spaf@gatech.UUCP (10/09/83)
Okay friends, here's your chance. I need a new leadin for my
.signature file.
When I first joined the net many months ago, my .signature file
labelled things as from "The soapbox of Gene Spafford". The soapbox
served well for a long time, although some people wanted me to get off
of the soapbox (and the net). Then my advisor told me to get off the
soapbox and spend more time on my thesis work. He even mentioned
putting me in a straightjacket to keep me from typing in so many
items.
Well, at that point I decided to leave the soapbox and it became from
"The padded cell of Gene Spafford." This seemed more appropriate to
everybody (I got quite a bit of mail indicating that it confirmed
long-held suspicions).
Alas, the padded cell must go. I got mail yesterday from someone at
CMU who claims to have been in a padded cell before me, and that there
isn't enough room on the net for the both of us. I have always
believed that it is dangerous to argue with a looney, and therefore I
don't want this person to subject himself to a dangerous situation. I
won't argue with anyone who believes they should be in a padded cell
and I shouldn't; besides, they give me pointed objects to play with
here.
So, where do all of you come in? I'm throwing open a "give Gene an
appropriate signature line" contest. I'll be off the net for over a
week attending the SOSP conference and returning to Vega to renew my
library books (the Vegan library police shoot first and collect fines
later). During that time please send your suggestions for a
replacement for "The padded cell of..." as MAIL. Shortly after I
return, I'll come up with a new leadin and summarize the best
suggestions to net.jokes. Prizes will be awarded, although they may be
restricted to virtual prizes. Truly abusive suggestions are also
cheerfully accepted but you should realize I may very well forward them
on to /dev/bit-bucket.
So, act now and I'll thrown in, absolutely free, a bamboo steamer
basket. Mail your suggestion, along with a check or money order, to:
--
Gene Spafford
School of ICS, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA
CSNet: Spaf @ GATech ARPA: Spaf.GATech @ UDel-Relay
uucp: ...!{akgua,allegra,rlgvax,sb1,unmvax,ut-ngp,ut-sally}!gatech!spaf