W_L

I guess, I am one of those embarrassed guys, because after a few years in high school, I realized most of the other guys were bigger than me (Yeah, I'm still an extreme grower, which is kind of odd). I did take peaks; most of them were bigger than me and I kind of got intimidated. It was only later on in college that I realized that those guys didn't grow as much as I did (I went online to check some of this stuff out). My 1st roommate can be considered an exhibitionist; every time he got drunk or high, he would strip naked in front of me. I saw him in the shower and in the morning, when he realized he was naked on top of his bed without covers (I won't lie, he was tempting, but I kept my sexual libido in check). By college, I was more or less willing to be around naked guys and probably lost most of my shyness.

We can only wish, but there's enough shirtless, want to kill for those guns, and wild guys in the promos to make me want to see. The books were okay, but I have a thing for werewolves versus vampires. The blood sucking sexual seduction thing is fine for some, but I want me a strong, virile, and hormone driven werewolf, who enjoys getting naked every so often.

Yeah, the disease does seem to affect the young a bit more than the old due to the immune response. Sadly hundreds of children have already died of Swine flu.

I'm no expert on the subject, but one of my clients is a major distributor of the H1N1 vaccine. Anyone who was exposed to the Asian flu of the 1950's is immune from H1N1 and would not require a vaccination, so the elderly in that age range are not priorities. It is one reason why certain elderly people are not being inoculated, because the strain variations from the 1950's Asian flu is similar to the current H1N1, so it would provide the same protection as a vaccine. Just a friendly piece of medical advice. I opted not to take the vaccine; although technically I do fit the criteria as I am involved in health care business consulting and make trips to hospitals and community health centers often. I'd rather people younger than me or more at risk get the vaccine first.

Favorite childhood movie: Lion King (1994)

The thing about lawyers defining things, it takes three thousand pages and an act of congress just to define "The law". (I'm not joking either without things like legal definitions the field of taxation would be just as boring as regular accounting and auditing. It's for that reason that most people studying tax are learning the subject from J.D's rather than regular professors with doctoral degrees.) Steve, I think Mark had a different kind of pirate in mind or it could just be my dirty mind. 0:)

Darn, I could do some improv and pretend to be a comparable grouchy college professor without tenure and a fear of cheese. Or a deceptively cute lad with a fatal attraction motif.

Mark have you ever thought I was a fraud? I mean how many 22 year old Master of Taxation with an interest in history and philosophy are out there, who also happens to be a former vice chair of a Republican party branch. Plus the fact that I am blind in one eye, it makes me almost too weird to believe. Yet, I hope I convey my situation and reality well enough for most people to understand that I am an actual person.

Well, I'm an oddball. Recent Master's Degree and I do think most business school people from the northeast are a bit different. I'm younger than most Master degree holders and college graduates, so it's not really a surprise. I also have a contrarian sense of interest in history and philosophy, which are kind of alien to Accounting majors and Master of Taxation. Syntax wise, I have never been a very strong grammatical person; although, I can use and create my own imagery within stories with linguistic components. I am more or less not what you would consider accomplished in such fields even with an advanced degree (Quite frankly in business, there tends to be more expression in bullet points, but I prefer longer explanations. That comes from my accounting background.) Now age wise, I am 22 with a dab of old soul. I am a very classical person due to my love of history. I can remember and recite nearly two thousand years of history compromising of a few hundred different cultures, which is an odd feat (my history professor still think that I should go to doctoral school and study a history subject, but I prefer the business world at the moment over academia). I am also an ongoing student of philosophy and religious concepts, which I consider life lessons rather than educational lessons. Yeah, I am a bit strange.

Oh wow, Happy Birthday Gandalf! Hmmm....I thought Gandalf was ageless

You know what happened to Merry and Pippin after the war in the books; they get married to female hobbits and had kids, but during their last few years of life, they left the shire again together and spent their final days with each other. When they died, they were buried alongside each other, not their wives. (Tolkien was either hinting or their's something fishy about hobbits) I don't know, it sounds romantic to me, but then I am not a hobbit.

Happy Bday CJ, don't go near any cliffs!

It's not sam and Frodo either, if you have the extended version of the Return of the king, then you see a touching scene of Merry and Pippen too. My favorite line from them, Merry: I knew you will find me Pippen: Yes Merry: Are you going to leave me (again)? Pippen: No Merry I'm gonna look after you. (Scene ends with Pippen embracing Merry) Tolkien calls it a close bond between men in war, but I think that an interesting sexual aspect is also apparent underneath it.

It's been my hobby and fascination. I love space tech and theoretical physics/engineering.

