response 133 of 207:

Jun 29 05:03 UTC 1999

  I picked up "The Street Lawyer" which is something I began last year. I've
been reading on the average of a chapter a day. I plan on getting through "The
Black Dahlia" By James Ellroy and "Bag of Bones" by Stephen King before the
summer is out. Hopefully I can clear those 3 by the end of July. I would like
to finish all of my books (8) by the end of August so that I can begin a new
crop.

response 135 of 207:

Jul 8 20:33 UTC 1999

I read "Strategy" by B.H. Liddell Hart.  He analyzes every decisive military
campaign in European history about which reliable information can be found
up to about 100 years ago.  He focuses, of course, on strategy, but does not
avoid the occasional foray into either tactics or grand strategy.  Having made
the case that a wide survey is necessary if local conditions are to be
factored out of general propositions, he then shows how virtually every
decisive campaign depended upon some form of indirect approach.  This
established, he commences a thorough analysis of WWI strategy, which concluded
the first edition, published in the 1920's.  This edition also contains a
detailed analysis of WWII strategy and grand strategy, in light of his earlier
conclusions.  (Some key generals even attribute their successful choices in
strategy to having read the earlier edition.)

The first edition contained a prediction that mechanized forces would become
more and more important in future wars.  (WWII proved him right).

The 1950's edition predicted that the existence of the H-bomb would not
preclude low-level and guerilla warfare.  (Vietnam, Angola, Guatemala,
Nicaraugua, etc, etc).

I was impressed.

response 137 of 207:

Jul 9 22:20 UTC 1999

I believe that is the edition I have.  My understanding is that each edition
actually has a slightly different title, so it might be even harder to mix
them up.  ("Have" used loosely:  it's from the library.)

response 139 of 207:

Oct 24 19:50 UTC 1999

Picture each conference as a room.  

Each room is filled with scrolls.  These are the 
"items" in the conference.  

Each scroll is labeled with an item topic ("Why 
books?" in this case.)  

If you open up the scroll (ie., read the item), you 
will see that many people have written comments in 
it, over a span of time ranging from a few days to 
many years.  These are the "responses."  Each of the 
comments on the scroll is numbered, dated and signed.  

If you see something in a scroll that makes you want 
to add a comment of your own, you may do so.  This is
"entering a response"

The next time you come back to look at the scroll, 
others might have come into the room and added more 
comments underneath yours on the scroll.  Their responses 
might be addressed to you or to other people.  New 
responses might be added to the scroll within minutes of 
the comment you added.  Sometimes days will pass before 
you find a new comnent when you open the scroll. 
Sometimes years.  Sometimes, sadly, never at all.  

And sometimes (here is where the scroll analogy breaks 
down) the item topic is so interesting or controversial 
that many people add responses in a very short time, 
with the result that an invisible person will add a 
comment to the scroll while you are in the process of 
writing your own comment!  The scroll-keeper, who sees
all, will then alert you to this fact and ask if you 
still want to add your comment as written.  At that 
point you might want to add something to the efect that 
"md slipped in."  

response 141 of 207:

Nov 6 23:19 UTC 1999

Very cool indeed.  I like it!

To patch up the scroll analogy, imagine that you are writing your
response on a scrap of parchment that you obtain from the scroll-keeper.
When you hand your completed response to the scroll-keeper, he either
copies it to the scroll, or hands it back if other scraps of parchment
have been copied to the scroll since he gave you your scrap.

response 143 of 207:

Nov 19 19:32 UTC 1999

(Depends on whether you're using Picospan or Backtalk.)

response 145 of 207:

Dec 15 00:39 UTC 1999

Hi

response 147 of 207:

Feb 21 01:45 UTC 2000

I don't know about anyone else in here, but i love to read John Grisham and
Tom Clancy.

response 149 of 207:

Apr 24 14:33 UTC 2000

        The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand?

response 151 of 207:

Apr 26 14:31 UTC 2000

        Yup.

response 153 of 207:

Apr 28 03:18 UTC 2000

   I have the book but I've yet to read it. I saw the movie the other day.
It was terrific.

response 155 of 207:

Apr 28 12:33 UTC 2000

[sound of grexers rushing to the post office]