Thorned Rose

Here's some links. They might be intended to be funny, but most of it is true especially the second one. Things Guys Should Know About 13 Ways To Find Out If Someone Likes You - In the "For Girls" section you might want to do some of the nicer things listed. And btw, don't ever give a girl space - if you back off she will think that you're not that interested (but don't act stalker obsessive!).

That's hilarious! Even my husband laughed! I'll have to email those to my friends. Here's some more for you:Men are like bananas.The older they get, the less firm they are. Men are like the weather.Nothing can be done to change them. Men are like blenders.You need One, but you're not quite sure why. Men are like commercials.You can't believe a word they say. Men are like department stores.Their clothes are always 1/2 off. Men are like popcorn.They satisfy you, but only for a little while.MEN ARE LIKE . . . Horoscopes, they always tell you what todo and are usually wrongha ha ha....

here That's not strictly true. It mostly depends on the species, how that species procreates (does it have one baby, many, lay eggs etc). Many animals reject their babies when there is something wrong with them. It may sound awful but animals know when it's best to let a baby go. I don't distinguish between animals and humans - humans are animals and when you think about it, humans do the same thing, it's just that humans 'justify' it. There is a huge number of abortions for congenital diseases and you'd be shocked at the number of parents the give up their babies because they have some sort of deformity etc. Even then, the parents that do keep their children often wonder if it was better if their child died. With regards to mourning, you don't give other animals enough credit. Elephants always mourn their dead, certain species of birds will die of loneliness if their mates die, cats will often pine for dead family members. For example, when one of our cats had babies, one of them had severe deformities. The mother cat rejected it and let the baby die but she wouldn't let my mother take it away and kept treating it like it was still alive. My mother finally mangaed to skulk off with the dead kitten and bury it. When she got home, our cat had dug the dead kitten up and was mothering it. You'd be surprised how smart and emotional other animals can be. People argue instinct all the time, but if that were the case then humans are just as instinctive and I've seen far to many other animals go against their instincts and normal behaviour. I hear also a lot of people saying that humans are different because they're altrustic. I've seen plenty of other animals show altruism. Just the other day, some pukekos (a bird here in New Zealand) that we were feeding would pull off bits of bread to share with other pukekos. Or the lioness who adopted a baby oryx - not only did she go against her instinct to eat it, she also kept away from other lions knowing that they would kill it (lions are very social so it's not normal for them to be alone). You can read an article about it here As for the deformed kitten. Yes it does seem dubious as this would be something easy to photoshop. But at the same time, I've seen worse so it wouldn't surprise me. Sad that it died but perhaps at the same time, the best thing for it.

That is just plain gross! While I ate cat biscuits and dog biscuits when I was young ( the dog biscuits tasted better), I've made it a point to never eat anything off the ground or floor etc. Although as the oldest, I managed to weedle my sister and brother into eating some pretty disgusting things like mold and worms

I think one of the problems is that because it has happened so much (i.e. the bible bashing) people have become sensitized so at the remotest hint of religion, they balk. You have to realize that although there are many christian religions, people tend to lump them altogether. I think that you would find that if ANY religion is mentioned people get their backs up. The fact is, as soon as religious people get defensive people interpret it or perhaps view it as being overly zealous. The majority of christians I've heard or talked to have never said, "well that's your beliefs and you're entitled to them just as I'm entitled to mine" end of story. It's always been well I believe what I believe because of this, this and this, quote the bible and if you gave it a go you would see what I mean. I believe Christians are entitled to believe what they want, I don't have to respect what you believe or even listen to you, I will however show you respect as a person. If you look at it from a non-christians point of view, you will see what I mean. Nobody is superior over any one else - everyone is individual and everyone contributes to society in their own way whether for good or ill.

