Wintermute

My school is very predominantly White English. THere are a couple of indians, and we got about 5 people from Hong Kong this year. Other than that... well, I think theres a black guy in the 4th year, but I'm not sure. By contrast, my first school, which was in Hong Kong, was about as cosmopolitan as you can get. Out of my friends there, one was Belgian, one was Australian, two were Half English, Half Filipino, and one Chinese. That was a great school, about 80% of the people were Chinese, but there was never any kind of racism, although that may have been because we were all aboput 10!

Actually the Grim Reaper is an old _old_ idea, but that's irrelevant. Scientists not being able to explain something does not mean it cannot happen (In reference to this chemical) Scientists are as yet unable to satisfactorily explain the beginning of the universe, but I for one am fairly certain that it did happen! There are all manner of things about the human body which we cannot explain yet, as per my previous example with Centrioles. Yet we know they happen. Often we can SEE them happen.

Seeing the future goes against pretty much everything I believe, as I do not believe in Fate or Destiny. Reading minds, well, it's hardly likely, but is possible, with what would be basically a heightened sense of empathy. It probably isn't true, but I could see some basis for it existing. I won't believe in it until it is proven to me though. Proven properly, that is. Not as in stage magic. As for Pyro- and Telekinesis, not a chance. Don't believe in it. Makes for a good film, but I refuse to believe it can happen in real life.

Pyrokinesis is the term. And the firework could easily have had a self-lighting mechanism. Just a little spark generator. On remote control or on a timer.

^^Fun. Sceptical rampage I'm afraid, but editing or lighting. Why would any spirit, holy or not, want to make the eyes of a statue glow? What purpose does that serve? 'Yeropoli, a 35-year member of the parish, said he remembers the statue's being painted with gold leaf about 30 years ago' - Well I would question how good his memory was when he was 5, but many others voiced this sentiment.

Well you know your own mind better than me, I'm sure. Probably best just to tell them, but have a speech worked out on how it's not satanism first.

When an organ of the body is not used, it decreases in size and eventually disappears. Now that we do not eat grass anymore, our appendix shrinks to a useless little blob, and in a few more hundred years it will be gone entirely. There is no point wasting precious nutrients, proteins and energy building and maintaining a useless structure so it evolves out. If whatever large percentage of our brains people so often claim is being unused really were redundant, it too would become small useless and vestigial, like our appendices or our tails. Human brains are getting bigger. This means not only is it all in use, but we have more use for it than we can really get at this stage. And as for whether psychics exist, well, it's impossible to say. OK so Uri Geller can do things that scientists can't explain. So what? So can an acorn. So can every cell in your body (example: how do the centrioles not only migrate at the proper times, but also know the appropriate orientation? no-one knows.) If psychic powers are real, as they may well be, there are explicable reasons for them. Just not ones we know now. We do not live in a world of magic (sadly!) and there is an explanation for everything that happens, even if we cannot see it. They may well exist, but not at a level common or powerful enough to make a real difference to our lives. If being psychic affords an individual great advantages, we may see it being selected for, and it will become more common. I hope it will, as I would like to know the science behind it, it could explain a lot about what we don't know about Neuroscience. As for the soul, I don't think it's true to say that 'everyone knows that' . _I_ don't know that. I see no reason to believe that. I hope it IS, but I can't know that. On an interesting side note, Dr.Crick ( I think it was him, it might have been Watson) claims recently to have isolated the section of the brain responsible for sentience. The Soul? Could be. But if he's right, what does that mean? The soul being a small part of the brain, and the gene for it being selectable, transplantable?

Right I don;t mean this to sound patronising, but I think you should wait a few years. I'm 17 now, but when I look back on the things I really fervently believed in when I was 14, I cringe. I really did believe them at the time. So wait a while yet, theres no need to cause any problems if you may not still be doing this in 3 years time.

Piercings i'm not keen on. Tattoos... well maybe. If I find one I love and suits me perfectly. Or if I do manage to successfully follow a career in Rock music!

A friend of mine does. Hence the humourous quote 'I'm not THAT drunk. I think I'd know if I was on the wrong floor (in the girls bathrooms in his underwear). Oh *****! I AM that drunk!' as he had onbly had 4 units, he claims he had been sleepwalking.

Wintermute after the AI from William Gibson's incredible 'Neuromancer'. I use this name on every website and computer related thing.

Act nicely. Simple as.