Actually, it's not impossible to make an interstellar voyage even with our limited scientific capabilities: SmartIes I think you are referring to the Drake Equation. N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible; R* is the average rate of star formation per year in our galaxy fp is the fraction of those stars that have planets ne is the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets fℓ is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point fi is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life fc is the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space L is the length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space. I love the idea, when I grew up watching re-runs of star trek TNG and still do. As for space travel, I believe it is very possible with a few selective problems solved within our lifetime. The key issues of deep space travel are: 1. Power, what can you use to power a deep space vehicle? (Atomic power just doesn't cut it) 2. Propoulsion, How will it get to it's location? 3. Supplies, How can you solve the issue of long term supplies for spacecraft? 4. Long term exposure to radiation, How can you protect people from long term stellar radiation? (We are protected not only with our atmosphere, but the sun's heliosphere, which prevents many cosmic rays/particles from entry.) 5. Living in space, if you don't have things like Warp Drive, Hyperspace, or a form of FTL, then how can you live in space? 6. Finally, Human psychologically, how well can we psychologically live in space even for short durations of time? (There are a host of issues here) I hate plugging for my story, but Exodus does answer all the questions with sustainable scientific prospects. 1. Power would in my opinion be best achieved with matter/anti-matter annihilation. While Dan Brown imagines stories of anti-matter weapons destroying Rome, the super collider experiments in Bonn are very good first steps to achieving anti-matter power. 2. Propulsion must be a mixed bag. I do agree that there might be possibilities out there for FTL drives, but they are centuries ahead of us unless we discover an interstellar secret, i.e. wormhole or cosmic tunnel network (Andromeda Slipstream/Star War Hyperdrive/Babylon 5 Jump Drive). I think magnetic drives/solar sail drives would be the best approach in combination with a Bussard concept. The Bussard collectors could capture in cosmic matter and the ships could use that matter to generate power for their antimatter/matter annhilator generator. The power generated could be redirected into a magnetic field generator, which could augment the solar sail propulsion systems by providing additional push generated by the ship. Think of my example like someone going down hill, you could speed up the process if you add in your own energy by running down the hill versus the slower process of acceleration. The same can be said of solar sails, which would take a while to gather the necessary momentum from the sun to get that far. 3. Here's where things get interesting, some people believe the best approach in space travel is through hibernation, i.e. some form of suspended animation. However, I tend to believe that freezing is not going to be possible with the human body due to issues of tissue damage. I believe that supplies can be gathered simply if you plot out a course with small pit stops along the way. Think of the flyby asteroids/comets/ and other space objects as McDonald's. Supplies can be fashioned out of the raw material there. As for food, well you'll get to see space farming as it has to be done with next few chapters (Can't give you everything that I have been working on). Also, supplies of a more advanced nature must be fashioned onboard. That is where advances in nano-technology comes in. You will also want to have new things created and styles changes; that is where my belief in the future of Holographic technology would be headed in the next decade (Holography is very impressive). 4. This is where a magnetic drive comes in handy. The magnetic field of the earth and the sun are my inspirations for developing a conceptual magnetic drive field that can cancel out interstellar radiation. If you can generate a suffiecient enough field around a localized area, then you should be able to protect several ships from radiation exposure. 5. Space illnesses are not rare and they are just be documented. All I got to say is that McCoy was right, "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."- Star Trek (2009). Remember to keep a few doctors handy. 6. Psychology of human beings is very uneasy in space. It's not simply being lighter in weight (in my story, I actually borrowed J. Michael Straczynski Babylon 5 concept of centrifical force replicating gravity, the rotating Cylinder concept). Space psychology is just beginning to be conjectured, but I think there are as many issues of physical wellbeing as there are psychological issues. However, having a psychiatrist on staff would be handy. The three major discoveries and advances are in the fields of: Anti-Particle generation, advances in nanotechnology, and applicational three dimensional holographic systems substituting desktops or laptops as the main way human beings access or work with computers, i.e. a true tactile interface.

Wish I had a finished long story for nomination, but I have the ADHD equivalence in story writing; I like developing a lot of different story. Expect Exodus next part as a Christmas present to my readers.

Happy Birthday Rush

I can understand storytelling ambiguity to protect the author, but there are ambiguous characters, who you wish will have a happy ending with that "special guy" or "special girl". Another two movies I forgot to add, "My own private Idaho", I want to believe that at the end of the movie Keanu Reeves will end up with Phoenix, but the movie left their sexual and emotional reality in disarray. I want a happy ending, not a sad ending for the main character. "Thelma and Louise", you get this feeling that these two women deserve each other after being through so much crap from the world. I think they were not lesbians or thought of themselves as bisexuals at the start of the movie, but there was a connection and strong bond that transcended those labels by the end. I think the jury is out on this one as both have had relations with men; yet remain faithful to each other until the end. The possible "best bisexual couple ever" title might belong to this movie.

