December 23, 2003, 14:58
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#1
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King
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Kabul, baby!
Posts: 2,876
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So Long, and Thanks for All the Threads
Well, it's that time.
3.5 years ago, when I moved to Turkey, I anticipated having a certain amount of time on my hands after work; toward that end, I purchased for my new laptop a game I'd been hearing about -- Civ 2. The rest, I suppose, is history.
It turned out that I only had a limited amount of time in my evenings -- in part because I had to compete with my wife for access to Civ. But it also turned out that I was, shall we say, underchallenged at work, and spent a good amount of time surfing the web while thinking about Civ. Perhaps inevitably, I ended up at Apolyton, where more and more of my time was given over to the Civ2 forums.
After about 8 months, two things happened: I began beating the game on Deity, and someone (East Street Trader, if memory serves) pointed me toward Off-Topic. Here I've stayed, reading much and posting a bit. I know I certainly haven't been the kind of regular here that some are, but I've enjoyed myself immensely.
Now it's all drawing to a close. I'm leaving Turkey for a new home, a new job, and a new career, and I no longer foresee long, idle hours at "work" when I can read and post the day away. I'll probably be able to drop in from time to time, but I think my daily ritual is over.
(Incidently, given the amount of time I've spent here kvetching about US foreign policy, it may amuse some of you -- and appall others -- to know that I'm about to sign on with the State Department, in the Foreign Service.)
Anyway, you all have made my idle hours far from home most enjoyable. It's an awfully nice place you've got here; thanks for having me. 
__________________
"If crime fighters fight crime, and firefighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?"— George Carlin
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December 23, 2003, 14:59
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#2
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Emperor
Local Time: 16:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,515
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That's alright. I hope I imparted a lot of my knowledge to you.
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December 23, 2003, 15:01
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#3
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Deity
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Kneel before Grog!
Posts: 17,978
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Good luck with your new job with the State Department They sure as heck need good people.
-Arrian
__________________
grog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.
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December 23, 2003, 15:03
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#4
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Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Dec 1969
Location: on the corner of Peachtree and Peachtree
Posts: 30,698
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Well, it'll be lonelier without you... but where ever a computer flickers on, you know you'll get the urge to come back  .
Btw, where will you be working?
__________________
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- John 13:34-35 (NRSV)
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December 23, 2003, 15:03
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#5
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Emperor
Local Time: 17:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Dec 1969
Location: CLOWNS WIT DA DOWNS 4 LIFE YO!
Posts: 5,301
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Damn. I, for one, will miss your postings.
__________________
"Spirit merges with matter to sanctify the universe. Matter transcends to return to spirit. The interchangeability of matter and spirit means the starlit magic of the outermost life of our universe becomes the soul-light magic of the innermost life of our self." - Dennis Kucinich, candidate for the U. S. presidency
"That’s the future of the Democratic Party: providing Republicans with a number of cute (but not that bright) comfort women." - Adam Yoshida, Canada's gift to the world
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December 23, 2003, 15:04
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#6
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Settler
Local Time: 17:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 65,535
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Good luck  It's actually encouraging that you'd be going there.
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December 23, 2003, 15:05
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#7
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Emperor
Local Time: 15:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Mu Mu Land
Posts: 6,570
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You'll be back...
if not, good luck in all your ventures
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December 23, 2003, 15:05
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#8
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Emperor
Local Time: 18:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: A pub.
Posts: 3,161
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Goodbye, and come back soon. I know you will.
Oh, and if by ANY chance you'll get to our places, please, do not hesitate, and contact me via poly. we'll get together for a beer or something.
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December 23, 2003, 15:06
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#9
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Deity
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 21,822
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EVERYONE comes back.
__________________
[Obama] is either a troll or has no ****ing clue how government works - GePap
Later amendments to the Constitution don't supersede earlier amendments - GePap
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December 23, 2003, 15:06
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#10
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Emperor
Local Time: 15:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: of poor english grammar
Posts: 4,307
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Bye. But you'll be back....I know you will...Every one does. It's like Hotel California, you can check out, but you can never leave.
