From t-phils@microsoft.UUCP Wed Nov 22 17:09:55 1989 From: t-phils@microsoft.UUCP (the Renaissance Man) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: music Date: 22 Nov 89 01:38:17 GMT Reply-To: t-phils@microsoft.UUCP (the Renaissance Man) Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA Keywords: Pun warning Status: O Duke McMullan writes: | Gilly Rosenthol writes: | >... Besides, not to blow our own horns, but - | >we'd lick you easily... | | ...If I were on the staff, I'd see | to it that the whole bunch of you were shut up... | Are you folks done trying to score off one another? You're disturbing the harmony of the Place... -- Phil Stracchino | Knight of the Ancient and Honorable Order Renaissance Man at Large | of the Rampant Turtle t-phils@microsoft.UUCP | "A Good Knight is Hard to Find" uunet!microsoft!t-phils | Not just a .signature - a way of life.... From jmdoyle@phoenix.Princeton.EDU Wed Nov 22 17:09:56 1989 From: jmdoyle@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Jennifer Mary Doyle) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: No longer lurking in the corner Date: 22 Nov 89 03:26:28 GMT Reply-To: jmdoyle@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Jennifer Mary Doyle) Organization: or, conversely, Chaos: Status: O In <9127@microsoft.UUCP> t-phils@microsoft.UUCP (the Renaissance Man) writes: >"So finally I meet a woman who makes me feel as though it's all worth >the wait... a woman I'd have been happy to wait nearly half my life >for... and you know what?" He raises the still-full vodka glass in >his left hand, and downs it in one shot. >"She lives TWO THOUSAND MILES AWAY! To distance, damn it all to hell!" Would this woman possibly have access to a computer account? If nothing else, it would save on phone bills. Just a thought... Jen-- "I can't -- I have rehearsal." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jennifer Doyle // Princeton '92 // jmdoyle@phoenix.princeton.edu Disclaimer: I am a student, I represent the future. From bthomas@Neon.Stanford.EDU Wed Nov 22 17:09:56 1989 From: bthomas@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Becky Thomas) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Another holiday toast Date: 22 Nov 89 03:45:44 GMT Reply-To: bthomas@neon.stanford.edu () Distribution: alt Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University Status: O A somewhat tall brunette strides up to the bar, looking more confident than she feels. She rummages around in her omnipresent bookbag and finally pulls out a dollar. "Hmm....give me a champagne and peach schnapps." Peering somewhat shyly around, she finds a chair and settles down to watch the people for a while. It sounds like a lot of people are really sad about the holidays, either because they want to be with their families but can't, or because they will be with their families but don't anticipate enjoying it. Her green eyes are sympathetic, but she just listens for a while. Finally she finishes her drink (feeling somewhat foolish for drinking something so frilly, but hey) and steps up to the line. "A toast," she says, "to families in flux." She throws the glass a little harder than necessary (maybe making up for the frivolity of what she's drinking) and it makes a most satisfying crash. "I generally haven't gone home for Thanksgiving for the past few years, not because I don't want to but because it's too expensive to go so far for only a few days. This year again I decided not to visit my family, and I guess I was a little melancholy about it; I would be with my boyfriend, but it's just not like being with family. Well, last month we got engaged - suddenly, without changing my plans, I will be with family after all! And this is family I chose for myself. "I'll be thinking of all of you who are away from home for the first time. I remember how tough it was. But eventually you make a new family for yourself, with friends or with lovers, by marriage or by less formal commitment. Just hang in there." She goes back over to the bar, produces another dollar, and asks for a Diet Coke this time. Settling back down in her chair, she goes back to watching and listening. Becky Thomas (no personas, sorry - maybe after a while.) -- -- Becky Thomas bthomas@cs.stanford.edu From cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU Wed Nov 22 17:09:57 1989 From: cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU (Chris Phoenix) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Toast Date: 22 Nov 89 03:18:30 GMT Reply-To: cphoenix@csli.stanford.edu (Chris Phoenix) Organization: Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford U. Status: O In article <11664@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> jwbirdsa@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (James Webster Birdsall) writes: >... Most of my