This is SO much the point that I have to make a note of it. I agree with many of the other comments that this author writes overblown and intentionally obfuscated text, probably because they were trained that way.
However.
We who inhabit/. are usually the people who have been involved with the 'digital ocean' for all our lives, or at least most of them. If you grew up on one coast or another of the USA (or probably other places as well), you probably didn't ever think about how VAST that body of water sitting next to you is. When a farmboy from Oklahoma walks over a sand dune for the first time, and sees a never-ending plane of water out in front of them, though, their stomach drops to their knees, and jaw sags. This is the epiphany John Campbell is talking about. A sudden recognition that your world is fundamentally different this moment than the last.
We who grew up with or have always been part of this ocean don't understand. Some people who don't recognize this tend to make fun of or 'flame' people who are finding our 'world' for the first time. (Laughing at the 'yokels'...) To jump back, I found that when I looked into the eyes of that farmboy from Oklahoma, and saw the awe there, that I never looked at the ocean the same again. I put myself in his place for a moment, and saw the ocean with his eyes, and gained a little piece of that epiphany for myself.
We need to do that more often.
Yes, this particular author is wordy, and needs to re-read (if they ever read originally!) Strunk and White's Elements of Style, and Katz can be equally overblown, but there's a kernel of value to both of them. They provide us with an opportunity to gain a little piece of the mind-blowing experience of finding our world for the first time. It'll never be life-changing like it is for them for us, at least not with the online world, but we can get a little feeling of what it's like from them.
Sometimes, just sometimes, there's an overlooked (or assumed to us) fact in what they say that makes us nod. "Right, yeah, that's a pretty core concept. I've always known that, but I've never put it into words myself..." we think. This isn't to be sneered at, even if you have to wade through pages of purple prose to get to that point. Certainly, a better author would be able to get to the point quicker. (Clearly, based on this comment, I am not said better author!;) ) However, a better author might have a heavier veneer of cynicism, though, and not be able to see or accept the intensity of the experience.
In summary, I intensely dislike the writing style, but there ARE nuggets of gold insight lying in those purple passages.
Greetings, Bruce, you once commented about how you were trying to avoid sounding catty. I've been reasonably impressed with your ability to do that on this issue (with only a few exceptions), but this is just a poke to note that you didn't need to say that quite like that. You could just have easily said 'Trolltech' instead of 'the Trolls'.
Greetings, Y'know, in reading the responses here, it's almost frightening how many other people have said, or shown by knowledge, that they are PSX programmers... I'm one also, fwiw.
Greetings, No argument... SOLID keyboards. Everyone looks at me like I'm nuts for hunting for ancient keyboards, but they don't have the soft MUSHY feel that most keyboards now have, AND they don't have the damn Windows keys.
Now if only someone would make a laptop with a keyboard like that...
(Or one of the 'ergo' keyboards with a full-click... That might be interesting.)
>Right now, he's working to make Emacs into a full-fledged user-friendly word processor.
I doubt that.
RMS has been more than a little bit vocal about not caring a whit about whether free software is user-friendly. It is, in fact, one of my biggest aggravations with him. In fact, I believe that the split between Emacs and XEmacs was partially over that very thing. The XEmacs team seemed to move a lot more towards making it a really usable, user-friendly, GUI-oriented program. This stuck in RMS's craw, and thus the code forked. If the details are different, I'd love it if someone would enlighten me. That seems to have been the way of it, though...
Beyond that, I don't actually know the percentage of his work that went into the currently used GNU Emacs. Certainly he wrote the original, but that's not what you're using now.
As for GCC I have no idea, and given the complexity of quality compiler design and RMS's background, it's only marginally possible.
YOU MUST SEPERATE THE FSF CODE FROM RMS'S OWN CODE. The Free Software Foundation is NOT RMS only.
I'm not putting him down much (except that I think he's close-minded about UI, a techno-elitist, and an extremist, but that's nothing new), but all that stuff is not RMS's. He's a brilliant programmer, no argument, but he hasn't worked alone on any of that. In fact I've never used a single piece of software that RMS solely wrote, or even wrote the majority of alone. Bet you haven't either. (The same, of course, can be said of Bill Gates...)
