Aaron's post began with a quote from my post and proceeded to slash and burn from there. I sent him an email and he assured me that I was not the object of his post, even though it was difficult for me to see that, since I was the only one referred to by name. I do agree with him that unless you know the background of a poster, you do have to maintain a bit of skepticism as to the authenticity of their observations. After you know more about them you can color your judgment. So. like St. Paul, here are my particulars and from that you can judge the content of my post. I do not measure up to one of Aaron's criteria, which is attendance at National meetings, unless you give me credit for running the registration for two EAS meetings (ten years apart) in Maine, and I do attend our State Annual Meeting. I have published several times in Gleanings (ABJ stole one of my articles in our State newsletter, so there also); was the State point of contact for all thing bees for about 10 years; taught bees schools; editor of the State newsletter for seven years; State Beekeeper of the Year; beekeeping for over 15 years, and posted here on the BeeL for longer than most all here. I have worked with the State Apiarist in the field, mainly as an observer, inspecting commercial, migratory, and hobby beekeepers.I am a "disciple" of George Imire and Tony Jadczak both of whom taught me the art of successful beekeeping. I am a hobby beekeeper but with a scientific bent mainly because of my Masters of Science in Chemistry. I cannot and never will suggest I know more about the nuts and bolts of beekeeping compared to someone like Bob Harrison, who lives it. For me, on this list, it is a scientific interest, while in my backyard, it is for pollination. I do not need many hives and wife does not like honey. Because of the scientific part, I keep in touch with several people and talk over things like CCD and other problems in the industry. I take the "Informed Discussion" of our list seriously. Which brings me to a problem, and one which has bothered me with every post I have made on the subject of CCD. I know too much and by speaking I do come close to violating confidences. It is difficult, when you comment on something, to differentiate between your own views and what has been told to you, especially when you agree. So I am going to shut up on this subject except for generalities and questions. I will keep other's observations out of the discussion since I agree that, from a scientific point of view, unless I can directly attribute my sources, it is unscientific. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************