>
> As to your suggestion that "wouldn't it be more rational to have objects 
> capable of constructing copies of objects?", that seems to me to be an 
> orthogonal question to whether or not the receiver can or should be able 
> to create a valid copy of itself.  Both concepts could both be true 
> simultaneously, both be false simultaneously, or one true and the other 
> false, independently.
>

I quit! It's 10:47 pm here and I just read the O-word (orthoganal) and I 
am afraid I shall have to go sleepy byes for now. I can't wait to see what 
my inbox has in eight hours time. (I wish, number 1 son is teething, see 
you in half an hour!)

Happy hacking and stay loose!

Sean Charles.

PS: Godamn I love this list, 
Yeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!