Linus, on the other hand, is MUCH more laid back and understands that there's (1) more to life than what license you use, and (2) good to be found in developing software that anyone in the world can use. He also comprehends product management while keeping technically on top of everything in a way that I haven't seen ANYONE else match.
If I had to choose between the two for some weird reason, then I would pick Linus, because I believe that extremists are always wrong, no matter how much I agree with them otherwise.
Greetings, Woof. This is exactly it. I started using Linux because I didn't have the cash to lay out for a Minix book. I knew what the GPL was, and I didn't CARE. What mattered was that I enjoyed getting my hands dirty in something new.
The truth is that the programmers, the people who actually write code, don't care about these licenses. They want to program, not play petty political battles and get their faces on Fortune.
The most powerful revolutions are not made with trademarks, licenses, and whining. They are made through action, and action that is to the point. The best argument for free software is itself. The quality, flexibility, stability, and power of the software.
Stick to your guns, and code your heads off, make it open under whatever license you prefer, let the zealots froth with their ideologies. They always do.
Remember this important clue: If you're a fanatic, you're always wrong, no matter what side you're on.
As it is, I'm VERY much tempted to release ANY program I write as a library, with a 'sample program' which is the actual application, but all the functionality is in the library code, and LGPL it all. That way if anyone wants to use the code and change it, they can modify and recompile my library and provide that as source, but not their own applications. Promotes free software, AND is useful in the Real World. Sweet!
That's my basic goal, and I at least would encourage everyone to do that. Make your programs entirely modular, build them as a library, and provide your 'actual' application as a 'sample'.
Unfortunately, the INCREDIBLE popularity of Linux and the licensing that went along with it (that being GPL) has made it possible for people to try to carve out more than their 15 minutes of fame. I feel that Bruce Perens falls into that category, along with innumerable others.
This is *NOT* about freedom. This is NOT about the GPL vs. the QPL vs. the NPL, etc. This is about face value. Bruce Perens wants it, everyone *BUT* Linus seems to want it.
Linus kicks back with his wife and kids and seems to realize that there's more to life.
What's better, Bruce Perens *AND* ESR haven't done anything near what Linus has done to promote FREE Software. In essence the EXISTENCE of Linux has made huge numbers of developers realize that Free Software exists and is viable and valuable.
I won't say that of RMS, he's The Man. I wouldn't invite him to speak at anything CLOSE to a commercial event, but he has my respect. (I still wince whenever I read his diatribes, though, and I REFUSE to wrap my lips around that abomination 'GNU/Linux'.)
Bruce Perens reminds me of what I used to call a 'short-timer'. The programmer who wants to be a programmer for a few years, and then get into management because that's where the real power is. See how he pushes what he's 'done' in the past, to try and ingratiate himself with developers? This is a trick every new manager I've ever had has tried, 'Hey, I wrote 3D software for a while...' It's bullshit. What are you doing NOW? Playing politics is his answer...
In any case, the thing that bothers me is that he's gone to *ANOTHER* organization. I don't give a damn that he's quitting, but I DON'T WANT HIM TO PRETEND TO REPRESENT THE DEVELOPERS ON OPEN SOURCE.
I don't want ANYONE short of RMS to do that, and I don't REALLY want RMS doing it either, because he'll just turn people off. (AND he's against making the computer easy to use for non-programmers, because all he cares is about the techno-elite (which we here probably mostly belong to, but it's still stinks)). I'd say Linus, but he's too smart to want to do that. (Reminds me of election politics. You don't want anyone dumb enough to want the job doing it.)
Let's all say it together: WE DON'T NEED BRUCE PERENS OR THE OSI OR THE SPI FOR OPEN SOURCE *OR* FREE SOFTWARE TO SUCCEED! These groups should just close their doors, apologize to the people who they messed with, and get on with their own lives. Or better still, start CONTRIBUTING again. The single best argument for free software is its existence. Every minute you spend arguing for it is another minute you could have been PROVING rather than debating or puffing up your chest.
Parasites, all of them. Bloody parasites on the side of the ACTUAL programmers who are working every day to provide good software. DAMN that makes me MAD.
Greetings, D'oh! My problem exactly! Please tell me if you find a solution to that... Using the ftp-ish Samba client to transfer files bites! (Geez, you'd think they'd at LEAST include 'readline' support in it!)
