Conference back40::soapbox

...going out with a girly last wednesday.  She was looking for someone
handsome and athletic, I was looking for someone intelligent and witty.
Neither of us got what we wanted.  Oddly enough, I couldn't give a
monkey's.

Chris.

    I just registered at one of the local U's here as a part time student
    in the B.A. program. Students are a bit rowdy as a general rule but
    their actions appeal to me more than the average workaday joe. Not that
    I really care, but the fact that their are about 5000 women between the
    ages of 20 and 30 that study there, seems to me to be a good thing. 

    > I was looking for someone intelligent and witty.
    
    what's that old saw about "opposites attract"? :-)
    
    -b

    re.2
    
    that's called a "target rich environment"

    
    I'm in the process of giving up dairy products.
    
    The clarity and range of my voice has improved incredibly, but damn do
    I miss cream in my coffee 8^/.
    
    
    

    You can learn to like non dairy substitutes.

    Government recommending thirty minutes EVERY DAY to fight fat...like I
    have 30 minutes to spare evry day!

    Well, spend 30 minutes every day drinking wine and fight heart disease
    instead.

    <== works for me!

    .8
    The only thing wine ever did for me was make me sleep and get sick
    drunk like in Ripple drunk.

    don't drink ripple.

    No matter what wine I drink it puts me to sleep. I haven`t had ripple
    in over 20 years. It used to be the drink of choise between paydays in
    the M.C.

    <--- You know, the more I think about that, the more I like it.

    
    "send a bill to the government, and pack it in cement."
    
    					- TR-I
    
    -b

>"Booze ain't food" >>>

hmm, not convinced.  Remember the slogan, "Beer: it's not just for breakfast."

Chris.

    eh?

a?

Actually, this could be a pretty good topic, because there are typically
lots of things going on that we're not sure whether to like or hate.

For example:

The leaves on the trees have started changing color already.  Now I know
that I hate summer and I'm glad to get rid of the heat, bugs, etc., but
on the other hand, the approach of fall always leave me kind of sad.
I especially feel sorry for the kids who are so upset to see their summer
come to an end, and they're apprehensive about the coming school year looming
over them like some large unknown creature hiding in the shadows.

Or:

I'd signed up to be a Sunday School coordinator in our church (this is
pretty funny in and of itself, actually).  My wife, a Sunday School
teacher, has been in a weird pouty sulk ever since.  Seems that she
thinks I'm encroaching on her turf or something.  Her increasing
nastiness over this got to the point last night (she sneeringly called
me "the boss") where I just blew and handed the job to her (as in,
forced her to take it, lock, stock, and barrel).  Bon chance, babe.

Or:

Several months ago, in late winter/early spring, I'd made a "clean break"
with several not-so-friends, none of whom have any relationship with
each other, or anything in common other than repeatedly "blowing me off"
(er, you know what I mean).  In the last couple of weeks, circumstances
"beyond my control" have forced me back into contact with every one of
them, and I'm still reluctant and ambivalent about resuming "diplomatic
relations" with any of them.  As an honorable Italian, I'm accustomed
to holding lifelong grudges.  :-)

Chris

    Chris, go for hating the leaves changing, winter's on the heels...

    
    
    and those heels can be any color you want...white or otherwise!!  :>
    
    

    
    For just under a week, yes.
    

    
    
    Hmmmmmmm....
    
     I think I'll put my white boat shoes away, say... mmmmm... the end of
    September... Or maybe I'll hang on and wait till after a long weekend
    at Old Orchard Beach in early October...
    
    Hmmmmmmm... decisions... decisions...

	If you wear your white shoes after labor day andy, stay away from
Serial Mom!

    i'm planning on defying the dress code and wear my white jeans
    (periodically) through September... screw the fashion police i say!

    
    TINSIILOHT:
    
    The fact that the beautiful blonde girl who I desperately and
    miserably pine for is always so nice to me.
    
    The beautiful blonde girl is, of course, already engaged. :-(
    
    
    
    Sigh, 
    
    Rob
    

Go right ahead; this isn't the Hamptons, you know.

    Andy, if you are so inclined even possess white "boat" shoes please
    feel free to wear them at anytime as there really is never an
    approproiate moment for white {snicker} "boat" shoes.  Unless of course
    they are Omegas or Harkens and you are on a boat.  HTH, NNTTM, NBAA.   

    "volunteering" to be assistant coach of my daughter's soccer team.
    Guess I'd better learn the game! 

    
    
    just remember not to use your head...
    
    

    
    I didn't get what I wanted.
    
    

    
    re: .31
    
    Well..... that's what I call them... They may be named something other
    than "boat shoes".... 
    
     Hmmmm.... maybe I'll wear the to mz_deb's.. say around Christmas time
    when I sneak into her bathroom and change the Tp from an inny to an
    outy...
    

    
    
    TINSIILOHT:  After work tonight I go to enroll in
    my next class.  It starts next week.
    
    
    
    
    Terrie
    

    
    Andy, iffen you do, I'll be hiding rocks in the Doritos again 8^).
    

| <<< Note 532.34 by POWDML::HANGGELI "Petite Chambre des Maudites" >>>


| I didn't get what I wanted.

	Bummer..... 

    
    
    But Deb, you said you didn't want it....did you decide
    later that you did want it?
    
    
    
    
    Terrie
    

    
    Well no; I didn't want it, so when I said I hoped I got what I wanted,
    I wanted not to get it.  I didn't get what I wanted; therefore I got
    it.
    
    Does that make sense?
    
     

    
    
    Oh!  You got the part!
    
    
    Yup, that made sense.  I got it. :*)
    
    
    
    Terrie
    

    
    You got it?  I thought I got it!
    
    
    I'm SO confused 8^).
    

    
    
    :*)
    

    
    > The beautiful blonde girl is, of course, already engaged. :-(

    Yeah, so what's the problem...????  I'm sure you could explain to her
    betrothed that aaallllll sorts of accidents can happen now a days, and
    how engaged guys TEND to have MORE ACCIDENTS than say, NON-ENGAGED
    guys....  I think he'll prolly figure it out...

    Dan

	Dan... does that mean if he gets engaged to her he will have an
accident or two as well??? :-)

    You mean like premature ejaculation or something?

yes

    
    > Dan... does that mean if he gets engaged to her he will have an
    > accident or two as well??? :-)

    Glen, getting engaged could DEFINITELY constitute a very severe
    accident!

    
    re: .37
    
    >Andy, iffen you do, I'll be hiding rocks in the Doritos again 8^).
    
    My lawyer will be in touch....
    
    

    
    Spending the day tomorrow at the Canadian National Exhibition.
    
    It may be great, it may be lousy.  We shall see.
    

    Bumper sticker that said:
    
    
    "My kid beat up your honor student at school"
    
    

    Classy.

I love to go to the Ex when/if I am in Toronto the right time of the year.

Last time was about 3 years ago. It really is a fun day or two.

(for locals think of the Springfield MA big E, but bigger)

Your ex lives in Toronto part of the year?

>   <<< Note 532.54 by NOTIME::SACKS "Gerald Sacks ZKO2-3/N30 DTN:381-2085" >>>

>Your ex lives in Toronto part of the year?

Errr, No!

    >> "My kid beat up your honor student at school"
    
    Also seen as the variant: "My kid beat up your Student of the Month".
    
    Now, I'll admit this makes me laugh, because in my school "Student
    of the Month" is a feel-good farce that's given to the least
    deserving students first as a "motivator", and is ultimately
    given to *every* student in the class during the course of the year,
    regardless of any actual merits or lack thereof.
    
    As with most happy-face crap, this backfires because the best
    students always get ticked off every month when some bozo/bully/
    slacker/suckup/you-name-it is named SotM, and they end up wondering
    what the hell they have to do to get recognized.
    
    Then, when they eventually do get it, it means nothing to them,
    because they know it's a flippin' farce.  Nice lesson to teach
    kids.  But then, public school hasn't been about taking care of
    gifted kids for a long, long time now.
    
    My response to the kids about this has been, they're going to see
    this crap out in the real world anyway, so they might as well get
    used to it right now.  So in a way, they are learning something
    in school after all.
    
    Chris

    Bumper sticker I seen around the Lake (Hopatcong that is): If it smells
    like fish...eat it!
    

    
    
    I saw one a few days ago that said...
    
    
    "Cars aren't the only things recalled by their makers."
    
    
    
    
    
    Terrie
    

    Here in Georgia, the kids have to make the honor roll consistantly
    to qualify.  The kids get a kick out of it and I'm sure it makes
    mom and pop proud.
    
    I just couldn't figure out for the life of me, why someone would
    drive around with a sticker that says his kid beats up honor students.
    
    I don't consider myself humor impaired; guess he would qualify for,
    what is that Deb called them
    
    numbnut :-)
    

>    Here in Georgia, the kids have to make the honor roll consistantly
>    to qualify.  The kids get a kick out of it and I'm sure it makes
>    mom and pop proud.

If the kid falls off the honor roll, does the principal rip the bumper
sticker off the car?  Sorta like the opening credits of "Branded?"

    Kids get a kick out of it?
    
    Man, they sure must be different kids down theah in Atlanta.  My kids,
    and their friends, threatened armageddon if we dared put those things
    on the car and drive around town where everyone could see them.  So
    we compromised by putting them on the wall in the kitchen instead.
    
    I guess they thought they were kind of goody-goody or snotty or 
    something.  Dunno, but it was one of the few times they agree with
    each other about anything.  :-)
    

    re: .60
    
    Bwah!  :-)  The principal rips it off the car, tears it in half,
    and hands the shreds to the kid standing before him at attention...
    
    
    re: the "My kid beat up your SotM" version of the bumper sticker
    
    According to my demented sense of humor, it's a satirical jab at what
    some folks consider to be the mentality of some of the parents who put
    the "I love my SotM at Drone Elementary School" sticker on their cars. 
    In other words, it's a satirical response from one bumper sticker to
    another.  I wouldn't interpret it literally.  What makes it funny to me
    is picturing the indignant and huffy reactions of the SotM bumper
    sticker parents, like some of the ones in my neighborhood.  There is
    such a thing as being a bit excessively proud and bragging about
    your kids in public, and this is essentially a tweak at them.
    
    I don't have either bumper sticker on my car; our SotM bumper
    sticker is taped to his bedroom wall.  Actually, he didn't even
    want to look at it (out of general disdain with the whole mess),
    but I insisted, and put it there myself.
    
    Chris

    Hmmmmmm
    
    I think my fibre intake may be slightly too high at the moment !!! :*|
    
    It's amusing but painful !! :*)

    We also require information on your hangnail status, plus notification
    on the current distance between your eyebrows.  We fear that the latter
    is approaching zero, you worthless, self-absorbed GIT!!!
    

    .60  Gerald,
    
    I dunno :-)  But there's lots of cars in the ALF parking lot with
    similar stickers on their bumpers :-)
    
    

Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home I had this RO right on my tail as 
I was coming down the hill to my house.  I put on my blinker and was 
starting to turn but this RO couldn't be patient he just HAD to get around 
me, so he guns his engine and whips around me just barely missed the truck. 
 However he got going so fast down at the end of the hill that the wind 
blew the sunroof off his car and smashed it all over the road.

