Gang, Since Tim May took the pardonable liberty of putting virtual words in my mouth about my opinion of the costs of CFP, I just thought that I would "reply" by publicly posting my thanks to Judi Clark for her explanation of what goes into a CFP conference. I have been both educated and humbled by her communication. Thank you, Judi. Firstly, I have to say that my initial reservation (all puns intended) about CFP's cost was motivated PURELY my current lack of cash. Naturally, I would have preferred to have returned a conference fee reimbursement slip to some FatCat with a stouter wallet than my own, but alas, I currently have no such overly-resourced feline to fall back on. Secondly, although I surely did mutter about how much it costs and Tim was perfectly within the bounds of reason to infer some reticence on my part, I did manage to do something constructive about it by volunteering to help out with a good cause. Judi was generous to mention my fairly insignificant contribution, especially compared to the vast amount of work that she and her cohorts have put in, but given any opportunity, I would have been, and still am, willing to do what I can to ensure that the whole thing goes smoothly. With every bite of every free meal I can weasel out of this deal, I will be thanking her for the favor she is doing to my pathetic cash-flow situation. BTW, Judi, should I be caught stuffing dinner rolls up my sleeves, I trust you'll keep the Sheriff from cuffing me too tightly. Thirdly, for philosophical and intellectual reasons, I am _really_ excited to be able to attend, even as a janitor/hacker, and will do my best to feed back information and impressions to everyone on the list who doesn't have the opportunity to attend. In case someone has not been paying attention, my philosophy involves dirtying my hands when something shows value to me and to others. Anonymous remailers in support of Whistleblowers; conferences that support the Mission; visiting dignitaries who need a ride to the airport ("May I carry your briefcase Ms. Denning?"), whatever... Finally, to be fair, I do NOT want to imply that Tim is whining. CFP _IS_ very expensive for us mortals and there are a lot of people who _should_ be attending instead of me but simply can't afford it. Tim probably has a full-time job (unlike yours truly) and no time for volunteerism so I won't for a nsec lean out of my glass house and suggest that he's alone in his opinions because I basically agree that everything should be free. In fact, Tim's contributions to this list dwarf mine to the point where I should be thanking him just for enlightening me with his opinions. Thanks, Tim. David "Steal This Email" Del Torto ^ ^ ^ = DDT ... d2t