# What's Earl REALLY doing...??



## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

In honor of Earl and his ambiguous polls (which color? from last holiday season comes to mind).

And to keep us entertained in his absence...

What do you think Earl is REALLY doing now?

Disclaimer - this poll is for entertainment purposes only, no evidence that Earl was actually abducted by aliens exists. Take care Earl, we are all grateful for your efforts!


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

i was wondering the same thing, but i bet this thread will be closed


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## ElVee (Nov 28, 2006)

Thaedron said:


> In honor of Earl and his ambiguous polls (which color? from last holiday season comes to mind).
> 
> And to keep us entertained...
> 
> What do you think Earl is REALLY doing now?


Already being discussed here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=128049


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

ElVee said:


> Already being discussed here:
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=128049


i like the WHEN TO USE THAN / WHEN TO USE THEN in your sig.
that drives me crazy when they are used wrong!!!!!!:lol:


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## Interceptor (Jul 20, 2007)

dave29 said:


> i like the WHEN TO USE THAN / WHEN TO USE THEN in your sig.
> that drives me crazy when they are used wrong!!!!!!:lol:


No, you're supposed to say "that drives me crazy WHAN they are used wrong"


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## jwd45244 (Aug 18, 2006)

dave29 said:


> i like the WHEN TO USE THAN / WHEN TO USE THEN in your sig.
> that drives me crazy when they are used wrong!!!!!!:lol:


Way off topic but...

I agree.

As a former stutterer is bothers me that people who can speak correctly don't.

Examples:


Cincinnata vs. Cincinnati (often used by people from the west side of Cincinnati and many southerners)
"axe you a question" vs. ask
"pacifically" vs. "specifically"


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## ElVee (Nov 28, 2006)

dave29 said:


> i like the WHEN TO USE THAN / WHEN TO USE THEN in your sig.
> that drives me crazy when they are used wrong!!!!!!:lol:


Thanks. It drives me crazy too. If it was anyone but Earl, I'd have made a bigger stink of it. I was going to mention it in my goodbye post to Earl, but decided not to.


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## Armando (Apr 13, 2006)

Earl bought the now Defunct AMC 14 from Echostar and is starting his own DBS.


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## mikepax (Nov 11, 2005)

Armando said:


> Earl bought the now Defunct AMC 14 from Echostar and is starting his own DBS.


:lol:


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## TimGoodwin (Jun 29, 2004)

Spending time with his family. What's wrong with that?


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## jefbal99 (Sep 7, 2007)

Armando said:


> Earl bought the now Defunct AMC 14 from Echostar and is starting his own DBS.


FTW


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## richlife (Dec 4, 2006)

As the poll indicates, having failed miserably as a DBSTalk moderator, Earl has escaped to his fall back job as a DirecTV CSR. Always has an opinion but never has a clue what he's talking about. Doesn't that sound right?

Please don't hurt me -- I just report the fax, ma'am. :lol: :lol:


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## markman07 (Dec 22, 2005)

TimGoodwin said:


> Spending time with his family. What's wrong with that?


Nothing is wrong with that! But speaking from one who also has a family I can tell you, you can't spend 100% of your time with your family or you would lose your mind. So what is he doing that 10% of the time he isn't with the family is the key question! :hurah:


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

Might he be bowing to some subtle suggestions form his employer and his very pregnant wife to spend a little less time on this forum?


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

I personally think that Earl will be working in an area of Directv where everything is so hush hush that no one there knows anyone else's real names.


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## willardcpa (Jun 5, 2007)

curt8403 said:


> I personally think that Earl will be working in an area of Directv where everything is so hush hush that no one there knows anyone else's real names.


If that were the case, couldn't he have just gone ahead and used his real name here - who at DTV would have figured it out??


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## TomF (Sep 20, 2006)

dave29 said:


> i like the WHEN TO USE THAN / WHEN TO USE THEN in your sig.
> that drives me crazy when they are used wrong!!!!!!:lol:


Same for me when people don't capitalize the first word of their sentences.


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## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

curt8403 said:


> I personally think that Earl will be working in an area of Directv where everything is so hush hush that no one there knows anyone else's real names.


You mean similar to some of the areas that Tom got to tour during his trip to "disneyland"?


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

If he were working for DirecTV would it really be a conflict?