As a mum I try to listen to my 5 year old as much as I can but it seems for some reason I'm switched off sometimes. I know it frustrates her at times. My husband can be REALLY bad with not listening or listening carefully - in one ear and out the other, I keep saying so I understand the frustration. I also remember that that was how it was with my mum. She always seemed more interested in talking to her friends than listening to us kids - most of the time all we'd get was mmm hmm and yes dear or uh huh etc. There was this one time where I picked up our cat and discovered she was blind - I go up to my Mum who is talking to one of her friends saying, mum, mum, there's something wrong with the cat. Over and over I try to get her attention. She completely ignored me until I yelled at her "the cat is blind." Sometimes I wonder if when parents have children that there is something in the brain that makes them switch off to a certain degree. In my defence, it's not so easy with me as I have M.E. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) so my head feels like it is always full of wool. But I do battle to engage with her when I'm feeling distracted. On that note however, it's one thing to ignore the often fantastical tales of small children but to ignore an older son or daughter is inexcusable. My father was very abusive and only interested in controlling me so that I would end up being what he wanted me to be. Needless to say I wasn't listened to much. My best advice is, fighting with your parents never gets you anywhere. Wait till you're both in a calm state of mind, invite your parent(s) into your room (yes your room - inviting them into your inner sanctum shows them some measurement of trust, though I'd make sure it was at least a little tidy so they can't blow up at you for that) and talk to them in as grown up fashion as possible. Even if they blow up at you, remain calm and civil. You'll gain a lot of respect and they may start listening to you a little more carefully. Of course if they are abusive or borderline, family counselling may be in order. I've fought a lot with my parents and yelling at them never got me anywhere but they always listened if I sat down calmly with them - they didn't always agree but they at least listened. Good parents (unfortunately not all are good) are only ever trying to do the best for you. They don't want you to make mistakes especially the ones they made. Some of the things they require might seem backward but they are just looking out for you. They might yell and scream and punish unfairly but they only do so out of love. I used to get my parents a good one sometimes by calmly saying with as much love in my voice as possible " I love you too Mum/Dad". It usually made them stop and think about what they were saying and how they were saying it - try it some time!

I have to say that it's anything and everything. Got a question - enter it into google - works like magic. Quite often look for walkthroughs. Sometimes recipes especially when I'm trying to cook something new or different. I used to be really into Alta Vista, but people kept telling me Google was better - I was dubious but gave a it a try and haven't looked back since. We have it in our Links Favorites so we can have instant access. They should have GA (Google Anonymous) meetings for people like us. Seriously - I Google just about everything

Wow! It's interesting that whenever the topic of religion comes up that people are so vocal. So I guess I'll put my two cents in. I used to be a devout catholic but slowly saw the hypocrisy and hated the superiority complex and contradictions inherent in the religion so I decided that I did not want to conform to any one particular set of beliefs. I believe what I know to be true in my heart not what some narrow minded sexist and ignorant man purported to be true 2000 years ago. That statement is not intended to be insults, the words I used are in context. The men that wrote the bible only knew what was true to them and their very small amount of knowledge of the world. They didn't know about the greater world then, just where they lived and what they heard and nowhere the amount that people know today. They were biased because of their own life experiences and culture (in this case very sexist and superior). Yes, I know that they were writing down the word of God as they heard it from him but that also requires perspective. If I say "You're an interesting person" it could be taken that I mean I am attracted to you and therefore I'm interested or I could mean that I think that you are crazy and a very interesting subject to study. Not only could God's word be open to interpretation but so can those mens interpretations be interpreted differently which is quite obviously shown in the amount of debate over the meaning of religious writings. Religious scripture in it's fundamental form is outdated. Once the western world thought that the world was flat and the sun revolved around the earth. That was religious 'truth' then that the majority of people firmly believed in and wrote books on. Obviously such ideas have now been quashed. So it is with books like the Bible. I still have great respect for the Bible and many of it's fundamental morals but as an all guiding, historically acurate representation of how life was and should be lived it is extremely inaccurate. The Bible is fundamentally flawed and full of contradications, vagueness and pointed omissions. For example, the bible says that bats are birds. Back then they obviously thought this to be the case, but we know now that bats are mammals. It also says "Thou shalt not commit murder" yet at the same time it says you can stone your brother to death if he sows your field (or some such - sorry I can't quote that one exactly). Here's a site that has a list. And as with all famous works, there seems to be a little plagerism - For example, the story of Noah's Ark is remarkably like the story of Gilgamesh which predates the bible by at least 1000 years. Of course Christians might explain that away by saying that it's the other way around. Then of course there is translation errors. Many argue that reincarnation was taken out of the bible by catholics who didn't want people to think that they had a second chance. My mother (a reborn christian) argues, of course, that that isn't possible because she has the King James version and there's no reincarnation in that. I decided not to bother explaining to her that once upon a time, the catholics had complete control over all versions because they were the only christian religion at that time. Of course I could argue a great many other things (with proof) until the cows come home, but religious people will come up with excuses for every one. My sister takes great delight in tormenting christians with scientific contradictions and even made one guy cry when he couldn't come up with a reason. I'm afraid in my view, the majority of religions were created by people who wanted to feel superior and have more power. As far as I can see, many of the problems of the world and wars in the past, have been caused by people who felt they were superior to others and wanted to exert power over them. Religious beliefs have often just been a 'righteous' excuse to do just this. The fact is religion is just another cult. If you don't like reading that or the thought of cults, the dictionary meaning of cult is "A system or community of religious worship and ritual.". As for giving it a go, I have and so have a lot of other people I've known. All I've seen so far is them running themselves into the ground trying to accomodate their religion - my mum is poor from spending so much of their money on their church, all the while their pastor drives around in a nice car and lives in a nice house (which is the case I've seen with every single one), their marriage and family are falling apart because they are so busy trying to do things for God and their church. I'm yet to see religion do anything for them. I'm not a christian yet I believe in God and I don't believe that you need set beliefs to follow his 'plan'. Or if you want a christian perspective, according to the gospel of St Thomas "The kingdom of god is inside you and all around you, not in mansions made of wood and stone, lift the stone and you will find me...". Well I could go on but I think I've ranted enough - people or christians rather, I'm sure, will only come up with 'explanations' for everything I've said anyway. At any rate, believe what YOU want to, not what someone else tells you to, respect other people even if you don't respect their beliefs, if you want to express your beliefs do so politely, not arrogantly and live life the best you can.

