Roger the Solemn Fish

I've researched this for quite a bit but every site that I search tells me something different. What format should I use?

I'm a new author and I've recently finished my first novel. It's very small and I'm not sure about its success, so I really feel the need to send multiple query letters simultaneously if I hope to find a publisher soon or if I'm going to be told that it can't be published as it is. I understand that agencies frown upon simultaneous submissions. First of all, why is this? Second, can I get away with not telling them since probably only one or two of them at most will consider my novel anyway?

I've been working on my novel for almost a year now and it's basically done, aside from a little editing that I'll do in the coming few weeks. I've been reading about query letters and stuff but I'm not sure to whom I should be writing.

Should I be writing the query letter to the agent or directly to publishers? This is my first novel ever and I'm 19 so I'm very confused.

I'm writing a novel that involves magic (but not a magical school or wizards or anything like that) and I was wondering if it would be too much like Harry Potter to use Latin words for spells and such. Would it seem too much like Harry Potter or could it be acceptable?

Over the course of about three years I've lost about 130 pounds in spurts of between thirty and fifty pounds at a time. I went from my original 313 pounds to 185-ish pounds and I'm 6'2" and 18 years old, soon to be 19. My last spurt of weight loss occurred in January of this year when I lost about 10-15 pounds, and the one before that was over the fall of 2010 when I lost 40 pounds.

My question is will this skin ever tighten up? I've read that surgeons recommend you wait at least a year but my abdominal and pectoral skin sags whenever I bend over. Will this go away or will I need surgery?

Would time pass more slowly, at the same rate, or would it effectively stand still? I apologize for my complete lack of physics knowledge. I understand the gist of wormholes but can someone explain them to me in greater detail (preferably as if you were explaining it to a fifth grader)?

Over the course of about three years I've lost around 130 pounds. This has been mostly in spurts of about 30-50 pounds every few months. I'm 6'2", 185 pounds, and about 14% body fat now. When I stand up I have a small but still visible overhang of fat below my belly button and a virtually flat chest. When I'm face down and parallel to the ground (e.g. for a pushup or something) I get a major case of the man boobs and my gut hangs down too. Is this just some remaining fat weighing down against my skin or is this a case of loose skin? It doesn't hang like that when I'm standing up.

If it's loose skin, when can I expect it to tighten up? My most recent weight loss occurred in 2011 but it was only about 10-15 pounds. Before that I lost about 50 pounds in the second half of 2010.

Okay, so here's my situation: I'm 18. I can't be considered a dependent because my mom doesn't contribute any money to my education (because she's financially unable.) I had a job early last year in which I made a little over $2,000. I've paid for all of college this year - all $20,000-some dollars - with financial aid. I've gotten grants, scholarships, and mostly loans.

I understand that grants/scholarships used for room and board are still considered taxable... My total room and board costs this year were $7,950. I got student loans over $8,000 this year, but all of my financial aid went into one bank account, so it's not like I had different aid amounts for separate bills... It just all went together, you know? If I can say that I used loans to pay for my room and board and scholarships/grants to pay for things like tuition, books, other supplies, etc. (which are not taxable), do I have to file taxes?

I'm an 18-year-old college freshman. I have almost no money left because my father passed away in 2008 and my mom is no longer employed, so I had to pay for all of college with financial aid - loans, scholarships, and grants. I have like $100 left in the bank because this year I had personal expenses like food and a few clothing items.

Do I still have to file taxes? I don't know how to if I only have $100. Can I file an extension or something? I really don't understand taxes at all and I would really appreciate some help.

Let me explain. I'm a college freshman living in a traditional dorm (very small rooms) and I have a 14-meals-per-week meal plan that's already all paid for and everything. Since coming to college and learning more about the benefits of a vegan diet as well as an organic one, I simply don't feel comfortable or even safe eating even vegan food from my campus dining facilities. I have one supermarket nearby that sells organic food, and that's like a 10-minute bus ride from where I live. I have access to my roommate's very small refrigerator, and in order to leave him at least half of it (since it's not even mine) I have only about enough space for a carton of soy milk (or orange juice or anything about the size of a carton.)

