Tanks for the memories.

[Richard Lippincott <rlippinc -at- BEV -dot- ETN -dot- COM>]

Having read Elaine Winter's original posting about U.S. tanks to Thailand,
and a few of the responses (yes, including one of my own), I see us about to
embark on another off-topic debate. Just for the record, I also have strong
opinions about the following:

   * Drug testing
   * US arms sales
   * Search and seizure
   * Abortion/abortion clinic protests

I've also got a strong opinion on the invasion of Haiti that we're going to
launch sometime between midnight tonight (9/16) and dawn tomorrow.

But, I'm not gonna post a message on the list telling you what those opinions
are. If you know what I think about these topics, it just may affect your
perception of my comments on tech writing issues. Unfortunately, -I'm- in
that position now. When I'm reading some comments, the first thing that comes
to mind is "Oh, that's the dummy that thinks eggs should be broken at the
small end. I'm not paying attention to that message." Some day, most likely,
I'll miss an important piece of information because of that attitude. Sad,
but true. I don't know how to overcome this.

True, this is a free country with guaranteed freedom of speech. I've told my
co-workers my opinions on some of those topics I mentioned above, at the
appropriate time. I didn't interrupt today's software engineering meeting to
voice those opinions, though. I bet a dollar no one on this list did anything
like that, either.

If you've got an opinion about Frame Vs. Ventura; contracting vs. permanent;
Mac vs. Windows, I'll read those all day long.As for other topics, there are
more appropriate places for non-tech writing discussions.

Rick Lippincott
I can send but not receive at work. Send personal comments to:
rjlippincott -at- delphi -dot- com