Former Member

So… Muahahahaha! ;–)

Deleted (Sorry Tim.) (link, if you want to see it. Warning: flashing image.)

And there is much more to Shade than would be expected if he were a pony of our world! ;–)

The dinner with the enormous steaks and Mexican street corn? ;–)

Well you’re not going to get hate from me over Eddie’s decision to look for an alternative to prison for Donald. I just finished reading a long story (not on GA) about a high school student who is kidnapped and repeatedly raped by a former prison guard – the theme was forgiveness. I also just finished watching the fourth season of Orange Is the New Black where forgiveness was also one of many themes. I know there are people who deserve to be in prison, but I think too many people are sentenced for far too long a sentence for relatively mild offenses (while others, often white collar criminals, either get off with very light sentences or get Golden Parachutes instead of punishments). There is no equity in sentencing. Mandatory sentences prevent judges from adjusting the punishment to fit the actual crime. Children are sentenced as adults way too often. Clearly prison is not an effective deterrent otherwise there wouldn’t be so much crime. There is no real rehabilitation in prison and often no plans to help inmates avoid the cycle of repeated jail sentences. Prisoners are usually in a worse situation after they are released than they were when they were sentenced. There is no real assistance when inmates are released from incarceration. In many cases, prison is a substitute for a mental health treatment facility. Frequently prison is used as a punishment for someone being too poor, too unhealthy, too unskilled, or just plain unlucky enough to be homeless in the wrong town. There is no sense that an ex-con has served his or her sentence and should be allowed to return to a normal life. In many cases, felons are punished for the rest of their lives no matter how much they improve themselves and their communities after they’ve been released. And no, I don’t live behind the walls of a gated community. I don’t live in a wealthy, low-crime suburb. I live in a high-crime, high-unemployment, urbanized community that has a county jail located on its outskirts. The city I live in has a much higher percentage of parolees and people on probation than the rest of the county because this city is where the county dumps its unwanted – we also have the highest number of homeless living here too.

…And in this case John = @R. Eric! ;–) You know you would be just as impatient as John! You wouldn’t be able to wait if your husband had been kidnapped. You’d go even if you knew you didn’t have a plan other than to just rush out there to be with him. Even though your military training said to wait and plan a mission… ;–)

This is a link from one of the larger online model train retailers. I just did a search for ‘CSX’ and got 140 hits. There are examples in the four most common scales: H0, N, 0, and Z. There’s also a cap with CSX on it. There are other sources that sell things like t-shirts, sweatshirts, signs, and pins all with the CSX logo on them. Daylight Sales has a bunch of things, including shirts with images of the locomotive schemes of the predecessor lines. ;–)

There are many model train layouts with a CSX theme. Just about every railroad you’ve ever heard of (and many you haven’t) have been modeled. Small regional or local lines are less likely to be modeled because they’re less likely to have commercially available models – but there are dedicated modelers who custom paint their equipment. But even the smallest lines are too big to completely model the entire route in scale in a home layout. I have seen pictures of layouts ranging from a Z-scale Swiss Alpine setting to the old Chicago Museum of Science & Industry Santa Fe layout. There’s also a gigantic layout in Germany, but I can’t remember its name. There’s a large club in my city that has both an H0 and an N-scale layout. Just about every large (and many medium-sized) city has a club with one or more layouts. Hundreds of thousands of people have home layouts or modules. I collect N-scale (1:160) locomotives and cars – I don’t have a layout. My favorite lines are the ones that once served this area: Western Pacific, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and Union Pacific. I also have a couple Caltrain passenger train sets. I have four historical passenger train sets (the WP/D&RGW/CB&Q California Zephyr, the SP Coast Daylight, the AT&SF Super Chief and the AT&SF El Capitan – all by Kato), two European TGV sets, and a Shinkansen set. I like passenger trains. ;–)

I always say I read too many stories whenever I get confused about details! ;–) So, CSX, huh? The real railroad or a model train layout? ;–)

Your picture shows the not-very-exotic Toyota Hilux (aka Tacoma) 4-door pickup with what appears to me to be UK license plates. The Viking only seems to have two doors. I’m sure the Toyotas that are sold in Russia are left-hand-drive (except any used Toyotas that might still be exported from Japan to Vladivostok). ;–)

Young people move so quickly. It takes me a much longer time to get to know guys I date. But I struggle with relationships more than most people, ;–) I’m interested to see what you do in a longer format! ;–)

Naturally, I had to figure out what this ‘Viking’ was that Colin rented. The Aton-Impulse Viking's front is contoured above the headlights similar to Ford-era Jaguars. 50 mph on land/8 mph in water. Central driving position (see driver in vehicle on the right), seven seats. ‘Only’ $200,000, but Colin is incredibly wealthy. I'm surprised that they didn't get one of the other even more exotic vehicles like the military-only ZIL Punisher: Or at least one of these: Trekol (available with either four or six wheels), limited to 50 mph, but only $22,000+ Sherp: top speed 30 mph on land/4 mph in water, $65,000-70,000 Avtoros Shaman, eight-wheel-drive, eight-wheel steering, each axle lockable in various combinations, 50 mph, $130,000. The rest of us are more likely to be able to afford the Yamaha Viking EPS since it's only $12,999 (assembled in the US). The VUN could buy a fleet of them for less than the cost of most of the others… ;–)

Maybe Michael and Isabella can bond when Heathcliff & Aidan become preoccupied with each other and ignore their best friends! ;–)

Rabbit warrens don’t just have one exit… ;–)

Once again Michael was the voice of reason. Heathcliff was spinning in circles. But Michael was able to redirect him to a more productive path. And once again Aidan ignores reason (in the form of Isabella this time) and runs back home to hide. But that’s just typical bunny behavior. Run back to the warren when there’s a predator lurking. ;–)

Any idea how long ago it was posted (or you read it)?

Hey! That’s just a worm. The apple’s not rotten. ;–)

Geron had it right. I was yanking your chain! I was teasing everybody who loves these kinds of romances (including me). ;–) That’s me! Evil to the core! Muahahahaha! ;–)

It will be very short-lived. Stravor has his orders to kill Keter. Stravor just paid his buddy, Dayson, so Dayson wouldn’t lose the income from Keter without compensation. The flower, new clothes, and shoes are just to distract Keter while Stravor decides how and when he will accomplish his task. ;–)

It always bothers me when characters in stories are sweaty and dirty when they have sex. I know lots of other people like the stench (sweat or fragrances), but I prefer clean and fresh. Some of us don’t like having to deal with the smells. Thank you for having them shower first! ;–)

Since LotR has already been mentioned, Bill the Pony was maltreated when Frodo bought him. Sam nursed him back to health even while they were struggling along on their quest. Fictional ponies are not only tough and loyal, but also very lovable. ;–)

Stupid autocorrect changed the spelling without me noticing. It tried again when I fixed the spelling! AI doesn’t like Fantasy any more than it likes non-English words. :–(