I'm skirting it right now. Almost exactly a year ago I had an experience which made me realise what my ideal girl is. And it's a rare breed indeed. A year later, I found someone just perfect. She fits everything. She is fantastic. I'm no poet, and can't use words to good enough effect to describe what I mean. A few days after I got to know her, she started going out with one of my good friends....

Fencing is the sport for me. Swords. Enough said! Foils have a ball point, but I use Epee, which while it is still blunt has a much stiffer blade. You can quite easily draw blood if you aren't wearing all the necessary padding, and even so I've had some fairly impressive bruises (though dealt more than I've received!) Soon I'm off to the British Nationals competition to compete for a place in the England Squad. (I don't stand much of a chance, but it should be fun) Wish me luck!

I was picked on for a while a few years ago by an enormous jock. It was a pretty stupid thiong to do on his behalf, in the circumstances. He was on the verge of being expelled for various things, including similar acts of bullying (about which our school has a VERY harsh policy) non-attendance, rubbish grades and so on. Normally telling would be the a last resort, but as he was so close to being chucked out I simply told him calmly that if he ever did anything like it again I would see to it that he was expelled. Nothing happened after that. To me, anyway. His life has gone sort of haywire. He's stopped playing rugby, so most of his large quantities of muscle have turned to blubber, he's realised that most of the people he thought were friends don't like him, and also that virtually every single girl in town has either met him and hated him or heard about him and have formed negative opinions from their friends. That's not an exaggeration, pretty much every girl in town knows about him. I normally think of myself as a nice guy, but I have to admit great pleasure at seeing the dumb **** like this.

I actuallydo virtually never lie any more, anything more than 'Are you ok?' 'Yes' when I can't be bothered explaining the 5000 page epic as to what's upsetting me _this_ time. But yes, asking to see photos does sound like a good idea. Either that or stop caring. I know that sounds flippant, but ultimately does it matter? I have to say there does sound to be more than a slim chance that he's gay, and is using this as an excuse to not have to have to have much to do with girls on an intimate level. Of course, you know this guy much (much much much) better than I do, so use your own judgement.

How about getting a lock on your door? Or simply hiding anything he might want to take.

I don't like bleeding, but blood doesn't bother me. Why would it? It's just as much part of someone as their hair, or feet. More part of them, in fact. You could live without hair and feet!

A note on the psychological side - this isn't to lose weight, it's to keep motivation. Try everything these other people have said, and whenever you lose a pound in weight, buy a pound in lard and put it near or in the fridge. When you see large quantities of lard there, you realise how well you're doing. YOu've lost all that! And that stops you eating much more from the fridge.

I have only seen the series, and it rocked. Hitomi was a little annoying, but all the other characters were great. Van and Allen particularly. The Escaflowne is one of the coolest mechs around, and the battle theme is a prime example of how battle music should be done!

as has been said a lot already, Cool is entirely subjective. I know what I think is cool, but then I know many people who would think they were stupid. I mean, anime, roleplays, rock music, lots of people hate each one of these. I think they are cool as it gets.

Loneliness... well that's quite a big topic. On a friend level I am only really lonely on the holidays, as I see my friends in college all the time. I have quite a few friends there, so it isn't a problem. In the holidays however I get very very lonely. I get used to being surrounded by friends in College, and then get loads of withdrawal symptoms from suddenly being alone. On a relationship level I've been quite lonely for a while. I had a rather bad experience a while ago, and I've not yet been able to get over it fully.

Rock star is my dream too, and although I'm told I have quite a talent for music, it is only a dream. I'll probably give it a go, but I want to get a degree too in case. I actually thought I was quite a long way from Cambridge, but i suppose the other side of the country is actually quite close compared to some!

this applies mostly to those among you currently deciding what they want to do with your life, though I am also very interested in the opinions of those who have decided. At the moment I am having to make a choice that will shape a fair chunk of my life. It is simply 'What next?' I know I want to go to University, but which one, and for what? My original plan was to apply for Natural Sciences at Cambridge, looking to specialize in Biochemistry, but now I'm really not sure. This leaves me very worried about what on earth I am going to do now. Go where? Study what? With a view to become what?

It probably shows how much I worry about what people think of me that I don't actually know entirely what my reputation is. I think it changes depending on what group of people you ask. Those who can remember the bad old days may have a totally different view of me than those who know me now. And then there are the chosen few who frankly know me better than I do. So my reputation changes a lot depending on who you ask. If you want a better one, make it obvious you've changed. It'll come. Often it may come without you noticing.