--Geoff    
    

    Whew! My sunroof is intact. :-)

    He should get a moonroof, you can't loose them.  

    
    Can you lose them, tho?
    
    

    Just got back from the bank - had to get a big certified cheque to
    give to the lawyer tomorrow and then the house is mine on Friday.
    
    I'm feeling decididly (sp?) quesy at the moment.

    
    You rang?
    
    
    
    Oh, debT, never mind 8^).
    
    
    Have a good closing, Chris.  Congrats in advance 8^).
    
    

    
    > I'm feeling decididly (sp?) quesy at the moment.
    
    This too shall pass.
    
    Hey you shouldn't be up tight...
    
    The bank on the other hand.... :-))))
    

    >decididly (sp?) quesy
    
    decidedly queasy. nnttm

    re: .69
    
    Nope, can't lose them either.

    
    	Where are you going to find 10 Germans at this time of the day?
    

    
    Finding almost EXACTLY the truck I've been looking for,....
    and finding out the guy wants 10 Grand for it.....
    
    GGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
    
    :-|
    
    

    .77 near the incinerator watching for life?

   >>>  decidedly queasy. nnttm
    
    Thanks Mark... no really... my brain has turned to mush 8*(

    
    
    TINSILOHT:  Getting a very interesting phone call from
    a placement agency telling me they have the perfect job
    for me.
    
    Only problem is, I never heard of this place, and never
    sent them a resume', so how do they know I'd be perfect
    for the job???
    
    
    Terrie
    

    <--- Because you're you.
    
    ;^)

    
    	RE: Terrie
    
    	Was it a financial investment firm in Westboro?
    
    	If so, I got the same letter about 1-2 months ago.
    

    well congratulations! you've achieved the american dream. you are now
    in debt up to your butt for the rest of your life.

    
    
    No Shawn.  It was a placement agency in Natick, MA.
    They didn't send me a letter.  They called me.  And,
    they called me again this morning, ALREADY, wanting
    to set up an interview!
    
    
    
    Terrie
    

    Terrie, 3 will get you 5 they are a "fee" agency and will sock you with
    a healthy fee for taking a job you didn't really want.
    
    Steer clear of ANY placement agency that calls you out of the blue with
    a line about a perfect job for you.

	When I walk out of physical theraphy in more pain then when I go in.

    
    What about your mental therapy?

| <<< Note 532.87 by GRANPA::MWANNEMACHER "NRA fighting for our RIGHTS" >>>


| What about your mental therapy?


	There is nothing there to hurt

    I thought I liked the rain this a.m. until I had to drive thru
    a monsoon to get to work and then do the backstroke in from
    the parking lot.
    
    

>    <<< Note 532.89 by DECLNE::REESE "ToreDown,I'mAlmostLevelW/theGround" >>>

        It's that brick-hard red Georgia clay they told me about last
        week, hmm? They said if it rains the ground just repels the
        water... :*)
            
    

    
    tinsiloh:  hearing me on the radio...but it was only part of the
    conversation i had with the dj (while trying to find a song he actually
    had that i wanted to hear), and it wasn't particularly good part of the
    conversation...
    
    

    
    	Well, what was said?
    
    	And did he play the song?
    

    
    I can't imagine anyone calling Lurtsema "Bobby." Hell, even
    leaving off the middle "J." sounds overly familiar. And
    Bobby J Lertsema just doesn't have a ring to it.
    
    

    
    TINSIILOHT:
    
    My mother telling me that while she was shopping in Nashua last
    weekend, she decided to surprise me by stopping by where I live,
    but...
    
    When she got to my house, she was afraid to get out of her car
    because of all the Hispanic and black guys hanging out on the
    street where I live.
    
    Things to Like:  I find it amusing that someone could be so terrified
    of the people I live with and talk to every day.  Plus, I was asleep
    when she drove by, so I'm glad she didn't wake me up.
    
    Things to Hate:  It's sad that such prejudice still exists in our 
    world today.  It's even more sad that in this case, her prejudices
    are quite justified.  My neighborhood has taken a marked turn for the
    worse during the last few months.  Ever since the police started
    cracking down on the drug trade in Manchester, the situation here
    in Nashua has become far more ugly, as the crack and heroin dealers
    and users settle in down here.
    
    Oh well, that's life.  Perhaps soon the police pressure in Nashua
    will intensify, and everything will move back up to Manchester or
    down to Lawrence.  "They say they're gonna stop it, but it 
    doesn't go away."
    
    
    
    Rob
    
    

 Where in Nashua do you live?  I drive a church van on Sunday mornings in
 Nashua picking up kids and bringing them to church.  We pick up kids
 in some not so nice areas.  I've come to love the kids, and so far haven't
 had problems with the parent(s) whom I've met, though some of the parents
 don't seem to care where their kids are going..we could be taking them off
 to run medical experiments on them and they wouldn't care.  One kid
 we picked up last Sunday said he prolly wouldn't be back this Sunday..his
 parents just sent him to church to get rid of him for a few hour so they
 could go to a party (his words).




 Jim

    
    Jim, 
    
    I live on Pine Street, down near the Department of Employment and
    Training (or whatever the euphemistic term is for the place where
    people go to apply for unemployment.)  Not exactly South Central LA,
    but it's not Beverly Hills either.
    
    The people are good people, 'jes plain folks who are only trying to
    get by.  However, I see disturbing things every day that really
    make me feel sad for the kids in the neighborhood and the view 
    they must be getting on life and how to live.
    
    This is a neighborhood with a lot of young children, yet people will
    scream the worst kind of profanity back and forth in an area where
    everyone has their windows open in the summertime.  People argue about
    crack and sex (and the prices of each) right out in the street.
    I work third shift, and as I'm leaving for work close to midnight
    everyone is still out on their porches drinking, and little kids are
    still running around outside playing when they should have been in 
    bed hours ago.  I think to myself, "Why is everyone still up?  Don't
    they have jobs to go to in the morning?  Don't they care about how
    their kids do in school?  Why are 4 or 5 year old kids still running
    around outside, without supervision, at midnight?"
    
    I can't come up with any reassuring answers to these questions.  I can
    only assume that these people, who are good, friendly people, just
    don't care.
    
    I'm glad there are people like you, Jim, trying to do something for
    these kids, trying to show them that there is something else out
    there beyond the environment in which they've been raised.  But there
    are not enough people like you.  A lot of these kids are going to
    grow up mad at the way they've been treated, and looking to take that
    anger out on someone.  I'm just glad I'll probably be dead before
    most of them hit adulthood, but God help the rest of you.
    
    
    
    Rob
       

    
    TINSIILOHT:
    
    In what may be a reflection of the growing number of single-parent
    households in our society, I actually heard two little boys 
    seriously arguing tonight over whether "My mother can beat up your
    mother."
    
    
    
    
    Rob
     

 I'm familiar with Pine St.  I pick up kids on Central St and on Ash St,
 just off of Hollis.  I've seen a lot of sad stuff, among the saddest was
 a 5 -6 year old boy  carrying what appeared to be the refuse of a previous
 night's party at what I assume to be his residence..a box full of empty beer
 cans.

 Jim

    
    	The rain. I know we need it, but it really screws up my running
    schedule. :)
    
    

I love the rain, especially if I'm indoors watching other people getting
a good soaking.

Chris.

    Dang rain.  I ain't had to drive wif my 'vertible top DEPLOYED in the
    daytime all summer long, I swear.  But today...  Hadda watch the plants
    having a good time, while I was cooped up on humid leather.  The things
    I do to support ecology, will it NEVER end.
    

    
    re: .101
    
    Woos....  Whatsa matta??? Fraid you're gonna melt???
    
    :) :) :) :)
    

    
    Not being able to sheetrock last weekend.  The folks are back tomorrow,
    and the job ain't done.  BUT... if I had sheetrocked, I wouldn't have
    discovered the leak in the roof until it had ruined the wall.....

    hhhhhmmmm....real mixed emotions.
    :-|

    Akachully! I was out running in the rain the other night. That didn't
    bother me, it was the lightening that was making me a little nervous.
    I had a strangely large amount of metal in my possession too !

Too many of those rings, eh?

    Talk about hot rod heaven.

    <--- Yeeeeouch !! That hurts just thinking about it :*)

    Gives new meaning to the term `ring of fire'.

International Oracle Users Week at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in
Philthadelhia.

9000 attendees.  Overwhelming.

Program only lists the Oracle sessions.  Everything else is a "campground"
session, and the "Digital SIG" campground is listed as "Oracle7 Spatial Data
Option" campground.

/john

> International Oracle Users Week
> Program only lists the Oracle sessions

TTWA:
   If the event is IOUW, why _should_ the program list anything but Oracle
   sessions?

Because, just like at DECUS, there are sessions being presented by other
than the vendor.

/john

    
    ...and most of them were held in the local bars.
    
    ;^)

    See if you can pick up any mention of Oracle ConText, wouldja?  My
    kid's the Product/Mktg Mgr thereof.  She ain't there but her product
    should be...
    

    T'heck with that (sorry Dan'l) see if they have any backup for that
    'estimed' 9000 TPS they expect to get out of a TurboLaser.
    
    DougO

Badges we have don't get us into the sessions or lunch.

/john

    Sorry yerSELF!!
    
    I'd wager that both the TurboLaser-cum-Oracle VLM on Alpha AND the
    Oracle ConText angle will be equal in importance to us, long-term.
    
    So \john, U have yer orders.  Two G-2's, with all the trimmings.
    

    TINSIILOHT !! - Forgot to put my bib on when I ate lunch today :*) and
    managed to make the gravy splash all over my tie, however, it landed in
    places where it's hard to see :*|  (?)                       

<- 
Under your collar at the back of your neck?

    Well it's quite a disgusting tie so it could be anywhere really !!

I didn't really notice it when I saw you earlier, so it can't have been too 
offensive.  Trust me, it's the kind of day when I *notice* these things.   
grrrr

    >--- Yeah I noticed you weren't the happiest of campers yesterday !!
    
    :*)
    
    Here's hoping things are better today.

The grand ceremonial move to the new coffins has finally started for some of 
the bods in the CSC, there is a lovely pile of debris (dead manuals, keyboards,
monitors etc) in the middle of the floor... but I don't know when *I'm* 
supposed to be moving, and if I start packing, there's nowhere to actually put 
my junk, err vital manuals on the fabulous product sets I support.
(The "all doc sets are on-line" is a laugh - especially with my product set)

\C

    Yes my new crypt is the other side of the barrier. Is there any point ?
    There is one good thing about the move, however, the Digital P&Ps
    prohibit me from entering the reason in this, or any other, conference.
    
    The information is available by telephone or email though !! :*)

What barrier?  You mean the amazing detachable fire doors? (I tried ringing 
you, but you'd nicked off)


\C

    I is back now, nature was calling, had to leave in a hurry !! :*)
    
    Yes the amazing detachable fire doors would be the so called barrier.
    The very same, that provide no sound proofing and mean you have to put
    up with all the noise and conversation from the other side as well as
    annoying little people in the corridor singing songs with no taste.
    
