Slingshot
    3 oz. Peach Schnapps
    3 oz. Gin
    3 oz. sour mix
    dash of Grenadine

   Open a coconut, pour off all but a couple of oz. of the water. Add
   ingredients, mix, and serve.

     Anyway, if you see me reaching for one, join in.

   Anyway, Ben will be reading your articles and putting together the zine, and
   Heather and Thomas will be helping out as necessary besides continuing their
   jobs as TAG Editors. 

     [Thomas] I know I've been saying it for months, there will be articles
     from me. :) It's this thing called 'real life' that annoys me.

   I came back to LG in October to help recreate the production infrastructure
   at its new webhost and to make sure it was done right. Now linuxgazette.net
   is  established  and  is humming along nicely. At the same time, other
   priorities in my life have intruded. 

     [Thomas] That's to be expected. You've been doing this for a good number
     of years.

   Python is proving to be a greater interest to me than Linux, and it has
   somehow become a good intersection for my work, 

     [Thomas] I know what you mean there - I am finding Ruby is engulfing me.

   volunteer, and personal interests. I need time to study more Python packages
   for work, I want to play with [26]Twisted (a versatile Internet services
   framework), and we're organizing a [27]Northwest Python Sprint in Seattle
   in June. Plus there are some personal Python projects I've been wanting to
   do. Linux has become more of an environment I'm in rather than something to
   focus on. My next Linux project will be installing [28]Gentoo , which two
   coworkers are using and recommend. It looks like it has come a long way
   since I looked at it last year. 

   I've also been reprioritizing some other things in my life. I've given up
   wrestling -- with my joint inflexibility I'm just not going to be able to
   be serious about it, and I think after two years I've gained about as much
   from it as I can. Now I want to get into boxing. Not really seriously, but
   just for fun. But first I gotta get in shape for it, and first I have to
   spend a month or two earning $$ like mad to get over my current cash-flow
   problem. So I'll have plenty to do. I'm also taking yoga more to help with
   the flexibility. 

     [Thomas] I never was one for contact sports such as boxing and wrestling.
     Heck, I am not even a sports fan. :) But I always did have a certain
     amount of admiration for people who can box.

   It has been a great inspiration working with the staff and contributors to
   LG over the years. The amount of dedication and goodwill people put into LG
   is astounding. 

     [Heather] Awww shux. :D

     [Thomas] Likewise, Mike. It has been a pleasure and indeed an honour to
     have worked with you. It has been a pleasure both in terms of Linux, but
     also getting to know more about yourself, and the culture that surrounds
     you. I only hope that we continue our discussions - I find them most
     enlightening.

   When I started editing LG in 1999, I was afraid every month that not enough
   articles would come in. But somehow they always did. Eventually I learned to
   just expect it. 

     [Ben] [wry grin] I guess I'll just have to take that attitude over and
     carry on with it. It's sure seemed like an edgy proposition at times.

     [Heather] For which we are all very grateful to you dear readers who
     decide to take up the pen... or electrons... and put your new spin on
     things into the shared world of Linux Gazette :)

   I'm grateful to The Answer Gang, to Mick for doing News Bytes, to Javier and
   Shane  and Jon for contributing their cartoons, and to many authors of
   high-quality technical articles who keep sending stuff to LG again and
   again. You've all shown what volunteers can do if they work together. 

     [Ben] Hey, it's a labor of love. We may all have our own reasons for being
     here, but in the end it comes down to us putting out a quality 'zine that
     benefits a large community; that's not small potatoes. It sure gives me a
     good feeling to know that our efforts help people, that LG is acting as a
     force multiplier for our advice, tips, and so on.

     [Thomas] More importantly, we're still showing that. :) I hope you won't
     be leaving permenently. I hope you will still be TAG member, contributing
     when you can. You're always welcome. :) I read your Python article in the
     LJ (I actually ordered it in from America) - very impressive. I'll still
     stick to Ruby though. :D

   Now I'll go to the TAG lounge and open a cold bubbly ginger-beer. Then I'm
   going home to make my favorite dish, [29]pho and earl green tea. (That's
   green, not gray.) 

   PS. I wrote an LJ article about the [30]Python conference in DC last month
   if you'd like to read it.