Glad you're taking the time off, Billy-boy. Much as those of us here in "the collective"--assimilated or otherwise--might selfishly whine 'n moan as the lack of any new News, that willl be more than suitably offset by the knowledge that you're getting some much-deserved downtime, mon ami. Bonne vacances! :::consider yourself hugged & presented with an immense, spiritual Yoo-hoo::: <---maybe the rhetorical opposite of the "karmic bitch slap" my friend Deb spoke of?

And Ernst, I thought that political activism mail asked some very good questions (jeez, even the spam in Canada is superior to ours! Though that's admittedly a 'one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind' sorta proposition), but like you, I can't vote for le Bloc Quebecois...or for that matter, neither can I cast a ballot for the Marijuana Party, nor any other, just because of that annoying little fact of my honorary Canadian citizenship (est. June 1996) not giving me the right to actually vote, or take advantage of the socialized medicine, or anything. Details!

So much for throwing in my non-Maudite-enhanced, only-semi-maudlin 'n tarnished two cents (btw Zef, with customs permitting, I'll be sending you an assortment of Coinage From Foreign Lands--it's a cheap world after all...) Still, that spam is a significant improvement over alla bleats from moveon.org that continually clog up my mailbox...