Thanks so much for the laughs, Kevin :)

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: I just had to post after getting back from the Q&A moose extravaganza. : Pure entertainment! : My fiancee got the tickets for me as a birthday present and I haven't laughed that hard (or for so many hours) in years! : I don't know how you do it, though, with out totally going off on some people! I was practically in physical pain for some of those folks at the microphone! (Especially Jerry Springer girl!) I developed a sort of mantra that I kept repeating, "Please sit down, please sit down, please sit down ohhh pleeeeeeez GOD sit down!" However, it was like a car wreck...I was repulsed yet I could not turn away. : I do feel a desire to correct a couple of slight discrepancies. I've lived here for 20 years and it drives me nuts when folks don't fucking have a clue about the state they live in: : 1) Alaska grows some of the most ass-kicking pot on the planet up in the Matanuska Valley, and it is affectionately called Matanuska Thunder-Fuck. Though I stopped doing mind-altering substances many years ago, I can attest to it's awesome power even back then. That should explain the behavior of several of your "questioners." : 2) *In school-teacher voice* Kevin, please tell me that you were kidding about not knowing Russia's proximity to Alaska! In actuality, Little Diomede Island, Alaska is an island (and a Native Village) only 2.5 miles from Big Diomede Island, Russia. So, technically, Russia is just a quick boat trip away from Alaska. Even to fly from Anchorage to parts of Siberia takes about 2 hours. It's much closer than Seattle. : 3) Moose are numerous and come around to the most urban of settings here in Anchorage so the fact that one showed up at the University by the theater was not news. However, the fact that you popped out during the show to see him was. : 4) Alaska has several Army posts and Air Force bases in Anchorage, Fairbanks and in the Arctic Circle, including several Missile Defense facilities. Our Army guys are called "The Arctic Warriors," and our Air Force fighters are called "Top Cover." Right now, our military are on rotations in and out of Afghanistan and Iraq. (I think we have lost one Alaskan soldier thus far.) However, our folks have always had an important role, since we are the gateway to Asia. When I worked for the FAA at the end of the Cold War, I used to occasionally be lucky enough to be in the control room when the Air Force scrambled a couple of F15s to help "escort" a Russian MiG out of our airspace. More recently, an unarmed Korean missile was found on a beach somewhere in Alaska several years ago. This was the first indication that Korea may now possess weapons with enough distance to reach and attack the U.S. (i.e. Alaska) : Yes, it's a little close for comfort. : 5) There were folks there who understood your references - I have 9 years on you. : As to the question I wanted to ask (was too far down the list), it had to do with the romantic streak you made reference to. It is my contention that most geeks (and I mean this affectionately 'cause I have always been one) are actually true romantics at heart. My computer game-addicted programmer/techie fiancee went all out on Valentine's Day to give me the most romantic marriage proposal I could ever hope for. I just wanted to know the details of how you proposed to your wife. : Anyway, thanks again we had such a great time...I'm grateful the babysitter kept my daughter for the night!

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