Methinks he went to work for Dish or Comcast.


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## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

I voted for the lottery and tech free life on the beach. The "conflict" is that there is no ISP on <remote private island>. :lol:


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## SteelersFan_in_CA (Jan 1, 2008)

ElVee said:


> Thanks. It drives me crazy too. If it was anyone but Earl, I'd have made a bigger stink of it. I was going to mention it in my goodbye post to Earl, but decided not to.


+1 I've wanted to correct him for the last 4+ years but never did. I thought I was the only one. 

No offense Earl!


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## TigersFanJJ (Feb 17, 2006)

An anonymous source told me that he got a job working for Planters. Apparently, he is in charge of removing the shells from the peanuts. !rolling


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## Drewg5 (Dec 15, 2006)

I had to vote other... The little green men got him (no not the space men)


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

TigersFanJJ said:


> An anonymous source told me that he got a job working for Planters. Apparently, he is in charge of removing the shells from the peanuts. !rolling


Well he's used to dealing with nuts  :grin: :lol:


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

SPACEMAKER said:


> If he were working for DirecTV would it really be a conflict?
> 
> Methinks he went to work for Dish or Comcast.


If Earl were working for Directv (and I am not saying either way) He would working in an area where they develop new products and software, and would have so much secret knowledge that it would be a danger for him to be here for fear of letting something slip.


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## TigersFanJJ (Feb 17, 2006)

houskamp said:


> Well he's used to dealing with nuts  :grin: :lol:


:lol:


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## Interceptor (Jul 20, 2007)

Thaedron said:


> You mean similar to some of the areas that Tom got to tour during his trip to "disneyland"?


Don't you mean his trip to "Wally World"? I bet Tom even parked at the far end of the parking lot just to be first out! :lol:

Just kidding, Tom! I'm sure that Clean Room was the last place you wanted to leave quickly!


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## quickfire (Nov 14, 2003)

DISH NETWORK  a normal 9 to 5 job!!!!

Tell me I'm wrong!


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## richlife (Dec 4, 2006)

curt8403 said:


> If Earl were working for Directv (and I am not saying either way) He would working in an area where they develop new products and software, and would have so much secret knowledge that it would be a danger for him to be here for fear of letting something slip.


Entirely too logical -- must be true.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

He did post a question a while back asking how many people would like to have a Tivo Mpeg4 Dvr...

Is it possible he is working with Tivo to build a dvr based on two of the new computer card Directv receivers, but using the Tivo software? That would be awesome.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

He went over to DBSForums.com


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

curt8403 said:


> If Earl were working for Directv (and I am not saying either way) He would working in an area where they develop new products and software, and would have so much secret knowledge that it would be a danger for him to be here for fear of letting something slip.


that is the most logical reason I have heard. I deal with that myself (on a much smaller scale) I am a manager in a motorcycle shop and we do have a NDA regarding 'proprietary business info'. Most stuff is obvious like sales numbers, profit percentages, etc but you can get into areas such as sales practices which are rather gray. I have had to catch myself when talking to friends who work in other shops.


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## bruinfever (Jul 19, 2007)

curt8403 said:


> If Earl were working for Directv (and I am not saying either way) He would working in an area where they develop new products and software, and would have so much secret knowledge that it would be a danger for him to be here for fear of letting something slip.


Since when is working for DirecTV like working for the NSA?


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

He took Deuce Bigalo's job


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

bruinfever said:


> Since when is working for DirecTV like working for the NSA?


Industrial espionage


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## gulfwarvet (Mar 7, 2007)

houskamp said:


> Well he's used to dealing with nuts  :grin: :lol:


:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Newshawk (Sep 3, 2004)

bruinfever said:


> Since when is working for DirecTV like working for the NSA?


They both employ satellite communications?


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

I thought he was going to stop posting to ALL web forums, not just those dealing with satellite TV.

That's what has me confused. I don't see the necessity of requiring the employee to stay away from forums on every topic, even those far removed from the job.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

I think he's working for D*. Specifically, D* is so impressed by his knowledge that they are having Boeing retrofit a habitation module on to D12 and they are going to assign Earl to go up with D12 when it launches and serve as the onboard technician in case anything goes wrong.


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## gslater (Aug 5, 2007)

My guess is that he made such a stir last fall that he was cast in the Broadway musical "Annie".