    We have to be ready to move by COB tomorrow, so the little boys can
    play lego with the work-stations. Unfortunately they are getting into 
    a real bad habit, of ripping them apart and then putting them back
    together smaller..... a whole lot smaller. 

>    See if you can pick up any mention of Oracle ConText, wouldja?  My
>   kid's the Product/Mktg Mgr thereof.  She ain't there but her product
>    should be...
 
I asked three Oracle employees about it, only one of them knew anything at
all, and not much.

/john   

>    T'heck with that (sorry Dan'l) see if they have any backup for that
>    'estimed' 9000 TPS they expect to get out of a TurboLaser.

That's TPM.  TPCA is measured in seconds; TPCC in minutes (more complex
transactions in the new benchmark).

/john

    the question remains, did they back up their estimated 9000 tpm-c
    number?
    
    DougO

The numbers can't be backed up until the official test results by the
independent testing lab are in.  In fact, you aren't even allowed to
publicly mention TPC-C unless the results are in.

As of the time I left the conference, the results weren't in.

With VLM, the TPC-C benchmarks are becoming meaningless, and a new
standard will have to be developed.

Oracle claims that VLM on Alpha gets them a speed improvement of 278x
on a five-way table join.  The only thing I know about this is from a
slide from a presentation I couldn't go to without a $1000 conference
attendees badge.

/john

    > In fact, you aren't even allowed to publicly mention TPC-C unless 
    > the results are in.
    
    That, of course, is why everybody is wondering if they can substantiate
    the numbers they 'estimated' they'd get.  I'm surprised the TP Council
    hasn't smacked them down for it.
    
    > With VLM, the TPC-C benchmarks are becoming meaningless, and a new
    > standard will have to be developed.
    
    TPC-D numbers should show substantial impact from larger memory - I
    think the TPC-D is supposed to be a mix of TPC-C-type queries and
    decision support queries, and those latter should definately show
    better performance from having far more in-memory data.  I don't think
    anybody has published any substantial TPC-D numbers yet, but probably
    soon.
    
    > Oracle claims that VLM on Alpha gets them a speed improvement of 278x
    > on a five-way table join.
    
    If you're interested in more, I'll see if I can lay hands on the report
    Oracle put out to back those numbers up - its floating around here
    somewhere.
    
    DougO

    There was no food left by the time I managed to squeeze in a lunch
    break. Well... there was veggies and that's about it.

    
    I've had the new Dream Theater EP "Change of Seasons" for a few days
    now, and it is definitely a Thing to Like Today.  However...
    
    Since last Thursday, I haven't been able to get the Journey song
    "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" out of my head, since Dream Theater plays
    a snippet of that during their "Big Medley" of cover tunes.
    
    I thought I had left Steve Perry and Journey permanently behind me,
    mired in the left-over hair spray of the '80's.  Oh well, I am 
    enjoying it, I guess.
    
    On a related '80's note:
    
    Now that all the heavy metal bands I liked in the '80's are out of 
    favor, it's nice to be able to pick up their tapes in the bargain bins
    for $2 - $3.  Whitesnake, Dio, Mr. Big, Anthrax...er, well, maybe nice
    isn't quite the right word.
    
    
    
    Rob
          

    
    	RE: Rob
    
    	If you're a CD kinda guy, alot of those same albums can be gotten
    	on CD for $3-$7 [CD clubs are good places to get them once you've
    	become a "preferred member"].
    

    
    XSITE
    

    
    I really like taking time off 8^).
    
    I really hate coming back to find that someone else has worked on
    something I'm already working on, and has done it in a different and 
    stupid fashion that I can't seem to decipher, and I feel like it would be
    faster to delete and re-enter all the information than it would be to
    figure out how and why this person edited it in the fashion s/he did.
    
    Argh.
    
    

    This person is transsexual?

<---<grin>

    
    Well, we have two male temps and one female temp right now, to the best
    of my knowledge.
    
    8^p
    
    (Notice I no longer have to count myself in the tempcount 8^).)
    
    

    No, you're, um, headcount now.

    We ran into the wife of my kid's soccer coach at the soccer field
    the other day (she coached his team some of the time as well), and
    while we were talking it became apparent that she thought that I
    was a minister!
    
    Bwah-hah!  She said that all along she'd been sure I was a minister.
    Not only that, but she seemed disappointed that I wasn't!  ("Aw, gee,
    that's too bad, I'd always pictured you as that...")  She also seemed
    dismayed at the dullness of my actual profession (I usually claim to
    be "impersonating an engineer" when it comes up).
    
    I told her "No-hoooo, the closest I get to a minister is at communion",
    which may or may not have gone over like a lead balloon, judging from
    the expression on her face.
    
    Chris

    It's blowing night. 
    
    After last week, I'm really not sure whether this is something to like
    or hate.  
    
    
    -steve

    
    >Well, we have two male temps and one female temp right now, to the best
    >of my knowledge.
    >
    >(Notice I no longer have to count myself in the tempcount 8^).)
    
    	8 more temps and you'll run out of fingers to keep track of them.
    
    	8^)
    
    
    >It's blowing night. 
    >
    >After last week, I'm really not sure whether this is something to like
    >or hate.  
    
    	Are you on the giving or receiving end?  That would pretty much
    	decide it for me.
    

	About 2 weeks ago we got something in the mail for a Sylvia Copeland.
She was supposed to go to jury duty. My last name is Silva, which is close, and
my roomates last name is Copeland. Hmmmmm..... we laughed, and thought nothing
about it. Last night it appears Sylvia can get a credit line. 5K to be exact! I
need to look and see if she has a ss# when I get home tonight. I am beginning
to wonder if my roomate, who has grown his hair long, and when he blow dries it
he looks like a woman, is somehow changing.



Glen

    
    	Don't laugh ... this guy might be gearing up for some sort of
    	illegal activity or something.  Fake ID, credit cards, etc.
    
    	How much do you know about this guy?
    
    	Ummm, maybe I'm sorry I asked that question, so don't get too
    	detailed in your reply.  8^)
    

| <<< Note 532.146 by BUSY::SLABOUNTY "Act like you own the company" >>>


| How much do you know about this guy? Ummm, maybe I'm sorry I asked that 
| question, so don't get too detailed in your reply.  8^)

	BBWWWAAAAHHHAAAAAHHHAAA!!!!! Too funny. Lets just say he burns me!

    <-- Should this burning thing be bothering me ?? 

DANGER bluuurgh ahead. Proceed at own risk.

Noticing that carrion beetles had invaded the carcass of a chipmunk that one
of the neighborhood cats had killed in our yard. Big, 1 inch, black and
orange suckers they are. They seem to mate right there on the carcass. I
dunno what they do inside the body, exactly, but it was in motion... it bent
at the waist, then gave a little wave, then bent at the neck...

Fascinating, but I buried the whole mess anyway.

    -1 thank you

 I didn't really want that split pea soup anyway.

    
    Martha and George!
    
    								-mr. bill

    tuesday nite at 9:31pm i became an aunt to jasmine nicole (weiss)
    jandrow.
    
    still not sure how i feel about that.  not that there is anything i can
    do about it, but still.
    

    
    Why would you not feel happy?
    
    -b

    
    	The kid is probably ugly, like most babies I've ever seen.
    
    	My nephew is the exception, of course.
    

    
    because, brian, i know what a terribly hardship this is going to be on
    my brother and his girlfriend.  neither one of them was ready to be a
    parent, but at least he is taking responsibility for their actions.
    

    
    Ah, yes, well that does put a different cast upon it...
    
    -b

    
    >but at least he is taking responsibility for their actions.
    
    	You mean now he's starting to wear a condom?
    

    
    
    Was it on the show Drew last night where he said, "Sure I'd like to see
    your baby pictures, all babies look so very different", or something to
    that effect.

| <<< Note 532.148 by SNOFS1::DAVISM "Happy Harry Hard On" >>>

| <-- Should this burning thing be bothering me ??


	It bothered me Martin.

    
    	Eesh, this is almost as bad as the fecal string in the other
    	topic.
    

| <<< Note 532.157 by MPGS::MARKEY "World Wide Epiphany" >>>


| Ah, yes, well that does put a different cast upon it...

	They gave you another cast???? Bummer, dude....

 Got a cellular phone today.  Never really wanted to get one, but there are
 times I really need it.





 Jim

>Ah, yes, well that does put a different cast upon it...
 
    And if it isn't the right type, C will let you cast it again. :-) 

    
    	I like calling for pizza on the way home, so I don't have to go
    	all the way back downtown after just getting home.
    
    	And I have a tendency to run late, so whenever I go to pick up
    	a friend to play pool, I ring him once* when I get to the entrance
    	to his condo complex and by the time I get to his door he's there,
    	instead of either him waiting for 10-15 minutes or me going to the
    	door and ringing the bell.
    
    	* - I let the phone ring once and hang up, so I don't have to pay
    	    for the call.
    

	Jim, I'm thinking of getting one myself. The car is getting up there in
miles (97K) and the phone is much cheaper than a new car..... :-) What kind did
you get, what service are you using, and what kind of packages do they have?
It's better to go into this with some knowledge than just getting one period. 

	Shawn, same questions! 


Glen

    
   > It's better to go into this with some knowledge than just getting
   > one period. 

    Don't get a period. The monthly bill is outrageous.

    -b

| <<< Note 532.167 by MPGS::MARKEY "Roger the Rogerer" >>>


| > It's better to go into this with some knowledge than just getting
| > one period.

| Don't get a period. The monthly bill is outrageous.

	Brian, they said ONE peiod. A one time charge......

    
    Well, just one period would still be costly, because 'supplies' don't
    come in small boxes, and if you buy them in the restrooms, they're
    sometimes a quarter each!
    
    Speaking of supplies, Bri, did the men's room at BBW have any 8^)?
    
    

	So a period is cheaper than a drive on the Mass Pike. 

    
    Sorry, Ms. Deb, they had a wide variety of textured and colored
    items, but virtually nothing in the way of period equipment.
    Unless you count the aspirin.

    -b

    
    No no, a quarter for each individual, er, supply!
    

    
    	RE: Brian
    
    	Rolling!!  8^)
    
    
    	Glen, I have a Motorola Flip ... DPC550 or something like that.
    	I paid about $75 for it, and that included a home charger and
    	a cigarette lighter cord/charger.  The power output isn't as
    	high as a permanently-mounted unit, but for the most part you
    	don't need the extra power anyways.  And I don't have to run
    	a wire through the car or mount an antenna on the roof.  And
    	I can carry it with me ... I usually keep it in my coat pocket.
    	[If you've ever seen Tom Luong's phone, then you know what mine
    	looks like.]
    
    	I got on the Cellular ONE Associate Plan in December ... $11
    	per month service charge, 34 cents/minute peak and 30 cents/
    	minute off-peak.  Peak = weekdays, 7AM-7PM.
    
    	John Covert is the resident expert on cellular phones if you
    	have any difficult questions.
    
    	And check out UPSAR::CELLULAR [hit KP7 to add to your notebook]
    	for all kinds of information.
    

 I have the same Cellular 1 plan as Shawn.  I have a Panasonic EB-H41..came
 with the Cell1 deal for $10.