problems are social; one, my parents, and two, >women. I have a plan in place and running to deal with my parents: get >as far away as possible. That problem was actually pretty easy. The >second seems to be insoluble. This leads to a certain amount of chronic >depression... This started as a reply, but then I figured other people might be interested too... Just wanted to comment on what you said about problems with women. I assume what you mean is that you have trouble being in relationships with them. I had the same thing until very recently. Many women were literally scared of me--I had one frosh send me a note saying she didn't want to see me again, after I'd only talked to her for a few hours! I found out later that she thought I was hitting on her. I'm a senior, which I suppose is scary in itself to some underclasswomen. Trouble is, I'm also 18, so I'm not a good match for seniors either. Anyway, I had no problem making friends among the men in the dorm, but the women wouldn't talk to me, and would sometimes move if I even sat down in the chair next to them! And run out of the room, literally, if I asked for an honest answer to a question--I didn't even get to ask the question! I don't think I'm a scary person, and I certainly don't hit on every woman in sight--I got over that last year (1/2 :-) ). It's just that I'm friendly, and I'm told I'm "too intense", so I suppose that's what does it. I've been getting tutored, I suppose you'd call it, in how to interact socially, and I think it's helping. Women don't seem to be as scared of me as they were. My tutor is a grad student who says I'm exactly like he was two years ago. The trouble is, a lot of the "rules" he's telling me, while I can see that they're right, are really annoying to put into practice--things like don't show as much emotion as you feel, don't ask anyone for favors unless they're a really good friend, don't even offer any favors! And don't behave in any unexpected ways. So around the dorm I usually have my mask on, and I'm building it thicker each day. What seems to have helped the most, though, was when I decided that it just wasn't worth it to try to be friends with these people, and started not wasting any time or effort, beyond very basic politeness, in talking to undergrad women. They seem a lot less scared of me now, and I suppose if I can manage to avoid spooking them for a couple of weeks, I might actually gain a "friend" or two. What I would suggest is, try interacting with a different circle entirely. If you're in a class with grad students in it, try talking to them. At Stanford, there's a lot of separation between grads and undergrads, but I find that contrary to stereotype grads are a lot more "fun", and I fit in much better with them. Or go off campus entirely--try to find situations where you can interact in a "real" way with people who are not in college. In my experience, if you're having trouble getting along with people, it's not necessarily your fault--just try a different group. Good luck... -- Chris Phoenix | A harp is a nude piano. cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU | "More input! More input!" First we got the Bomb, and that was good, cause we love peace and motherhood. Disclaimer: I want a kinder, gentler net with a thousand pints of lite. From estokien@jarthur.Claremont.EDU Wed Nov 22 17:09:57 1989 From: estokien@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Eric Stokien) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: No longer lurking in the corner Date: 22 Nov 89 07:02:28 GMT Reply-To: estokien@jarthur.UUCP (Eric Stokien) Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA Status: O To Distance: Sometimes it can be the only thing between two people. From dc2o+@andrew.cmu.edu Wed Nov 22 17:09:58 1989 From: dc2o+@andrew.cmu.edu (David L. Chute) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: newcomer asking for favor... Date: 22 Nov 89 06:59:42 GMT Organization: Class of '92, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Status: O My lords and ladies, greetings unto you all.... (no, no that's not right... try again, Dave) Listen up, you civilians! (no, definetly not, Dave, one more time, and you better get it right!) good evening ladles and gentlebeings, a funny thing happened on my way here... (sigh, I guess that will have to do....) Many thanks to those who responded to my friend's poem. A Toast to you all! [Crash!] My regret is that I will not be able to respond to any more until after the vacation. I'm going home to visit my parents, and host my best friend, whom I stayed with last Thanksgiving. (You know, give a little, take a little...) I won't be back until Sunday, and considering the work I have waiting like a boojum ready to spring, I may never see my mail unitl a week from now. Please keep the posts coming, however. I'm