Yeah, if people don't want to accomodate you or make excuses they're not that into you as the saying goes and a waste of time. Although I have to say that I met my husband because of BBSs (pre-internet) and it will be our 10th anniversary this year. No I'm not ancient either - we met when we were 17 so good things can happen in unlikely situations - Internet relationships can work out and so can teen 'infatuatuions' - just they are exceedingly unlikely not to. You have to be careful with internet relationships too because you never know what might turn up to the first meeting I say to give internet relationships a go but as soon as it starts to turn south like yours did, pull out because they're either not who they say they are and have alterior motives or they're just not that into you, either way is a waste of time and potentially dangerous to boot. But I agree, you should put it into a book or at least a website

Can't say I've aeten anything really 'out-of-it' unless you count dog and cat biscuits or shelac which is a common ingredient in many confectionaries made from beetle shells (most people don't realise what they are eating hehe). My ex-stepmother had sparrow soup when she was in a Japanese hospital and my husband says that his Mother's curried sausages are the worst thing he's ever eaten!

Sorry, ours only has the standard treatment - chipped, HDD upgrade, EMUs, Media Centre, brushed aluminum skin etc etc but when I was researching getting it modded I found a number of really helpful sites that have software, tutorials etc. One is Xbox Scene. Here's their Linux Tutorials. There's also a site specific to Linux here. Hope this helps.

I would be very wary of such information as Sony, one of the biggest companies pushing it, is known for it's overexaggerating and general baloney. Sony originally said that the PS3 would ship with Blu-ray technology but now aren't so sure because they've found some pretty major basic problems with the technology. Either it's not shipping with Blu-ray, or they're pushing the PS3 release date back - either one bad. You can read an article at: BetaNews There are more articles but I am too tired at the moment to find them. At any rate I'm waiting to see which one comes out on top if either at all as things like holographic discs are in the process already.

You can just create thumbnails for your images (very fast if you use a batch process in your graphics editing software) and all I do is put them in a table to keep them nice and neat and add an onClick behaviour to each one so that when someone clicks on the thumnail it opens a window with the full sized picture. It can be laborious if you have a lot of pictures but it is very basic and if you have good wysiwyg software (I use Dreamweaver MX) it's very straight forward. The downside is, as I said, if you have a lot of pictures, it's arduous and if the person viewing the pictures has a pop-up blocker, the full size pictures won't open. This is the method I use in my picture gallery (I'd love to point you to it but because my current host has screwed me big time, the link won't open ) Anywayz, this is how I do it:The code looks like this:<a href="javascript:;"><img src="miniaturehorse_thumb.jpg" width="150" height="102" border="0" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('miniaturehorse.jpg','','width=357,height=250')"></a><a href="javascript:;"> is just to add a link to the thumbnail. You can't add a behavior to a picture unless it is linked. You could just put in '#' (<a href="#"> but if you use #, every time someone clicks on a picture the page will jump to the top so I use an empty javascript command "javascript:;". The next part is the thumbnail that I want people to be able to click on, the width and height is obviously just the size of the thumbnail (you don't have to make a thumbnail, you can just make the original picture smaller by altering it's width and height attributes). The onClick is the behavior that allows someone to click on it. The MM_openBrWindow is what will happen when they click, in this case, open a window. The bit in the bracket immediately after is what will be in the window that opens (in this case a picture called miniaturehorse.jpg) and how big the window will be - 357 x 250 pixels. If you use this method, I would recommend that the window be 20 pixels bigger than the picture e.g if your picture is 100 x 130, the window would be 120 x 150. You can also set things like if the window will have scroll bars, navigation bar, resizing etc but I always disable them to make the window look nice and neat. This is of course clunky comparitively speaking and there are some much smoother javascripts out there but you would have to search for them. This is just one way using very basic html and javascript.

