Phaedrus

That sounds like very wise advice. It also strikes me that any forum that becomes exclusive and isolationist will probably stagnate, and eventually decline. But if we can grow, then we all benefit. World Domination, here we come.... :)

Absolutely. And if a few folks lose a little sleep over seeing it and change the way they run their lives as a result, it's entirely worthwhile. And kudos to those of you that have stood up against this sort of thing; I count myself blessed that I've never had to.

In a similarly silly vein... http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/ is a guilty pleasure for me. It gives me great pleasure to know that whatever spectacularly stupid stunts I got up to when I was younger, there's plenty of people who are even more outrageous than I ever was :)

Not at all. I haven't been here long, but there seem to be some pretty intelligent folks hereabouts. And as for me... I don't believe in ghosts, but I'd like to.

Well, I used to not have a landline, and it was great... until work decided they *had* to have a number they could reach me at, and so I got a landline put in as they sure as hell weren't getting my cell number. So I now have a landline where work can call me and I never answer, so everyone's happy :) Of course, anyone who's self-employed wouldn't have that issue...

True. But if it helps only one, it'll still be worthwhile. Yup. If we could wave a magic wand and exorcise the demons of hatred and bigotry, I'm sure we'd all do it. Unfortunately, people can be utterly horrible sometimes, and the fact that a sizable chunk of the adult population believes that this particular form of hatred and bigotry is OK doesn't help. And I think that "This, too, shall pass" is a better message than the resounding silence that some kids seem to have to deal with.

I'm not sure. ISTR reading somewhere (can't remember where, sorry) that you could potentially be charged with obstruction of justice or something similar if you tried that. Which sounds like a particularly hideous catch-22 to me, if it's true... Additional Comments: I don't know that that would suffice. How often have recordings of interrogations been lost or deleted? 'Administrative errors' can be very useful at times, I suspect...

Maybe not, but there are probably plenty of folks who care about them. I think it's a fantastic idea (which is why I linked to it in an earlier post) - although I think it started a bit before Tyler Clementi's death - he, alas, is not the only young person to have committed suicide for this reason - he just seems to have hit the headlines harder than some others. The Trevor Project (http://www.thetrevorproject.org/about-trevor/organization) is also a great idea.

Although they presumably also have a phone number, and giving them a call to check they have someone available in five minutes' time (or whatever) may not be a bad idea...

Acqua/Luna/Oasis - MP in Ottawa with several locations.

It's also good to keep everything patched properly - not all software is good at this. I've found Secunia PSI very helpful for this - you can get it at http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

Lefty, I have to disagree with you this. I don't think that the appeal of physical attraction ever diminishes - we just work out that there's... more, that it's not the be-all and end-all. Certainly I wouldn't want to believe I'd ever stop appreciating beauty when I see it. Nevertheless, when you meet someone new, what you see is often the most significant factor in making your *first* impressions, whether it's the smile of the bum or the eyes or the whole package, simply because it's the first bit of information you receive and process. Maybe you saw someone's pics online; maybe your eyes met across a crowded room; vision is just... longer range than your other senses, and so it gets the first shot and everything else is playing catch-up thereafter. I'm inclined to think one of the only common exceptions to that is forums such as this, where you're likely to read someone's posts first. Also, apologies for the threadjack - Mod, feel free to put this in a thread of its own if appropriate...

But maybe all the lurkers are from Ottawa too... :)

Congratulations, sir. I'm most impressed!

Probably not until all (or most) of us can simply accept everyone else for what they are. Which, human nature being what it is, will probably be a while, alas. On the bright side, there are people who get it. If you haven't seen it already, have a look a Dan Savage's 'It Gets Better' project at http://www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject. And on the subject of suicide generally, an ad from a Serbian group that also gets it: http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2010/09/suicide-ads-projected-under-bridge-jumpers.html

But if she doesn't, the Gov't will presumably appeal that too, no? I hate to be pessimistic, but I really can't believe anything will change in practice until this has gone through the entire appeals process. And even then, as someone else noted, this ruling is based on the fact that prostitution is itself legal... which could be changed.

Indeed. Congratulations, and thanks to you - and all the other folks who have been here for a while - for making this a fantastic forum.