Hi,

I just wanted to drop on in to say thanks to everybody for all the
really fascinating answers to this question.

I will press on.  There was never any doubt about my excitement and
interest in XSL; it's just that, as I explained with past technologies,
I didn't want to run into that same situation I ended up running into
with TeX:  you learn it really well, you get all excited about what you
can do with it, and then you pretty much have to drop it, cold, in favor
of the next technology.  (That's partly out of your control sometimes,
depending on your employer[s].  And TeX [primarily through LaTeX, if I'm
not mistaken], is still alive and well out there.  But you would have
been hard-pressed to find a comparable assignment after a certain point
was reached, say in the late '80s, early '90s.)

XSL is here to stay, I'm convinced.  And I look forward to learning it
inside out.

By the way, a shameless plug for those who got me started on this road:
first Mulberry Technologies, with great instruction in XML, XSLT/XPath,
and XSL-FO from the illustrious team of Tommie Usdin, Debbie Lapeyre,
Wendell Piez, and Tonya Gaylord (back in April '07); and then Ken
Holman, who took it to the next level with even more in-depth
examination of XSLT/XPath and XSL-FO, mid-last month (Sept.) at his
classes up in San Francisco.  I highly recommend everybody named, to
anyone who's interested in in-depth training in these areas.  The good
news:  They will spur you on to want to learn these technologies inside
out.  The bad news:  They will spur you on to want to learn these
technologies inside out.  That is, in the latter case, you'll find
yourself becoming addicted to this stuff!  But, as addictions go, it's
not a bad one. :)  (Thanks, guys, for all your training and help.)

I'm happy to join this community although as I believe I mentioned, it
will likely be some time before I contribute anything of any
technological interest.  But, this discussion was a fun ride, let me
tell you! :)

Best wishes,

Steve

--
Steve Janoff
Information Manager, Specialty Engineering
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
Tel. (858) 312-3255 (New number)
Fax (858) 312-4668 (New number)
Steven.Janoff@xxxxxxx