You know it's all over when

[Guest Pieter]

1. The kids, especially the grandchildren, snicker behind your back and wink at each other if they see you sit there with the joystick in hand, between this and last Christmas.2. You deleted 1000 old aircraft files and gained only 5 megs of disk space.3. You deleted the last 10 downloaded aircraft and gained 500 megs of disk space.4. You actually spend more enjoyable hours working in the garden regardless the weather than at the computer staring at simulated gauges getting you nowhere.5. You feel good to do that rather than to fabricate yet another back ailment excuse (headaches were not a good excuse)6. One minute of time spend with a loved one is worth more than an hour of simulated announcements to non-existing crew and pax.7. On a rainy day with no one around you find yourself typing messages like this rather than to start the simulator program.8. You want to read a forum you have to register again.9. Reading forum messages you are mostly amused and ROFL rather than join the discussion.10. You are flamed for a message such as this it doesn't bother you. Because when finally finding the time to login again, the message is a few months deep in the archive.11. You actually use Google to search for work related subjects rather than flight sim stuff.12. Instead of joining a newbie RTFM flame war you rather don't Read The F*** Message.Dedicated to those who scream for your love and attention, until you find it's too late because they are not there anymore... There is a life out there - get off your behind and hug someone!

[Guest Quaxo]

Hi Pieter,Hmmm... I know it's easy to exaggerate when you have a passion... It's easy to realize that you spend at the sim more hours than you actually thought... But it's not unavoidable. It's not impossible to be active simmers AND keep the contact with reality... I have always used sims to relax, but NEVER let them be more important than life, or love, or real things (btw that's why my last chats were so short... there was my loved one waiting for me :) )When one realizes that sims (or anything computer-related) become more important than real things, then it's time to look at it with a different perspective - and to give the right importance to things.This doesn't mean, though, that sims are "bad" or "evil" or they will surely steal time from more important things... it's all up to us. We must be careful not to exaggerate, and ALWAYS remember that sims are just that - sims. It would really be unforgivable to let people who love us suffer, or go away... for a game.Cheers,Cristian

[Guest jonpoint]

Folks,As the song says: "you gotta keep 'em separated"1. Avsim gets my spare time at the office only.2. No internet at home and I try to avoid too much TV.3. I walk my daughter to school and back EVERY day.4. I do take work home but rarely start before 8:30PM (my daughter's bed-time).5. I attend band practise once a week only (and don't go to the pub afterwards!).6. When I'm not working, it's after 8:30PM and I'm alone... - it's SIM time :-hahJon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************

[Guest Dann]

"3. I walk my daughter to school and back EVERY day."Better, or more rewarding joys in life I could hardly imagine...I worked from 5:00 in the afternoon until 5:00 in the morning last night and when, just two hours later, my daughter came running into the room to wake me up before she went to school, I let her.And I remember thinking, as I drift back off to sleep, what her little hand in mine feels like on those days I get to drop her off at school...Dan