From: ingsa@dc.luth.se (Ingvar Strand)
Newsgroups: soc.penpals
Subject: Keyboard-pals
Date: 25 Dec 92 01:34:19 GMT
Organization: University of Lulea, Sweden

Oh, hi there..  I wasn't sure anyone would read my article, but
obviously you are, so that makes it at least one.
Well, now that you've read this, why not send something back?
I'm usually checking my mail several times each day, and will do
so all through the hollidays.

Wondering who I am?   Well, I'm just an ordinary guy sitting
here by my computer (at least right now) in a little house
very far up north. (the arthic circle isn't far from here)
There's lots of snow outside, and I bet that if I went outside
I could see Santa passing by over the house on his way south.

Anyway,  I wish you a Merry Christmas!!


   Found in a very funny book:   (I'm sure you've read it)

The Infinite Improbability Drive is a wonderful new method of crossing
vast interstellar distances in a mere nothingth of a second, without all
that tedious mucking about in hyperspace.
It was discovered by a lucky chance, and then developed into a
governable form of propulsion by the Galactic Government's research
team on Damogran.
This, briefly, is the story of its discovery.
   The principle of generating small amounts of finite improbability by
simply hooking the logic circuits of a Bambleweeny 57 Sub-Meson
Brain to a atomic vector plotter suspended in a strong Brownian
Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea) were of course well
understood-   and such generators were often used to break the ice at
parties by making all the molecules in the hostess's under-garments
leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance with the Theory
of Indeterminacy.
  Many respectable physicists said that they weren't going to stand for
this, partly because it was debasement of science, but mostly because
they didn't get invited to those sorts of parties.
  Another thing they couldn't stand was the perpetual failure they
encountered in trying to construct a machine which could generate the
infinite improbability filed needed to flip a spaceship across the mind-
paralyzing distances between the farthest stars, and in the end they
grumpily announced that such a machine was virtually impossible.
  Then, one day, a student who had been left to sweep up the lab after a
particularly unsuccessful party found himself reasoning this way:
  If, he thought to himself, such a machine is a virtual impossibility,
then it must logically be a finite improbability.  So all I gave to do in
order to make one is to work out exactly how improbable it is, feed that
figure into the finite improbability generator, give it a fresh cup of
really hot tea  ...and turn it on!
  He did this, and was rather startled to discover that he had managed to
create the long-sought-after golden Infinite Improbability generator out
of thin air.
  It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic
Institute's Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging
mob of respectable physicists who had finally realized that the one
thing they really couldn't stand was a smart-ass.


Have a most fabulous wonderful fantastic terrific great nice day.  (or night)

Ingvar

:-)  :-)  :-)
-- 

/Ingvar