 Jim

    
    	Oops, that reminds me ... they practically give away the phones,
    	and some of the accessories, when you sign up for a plan these
    	days.
    
    	But they do charge for some accessories.
    

	I like Jim's plan much better. I'll have to check them out. Jim, what
kind of output do you have.... any problems?

 I haven't had any problems yet.  Of course, I just took it out of the box
 when I got to work today (a colleague dropped it off) and plugged in the
 charger.

 The Panasonic is a nice phone from what I can see, and with the battery all
 charged up and installed on the phone, all the lights that should be lit
 are lit.  I'll try calling somebody on the way home ;-)



 Jim

	Coool!

    
    I'd say your status as a normal human being pretty much expires
    the first time you use your cellphone to dial in and read
    Soapbox.
    
    -b

	What is a normal human being?

 Used the cell phone last night to call my kids whilst enroute home.  Worked
 just fine, thank you.




 Jim

	GREAT! 

    
    	You might have problems in some areas with drop-outs due to the
    	topography and/or obstacles.  Cellular operates on line-of-sight,
    	so if you're blocked from the available cell sites then you'll
    	have trouble staying connected.  Or you could be in a fringe area
    	where you're just far enough from the cell site that you can't
    	get a connection.
    
    	Depending on where I am in my house, or which way I'm facing,
    	I get readings of:
    
    	No service
    	Service
    	Roam
    

 Now that you mention it, I did have a drop out talking to my son last night,
 while heading north on 93.




 Jim

    
    	Hmmm ... maybe his 3 minutes were up?
    
    	Oh, you mean your other son.  8^)
    

 ;-)

    Jim, be careful about using the phone when you drive.  I heard a few
    days ago that driver-inattention-due-to-using-cellular-phones is 
    starting to be a noticeable cause of car accidents.
    
    (I have a cell phone, too, and I sometimes use it when I'm driving.
    It's something I'm trying to be careful about, too.)

    
    	Just using the phone is pretty easy to do while driving.
    
    	What really gets tricky is when you're smoking, drinking coffee
    	and writing to SOAPBOX while doing 65 in the left lane of 495.
    	AND you have to change the radio station when a really horrible
    	song [like anything by Bon Jovi or Extreme from the last 5 years]
    	comes on the radio.
    

>	What is a normal human being?

a dead one, there's more of them than any other type.

Chris.

	Chris, your humor is pretty morbid, sometimes. I like that! You do have
a way to keep one rolling!

    >a dead one, there's more of them than any other type.
    
    Someone correct me if I am wrong. But, I believe that this statement is
    false.

    
    
    Concider yourself corrected.
    
    
    
    
    :*)
    

 conSider *yourself* corrected



 nnttm

    
    Consider yourself
    Part of the family
    

    
    	Or
    
    	Concider yourself
    	the apple of my eye.
    

    Consider yourself at home. (or is that concider  :))

    
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
    
    

    
    mz_debra, please control yourself, this is a family conference,
    afterall.

	Hey, I had that very same tune from "Oliver" stuck in my
	head last week.

	I'd just about gotten rid of it when I stumbled in here.

	Oh well, if you can't beat 'em:

	It's clear, we're, going to get along 

    
    
    
    TINSIILOHT:  I get my first paper back from class  tonight...
    

    
    I sold my motorcycle last Friday.  I definitely liked the money, but
    now I'm bikeless.... and that REALLY SUCKS !   :-|

    
    	Walking around MRO1-2, in the open, with no one covering me, and
    	passing by Amos' office.
    
    	Luckily he hadn't chambered a round or I might have been in a heap
    	of trouble.  And I guess it helps that he doesn't know who I am.
    
    	8^)
    

    Amos, look for the dude with plaid pants, white Nikes, yellow 
    silkette shirt and a white belt.  Just come right out and say "Hi 
    Shawn!".  

    
    	Eesh, only pansy golf pros dress like that.
    
    	8^)
    

Sorry I "missed" you Shawn. give me a moment to reload,,, :-}    

    
    Must've been looking through the wrong part of yer bifocals, eh old
    fellah? ;')

    Having the season kick off meeting for the junior race program last
    night, got to meet some of the parents of the kiddies I will be molding
    into young racers and not having given up on summer yet.  I am going
    into this upcoming winter season kicking and screaming.  :-/

    
    	What are they racing?
    

    Alpine ski racing, Slalom and GS.  I have 10-12, 10-12 year olds that
    hang on my every word, follow me like lost puppies, and generally do
    everything in their power to aggravate the bejeezuz out of me.  I do
    everything in my power to ski their little behinds off and generally
    act like a 10-12 year old myself.  The last part becomes easier with
    age, the first part becomes harder.  We have a blast, I get to ski for
    free, I get an outstanding new "uniform", I get to go away to training
    events are real ski areas, and I get paid to do it! :-). 
    
    I just don't like winter and all the attendant hassles anymore :-(. 
    
    Brian
    

    
    
    Hearing a very interesting rumor concerning mother DEC.  Can't divulge
    unless a get a confirmation somewhere.....
    

	mike, aren't you a bit old for that?  try to pick a good
	name though.

    
    So, let's see, is it:

    	- Mitsubishi is going to buy us?

    	- Microsoft is going to buy us?

    	- AT&T is going to buy us?

    	- Philips is going to buy us?

    	- The Pope is going to buy us?

    Digital must hold the record for erroneous X is buying Y
    rumors.

    -b

    
    	RE: Lady Di
    
    	8^)
    

    
    	Just as I expected ... WHOOSH!!  Right over his head.
    
    	8^)
    

    .212
    
    Think of Bob Palmer though.
    
    When he was with Mostek and went through downsizings etc, he then
    found that the best way to deal with Mostek was to sell it to 
    another company.  Don't be surprised!
    

    
    It took me a while.  Sorry Di, humblest apologies to you.  I should
    have known better.
    
    
    Mike

	as luck would have it, i saw that you replied, mikey, but
	didn't get to read it. ;>  

| <<< Note 532.213 by BUSY::SLABOUNTY "The age of aquarius" >>>

| RE: Lady Di

	Milady is going to buy DEC!!!???  My God!!!  How much money does she
have to waste??????

    TIMSIFLOHT:  bowling night
    
    Although I have been doing rather good on Fridays as a sub, my
    Wednesday night bowling leaves a bit to be desired.  I sub in the same
    house that my league is in- on the same set of lanes even (with a
    similar shot layed out).  I just can't figgure out why I can average 20
    pins more on Friday night.  
    
    Too bad this is my last week of subbing on Friday (until needed
    again).  The guy I've been subbing for should be done with training at
    his new job by next week.
    
    
    -steve 

<---could it be beer consumption?

    
    Holly, who works next to me, brought in a HUGE jar of candy.
    
    On the one hand, it's a terrible temptation.
    
    On the other hand, it's hysterical to see all these well-dressed
    Corporate types walking around with Tootsie Pops sticking out of their 
    mouths, or wrestling each other to the ground over the last box of DOTS.
    
    
    

    
    	You, of EH&S, are letting people walk around with Tootsie Pops
    	sticking out of their mouths?
    
    	Don't you know that they could seriously injure themselves by
    	doing that?
    

    
    So where's the Little Chamber of Tootsie Pops?
    

    
    You know, Shawn, that crossed my mind 8^).
    
    

    
    >So where's the Little Chamber of Tootsie Pops?
    
    	And, more importantly, how many licks does it take to get to the
    	center?
    
    
    
    	RE: Deb
    
    	I kind of figured it would have.  8^)
    

    
    	Or, "Doe!!".
    
    	8^)
    

>    	Don't you know that they could seriously injure themselves by
>    	doing that?
    
    and this is a problem ?
    

    re: .221
    
    Nope.

    
    	RE: Martin
    
    	Good point ... after all, they're only corporate types, right?
    

    
    	TINSIILOHT:
    
    	Realizing that if I'd gone to WPI as my daddy wanted, I'd
    	have been in college with the doctah.
    
    

    
    WPI is a great school... I've been doing the grad thing
    there for a while. Wish I had been there in the doctah's
    day...
    
    -b

    .232
    
    Wow

    
    	wow what ?
    

    
    	You're THAT old?
    

    
    	Who, me ?  
    	
    	Check the birthday list...
    

    re . 231 
    
    Shawn... Good promotional prospects !! :*)
    
    ...... I mean my mother isn't one of them, so what the hell!! 

    I did so much work yesterday, that I'm not sure if I have enough to
    get me through today.... hmmmmm   

    >	Realizing that if I'd gone to WPI as my daddy wanted, I'd
    >	have been in college with the doctah.
    
     You'd have hated it. 5 guys to every girl; even <ahem> beauty
    challenged girls treated like royalty- yeah, you'd have hated all the
    attention.

    Reminds me of DeVry.

    
    >  You'd have hated it. 5 guys to every girl...

    Sounds like the inverse of my old high school 4 girls for every guy! 
    Even I could USUALLY get a date.... :-)

    >Sounds like the inverse of my old high school 4 girls for every guy! 
    >Even I could USUALLY get a date.... :-)
    
     Ah, the delusions of adequacy are explained! :-)

    
    
    	Doctah,
    
    	That's exactly how my SO describes it.  (He's finishing
    	up his master's this semester)
    

    
    	Thanks, doc.  What exactly are you trying to tell me ?
    
    	;-)
    

    
    Microsoft Word.
    

    being drafted into the SBU Quality Council

    
    > Microsoft Word.
    
    I think that belongs in topic 414.... HTH
    
    :-)

    
    My contract will be extended through the end of December, at least.
    

	ALLLLRIGHT JOAN!!!!  Why don't they just hire you and get it over
with!!??



Glen

    
    Corporate policy forbids the euthanasia of temps.  ;^)
    

<grin>.....

        Three complete days ciggie-free ...

        

    
    
    Good job, Andy.  Keep it up.  Hopefully I won't be too far begind you.
    
    
    Mike

    
    <------
    
    
    Sorry Mike... I don't smoke...
    
    Perhaps you meant &y???
    
    

 Good luck!  I'm approaching 3 years cigarette free!

    &y & Mike, I'll cheer you both on.

    
    Yay !Joan!
    
    

    
    	Does   !Joan! = !!Joan = Joan ??
    
    	inquiring minds and all...
    

    
    
    
    	Today is my 8th anniversary as a Digital employee
    

    My condolences, JJ.  :-)

    Not only that, he feels sorry for you too!

    hey, me too!

    
    Another victory for the Werewolves of London.  We are now in 1st place
    in our division with one game remaining in the season; if we win it,
    we will go to the finals.
    
    The drawback is that, if this happens, we will be promoted to the upper 
    division next season, to play against a bunch of knobs who take the game
    WAY too seriously.
    
    Better to be a good team in the lower division than a lousy team in the
    upper division, I say.
    

    What sport?

    
    Trivia.
    

     Ooh, a full contact sport. How mynly. :-)
    

    
    Actually, it's just an excuse to get out of the house on a Monday night
    and drink lots'o'beer.
    

    
    	TINSIILOHT:
    
    	I succumbed to a craving for a sausage, egg, and cheese
    	sandwich for breakfast.  
    
    

TINSIILOHT:
    
     The odometer on my car read  00000.0 for the third time in its
     existance on my way home tonight.