relaying the messages to her, with a little bit of editing. See, she has posted a file calling people to come criticise her poetry. CMU students on the whole aren't that poetic. ( Until they find a way to program an IBM workstation to do that, that's not likely to change.) But getting three constructive criticsms in one day is going to be a bit suspicious, and considering the mild practical jokes I sometimes pull, well.... I guess one of these days I'm going to spill the beans to her, but not before I get her to read a Callahan's tale on her own. Hope it's soon... But before I go, (any more of this midnite mail posting, and I may be in here playing Xtrek for the rest of vacation) I'd like to share my experience and hopefully help out with someone else. In Chris Phoenix's post Re: Toast, he says, in response to James' post... > What I would suggest is, try interacting with a different circle entirely. I wholeheartedly agree, and would like to make two suggestions. Anyone who has seen my .signature file sees that I seem to be a man with many lives. That's true, and keeping them straight can be a cast-bronze bitch to keep straight, I can assure you. (explaining the confusion I had at the beginning of the post, for a while, I couldn't figure out which bboard I was posting to...) The two main ones that I suggest, however, are ROTC and the SCA. ROTC you probably know about as a way to pay for your time in college with some time out of your life. Actually a fair trade-off... There is a good social interaction, however. The upper-classman will shit on you, true, and the lower-classmen are too scared of you, true, but the hardships and training you go through with your classmates can form a pretty strong relationship in cases. Just speaking socially, it is akin to being on a football team or fraternity, I believe. I have made many friends in my class, and can count on their support in some cases. however, I'm not blind to thier faults, either. part of me sees them as a bunch of obnoxious drunks on weekends, and I don't drink, but they don't see me as some wimp for it. they may be crude, they may be rough, but they will cover your butt in a fire-fight, or in any case where your butt is on the line. The other group I mentioned, and believe is a bit more helpful, is the SCA. This is the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group dedicated to keeping alive medieval traditions and customs, and having a blast while doing it. I'd like to say now that, the group that I know here at CMU is the closest group to CAllahan's Place I have experienced. There is no active set-up to help out people who are hurting emotionally, such as a fireplace and toast, but most of the members I know are honest, imaginative, caring people, people who would be interested in this sort of club. One can't help but feel comfortable, knowing that there are many caring people around. And the age range is usually good, there's bound to be someone at one's age level. (so is the male:female ratio, which is what attracted me first. don't go to CMU until you realize the M:F ratio, 3:1) and there is almost ever type of hobby or activity in such a group, I'm currently into the medieval fighting arts, dancing, sewing, and armoring. I like to dance, make things, and crash into someone with a big bang, without getting hurt (we practice in almost realistic armor) Good God, I have been blabbering for the last five pages, haven't I.... Sorry about that folks, I wanted to get this post out before I left. I'm usually not this incoherent and dull, unless I pulled an all-nighter shift in the computer cluster. Well, I'm sure you'll understand (and I have my @flame protection on for the vacation....). James, I hope you find a good place where you can fit in and feel comfortable. a good Thanksgiving to you.... and a happy turkey (in gravy, with mashed potatoes, and stuffing, and....)-day to you all. my toast for this evening- "to all-nighters" it's at four in the morning that one really starts to understand oneself.... but he is the one called lucky if he can remember those thoughts after the sunrise..... good nite. +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | David L. Chute | >>dc2o+@andrew.cmu.edu +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Gaerdil Menelmacar | of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I am, in no particular order, a Midn 3/C, a CCon, an | SCA fighter, a very nice guy, and in no particuar order +-------------------------------------------------------------+ From kathy@fps.com Wed Nov 22 17:09:59 1989 From: kathy@fps.com (the Rev. Mom) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Life? (Quiet Discussion in the corner.) Date: 20 Nov 89 22:44:36 GMT Reply-To: kathy@fps.com (the Rev. Mom) Organization: FPS Computing Inc., San Diego CA Status: O shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Mark Shoulson) writes: >I dunno. Sorry to waste bandwidth on a passing emotion, but that's what >Callahan's is for. First of all, don't ever let me catch you apologizing like this again! :-) If this is Callahan's, then you don't *need* to apologize. And of *course* that's what it's for! >I'm a senior here at Columbia, and the pressures of that horrible thing >known as the Real World (tm) suddenly seemed to loom over me. They had no >right to; I have some time before I really have to start worrying, and even >then I haven't much to worry about, but you know how sometimes things >strike you for no reason at all. I needed to talk to someone, and I have >friends here who are excellent listeners, but somehow I couldn't speak. >(You reading this, Shanie?) Somehow the ... impersonality? Universality? > of USENET makes it easier. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I was pouring out the horror-stories of jobhunting to complete strangers on the net. There's nothing wrong with that. Despite the disparity of the people on USENET, most of them are pretty decent folks who have some good advice and listening skills. I will tell you that I graduated in December, and I just found this job three weeks ago. I hit absolute rock bottom. I was not only living off my parents' money, I was so disheartened from anonymous strangers telling me "no." that I was getting afraid of even trying. But it was worth it. First off, I was so scared of going into the real world, that I took my newly-issued Visa card, and a CIEE student work permit, and hit London and stayed there for three months, doing nothing but watching plays and building up an ego that had been chewed pretty raw by grades/school. Ask me about my stay, and I'll ramble on for hours about what it was like to walk where Shakespeare was born and died, or how it felt to be two rows away from Alec Guiness. And secondly, I held out for the job I *really* wanted (sure I trained as an engineer/programmer, but I'm _happier_ as a tech writer), and just when I was seriously considering myself a failure, I interviewed one day, got my offer the next, and accepted on the third. And today I just banked my first paycheck. Things come around. >I don't know if that was the only thing bothering me. Has it ever >happenned to you that your mind just goes weird straight out of the blue? Lotsa' times. >There was a play here tonight, some theater group put on _Hair_. Excellent >play. They did it quite well. I was even good about not singing along. >But for some reason it touched a nerve or something, and I'm only now >getting out of it. This is essentially talking to myself out loud on a >keyboard (cartharsis is a strange thing, isn't it?) I was lecturing the air for hours after seeing MEASURE FOR MEASURE, but that's different. I'm a frustrated Shakespeare/scholar. :-) (Just as a completely off-the-track sidenote, there's a mailing list for musicals. Write to eliz@world.std.com, and she'll put you on, if you want to talk about shows and showtunes. I would've exploded when I came back from London, if I hadn't had the musicals list to tell about ASPECTS OF LOVE.) >"Where do I go? Follow the river. Where do I go? Follow the gulls. >Where will they lead me, and will I ever discover why I live and die?" > -Hair (approx. quote. I only heard the album once) Rivers belong where they can ramble Birds belong where they can fly. I've got to find my piece of sky. --Pippin --Kathy Li aka the Rev. Mom -- ____Disclaimer:_*my*_opinions;_not_FPS's________kathy@fps.com____________ "There's not a word yet/ For old friends who've just met." From jmdoyle@phoenix.Princeton.EDU Thu Nov 23 01:37:11 1989 From: jmdoyle@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Jennifer Mary Doyle) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: home... [sigh] Date: 22 Nov 89 20:45:19 GMT Distribution: usa Organization: or, conversely, Chaos: Status: O Well, I leave for home for Thanksgiving in about 15 minutes. I should probably have left the computer room a half hour ago, :-) I'll probably be back Saturday along with a great need to post. Sigh. Happy Thanksgiving, and may the holiday be a happy one for all of you. Remember you all have family here at Callahan's. Jen -- "I can't -- I have rehearsal." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jennifer Doyle // Princeton '92 // jmdoyle@phoenix.princeton.edu Disclaimer: I am a student, I represent the future. From richardt@mica.Berkeley.EDU Thu Nov 23 01:37:27 1989 From: richardt@mica.Berkeley.EDU (Richard Threadgill) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: L'Chaim Date: 22 Nov 89 23:48:15 GMT Distribution: alt Organization: /usr/gypsum/anableps/richardt/.organization Status: O A simple toast, an ancient toast. A toast for the joys of life and to the sorrows. L'Chaim. And now for soemthing completely different.. a bit o' hack philosophy, brought to you by Midgard: The Model: A concise description of the way the world should work, and often does. The Model 1 People will always do nice things for you. This should cause you to desire to do nice things for people. 