What do I do? I don't want to waste my meal plan, but I don't want to eat food full of preservatives and artificial flavors and chemicals (even if they are vegan, which I can't be sure of completely.) Are there any vegetables or fruits I could buy at the supermarket (organic of course) that can keep outside of a refrigerator for a week or more?

I've been a fan of soy milk for about six months now. I like the taste, consistency, and I like the fact that it's lower in calories than cow milk and doesn't involve cruelty to animals to produce it (since I'm now a vegan.)

However, I've been noticing a potential downside lately. Whenever I eat two cups of dry cereal for breakfast along with two cups of soy milk, I feel a noticeable drop in my mood. I get really depressed for an hour or two after drinking soy milk, then I level out, and my mood gradually picks up over the next couple of hours. I noticed my mood swings before I even thought of connecting it to my soy intake.

Does this have any basis in real science or is the talk about "phytoestrogenic effects" among men just a lot of half-true mumbo-jumbo meant to spook us?

I'm an 18-year-old male. Over the past two and a half years I've shed over 120 pounds, almost 40 of those being in the last four months. I've also gone from eating as much meat and processed foods as I could shovel down to going almost vegan when it comes to food. (I still eat bread with honey in it because I can't find truly vegan bread.)

Anyway, I still eat some really sugar-laden organic foods like cereal and soy milk, although I've ditched high fructose corn syrup. Most of the added sugar comes from evaporated cane juice. I eat probably about 50g of *added* sugar a day (not counting fruits.) I'm like 6'2" or 6'3" and I weigh about 190 pounds. I'm trying to get down to 180.

Am I still at risk for developing diabetes? I'm mostly vegan but could my high sugar intake pose a problem? The only family history I have is my dad's dad who has diabetes.

Christians: Do you think it's God's will?

everybody else: Do you know how long it will be down and why? I'm starting to rage.

After all, older religions were probably created for legitimate reasons *AT THE TIME* (i.e. no better explanations for the universe or nature, fear of death/unknown, etc.) (Obviously they have no reason to still be around today, but that's beside the point.)

Do you find yourself respecting newer, even more ridiculous religions like Mormonism and Scientology even less, since they were basically created by individuals and are even more controlling and cult-like than Abrahamic religions? Your thoughts, please.

I've been up all night trying to explain to a Creationist why evolution is reliable and supported by evidence.

She brought up fossils like Darwinius masillae, Ida, and Lucy, which are no longer considered missing links but once were... She also says that all of these fossils are still touted as missing links even after they've been disproved, and I've seen sites that prove her point.

And I was wondering, just how do I respond to that? Why are sources still saying that these fossils are missing links after scientists said that they aren't?

Bonus: Most of this debate has been me defending her attacks against evolution. What are some good positive points for evolution that I can make on my own?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKX9TWRyfs

If you have not yet seen it, I recommend viewing the documentary Zeitgeist II: Addendum.

I'm not going to state my opinion on this matter just yet. I want to know what you think of it.

Think about it. If the traditional Judeo-Christian concept of "eternity" is real, then even if you somehow lived to be 200 years old, your entire lifetime would be nothing but a drop in an infinitely deep bucket.

Why should your eternal home in another realm be decided by what you do in a few decades here on this wet rock we call Earth?

Christians are always saying how Satan isn't on the same level as God, that Satan is just a created being.

Well, according to you, no one on earth (or, theoretically, anywhere in the universe) is ever completely safe from temptation. Billions of people are all being tempted simultaneously. That means that Satan must have to be in millions of different places at once in order to tempt people in their hearts.

Either that or people naturally carry with them the ability to sin, which would render Satan a mere metaphorical construct to explain the problem of evil.

What say you, Christians? Have you heard this one before? Is this one of those questions that seems really profound but just turns out to be dumb in the end?

Perhaps there's a correlation here somewhere...

Regardless, I'm curious.

My biggest personal fear is pain of any kind.

Are many atheists here also secular humanists?

What makes secular humanism better than atheism? Worse?

Is it essentially just a different facet of atheism?

Do you find it helpful to classify yourself as a secular humanist rather than just an atheist, or do you think these labels are unnecessary?