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A Good Read
Herbert Lovelace's columns are always funny. They're just what I need for a momentary pause in a busy day. I think I used to work for some of the idiots he talks about.

Earl Gratzer
System Test and Integration Engineer
Contractor, Kforce (UUnet)
Fairfax, Va.

Getting To The Point Takes Time
Maybe I missed the point of Bob Evans' piece ("A Matter of Proportion," Aug. 14, p. 164). There's the tale of a renowned speaker (his name escapes me), who said something like this: "If you want me to talk for two hours, give me an hour's notice. If you want me to talk for an hour, give me a day's notice. If you want me to talk for half an hour, give me a week's notice. If you want me to talk for five minutes, give me a month's notice."

The point is that to distill what I want to tell you will make me work harder. It takes time to cast out the meaningless. I have to think about it!

Take your one-page piece and turn it into one column. Does it give the exact message you want to give? Pay that man $100,000.

Pete Meyn
Systems Engineer
Raytheon
Houston

Sympathetic Dialogue Is Key
As someone who has lobbied in Sacramento, Calif., and Washington for a dozen years, I appreciate Clinton Wilder's uncommon common sense ("E-go Threatens E-biz's Free Ride," Redefining Business, July 24).

I taught a workshop to hepatitis C activists on how to educate legislators on our issues. Arrogance, self-righteousness, and anger spell the end of dialogue. Without sympathetic dialogue, money is the only way we have to influence legislation. Those who advocate for the public's health don't have money, so we must use good technique.

Joey Tranchina
Executive Director
HCV Global Foundation
Redwood City, Calif.

Corrections
* In "CSC Moves To Improve Billing" (In Brief, Aug. 21, p. 34), the item should have said that Computer Science Corp. has signed an agreement to purchase only the CheckVision application framework assets of Alysis Technologies.

* In "Opening Up The E-Markets," (Aug. 21), the name of Parker Hannifin Corp. was misspelled.