JamesSavik

One of my souviners of playing football was an ACL repair which was done back in the mid-80s. The knee is never quite the same after that surgery and wouldn't set off anyones gaydar.

I smoke but I am a conscientious smoker. I don't smoke indoors. I don't smoke in resterants even in a smoking section. I go out of my way NOT to be a jerk about it. If there were more smokers like me, I doubt there would be too many problems. That being said, there are some passive-aggressive, anal people who go out of their way to be offended by nothing in particular and the subject of smoking gives them a club to beat people with. These people I will politely call little bitches. I've seen some people, usually women, all the way across a caf

MTV... is that the network with all those dreadful reality shows that no one watches anymore? MTV is like the fifty year old adolescent that goes to the bar and hits on 20 year olds. If it was ever cool, nobody in the place can remember it.

Burn out is a danger that has claimed some of our most beloved on-line authors. the Eggman and Driver 9 no longer post their work on-line. Dewey has sort of hit a wall. Comicality almost quit but I hope we begged him back into the fold. Others just fade away. You know churning out a story isn't exactly easy. You would be amazed at how rude people can be in their criticism. I once had an email that demanded that a character who left the story because of their parents come back or they wouldn't read anymore. Some readers get real bent out of shape when things don't go the way that they were hoping. This is good in a way- at least they were engaged by the story and characters to actually care. Not Evey story has a happy ending. I'm not saying that authors have glass egos and shouldn't be criticized. Just try not to be rude about it. Most consider constructive criticism invaluable. Many authors are quite young, others have talent but not a lot of confidence. One rude email could be the one that breaks the camels back.

The Network model is difficult to implement because software limits what you can do and people have been thinking relational/tabular data models since the 80s. I can make horizontal links but that is merely a band-aid on a software system that is intended to be hierarchical because generations of computer science students have been told that the network model is passe. Interestingly enough- the NSA and HomelandInsecurity databases, made by people with mega$ and the best and brightest tekkies, are said to use a distributed hybrid network/relational database. I doubt that we can download it anytime soon. We may talk business around the first of the year.

It has been a very long time sicnce I read it but the first three books of the Dragonlance series did an excellent job of showing a very coherent magical system. Basically there were three schools of magic- white (good, clerical type magic), red (neutral elemental based magic: air, fire, water & earth) and finally black magic (death/evil magic). Practicioners of magic are limited in scope to the spells that they can cast first by the school of their magic. Next by the spells that they have learned. Mages have to have formal training and registration as wild mages are considered at worst a threat or at best a nuisance by the Crown. Just because you are a mage does not mean that you can cast anything you want. Mages don't come off their spells easily. If someone uses one of your spells to do something criminal, you bear some of the responsibility. Masters are high level Mages that can teach higher level magic but they won't teach just any old Sot the stumbles along. They will want to know who you are, where you are from and your reputation. Even then a master may tell you to get lost if they just don't like your looks. Your magic is unique. To other mages a spell cast is like a signed painting. Other Mages will know what you've done. Mages feel the flow of magic and can feel normal low-level spells cast up to a half mile away. Powerful high-level spells can be felt continents away. Anywho... I thought that magic system made more sense than many of the others that I've seen or read about.

Lose the number- my phone remembers it. Lose a document, my computer remembers. I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

Bah. I'm from Mississippi and know these sorts quite well. I would rather go to the dentist than watch them.

A disclamer keeps us from being sued...

Teachers often call their students with higher IQs "disruptive". Usually its because smarter students push or challenge them and are more work than the stoned kids that just sit there like a puddle of mush and make a C. As far as the RED dorm room goes, I don't see it as a problem. Her concern is that you can't paint over it when you move out. The trick is that when its time to go, it takes a coat of primer in addition to whatever color that you paint it back to. Primer is a thick, light gray color and does a great job of covering even the darkest colors. It also come in anti-fungal varieties which is great for dorms. You'll find the bar to be raised quite high with respect to disruption at the college level Colin. After the sixties generation and their bombs, riots and shoot outs with the National Guard, it's hard to get school administrators to even raise an eyebrow over anything less serious than a shooting spree. I will say that the classics always work. Get hold of an uncut copy of Animal House and/or Van Wilder for inspiration. The old horse in the Deans Office gag or the basket full of bulldog cream croissants to the mean jock frat will always work. However- if you want to become an true immortal, someone the kids are still talking about as a real disruptive genius fifty years from now, you need a classic original gag. Something new and untried which takes some real doing. Broke, bored college kids can be ingenious and it takes a real stroke of inspiration to come up with something truly unique. New technologies like computers and bluetooth make new generations of gags possible. I was a odd ball in school: a hybrid Jock/science GEEK. I liked pranks but my goal was to get away with it rather than take the heat and the fame. My best moment is when I created a sugar based coating for bars of potassium metal. We went to an away game at our arch-rival school and I flushed a half dozen of these things. The time delay element was what made it really work. When the first one went off, I was a quarter mile way in full view of the principal. The explosions left CRATERS 2 1/2 feet deep, 4 feet wide. No body got killed and the statute of limitations has run out... The Monday after "the bombings" my Coach called me into his office and accused me of doing it but he couldn't figure out how. I took the fifth since he was fishing. If I had told him how, I would have incriminated myself. The Challenge: Tell us about your best "Disruption"/prank, gag and or practical joke. Did it work? Did you get away with it? Did you get what you wanted out of it- revenge, laughs, a lesson in humility to an asshat? I may have grown up but not nearly enough to lose my love of a great GAG. ______________________________________________________ Code of Ethics for pranks, gags and/or practical joke: 1: No one gets hurt: pain ain't funny. 2: Property damage is acceptable as long as it is minimal (<$40) 3: A Mess is preferable to property damage. 4: If someone gets hurt, its off and you help. 5: Its good to come by the next day and help clean up. 6: It's about mischeif not malice. 7: Race, sex, religion and sexuality are off limits.