Greetings, When 2.2.1 came out I'd JUST installed my first post 0.12 version of Linux off of a RedHat 5.2 CD. So I followed the directions, got all the necessary upgrades as per the upgrade pages, recompiled the kernel, upgraded everything to a new glibc, etc., etc... And Samba stopped working.
I had gotten it configured and working perfectly under the stock RH5.2 config, my home NT box was seeing itself as part of the Linux machines network, the two were mounting each other in a veritable orgy of internetworking, and all was right with the internal net.
Now I get a mount version error...? (Says it needs Mount version 6 or something? Linux box is at home, I'm at work.) I upgraded to Samba 2.0.2 and it didn't fix it. My *GUESS* is that something changed in an internal version number in the kernel and something of mine didn't get upgraded... (OR the default 'make install' type command for Samba 2.0.2 doesn't install into the same spot as the RH5.2 rpms...!)
Any clues from the clueful slashdotters? For what it's worth, I can use the SMBFTP-type program to connect between them and transfer files, but that's just UnPleasant compared to transparent file communication.
Thanks muchly!
Cyberfox
p.s. To those who would say 'Ditch NT, go to Linux only!' Yes, I need NT at home. How ELSE can I develop Java 1.2 applications right now...? C'mon Blackdown, get on the case! If I had a 1.2 JVM, I'd be that hair away from being all Linux.
Greetings, Well, I'm running a PalmPilot (Pro!) w/ 8MB of main and 2MB of Flash (the TRG XL expansion), so the new memory doesn't do anything for me... The thinness is keen, but not worthy of upgrading.
But why no CompactFlash adapter?!? It'd fit with the size, it'd allow infinite (or near such!) expandability (heaven forfend the IBM CF-II drives at 360MB in a Pilot...!), and it's Just Good Tech!
In any case, the ONLY reason I'd consider getting a new Pilot is the IR capabilities, but I just don't see another $300 worth of capability in any of these 'upgrades'.
Pity. Maybe if someone ported Linux to the WinCE machines they'd be usable. THAT would be a blast! In the mean time, I'm over 4MB used in my Pilot, not including the extra MB stored in my Flash. If the new Pilots don't support the TRG memory cards then it's going to have to be one heck of an incredible upgrade. (Color, CF-II, IR, and thin together might just do it though...)
If you're not a pilot owner yet, though, these new models are SWEET, and I do highly recommend them. (I admit, I only wish I'd gotten the black IBM Palm Pro. For pure style reasons...)
Let's see, I have personally 'converted' three non-geek females to definite-geek fems so far, and I'm sure I'll convert more. Just doing my part for the other geek guys out there. (Well, and increasing the percentage of computer-literate friends I surround myself with, of course...!)
They're not VERY geeky (one's QA/development for Microsoft (*sigh*, it's a living I guess), one does database programming, and the other is still in high school, but working on web pages and Javascript in her spare time. All three are currently happily involved with other geeks, and wouldn't even consider non-geek SOs anymore though. (In the interests of disclosure, I dated one after I brought her to geekdom, and am still close friends with all three.)
It's really not that difficult. Any female with a good head on their shoulders can be a solid geek, they just have to be shown it in a way that makes them feel comfortable doing it. I DO say female there, because I've found it's substantially harder to 'teach' a guy to become a geek, unless they already have an interest in it. I dunno why, but it's been my experience.
I believe that if your technical side is beyond a certain level of importance to you, that you will be absolutely miserable if you try to have more than a casual relationship with a dedicated non-geek.
I've also found that other geeks play fewer mindgames, which is a HUGE win.
If you find an SO who is relatively intelligent, it's not that hard to get them excited about computers. Especially if they are young enough for a career change to not be a huge threat to them. (Becoming a geek has often made people become bored about non-technical work, interestingly. Not ALWAYS, but often enough that I consider it a pattern.) It also has the added bonus that two geek salaries will easily double the national couples-income statistics... i.e... More toys!
Anyhow, V-day is over, and I wish all who were unable to celebrate this year happiness in the next!
Slashdot Mirror
Greetings,
/. are usually the people who have been involved with the 'digital ocean' for all our lives, or at least most of them. If you grew up on one coast or another of the USA (or probably other places as well), you probably didn't ever think about how VAST that body of water sitting next to you is. When a farmboy from Oklahoma walks over a sand dune for the first time, and sees a never-ending plane of water out in front of them, though, their stomach drops to their knees, and jaw sags. This is the epiphany John Campbell is talking about. A sudden recognition that your world is fundamentally different this moment than the last.
