GaryK

Sadly we all know in real life there is more rivalry than coordination between government agencies. At least the AF seems to be handling things with a great deal of competence.

I asked Joshua if he could arrange something like this for other countries. He's too busy preparing for the release of several new enterprise products plus IE8 to take it on himself. Normally he's quite the activist and runs a very interesting, MSFT-sanctioned blog.

I never turn this computer off. I've had a tab open to Kit's "Tapping" for two days now. After that I need to read something new from my buddy WrathOfMagneto. Thank goodness there's a never-ending supply of good stories on GA.

I highly recommend, "Beauty, So Cold and So Still". It's a great example of how good Billy is at complex short stories.

I think one of the poll answers should have been a goat! Does the military have a good enough description of Scar yet to carry on without Instinct? I honestly can't remember.

If Dimitri is the one who was killed I wonder who's going to take delivery of the gold? Will Scar have to put himself at risk to do that? If so then it's even more important to kill Instinct and Helen before they can relate their suspicions to the military.

That's exactly how the goat wants you to feel. Not only is he the king of evil cliffhangers, he's also a master of misdirection.

I quite agree. I've got as much appreciation for a nice looking and appropriately dressed gal and I do for a guy. It's just with the guys there's also often some sexual feelings as I guess the whole issue with me is I was raised to dress appropriately for the occasion. By my standards it's just not right to appear in public dressed the way some of these people in the pride parades dress. I figure if it offends me it's got to offend others who were raised with the same set of social standards as I was.

This thread sort of ties in with the, Coming out as bisexual, thread that's provoked some truly insightful discussion. In that thread there's been some discussion about the benefits vs. risks of coming out en masse. That got me to thinking about the effect gay pride parades could have on straight observers. The parades I've been to have left me feeling very embarrassed for our cause. Why? Because far too many of the people who participate seem to go out of their way to dress purely for shock value. Men wearing bikinis, really bad cross-dressers who should make any transgendered person angry as heck, obscenely small bathing suits like Speedos that have no place away from the pool or ocean, the list goes on and on. If I were someone observing a parade like that I'd probably think all GLBT people were deviants who had no place in society. Even as a gay man I tend to feel that way. Do these freak shows pride parades help or hinder our cause? I think they hinder it which is why I voted yes. How about you?

That's mighty nice of you Colin. Thanks.

Perhaps it wasn't an outright admission, but it wasn't a definitive denial either. He merely stated that compared to Steve we should have "developed a much higher threshold for cliffhangers!"

Thanks again. I voted.

I think an "other" choice is needed. Based on what CJ has told us so far neither Mario or Dimitri have guns. The General would be arriving via an Osprey which is kind of noisy and I don't know why he'd land up in the hills and approach the house after dark. And if he did why would he be carrying what sounded like an AK-47? What other AF personnel would be arriving on-scene without the General's knowledge? My gut instinct suggests someone else was up there and got shot. ADDED1: CJ I don't think Steve has ever left us with an unknown body riddled with bullets on a hill at the end of a chapter. ADDED2: Thanks for adding "other".

You could be right. It might just be assumed they returned to the Suburban. But this line right after the discussion about the gun is what made me wonder about that: ADDED: Fair enough CJ. But I think you've led us to believe the two men settled in to await the right time:

OK, I guess I can start making comments now. First: they exited and locked the vehicle with their guns inside Later while observing the house: If one of them resists and needs to be shot, then we would have to go with my plan. Mario and Dimitri left the guns in the car so what are they gonna shoot with and where did the automatic weapons fire come from?

Oh man. So much for a lull in the action. That was a great chapter CJ. I don't want to provide any potential spoilers so early in this thread so I'll stop here for now.

Sadly, here's what my friend/contact at MSFT told me: Yes, it's true -- but the details are: * only applies to people in China (locale set to China) * amount is 0.10 RMB, not $0.10 -- so it's more like a penny * total cost is shared between MSFT and Toyota

I've asked one of my contacts at MSFT to confirm this and provide a link in English. I'll post again as soon as I've heard from him.

Let me play Devil's Advocate for a moment please to give you something to think about. If everyone who were bisexual would suddenly announce their orientation/preference to the world I could see only one real effect. It would make the people who hate GLBT people even more paranoid, hateful, spiteful, vengeful, and thus dangerous to us.

<rant> OK, why does some singer/composer have to be gay to be a gay icon? What useful purpose is served by a gay icon when it comes to music? Shouldn't you just like whatever you like without worrying about playing into some gay stereotype? I'm gay. I love Mozart. He wasn't gay. Does that mean I shouldn't like him? Sorry, it isn't going to happen. I can really stop here and state that James summed up my attitude about this quite well. Thanks, James. It seems like we agree with each other quite often despite having very different life experiences. </rant>

Wow, things have certainly changed since I went to my prom in 1974. Even though I was out to everyone I still had to take a female friend of mine to the prom. I'm really happy for you guys, and maybe even a little bit jealous.

Happy Birthday, Myr. I hope you're pleased with all you've accomplished so far in life.

One of the most difficult lessons to learn in life for someone like you is to recognize when you need to be selfish, and then not feel guilty for indulging in some time alone to recharge your mental batteries.

Ouch!