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## heisman (Feb 11, 2007)

Wow! I just found out that 60% of those taking this poll aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

heisman said:


> Wow! I just found out that 60% of those taking this poll aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.


What's wrong with that guess?

Earl clearly developed good contacts within DTV, I would not at all be surprised if DTV wanted to employ him.

Working for DTV would certainly bt a conflict with this board, and he would not likely be allowed to post, just as Earl's "sources" could not post themselves.

Earl chose not to disclose why there would be conflict, which I would understand if he is going to work for DTV, as many have accussed him of doing exactly that before and they may draw inappropriate conclusions about Earl's objectivity in prior posts.

Additionally, if Earl was now going to be DBSTalk's anonymous inside source (or any position within DTV), it would be a bad idea to tell us, or Tom and Stuart would get lots of "Ask Earl........" posts.

He may be doing something entirely different but the guess he will be working for DTV is not an unreasonable one.


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

paulman182 said:


> I thought he was going to stop posting to ALL web forums, not just those dealing with satellite TV.
> 
> That's what has me confused. I don't see the necessity of requiring the employee to stay away from forums on every topic, even those far removed from the job.


I doubt Earl has a conflict of interest with alt.sports.chicagobears

But Earl has a clear presence on Tivo and DBS forums as well as posts on many websites related to DBS.

So the conflict is likely with something there


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## heisman (Feb 11, 2007)

mikewolf13 said:


> What's wrong with that guess?
> 
> Earl clearly developed good contacts within DTV, I would not at all be surprised if DTV wanted to employ him.
> 
> ...


Well, first of all, he's not working or ever going to work for D*. Second, he has disclosed quite a bit, but the dull knives have failed to read between the lines. Third and finally, a little birdie told me exactly what's happening.


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

heisman said:


> Well, first of all, he's not working or ever going to work for D*. Second, he has disclosed quite a bit, but the dull knives have failed to read between the lines. Third and finally, a little birdie told me exactly what's happening.


well, i guess it's easy to judge other people's guesses when you know the answer..

for others the leading guess is a reasonable one.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

What is Earl's real profession?

I've always thought he must have the most understanding employer in the world to allow him to spend so much time helping people here.

It's almost as if he were really an undercover DirecTV employee who could help more here than 1,000 CSRs could over the phone.

Just thinkin'.


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## bsboggs (Oct 19, 2007)

Earl, just lately discovering his superpowers, is now a new Captain America. He is working for the Government fighting Evil and spreading Truth, Justice and tv viewing Freedom for the repressed peoples of the world.


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## heisman (Feb 11, 2007)

mikewolf13 said:


> for others the leading guess is a reasonable one.


Yeah, it's real reasonable. Out of the blue, Earl is going to walk up to Anne and say, "Honey, I know you are 6 months pregnant, but let's pack up and move to CA because I want to work for D*!" Earl wouldn't have posted a good bye because he'd be dead. :lol:


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

heisman said:


> Yeah, it's real reasonable. Out of the blue, Earl is going to walk up to Anne and say, "Honey, I know you are 6 months pregnant, but let's pack up and move to CA because I want to work for D*!" Earl wouldn't have posted a good bye because he'd be dead. :lol:


If I tried to pull a "major career change" when my wife was 6 months pregnant...relocation wouldn't be a concern....it would be a requirement... (or my wife would find me and kill me)


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## bruinfever (Jul 19, 2007)

Newshawk said:


> They both employ satellite communications?


Good point. Nevermind that one satellite communication is following terrorists around the world and the other satellite communication is bringing us "Rock of Love 2" and "The Desperate Housewives of the O.C." :lol: :lol:


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## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

heisman said:


> Yeah, it's real reasonable. Out of the blue, Earl is going to walk up to Anne and say, "Honey, I know you are 6 months pregnant, but let's pack up and move to CA because I want to work for D*!" Earl wouldn't have posted a good bye because he'd be dead. :lol:


What's to say he would have to relocate in order to work for DirecTV?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Jon J said:


> What is Earl's real profession?
> 
> I've always thought he must have the most understanding employer in the world to allow him to spend so much time helping people here.
> 
> ...


