# Bios? Bios? anyone?....Bios?



## knyfeknerd (Mar 24, 2012)

As I'm new here, I would love to know more about what some of you guys do. Some people have decent ones on their profile pages. Some people are shrouded in mystery. If that's how you like it, at least make up a decent story. Or if this thread has been done before, could someone point me in the right direction.
I'll tell you all about my glamorous life in the foodservice industry later. I haven't had nearly enough to drink yet.
thx, knerd


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## mc2442 (Mar 24, 2012)

I play with numbers for a living. I just like knives


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## Pensacola Tiger (Mar 24, 2012)

Semi-retired IT guy who does all the cooking at home.


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## Lucretia (Mar 24, 2012)

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.


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## Vertigo (Mar 24, 2012)

I started as a dishwasher in a Ma and Pa greasy spoon, after 6 years and a handful of promotions I began traveling around the states working short stints in either restaurants or corporate IT (depending on the region's job market and whichever I was less tired of); 7 years ago I returned to the same Ma and Pa greasy spoon where I'm now employed as the Sous Chef to the owner/operator. I enjoy long walks in National Parks, video games, mountain biking, roughhousing with my dog, and playing Legos while drinking cheap wine with my kickass girlfriend.


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## kalaeb (Mar 24, 2012)

I flip burgers.


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## steeley (Mar 25, 2012)

sorry witness protection program . here a nice picture of me with friends.




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## sachem allison (Mar 25, 2012)

just a cook at an irish pub.:zippedshut::brb:


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## apicius9 (Mar 25, 2012)

An almost 50-year old who never made it out of school and still likes to play with wood blocks.

Stefan


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## MadMel (Mar 25, 2012)

Student


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## Taz575 (Mar 25, 2012)

I work 3rd shift doing Security and have a business making custom fishing rods. The knives are more of a hobby/addiction for me and I love to cook. When I was in college, I used to cook a lot since the cafeteria food really sucked. I had an on campus apartment between 2 all girls apartments and right next to an all girls dorm. My neighbors got in to a bidding war for me to cook dinner for them and their boyfriends since they couldn't cook much more than Kraft Mac and Cheese. It got to $50 a plate before I stopped the bidding. I told them I would teach them to cook for nothing, but they didn't want to put the time or effort into it. I would invite my friends over instead for dinner and cook a big meal for them, and the girls were stuck trying to cook for their boyfriends. I had people stopping by the apartment to get recipes because they would smell my food on their way to and from classes. I got the nickname "Emeril".


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## JKerr (Mar 25, 2012)

Glaswegian ex-pat, living in Melbourne, working in kitchens as a 2nd year apprentice. Always enjoyed food but never really appreciated it until I moved over to Oz when I was 21. Never been particularly academic and don't really have the patience to study full-time so starting my chefs apprenticeship seemed like a logical way to go, and thankfully, I haven't looked back.


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## pumbaa (Mar 25, 2012)

Started as a computer engineering major at UCF in Orlando. Found I cannot sit still that damn long, so went back to college in Charleston SC for economics. While doing that I needed a job and my neighbor was a Sous at a huge resort called Wild Dunes. Started in a kitchen there, took a break and got into home theater/car stereo and automation stuff. That industry died with ebay, and big box stores. 

Went to culinary school since working in a kitchen was the most fun I ever had in a job and I just love food(look at my waist size). Graduated culinary school went to Charleston SC again and worked at Blossom/Magnolias/Cypress, and Bocci's as a second job. Got the opportunity to come back to Charlotte to go to CPCC's baking and pastry program under Chef Blount (certified badass). While doing that I worked at a start up here that was great when we opened, all local and great menu. Now finishing up the baking and pastry program with 2 classes and taking a exec pastry chef job at another new place.

Long wall of text but that is how it has worked out at this point.


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## Mike Davis (Mar 25, 2012)

I am a full time tattoo artist, and a semi full time knife maker. I have 2 awesome kids and a great wife. I am new into the cooking thing(year), pretty new to the knife thing, but it has quickly become a passion again. I quit making knives in early 2007 and picked it back up again in the middle of 2010. I love to eat, so it is natural i love learning to cook. Aside from all of this, i paint, sculpt, carve, airbrush...pretty much anything artistic i can get my hands into...


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## Lucretia (Mar 25, 2012)

pumbaa said:


> Started as a computer engineering major at UCF in Orlando.



I always heard that due to their habit of cancelling mandatory classes, UCF stands for "U Can't Finish".


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## pumbaa (Mar 25, 2012)

Lucretia said:


> I always heard that due to their habit of cancelling mandatory classes, UCF stands for "U Can't Finish".



This is very true. I had a psych class and an english 200 level class cancelled thus I did not meet the full time status and almost lost my scholarship so I took dumb study and goals classes.


