<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Feb 26, 2007, at 2:54 PM, Rick Florence wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy; color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; ">And some of us choose to deal with it by having the parts on hand.</SPAN><O:P style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>Well, I have the parts on hand and they are a luxury that is literally rusting away in the cabinet. I've bought other parts over the years that I've kept on hand for repairs, only for them to ruin waiting to be used.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#0B0881" face="Arial" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13.3px;">Sounds like the real answer is to work on the funding issue, as I’m sure there are many “lotteries” and other sundry items you would like to address.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#0B0881" face="Arial" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13.3px;"> </SPAN></FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></P></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><DIV>No kidding. Isn't that the issue everywhere, though, but at different levels? Especially in the smaller schools where just getting funding for tunings is a struggle. I'm just not sure I agree it is necessary to spend money in advance to have a complete set of bass strings on hand that will only fit one instrument when there are completely legitimate alternative means that cost less. I thought the criticism of Wim not having them was unfair for that reason. It is easy to say what the "correct" thing to do is, until you're dealing with a different budget situation.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>