Tim

Not really....just a powerful magnet! Tim

This is a song written by Codey at CW and Camy wrote the music. Here's Camy and his group playing it live at one of their gigs. Tim

Looks like a USAF C130 Hercules to me. Tim

LMAO!! Boy!! That sure brings back pleasant memories! Well, pleasant for everyone but Dude. LOL Second best house warming party I've ever been to. Tim

I’ll never forget a conversation I had at fourteen with my parents when my Dad said something to me that I’ll never forget and will pass on to Mark, JC and any other kids we have: “We are all either the beneficiaries or victims of choices we make in our lives. It’s our place, as parents, to offer unconditional love to our children but unconditional love does not mean unconditional approval or unconditional acceptance of the choices you make. You, your brother and sister will always have our love, no matter what, but will not always have our approval of your choices. The greatest lesson we, as parents, can teach you is that you must accept the consequences of the decisions you have made. Those consequences may also affect our lives but will never affect our love for the three of you.” I don’t envy you and David, Richard. You’re at a defining moment with this boy but also with your younger foster son and don’t think for a moment that he isn’t watching and learning about how you respond to the older boy’s dilemma. If Carl sees you standing by the fifteen year old out of love, he’ll feel reassured of your love for him also. It’s important for both boys to see and feel the love that you show but also see that you don’t condone the actions of the fifteen year old. Good Luck! Tim

I've used MS Office Lite (the portable version) 2007 since starting Law School because it's not a resource hog like the installed version and Open Office. With my new job, however, I need to use excel and excel 2007 is very confusing. Luckily, I have a friend who gave me a copy of MS Office 2003 where excel is much more intuitive and now I use it exclusively. Tim

I'm not surprised that Codey liked the title "Definitions" because that seems to be the theme in this story. It's about defining ourselves and others as well as others defining themselves and us. Back in the early days of CW, I was a hater of reading (still am for the most part) and am sure that this was one of those stories that Codey told me I had to read. Whenever he came across a story he really liked he'd try making me read it. He'd keep bugging me "have you read it yet, have you read it yet?" over and over until I'd finally give him one of my two stock answers. I would either say "yes" or I'd say say "sooner or later". Codey felt strongly that the first step to acceptance was defining ourselves. This definition, we give ourselves, defines what we can accept and remain true to ourselves. Our self-definition sets the parameters for the relationships we have with those around us. I have always had a need to assert my independence when under pressure from others. My self-definition, and love for him, would not allow me to lie to Codey and tell him I'd read something when I hadn't so "sooner or later" was my way of saying "no, and I'm not going to". In turn, Codey's self-definition and love for me let him accept my non-commital "sooner or later" and the matter would be dropped...at least until the next story I "had to read" came along. What's this got to do with Des' great little story? Beats the Hell out of me! I guess today's my day to ramble. Tim

Congratulations, Mike, authors, members and lurkers. It takes many different people to make Awesomedude an awesome site! Tim and Codey's World Staff and members

I totally agree, James! Tim

What is needed is to revise all those stupid zero tolorance rules school districts have been putting in place. Sounds good on first glance until you're the victim of bullying and fight back to protect yourself. You find tourself and the bully suspended because "zero tolorance means zero tolorance". This is exactly what happened to Codey who physically fought back against a physical attack and to my brother who stepped in to defend Codey. They both recieved the same punishment as the attacker who was proud of his suspension...it's a badge of honor for ppl like him. I guess, unless you're an adult, your right to defend yourself or some other innocent party simply disappears. Tim

Good guess...I actually do have IE6 and use it regularly. As far as needing java help, I'm pretty good there too. I make a damn good pot nearly every morning. I'd guess it's the Brits that need help with thier java since they're so into the whole tea thing. Tim

Unfortunatly, it tells me my browser isn't supported and since I have no desire to load a second browser it's another perfect excuse to not bother learning to do html! LMAO Tim

Cole, you didn't say what kind of computer your friend is using. It's important and if he's/she's using a laptop with a built-in mic, he/she will have to make sure the built-in mic is turned off and the option for external mic selected. They can do this by right clicking the speaker symbol in the tray and choose adjust audio properties. Tim

@Ben....sometimes not saying something negative is a parent's way of being encouraging or at least showing they understand. Tim

Try Codey's way...name your good characters after ppl you like and evil characters after ppl you don't like. LOL Tim

I absolutely love this poem!!! It brings back a memory of a time my dad walked in on me in a session. I told him I had an itch and was just scratching. He said "un huh but next time you want to scratch yourself lock the door." He never mentioned that he'd caught me but I still had a hard time facing him for days! LMAO Tim

Here's a link to their album and the Jingle Bells single at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_9/180-5435634-1122244?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=sleepy+man+banjo+boys&sprefix=sleepyman It's the single that's going to feed hungry children. Tim

And here they are on Letterman! Tim

Those of you who don't vist Codey's World (and shame on you! LOL), won't know that I'm a big bluegrass fan. I discovered these kids on youtube last Spring and have been following them since. They've been on Letterman, GMA and Huckabee on TV and this September appeared on The Grand Ol Oprey. Their current ages are nine, twelve and fourteen. They have their first CD called "America's Music" out now. This latest upload to youtube is available on amazon and iphone and all proceeds go to a charity to feed children...so their hearts are in the right place. Watch this Christmas Song and be amazed! Tim