       
       It'd still be on the way to its first peek at 80k if you ever
       learned the right route.

    What Mr. Topaz really meant to say was "I'm very thankful, Lucky Jack,
    that you have safely traveled all of those miles and are here with us
    today safe and sound."

    He could have meant the road less travelled will allow one to travell
    less.  Then agaion, maybe not.

	Jack, you got quite the vehicle there. 

TINSILOHT

Eventually getting round to having cable telly installed.  Loads of things to 
watch, mostly rubbish, and the adverts - aaargh!

One thing I'm certain I hate today is that I still haven't got around to 
having the boiler fixed, and the temperature is about to go negative.  Time to 
dig out some more clothes I think...

Chris.

        Clear crisp morning, no wind. Everything covered with thick frost
    glistening in the light of the rising sun. Exhaust from the chimneys
    going straight into the sky. 

    	Something right out of Carrier & Ives.

>    	Something right out of Carrier & Ives.

The air conditioner people?

    Yes.

    I thought that was "Burl & Ives"...
    
    Chris

    My new address: Topaz.

    
    Getting the tribute to Amos frm GOAL in the mail.  Nice tribute, but I
    sure miss the old mucker.  
    
    
    Mike

    
    Hearing a lot of coyotes very close to the house.
    Sounded like I was in a Boris Karloff movie.
    Very very strange and eerie sound.

    That's a good sign Hank.  It means that man has not totally eroded the
    habitats of wild creatures.  Now if we can just get the folks to stop
    whining about losing Fluffy or Spot whenever domesticated animals wander 
    out into the high speed lane of the food chain we'll be all set.  
    
    Brian

    
    I'll agree with that Brian.
    But I'll tell ya, it is one spooky sound.
    
    In my neck o the woods, we have a lot of wildlife.
    sadly, we also have a bunch of brain dead hunters shooting behind
    my house. Now I support hunters, though I won't hunt, but I wish
    they'd not get so close to where folks live.
    
    							Hank
    
    ps. I'll never forget your name again. 

 .283  friends of mine just lost 2 of their 4 cats that way.  they
       weren't "whining" about it, but they were none too thrilled.
       i can certainly understand that.

    So can I Di.  Many folks do believe that wild animals need to be dealt
    with to avoid that from happening.  When civilization encroaches upon
    habitats, pets are likely to appear on the menu.  BTW Hank, wasn't
    implying you were one of the complainers.  
    
    

    >Many folks do believe that wild animals need to be dealt
    >with to avoid that from happening.

	I agree with you - those people are definitely bozos.
	Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, coyotes gotta eat
	cats if the opportunity presents itself.  (Those are
	the lesser-known lyrics.)

    
    "Soylent Green is cats!!"
    

Got a wake-up call once, about 6:30 AM, by a very nearby coyote. Of course,
this was in a tent at Yosemite Nat'l Park, so no big deal.

    
    	No big deal??
    
    	At least if you're in your house you can lock the door.  Not
    	many tents have lockable doors to keep the things out.
    

> this was in a tent at Yosemite Nat'l Park

How were the toilets at the time? (We're taking a poll.)

    Yes, were they sticking to high heaven?

    
    > Now if we can just get the folks to stop
    > whining about losing Fluffy or Spot whenever domesticated animals wander 
    > out into the high speed lane of the food chain we'll be all set.  

    It's not Fluffy and Spot I'd be concerned about.  There are all sorts
    of problems with having wild animals (carnivores/omnivores) occupying
    the same piece of real estate with humans.  When you get right down to
    it, there is not much difference in size between a medium size dog and
    a small child.  "Fluffy" and "Spot" nah, little Brian or Diane is
    another matter entirely.

    Little Brian or Dianne should not have the opoortunity to intereact
    with nature, at least not on their own.  Domesticated anumals are
    routinely let out to roam or do their duty.  Small chilluns should be
    under the watchful eye of a responsible adult.  It is still not the
    animal's fault for being hungry and desiring to live.  I agree this
    sometimes has tragic but avoidable consequenses.  
    
    Brian

		Ban little kids!

    
    > Little Brian or Dianne should not have the opportunity to interact
    > with nature, at least not on their own. 

    At what age are they able to go out alone?  By 7 I was roaming the farm
    without any adults.  At that age/size, any decent sized predator could
    easily have dispatched me to the great lunch plate in the sky.

    > It is still not the animal's fault for being hungry and desiring to
    > live.  I agree this sometimes has tragic but avoidable consequences.

    True, but I've never heard of a rug becoming hungry and eating a small
    child for lunch.

    Dan

        Yes, but Kirby, you forget, nature abhors a vacuum.

    
    So, I watched the video from "Oliver!" tonight.
    
    Some bits were good.  Some bits were bad.  The sound wasn't wonderful,
    and the cameraman didn't appear to know the show well enought because
    he kept missing the correct shots.  I didn't like hearing my own voice,
    and I look awful in red 8^).
    
    However, the outtakes at the end were hysterical - especially the part
    where the music director had us doing "Head, Shoulders, Toes & Butt"
    during the warmups 8^).
    
    

    Arrgh, first that awful discord from Bali Hai, and now I'll have
    "You gotta pick a pocket or two..." in my head all day.  Please,
    Please people.  I was sound engineer & stage manager for years.  Any
    mention of show tunes can trigger off an episode.  

    
    "Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends..."
    

	Sam and Janet evening...

    
    This was a real nice clambake...
    
    

    
    june is bustin' out all o-ah-vah!!!!!!
    
    

    We all had a real good time...
    The vittles we et, were good you bet...

    oh, raq!  you messed up my sequence!

    I'm not listening.  DUM DE DUM DUM DUM DA DUM DUM DE DUM DUM DUM DA DUM
    DUM DE DUM DUM DUM DA DUM DE DUM DUM DUM DA DUM DUM DUM DE DUM DUM DUM DA DUM
    DUM DE DUM DUM DUM DA DUM......

    Colin dear...
    
    If I loved you,
    Time and again I would try to say
    All I'd want you   to know....
    If I loved you,
    Words wouldn't come in an easy way
    Round in circles I'd gooooooo
    
    Longing to tell you, but afraid and shy
    I'd let my golden chances pass me by,
    Soon you'd leave me, 
    Off you would go in the mist of day
    Never, Never to know
    
    How I loved you
    If I loved you

    When you walk through a storm
    Keep you head held high
    And don't be afraid of the dark
    At the end of the storm
    Is a golden sky 
    and the sweet, silver sound of the lark
    
    Walk on through the rain
    Walk on through the wind
    Though your dreams be tossed and torn
    Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
    And you'll never walk alone.......
    You'lll   Neever walk a-lone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   .307  that i can live with.

    are you referring to the last 3 lines, di?  

 re .307


 I love that song.

>>    are you referring to the last 3 lines, di?  

	  i meant simply that i like that song and i don't mind if
	  it's rolling around in my brain for the rest of the day.

    di-
    
    phew!
    
    di and jim-
    
    seems great minds think alike :-)
    
    Now, the rest of the carousel lyrics.......heh,heh,heh..

When the children are asleep
We'll sit and dream.

    
    christine, don't you yell at me...
    
    

    i dinna yell, i expressed dismay!

    
    christine, don't express dismay at me...it's not my fault your not as
    quick as you used to be...
    
    

    {thud}

    
    
    Ladies, cut it out or I'll be forced to come up there and administer
    discipline.......

    
    	If they start to fight, I will unselfishly volunteer to break
    	them apart.
    

    
    	Anybody see the "new" Bye Bye Birdie this weekend ??
    
    	;-) ;-) ;-)
    
    

    
    Is that what that was???
    
    I was channel-surfing and this guy was singing what, someone told me,
    is a regular in some sit-com called Seinfeld (sp?)??
    
     I had to switch it quick before I fell asleep...
    

    
    Hey, I was surprised that George could sing and dance!  He wasn't bad. 
    Actually, he was pretty good.
    
    ...or was he dubbed?  Hmm.  Naah, couldn't be.
    
    

    
    	I don't think he was dubbed.  I thought he was good, too!
    
    	Grey skies are gonna clear up
    	Put on a happy face
    

    
    i do believe he can sing well...i think his first big "break" in acting
    was doing a mcdonald's commercial where he belted out a few notes...
    
    

    I remember him singing the "Choo Choo Charlie" tune in an old
    Good & Plenty commercial from the late 1970's.  The funny thing
    is, I distinctly remember thinking at the time "This guy's gonna
    go somewhere".  And then he essentially disappeared for a decade,
    so I guess he did "go somewhere"... :-)  But now he's back...
    
    Another person I pegged for success early on was Greg Kinnear,
    back around eight years ago when he was a game show host of a
    silly mild T&A fest called "College Mad House".
    
    I shoulda been a casting agent, or somethin', I tell ya.
    
    Chris

    Phew.  They've buggered off.  I can take me fingers out of my ears.
    
    
      >	 Anybody see the "new" Bye Bye Birdie this weekend ??
    
    I haven't seen such a good pair of dancing legs since ol' Sid Chemise
    herself.
    
    <exeunt, singing:>
    
       I'm gonna wash that mange right outta my hair,
       I'm gonna wash that mange right outta my hair,
       And send it on its waaaaay....
    
       "Sounds Horrific" 1985 (c) The Backstage Pisstakers. 
    

    given the orders that the tree goes up this weekend.

    you, too, huh? :-)

I am quite excited about having my very own live Christmas tree for
the first time - will put it put this weekend too.  I think Myrtle
(my kitten) is quivering with anticipation of the destruction of
ornaments to follow

    yup doctah. however, we sold out to the commercial devil of Christmas
    present and bought a wannabe tree this year. i guess we won't be
    finding those little needles next June...

    you named a kitten Myrtle?

I did.  And a dog named Taz.  The veterinarian says I am very creative-
no matter how unique people think they are being, she usually gets
duplicates of even the oddest names, but not mine! 8*)  I tend to
name my pets after favourite places.  Think I'll name the next (whatever)
Sydney.

    
    If I had a puffin, I'd name it Teagarden.
    

    
    Chris, make sure to keep all the tinsel hung out of her reach.  Cats tend
    to eat that stuff, and it can have disastrous consequences in their
    little tummies 8^(.
    

    
    	Our cat used to love batting the silk ornaments on the lower
    	branches of our tree.  And the silk would fray and get caught
    	in her paws and we'd have multi-colored silk threads all over
    	the house.
    
    	Motto ... get a hamster instead of a cat.  8^)
    

    if i had a chameleon, i'd name it      .

  .338  i can see that.

    
    	And how would you expect it to come to you when you called for
    	it?
    

    
    How would you know if it did?
    

    and does a tree make a sound when it falls if there's no one
    there to hear it?

    If it changed its name, it would be: 	the chameleon formerly
    known as	.

    i'd keep the chameleon in a decanter and i'd name the 
    decanter eddie.

  <blank stare>

    eddie decanter!  agagagagagagag

>    eddie decanter!  agagagagagagag


  contain yourself, please

    tinsil is attractive. my doggy used to get tinsil-butt regularly.

    
    	>And how would you expect it to come to you when you called for
    	>it?
    
    You could just sing "Karma Chameleon" with a Boston accent.
    