Given I started this topic, it might be best if I jump in and put some things out in my predictable experiment. First off I started this knowing that the majority of people would think that milk is good but I was especially interested in the number of people, if any that actually know the true face of milk. First off HUMAN milk for infants is very good and very necessary. Studies have shown that breastfeeding till 2 years gives babies better IQ, immune systems, social behaviour etc BUT and this is a very big BUT, around the age of 3 the body stops producing lactase (helps digest lactose) and rennin ('curdles' milk to make it more easily digested) which means that after this age, humans (and other animals for that matter) cannot digest milk properly. It is common 'knowledge' that milk is good for your bones - you've probably heard that from the government, the dairy industry, on tv, your teacher, from your Mum etc but new research has found that in actual fact, milk CAUSES osteoporosis rather than preventing it. But how is this possible you ask when milk is so high in calcium? The reason being that 1. The calcium in milk isn't easily absorbed by the body and 2. because milk is so difficult to digest it causes indigestion (even if you don't feel it) and the body draws calcium out of the bones to deposit into your stomach to help neutralise the acid. The more milk consumed by a country, the higher the rate of osteoporosis - proven statistic. In countries where milk consumption is very low, osteoporosis is virtually non-existant. That of course is just one problem. Casein, the protein in milk, is also very allergenic causing people to be more susceptible to allergies and asthma etc. It has also been linked to some forms of cancer and other diseases but they are somehwat more tentative at this point in time. If you would like to read more you can go to a site called NotMilk.com. Though they do tend to be a little zealous. After reading what I have, my family is now going dairy free and I am hoping that my daughter's severe eczema will go away (my son is badly affected by milk too and I must minimise the dairy I eat otherwise the small amounts of it that get into my milk - I breastfeed - give him bad reflux and eczema). Got milk?

That's fascinating. I may have to send that to my Reborn Christian parents though I'm not sure how well it would go down. They're not as bad as they were before but they can be very fundamentalist (e.g. they believe the world is only 3000 year old or whatever etc etc etc).

She doesn't try to hide that she's sick - on the contrary, she often gripes about to everyone and anyone but stubbornly refuses to listen to any advice if it's not from her doctor, even if it comes from say, my doctor, she won't listen. It irritates the hell out me when people constantly complain about something they have control over but do nothing to improve it. I've given her a cure but she has deemed it wrong (despite numerous doctors and health practitioners saying otherwise) just becuse she want's to be a nazi about what she eats. She's very arrogant (I guess that ties in with the racism) and not very open to new and better things unless she deems them good. She gets very obsessive about thing, bordering almost on OCD. Sometimes I wonder if she does have OCD. Like her diet. She's running herself into the ground with her idea on no fat meaning none at all instead of no saturated fats. I don't pressure her, just try to casually bring things up or send her emails with information but at the remotest hint of something she thinks is one way or disagrees with her high-horse attitude becomes prevalent and she shuts up like a clam. It's just very frutrating when all i am doing is trying to help her.

The government, dairy corporations, teachers, doctors, nurses and mums say that milk is good for your bones etc. Some researchers are now arguing otherwise. What do you know and think?

