GaryK

As we agreed in PM, if it ain't broke don't fix it. You've got a solid system and the new video card will make things perfect again. The next time I get a used laptop I'll keep you in mind. My sister, brother-in-law and their family are a non-stop supply of one year old state of the art laptops. The lappies get clogged up with all kinds of spyare/adware/etc. until the system slows to the point of being unusable. Since they won't abide by my instructions on how to use the computers safely I won't provide tech support. So once a year the whole family gets new laptops and I get the old ones. Sweet deal, eh? I've been able to provide lots of friends with great laptops. Being generous is part of my nature and it doesn't come with any strings attached. BTW, there's noting quite as nice as dual monitors. I've got twin 22" flat screen LCDs and it's so nice. I keep Outlook and other stuff on one monitor and everything else on the other monitor. When I'm working on beta-reading or editing I keep a browser open in one monitor to all my reference material (dictionary, writing guides, etc.) and the other monitor has Word open to the story I'm working on. Sweet! Definitely consider it CJ. LCD monitors are so darned cheap these days.

I've got several perfectly good Dell computers sitting around here collecting dust. If FedEx delivers to cliffs I'd be happy to send one to CJ. It really seems as if just a video card will solve this problem.

It could be a goat! Based on what I know if someone shoots at you, inside or outside, anywhere in the US, you are perfectly justified to use lethal force to defend yourself. In Florida if someone is in your house without your permission they can be considered a threat and the use of lethal force is acceptable. Hell, they don't even have to be in your house. If you feel threatened on the street you can now use lethal force. The only thing you cannot do indoors is booby-trap your house such that an intruder gets shot automatically upon entry. As for shooting them in the back, I was told to roll the person over and shoot them again in the chest. If someone is running away from me with some of my stuff I'm sure as hell gonna shoot to kill. Whatever. It's almost unheard of in Florida for anyone to be prosecuted for shooting an intruder. All of this still begs the question. Who's dead up there in the hills?

There are things much more interesting about you than just being gay, Tim. How else could we spend hours talking on the phone? It would get boring real fast if all we talked about was gay stuff. Astroglide* is what I prefer. I understood what James was getting at so I didn't bother to correct him about anything other than the feather boa. I am not a feather boa kind of guy, LOL. *I would imagine there are still places in the US where it's not possible to buy any other lubricant than what you can get at the local drugstore, which is KY. Some states even have laws prohibiting mail order of certain sex-related items. Therefore you can't order Astroglide online.

Please be sure to look at the PM I just sent you.

May I swap the feather boa for a personal dungeon set accessory piece?

I'm neither pleased or proud that I'm gay. Being gay is something that's beyond my control. If I had a choice I would have chosen to be straight because it would have made life so much easier. I do take pride in who I am as a person. That's something which encompasses far more than my sexuality. It has to do with some of the things I mentioned earlier about defining my morals and sticking to them, behaving ethically, treating others with respect unless I'm given a reason not to, giving back to my community as a whole not just the gay members of the community. Those are the things that make me proud of who I am. My sexuality is such a small part of my overall makeup that to me it seems silly to define myself by said sexuality. I'd much rather participate in a Personal Pride event than a Gay Pride event. I wonder sometimes if my feelings are a generational issue. My peers aren't as obsessed with being gay as some of you younger members are. It's who we are and we're comfortable with it at this point in life. It would be interesting to see how some of the older (let's say above 45) members feel about this.

Welcome to GA, Knight.

I'll admit to having a problem with bossy women.

Yep, Florida is often unique to the point of it being embarrassing to admit that's where I live. In cases of a perceived threat you can refer to my comments in the 2nd Amendment thread to see how I feel about this issue cause I think it's off-topic here. I keep wondering if Joe will continue to be a minor sub-plot or if there's something more important in store for his character. I really can't imagine what he could contribute to the events that are happening now except perhaps to provide a photo of Scar as Jerry. If so what good would that do?

Does the land this unknown person was on belong to the brothers? I don't know about the laws out there, but here in Florida that gives me much more leeway to decide whether to use deadly force against a perceived threat.

For the fun of it; at least from the military guy's point of view.

Strike up a conversation with this guy, or get him to do that with you. Don't risk scaring him off by getting into the whole bi/gay stuff too soon. If things go well you'll at least have a new friend. If they go really well you can let him know you're bi and see how he reacts. If he is bi/gay he'll have the luxury of deciding if he wants to share that with you and then either way you can both decide what to do next. I absolutely would not do what someone here suggested and ask him if he's bi or gay. That could scare him off real fast if he's only interested in friendship. Whatever happens I hope things go well for both of you.

