Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   JB>  I *still* need to swap fridges here, but I lost my keys   
   JB>  while trying to affect that. Now I have something *else*   
   JB>  to fret about.    
      
      
             Hmm.  In that regard, your loss is our gain....  :-Q   
      
      
      
   JB>  I'm sure I mentioned a *long* time ago - but I'll repeat   
   JB>  myself for the benefit of those who don't know how nutty   
   JB>  I can be  -   
      
      
             And for those who know how nutty you can be, but may have forgotten   
   or failed to grasp the technical details.  Works for me... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
   JB>  I had a gratis dial-up I-net account for about thirteen   
   JB>  years.   
      
      
             I thought you were using the public library but had some difficulty   
   getting there... perhaps I drew a false analogy with Wayne from another echo.   
      
      
      
   JB>  Most of that time was spent *trying* to keep Windows   
   JB>  secure and up to date. Now that I can plug a router   
   JB>  between me and that "nastyness", and use *only* Linux   
   JB>  for my online chores, I feel MUCH more secure spending   
   JB>  all my money on eBay. O-8*   
      
      
             While I'm not a techie, I understand your unhappiness with Windows.   
   From where I sit it appears that Linux is probably quite safe if only because   
   so few people understand it.  Same goes for Fidonet nowadays... anybody who's   
   interested in finding out more about me has to know where & how to look.  :-)   
      
      
      
   JB>  Oh and, aren't the Godless as welcome as those of us   
   JB>  with... Um... "Spirit"?   
      
                               [...]   
      
   JB>  You KNOW I was asking in rhetoric, right?    
      
      
             A rhetorical question is asked for effect, not for information, and   
   doesn't require an answer.  I think you knew the answer already.  But for the   
   benefit of newcomers who might not be so clear on the concept, I explained it   
   again in a somewhat different way.  You've been here longer than anybody else   
   except for Dallas & me... and you understand what we're trying to accomplish.   
   If others are team-teaching effectively he doesn't need the big hammer.  :-))   
      
      
      
   JB>  What the kid could learn from me   
      
      
             Steve isn't a kid... he's been posting in various Fidonet echoes for   
   quite awhile.  Shiloh is about the age you were when you started posting here.   
   I'm not sure about Nathan, but I reckon your guess is as good as mine....  ;-)   
      
      
      
   JB>  about slipping under the radar *alone* would make his   
   JB>  hair stand on end WITHOUT "product".    
      
      
             I imagine you & I could both go on at length about that.  Meanwhile,   
   give yourself a gold star for making me laugh!  I really enjoy your tongue-in-   
   cheek allusions to the whims of fashion & to the jargon of advertising.  :-)))   
      
      
      
   AH>  Either way, AFAIC, what's sauce for the goose is sauce   
   AH>  for the gander....  ;-)   
      
   JB>  Oh, *so* glad to find the time to garner your thoughts   
   JB>  again!   rocker" for laughing so hard!>   
      
      
             Oops.  Is my NT (preferred reasoning style) showing again??  Anyway,   
   I'm glad you're glad!  As for the neighbours... I guess you could say "You had   
   to be there."  But I doubt you're overly concerned about what they think.  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)