    

    Very handy if you don't have a leash.

    er, for the dog, not the chameleon.

    ONE cat and ONE dog and you're complaining?  Try FIVE cats
    and FOUR ferrets! :-) I may just lay the tree out on the floor
    and decorate it that way, and save myself the trouble this year. 
    Last year we had to keep moving the tree out onto the porch everytime 
    we left the house.

    I get wooden ornaments that don't roll, and put them on the higher
    branches.  We also have about 100 origami cranes that I put down low to
    satisfy the kitties and the short person in the house.  She can move
    them around to her heart's content.  If they get damaged it only take a
    few minute to fold another one and thread a string through it to
    rehang.  
    
    meg, three cats, the dog and multiple children.

Meg, you seem to know how many cats and dogs you have.  Why don't you know
how many children you have?  Do you live in a shoe or something?

    gerald,
    
    I have two of my own at home, extras that show up on a regular basis,
    and friends with kids big and small that are in and out, especially
    around the holidays.  The oldest brings friends with her when she is
    home, and some have littles as well.
    
    comes of having three kids over 19 years.
    
    meg

    
    	My mother-in-law bought us Sesame St. ornaments last
    	year.  Wonderful idea.  Andrew is very distressed that
    	we expect these to stay on the tree.  Last night, he came
    	upstairs with Ernie and Bert in his hands, and was quite
    	jarred when I dared to hang them back on the tree.
    
    

    
    Awwwwwww.... you never let me play!!!!!!
    
    :) :) :)
    

    	
    	That was not Andrew-with-the-nice-buns-in-spandex, but
    	Andrew-with-the-nice-buns-in-Pampers !
    

    
    
    Oh....
    
     Ummmmm.... sorry...
    
    
    :)
    

    
    Andy, that's a fetish if I've ever heard of one 8^o.
    

I recall once being in a teagarden where a lot of puffin' was taking place.

TIMSIILOHT - Today is my 4th anniversary since I started as a Dec Temp.
I'm still not a full time Deccie, but I'm also not a temp anymore. I
have now moved on to no-man land as a full time employee of a company
that seems to have no identity at all. :-\

    
    Hey, isn't "Whatever It Takes" identity enough for ya?   ;^)
    

    
    TINSIILOHT:

    Giving my project leader an earful regarding his (in)competence.  I
    succeeded in getting to schedule a discussion with our boss regarding
    the same issue...   :-P

    Oh well, it's been a fun job... <GAK>

	Gee, Dan.... it's not like you to speak your mind. :-)

    
    Someone down the hall wears Sandalwood perfume.
    
    

    
    
    	It was a glorious career while it lasted then......

    Deb:
    
    I wear stud cologne.

    Why am I suddenly assailed by images of Hi Karate commercials from
    years ago?

    
    > I wear stud cologne.
    
    Which is why everyone wants to wack him with a 2x4.

Hai Karate.  Whack.  NNTTM.

Blue M&M's

re .368:

>    I wear stud cologne.

Why do you want to smell like a snow tire in Buffalo?

    
    TINSIILOHT:
    
    Well, let's see what the score is....
    
    I told off my project leader,
    I told his boss,
    I told off my new project leader,
    and I told her boss!
    
    Not a bad week's work if I do say so myself!
    

    
    	Well, Dan, I'd say the score is:
    
    	Them: 2
    	You:  0
    
    	so far.  Nice knowing you.  8^)
    

    re: .374
    
     Ever the diplomat.

    
    > Ever the diplomat.
    
    And DAM PROUD OF IT!
    8-)
    

    
    >And DAM PROUD OF IT!
         ---
    
    	Typical reply from Mr. Hoover.  8^)
    

    Zing-OH!  Cute!!! :-)
    

    Having to take my state finals tomorrow night for Firefighter and
    knowing that it might be canceled for bad weather. Should get more than
    a foot of snow.

	Well, if you have it....GOOD LUCK!

    .381
    Thanks...I`ll need it.
    

    
    TINSIILOHT:

    More white $#!+ coming!

    Up to 16 inches in Jersey.

    
    .384
    
    Braggart.
    

    
    	Probably a menage a trois.
    
    
    	And that's cumulative for the 2 [or 3] guys involved.
    

    Braggart nothin'. He's storytellin'!

    
    
    Know what a Polish menage a trois is???
    
    
    
    
    
      That's when two of them watch!!!!!
    
     :) :) :)
    

    
    > >And DAM PROUD OF IT!
    >      ---
    > 
    > Typical reply from Mr. Hoover.  8^)
    
    Did you actually think that was a mistake ?!?!
    

    
    	In a word, yes.  8^)
    

    
    If you do some research, you will discover that I've been using "dam"
    instead of "damn" for quite some time now.  Guess you just caught it.

    Birdie Num Nums

    
    	Sorry, Dan ... you're right, I never noticed before.  The only
    	reason I pointed it out was for the "Hoover" pun, anyways.
    
    	I'll try to keep up from now on.  8^)
    

    tinsiiloht:  getting more than my money's worth today in the cafe...
    
    

    
    
    	That my grandmother is home from the hospital. I"m glad
    	she's home but she's still not doing very well.  She had
    	to have one of those oxygen things at home and the visiting
    	nurses have to spend a lot of time there during the day when
    	my folks are at work.
    
    	I just hope she's not in too much pain.......  =(
    

    ...subbing tonight for my "other" bowling team.  Judgeing by
    Wednesday's series, this could get ugly (I have a much higher average
    on Friday night league, as a sub).  I may get tarred and feathered. 
    8^)

    Facing another new year.

I'll be there to face it with ya hon....;-)

re: "Facing another new year."

                    Consider the alternative...

               \|/ ____ \|/
                @~/ ,. \~@
               /_( \__/ )_\-------Happy New Year snarf!
               ~  \__U_/  ~

    The alternative of facing another new year.

	Glenn, I think the alternative is death. Not a good alternative!

    
    
    My daughter going to the neurologist today.........

    People tell me I'm strange.

    
    Hope everything is ok with the daughter, Mike.

    
    
    RE: .404 point?
    
    
    Thanks Hank.  I almost feel bad about the dig I had at you earlier this
    morning.  :')
    
    
    Mike

	Glenn, you aren't strange.... just different. :-)

	Mike, hope all works out ok.

    
    TINSIILOHT:
    
    I've been trying to contact someone to set up a meeting since November
    1st (!) with no success.  Someone always takes a message, but he never
    calls me back.  Never.  I called once a day for a couple of weeks, then
    down to once a week.  No response.
    
    Finally I called Tuesday morning and snappily told his secretary that 
    I was holding a purchase order for $25K for this guy and perhaps he 
    might deign to meet with us.
    
    Since then he (the secretary) has been calling me constantly with the
    updates as to when Mr.Unavailable will call me.
    
    It's nice that I'm finally getting a response, but I had to wave a
    bribe under his nose to get it?
    

Does Mr. Unavailable work for the Government?

    
    He's a friend of Mr. Catheter Problem
    

    
    8^)
    
    He's in Academia.
    

    OH NO!!!

    
    Are you flying to Academia to meet with him?
    
    Will you need a visa?
    

    Is that where they make those nuts?  

    No doubt his favourite words are "is it in?".

I don't know where they make those nuts, but I know where they end up.
In the 'box.

    
    You can say that again!!!!!!!!                   --------------------->

    I'm not falling for that one.

    
    	Deb, is the purchase order angle a ruse, or is that the truth?
    

    
    It's the truth.  Would I lie to anyone but you?
    

    By the way Mz. Debra, sorry...I'm not getting any cooperation here
    regarding the request to get the list!
    
    uhhh....sorry

    
    Thanks for trying, sweetie.  See now why I was searching ELF and the
    Web?  Nobody in this company wants to cooperate with anybody else.
    
    Bluuuuurrrrrgh.
    

    
    >It's the truth.  Would I lie to anyone but you?
    
    
    	Is this a rhetorical question?  8^)
    
    	Besides, if your answer were "No", how would I know whether or
    	not to believe you?
    

    
    	And Deb, who are you looking for?  It's possible that someone
    	in here might know him/her, or have the means to find him/her.
    

    
    I'm getting better answers from Mr.Unavailable's secretary than I got
    from ELF, at least 8^).
    

    Can you ask her if she knows the whereabouts of Mr. Catheter Problem?

    
    Mr. Catheter Problem can be found in the first floor men's room
    of TRO every afternoon.
    

    He hits the sack at noon?

    
    .422
    
    mz_debra, I for one will cooperate with you fully. hoover sounds
    not withstanding.

    
    
    
    You've gotta pick a pocket or twooooo....you've gotta pick a pocket or
    2!!!
    
    Chris
    :)

    
    {shudder}
    
    

    
    
    	...  the giant ice stalagmite that it growing up from the
    	top of my BBQ grill.  I didn't have the foresight to move
    	it before all the really heavy snow started so now it's stuck
    	right under the eaves of the house.  What's melting off the roof
    	is landing on the cover and freezing.
    
    	Looks cool but I might not be able to use the grill till August!
    
    	JJ
    

    
    hell JJ just shoot it off. hth

    
    
    	I don't do guns...
    
    	Andrew?  =)
    

    
    << I don't do guns...
    
    ooh err

    
    
    > Andrew?  =)
    
    
    Sure!!! What size do you want used????  :) :) :)
    

    
    
    	Well let's see......  the ice is about 1.5-2' thick, by
    	a couple feet long by about 1.5' wide........  you decide.  =)
    
    

    The beautifully artistic and inspired crayola scribblings on my new coffee 
    table, my daughter's dresser and closet door.  8-|  

Forecast for Sydney today is for temps. between 27 & 34 degrees.

    Wow!
    
    If Martin was there, he'd be complaining about the heat!

>    The beautifully artistic and inspired crayola scribblings on my new coffee 
>    table, my daughter's dresser and closet door.  8-|  

You need Washable Crayolas (TM).

    Definitely. They're the best thing since sliced bread.

    Why would anyone want to wash their crayons?

    
    	Come on, Glenn, when you're coloring with, say, an orange crayon
    	and you accidentally cross a line and end up going over a section
    	that you already colored with, say, a black crayon, it's tough to
    	get the black off the orange crayon.
    
    	So you wash it, and it gets it really clean.
    

    Well, American ingenuity at its best.

Why would anyone want to make a sandwich with Washable Crayolas (TM)??

    Being asked by a psychiatrist to bone up on factor analysis and
    MANCOVA...

    ...that I haven't the slightest idea what .447 is talking about:-)
    
    Bob

It means that I'm going to spend my spring semester doing a research
assistantship for an MD, running statistical analyses, and I'm hoping to
**** that I haven't forgotten more than I learned.

(MANCOVA - Multivariate analysis of covariance -- Simply a degenerate form
of cannonical correlation -- sure, I knew that!)

    
    	TINSIILOHT:
    
    	The speed at which the smell rises when you fart in the shower.
    

    The vast difference between Notes .449 and .450. 

    
    	Dawn sure talks about some boring stuff, eh?
    

Don't put down Shawn.  He's got a PhD in Flatulence Studies.

    
    	PhD ... Phart Doctorate.
    

