It occurred to me that I should provide a link to an online article about Mercury retrograde.

And so I came back to the computer-and it froze on me, and then when I finally could do a search and link to one of 11,700 online articles about Mercury Retrograde, I find that I can't get into Mudcat's front door..

Well at least the back door is working for me-at this moment. Sometimes that doesn't work either...

Anyway, for those curious enough to read up on Mercury Retrograde, here is an excerpt from one website that I arbitrarily selected...

"Three times each year, for a three week time period, the planet Mercury goes retrograde. (This means from the perspective of the Earth, Mercury looks to be moving backward in the zodiac). What can we experience during Mercury retrogrades? – most often, increased frustration, interruptions and snafu's that make even simple projects seem impossible You will need more caution, more care, and a pinch more of elbow grease to get things done. Typically there are delays, interferences, miscommunications (especially for those of us with strong Virgo or Gemini in our charts (Mercury is the ruler of these two signs). It is not a good time to launch or initiate new projects. You will be pushing off, symbolically, just when the tide is going out, and it will be more of a strain to make headway with your plan – better to wait until the current is moving with you."

end of quote.

As an aside, this passage mentions the strong effect of Mercury Retrograde on those individuals who have strong Virgo and Gemini in their natal [birth] charts..I'm one of those people..

Here's a link to that article:
Mercury Retrograde

Included in this article is a table of Mercury Retrograde periods through the year 2006.

Of course, software issues including spyware and/or volume of chatting 'Catters could also be the cause of the problems Mudcat is experiencing, or these could be contributing factors along with good ole Mercury Retrograde-pre and actual.

"There must be a reason why..I don't know".

{and I bet some of you here know the song that this line comes from}

;O)