I like just about any RPG under the sun. I had a lot of fun with Runescape but got sick of being griefed. I have played almost every single one of Bioware's games and loved every single one of them (even if they were easy) - finished Jade Empire a while ago and have a Knights of the Old republic Game going (played and finished KOTOR 2 first - don't ask). Have a Neverwinter Nights game going and played Baldur's Gate I and II years ago. I always enjoy watching my husband play Final Fantasy - yes i generally watch rather than play. They're such long games and I mostly like them for the story lines so there is not much point in me essentially playing them again although I do have Final Fantasy III on my PSP which passes the time nicely. My husband used to be a D&D geek and played all the first computer games like Curse of the Azure Bonds and Eye of the Beholder. My first introduction to computer RPGs was with Daggerfall which I'm still firmly attached to and Morrowind was the first game we bought for our Xbox. Ahhhh... RPG, how it enriches our lives

Aside from being damn funny, it's entirely feasible. First off it's from a show called "Mind Control" and the mastermind in the video is Derren Brown. The website is http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ Light and sound can effect humans in a very strong way. You can very definitely 'hypnotise' people with the right light. I wouldn't say that it is very very rare, certainly a minority but I would say that the third quoted would be accurate. The human brain must accept what is put in front of it as real. It is only the conscious brain that tells the rest if something isn't. When we watch a movie, most of our brain considers it to be real, but it is only the conscious part that says that it isnt. That's why we can still be affected emotionally by what is happening in the movie. This is especially apparent in dreams. When you dream, as far as you are aware it's all real. Your conscious mind isn't there for the most part to tell you otherwise. The only reason you don't physically act out dreams is because your body releases a paralytic chemical during REM (dream) sleep. This is also especially apparent in mental patients and with chemically induced hallucinations. These images are created in your mind and yet you think you are seeing them with your eyes. Your brain cannot tell the difference between the reality that it creates and what actually is there. What you see, feel, hear, touch, smell is actually all in your head. Your brain receives stimuli and interpretes it accordingly. In normal people it's accurate, in mental patients their brain function is disturbed and they cannot tell the difference between reality and what is in their head. Scientists a while ago managed to reproduce a 'divine encounter' experience. The sensation people often describe as feeling like God (or some other omnipresent being) is 'touching' them was reproduced in a lab by electrically stimulating a certain part of the brain. That's not to say that if you had an experience like that, that it wasn't genuine, just that scientists can create that sensation. You can draw your own conclusions on that piece of info. I don't want to get into a religious debate Anyways, hypnosis kind of bypasses the conscious mind giving you direct access to the subconscious meaning that a person under hypnotic influence is much more likely to believe what is happening to them. As for the firends being in on it, I don't know - their body language at first makes them seem very confused and then moves on to being subservient and coerced, like they're not sure if they should be doing what they are told, but going along with it anyway. At the end, they seem much more relaxed. I'm not an expert on body language but I can't really see anything in the friends body language to say that it was a set up. I don't know if this video is actually real, but I can tell you that it is entirely possible.

My mother-in-law while generally a nice person really, really frustrates me and p****s me off. She gets ideas into her head and won't budge from them despite the overwhelming evidence I give to the contrary. At the moment she has gall stones and constantly complains about them. Her doctor which she relys on implicitly has put her on a very restrictive diet which she is sticking to religiously. That's all very well and good until you realise that some things are open to interpretation. Her doctor says no dairy, eat only trim meat, not fat, high fibre. Very good advice on the whole however she interpretes no fat as in NONE AT ALL. I try to explain that GOOD fat (polyunstaurated fats high in EFAs like olive oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil etc) are necessary for your body as vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluable meaning they need fat for your body to absorb them - nope, she won't have a bar of it. And it gets better. She's vitamin K deficient. Try to tell her that Olive all is proven to be good for Gall Stones and she just parrots what her God-like doctor has told her. I have given her links and links and links to a non-surgical way to get rid of gall stones but she won't have a bar of it because it involves downing a large amount of evil Olive Oil. Isn't this just stupid? If it we're me and someone told me, "Look you don't have to potentially get cancer and a lifetime of excruciating pain after going through major surgery to remove an albeit unecessary but still important organ in your body by essentially drinking a couple of cups of olive oil", I'd be jumping at the chance to at least give it a go. But despite being knowledgeable in biology, medicine and having a chronic illness that involves a lot of research into nutrition etc, I apparently am just talking through a hole in my butt. whew. That said, she's also horribly racist. I don't consider myself to be of any one particular culture (my lineage includes kiwi, fijian, norwegian, scottish, welsh, english, samoan, american, maori....) so I tend to all and none. Yesterday she was complaining that an optometrist gave her poor quality glasses because she was Chinese and that she should have gone to her usual one. She's extremely judgemental and I've always had trouble feeling comfortable around her. I've just always gotten the feeling that I'm not good enough or that I'm a bit weird. She doesn't like people she deems 'weird'. I used to be very gothic which I'm sure didn't help. But you would think that after almost 10 years she would be a little more accepting. The latest was when I got my tattoo. I told my husband, the first thing out of her mouth would be something about it being real or not and that she would also check him to make sure that he didn't have one. 1. "That's not permanent is it?" 2. She goes over to my husband to frisk him down. She of course doesn't like it despite the fact that it's very feminine and has beautiful symbology. I don't particularly care what she thinks about anything because she has such an awful view on life but it does wear me down especially with my self-esteem being in such a shambles at the moment. Does anyone have any advice or story about their interminable mother/father-in-law. I know my one isn't the worst but by golly, she drives me nut