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## mr drinky (Mar 25, 2012)

I'm working on a cure for idleness and sloth. 

k.


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## Chifunda (Mar 25, 2012)

I'm gonna do that too, as soon as I get around to it.


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## add (Mar 25, 2012)

mr drinky said:


> I'm working on a cure for idleness and sloth.
> 
> k.



You've come to the wrong place then... unless we are your subjects.


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## stevenStefano (Mar 25, 2012)

Was always reasonably good at school and spent 4 years at University doing an MSc studying to be a planner. Whilst there I got a job washing dishes at weekends, which progressed into the kitchen. Now it's about 3 years since I left Uni and the job market for my qualification is absolutely dire, so it looks like I'll be a Chef for a bit longer. Work somewhere that isn't super fancy in my hometown and I really really really want to leave/quit now so my plan is to get into somewhere a bit fancier in a bigger town and perhaps go to Catering College though I'm trying to avoid it. Is 26 too old to go back to school? So that's my plan at the minute


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## RRLOVER (Mar 25, 2012)

I am the HEAD key maker at a hardware store,and they just don't let anybody make keys.I had to watch a 35 minute video to get the position


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## steeley (Mar 25, 2012)

so your the key master.


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## RRLOVER (Mar 25, 2012)

steeley said:


> so your the key master.



I am joking......This is what one of my wealthy friends tells girls that he meets at bars,you should see the look on their faces.


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 25, 2012)

I forgot to mention: The winner of "Best Bio' as judged by me shall recieve a prize!!! 
What is this prize??!!??? You may ask yourself........
A Bud K Santoku !!!!
I know, you probably just crapped yourself. I did say a BUD F-ING KAYYYYY !!!!!!!!



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You must pay shipping if you win. You also assume all liability that this knife will probably break and or rust if ever used.


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## steeley (Mar 25, 2012)

Hey it worked on Sigourney Weaver.



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## Crothcipt (Mar 25, 2012)

Is this the same maker?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JT4J0G...e=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B003JT4J0G


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 25, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> Is this the same maker?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JT4J0G...e=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B003JT4J0G


Why yes, it is. Good eye.
Beautiful work, Flawless constuction. Why do any other people even make knives??? It would be an excercise in futility to try and compete with the greatness of the Bud-K. Think of all the cool things you could do with those holes. Shoelaces come to mind.......


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay, my turn
I cook. I chawp chawp. I like the way I chawp. 
No, seriously I have been in the kitchen since I was 15. My first job was dishwasher and bussing tables at a barbecue place here. I've been at a lot of different restaurants over the years and never went to school. I've worked with some great chefs and some degenerates whose payroll checks bounce. I started catering about ten years ago.
At one point I was the chef of a very large and successful outfit here but left after the ownership wanted me to cut corners by buying prefab crap and calling it my own. I left to work for a much smaller company where I am in essence, the sous ( we don't really do titles) . Been here 4 years. We do great food. We don't bring food already hot in disgusting holding box. We do as much as possible on site. Being here has shown that catered food can be good. Unfortunately there's a lot of bad food out there. Also, the $ is more dependable than a restaurant. When you have a family you sometimes have to compromise on some of your other dreams. I'm looking forward to opening my own restaurant in the next 2 years.


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## pumbaa (Mar 26, 2012)

knyfeknerd said:


> Okay, my turn
> I cook. I chawp chawp. I like the way I chawp.
> No, seriously I have been in the kitchen since I was 15. My first job was dishwasher and bussing tables at a barbecue place here. I've been at a lot of different restaurants over the years and never went to school. I've worked with some great chefs and some degenerates whose payroll checks bounce. I started catering about ten years ago.
> At one point I was the chef of a very large and successful outfit here but left after the ownership wanted me to cut corners by buying prefab crap and calling it my own. I left to work for a much smaller company where I am in essence, the sous ( we don't really do titles) . Been here 4 years. We do great food. We don't bring food already hot in disgusting holding box. We do as much as possible on site. Being here has shown that catered food can be good. Unfortunately there's a lot of bad food out there. Also, the $ is more dependable than a restaurant. When you have a family you sometimes have to compromise on some of your other dreams. I'm looking forward to opening my own restaurant in the next 2 years.



If I am still in Charlotte I will do your pastries. I like working with people who do as much on site as possible.


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## Eamon Burke (Mar 26, 2012)

I don't want to post my bio because now I am afraid I will win that knife.


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## Crothcipt (Mar 26, 2012)

just say it was a steal at 98% off. I was gonna post until the knife showed up too.:knifed:


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## sachem allison (Mar 26, 2012)

i posted before the knife was offered, am I safe?


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## The Edge (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been cooking since I was 7. Mom got me up on a step stool and had me cooking dinner at least once a week. Was also taught how to sharpen knives at that age on oil stones. Was always pretty good at school and started going to college for mechanical engineering. Was young, and not sure what I wanted to do with the degree, so I stopped, and became a dishwasher for some extra cash. Was able to work my way up to line cook, and then saucier before the hotel closed. Started to work for Amazon.com a couple years back, and now I run flow for one of their distribution centers. Trying to go back to school to finish my degree. Still passionate about food, but like cooking for friends rather than paying customers.


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 26, 2012)

BurkeCutlery said:


> I don't want to post my bio because now I am afraid I will win that knife.



Rotflmfao


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## pumbaa (Mar 27, 2012)

I have no chance at the knife right. Seriously, no really I don't want it.


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 27, 2012)

The knife chooses it's owner. It's not the other way around.


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## kostantinos (Mar 27, 2012)

My name is kosta .i spent most of my time in a kitchen . My Mother is an awesome cook she taught me to respect fire. She stillcooks traditionally to this day back home in Greece.I been A kf member for a while until i realized after a long hiatus that everyone in the forums has split to find a new home.I am fascinated by knifes and i obviously love cooking .Right now i am in Baltimore cooking for Michael Mina.
i have a great respect for the knife community .they have taught me a lot through the past few years.

Since iam late in this process i want to see that knife go in a good home..Preferably someones elses home?:biggrin:


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## Crothcipt (Mar 27, 2012)

welcome Kosta


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## JBroida (Mar 27, 2012)

hey kosta... good to have you back online again


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## Bulldogbacchus (Mar 27, 2012)

Amateur cook.
Professional cutter.
I've been fascinated by sharp things for a long time.


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## Seth (Mar 27, 2012)

My music history and theory degree didn't do me much good in the job market so I became a woodworker by day, jazz and theater bass player by night. After the first divorce I was raising two little children and thus began the quest to cook decent food for them. They wouldn't eat veggies without bernaise sauce. After the second divorce, I began the quest to cook even decenter food. (See a pattern here?) High School kids are always hungry. The single Dad with the great food became the hangout which helped me keep my kids out of serious trouble. Anyone know any single women? I need to up my cooking game...


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## joec (Mar 27, 2012)

Boring life, just enjoy cooking which lead to knives, guns led to reloading, cameras to painting, karate to body guard/courier work. Now retired and part owner manager of a self storage facility. 65 years old, married 48 years, 4 kids, 17 grand kids, and 6 great grand kids. Boring to say the least. :happymug:


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 27, 2012)

joec said:


> Boring life, just enjoy cooking which lead to knives, guns led to reloading, cameras to painting, karate to body guard/courier work. Now retired and part owner manager of a self storage facility. 65 years old, married 48 years, 4 kids, 17 grand kids, and 6 great grand kids. Boring to say the least. :happymug:


Sounds like a great life to me. Not boring at all. Hope you enjoy those kids, grandkids and great grandkids. That's one big family.


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## RobinW (Mar 27, 2012)

Engineering degree but mostly run development projects. Born and raised in Sweden. After 6 month at the first job they shipped me to Ireland for 3 years. Continued on to Thailand for a year. Came back to Sweden and took another job. Ended up doing commercial sailing projects (VOR) for amost 6 years (fun to be the corporate sponsor dude that did not back off from cooking for the crew or fixing their fuel filters). Went back to company number one again. Managed to stay in Sweden for a year and then i shipped off to the US. This time with two kids and a wife. Now i've done my 3 years here so leaving for Sweden again in about 7 weeks. 
Home cook that likes trying things and enjoy sharp thingies...


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## Seth (Mar 27, 2012)

Robin, and maybe others who are world travelers, how does the Philadelphia area compare; have you enjoyed your stay here? Maybe a different thread for where in the world you would like to live...
s.


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## RobinW (Mar 27, 2012)

Philly is good. There are always lots of opinions (from non-us persons) on what living in the US is like/should be. My opinion is that as long as you are not too tight on money this is a good place to be. This is especially true in our little part of the Philly suburbs (i get on/off the train on the station next to Seth). 
Family has enjoyed the stay and while the wife was a bit hard to convince moving here, she does not want to go back.... 

US has so many positive sides that tourists do not notice, i find the politeness, servicemindedness, helpfullness and generosity very good (and most americans seems to take it for granted). On the other hand i find some views on for example public health care hard to understand (i'll leave it at that, i do not wish this to become a politics discussion). 
The quality of products you can get if you know where to look is nothing short of amazing, just look at the vendors here. The problem for me was initially to find and distinguish good from bad. I was just not used to having that many products to choose from. 
And lets leave the weather comparison with Sweden for another day. 

I lived on the very south tip of Ireland ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonakilty ) which is basically just a small town in the middle of farmland so obviously that is going to be different. I enjoyed staying there to, but it's very hard to compare.
In Thailand i lived right in the outskirts of central Bankok. Being an expat in a place where you do not look the same as everyone else makes a big difference. Easier because you tend to stick to your likes, harder because you look weird.

Time will tell if we will move once again, we'll see. I still want to move to Australia or Asia again..... My kids are still young so they are easy to move. When they get older it gets harder (until they leave the nest obviously) but we still got a few years until that time comes. 

Slightly off topic....


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## Crothcipt (Mar 27, 2012)

lol well so far that is the best bio. call you knife winner.


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## Crothcipt (Mar 28, 2012)

Ok I have been putting this off for to long. I went to a school to be a missionary, and decided I didn't like begging for money for the rest of my life. So I moved from Dallas Tx. back to Wyoming. Got my first cooking job at a Denny's and to this day hate cooking breakfast. Moved to Kansas City, doing a bunch of cooking and non cooking jobs for a few years. I landed in a full service restaurant owned by a football player and ended up becoming a ass. kitchen manager. I was working over 60hrs. a week and making under 30k. My Father got sick with a terminal disease so I moved back to Wy. I now just work in a kitchen as a line cook. I barely make ends meet but I now have time to do other things than worry about the store.


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## mano (Mar 28, 2012)

> RobinW;94893
> Philly is good. My opinion is that ... this is a good place to be... i find the politeness, helpfulness and generosity very good ..."





Having lived in and around Philadelphia on and off for the last 36 years it's obvious to me he's either lying or delusional and deserves the bizarro knife. :laugh:


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## apicius9 (Mar 28, 2012)

Seth, Mano & Robin, where exactly are you? Wanna go out for a beer or lunch in April? I will be around Rosemont, Gladwyne and West Chester for a week, I think from April 14-21.

Stefan


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## RobinW (Mar 29, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> Seth, Mano & Robin, where exactly are you? Wanna go out for a beer or lunch in April? I will be around Rosemont, Gladwyne and West Chester for a week, I think from April 14-21.
> 
> Stefan


I'm in center city (daytime at least)


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## RobinW (Mar 29, 2012)

mano said:


> Having lived in and around Philadelphia on and off for the last 36 years it's obvious to me he's either lying or delusional and deserves the bizarro knife. :laugh:



Not sure i deserve the knife, but in Sweden you practically have to excuse yourself for disturbing the peace of the people working in a store. No one would consider holding the door for you even if you are loaded up like a donkey in asia.

As long as you stay out of the bad parts of the city i stand by my opinion.


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## mano (Mar 29, 2012)

Apicus, Central Bucks County, nowhere near where you'll be. A shame, as I'd like to meet you.

Robin, the truth is I really like Philly and am very happy here.


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 29, 2012)

I'm honestly waiting for Dave Martell to post a bio. The knife was talking to me over breakfast this morning and said how much it really likes Dave. We'll see...if not it's probably going to Eamon. He didn't post a bio, but he did post in the thread and the knife sais how it kinda likes him too.


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## pumbaa (Mar 29, 2012)

yes! i didnt win it!


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## mr drinky (Mar 30, 2012)

I am just going to add tid bits of my bio history that raise more questions than answers.

*** When I lived in Yemen, I chewed qat with the King of Mars. He did not give me any land on Mars (as he did Nelson Mandela and the 1998 French Soccer Team), but he did appoint me to a tribunal to adjudicate future land disputes on Mars. ***

k.


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## sw2geeks (Mar 30, 2012)

What the heck, I have been a newspaper artist for the last 27 years here in Fort Worth, before that college and working as a caricature artist at Six Flag's. I'm am half Chinese and worked some in a Chinese resturant as a kid. Love to cook and shoot photos. Started doing action shots on the old forum which combined my two hobbies. Showed some of my food pics around at the paper and now I actually have a food blog I do on the side for the paper on what I cook on the weekends.


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## Eamon Burke (Mar 30, 2012)

Ok here's my bio:

I'm exhausted, and have but one regret. That about sums it up.


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## wenus2 (Mar 30, 2012)

Lol, from the title I thought this was a computer system question. 
Guess that prolly gives my profession away.


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## knyfeknerd (Mar 30, 2012)

BurkeCutlery said:


> Ok here's my bio:
> 
> I'm exhausted, and have but one regret. That about sums it up.


Is your one regret that you posted and a sweet BUD-K is probably headed your way?


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## shankster (Mar 30, 2012)

I cook for those who can afford it......


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## Eamon Burke (Mar 30, 2012)

knyfeknerd said:


> Is your one regret that you posted and a sweet BUD-K is probably headed your way?



ha ha, that life is epically terrible!


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## GlassEye (Mar 30, 2012)

wenus2 said:


> Lol, from the title I thought this was a computer system question.
> Guess that prolly gives my profession away.



I, too, thought that at first.


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