There are many male and female characters, who form very deep and long lasting bonds with a character of the same sex. However, does that mean they were gay or bi? I thought about this as I watched Midnight Cowboy, there was clear implied indication that they might have been gay. However, it was never mentioned in the movie explicitly only implied. There are some characters like the Hobbits of Lord of the Rings, who have more in common with gay couples than heterosexual. However, there is no indication that they were gay or bisexual either. Is there a way to know whether it is true implication or just a close bond?

Hmm, I'll finish my novella first, but I'll join for a short story. For mood music, I would go with "Unopened letter to the world" by the Ataris. Here's my tagline: "Through defeat we learn, Through death we enjoy life, Through destruction we rebuild, but Through it all we are human"

Happy Birthday Chase! :2thumbs: Go party and have fun!

You just reminded me: Care Bears- My most embarrassing Cartoon

The book that changed my life: Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression This is the book that got me interested in reading at age 9. I've always been interested in military tactics and technology. I found it in the Boston public library and started reading. I still remember the developmental history of Heat seeking missiles to this day and the advent of mechanized infantry. This book began my lifelong love of history. What got me into imagination and thinking came a year later at age 10 with this book: The Physics of Star Trek The book inspired me to learn more about mathematics and science. I wanted to be the one to prove you can go to Warp or make transporters possible, it was kind of childhood wish. Some of what I write today that involves complex scientific and engineering knowledge can be attributed to this book. When I became a Teenager, I started internalizing and began my exploration of religious and philosophical studies. Consider it soul searching. I've read the Bible before, but I realized there was so much more out there. I wanted to understand why people believe the way they do and I learned more about my own background along the way. I've grown to love proto-Daoism as an extension of my interest in natural sciences; the idea of universal relativity and continuous order and chaos working in a system interest me the most. I also understood the differences between how Buddhist belief and Confucian beliefs truly came about rather than accept a twisted dogma. There are many people in the West that would turn their back on these two philosophies if they knew the totality of what the philosophies mean rather than what some want them to mean. Let's just say there's less freedom and equality in Buddhist and Confucianism than people get from siding with either the "Free Tibet" crowd for Buddhism or the "Pro China" crowd for Confucianism. The entire philosophical debate has become a political farce rather than a true questioning of human nature. Both operate on certain principles that I cannot agree to, but it is a tragedy most people do not understand these two religious/philosophical standpoints other than purely surface interpretation. I also enjoy Judaism and Islam as counterparts to Christianity with so many areas that can be bridge if not for the doctrinal ideology.

I think we all agree to give SGU a chance for a couple more episodes. I liked the Voyager concept and premise, but hated the episodes. I'm one of those geeky trekkies that actually counted how many shuttlecraft they lost and how many people they reported were killed each episode. Dr. Rush is shaping up to be interesting, but I still don't understand what motivates him. For the new BSG's Dr. Baltar, you understand it was his vanity, lust, and pride that motivate him from the very beginning. Everything he did had a twisted logic that people can relate with, which made BSG such a powerful story. Dr. Rush is missing a motivation to be so cold and calculating. Now to Star trek: I think the Trek franchise began to die after DS9, not after TNG. Both the main producers of DS9 have crafted marvelous series after DS9, Ira Behr, the 4400, and Ronald D. Moore, Battlestar Galactica. DS9 was the high point of Star Trek on a conceptual basis, but what happened is that concept was far too high and nothing can seriously be done for a proper ending to Star Trek. It was the last series to be thought out by Gene Roddenberry before his death. I would dare any Sci-Fi viewer to name an episode of Star Trek that was better executed in TNG or the original series than DS9 "Taking into the Wind", TNG's "Best of Both worlds" does not count as it was a two season arc, "Taking into the Wind" was a decade long story arc. It took them 7 years to craft that episodes elements (The Klingon civil War and Worf's storyline of TNG, the Bajoran occupation and Cardassian storyline TNG/DS9, and the Dominion storylines into what I would call the final hurrah of Star Trek) from the later seasons of TNG to DS9's final episodes.