Aw Steve. You should have gone ahead and mentioned me by name. I do like your theory because it makes sense. No doubt there will be lots of agencies, etc. trying to take control of her boys. If you're right and Helen prevails it just might convince me that I've been wrong about Helen all along. Meh. She'll still be a bitch, but in a good way. Maybe the title could cover both scenarios...Helen's boys and Scar's issues.

The more I think about it the more I realize it's been a while since we've heard anything significant from Scar. Maybe he's having problems with his plans to bribe his way into power. I don't think he actually has the money yet. So he's got to be discussing his plans with the leaders of the military. Scar wants to be in absolute control but the military doesn't want to cede total control/authority to Scar.

It's Gator. Yeah, they can be really cool and accepting. That's sure the case with Gator. Some of the stories he's told me are great. The coolness seems to officially end when the gay issue comes up. Privately I think there are plenty of bikers who are alright with, or can at least tolerate, someone being gay.

One of the admins on my model car site is a Hell's Angel. Yah, I know it's weird...a biker who builds plastic model cars. Anyway, he knows I'm gay and yet we're still good friends. I'm smart enough to know it's something he tolerates and I never mention it to him in our conversations on the phone. No need to rub it in his face. From what he's told me it's not something that would go over well with many other bikers. Translation: It would probably get you maimed or killed. So I agree with Sacha that it was a wise choice not to use any actual chapter names. They can still find you even if you're hanging out on a cliff somewhere, CJ.

Hmm. Are the AF, the local police and the bikers going to dispute who's in charge of security for the guys? If so I hope the bikers win, but I'm sure the AF will be the winner. National security and all that...

It's never good to be someone's bounce-back boy. Even if the sex is good in the short-term you're gonna be emotionally wounded in the long-term cause you want more than just sex. Been there, done that. It's a real bummer, Ash. I won't tell you not to pursue this relationship cause that's up to you to decide. If you do pursue it please be sure you keep assessing the situation as dispassionately as possible.

I see the gay pride parades in Miami and Fort Lauderdale every year. I've also watched videos and blog coverage of gay pride parades around the world. My opinion about gay pride parades is largely based on my own experiences. However I have heard from other people who both agree with me and disagree with me. If a gay pride parade had the standards I mentioned in the poll I started then heck yeah I'd like to participate. If I'm going to be part of the freak show then absolutely not! I'm taking interdicted to mean prohibited or banned. No I don

I probably didn't word that as well as I should have, Tim. All I wanted to convey is that the main thing which separates us from straights is the fact we are attracted to, and hopefully love, members of the same sex.

You already know how I feel about the mental health issue, Tim. For those of you who don't know, Tim needs to seek out professional help. There's nothing any of us here can do for him. Even attempts at consolation are ultimately useless. They make us feel better but they don't help Tim feel any better about himself. That's all I really can say without divulging any confidences. I'll be calling you this afternoon my friend. Your anthology entry is well-done. I'm glad you didn't give up on the anthology completely.

Why not, Kev? Would it be unreasonable to set some standards for participation in the parade itself? Let's take GA as an example. There are a set of standards we have to abide by in order for the site to remain respectable. Mostly it's the no porn rule. But also the fact that certain words get replaced by asterisks, people have to be nice to each other and other things. All of that is part of why I feel comfortable referring my straight friends here to read some of the better stories; mostly the sci-fi/fantasy stories. I know they're not going to come away from here thinking the place is some kind of freak show. Many of those friends wind up reading some of the forums and get further proof that we discuss the same issues everyone is discussing. We've currently got active threads about the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution, the upcoming presidential election, a possible war with Iran, famine fears for Ethiopian children, the US budget deficit, and lots more. I'm sure we all know for the most part we're no different than the rest of society in terms of how we dress, our morals, ethics and so on. The only significant difference is whom we choose to love. So why not set some standards for these parades so that straight people see an accurate representation of what we're like? Surely it would help straights to see we're nothing to be afraid of. Right? ~gary.

I'm still bothered by the fact CJ didn't mention Mario and Dimitri returning to the Suburban to move it closer to the house and to retrieve their guns. That seems like such an important thing for him to have mentioned after clearly stating neither man brought their guns with them. I don't think we've ever been left to assume something important like that has taken place.

Oh man. Please don't make me wind up having to admit Helen's alright after all.