<html> <body> Dear Billster - Clearly, the character of this list is defined by the quality and articulateness of its participants.  Your absence has been noteworthy.  The question you leave unanswered is whether you can envision a repair to the problems that have driven some from the list, which would leave the basic nature of the list intact?  Or do you believe that what we have is the best we can hope for?  David Skolnik  RPT Hastings-On-Hudson Actually, I just realized something.  It's not your piano-related comments I missed at all...it's the book and film quotes at the end.  Maybe we could have a separate, moderated list, just for sign-offs. (0 I --)  At 10:05 PM 3/22/2003 -0500, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Dear List, I've been off on a walkabout, for forty days and forty nights. During that time, I've simply read the daily traffic, but restrained myself from posting. During this time, the list was filled with priceless technical information, and the sharing thereof. Being reminded daily of what was good about this list, what really made me miss it was not being able to add to it. Not just the OTs and the barking of the yard dog, but threads which were missing what I had to offer. I also sized up the extent to which this list had become my social life, and I certainly didn't miss saying stupid or impulsive stuff. But it has been an extremely difficult exercise, holding my tongue in any of the old ways in which I might have participated on this list. I don't particularly know of anyone else on the list who has done this. I can name plenty of good people who have left this list for good. But it sure taught me how much I missed this list. It also told me that most of us can survive the dumb stuff which goes on here (should we forget about the recent Amerigo Vespucci side show?). Further, that among those are some very talented and knowledgeable people whose thoughts I want to hear on a daily basis. I'm not sure why anyone else would want to try a 40 day vow of silence. But should you do, I highly recommend it. The list will still be there: you can read it every day. And with each near miss in restraining yourself from an inappropriate post, you will see that someone filled the breach with their own inappropriateness. And you realize that there but for the grace of your own self-restraint, there go you. The genuine contributions? Well they'll just have wait until your walkabout is done. (FWIW, "Forty Days and Forty Nights" is a great movie, if you need reminding about what it's like to be young and drunk.) Bill Ballard RPT NH Chapter, P.T.G. "There's a difference between 'involved' and 'committed.' When providing ham and eggs for breakfast, the hen is involved. The pig is committed."     ...........(Milo Sturgis in Jonathan Kellerman's novel "Self-Defense") +++++++++++++++++++++ _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: <a href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" eudora="autourl">https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</a></blockquote></body> </html>