''Stay a while....Staaaaayyy foreveeeeerr!!!'' 
Spec.
__________________
-Never argue with an idiot; He will bring you down to his level and beat you with experience.
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December 23, 2003, 15:38
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#11
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Emperor
Local Time: 10:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Occupied South
Posts: 4,729
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Good Luck in your new endeavor. Give us a shout some weekend and let us know if anything there has changed any of your policy views. It would be interesting to see if being closer to the source has an effect on them.
__________________
Favorite Staff Quotes:
People are screeming for consistency, but it ain't gonna happen from me. -rah
God... I have to agree with Asher ;) -Ming - Asher gets it :b: -Ming
Troll on dope is like a moose on the loose - Grandpa Troll
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December 23, 2003, 15:44
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#12
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King
Local Time: 18:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: the contradiction is filled with holes...
Posts: 1,398
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__________________
I'm not a complete idiot: some parts are still missing.
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December 23, 2003, 16:00
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#13
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Deity
Local Time: 08:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 17,354
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well good luck on the new job.
You'll never hear one of these for me, you guys are stuck with me forever I tried leaving once, I was gone for a couple a months. That's the longest I've been apart from poly.
I vow to be the very last poster at this site!!
__________________
Focus, discipline
Barack Obama- the antichrist
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December 23, 2003, 16:18
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#14
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Emperor
Local Time: 10:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: It doesn't matter what your name is!
Posts: 3,601
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You'll be back, but until then, you'll be missed. Good luck, Rufus!
__________________
"Chegitz, still angry about the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991?
You provide no source. You PROVIDE NOTHING! And yet you want to destroy capitalism.. you criminal..." - Fez
"I was hoping for a Communist utopia that would last forever." - Imran Siddiqui
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December 23, 2003, 16:34
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#15
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King
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Kabul, baby!
Posts: 2,876
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Awww, thanks guys! I'm sure I will be back; I just have a whirlwind of moving, training, and seeing old friends ahead of me for the next few months, so I suspect it'll be a while.
Imran and anyone else who cares: I'm initially being sent to DC for training; I'll be posted to an embassy abroad after 6-9 months, but I won't know where for a few weeks yet. If its a 'poly-member country, I'll definitely give a shout.
Oh, and muchos gracias to DanS, Adam Smith, and everyone else who offered advice on neghborhoods and school districts in the DC area. It looks like we'll be in Arlington, near Potomac Overlook park. Thanks for all the help!
__________________
"If crime fighters fight crime, and firefighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?"— George Carlin
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December 23, 2003, 16:35
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#16
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Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Dec 1969
Location: on the corner of Peachtree and Peachtree
Posts: 30,698
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Quote:
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Imran and anyone else who cares: I'm initially being sent to DC for training; I'll be posted to an embassy abroad after 6-9 months, but I won't know where for a few weeks yet.
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Ah, so you can hang out with the DC crowd for a few months  .
__________________
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- John 13:34-35 (NRSV)
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December 23, 2003, 16:56
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#17
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Emperor
Local Time: 10:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Illinois
Posts: 8,595
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One never leaves from here permanently.
__________________
STFU and then GTFO!
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December 23, 2003, 17:35
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#18
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Emperor
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: here
Posts: 8,349
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We're losing a good one.
__________________
"My nation is the world, and my religion is to do good." --Thomas Paine
"Strange is it that our bloods, of colour, weight, and heat, pour'd all together, would quite confound distinction, yet stand off in differences so mighty." --William Shakespeare
"The subject of onanism is inexhaustable." --Sigmund Freud
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December 23, 2003, 17:49
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#19
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Deity
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 2001
Location: 138% of your RDA of Irony
Posts: 18,577
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Quote:
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Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
Awww, thanks guys! I'm sure I will be back; I just have a whirlwind of moving, training, and seeing old friends ahead of me for the next few months, so I suspect it'll be a while.
Imran and anyone else who cares: I'm initially being sent to DC for training; I'll be posted to an embassy abroad after 6-9 months, but I won't know where for a few weeks yet. If its a 'poly-member country, I'll definitely give a shout.
