. And I'm Steve too, just to confuse things some more. But yeah, I was in a hurry to get to work this morning and had to post without proofreading.

I think the "proper" answer to how often an author should post is that, well, you're writing for the same reason we're reading - entertainment. If it starts to feel more like work and less like fun, slow down or take a break. Wildone, if a math problem set is keeping you from writing, send it my way ... I was a math major In terms of posting a story, I think it's better to hold out until the story is finished or you plan on finishing it out, rather than posting until a "break point," then leaving it for a while. The loss of momentum can really hurt or even kill a story.

So why isn't chapter 1 of the sequel posted yet?

My only plea is that you specifically NOT tie up too many loose ends. Obviously, with a sequel coming up, you don't plan to tie everything together, but I hate it when authors feel the need to package a neat little ending to every problem. Just think about your life: when was the last time you wrapped up all the loose ends going on in your life before the next problem hit? (For that matter, when was the last time anyone wrapped up two or three loose ends in a row before a new issue came up? I can't remember the last time I did ... ) I don't know if this was unique to me, but I really liked Dimitri until the last few chapters. Maybe it was because we never really saw his evil side so much, it was just implied, and his nonchalant attitude towards sexual orientation is such a nice change of pace from most people's. How official were Helen and Barbra? If there's much legal paperwork around her estate, the paparazzi will almost certainly figure the two out, destroying Brandon's cover ... And likely outing him in a negative ("you lied to us") light, unless they go on the offensive first, outing both couples, and taking the first shot at the media ("hey, we told you all along, they were just friends"). Edit: been away for a while, but nitpicking back (since you got me on the meters/feet thing): While his control did indeed get looser, I doubt he voluntarily released some slack, and instead began losing his grip. Also, Brandon's techie job started at 6AM in chapter 2, and 7AM in chapter 4. And 9.8 m/s^2 = ~32.152231 feet, so Earth's acceleration due to gravity should round to 32 ft/s^2, not 33.

Finally have time to post! As usual, I'll number my thoughts because it helps me get organized, and helps everyone else organize responses... 1. Re: throwing the grenade. 50 feet? Unless the entrance to the mineshaft was a small target, this should be EASY. Nine-year-olds pitch from 45 feet. For a more global reference than baseball, a penalty kick in soccer is taken from 36 feet. Don't worry CJ, tossing a grenade 50 feet is something most adults should be capable of, especially one with any sort of weapons training at all. 2. The physics of falling - if, as has been suggested, Dimitri and Brandon "lock up" (one grabs the other), they can essentially be treated as one object. With very little time to create any torque, since there is nothing but air to act on, who ended up hitting the ground first would be determined by their initial angular momentum (aka rotation), and be pretty much up to lady luck. Either way though, the person on top, whether landing on a body or solid ground, is going to go from full falling speed to zero in very little time. If Brandon and Dimitri fall unimpeded for hundreds of feet onto jagged rocks, they're both dead. 2a. Tsk tsk, CJ. You mixed up speed and position. A dropped object will attain a velocity of 32 m/s after 1 second, 64 m/s after 2 seconds, etc. It will travel 32*t*t meters in t seconds, or 32 meters in the first second (32*1*1 - 32*0*0 = 32-0 = 32), 96 meters in the second second (32*2*2 - 32*1*1 = 128-32 = 96), 160 meters in the third second (32*3*3 - 32*2*2 = 288-128 = 160), etc. 2b. "Brandon

Hey all. I've been busy at a new job lately, so I've kinda disappeared from these threads since I managed to call Jerry as the Scar. But, I had some time this afternoon, and to prove I'm still reading closely, here are some picky thoughts: 1. The rock climbing scene has actually become hugely meaningful, not just for the climbing ability. Remember, it wasn't until Eric's reported death that Helen contacted Jim about the bikers helping Instinct. 2. I'm surprised it's only been mentioned once, and that in passing. Dimitri is taking cover in an abandoned mine. Mines have large holes in the ground, that are really deep. Dimitri was revealed thoroughly to be afraid of heights [ch 7], but it hasn't come up lately. This seems like such an obvious connection to me that I almost put this one in spoiler tags, but then I realized that everyone just reads everything in spoiler tags anyways. 3. Another obscure reference that might come into play: in chapter 19, Eric and Jon underestimate the speed and agility of Jim, since he's such a big guy. As a bigger guy myself, I can say that this is common - while big guys tend to have low TOP speeds, agility [short-term quickness] is more about muscle control, reaction time, and good instincts. Perhaps Dimitri will underestimate a biker in the same way, and CJ will be on here pointing out how obvious the foreshadowing was that it would happen [or would have, if I hadn't called him on it first. You're welcome, everyone else, that he can't gloat now.] 4. Dimitri is loyal enough to the mission to risk his life trying to finish it instead of sneaking away and surviving, yet wouldn't hesitate to detonate the nukes? Talk about losing sight of the forest for the trees ... 5. The whole cave/mineshaft thing reminds me of a tangential trivia question that I heard recently - why did pirates wear eye patches? The answer has nothing to do with looking intimidating, injuries, or any of the commonly guessed reasons. The real reason: 6. Do we know for sure Paraguay is the Scar's real target? There was a quick reference, back in the high teens somewhere, about using Paraguay as a springboard to attack a critical natural gas supply to Argentina and Brazil [iirc]. Perhaps the Scar is actually in one of those locations (one step ahead of us, literally). 7. CJ, you missed a spectacular opportunity to pull a neat little tie-back with this chapter. When the grenade went into the house, you had a chance to pull out a detail from all the way back in the single digit chapters! In chapter 9, Brandon is revealed to have played varsity handball, a possibly useful skill if the grenade were to have taken a particularly high bounce towards him.

