For those of you who have asked about what good Perl is, I thought I'd share
this:

----- Forwarded message from Andrew Mashchak <[log in to unmask]> -----

> UCLA's Computer Science Undergraduate Association regularly hosts its
> programming competition. Contestants are given six complex problems and
> have three hours to write programs to solve as many of the problems as
> possible. In 1997, the rules stated that any programming language could be
> used so long as you solved the problem, so then-undergraduate Keith Chiem
> entered and used Perl.
>
> Keith did not merely win, he conquered. He solved five of the six problems
> in the three hours allotted. The second-place two-person team solved only
> three problems. They, needless to say, were not using Perl.
>
> But if you're a UCLA undergraduate contemplating entering the contest and
> using Perl, don't bother. After Keith's conquest, Perl was banned from the
> contest.
>
> You've got to admire a language that is banned because it makes problems
> too easy to solve.
>
> These days, Keith is a sysadmin at Yahoo! Inc., and is wondering what to
> do with the copy of Visual C++ that was his prize.

----- End forwarded message -----

Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Serv, Southern Adventist University
          ==========================================================
Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare.
Let all who prate of Beauty hold their peace,
And lay them prone upon the earth and cease
To ponder on themselves, the while they stare
At nothing, intricately drawn nowhere
In shapes of shifting lineage; let geese
Gabble and hiss, but heroes seek release
From dusty bondage into luminous air.
O blinding hour, O holy, terrible day,
When first the shaft into his vision shone
Of light anatomized! Euclid alone
Has looked on Beauty bare. Fortunate they
Who, though once only and then but far away,
Have heard her massive sandal set on stone.
                        -- Millay, Edna St. Vincent (1892 - 1950)