Hi, Jim. Thanks for your thoughtful note. (smile) As for what Pratik has written, I've seen his posts in the past. I lost them in a drive crash last year. They're still in our list archives. His name is unique, so his posts are easy to search for. I can tell you that he is a man of many talents who can scan a can of soup and make the process interesting. (grin) I think he has left the list due to his work load. I hope he will come back when things are better for him. I miss his sense of humor. As for you, Jim, if you decide to learn to scan, you'll have lots of support here. I've found that it really helps to work with a mentor at first, just to learn the basics. Then you'll find your personal style, a system that works for you best. I have watched how you work with projects both in validating and with your approach to programming. I think you'd be a great scanner because you're willing to experiment and don't see mistakes as personal failures. Just like programming, scanning is a science and and art. You can learn the science from help files. The art takes some time and trial to make it work. I think you have what it takes to do it, Jim. I don't want to push you. I just want you to know that I think you can succeed. -- Monica Willyard Visit my blog at http://www.scannersguild.com To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.