;) ) However, a better author might have a heavier veneer of cynicism, though, and not be able to see or accept the intensity of the experience.
I should be going to work, but...
This is SO much the point that I have to make a note of it. I agree with many of the other comments that this author writes overblown and intentionally obfuscated text, probably because they were trained that way.
However.
We who inhabit
We who grew up with or have always been part of this ocean don't understand. Some people who don't recognize this tend to make fun of or 'flame' people who are finding our 'world' for the first time. (Laughing at the 'yokels'...) To jump back, I found that when I looked into the eyes of that farmboy from Oklahoma, and saw the awe there, that I never looked at the ocean the same again. I put myself in his place for a moment, and saw the ocean with his eyes, and gained a little piece of that epiphany for myself.
We need to do that more often.
Yes, this particular author is wordy, and needs to re-read (if they ever read originally!) Strunk and White's Elements of Style, and Katz can be equally overblown, but there's a kernel of value to both of them. They provide us with an opportunity to gain a little piece of the mind-blowing experience of finding our world for the first time. It'll never be life-changing like it is for them for us, at least not with the online world, but we can get a little feeling of what it's like from them.
Sometimes, just sometimes, there's an overlooked (or assumed to us) fact in what they say that makes us nod. "Right, yeah, that's a pretty core concept. I've always known that, but I've never put it into words myself..." we think. This isn't to be sneered at, even if you have to wade through pages of purple prose to get to that point. Certainly, a better author would be able to get to the point quicker. (Clearly, based on this comment, I am not said better author!
In summary, I intensely dislike the writing style, but there ARE nuggets of gold insight lying in those purple passages.
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
Bruce, you once commented about how you were trying to avoid sounding catty. I've been reasonably impressed with your ability to do that on this issue (with only a few exceptions), but this is just a poke to note that you didn't need to say that quite like that. You could just have easily said 'Trolltech' instead of 'the Trolls'.
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
Y'know, in reading the responses here, it's almost frightening how many other people have said, or shown by knowledge, that they are PSX programmers... I'm one also, fwiw.
Trippy. Offtopic, but trippy.
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
No argument... SOLID keyboards. Everyone looks at me like I'm nuts for hunting for ancient keyboards, but they don't have the soft MUSHY feel that most keyboards now have, AND they don't have the damn Windows keys.
Now if only someone would make a laptop with a keyboard like that...
(Or one of the 'ergo' keyboards with a full-click... That might be interesting.)
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
>...Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
ACK! Not at ALL...
It's: 'And it hurt none, do what thou wilt,' shall be the whole of the law!
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
BP writes:
> I'm more concerned with what I am doing...
I strongly hope it's something non-political, like coding new and amazing free software.
If so, I wish you all the luck in the world and look eagerly forward to seeing your further contributions.
If it is political once more, you will deserve no less than every scathing remark about you.
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
>Right now, he's working to make Emacs into a full-fledged user-friendly word processor.
I doubt that.
RMS has been more than a little bit vocal about not caring a whit about whether free software is user-friendly. It is, in fact, one of my biggest aggravations with him. In fact, I believe that the split between Emacs and XEmacs was partially over that very thing. The XEmacs team seemed to move a lot more towards making it a really usable, user-friendly, GUI-oriented program. This stuck in RMS's craw, and thus the code forked. If the details are different, I'd love it if someone would enlighten me. That seems to have been the way of it, though...
Beyond that, I don't actually know the percentage of his work that went into the currently used GNU Emacs. Certainly he wrote the original, but that's not what you're using now.
As for GCC I have no idea, and given the complexity of quality compiler design and RMS's background, it's only marginally possible.
YOU MUST SEPERATE THE FSF CODE FROM RMS'S OWN CODE. The Free Software Foundation is NOT RMS only.
I'm not putting him down much (except that I think he's close-minded about UI, a techno-elitist, and an extremist, but that's nothing new), but all that stuff is not RMS's. He's a brilliant programmer, no argument, but he hasn't worked alone on any of that. In fact I've never used a single piece of software that RMS solely wrote, or even wrote the majority of alone. Bet you haven't either. (The same, of course, can be said of Bill Gates...)
