Are we talkin’ about the same guy who wrote Snow Crash?
The truth, with no embellishments, is while I act (but don’t look at all) butch in most all real life encounters, when close to an attractive woman or w.r.t sex I am very very shy. I was terribly aroused, but also a little unnerved, and I also realized that she wasn’t aware of what she was doing. It wouldn’t have been fair to her to let her carry on.
I believe in real life most men in my place who knew she was asleep would, I think, want the encounter to continue (like I did), but would probably have woken her up for the same reasons I did.
Snow Crash, Zodiac, Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age - I think all of these books turned out like I described above. Which doesn’t mean I won’t order his next one as soon as it comes out (which is due this Xmas I think?) - like I said, I think they are incredible stories, I just didn’t like the endings on them. Probably Snow Crash had the closest thing to a complete ending of any of the aforementioned books.
I also thought the next chapter of the Black Company was due to be released in June. Well, it’s almost July, so Glen Cook you bastard, where is Soldiers Live?
Yep, I agree. I really liked the story because of all the cryptography stuff, but the ending pissed me off. Couldn’t put it down for the first 850 pages, though. I haven’t read Zodiac or Snow Crash yet, but I guess I’ll have to since you say they’re also just as good 
I would say Snow Crash is in my top ten books. Diamond Age, however, lost me about halfway through. It just got boring. So is Cryptonomicon as good as Snow Crash?
Sorry about hijacking this thread, BTW.
Oh, lots of threads change and evolve over time. Don’t really care what it changes to.
Crypto is I think the best thus far, although proportionally speaking Snow Crash may have been the most balanced.
Here is the Official Anthracite Neal Stephenson Novel Rating Scale:
Cryptonomicon - 9.5/10.0 (would have been a 10.0 if he could WRITE A FREAKING GOOD ENDING!)
Diamond Age - 9.01/10.0
Snow Crash - 9.0/10.0
Zodiac - 8.5/10.0
The first part of Snow Crash where Hiro is delivering pizzas had me laughing so hard I almost wet myself. And I kept chuckling about it for days afterwards.
You know, his writing style reminds me of what used to be my chess style. I had a great opening and killer midgame. But ironically, when less pieces were on the board my play style was worse and worse, so I would devastate opponents only to have them come back in the end and beat me.
It was like it was easier for me to track many pieces a few moves ahead, than to track a few pieces many moves ahead. Does that make sense?
…and regretted it as much as you…knowing you HAD to do something you didn’t really WANT to…
Anthracite, I know a woman who woke up one time on a bus & found a lesbian fondling her & that turned her off to lesbians/women forever. Not to mention the other emotional scars she has from that experience. Have no idea what she was dreaming. However, having sex with someone who is asleep is against the law in California.
I’d say you did the lesbian/woman community a great favor exercising restraint.
I was just trying to be a decent person.
However,
How I miss her, my mystery woman of the skies!!!
Call the airline ask them who was sitting in that seat
Hmmm, I’m getting visions in my mind of an encounter with you on a plane…That could be fun…So, when are you going to be in Bay area?
MY PEPPERLANDGIRL! I was hoping you would visit me!
I’ve never been to California, one of only about 5 states I haven’t been to. Not much need for my services there…unless you have a need?
I could picture it now - we could get a couple of “Snuggle Class” seats for a flight across the country. You could even pretend to be asleep if it would make you more comfortable. Then we could both write about it here to give the men, as Sue Duhnym put it so adroitly, “more whacking fodder”. I don’t even care if I would be guilty of taking a minor across multiple state lines for exquisitely immoral purposes.
Midwest Express even has some flights where every seat has a standard 120 Volt outlet. Hmmmmm?
Wow…I have to go and take care of something now.
That sounds like a very interesting idea.
sigh You make something that’s so naughty sound like so much fun.
And I love the way you think.
You know, it has been a long hot summer, and I’d be more than willing to take a lil vacation…maybe we could even extend it if the first encounter is fun? What do I mean …if? I KNOW it’ll be more than fun…
And of course I wouldn’t mind sharing it here, I’m sure it would make us VERY popular. 
I thought you were both already very popular but in my professional opinion your approval ratings would soar (no sky pun intended).
Be very wary of pepperlandgirl, Anthracite. She’s been known to make completely innocent people shoot carbonated beverages out their nose. And does she come over and help clean the keyboard afterwards? Noooooo.
Can you say “Wood”?
I’ve been dreaming about this for quite some time now…I’d even let it happen in my home! screw the plane 
-Sam
Well, GaWd, that’s a very nice offer. Where do you live? Maybe we can take a detour off of the plane…that would be up to Anthracite