Bruin Fisher

Several of the rye grasses are prone to infection with the ergot fungus, which contains the toxin ergotamine. It's the source of lysergic acid, which is used to make the hallucinogenic recreational drug LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide). In the middle ages people died like flies of ergotism, food poisoning caused by milling flour from grain contaminated with ergot-bearing rye grasses. Now, why do I know that? .... ? Bruin

Hi Colin, Sherlock Holmes tells me you are American - and an author. The Brits don't call the season Fall, they call it Autumn. And only an author would mis-spell Forward as Foreword. Of course, I didn't need Sherlock - I knew you were an American Author anyway!!! I think you have to be grey and balding to know that a French Letter is a Condom - I didn't realise the term had fallen out of use. So I'm grey, balding AND out of touch. Ho hum. Bruin

Silly me. Mind on other things.... Bruin

Well, if we're discussing weights and measures, you can hardly get less logical than the UK, which went metric forty years ago but still measures roads in miles. If you go to a timber yard and ask for a ten foot length of 2 by 2 they look blankly at you and say we only sell in metric lengths. So you ask again - for a three metre length of 50mm by 50mm. And they get your timber and the bill says 3m of 2 by 2. Go figure. Bruin Edited to make 10 ft = 3M not 2M duh.

Long live difference, I say. I love the differences: In the UK, the Royal Mail service delivers the post. In the USA, The US Postal Service delivers the mail. What's that all about then? Bruin, much amused.

Hmm,, maybe, just maybe, they've caught a cold - they want the new OS version adopted universally, but the punters are ignoring it in droves. I've recently started using it on one of my machines and while I haven't found it as bad as some are claiming, I do find it obstructive and not a big improvement on XP. I really must master Linux - it just seems so much better.... Bruin

Cool, Camy! A lovely poem to make your heart sigh and your stomach flutter. The addressee is a very lucky person. Bruin

(Flinching after determined prod in ribs by himself...) I read this epic narrative poem and was awestruck. It's a powerful story and right up my street - and it's told in verse and in dialect. Don't think I would be brave enough even to attempt such a feat, let alone pull it off so successfully. A great offering from a talented guy. If I mention that it reminds me of the hit song 'Two Little Boys' from 1969 (in the UK) by Rolf Harris of all people, it might be taken as an insult since Rolf's song, (a revival of an old music hall song from 1903 by Harry Lauder) is lightweight fluff by comparison. but the emotional punch comes from a similar place so I mean it sincerely. Bruin

Fellow Travellers Camy's new story is a wonderfully evocative story about discovery and young exploration, grounded very firmly in Home Counties England a few decades ago, and totally authentic. It tells about a young boy who could so easily have been me - and I could wish it had been me, because how different things could have been if only... But I digress. Camy has the enviable skill of telling a story with just the right level of detail to give the reader the building materials to build a picture in his imagination, but without clogging the storytelling with dense passages of description. Wonderful. A great story, highly recommended. Bruin

For what it's worth, I checked out various high end sound cards some time ago, including the Creative ones, which I rejected because they were geared towards multi-channel surround sound which I wasn't interested in, and didn't have the right professional-standard recording inputs for my purpose. Of the various units I did try, I was disappointed with their flaky drivers, and eventually bought a Tascam US122 external interface which has proved to be totally reliable and superb quality. It's powered from the USB2 interface and can record and playback at 96KHz/24bit and is full duplex and it does everything I want - it even has phantom powering on the XLR mic inputs. I suspect my Tascam is not what you want, though.... Bruin

They're clever people, Sennheiser. They make some of the best headphones (and microphones) available when money is no object, and they also make remarkably affordable headphones which manage to sound very natural, not at all like the unbalanced, overblown budget models from some competitors. That's why they are recognised as reference units and are very widely used by studio engineers. Watch closely on telly when a DJ or studio engineer is being interviewed. If he's anywhere in Europe the phones around his neck are sure to be Sennheiser or Beyer. I don't know how well respected they are in the US, and nor do I know at what price they sell on that side of the big pond. Here they're priced fairly competitively, considering their quality. Nowadays I refuse to use anything else. Bruin

(Grunting with exertion, extreme effort of dragging this thread back to topic...) Is it just me, or does anyone else find EC's writing style reminiscent of J.D.Salinger? I keep getting echoes of Catcher in the Rye. And that's about the biggest compliment I can think of. This is a great story, can we have the next chapter NOW please??!!! Bruin

That pic is just too cute for words.... Bruin, going 'aaah'.P.S. Incidentally, 'Me, Myself, I' is a great track and album by Joan Armatrading - you can't have it!

