[TAG] rhubarb

[Ben Okopnik]

On Fri, Mar 19, 2004 at 11:26:33AM -0700, Jason Creighton wrote:
> > > Ben Okopnik <ben at callahans.org> wrote:
> > 
> > That should give you a clew. :)
> 
> Heh heh, it does. I should have realized that you were making some
> subtle pun that goes right over the heads of poor persons like myself
> who do not have a dictionary OR nuclear weapons. (Because if you have
> nukes, it doesn't matter if you get the joke. You just smile grimly, say
> "that's not funny" and push the Big Red Button.)
 
It's the Nuclear Rule: he who has the nukes makes the rules. Apt to get
you in trouble with snipers and such, though (I've been whupping some of
the local boat kids playing Halo on their X-Box at the marina. The
sniper rifle can indeed be mightier than the tank. :) Power imbalances
just _beg_ for equalization...

> > Sheesh, Jason - you're your own toughest critic.
> 
> "If I don't degrade myself, who will? Sometimes you have to stand in the
> gap!"
>                 -- Me, tounge in cheek, on being told something similar.
 
Degradation, graceful or otherwise, is only for _testing,_ dear boy. You
do a regression series, then bring the system back to its pre-test state
- not leave it degraded.

(Regression testing failure, in case y'all haven't heard, is the
elephant that Micr0s0ft is currently trying to get the public to
swallow. They released a batch of patches to deal with the latest
"security threats" and several other issues besides; then, they had to
release a larger batch of patches to patch the patches when these things
brought down large numbers of their victims^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hclients'
machines. Watch for batches of patches to patch the patch-patching
patches in the future, growing logarithmically...)

> Yeah, I am a little hard on myself. The main thing I'm refering to there
> is that I find it hard to admit that I don't have a valid point. So when
> someone points this out, I feel the need to argue in circles for a
> couple of posts before finally admitting it. 
 
   In a previous article, longword at newsguy.com said:
   > Unless you count an ellipsis with an extra period, which would be
   > being spectacularly pedantic.
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   
   Welcome to Usenet.  Have a nice day.
    -- Paul Tomblin

Welcome to TAG. If you get too annoying, we'll send our resident
logicians, Guido and Luca, to your house to elucidate a few of the finer
points. Guido even has a cousin who's a patella reattachment specialist,
and will leave his card nailed where you're *guaranteed* not to miss it.

> >    [I'm] trying to figure out how to carry a grudge, but I can't find the
> >    handles.
> >     -- Ryk, in a.p.
> 
> Printers don't come with printer cables, and grudges don't come with
> handles. However, with a little practice, holding them becomes quite
> easy, and the trick is in the letting go.

Avoiding that sort of practice is very important, then... I've been
dodging it, and similar things, for most of my life; cleaning off the
residue from when they manage to catch up is a nasty, difficult job. One
worth doing, though.


* Ben Okopnik * okopnik.freeshell.org * Technical Editor, Linux Gazette *
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