There are times -- daily -- when I kind of miss the DOS prompt and the way everything got done from the keyboard before the mouse/GUI. XP was OK: a bit too far along the text-GUI spectrum, but usable. Vista and Office 2007 drive me nuts.

Bonus? If you're not careful, you're going to be doing piecework for these people, working on commission.

I do miss DOS sometimes, yes. I continue to insist that I was more productive when I didn't have to keep taking my hands off the keyboard to use the mouse--it slows me down! At least, it used to. These days, the mouse is so ubiquitous that I can go half an hour without touching they keyboard.

On the other hand, early spreadsheet programs in DOS were a nightmare to use. I remember early Lotus--I used to go mad trying to make it do simple things for me. At that time, I argued that pen-and-paper was a faster alternative.

So maybe I'm just having a Luddite moment.

The good news is that there are still solid companies and caring people out there to work for. My boss has been holding a position for sick employee for almost a year – far beyond what the law requires him to. My friend is fighting Leukemia and her job will be held for her “as long as it takes.” We get by with others taking some of the workload and by paying a temp to do what she can. I like my job, but I love the people I work with.

p.s. You got Rap's letter?