Message for Peter Moylan

Subject:	Message for Peter Moylan
Date:	Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:06:22 -0800

I tried e-mailing this to Peter Moylan using his address from the
message I was reading, but it came back saying the address was
"unrouteable".

If anyone else decides to read the rest of this, bear in mind that you
are poking your nose into Peter's mail.

On Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:52:58 +1100, in alt.usage.english Peter wrote:

[...]

> Bob Cunningham used to collect such files, but that collection has
> no value given that Bob is no longer an aue regular.

I still save all of alt.usage.english, uk.culture.language.english,
alt.english.usage, and alt.language.english. I still have all of it,
with AUE and AEU starting with, I think, mid-February 1996 with a
couple of exceptions. I think I started saving UCLE about the time it
started. I don't remember when I started saving ALE, but it was a few
years ago. Each month is a separate file, in "UNIX format", and all
of the messages are complete with headers. I have the full archive on
a 4-gig USB Flash Drive (backed up on another one). It uses most of
the 4 gigs.

The exceptions are a couple of month's worth that I accidentally and
irreparably clobbered.

(I guess "irreparably" is a relative term. I've now and then given
some thought to possible but quite laborious ways of recovering as
much as possible of the missing months from whatever has chanced to
survive the devastation at Google Groups, but I've never gone farther
than thinking about it.)

I'm not sure why I'm still saving the stuff. I guess I've never
thought I've reached a good stopping place. Habit is a strong master.
I seldom read any of it, but I do take a minute or so now and then to
search globally to see if anyone is mentioning my name or any of my
noms de clavier. That's why I found your remark quoted above.

If you'd like to have the data on a flash drive, I can send it to you,
along with information on what the drive and postage cost me, in case
you would want to reimburse me for them.

If you want the stuff, it might be best to be quick about it. I'll be
88 in March, and although I'm in reasonably good health so far as I
know, I suspect the grim reaper is beginning to have thoughts about
me.
--
Bob Cunningham, Southern California, USA. Western American English