I found this guy on youtube a couple of years ago and posted the link on CW. His name is Tom Milsom and I followed his career for about a year when he left England to come to the States and apparently he's back in England now. This is the link to my favorite song of his. Believe it or not, he accompanies himself on a gamboy. lmao http://www.youtube.c...u/5/CUgdQKigCf0 He, Charlie and two of their other friends formed a band called Sons of Admirals and made a fantastic music vid Called "Here Comes My Baby"...I beleive it's on either Tom's or Charlies you tube channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&src_vid=VD4bFD2eKPM&annotation_id=annotation_366234&v=vR5wKLfzGHo here's the link to the music video Tim

Thanks Luggie, Mike and Chris. Dude is right that getting the word out is half the battle...the other half is making teens feel comfortable, safe, and at home on a site. As site owners and admins, we have to remember that even gay kids spend more time in the straight world than the gay world. CW was and is a place where all are welcome: gay/straight, young/old or boy/girl. It's our responsibility to offer them a window to thier own real life world as well as the chance to visit other people's real life worlds. If we ever expect all these worlds to get along, we have to introduce them, to each other, in a way that no one feels threatened by the other. This was the essence of Cody's dream. Tim

Well, I always heard that the next step to crazy, after hairy palms, from noshing too much, was sillyness! Tim

Hi, every one! I’m Tim and have an announcement. We’re starting a new push for younger writers: teens who’d like to write but are afraid to try. All of us, despite our ages, have stories in us. For some, the urge to write is there but they’re worried that they might not be any good. Codey was the same and look how that turned out! We’re a full service site here…don’t worry about whether you’re “good enough”. We have a great bunch of talented authors and they’re here to help you. If you write it, we’ll publish it online. We’re not looking for the next Codey but are trying to fulfill his dream of giving EVERYONE a chance to write their story. We’ll line you up with a real life editor to help you with spelling and punctuation and a few tips to tell you how to make the story more readable. What are we looking for? Any kind of story you’ll write…it doesn’t have to be gay ( as a matter of fact, we need more non-gay stories) it just has to be that story you have in your head. You maintain all rights to your story and can use a pen name…we recommend that you do not post under your real name. If, at anytime, you want to also post your story or stories at another site and want them taken down from Codey’s World, we’ll gladly do that. Our only goal is to encourage teens to explore writing. You can write any kind of story about anything but we will not accept stories with sex or drug usage in them. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, Poetry or just plain “a good story” are all acceptable. For more info email webguys@codeysworld.com and an admin will answer asap.

Richard....this link is to a site not only for stories about teens but also by teens...some little gems here. http://shortstories.student.com/read.php Tim

We hear a lot, lately, about bullying. Bullying has been around as long as we humans have been. Some bullies are made, by circumstances in their rearing, and some are just born bullies. I think we can all agree that bullying is wrong and is a problem we should all strive to correct. Those bullies, who are created by circumstance, can be helped to understand what is at the root of their bullying and, in most cases, can change. Those born bullies, however, will always be bullies and all we can hope for is a change in behavior. A change in behavior is not a cure to bullying but can be brought about by strict enforcement of anti-bullying rules for both children in school and for adults. Bullying, in some form, will always be with us. How is it that even verbal bullying has such a profound effect on us? I think that, in many cases, we let the bullies convince us that they're right about us?that we're flawed, in some way, and will always be flawed. We begin to believe that we have no future and this leads to despair which, in too many cases, leads to just giving up and suicide as our only way out. What does this have to do with Coming Out Day? Everything! As much as we don't want it and most deny it, we who are older are role models. How many of us saw older gay committed couples as we were growing up? How many saw successful gays leading a happy life as an openly gay man or woman? How many younger kids have seen these examples which could give them hope and a reason to live? Damn few! I'm not now advocating, nor encouraging, that teens come out unless they are absolutely sure that they will be accepted by family and friends. Teens need a safety net and sometimes that net is made up of silence. Many are still not mature enough to withstand the bullying without being shown that they have hope. What they see, instead of hope, is nothing. Sure, they can come online and read all the posts about how mistreated we all are and how we're being denied our human rights but what do they see in their real life neighborhoods and towns? Where are the adults who should be showing them that they can live a good life? Where are all those internet posters with all their whining? Hiding! They've fallen prey to the gays are flawed argument and use the net to vent in the safety of anonymity. Codey said this much better than I ever could in his poem http://www.codeysworld.com/codey/poems/doors_and_masks.htm. If we want to change the way things are, we need to become activists. You don't have to march in the streets or carry signs to be an activist?you only have to be you and proud of who you are. You only have to open that door and step through. Will it be easy? Probably not but, if lives are saved, it'll be worth it. We have to show these younger gays that hope is based in reality and not some abstract idea. Showing them that reality will inspire them to hope. The reality they see now only shows them an unfulfilling life lived in anonymity and anger. Tim