Sorry for double posting, but I did say I would give an in-depth review of the series premise and SGU: Stargate has become a well known franchise, equivalent to Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, and other. Stargate universe is the third series in the franchise. Stargate SG1 set the stage with adventure, over-arching plots, and the usualy "Save the world scenarios", which we can found in Sci-Fi today. It was good entertainment and enjoyable, because it had the right mix of bravado and humor. Who can say no to Jack O'Neill making snide remarks about his opponents and then gunning down twenty guys? The peculiar Dr. Jackson who is obsessed with the mysteries of existence and seeking something beyond him? Samantha Carter's romances and trait of killing off every boyfriend she ever had including Jack O'Neil in the Continuum Movie ? Finally, Tealc with a warrior scowl and silent treatment that would make most Klingons blush, most likely based off Worf from TNG? Those were the golden years of Stargate before the 9th season. Stargate Atlantis was to be a second series branching off the original. The series started out very well, but fell apart around the 3rd and 4th season. The premise had many promises: understanding a whole new host of civilizations in a distant galaxy alien to our own, new villains that could rival the perrenial technologist (The Ancients) that were the Wraith and Asurans, and you had interesting characters with a complex backstory that coalesced. I liked the M.A.S.H -esque motif they ran during the 1st season, which was incredibly delicate blend of humor/action/humanity. "Poisoning the Well" may perhaps be my favorite episode of the Franchise for the line, "Victory at any costs, Churchill, Didn't think I'd disagree"- Carson Beckett. It was a good series before the dynamic shifted more to emulate SG1 in the action category ending in the Biggest battle of Stargate "Be all my Sins Remembered", which made Atlantis become similar to DS9 if you wish to compare Star Trek series to Stargate. Both series had merits, but they started fading due to many writing shifts. Now we go into Stargate Universe or SGU- A meshwork of Star Trek Voyager, Battlestar Galactica, and many other nods to series. So far, the musical score reminds me of Battlestar Galactica and the opening action sequences with the Al'Kesh bombers and Death Gliders were more akin to the Cylon raiders of BSG than Stargate. As to the 9th Cheveron SFX sequence, I'll leave that for viewers to decide upon. I like the premise, but I have big reservations on execution. Now for the meat of the story, it is a character based series rather than a Arc story. Most people viewing sci-fi don't think about the differences in the Genre of Sci-Fi, but there are two main group of shows: "Adventure of the Week"- This is similar to an anthology format like Star Trek and its sequel TNG along with Voyager. Additionally, Lost in space, Andromeda, and the original Battlestar Galactica were based off this story technique. The adventure of week usually involves a large ensemble cast, which makes or break this kind of TV series. Execution of the stories must be consistent with the characters, which sometimes mean that the characters become robots only set to one emotional or character dynamic. Stargate SG1 succeeded with this format and Stargate Atlantis in season 2 and 3 failed here. "The Big Story"- This one was utilized by Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, and Battlestar Galactica. Arc or "Big story" shows are driven by plot points. The characters are still involved, but the plots carry the show to the next challenge for our characters. Stargate SG1 used this approach on their main storyline for the Gould in Season 1-6 and Stargate Atlantis 1st season and 4th seasons were thrilling due to it. I won't lie about my bias toward the "Big Story" and plot driven series. SGU for me is still young and could become either, but the pilot shows us a more "Adventure of the week" style with possibly better execution than Voyager was for Star Trek, hopefully. As to the characters: Eli Wallace- The Geeky guy inside all Sci-Fi fans. Syfy network knows their audience and he looks like someone that would fit into any comic-con. I think the character needs fleshing out; he'll become comic relief if they do not. Dr. Rush- An Anti-Villain or an Anti-Hero, it all depends on your view of the character. He reminds of Dr. Baltar from BSG along with a few others. I like the concept and the cold deceitful nature of his character, which seems to me more human than many Stargate main cast members. He's as close as you can get to a BSG personality without calling it Stargate BSG. The military guys have not gotten enough screen time for me to love or hate them. Now there's an interesting thing in this series, Stargate has introduced the first openly lesbian main character, which is a interesting though forgettable. The first bisexual main characters, both females, appeared in Ds9 and Babylon 5 concurrently (I can debate this with sci-fi fans later in private; it used to be a more touchy subject as B5 fans thought they were more progressive than Trekkies.) I'm still waiting for a openly bisexual/gay male character in American sci-fi (DR. Who doesn't count) that isn't or turns evil, (Why did Felix Gaeta have to turn evil?) Thus, let's get down down to the story: It was odd and disjointed, so I'll leave any true judgments until part 3 "airs", pun intended for people that know episode titles like me by heart (very geeky). As it is currently, SGU has many flaws and potential. Let's hope that they can make it and not crash the franchise like Enterprise.