    NOTIME::SACKS 
    >>Don't put down Shawn. 
    
    
       Like he needs help'-)

>    
>    	Dawn sure talks about some boring stuff, eh?
>    

Not every note can be about turkeys.

/john

    For anova, you need a Tukey.

.457:

That made an honestly significant difference in my day. ;-)

    
      Water in its solid state.
    
      bb

    Got out of my aerobics class, took a shower, standing with a towel over
    me, putting on my Hanes.  Woman walks into locker room and walks toward
    me.  Her eyes are open but it doesn't dawn on her she is in the men's
    locker room until she gets about 15 feet from me.  Immediately turns
    around and double times on the way out!
    
    I saw her in the life center, put my hand on her shoulder and said,
    "Don't worry, I won't breathe a word!!!"  :-)
    
    Too bad Andy.  I was standing right where you usually get dressed!
    
    -Jack  

    
    I was reading a book entitled "History of Modern Europe" (it was
    written in the 1930's so modern is relative) when I came upon a
    definition of "Liberal" from back when liberalism was founded.  And
    much to my horror I am more or less "liberal".  Here is the quote:
    
    'Nowadays the word "liberal" is used vaguely and generally to describe
    many diverse movements.  Immediately after 1830, however, it referred
    to a specific body of doctrines having intellectual, economic,
    political, and international significance.  Intellectually, it
    championed freedom of thought, extolled technology, natural science,
    and "machine civilization," and treated religion as a private affair of
    the individual conscience.  In economices, it stood for individualism,
    for freedom of occupation and profession, for freedom of trade, for
    freedom of contract between the individual employer and the individual
    worker, and for unrestricted competition in business and trade.  As
    such it was hostile to economic privileges of the agricultural classes,
    to tariff protectionism, to guilds and trade unions (in so far as these
    inspired strikes or otherwise interfered with freedom of contract), and
    to governmental regulation of commerce or industry.  In politics,
    liberlism regarded the ideal state as a "passive policeman," not
    concerning itself actively with the affairs of its individual citizens,
    but merely preserving order, protecting private property, fostering
    some public education, and promoting some public works.  It likewise
    regarded as ideal a government which would be constitutional,
    representative, and parliamentary, in which the propertied middle class
    would predominate, and under which individual liberty would be large
    and taxation small.  In international affairs, liberalism, while
    romantically sympathetic with the efforts of "oppressed" peoples to win
    national independence for themselves, was generally pacifists.  It
    condemned war as financially burdensome, as injurious to property and
    profitable trade, and as destructive of personal life and liberty.  It
    inveighed against imperialism of the mercantilist variety, and for the
    sake of thrift, as well as peace, it sought to reduce expenditure for
    armaments.'
    	"A Political and Cultural History of Modern Europe" Volume 2 pp. 50-51
         Carlton J. H. Hayes.  (C) 1936.  Published by Macmillan Company.
    
    Kind of hard to call Teddy K. a liberal after reading that.
    
    	Skip

    RE: .461

    An excellent example of the fluidity of language.  How many other words
    have come to mean the (near 100%) opposite of what they used to?

    -- Dave

    RE: .462

I remember being "caught" in a Middle-English test by the phrase "the aweful 
deer" (I _think_ the "e" was required for M.E.)

the deer was frightened, not frightening.

\Chele

	Jack...... you should learn to put your haynes on a little quicker. :-)

    
    
    RE: .460  Gee Jack, tell the wife I'm sorry, very very sorry.  I mean
    if the lady had to get as close as 15' to tell that you were a man.....
    well, just tell her we're all sorry. 
    
    
    

    
    
    Of course, Jack didn't mention the laughing fit the lady had on the way
    out!!!
    
     :) :)
    
      Who was it Jack?? One of my students??  :)
    

    OKAY...IT WAS ONE OF YOUR STUDENT!!!  AND SHE WASN'T LAUGHING....SHE
    WAS COUGHING!!!!!!
    
    Mike, you ouched me on that one big time! :-)

    ...

    
    >SHE WAS COUGHING!!!!!!
    
    
     Probably gagging at the sight....
    
    
     :) :) :) :)
    

    You people are cruel...all of you!!!!

    You mean she didn't screech... "MY GOD!  It's "Ross" from friends!
    Could I please get your autograph?"

    
    I remember being at a frat party when streaking was all the craz.
    
    These two guys came running through wearing only sneakers.  One had the
    ill manners to hang around and butt in to a conversation as it were.
    
    A woman involved in the the converstion pointed at he middle extremity
    region and proclaimed "Oooh, looks like a pe***, only smaller".
    
    Talk about nipping that streaking habit right in the bud.
    
    	Skip

| <<< Note 532.471 by TROOA::BUTKOVICH "I come in peace" >>>

| You mean she didn't screech... "MY GOD!  It's "Ross" from friends!
| Could I please get your autograph?"

	He did have a pen, handy. :-)

    The penis mightier than the sword.  But apparently smaller.
    

| <<< Note 532.474 by SMURF::WALTERS >>>

| The penis mightier than the sword.  But apparently smaller.

   Unfortunately for Jack, the sword was one they use in fruity drinks....

    You people are totally vicious!  ALL OF YOU!

    
    
    RE: .474  Tell that to John Wayne Bobbitt.......

    re .461-
    
    The interesting and very opinionated Western Civ teacher at Cornell in
    the late 70's/early 80's had quite a bit of fun with this historical
    aspect to the definition of 'liberal'.  L Pearce Williams entitled one
    lecture "Ronald Reagan - 18th Century Liberal".
    
    DougO 

    
    Today I have a mortgage.  Nothing unusual there.

    TTLT - For the last 4 1/2 months we had two mortgages; yesterday we
     closed on the sale of our old house.  Getting down to one mortgage is a 
     BIG help.

    TTHT - One less mortgage means means the home Emmy took me home to, and
     to which we brought Gia and Eli into the world is no longer part of our
     life.  Very sad indeed.

    Greg
     

    
    I heard on the news a few days ago about NEBs
    
    Negative 
    Equity 
    Babyboomers
    
    Makes me kind of glad I didn't buy a house in the 80's.

    
    	TINSIILOHT:
    
    	That I officially take over this project on Monday.
    
    	I'm looking forward to the challenge, but not the
    	baggage.
    
    

    You got the new American Tourister account?

    
    	Can you get me that gorilla's autograph?
    
    	He's an excellent actor ... shows true feeling in that scene where
    	he's jumping all over the bags.
    

    
    	No, sorry, nothing as exciting as that.
    

    
      I'm getting ANOTHER "free" older computer in the next few days.
     I believe it's a Mac.  I threw my last two "free" older machines
     away, as the person giving me this one planned to do.  I'm on
     about my tenth machine now, a 486DX2-50 which is getting long of
     tooth itself.  The country is awash in outdated hardware.
    
      bb

 The odometer on my car reached 99000 miles today.  It has been quite a fine
 car (93 Honda Civic) and I expect to keep it for a while once it is paid
 off (which hopefully will happen in May).  Seems like I just got it 
 yesterday, though.  Picked it up on Sept 24,1992.



 Jim 

    
    	Wow, I'm dreading seeing my '93 Duster get to 18K miles, which, at
    	the current rate of driving will be in about a month and a half.
    	And it's at 17.6K now.
    
    	8^)
    

    
    
    	I'm about to turn 120K on my '86 Escort. :)
    
    

>    	I'm about to turn 120K on my '86 Escort. :)

    Is that 120K miles or the number of dollars spent trying to keep the
    Ford running?

    -- Dave

    
    
    	Ah, a Chevy bigot I see! :*)  I paid nothing for the car and have
    spend less than $700 in parts/labor to keep it running for 3+ years.
    Much less than a new car payment I'd say....
    
    
    jim

    
    
    All of these cars are just barely broken in.  My chevy hit 150,000
    miles last month and is still purring on.
    
    As for that '93 duster - I once had a '72 duster that hit 175,000
    miles.  Would have gone further if the frame hadn't rusted out. 
    Personally, I won't even look at a car with less then 75K.  They don;t
    have character that young.
    
    	Skip

    
    	In case you didn't know this, the '93 Duster is based on the
    	Shadow/Sundance.  Completely different from the old Duster.
    

    I'm now driving a new junker (oxymoron alert).  From a
    doggedly_slow_I_think_it's_got_real_problems_Jetta, to a interiorly
    decrepid_it's_actually_quite_peppy VW Rabbit.
    
    Well, the interior isn't *that* bad, actually, it just doesn't have a
    head-liner...and the front seats don't exactly match (though they both
    have matching seat covers 8^) ).  The driver's seat is a nice cloth one,
    but the passenger seat is the dreaded vihnil (err...vinihl, vinil,
    vinel, vineill, ??).
    
    The good part is that this car has no problem holding the speed limit
    while going uphill.  8^)  It's a perky little car. 
    
    Letsee...my total car expenditures (not counting insurance) for the
    last two years was $2000 (the Jetta + tires + maintenence/repairs),
    minus $500 selling price = $1500.  My Rabbit, costing $1000, will
    hopefully be even cheaper in the long haul, though the new inspection
    criteria may cause me to put a few dollars into it, even though the
    engine has been overhauled (it seems that they tested this "system" on
    NEW cars, before passing it into law...only 85% of the NEW cars passed
    the inspection).  Too bad it isn't a '79 model...
    
    
    -steve 

    Good vehicle for going on spider hunts with. 

	      ....        ....	
           .adAMMMb.   .dAMMMAbn.
        .adAWWWWWWWWWAuAWWWWWWWWWWAbn.
     .adWWW__|   |__|__|__|__|   |_WWWbn.
    dMMMM     \_/	      \_/   MMMMMb
 ..adMM	       _               _        MMbn..
    dMMMM  __ /	\ __ __ __ ___/ \___MMMMMb
     "~^YUM  |   |  |  |  |  |   | MUP^~"
          "~^PMMMdMAbammdAMMMMMMP^~"
              "^UMMMMMMMMMMMMU^"   
               "^Y^YUWWWWUP^"
         
          

 I'm sure my car will go for quite a while.  I don't go more than 7K miles
 without changing the oil.  I do need to get it in to change the belts and
 give it a tune up (though it still runs good and gets good mileage).  I'd
 like a bigger car, but I think I'll keep this one for now until i've caught
 up on some other debt.



 Jim

    
    	Steve, I LOVED my Rabbit ... '76, orange, silver Scirocco
    	wheels, white-lettered Eagle GS tires, and VERY fast.
    
    	My neighbor had a '79 junker that he let me tear apart, so I
    	made him regret it by removing the entire interior and trans-
    	planting it into my car.  8^)
    
    	Never should have sold that car, but at the time I had the GTI
    	16V, a motorcycle and the Rabbit on the road and had to get rid
    	of 1 of them.
    

    
> GTI 16V
    
    I came to hate mine during a short and tumultuous relationship.
    I hope it rusts in hell.
    
    :-)
    

    
    	I had my '87 for 7 1/2 years ... sold it a year ago this week with
    	150K miles and bought my '87 Supra with 1/2 the mileage.
    
    	It was a good car, with a couple exceptions.
    

	I don't know if I like to snarf or not...

    
    	Geez, that's a tough one, isn't it?
    

