<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; =
charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2722" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY
style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
khtml-line-break: after-white-space"
bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=1>
<P>Jeff Tanner:</P>
<P>"What is business, after all? An exchange of a service for money? If =
that is
what we have come to, then that is a really sad indication of where we =
are as a
society."</P>
<P>Yes, an exchange of services for money is *exactly* what a business =
is.
Getting paid for performing a service is "sad"? I can think of far, far =
sadder
situations :-). (I know you really mean something else, but then so did =
I in
your less than charitable interpretation.)</P>
<P>Of course, conducting business successfully doesn't preclude other =
kinds of
exchanges, but exchanging service/products for money is its essential
characteristic. My complaint about compulsive talkers, or what I call
"compulsive self-pontificators," is addressed to those whose =
loquaciousness
interferes with conducting business, not to those with whom one is =
enjoying a
friendly conversation (incidentally, the compulsive talkers are usually =
the
least interesting, in part because they're really aiming to have a =
monologue,
not a conversation). </P>
<P>I'm reminded of the old movie, "Mr. Blanding Builds His Dreamhouse," =
where
Gary Grant is consulting with an architect about the design of his =
house, and
won't let the architect get a word in edgewise. The results were risibly =
predictable.</P>
<P>Jeff O.</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>