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Paulson, that is. I've just finished a book on the collapse of Lehman Brothers which the author believes Paulson himself could have saved as he did Bear, Stearns. His analogies are ones he lived and they seem to be pretty good ones. There is little doubt that there will be disruptions in the energy sector and, as was the case in the financial sector in 2008, there will be some companies that make it and some that don't. The book likewise points out that some well-managed companies did take steps to limit their exposure to toxic financial risk and made it through to the other side, many with government "help". Whether they wanted it ot not. I expect there are, today, companies that are watching their energy portfolios too, making sure they can survive the necessary changes, and it sounds like that's what Paulson wants. Good for him.

A company that can't cover the actual costs of its emissions should be out of business. To stay in business, it will either have to raise the price of its presently 'low-cost' toxic energy and/or it will have to transition to 'more expensive' cleaner energy. Paulsen is merely recommending that costs be more accurately assigned. If that doesn't happen, and soon, we'll all pay much higher costs to repair the damage. Assuming that's even possible.

Here comes the Americano with all those boys. Must be versàtil. I never saw so many revolutions.

I'll let you kiss me on the heath, But not until you brush your teeth.

Well, Hito, please feel free to pick out the bed of your dreams, as I said 'your' honeymoon and not 'our' honeymoon. As I've enjoyed you shopping it around over the years, my guess has always been that your honeymoon bed would be piled to the canopy with doting husbands, while mine would be something a bit more comfortable.

I counted 'em earlier, just to see if progress had been made. I had got eighteen before the error box went up. Not bad at all! Then I signed out for a while and when I came back later I got number nineteen through, but couldn't get to twenty. I'm not sure what kind of work order OZ wrote up for the programmers, but I have a hunch he should have run it through another spell check. PS: Don't usually run into a problem with limits, but today has a bunch of good stuff.

Thanks ever so! Just signed out and back in again, and eked out one more. Who knows what the evening has in store. Besides, shouldn't you save some 'likes' for your honeymoon?

At long sweet last the denouement, and here I am out of 'likes' for the day. Ah well, back tomorrow with another widow's mite. In the meantime, thanks for the laughs guys!

I'm in, as long as you don't mind my borrowing your most excellent phrase from time to time. Don't have much to offer in return except my 'prawn in the game of life' cognomen, but your welcome to it!

Whether a truckload or a bucketful, I'm pretty sure I'd start out with nice warm water, throw in a little ice at the last minute, and start the video just as it begins to melt. Doesn't mean I wouldn't make a donation, and challenge others to do the same, but I don't see the requirement to actually freeze my ass off. Have I been jaded by the Hollywood special effects guys?

Someone in this reum knows more than he is telling.

Good gosh, AdamSmith! You show a self-awareness few can match. I kind of remember the original riddle. Something to do with folks wishing for one another's blessings? All I could think of was looking for a word meaning "the grass is always greener". I petered out early on and, if it was a wild goose chase, did not meander after the gander. If you did, I can understand your pique. Perhaps this one is a draw and MsGuy will have another challenge for us?

If anybody ever gets to the bottom of this kerfuffle, I sure hope they'll post it here. I can't even figure out who started it.. . . . . . .. .Too bad there aren't any tapes.

By far, LaWanda Page was my favorite character on that show. While she was generally after Fred with that pocketbook, my funniest memory is her running another woman out of the room, waving her purse and yelling, "Her behind belongs to me!" Went to see her at a local university when she was getting up there in years, and she was still funny as hell. She began by thanking all the white men in the audience for showing black men they needed to learn to eat pussy if they wanted to stay in the game. Funny woman!

Keep 'em coming!

If that opening chart shows anything, I think it's the danger of sticking to a single substance. If one took a more balanced approach and imbibed a third of each of the three, say four or five shots, two liters of water, and forty cups of coffee, this would track pretty close to a typical evening during Finals Week.

Hmm, this is tougher than I thought.

Natural and artificial cock flavors? No doubt with hints of silicone and phthalates.

