Subject: Dilbert, Hillary & Tech Seminars for '04

Dear Friend & Subscriber:

Think of today's newsletter as one giant diversion.

You were wanting one anyway, weren't you?  
Like Jack Nicholson says in the movie The Shining: 

          ALL WORK AND NO PLAY
         MAKES JACK A DULL BOY.	

OK, so it's January now. You've got cabin fever and 
you need a break.  Escapism is a legitimate form of 
recreation, so hearken unto me as I put our Larry 
Lunchbox life in perspective:

-DILBERT VS. MARTHA STEWART, PART I: It is more 
blessed  to labor anonymously under buzzing fluorescent
lights, working for some bureaucratic nimrod, than to be 
indicted by a grand jury.  

Doncha think?

-DILBERT VS. MARTHA STEWART, PART II: One time, one
of our company mailers got returned to us.  It was stamped 
"THIS IS A PRISON.  3RD CLASS MAIL NOT ACCEPTED."
So even if we sent Martha our new B&B catalog, she
wouldn't get it.

But the good news is, we're sending our new catalog to 
YOU, and when it arrives, you can buy some cool gadget
and cheer yourself up.  Shopping has been proven to 
reduce depression. That's what my wife says, and 
she's always right.

"THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND": That's
the song I hear every time we go anywhere in our family car. 
Comes with the territory when you've got little kids.  
But the other day I had a long drive with NO kids, and I could
actually THINK in peace in quiet.  

So... I was thinking about doing more educational events 
for you, our trusty and loyal subscribers.

So here's what we're going to do: A series of teleseminars
and webcasts.  Gonna cover nuts and bolts of technology
and make the wheels on your bus go round and round.

But we need your votes.  Here's the deal:

We're going to do some web conferences on any or
all of the following topics:

-Wireless Technologies for industrial apps: What's hot, 
what's not, what works and what doesn't 
 
-RS-485 and serial networks: design & trouble shooting 
 
-Industrial Ethernet: Planning, installation and problem
solvers 
 
-Design of robust networks: Best practices for difficult 
environments 
 
-How to combine Ethernet and Serial networks: Tips for 
Empowering legacy equipment 

So... what are you most interested in?  What other 
questions do you have?  Click here and tell us:

http://www.bb-elec.com/ecsurvey_jan04.asp

-ANYWHERE, USA VS. BAGHDAD:  I understand they're 
offering the troops an extra Ten Grand to stay in the 
desert and keep the peace.  God bless 'em and the 
good they do, but I like my job here in Ottawa, Illinois better. 
When I look out the window I see corn and snow instead 
of sand, and that's comforting.

The whole industrial market's been in the tank
for the last couple of years while the people who
run the show quietly move all the US manufacturing
to China.

How patriotic!

Look, I know Chinese people like to eat too and
everything, but you can't make weak people strong by
making strong people weak.  Fortunately a lot of 
companies are investing more in automation now 
and that's going to make 2004 a better year for all of us.

And I want you to know that a great big pile of
the stuff you see in the B&B catalog and on our website
is made in the USA - much of it right here in Ottawa,
Illinois, by red blooded, hard-working, patriotic Americans.
People who believe in baseball, Mom and Apple Pie.  (And
Sweet Potatoe Pie for Thanksgiving.)  So you can buy
with confidence!

SPEAKING OF PATRIOTISM:  It has come to my attention 
that Hillary Clinton is cracking jokes about Gandhi running
a gas station in St. Louis.  And now the bleeding hearts
are all riled up, and the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence is
issuing a buncha press releases about how insensitive she is.

Well Jeez people, I can't understand why anybody's
listening to Hillary in the first place.  Why would 
anyone laugh at her jokes?  After all, if she gets her way,
she'll be the next president and we'll all be living in a 
pretty humorless utopia.  Hillary for President?  Friends
and neighbors, I'd rather work at a gas station in St. Louis!

Comments, questions and rude asides:  I'm tuned in.
Just email me mailto:support@bb-elec.com.  
Don't forget to take our poll:  
http://www.bb-elec.com/ecsurvey_jan04.asp

Happy Escapes.

Mike Fahrion
B&B Electronics
support@bb-elec.com   

If you no longer wish to receive communication from us, go to -
http://www.bb-elec.com/econnections/econnections_mgmt.asp