Linus, on the other hand, is MUCH more laid back and understands that there's (1) more to life than what license you use, and (2) good to be found in developing software that anyone in the world can use. He also comprehends product management while keeping technically on top of everything in a way that I haven't seen ANYONE else match.
If I had to choose between the two for some weird reason, then I would pick Linus, because I believe that extremists are always wrong, no matter how much I agree with them otherwise.
Cyberfox!
Greetings,
Woof. This is exactly it. I started using Linux because I didn't have the cash to lay out for a Minix book. I knew what the GPL was, and I didn't CARE. What mattered was that I enjoyed getting my hands dirty in something new.
The truth is that the programmers, the people who actually write code, don't care about these licenses. They want to program, not play petty political battles and get their faces on Fortune.
The most powerful revolutions are not made with trademarks, licenses, and whining. They are made through action, and action that is to the point. The best argument for free software is itself. The quality, flexibility, stability, and power of the software.
Stick to your guns, and code your heads off, make it open under whatever license you prefer, let the zealots froth with their ideologies. They always do.
Remember this important clue: If you're a fanatic, you're always wrong, no matter what side you're on.
Cyberfox!
I would love this.
As it is, I'm VERY much tempted to release ANY program I write as a library, with a 'sample program' which is the actual application, but all the functionality is in the library code, and LGPL it all. That way if anyone wants to use the code and change it, they can modify and recompile my library and provide that as source, but not their own applications. Promotes free software, AND is useful in the Real World. Sweet!
That's my basic goal, and I at least would encourage everyone to do that. Make your programs entirely modular, build them as a library, and provide your 'actual' application as a 'sample'.
Besides, it makes for good software engineering!
Cyberfox!
I agree.
Unfortunately, the INCREDIBLE popularity of Linux and the licensing that went along with it (that being GPL) has made it possible for people to try to carve out more than their 15 minutes of fame. I feel that Bruce Perens falls into that category, along with innumerable others.
This is *NOT* about freedom. This is NOT about the GPL vs. the QPL vs. the NPL, etc. This is about face value. Bruce Perens wants it, everyone *BUT* Linus seems to want it.
Linus kicks back with his wife and kids and seems to realize that there's more to life.
What's better, Bruce Perens *AND* ESR haven't done anything near what Linus has done to promote FREE Software. In essence the EXISTENCE of Linux has made huge numbers of developers realize that Free Software exists and is viable and valuable.
I won't say that of RMS, he's The Man. I wouldn't invite him to speak at anything CLOSE to a commercial event, but he has my respect. (I still wince whenever I read his diatribes, though, and I REFUSE to wrap my lips around that abomination 'GNU/Linux'.)
Bruce Perens reminds me of what I used to call a 'short-timer'. The programmer who wants to be a programmer for a few years, and then get into management because that's where the real power is. See how he pushes what he's 'done' in the past, to try and ingratiate himself with developers? This is a trick every new manager I've ever had has tried, 'Hey, I wrote 3D software for a while...' It's bullshit. What are you doing NOW? Playing politics is his answer...
In any case, the thing that bothers me is that he's gone to *ANOTHER* organization. I don't give a damn that he's quitting, but I DON'T WANT HIM TO PRETEND TO REPRESENT THE DEVELOPERS ON OPEN SOURCE.
I don't want ANYONE short of RMS to do that, and I don't REALLY want RMS doing it either, because he'll just turn people off. (AND he's against making the computer easy to use for non-programmers, because all he cares is about the techno-elite (which we here probably mostly belong to, but it's still stinks)). I'd say Linus, but he's too smart to want to do that. (Reminds me of election politics. You don't want anyone dumb enough to want the job doing it.)
Let's all say it together: WE DON'T NEED BRUCE PERENS OR THE OSI OR THE SPI FOR OPEN SOURCE *OR* FREE SOFTWARE TO SUCCEED! These groups should just close their doors, apologize to the people who they messed with, and get on with their own lives. Or better still, start CONTRIBUTING again. The single best argument for free software is its existence. Every minute you spend arguing for it is another minute you could have been PROVING rather than debating or puffing up your chest.
Parasites, all of them. Bloody parasites on the side of the ACTUAL programmers who are working every day to provide good software. DAMN that makes me MAD.