What'll we do tonight, sweetie, stay at home? No, I've got a frightful cough, let's go to the theatre! I can understand his hooking up with the Marx Brothers!

. . . and 'lapidary'! adj: (of language) engraved on or suitable for engraving on stone and therefore elegant and concise.

All delightful! Thank you. . . . INTERVIEWER How many drafts of a story do you do? PERELMAN Thirty-seven. I once tried doing thirty-three, but something was lacking, a certain—how shall I say?—je ne sais quoi. On another occasion, I tried forty-two versions, but the final effect was too lapidary—you know what I mean, Jack? What the hell are you trying to extort—my trade secrets? INTERVIEWER . . . merely to get some clue to the way you work. PERELMAN With the grocer sitting on my shoulder. The only thing that matters is the end product, which must have brio—or, as you Italians put it, vivacity. . . .

Even though my hiring is usually for an hour or two, and usually based on physical attributes, there have been a few escorts I've hired based in part on their comments on the Board. I'm not looking for a 'boyfriend experience', but someone who seems like a really nice person can definitely move me to pick up the phone and make a call. Conversely, there have been a couple of times when I've thought about hiring someone and was turned off by unpleasant posts. So, from a purely business standpoint, I think it can go either way. If I were a moody escort, I'd make a note not to post when I was in a bad mood. If I were a personable escort, I'd be more inclined to post but, even then, things can take an unexpected turn. But I also think there are other than business reasons for an escort to post here. Venting, getting info, offering tips, having fun, sharing experiences, all the things that all other posters enjoy, escorts may also enjoy. Why shouldn't escorts be made to feel welcome on the Board, as long as they are also welcoming? Of course, whether or not they choose to post under their escort name is another kettle of fish entirely.

Had I the slightest inkling you would consider assuming such a lofty responsibility, my humble idea would have been stillborn and I'd have begun truckling without surcease. Just as Rock Stars need their roadies, All good Rectors need their toadies. Yes, on further thought, my starting numbers should likely be doubled. Time-outs should not be easy and, just as you say, OZ could tinker to get the Board he wants.

OK, here's another thought: How about letting the software do it? With an occasional human override, of course. I've noticed under my profile there's a box called 'warning points'. Everyone else seems to have that box too, although I've never seen anything other than '0' there for anybody. What about activating that box and giving every active poster the ability to issue a warning point to anyone who irks them? Warning points would accumulate for a day and be reset to '0' at midnight. Five warning points from five different posters in a day would get someone timed out for a week. Ten warning points from ten different posters would get someone timed out for a month. When the time-out expired, the warning point box would be reset to '0' and the process would begin again. While the basic process would be controlled by the software, OZ could, when he lands somewhere with internet access, look at those who have been timed out and bring them back in if he chooses to do so. If he's OK with the results, he lets them stand. In my opinion, a process like this would put the onus where it belongs: any poster who wants to remain part of the Board would figure out what it takes to avoid a bunch of warning points and behave accordingly. I don't think this is a whole lot different from the way we socialize children or pets. The penalties are clear and reliably dished out based on behavior, and there's an incentive to learn how to get along with others. And, if someone is here just to punch someone else in the nose, s/he wouldn't be able to make a lengthy career of it. And, happily for everyone else, there wouldn't be endless threads about it. Of course, there could be a situation where five posters gang up on someone and keep him/her timed out a week at a time for good. But OZ would see who those folks are and, if they're abusing the system, he could take away their ability to issue warning points. When he gets somewhere with internet access, that is. I think the recent influx of new posters was an aberration and the good news is that many of them are sticking around and contributing to a better Board. But, sadly, it seemed as if a small number of those posters came here to try to stink things up. I'm pretty sure that the worst of them would have been timed out almost immediately. Even then, depending on the number of folks they pissed off while they were here, they could have had another shot at fitting in within a week. And, most important, the process of rude-feeding-off-of-rude would never have taken hold. This may be a lousy idea and I'm sure others will have better ones. And, of course, I've overlooked the most important issue of how much the Moderator position pays. I sure don't want to get behind a software system that would deprive anyone of a comfortable second income.