Bob,

Regarding my saying that it may surprise people that text is linear...

I didn't think it'd surprise you, or anyone else who's even comfortable using the word 'text'. I suppose I'm still used to four years of pontificating to beach bums at bars in Florida (what a world away). From a computer science standpoint, text is definately linear, actually everything is pretty much linear in operation (all stream i/o), but to people used to, say, reading a newspaper, that might not be an attribute that absolutely Jumps out at them.

BTW, thanks for responding.... I really need this kind of input. I'm putting everyone's responses and my responses to their responses into a long linear text file called "Gravity Notes", and it makes good reading. In the back of my mind I'm thinking it might make a book. I haven't heard of many printed volumes that have the sort of premise as this... a series of notes to many many eclectic and knowledgeable men and women, which change their direction and emphasis as responses arrive, all aiming at a very elusive inter-departmental endeavor: Gravity Notes.