2 What is needed will be provided. Note: Your definition of need and the Universe's may not match. 3 Stupidity is not necessarily fatal. 4 Why For? Moreover, Why Not? 5 Justice IS. 6 Existence can be experienced but not proven. If subjected to logic, You WILL disappear. 7 Lonely is being afraid to think. 8 Security is having a place where you want to go. 9 Goal is unimportant, only method. 10 The difference between an ostrich and a human: The ostrich can't tell the difference. We may all be ostriches. 11 The Universe is an Ostrich. 12 There may be a Supreme Ostrich. Amen 13 Should you wish to remove someone from the universe, begin with yourself. 14 Humor is necessary. 15 The Universe is a place to live. End of Covenant. 16 Just because you think so and I think so doesn't mean that we think so. 17 You control your environment. Some people do this better than others. You will be held accountable for it regardless. Responsibility is. 18 Thought is invisible; Actions are not. 19 When between a rock and a hard place, eat strawberries. 20 Pleasantries are always important. Have a banana. 21 Here there be thorns. 22 You can't win, you can't break even, you can't quit the game, and you can't change the rules -- unless you choose to. Don't get Caught. 23 Elegance is Simplicity. 24 Loving humanity tends to be a good idea. You don't have to like or take care of anyone. 25 Walking on water is easier if you know how to swim. 26 You didn't get here first, and neither did I. It's been done. 27 Homicide is a bad idea, even if Murder is a good idea. Aesthetics vary. 28 2 + 2 = 5. Reasoning involves finding the other 1. 29 All's well that ends. 30 Twelve was not enough. 31 Entropy does not require your support. Game over, it won. 32 Learn Today! Tomorrow may be too late! 33 Similar environments produce similar people. Similar people produce similar environments. You are unique, so are they, but anyone can be replaced. 34 Always keep in mind the fact that someone, somewhere is laughing at you this very minute. 35 TAG -- Valentine Michael Smith 36 You, I, and they may be wrong. In fact, now that you mention it, we probably are. 37 This list is vague, self-contradictory, incomplete, and inaccurate. Still I believe. With Apologies to: Robert Anson Heinlein Richard Bach R. Buckminster Fuller Moses Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Judas Mohammed Lao Tzu Prince Siddhartha Gautama And Others . . . And grudging respect for the current compilers: A.I.R R.S.T L.J.F J.L.H M. .S J. .K B. .B L. .M Enjoy, tear holes in, give copies to your friends... See you all on the Nets, or at least on IRC RichardT From haste+@andrew.cmu.edu Thu Nov 23 01:37:27 1989 From: haste+@andrew.cmu.edu (Dani Zweig) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Colored Lights Date: 23 Nov 89 01:09:11 GMT Organization: Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Status: O "Sometimes I wonder whether you're in the business of selling drinks or of selling glass." The slight man by the bar was a study in brownish: hair colored hair, eye colored eyes, clothes of various muddy or neutral shades. "Okay, I'd like a brandy and a vodka, please." Mike took the two bills and handed over the drinks with no comment beyond those made by his eyebrows. The fire whooshed up, startling the patrons who hadn't noticed the glasses' underhand arcs towards the fireplace. "Dani," Mike's voice was quiet, but slightly pained, "you're supposed to *drink* them first." "Well, brandy tastes like soap. And vodka is best used on cuts and bruises. They do make a nice blue flame, though -- particularly the brandy; the vodka is too 'bunsen-burner'. Do you have any powdered copper?" Mike handed the pyrotechnician a large cranberry juice. "The fact that you got both those drinks into the fireplace without drenching half the room strongly suggests to me that someone's granted you three wishes. (I've seen you throw things before.) So if you want powdered copper, why don't you use up your third wish to get it? *I'm* in the business of selling drinks, not scrap metal." Dani paid his dollar and walked slowly to the line, sipping all but the last inch of the juice. "Then here's wishing that you all return from your holidays renewed -- and ready to tackle something new." The glass sailed, spinning, into the fireplace, spattering the half dozen people who were sitting within six feet of its path. ----- Dani Zweig haste@andrew.cmu.edu Roses red and violets blew and all the sweetest flowres that in the forrest grew -- Edmund Spenser From