Actually, using "rapport" in place of "report" when referring to a loud noise is a fairly common mistake, especially since both words have the common French derivative meaning roughly "to bring back." A google search of the phrase "loud rapport" turns up 126 results, for example. ("Loud report" turns up 62,600 for comparison, with some youtube videos of bottle rockets on page 1, for the easily amused.) The other common "mistake" using the term report in this context is that it carries a strong connotation of either a sound prone to echo, or that it is referring to an echo in the first place. While it's not technically an error to use it to describe just any loud noise, chances are that there is a more accurate word for the situation if the author doesn't want to suggest that the noise is echoing.

I actually don't mind (so far) Eric's drinking with Jerry. At least to this point, he hasn't had enough that he's just spilling, and he kept to the story he and Brandon came up with. But, because he has had SOME tequila (but not enough to lose it entirely), it makes his lie look all the more genuine. As long as Eric manages to keep himself under control, his drinking so far is actually helping him in the mental chess match with Jerry.

I wonder if the Scar or Dimitri is going to experience instead of Vlad? Helen might well resemble when she hears about the boys' latest escapade from Barbara ... Or maybe her reaction will be more like . Oh well, we're all looking forward to the next concert!

You gave me quite the scare at first, because I had LTMP bookmarked directly and it didn't work.

Yay grammar nazis! Actually, most authors I read, especially online, tend to have one point or another about their writing that drives me absolutely nuts. CJ is one of the few that doesn't - he does make the occasional mistake, but not the same one over and over and over. Probably my biggest two pet peeves are "lose" vs. "loose" and using an apostrophe to make a word plural. (It's vs. its is also right up there.) I think a possibly overlooked tidbit in this chapter (to get back on topic) is Jim. As far as I can tell, the Scar doesn't know about Helen's discreet arrangement for when the band gets back to the states, and Jim's biker gang not playing by the "standard" bodyguarding rules might well throw a curveball at an attempted assassination ... (edit: nice accidental assonance there ) P.S. While we're waiting (not so) patiently for chapter 30, does anyone have any good story recommendations? I've already read every serialized story on GA ...

To add some details for you: - My fraternity is coed, and the first fraternity at Brown to have an openly gay president (Cristobal Modesto '95). While 50% is higher than usual, we've always had a decent non-hetero population, so common terms have their own definitions - i.e. "sex" means "two or more people, one or more orgasms." - "Partner" is actually the most common term used for any type of relationship, mostly because "significant other" is six syllables. - Indeed, "special friend" is often used mockingly. It's often used when a couple thinks they're being discreet but everyone really knows, or to describe a relationship where one or more of the people involved is/likely will be cheating. The most fun part is that although we're coed, everyone is called Brother. It makes for really fun situations when Zetes get married to each other, or when (biological) siblings both join.

Finally got to read the chapter ... I was hanging out at my fraternity all week. I didn't have any huge reactions to the chapter, except that it was kind of nice to see that Brandon has definitely reached the point where he no longer feels like an outsider - imagine him firing off that rebuke of Helen back in the early days! Eric, not find a way to express something? I don't think, with his people-reading ability, that will ever be a problem. I also don't think, with his tequila-drinking ability, he'd ever be able to hold a secret like that very long. As I said in the poll and in the last chapter's discussion - when you're surrounded by a mix of sexualities, your language naturally becomes gender-neutral. In the ten days I was at my fraternity (which is about 50/50 queer/straight), I don't think I heard the words "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" once, but I can't tell you how many times I heard the phrases "significant other," "partner," or "special friend." While it's fun to pick apart stories like this for every little detail, I think this one is overkill.

I still maintain that when you work/live with lots of non-hetero people, your vocabulary naturally becomes gender-neutral. While he might not be a pure 0 on the Kinsey scale, I'll still label him straight.

But the good news there is they can be like "hey, we told you they were just good friends with those girls and not dating. You just jumped to conclusions, just like you did about Eric's death."

Having lived the past 3 years in a fraternity where about half the house is gay, I would say it's common for even the breeders amongst us to stick with non-specific terms like "person," "partner," or "significant other" in place of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend." Given his proximity to Brandon and Chase and his exposure to the music industry, I wouldn't be surprised if Eric's speaking habits have him using non-specific terms all the time, even about himself or someone whose orientation is definitely known. I don't think there's much mystery to Joe's amnesia, either - again, having lived in a fraternity, I've seen what some hard drugs can do. Specifically, I've seen one hit of acid send a friend of mine into a mental hospital for several months. Given the concoction Lump was on, there's no need for any "alternative" explanation for the amnesia. There seemed to be some hints in the last couple of chapters that a lot of people are missing; I think people are looking for cliffhangers in all the wrong places ...

I vote that CJ has to forfeit and skip whatever plans he has in Real Life and focus on writing/editing/revising LTMP until it is finished and posted. A bit late (except on the west coast), but happy vday anyways.

The prologue already tells us that Vladimir will survive to see at least one bomb fully completed. The discussion about a plane over water sounds eerily like a foreshadow ... but this is CJ, so who knows? (Maybe not even CJ, yet!) On the one hand, the lack of word about Lump is odd ... on the other, Helen may already know but is keeping Instinct in the dark, to let them enjoy the vacation without being forced to think about the whole media thing for a while. Finally, we probably don't know enough about the GPS to know if it'll get caught by an electronic sweep - obviously, it receives comms from a satellite at all times, but some brands broadcast back; we also don't know if the detector used by J/S/Dimitri will pick up the incoming signals to the GPS anyways, or if they sweep for outgoing only.

Sorry, I'd forgotten who got it, and skimmed through to try to find out which brother it was.