Hi, Denis!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:

DM>  A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down and orders a
DM>  sandwich. After he finishes eating the sandwich, the panda
DM>  pulls out a gun and  shoots the waiter, and then stands up
DM>  to go. 'Hey!' shouts the manager. 'Where are you going? You
DM>  just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!'

DM>  The panda yells back at the manager, 'Hey man, I am a PANDA!
DM>  Look it up!'

DM>  The manager opens his dictionary and sees the following
DM>  definition for panda: 'A tree-dwelling marsupial of Asian
DM>  origin, characterised by distinct black and white colouring.
DM>  Eats shoots and leaves.'

DM>  Or eats, shoots and leaves (?)


          I don't know what was in the sandwich.  Could alfalfa sprouts or bean
sprouts legitimately be regarded as "shoots"?  Hmm....  :-)

          This is a wonderful example of how punctuation may confuse or clarify
the author's meaning... and to those among us who have not yet had the pleasure
of reading it I'd highly recommend Lynne Truss's book EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES.

          According to WIKI this book is dedicated to the Bolshevik printers of
St. Petersburg who demanded they be paid the same rate for punctuation marks as
for letters.  AFAIK both require the same amount of time & effort... [chuckle].




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+