Phaedrus

Very interesting! Given the lack of research, if any ladies out there wish to conduct experiments into the link between consumption of various foodstuffs and vaginal deliciousness, I'd be happy to assist... :) I have just one problem with the original post, which is... I *know* that this is going to pop into my head next time I go down on someone. I just know it.

Yep. Absolutely. Children can be just as evil as adults when they want to be.

I had unfortunately missed Emily on her last couple of visits to Ottawa, so I was very pleased that her current visit coincided with my being able to see her! Well, I wasn't disappointed when I walked into the room... it felt more like catching up with an old friend than meeting someone new. We chatted for a little while; Emily is very intelligent, and also very down-to-earth. And, of course, I got to anticipate the delights yet to come... well, those delights came soon enough, and rest assured it was a lot of fun! And, alas, it's time to go... still, I'll have lots of happy memories to get me through until her next visit. Hopefully that won't be too long!

This is rather less erudite than a TED talk... but it's (loosely) related, and it made me laugh.

Congratulations, Shortcake!

Awesome! Congratulations, sir!

Congratulations, Angela!

Happy Birthday, Castle! Hope you're out there having fun!

I'm not going to weigh in on the CBJ/BBBJ debate except to say that this is really comes down to the level of risk that each and every one of us is prepared to take. Some are more conservative and will stick with playing it safe; others will accept greater risk in return for greater rewards (however you choose to define that). The same applies to many areas of life, be it investing your money or making career decisions or indulging in high-adrenaline sports or... many other things. One thing I will weigh in on: I disagree that BBBJ necessarily and inevitably leads to BBFS. I'm afraid I consider this the intellectual equivalent of the drug-warriors' scare-mongering that legalization of weed will inevitably lead to us all mainlining heroin.

Congratulations, WIT, and well-deserved. What does that make you? Some sort of ur-deity?

From Lovesick Blues to.... quite the opposite! Ugly Kid Joe - Everything About You

Well, I hate to be negative, but... I'm not convinced by how well seeing SPs will actually prepare anyone for real dating, I'm afraid. The problem is that SPs (or at least, the ones I've met) are, by their very nature, pretty good at finding common ground and making polite conversation with someone they've just met and know next to little about. They're also very good at making that initial meeting fun, and remarkably non-awkward, and making you want to see them again. And your average random date, who may be a random-ish selection from society at large... probably isn't going to be so good at stuff like that. Porthos mentioned the potential for rebound... in that vein, one thing I've found that SPs are *really* good for is the prevention of bad decisions. I've found in the past that I've sometimes gone on dates, or gone on further dates with someone I knew wasn't really a soul-mate, simply because... well, it'd been a while, and... I'm sure many of us have been there. But it's much easier to make a good call if you know you can still get laid whenever you like. Seeing a SP is a lot better than ending up in bed with the wrong person for bad reasons.

(which isn't red)

Congratulations, Nathalie! Well deserved, and long overdue!

...and make sure you use different passwords on all of them. Four other things that should be said. 1. LinkedIn haven't fixed the root cause of the problem (for techies: they use unsalted SHA-1 to encrypt passwords, and this is vulnerable). So when you do change your LinkedIn password, don't change it to anything you use elsewhere, as it may get cracked again. 2. The posted list was apparently just LinkedIn passwords the poster wanted help with decrypting. This implies that a lot more have been leaked, and have already been cracked. 3. Phishes based on this have already been seen in the wild. 4. Apparently a second list was posted, sourced from eHarmony (techies: they use unsalted MD5). Same drill, if you have an account there.

Neither have I, but I'm jealous nevertheless. Anyway, in a similar vein... Robbie Williams - Millennium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbe2GNhILSM

Well... we've had various people talking about what they would or wouldn't do when the excrement impacted the impeller, but... really... I don't think any of us *know* unless it's happened. Sure, I could tell you what I'd like to think I'd do - but I consider that worthless. I've never been in that sort of a situation, fortunately, so I really can't say for certain what I'd *really* do, irrespective of what I'd like to think. I'll be very happy if I never find out. Also: Off-topic: this is true, but one could probably say the same of accountants.

Yep. Water reflects about 90% of the UV that hits it (I think, I'm going from memory here)... both in solid and liquid state. Cover up appropriately! Burning the bottom of your nose *really* hurts!

Hebron, exact nationality under vigorous dispute.

Ugh. This is a tricky one. I fear there are no easy answers. First, as everyone else has said, every SP has an inalienable right to choose who she sees, or not, and to vet her potential clients according to her own criteria. If one of those happens to be race, or color, or creed, so be it. It's her call; nobody else has any right to overrule her. Secondly: I can see this as a huge potential problem for an agency. Many potential clients may not - or may not be inclined to - readily distinguish between "SP X won't see <insert race/color/creed here> clients", and "This agency doesn't cater to <race/color/creed> clients". And for better or worse, an agency *is* going to become associated with the ladies who work for it. If they're generally good and generate happy clients, a good reputation for the agency will follow. But negatives also apply. And so it seems to me that an agency owner who has a business to run and a reputation to worry about may legitimately decide not to associate themselves with such screening techniques. It's not just SPs and clients who get to choose who they're going to do business with.