Is this Aaron of the Mail Crew or another Aaron? Best wishes!

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Take your time David: there is no race except with yourself. Quality is worth the wait. Say hi to your cats for me.

Taking Colinian's lead: Nearby supernova- hey yo- WTF is wrong with alpha centauri? It's taking up half the sky. Gamma Ray Burster- why do we all have orange afros and have a complexion like bacon?" hyper-quakes caused by a black hole passing the star system at right angles to our center of gravity- well, there goes the neighborhood... gravitational shifts that make the earth too far/close to the sun- remember when summer/winter were just a season? super-solar flare that roasts everything on the day side of the earth- Property is cheap in Asia but the catch is you've got to put the fire out. Plague caused by space bourne pathogen- Ghaaak! Large alien ship crashes and irradiates a big chunk of the country- Damned illegal aliens can't drive or park Telepathic Amazonian Aliens with huge breasts arrive and decide that all humans must die.- What is this "hot" that you humans are all thinking human ambassador?

Taking Colinian's lead: Nearby supernova- hey yo- WTF is wrong with alpha centauri? It's taking up half the sky. Gamma Ray Burster- why do we all have orange afros and have a complexion like bacon?" hyper-quakes caused by a black hole passing the star system at right angles to our center of gravity- well, there goes the neighborhood... gravitational shifts that make the earth too far/close to the sun- remember when summer/winter were just a season? super-solar flare that roasts everything on the day side of the earth- Property is cheap in Asia but the catch is you've got to put the fire out. Plague caused by space bourne pathogen- Ghaaak! Large alien ship crashes and irradiates a big chunk of the country- Damned illegal aliens can't drive or park Telepathic Amazonian Aliens with huge breasts arrive and decide that all humans must die.- What is this "hot" that you humans are all thinking human ambassador?

I agree with Graeme. TMI (Too Much Information) is a common problem with online gay fiction. Overdescribing a person is a temptation that really should be avoided. For instance: there are tons of stories with lengthy descriptions of characters. I can't think of any at the moment and that is my point. Graeme's story New Brother had striking characters with minimal description. Their looks were much less important than their characters and actions. While there was no lengthy description of Adam, Stick, Giant, Break or the twins I have a distinct memory and mental image of those characters. I would suggest that new authors read Graeme's New Brother or any one of several stories by Driver 9 to see how striking and memorable characters are developed. Graeme will blush in modesty but his work really is top drawer. He is also a master at the short-story. Check it out if you want to see a number of things done very well.

Doctor Laura would want the wife and kids to leave him, Doctor Phil would want to kick his ass for hurting horses, and Doctor Ruth would be impressed that he was f-ing horses.

I'm sorry gentlemen but that politically correct dog just won't hunt. It is bad enough that we as gay people have to put up with hyper-Christians and Mormons, I'll be damned if I'm going to say nice things about a bunch of sick religious fanatics that hang gay teenagers. Not all Muslims are fundamentalist wackos however, the calm, reasoned voices of Islamic Liberals and Moderates are silent for fear that they will be murdered. What is outright frightening is that some of those fundamentalist wackos are in control of countries which are economically and militarily powerful [like Iran and the United States].

As far as villians go, Aaron has it all over everybody. He must be hawt because he's slept with everybody.

After his success in the Potter films, he can pick and choose his roles and doesn't have to play just any old part that comes his way. This has been a killer problem for a number of child actors making the transition to adult roles.

Christian fanatics haven't been known to slaughter innocent people en mass for 800 years or so. Islamic fundamentalists kill an average of just over 100 people per day worldwide and have for the past twenty years1. When the Taliban was in charge of Afghanistan, the traditional punishment for homosexuality was to collapse a wall on the accused. Less than two weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, the beheadings of two Afghani homosexuals made headlines in the New York Post and CourtTV2. More recently, the Iranians executed two teenagers by hanging. Islam is quite unlike other religions in that it is very, very political containing a highly militant societial blueprint: the Islamic texts design a culture bent on cultural hegemony and world domination. In fact the Koran calls for the extermination of non-Muslims in holy war. If that war can not be won, the Koran further instructs Muslims to have a truce but no peace treaty with their non-Muslim enemies. The war can then go on to victory 10, 50, 100 or 1000 years later- whenever conditions for a Muslim victory are favorable3. While I detest religious fanatics of any variety, Islam is particulary dangerous because of its militant and xenophobic nature. The word Islam means submission which is how you get along with Muslims: you must submit to their laws and their religion. You must surrender your freedom. Don't be fooled by politically correct b*llshitte. The only reason Muslims aren't an even bigger danger is that the various sects hate each other as much as they hate non-Muslims. Shia and Sunni are as likely to kill each other than a non-Muslim. Islam is indeed a religion of peace: the peace of the dead after they have slaughtered or made slaves of everyone who is not a Muslim. For GLBT people, all Islam offers you is death. ________________________________________________________ 1- Gale's Encyclopedia of Terrorism, 2004. 2- Punishing Gays Under Islam: Independent Gay Forum; originally appeared Oct. 21, 2001, in the Chicago Free Press. 3- Various parts of the Koran.

If the Southern Cross offends you, or you don't like "A Fair Go", then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. I fully support Australia in their fight against flea bitten, religious fanatic, goat molesters that have so f_cked up their own countries that they feel the need to spread the love. Don't worry about running out of toe-tags. We'll make more. We care enough to send the very best... cluster bombs.

Radcliffe...OK I'll admit that he's a cute pup. I'm looking forward to seeing Rupert Grint in a nude role.

Doubletalk, stereotypes, old wives tales... Next!