In Earl's "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish thread", he mentioned that he is getting back to programming again. He sounds very happy about that.


bsboggs said:


> Earl, just lately discovering his superpowers, is now a new Captain America. He is working for the Government fighting Evil and spreading Truth, Justice and tv viewing Freedom for the repressed peoples of the world.


(shh... you were told that in strictest confidence!) 


Thaedron said:


> What's to say he would have to relocate in order to work for DirecTV?


To my knowledge, all of the DIRECTV engineers work in LA.

Heisman is correct that Earl and Anne are not relocating as part of the fantastic opportunity.

Cheers,
Tom


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

Will we ever know what he is doing or will that remain a secret?


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## bruinfever (Jul 19, 2007)

Groundhog45 said:


> Will we ever know what he is doing or will that remain a secret?


If he wanted us to know he would have stated it. Since he didn't I'm assumoing he wants privacy and I'm sure all of the mods will respect that...


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## Derwood (Dec 19, 2006)

Given his ties to Illinois and obvious popularity here it seems obvious that Earl will be joining his state's US Senator Barack Obama as running mate.....

Earl for VP!!!!


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## Bollocks (Jun 4, 2006)

Can we really be sure he isn't one of the posts in this thread under a new name? Earl is watching!


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## gslater (Aug 5, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> In Earl's "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish thread", he mentioned that he is getting back to programming again. He sounds very happy about that.


Actually, I don't recall seeing that and just checked again. I can't find anywhere in his post where he said what he was doing. I did see another post by him, however, where he was asking for information about JBoss for an upcoming project that I have to assume was for his new employer.

As for programming, that is the reason for my last change of employer. As a project manager, I was spending too much time dealing with people and no time actually getting into the code. Now as the employee of a consulting firm, I get to do it all, from design through development and deployment and I wouldn't give it up for the world. Being the nuts and bolts kind of guy that I think he is, I'll bet Earl will have a wonderful time with this.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Once again you people have failed to see the obvious. The government approves the sale of Murdoch's shares to Liberty and very soon thereafter Earl leaves dbstalk.com.

Has anyone ever seen Earl and Murdoch's son in the same place at the same time?

Coincidence? I think not.

sheesh....I thought there were better minds around here than this.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

He married Jenna Bush. Just don't tell Anne.


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

Tom Robertson said:


> In Earl's "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish thread", he mentioned that he is getting back to programming again. He sounds very happy about that.


Sounds like he'll be making programming decisions for the 101. Either that or he'll be in training for the position of the not yet announced "voice"/poster behind D*13 here on the boards.


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## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

Bollocks said:


> Can we really be sure he isn't one of the posts in this thread under a new name? Earl is watching!


Highly unlikely.


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## untouchable (Jun 24, 2006)

bruinfever said:


> Since when is working for DirecTV like working for the NSA?


I used to work for D* and there were many employees fired for posting in the forums here and releasing proprietary information. Do you remember the HD info that was released? That was done by a D* employee who took it from a training file at a D* office. Even though I moved away from tech support to another job within the company, I still had the low down on a lot of new equipment that was being planned. I knew about the new R22-100 in December '07 or January '08, but was told that the info was not to be released. I also had remote booking before most of the people here on the forum...


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

heisman said:


> Wow! I just found out that 60% of those taking this poll aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.


I know I'm late but :icon_da:

Originally Posted by The Duke of Earl 
Basically...

You can tell everyone that I have joined DirecTV... 
That I will be working in Software Development...​


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

heisman said:


> Well, first of all, he's not working or ever going to work for D*. Second, he has disclosed quite a bit, but the dull knives have failed to read between the lines. Third and finally, a little birdie told me exactly what's happening.


:rolling: :icon_lol: :icon_hroc :uglyhamme !Devil_lol :hair: :new_Eyecr


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

There's something to be said for keeping your credibility intact, even online, huh?


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> There's something to be said for keeping your credibility intact, even online, huh?


memories are long with a good search function!


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

I bet that little birdie's got something coming to him! Lying little SOB. :lol:


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> I bet that little birdie's got something coming to him! Lying little SOB. :lol:


yum! tastes like chicken


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## bruinfever (Jul 19, 2007)

Is there a smilie which shows a foot in the mouth?? :lol:


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

bruinfever said:


> Is there a smilie which shows a foot in the mouth?? :lol:




Okay, let's lay off the guy now - he made a mistake that I'm sure won't happen again.


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