777 is the number for God, 666 for the devil and 555 for humans. Yes you read that right, technically humans are below Satan being that he used to be an Angel and all. Anyways... There are always those who are full of doom and gloom and one day, or even right now, one of them might be right but it's unlikely. Even Nostradamus' prediction of the end of the world was wrong and he was right on most other things. As for 911, there's a lot of conspiracies surrounding that - a number of psychics who say that they forsaw it and warned the pentagon/white house etc but were, needless to say, ignored. If you've watched Michael Moore's doco "Farenheit 911" you can draw some pretty shocking conclusions. The fact of the matter is there will always be a lot of nutters saying the world is going to end on such-and-such a date, the Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on your door saying that if you count how many pigs died in the bible it will tell you when the world is going to end etc. But when it all comes down to it, there's not point in worrying about the end, just worry about living life as best you can and that includes looking after the Earth while we live on it.

Personally I'm a big fan of Alpha Flight in general. Who are Alpha Flight you ask. They would be Canada's only superheros. Besides that they are pre-Xmen. Wolverine, a rather popular character actually started out in Alpha Flight before moving onto Xmen. Though I have to say that I am rather fond of Rogue, always sticking it to 'em girlpower style. My husband likes Batman - his rather sound reasoning being that Batman lays the smack down on all sorts of baddies without actually having any superhero powers. Antiheroes quite often make the best heroes

I live in New Zealand and can tell you that although "TAUMATA?WHAKA?TANGI?HANGA?KOAUAU?O?TAMATEA?TURIPUKAKA?PIKI?MAUNGA?HORO?NUKU?POKAI?WHENUA?KITANA?T" did once exist, it's not called that anymore - just Taumata now. But if you want the longest place name there is a place in wales called "Llanfair?pwllgwyn?gyllgo?gerychwyrn?drobwll?llanty?silio?gogogoch" (58) - Not as long as Taumata though. But the award for longest place name goes to Thailand with "Krung?thep?maha?nakorn?amorn?ratana?kosin?mahintar?ayutthay?amaha?dilok?phop?noppa?ratrajathani?burirom?udom?rajaniwes?mahasat?harn?amorn?phimarn?avatarn?sathit?sakkattiya?visanukamprasit" (163). It means "The great city of angels, the supreme unconqueralble land of the great immortal divinity (Indra), the royal capital of nine noble gems, the pleasant city, with plenty of grand royal palaces, and divine paradises for the reincarnated deity (Vishnu), given by Indra and created by the god of crafting (Visnukarma)." What a mouthful Sorry no picture for that though Notice from BuffaloHELP: The correct usage of quote tag goes like this [QUOTE] insert as copied [/QUOTE] And some of your contribution were already posted here http://forums.xisto.com/topic/30828-longest-word-what-is-the-longest-word/

21! Old! Gees, saying stuff like that makes me feel old. I will be 27 this year. I can't say that I really feel much older than say I did when I was around 22/23. It's strange though looking back to then or even when I was like 17. I thought I was soooo mature then. What a rude awakening it is now. I kinda feel like an idiot though thinking back on some of the things i thought were mature and I now realise were some of the most immature and childish things I've ever done in my life. All I can say is, if your 16-20, don;t think you are emotionally mature and think very carefully about making big decisions that at the time may seem like nothing - they will inevitably come back to bite you in the butt. That said, enjoy life for life. And enjoying yourself does not have to mean getting drunk/stoned/sex etc. I've had way more fun in other ways than getting smashed and I get to remember afterwards! And no, I am not a christian

This is the first tattoo I've ever designed and the first time I used Adobe Photoshop CS2. This image is the original picture I used as a template: and this is the finished product: Unfortunately when it came down to getting it the lettering wouldn't have fitted so the the names we're changed to birthstones. If I get my digi camera working I'll post a picture of my actual tat. I feel pretty good about the finished graphic especially considering that I'd never used Photoshop before