Priced to Sell, Part 3

Take it away, Joe:

"Starting my own blog has provided a lesson on why I enjoy yours so much... One word: Focus. My blog as it sits now provides too large a canvas for me to use effectively. My mind flits from topic to topic with little rhyme or reason leaving fragments of thoughts where I would prefer seeing a unified vision. A topic blog provides borders, framework, a tennis net, if you will, that forces me to restrain myself, at least a little bit. In short, while I have a shiny new place where I can spread out a bit, you can be sure I will be back often, and not just to do my laundry ;-)

"The Niatum book was Ascending Red Cedar Moon. Harper & Row (1974). I could easily imagine Allan’s very ownership of the book in question coming as a direct result of a conversation, imagined here in this totally contrived rough sketch of a dialogue from the alt.universe I live in (and all typed while still holding the belief that Allan may well have had perfectly valid evidence for making his claim in the first place and the entire premise of my questioning the inscription is so much hooey):

ARM: Look at this. It’s a 1974 published book inscribed in 1973. That’s a selling point.

KS: I don’t think so ... [presents other options]

ARM: No. It is. 1973 .... You should use that as a selling point.

[a couple of more back and forths]

KS: If you think so, you sell it.

ARM, stubbornly: You know what, I will.

"The most likely outcome of your foray into 'convincing Allan' would probably have been a grudging acknowledgement that you *could* be right while his eyes flitted from the book to a point just over your right shoulder, then back to the book ... real eye contact would only be made if he wished to continue the 'discussion.' You'd walk away with the suspicion that all you have convinced him of is not to make his claim to you anymore."

Yep, that sounds about like the way it was.