destroyed forever

[James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com>]

In an TV commercial for an instant collectible (a ceramic plate for the Obama inauguration), the announcer said "after 62 days the die will be destroyed forever".

Typical Mad Man overkill, I suppose.

OT:  about "coach potatoes", as my father used to say, "it's like coaching a football team---if you can find a coach big enough".

OT:  "backing and filling" is a nautical term from sailing-ship days.  I'm not sure, but I believe the reference is to slowing or stopping a square-rigger.  "Backing" a sail meant to turn the sail so that it would try to move the ship sternwards instead of forward---yes, a square-rigger can be sailed backwards!---and presumably "filling" a sail meant to let it "fill" with wind.

           James A. Landau
           test engineer
           Northrop-Grumman Information Technology
           8025 Black Horse Pike, Suite 300
           West Atlantic City NJ 08232 USA
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