Sorry, mate, but you're so wrong about this. It just isn't crude or elementary. Far from it. This is well crafted and powerful poetry and packs quite a punch. If this is your first offering then it's very impressive. Please post some more!! Bruin

Yes, it's a dark story, and yes it's not so far showing any signs of getting any lighter - but you guys are all glued to it, aren't you?!!! I'm reading every episode as soon as I can, my heart aching for these characters that I've come to love. Why? Because it's brilliantly written, so that they're all real to me. It's gruelling not because it's dark but because I care so much about these people so I'm hurting with them. Grasshopper is a real artist and craftsman and I'm full of admiration (and envy, but I'm not admitting to that part). May his pen flow ever onwards. Bruin

Maybe it's a little late to revive this thread but I only just found it. I can echo others' recommendation of OpenOffice - I find it great and it's free. Dreamweaver is sufficiently expensive to put it out of my reach but I've discovered Kompozer, the open source alternative and it's fantastic. Originally developed by the Mozilla team (Firefox, Thunderbird etc.) as Composer, taken over by Linspire as NVu, version 1.0 was the last version from them, released in 2005. Unofficially it has received further development under the new name Kompozer and can be found here. As far as I can see, it gives much of the functionality of Dreamweaver for free. Can't be bad. Bruin

I read up to chapter 5 in one sitting and can't wait for more. This is a story that deserves the adjective 'visceral'. It sears into my heart and makes me feel like baying at the moon, feeling Wes's pain. So is it a good story? Did I enjoy it? Yes it's a very good story - it must be because it's made me feel so deeply. Did I enjoy it? Hmm, 'enjoy' is the wrong word to describe being put through an emotional mangle, but when you take a breather and remind yourself it's fiction and you don't have to hurt so much because Wes and his awful family are not real, you can enjoy being taken for such a powerful ride. Fantastic writing, involving, affecting, and very very sad so I hope some nicer things begin to happen to the boys. I think Cole is beginning to hurt quite badly on Wes's behalf so it's not just Wes we need to feel sorry for. Bruin

25 - A really great chapter so I can't wait to see what happens next! Bruin the impatient

I hesitate to weigh into a debate that carries such strong feelings on both sides, but I think it's worth pointing out that in the countries where the carrying of such weapons is illegal, law-abiding citizens don't carry them, and while some criminals certainly do, far fewer of them carry weapons because it is difficult to obtain them and they don't perceive the need since they're not likely to meet similarly armed defence. Thus, combining the much reduced likelihood of being shot by a criminal with the negligible likelihood of being shot in a domestic accident, life in these countries is much safer. Statistics uphold this assertion: UN Survey of gun crime 1998-2000 From Wikepedia article on Gun Violence: "The United States has the highest rates among developed countries, which some account to [sic] the loose firearm laws in the U.S. compared to other developed countries." My twopenn'orth Bruin

Hold on.... let me just wipe the coffee stain off it with my shirt-tail... here - you're welcome to use it any time! Just be sure to let me have it back - I'm sure to need it again (and again, and again...) Bruin

Whoops - that's my fault - sorry. I was the one who hijacked the thread by posting my own versification there. Camy's since put it right by starting a new thread for it. Can I get away with playing my Newbie card? I won't do it again. Bruin

Okay - the muse insisted so here it is. Her Majesty in regal style Dressed in blue with wooly vest Waves and nods her perma-smile Doing again what she does best. The carriage, gilt, with footmen, green Moves slowly through St James' Park. Roofless, so she can be seen Unless of course it gets too dark. With her, in state, her husband sits His smile less sure, less warm, less real. His place as consort is the pits, See his pallid grin congeal. The crowd, as ever, wave their flag Delighted with their glimpse of glove Held up, just so, to match the bag She clutches in her lap with love. At last the carriage slows and stops, By Marks and Sparks and Safeway too. He follows her around the shops. Poor Ma'am, she's not like me or you! Bruin Fisher Okay, I know it lowers the tone considerably after Camy's masterpiece - blame the Muse - he made me do it.

Pooh. Poems get lauded when they merit it and you'll just have to get used to that. How are you going to feel when you're appointed Poet Laureate? I know you haven't popped your clogs yet, we're just getting in practice, ok? Now the old muse has just poked me in the ribs, wants me to write a poem for a state occasion as though I was Poet Laureate. Race you to get one posted here in this thread! Bruin

Clever Emu! I echo Des' comments - you will be remembered as an expert wordsmith and a great guy and a brilliant musician and.. and... and... Your mark is well and truly carved - on hearts and minds. Great poem, mate - your best yet, possibly. Bruin