''...and takes names.''

PM's understated yet stunning performance in "Ice Age 3" as "Buck" does to the dinosaurs of yesteryear what PM's software career does to the dinosaurs of today:

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00830/Ice_Age_3_830858a.jpg

''Damnit, now I'm going to have to go watch Ice Age 3. Thanks a lot!'' -- Pete, who's not certain what a software career is, but thinks it's probably a sub-group of XA-Certified on LinkedIn.

----

That's right. I admit it. I'm a fan of PeterMerel. Every time I see his signature, I make sure I read whatever he wrote. Why? Peter is one of the most delightful WikiCelebrities. His contributions are insightful, well-written, and sometimes downright ''funny''. Witness:

* RulesOfGeelf
* ExtremeUnifiedProcess
* VeryGoodSeats
* CaptainHornHair
* SchoolsForCivilization
* LordOfTheFlies
* ExtremeHour
* MrId
* SpaceOdyssey
* WhyWikiWorks
* MemesShmemes
* SpecializationIsForInsects
* WhatDoesHaltingMean
* GreenCheese ... aw, c'mon ...

Um, perhaps you should go pour a nice cup of tea and read TheSecretOfPower a few times. I'm actually rather shabby. I have good friends who will never speak to me again after what I've done to them. And others with whom I don't keep in touch despite their regular letters. I have bad hair and no fashion sense. My wife has a vastly superior sense of humor. BenKovitz attests that I know HowToPissOffYourPair. And that whole seats thing is highly overrated - try it and see for yourself. -- Pete.

Ahh! TragicFlaw''''''s. I like that! -- DeliriousFan
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Here is an example of the power of Pete. Pete is what brought me here and eventually who led to me to the larger world of XP and wiki. I read chapter two of the ExtremeProgrammingExamined . I then read the bibliography which made a reference to this site. Here I discovered wiki. I eventually installed a wiki at my place of work to help track changes to everything in our IT department. I visit this site every day. Here I have read things that have really made me think. I re-discovered the RubyLanguage here. I discovered AlistairCockburn here. What a fantastic place Pete has led me with a chapter about TheTaoOfExtremeProgramming. Hail Pete ! -- TobyFarley

''On the other hand, Pete then emits misdirection like ZenoBuddhism as if it were somehow deep & profound. -- the TRULY deep & profound PhlIp''

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On the gripping hand, life is tough enough as it is without a bunch of sarcastic no-goodnicks accusing your fossilized crap of smelling like petunias. Enough - cut it out - y'all go do mighty works like you oughta so I can give you this treatment and make you sound sillier than you are. Oh, and I'd like to thank my Mum. -- Pete considering about ObnoxiousThingsToDoWithAnOscar.

''Gosh, he can even throw around LarryNiven references with facility. <swoon>.  ;-P'' -- MikeSmith

Nonsense, that's only a Niven second-hand reference. It's a greencheese first-hand reference. See http://www.greencheese.us/GrippingHand. ''(A page written by KeithBraithwaite, who sees no reason not to bask in any reflected glory that's going around. Whoops ...)''

''Pete's just this guy, you know?'' -- Zaphod''''''Beeblebrox's Shrink