> Dean Ann,
>
>  I, too, from time to time, and even as we speak, have gone astray from the
>  true 3K love and my eye is drawn to other DBMS finery, the lovely Oracle,
>  whose layers and layers of controls and commands and options take me in and
>  wear me out, when worn by the 3K's younger sister the 9K. Yet I find I
still
>  must turn to the 3K for getting the house work done. Sigh. Is there hope
for
>  me, Ann?
>
>  BTW, If there is no consolation for the Disconsolate yet, he must remember
>  that true, deep intimacy with the 3K women is only permitted by the HP Gods
>  of fates through Privileged Modes.  With a 9K, deep intimacy comes much
>  cheaper, merely su - how can one resist such charms?
>
>  Richard - (my shame - I confess to being a polygamist) - Gambrell

Dear Polygamist:

You must not be misled by illusions. Every age has its own seductive images,
and for a bit of time, they can seem overwhelming, but you must always remind
yourself that every oracle ultimately proves to be an illusion.

In the end, virtue is own reward. For every woman you know, only the
Penelopes, the most virtuous of women are remembered. "Easy corruption" is
always a trap. Integrity is the quality that will be talked about for
generations to come.

All that glitters is not gold. Sometimes that which glitters are layers of
commands and controls and options, but as many more poor fools than you have
discovered, it's a fool's errand, a siren song that will ultimately crash your
ship upon the rocky shoals.

Regardless of what you hear, the path of virtue and integrity doesn't have to
be hard. There are friends of the HP3000 that want to make its operating
system and its database even simpler yet again by adding brains to its
homegrown beauty.

No knobs, no dials, no commands, few options. Rather, a machine for the ages,
designed to be self-configuring and autoadaptive to changing conditions.

Dump your "easy" girlfriends, Richard. They won't do you any good in the end.
You've had your fling. But you're an adult now. It's time that you take stock
of your life and play by the time-honored rules.

Let me know how things turn out. I care.

Ann HP