Recently a practical joker here at Oregon State discovered and told everyone in my department what I've known for a while. Every time the spell checker on our computer word processing program gets to my name it suggests substituting "Dunce" for "Duncan."
But I'm not going to let that keep me from journeying onto the computer and into cyberspace. There are interesting things along the information superhighway. You'll learn about some of them in Wonders of the Web, free-lancer John Schmitz's article about OSU World Wide Web sites.
In this issue you'll also learn how OSU Agricultural Experiment Station researchers and Extension Service agents and specialists are working with a variety of Oregonians to safeguard our water, soil and grasslands. To help the seafood industry cut waste, boost profits and protect the environment. And to add value to some of the more than $3 billion worth of raw agricultural products Oregonians grow every year.
I want to return briefly to our previous issue: "My dad reads your magazine, and my family and I love it," began a letter I received from Kendra Winn of Weston, Oregon, not long after we ran a cover story about an OSU scientist's study of the pollution-busting potential of bacteria in whales' tummies.
Then Kendra stopped sugar-coating things and got to her point: A reference in the cover story to the biblical Jonah spending 40 days in the belly of a whale.
"Even I, a 10-year-old going into sixth grade, and the youngest in my class, know that Jonah did not spend any 40 days in the belly of a whale," she said. "He spent three days in the belly of a large fish. I like it when you use things from the Bible, but please put them in your magazine correctly."
You're absolutely right, Kendra. We apologize for the mistake. Don't give up on us. We'll try to do better. But if we goof up again, let us know.