Boojum

Yuletide.

I'll let one of my favorite authors supply this entry: "And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." —Edgar Allan Poe, "The Masque of the Red Death."

A few observations: I occasionally forget to log out, and am still logged in when I return, hours or sometimes days later. This accords with my experience: I receive some notifications, and not others, whether I'm logged in or not. It may or may not "always" have been like this, but it has been as long as I've been here. And I can't say I've seen any difference, one way or the other, in the last week or two. As Jikrantz says: a mystery. Here's another. I use MS Internet Exploiter 5.16 on a Mac running OS 9.1, and the forum seems incapable of "remembering" me. Each time I log in, the checkbox for "Remember Me?" is checked (by default), but I always have to log in manually anyway.

I'm preparing to add a forum to my site. It has to be a free one, and there are two of those available via cPanel: Invision and phpBB. So the question: What's the best free forum?

Hmm. Invision or phpBB? Sounds like time for ... a poll. [Cue dramatic music.]

Ah. So all I have to do is completely recreate 18 graphic files and upload them in place of the ones I have. Sounds like about my usual luck. But then: Has anyone been able to reproduce this problem? If not, maybe it isn't relevant. Oh, well. Thanks anyway, Robert.

Thanks, Rob. I'll look into that at my next opportunity—probably this evening.

I'm using exactly the browser you assumed: Microsplat Internet Exploiter. Although, of course, it didn't come with my OS. I have a pretty good excuse, though: It's the only usable browser that will run reliably with Mac OS 9.1 on a Power Mac 6500/250. I also have Netscape 4.77 and a sort of funky Mozilla-for-the-Mac—the most current versions of each that will run on this machine—but they aren't precisely impressive. (On the other hand, if anyone knows a good alternative, I'm willing to listen ... as long as the alternative isn't along the lines of "You use a Mac? What are you—some kind of Amish Luddite?" or the ever-popular "250 MEGAhertz? You living in the same millennium with the rest of us?")

Corruption.

Perhaps. Either that, or just remove the reference to the page from the "title" tag. But then I suppose no one would find the page.

Er, Raul. You know I use a Mac, right?

Ah. I seem to have misread Jim's description. Actually, the "wireframe globe in a black square" is a flag. It doesn't wave about because it's set in a space background, and there is no breeze in space. As for how much of a challenge it is: I think what I told Rob sums it up fairly well. Now, I wonder ... how many "non-techies" can find it?

I'd like to add a forum to my site, but have a few requirements: 1) It needs to be free. 2) It should preferably be similar to the TCH forum in general design, but customizable. 3) It should be easy to add and maintain. Now: Is there any such animal?

Speaking of which ... What's actually going on with the Family pages? I hoped to get into them with my new site version, but when I'd finished it, I found that the pages are apparently not currently being updated. Who, if anyone, is in charge of that feature now, and will it be reactivated soon?

Thanks, Robert. That sounds a much more likely interpretation. My only concern is that, if I do extend the table, it may tend to make the tabs extend past the banner, which is not the effect I'm after.

What kind of browser are you using? I take it it's either non-graphical or you have set your preferences to exclude images. Otherwise, it wouldn't be quite so easy.

And one of my favorite plays: King Richard the Secord How he helped Ollie North shred the Constitution. (By the way, Rob, I saw what you meant when I reviewed the title you'd submitted. But feel free to come up with other entries.)

Catcher in the Rye.

Frappé.

And yes, you're correct. Most of what we're posting here are acronyms, not abbreviations -- but it's okay! Actually, all are abbreviations. An acronym is a word formed from the initials or partial abbreviations of the words in a phrase. An example is my earlier entry, CINCPACFLT (pronounced sink-pack-fleet). Note that every acronym is an abbreviation, but not every abbreviation is an acronym. Another example: UNREP = Underway Replenishment = the bane of the sailors of the seven seas.

Thanks for the words of welcome, Thomas. Now, how about a twisted title?

Not bad, Rob. [Edit: Er, Rob? Rob? I'd swear I saw an entry from Rob here when I posted this. Maybe I've finally turned the corner.] You should both send those entries to me at this address, with the subject set as "Twisted_Titles" and I'll includea selection of them on my next update. And now, newly forged in honor of our unlikely NHL champions: Tampa Bay Lightening As the reflected glory of the Stanley Cup slowly rises in the Southeast ....

Much better. Submit that one, if you want it published. The Germinator Ahnold returns as the world's toughest gardener.

Brevity being the soul of wit, I usually try to keep my descriptions to one sentence. E.g: In Dubious Bottle Wine sealed with the contents of Sammy Sosa's bat may spoil quickly. You'll probably find a few exceptions to that on my page, but it is still my rule to be fairly brief.

The Book of Virtue "Virtue," as defined by Bill Bennett: "Resisting the temptation to draw to an inside straight." By the way, VI, that wasn't bad. Feel free to submit it to my Titular Torsion page if you'd like it added (with attribution, under either your real name or your preferred nick, of course) to that feature. This naturally applies to anyone here. Rock Sign