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A bunch of us are in DC (or thereabouts)
Give us a shout.
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December 23, 2003, 17:49
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#20
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Emperor
Local Time: 17:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Kokonino Kounty
Posts: 4,263
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Quote:
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Originally posted by Guynemer
We're losing a good one.
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Ditto that. Good luck Groucho and if you ever come to the Netherlands be sure to let us know.
__________________
Within weeks they'll be re-opening the shipyards
And notifying the next of kin
Once again...
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December 23, 2003, 17:51
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#21
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Deity
Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 2001
Location: 138% of your RDA of Irony
Posts: 18,577
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On the contrary, the US is gaining a good one in the State Dep't...
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December 23, 2003, 18:03
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#22
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Apolyton Grand Executioner
Local Time: 07:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Fenway Pahk
Posts: 1,755
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Good luck with the move and all that, and best wishes in your new job.
__________________
Bush-Cheney 2008. What's another amendment between friends?
*******
When all else fails, blame brown people. | Hire a teen, while they still know it all.
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December 23, 2003, 18:06
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#23
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Deity
Local Time: 10:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Underwater no one can hear sharks scream
Posts: 11,096
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Quote:
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Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
Awww, thanks guys! I'm sure I will be back
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No one escapes forever.
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December 23, 2003, 18:14
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#24
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King
Local Time: 07:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: of Aptos, CA
Posts: 2,596
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Good luck, Rufus. I agree with the others here that State is getting one obviously very competent person.
BTW, what degrees do you have? You seem to know a lot about history.
__________________
http://tools.wikimedia.de/~gmaxwell/jorbis/JOrbisPlayer.php?path=John+Williams+The+Imperial+M arch+from+The+Empire+Strikes+Back.ogg&wiki=en
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December 23, 2003, 18:55
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#25
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Deity
Local Time: 17:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Republic of Flanders
Posts: 10,747
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Quote:
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Damn. I, for one, will miss your postings.
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I second that.
Well, good luck Rufus and see you soon.
__________________
#There’s a city in my mind
Come along and take that ride
And it’s all right, baby, it’s all right #
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December 23, 2003, 19:10
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#26
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Emperor
Local Time: 12:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Brasil
Posts: 3,958
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I third that.
Good luck, Rufus... I hope you enjoy your new job.
As for the "leaving" part, I'm sorry to tell you that you'll not be able to leave Apolyton. Never. Believe me, I tried this. It was all in vain. Diss, I think I'll be the last poster here, I'm sorry.
__________________
'Yep, I've been drinking again.'
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December 23, 2003, 19:11
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#27
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Local Time: 11:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Dec 1969
Location: on the corner of Peachtree and Peachtree
Posts: 30,698
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Quote:
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Diss, I think I'll be the last poster here, I'm sorry.
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No, damn you! I've already wasted 5 years of my life here, I'm seeing it through until the end 
__________________
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- John 13:34-35 (NRSV)
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December 24, 2003, 00:59
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#28
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Settler
Local Time: 10:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Battle Creek, Michigan
Posts: 23
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What do you people mean you can never leave? What about the X-Mod who left for TRL? (can't remember his name) I have not seen him since.
__________________
The ways of Man are passing strange, he buys his freedom and he counts his change.
Then he lets the wind his days arrange and he calls the tide his master.
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December 24, 2003, 01:03
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#29
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Deity
Local Time: 08:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: In a bamboo forest hiding from Dale.
Posts: 17,436
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You'll be back. Your momma didn't raise no quiter. 
__________________
Christianity is the belief in a cosmic Jewish zombie who can give us eternal life if we symbolically eat his flesh and blood and telepathically tell him that we accept him as our lord and master so he can remove an evil force present in all humanity because a woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from an apple tree.
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December 24, 2003, 01:04
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#30
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Deity
Local Time: 23:04
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 1999
Location: The City State of Noosphere, CPA special envoy
Posts: 14,606
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We are not Hotel California...
We are worse 
Take care Rufus. Have a safe trip.
__________________
(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."
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