...Wolfgang:

Yes?

Well, both stupid and vacuous can sometimes be applied to the same
position, act, etc.,

It's quite possible that I would have stumbled on that little gem myself one
of these days but, failing that, I've got a few erudite and reliable friends
here, and I'm pretty certain that one or another of them would have informed
me.....when and if the need arose. Nevertheless, thanks for the heads up.

but they aren't exactly synonymous.

To be sure. But then, what is? It is a fundamental truism in linguistics
that whenever any two words or tems in any language are truly and exactly
synonymous, one or the other (and often enough, both) quickly change
(however subtly....sometimes) in meaning, or one or the other simply
disappears from common usage.

More to the point though, if posting a valid email address in a forum
like this is stupid and/or vacuous

I see nothing in the above which indicates that we had established that
point.....or even that it had been offered, for that matter.....but I'm a
notoriously careless reader, so I'll take your word for it.

then we appear to be surrounded by an awful lot of people who have
sufferred and presumably continue to suffer untold aguish as a result of
their
recklessness.

Well, from where I sit, it doesn't really look like I'm surrounded by
anyone......hell, I can barely see you as through a glass darkly. But, the
mist is beginning to lift. Please, DO go on.

As you've undoubtedly figured out by now, I must number
myself among them.

Sorry, no, I am by no means an authority on what you must do. However, what
looks like a familiar pattern is starting to emerge. I'm confident that
I'll get a handle on it before too very long. Give me a week or two.

This being the case, I would really apppreciate it if explain exactly how
I've
paid for my rash behavior.......I can't quite make it out myself.

Again, I'm no expert on you, but I suspect you haven't really paid for any
rash behavior here......yet. I'm going to guess this is one of those
thingies you wonder and wonder about.....and then, one day, BANG! it
happens. You'll recognize it when you see it.

-----------------------------
Unless I'm totally misreading this, we may soon find the answer to that
old 'immovable object, irresistable force' paradox.



--riverman