t-phils@microsoft.UUCP Thu Nov 23 01:37:27 1989 From: t-phils@microsoft.UUCP (the Renaissance Man) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Inspired by Tom Leherer ... (a toast) Date: 23 Nov 89 00:18:01 GMT Reply-To: t-phils@microsoft.UUCP (the Renaissance Man) Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA Keywords: a toast Status: O Zachary Frey writes: | | To peace, freedom, and human dignity everywhere! May it happen in my | time, and if not then, in my children's time. | | Seconded! And may it come before the damned politicians have screwed things up too much more... -- Phil Stracchino | Knight of the Ancient and Honorable Order Renaissance Man at Large | of the Rampant Turtle t-phils@microsoft.UUCP | "A Good Knight is Hard to Find" uunet!microsoft!t-phils | Not just a .signature - a way of life.... From usenet@cps3xx.UUCP Thu Nov 23 01:37:28 1989 From: usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Right to feel bad (was Re: Toast) Date: 23 Nov 89 03:28:59 GMT Reply-To: frey@frith.egr.msu.edu (Zachary Frey) Organization: Michigan State University, College of Engineering Status: O In article <11664@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> jwbirdsa@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (James Webster Birdsall) writes: > "So, what right do I have to feel bad when I've got more than many >people will ever have? The right that it is your life. It is hard to compare pains, since they are so often apples and oranges. There is a danger I see in the "what right do I have to feel bad about " sentiment -- it can be used to dismiss a problem, instead of dealing with it. It can also lead to some pretty bad emotional vicious circles. "I feel awful about my poor grades this term." "But look at all the things I've got going for me. I'm *supposed* to be happier than this." "Now I feel bad about feeling bad about my grades." "Oh, feeling sorry for yourself, are you -- you pathetic little sh*t!" etc. This is a bad trip -- I know, I've been there. And I'd rather not see anyone else go that route. > "And thus it is that I toast life: I may not like it, but it could >surely be worse!" Amen. Apparant contradiction time: It's good to recognize what is going right, and what benefits we have. I know that, for all my (very real) pains and frustrations, I am more lucky than I deserve. I have a loving family, good friends, good health, good education, and enough money to get by, with many essential luxuries. Zach Papernet: Zachary Frey | frey@frith.egr.msu.edu | Usenet: the 514 Virginia St. | frey@frith.BITNET | Bellman's E. Lansing, MI 48823 | ...uunet!frith!frey | Paradise. From hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM Sun Nov 26 02:42:47 1989 From: hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: A Toast! Date: 22 Nov 89 22:29:55 GMT Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcb.tti.com (The Polymath) Organization: The Cat Factory Status: O The quiet man in the corner joins the conversation ... In article <1989Nov21.023158.25275@rpi.edu> hammer@pawl.rpi.edu (James A. Damour) writes: } Ah agree w/ whomever it was who wanted to stay in college forever. ... }... I LOVE school, its only the work I hate. An attitude after mine own heart. I just can't figure out how to make a living at it. I suppose I could teach ... } Ah do wonder about two things, however... why does this newsgroup }atract so many students w/ low self esteems and no alcoholic tendencies? Speaking for myself, I lost the alcoholic tendencies when I found and raised my self-esteem. Good thing, too. I don't think I've got many spare brain cells left (that's another story ... ). I quit drinking for good when I went back to school -- needed a clear head for study (hmmm, better make that _no_ spare brain cells left (-: ). It was a major blessing when really good non-alcoholic beers started appearing on the market. I'm one of the few people I know who drank because I liked the taste of good booze. Now, if they could just make a non-alcoholic scotch ... (-: (Hey! This _is_ Callahan's. _Anything's_ possible. Uh ... Mike? (-: (-: ) }... We love }you as you are, warts and all. It hurts us for you to put yourself down. }We are here to support you, but we can't hold you up if you don't help. }... we in alt.callahans can help }you do this if you don't think you can do it alone. Umm ... have you got a mouse in your pocket? (-: (No, I'm not prying, but all those "we"s do imply ...) Back to the corner chair, clutching my non-alcoholic scotch in sheer delight and wonderment. (-: -- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, hollombe@ttidca.tti.com) Illegitimis non Citicorp(+)TTI Carborundum 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. (213) 452-9191, x2483 Santa Monica, CA 90405 {csun|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe