Thanks, Fred!

I would also rather talk about favorite mudcatters than people who piss me off. But on the other hand, some of my favorite mudcatters often DO piss me off, like DougR. And Martin Gibson himself.   I mean, who could not be amused by some of MG's comments, and pissed off by others?

By the way, as to whether Martin Gibson is "Real" or not, there's a classic of sociology by Erving Goffman, called "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life." His essential argument is that we are all acting roles most of the time. The version of us that most other people see is not the "real" us or the "complete" us, but a role. Martin Gibson is one of the roles acted by his creator. He is not "completely unreal" (whatever that may mean), but he is only a projection, a role, being acted by his creator.

Certain things MG certainly has in common with his creator. I believe the creator of MG is really Jewish, for example, from sentences like

Don, what I forgot, you haven't even imagined.

But of course, it's possible that MG is just a very well-created role.

In either case, I long ago decided that MG just says what he says to be funny and yank our chains, and since then he's gone from being someone who pissed me off to one of my favorite mudcatters--because it's usually amusing to read a thread he's in!

Other favorites: Bobert, Fred Miller, Wolfgang (who keeps both sides honest on the political threads), Sandy Paton, Kytrad, and the late lamented Rick Fielding, among others.

'Catters who piss me off? Life's too short

(er, that's too short to be pissed off, not too short to list the 'Catters who piss me off!)