On 16 May 2006 at 15:12, Kenneth Gorelick wrote > >> In fact, the very purpose of the Cycle might be to set up that > >> joke, and when somebody tells it the small invisible lights will, > >> without any fuss, go out. > >> > >> > > Only if it is told 9 billion times, with 9 billion variations. > > > > Snarkhunter > And I thought no other living person had read that one... Were we not supposed to get the reference? I've always been comforted by the fact that people on this list get these references. Makes me feel like all the time I spent reading SF classics wasn't wasted (or, at least, that I'm not the only one who so wasted time). M Michele Riccio mr1 at rcosta.com