    
    	I'm sure I relayed the story of the "missing coffee pots" from
    	my coffee station.  Well, it appears that the mystery has been
    	solved.
    
    	It seems that the cleaning crew was using my station [or the 1
    	right next to it] to make coffee after hours, and taking the pot
    	downstairs and drinking it there.  But instead of bringing the
    	pot back, they'd leave it on Tobin's "dirty dishes conveyor" and
    	Tobin's would wash it and keep it [the 2 that were missing in
    	the last few weeks weren't engraved, so there was no way to tell
    	that they were someone else's ... the one that disappeared last
    	night WAS engraved and was found inside the cafeteria by the guy
    	who runs the other station after he saw another of my pots on the
    	conveyor this morning].
    
    	But anyways, I talked to the cleaning supervisor and he said that
    	he'd look into it and the people resonsible would be "done".  I
    	told him that I didn't mind if they made coffee, as long as they
    	brought my pot back when they were done, but I don't think it'll
    	make a difference in his decision.
    

    
    
    	sounds like one po'd supe. 
    
    

    
    	Yeah, he wasn't happy.
    
    	He said that they shouldn't be doing that, since they had no busi-
    	ness doing it.
    
    	In a way I agree, but they all seem like nice enough people and I
    	hate to see any of them get can[n]ed.  [But Jack wouldn't like
    	them because not all of them speak English.]
    

>'76, orange, silver Scirocco wheels, white-lettered Eagle GS tires, and 
    >VERY fast.
    
    Very fast? bwahahahahahaha! What'd you do, take it over a tall cliff?

	So Shawn... you're responsible for these people getting fired, right?
heh heh

    It's blowing night. ! ? @ ~ * /  > < + - ( )

    
    
    >    It's blowing night. ! ? @ ~ * /  > < + - ( )
    
    Shouldn't that be in the TTLT note.

    The expiration date on my license is the year 2000.
    That looks really, really, weird.
    

    
    	RE: Doc
    
    	I'm telling you, that Rabbit was a rocket.  Would have given my
    	16V a run for its money up to about 40MPH or so.  Then the 16V
    	would have left it far behind.
    

    I'm telling you no Rabbit is a rocket. Apparently you've yet to be in a
    rocket. Your 16V is no rocket either, so perhaps that basis for
    comparison is the root of the problem.
    
    Ask MadMike if you don't believe me.
    
    I'm sure my turbocharged Probe is more than a match for either car, and
    it's far from being a rocket. It's reasonably quick for a 4 banger, but
    a rocket it's not. To qualify for rockethood, you've gotta be
    considerably faster than my Mustang GT. 

	they oringinally built a Probe with a 3.8L V8 (in addtion to the
	4-cylinder and 4-cylinder turbo). now that was a rocket!

    re: .512
    
    Are you saying that it was built but never put into production?
    
    Bob

	you could buy it in the first 2 production years, i think.
	i test drove one, but ended up buying the low end model.
	
	Jay

    
    	OK, Doc, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, it was a rocket.  Much faster than
    	the typical Rabbit.  And my 16V had a 0-60 time of 7.6 seconds,
    	which made it 1 of the [if not THE] fastest 4-cylinder non-turbo
    	production cars on the market.
    
    	Not sure what the specs are on my Duster, but I'd be willing to
    	put it up against the Probe in the 1/4 mile.  That turbo helps
    	you, so I'd have to give you a slight edge.
    

    
    
    	my Ninja 900....no THAT was a rocket. :)
    
    

    Shawn,
    
    Ford Europe's Fiesta XR2 is faster.   Sad news eh?

    
    	Hey, I said it was 1 of the fastest.
    

    My FJ1200 is a rocket so there.  

    
    
    	the FJ1200 is FAT. Try pulling a tight corner on that puppy and
    you'll get nothing but pegs and pipes. It is a fast bike in the
    straights tho'....180mph near the top end.
    
    
    jim

    
    	What is that, a Yamaha?  Sounds like it.
    

    No way the FJ will do 180 in anything approaching stock trim.  145
    without a headwind, maybe.  Yes it is FAT, 563 wet.  The motor pulls 
    like a locomotive though and will do two up like there is only one person
    there.  You can make them corner with time and money.  0-60 in 3.9 secs
    is fast enough for me tyvm.  Then again I was just funnin' over
    downpour of testosterone going on in here.
     

    re: .514
    
    I don't think so.  When the Probe/MX-6 came out in '88, I looked at
    both and neither was available with a 6-cylinder engine.  It was the 4
    or the turbo-4.  I ended up with the turbo-4 MX-6 GT.  139K miles
    later, it's finally starting to use oil between oil changes.
    
    Bob

    I agree with Ainsley. When I got the Probe GT in August of 88, the
    turbo 4 was the hottest engine available. (I was trading down power
    wise from a Mustang GT.)

    
    
    	re:.522
    
    	c'mon, 145mph? Wot, you got a funky geared one or sumpin'? :) All
    the tests I've read about the FJ1200 put it up near 180mph on the track.
    heck, I used to boost my Ninja 900 up to 155+mph....it'd do 130mph
    tach'd out in 3rd gear.
    
    	I've never owned an FJ1200, so I have no first hand experience on
    one. Did you have one? Just curious...I'm not trying to be a wise guy.
    
    
    jim

	.523
	
	Bob,
	
	read the line in .514 where i said i test drove one. ;-) 
	Gervais Ford in Ayer, MA.
	they had 3 models: GL, GS, and GT. I think I still have the
	glossy brochure which lists all 3 models.
	I'm not making this up  ;-)
	
	JY

    Shawn, yes, it's a Yamaha.
    
    Jim, the FJ12 is good for 140-145 MPH max.  The latest edition of the
    Kaw ZX11 will do 180.  It was the first bike that would do so off the
    showroom floor.  The FJ was the bike to have in it's day but has been
    kicked out of the sport class into sport-touring.  I have one, the
    speedo goes to 160, Brian doesn't.  
    
    Brian
    
    

    
    
    	Ok, thanks for the note Brian. It has been a while since I read up
    on bikes. I guess I goofed...:)
    
    
    	cheers,
    	jim

    
    	not to interrupt the testosterone flow, but...
    
    	TINSIILOHT:
    
    	I'm suddenly very popular at work.
    

    
    
    Any idea why?

    Must be some sort of boob cake incident.

    
    	hehehe...:)
    
    

    My Jetta went from 0-60 in less than a minute...though only on level
    ground or downhill. 

    re: .526
    
    According to the Edmunds Used Car Guide on the web, the '88 MX-6 was
    only available with a 4 or turbo-4.  The '89 Probe was only available
    with a 4 (GL & LX) or turbo-4 (GT).  The web page doesn't list any data
    for the '88 Probe.  I believe that the Probe/MX-6 came out in April
    '88, with Mazda calling it an '88 model (since they were using calendar
    year model years) and Ford calling it an early '89 (since they use the
    Fall-Summer model year).
    
    From Edmund's, the V6 was first available in the 1990 models.
    
    Is it possible that you drove a GT and thought it had a 3.8 engine?
    
    Bob

    
    	Nah, I know Jols and he knows his cars.
    
    
    

    the Ford 3.8l is a V6, also found in the Tauri.  The V8 being used for
    passenger cars is the 5.0l AKA the venerable 302 small block.  Some of
    the trucks offer larger engines in gas and diesel variants.  

    regardless of whether or not he drove an 89 with a V8, such a car was
    not generally available.

	ok :-}
	so it was a '90 and a V6. but it was fast!  ;-)  ;-)
	

    It's about the same speed at the 4 cyl turbo, according to the car
    mags. Frankly, I was surprised they didn't get a little more out of it.

    
    
    Man!!! I can hear and see the chest-hair growing from here!!!!!!
    

    
    
    
    RE: .540  Lay off the acid......
    
    
    hth,

    
    
    :)
    
    Okay... how about this then, Mike..
    
    It reminds me of a bunch of guys getting together in Tim the Tool Man's
    macho kitchen/bathroom/bedroom/whatever and doing that "roar" thing he
    does...
    
    :)
    

    re: .538
    
    Approximately .5 second faster 0-60 if I remember correctly.
    
    Bob

    I thought it was only .1 second faster than the turbo GT.

    >Man!!! I can hear and see the chest-hair growing from here!!!!!!
    
     Gee, if only we were wearing spandex we'd get Andy's approval... ;-)

    
    
    >Gee, if only we were wearing spandex we'd get Andy's approval... ;-)
    
    
       
               BLLUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

    
    Did someone say "chest hair" 8^o?
    

    
    I got some... wanna peek???
    

    I got more.

    I've got enough, but not so much that elicits comments regarding the
    discovery of the missing link. ;-)

    I always get that missing link crack, and the one about my ancestors
    being the last ones to get down out of the trees. It's just pubic envy.

    
    
    >envy
    
    

    I came home to-night to find the only mail I got to-day was,
    
    Breck's Dutch bulb catalogue, Burpee's seed catalogue and "The Big Book
    of Roses" (Which I had forgotten I had ordered).
    Beautiful pictures of plants that never look the same in my yard as
    they do in theirs.
    
    But at least it means spring will arrive one day, because the catalogues 
    say so :-)
    
    
    joan

    boy, that Saturn V. now that's a rocket!

    
    
    Rockets!!!
    
    You wanna talk rockets???
    
    My Suzuki Samurai does 0-60 in.... 3 days!!!!!!
    
    
     Now.. there's fast for ya!!!
    

    Racing night.  Will see if I can put pressure on my right leg.  I will
    be severely bummed if I am not able to ski.  

    re: Andy
    
     I'm sure it's all you can do to handle that beast. :-)

    
    
    >I'm sure it's all you can do to handle that beast. :-)
    
    
    Yeah.. the thing hates frost heaves!!!
    
    :)
    

    
    My two stage modified Este's Big Bertha is a rocket.  These other
    things are only ground hugging go-carts.

    
    	re .530
    	
    	It has something to do with this new project, and the fact
    	that everyone wants everything yesterday...
    
    	

    
    our group meeting this morning. how many heads will roll and whoms?
    

    How does a head whoms?

<----take that to the abortion topic!

    
    
    >How does a head whoms?
    
    "whoms" is a close relative of "whooooooooooosh" and where
    whooooooooooosh goes completely over, a whoms is more of a ricochet off
    the side of the head...
    
    Hope this helps...
    

Paid bill for a rebuilt engine in the ol' blue car - big bucks.
OTOH, this comes after 200303 trouble free miles, all on one clutch even.

 I will reach 100k miles on my Honda Civic at some point today.




 Jim

    
    	Bruce:
    
    	With the engine already out, I hope you replaced the clutch and
    	related parts.
    

    
    	RE: Jim
    
    	What if it bursts into flames in the parking lot before you get
    	a chance to drive it home?
    

 Hmmm...well, the miles will still register on the odometer if they
 tow it, won't they? (assuming electrical power).



 Problem is, I'm letting my son Chris use the car tomorrow to go
 up to Maine for something and he's picking it up tonight.  I calculate
 that with some errands I have to run tonight, I'll hit 100K before he
 picks it up.  If not, I'll drive around in circles til I do ;-)