Greetings,
D'oh! My problem exactly! Please tell me if you find a solution to that... Using the ftp-ish Samba client to transfer files bites! (Geez, you'd think they'd at LEAST include 'readline' support in it!)
Cyberfox
Greetings,
When 2.2.1 came out I'd JUST installed my first post 0.12 version of Linux off of a RedHat 5.2 CD. So I followed the directions, got all the necessary upgrades as per the upgrade pages, recompiled the kernel, upgraded everything to a new glibc, etc., etc... And Samba stopped working.
I had gotten it configured and working perfectly under the stock RH5.2 config, my home NT box was seeing itself as part of the Linux machines network, the two were mounting each other in a veritable orgy of internetworking, and all was right with the internal net.
Now I get a mount version error...? (Says it needs Mount version 6 or something? Linux box is at home, I'm at work.) I upgraded to Samba 2.0.2 and it didn't fix it. My *GUESS* is that something changed in an internal version number in the kernel and something of mine didn't get upgraded... (OR the default 'make install' type command for Samba 2.0.2 doesn't install into the same spot as the RH5.2 rpms...!)
Any clues from the clueful slashdotters? For what it's worth, I can use the SMBFTP-type program to connect between them and transfer files, but that's just UnPleasant compared to transparent file communication.
Thanks muchly!
Cyberfox
p.s. To those who would say 'Ditch NT, go to Linux only!' Yes, I need NT at home. How ELSE can I develop Java 1.2 applications right now...? C'mon Blackdown, get on the case! If I had a 1.2 JVM, I'd be that hair away from being all Linux.
Greetings,
Well, I'm running a PalmPilot (Pro!) w/ 8MB of main and 2MB of Flash (the TRG XL expansion), so the new memory doesn't do anything for me... The thinness is keen, but not worthy of upgrading.
But why no CompactFlash adapter?!? It'd fit with the size, it'd allow infinite (or near such!) expandability (heaven forfend the IBM CF-II drives at 360MB in a Pilot...!), and it's Just Good Tech!
In any case, the ONLY reason I'd consider getting a new Pilot is the IR capabilities, but I just don't see another $300 worth of capability in any of these 'upgrades'.
Pity. Maybe if someone ported Linux to the WinCE machines they'd be usable. THAT would be a blast! In the mean time, I'm over 4MB used in my Pilot, not including the extra MB stored in my Flash. If the new Pilots don't support the TRG memory cards then it's going to have to be one heck of an incredible upgrade. (Color, CF-II, IR, and thin together might just do it though...)
If you're not a pilot owner yet, though, these new models are SWEET, and I do highly recommend them. (I admit, I only wish I'd gotten the black IBM Palm Pro. For pure style reasons...)
Ahh, the Joys of Toys.
Heh.
Let's see, I have personally 'converted' three non-geek females to definite-geek fems so far, and I'm sure I'll convert more. Just doing my part for the other geek guys out there. (Well, and increasing the percentage of computer-literate friends I surround myself with, of course...!)
They're not VERY geeky (one's QA/development for Microsoft (*sigh*, it's a living I guess), one does database programming, and the other is still in high school, but working on web pages and Javascript in her spare time. All three are currently happily involved with other geeks, and wouldn't even consider non-geek SOs anymore though. (In the interests of disclosure, I dated one after I brought her to geekdom, and am still close friends with all three.)
It's really not that difficult. Any female with a good head on their shoulders can be a solid geek, they just have to be shown it in a way that makes them feel comfortable doing it. I DO say female there, because I've found it's substantially harder to 'teach' a guy to become a geek, unless they already have an interest in it. I dunno why, but it's been my experience.
I believe that if your technical side is beyond a certain level of importance to you, that you will be absolutely miserable if you try to have more than a casual relationship with a dedicated non-geek.
I've also found that other geeks play fewer mindgames, which is a HUGE win.
If you find an SO who is relatively intelligent, it's not that hard to get them excited about computers. Especially if they are young enough for a career change to not be a huge threat to them. (Becoming a geek has often made people become bored about non-technical work, interestingly. Not ALWAYS, but often enough that I consider it a pattern.) It also has the added bonus that two geek salaries will easily double the national couples-income statistics... i.e... More toys!
Anyhow, V-day is over, and I wish all who were unable to celebrate this year happiness in the next!