SO I got a full refund for my broken ebay purchase without having to return it, AWESOME. Now I can try fixing it and have it for free.

I watched the OC during commercial breaks from Supernatural. I am REALLY enjoying Supernatural and it looks like the last six episodes are going to be all arcy.

So, did Seth ever tell Summer that he didn't get into Brown? Did he apply anywhere else? Did Julie find the California admittance letter that Marissa threw away ?

Gronk!

I don't get it - I've had better sleep this week than I can remember having in a long time, but I'm feeling more drag-ass at work than I have in almost as long. I better be as sleepy tomorrow morning when I can roll over go back to bed for as long as I want or I am going to be a serious cranky creature.

Sumi, no, he didn't, the jackass. As far as I can tell, none of them applied to more than one school,, which was pissing me off the entire ep, because nobody only applies to Brown or Berkeley. Hell, even the teen soap with VAMPIRES didn't think their audience would buy that. Dr. Roberts found Marissa's acceptance letter, and he gave it to Julie.

No, not to me. It suggests that you don't like that stuff. Whether it's been successful or just plain irritating doesn't come through to me.

Yeah, but if that were the case, are they really expecting the guys to listen? "Well, I was planning to play you like a dime store banjo, but now that you've told me you don't like it, I guess I'll just keep moseyin'."

It strikes me as somewhat futile as an act of differentiation. To me it says 'I think this counts as an act of self-defence, so you can bet I don't have any effective ones'. Or maybe I'm losing something of the tone in the way I presented it. Women who state something like "If you're just looking for a one-night stand, don't bother because I won't respond to you" or "If your email shows that you can't be bothered to read my profile, don't expect me to reply", that doesn't ping me. The writer's an active participant in addressing the problem. The profiles I'm talking about, there's none of that.

are they really expecting the guys to listen?

I don't read it as instructions on how to behave, more like selection--don't respond if you're broke, left-handed, short, or into playing. But I haven't read the complete profiles, so I can't respond to the entire tone. Why wouldn't a guy listen? Players know who they are, and unless they're big into the challenge, why bother? Chicks that can be played are a dime a dozen.

Real life were-rabbit:

Four gardeners described the rabbit as having one ear larger than the other.

The main clues are oversized paw prints and sightings of what growers claim to be a cross between a hare and a rabbit.

Grower Jeff Smith, 63, said: "This is no ordinary rabbit. We are dealing with a monster.

"It is absolutely massive. I have seen its prints and they are huge, bigger than a deer. It is a brute of a thing."

Mr Smith, who has kept an allotment for 25 years, added: "We have two lads here with guns who are trying to shoot it, but it is clever.

"They never see it. There were big rabbits in the 1950s and 1960s before pesticides were introduced, but not like this."

I'm so sorry, Megan. Peace and strength to you, your DH, your FiL and the whole family.

Grower Jeff Smith, 63, said: "This is no ordinary rabbit. We are dealing with a monster.

Time for the Holy Hand Grenade?

I don't know much about dating service profiles, or the intent is of people completing them. I have personally warned people I was interested in that I have a finely tuned bullshit detector, which some women have taken as a challenge to play mind games. Men (admittedly a much smaller sample) have seemingly heeded the warning, and either faded away or respected it.

To me it says 'I think this counts as an act of self-defence, so you can bet I don't have any effective ones'.

That would indeed be a bet. If the writer has a whole arsenal of defense, the reader might be very sorry. I think for a reader who gets as much enjoyment out of pursuit as conquest, though, might find it an invitation for adventure.

"If you're just looking for a one-night stand, don't bother because I won't respond to you" or "If your email shows that you can't be bothered to read my profile, don't expect me to reply"

bt, maybe "no mind games" is considered as shorthand for this? I think I see what you're saying about being an active participant, but I'd like to hear why "no mind games" is more passive. It just seems less elegant language to me. Or do I have your point wrong?