2.)  No.  Yes.  

3.)  Thanks!  I hear from these guys all the time how they miss my posts, blah blah blah, but frankly, hearing it from you was just the motivation I needed.  I generally don't expect anyone outside of ET to read these things.  ...  And I'm not just saying that to kiss up!  There truly is nothing vaguely round-up worthy in this.

"Talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind possesses over the other organisms." -Dostoevsky