>>>>>>There is FUD in a move from one platform to another, no doubt, but my main issue is that M$ has screwed me once and I don't want them to have that opportunity again.
>>>>>
>>>>>I get that part and can't say I disagree (I would have profited greatly from expanded and continued support for VFP) But whatever VFP's merits, or MS's moral shortcomings - the technical side of .net and the critical mass of MS resources and developers using it indicates to me I can make some money with it. My mantra for the last 20 years has been "I've made a lot more money off of Microsoft than they've ever made off of me" so I'm still cool with it <bg>
>>>>
>>>>Are you sure you didn't make that money from your own work and off your customers? Or were you reselling their wares?
>>>
>>>The former. But all the money I have given MS since 1982 wouldn't add up to two months of what I've made using their tools. I have, in 2009 dollars, a 150K education which has never made me a dime (Jeopardy excluded) and have spent god knows how much on other tools that yielded a much lower return. I'm very grateful Balmer hoodwinked IBM so I don't have to eat an apple or become a Scientologist (I just can't shake the idea they are the same thing) and I really don't believe Microsoft is the source of all evil in the universe (a lot of it is Dick Cheney)
>>>
>>>Never resold MS, just used their stuff instead of working for a living. <s> If my ROI with GM were the same I'd be able to buy an island <g>
>>
>>It IS Dick Cheney <g>. (The aptly named....)
>>
>>Good lord, the guy just will not shut up. The world is going to go to hell without our firm conservative hand on the tiller, yada yada yada. He speaks as though he presided over a golden age.
>
>National security issues still are important, however much we would like to believe in magical thinking. Fortunately, our President, probably the greatest master since FDR in telling people what they want to hear, may be making some sensible decisions quietly even when he appears to be pandering to idiots. Hypocrisy in high places has its uses. I do feel that anyone who thinks the world likes us better now so we are safer really doesn't get how it works. But if Obama favors snipers over airpower, I'm with him.

Yes, I agree national security issues are still important. Maybe more than ever with all the enemies we have these days. I do not agree with you, though, (at least if I understand you correctly) that anything goes under the flag of national security. The torture and endless incarceration of suspected terrorists, with no charges or evidence ever presented, are a shameful chapter in our history. That is not the country we have ever been or should ever want to be. That agency you used to work for was far from blameless. From what has been coming out it sounds like some of them strayed across the line from due diligence to paranoia and fanaticism. A recent article in Newsweek said some of it got so bad Robert Mueller issued a directive to all FBI agents to not be present at any more "interviews" conducted by the CIA. And apparently the off-the-books guys not officially affiliated with any government agency were even worse.

Don't mind me, I'm just bored <g>. I missed my plane yesterday evening and am in Baton Rouge for the weekend. I could have gone this morning but I would have been home less than 24 hours and it didn't seem worth it, especially considering the girls have plans with their mom (Mother's Day). It's OK. The only thing that truly needed to be done was mowing the lawn, and Allie has a friend who does that. She's going to ask him. If that doesn't work out it's just going to be a bear next Saturday, that's all. The bills were paid up when I left and Allie has a credit card they can use for groceries and gas. It's both gratifying and a little sad that they need me so little now ;-(

Going over to the Big Easy in a bit. That makes this a good opportunity. It's a little far (65-70 miles) to go in the evening and according to plan I was not going to be here any weekends other than as required for work. New Orleans has always had a romantic lure for me, long before Katrina, and I have only seen it from the air. As you probably know, the airport is on the extreme western edge of the city so I didn't really see it at all on Sunday.

Have a good one, podna.