RS>> BTW, just my opinion, based on Marion Berry, (who isn't the same
 RS>> ditwit former mayor of Washington DC, BTW,) and his constituency, and
 RS>> record, I'd say Vern has the "snowball's chance in
hell" of actually
 RS>> winning.

 RH> According to many of your friends, there is no Hell.  Hence he
 RH> at least has a reasonable chance.

one might wonder about that... to which, i offer up the following ;-)

 > The Thermodynamics of Hell
 > --------------------------
 > The following is [an actual, I am told, but I don't believe
 > it] question given on a University of Washington Chemistry
 > midterm. The answer by one student was so "profound" that
 > the professor shared it with colleagues via the Internet,
 > which is of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying
 > it as well.

 > Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or
 > endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs
 > of their beliefs using Boyle's Law, (gas cools off when it
 > expands and heats up when it is compressed) theory or some
 > variant.

 > One student, however, wrote the following:

 > We need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the
 > rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that
 > once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls
 > are leaving.

 > As for how many souls are entering Hell, lets look at the
 > different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these
 > religion state that if you are not a member of their religion,
 > you will go to Hell.

 > Since there are more than one of these religions and since people
 > do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all
 > souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can
 > expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now,
 > we at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law
 > states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to
 > stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as
 > souls are added.

 > This gives two possibilities:

 > 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which
 > souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will
 > increase until all Hell breaks loose.

 > 2. Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the
 > increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will
 > drop until Hell freezes over.

 > So which is it?

 > If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms.Teresa Banyan during
 > my Freshman year, that "... it will be a cold day in Hell before I
 > sleep with you.", and take into account the fact that I still have
 > not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then, #2 cannot
 > be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not
 > freeze.

 > The student received the only "A" given.

OB-)

)\/(ark