Feb. 2, 2001

Dear Tweets,

I tried to download the "Wings" record-keeping program from the Internet, but, computer twit that I am, I could not do so. I tried to download it, and apparently did so, after ninety minutes. Then I tried to open it and got a lot of weird symbols. I tried to open it using Excel; now somebody says I should have used Access. Anyway, on Excel, I saw a message about my having to covert the file using "BinHex 4.0." I was mystified as to what all that means, but suspect it has something to do with the Mac/PC gulf. To top it off, my Internet Service Provider here in Saudi is wretched--I can only get on Yahoo or the net when the dang thing is up, which is not often. Any ideas, computer-literate Tweets?

Also, by the way--does Wings work for sightings around the world, or only in the ABA area? I saw some mention of the four-letter codes (WIWA, AMRO, etc.) and that makes me think it won't work outside the ABA area.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

PS I cannot resist mentioning--I am always on the lookout for a Vulgar Starling here, but can never find one! They are supposed to be rare winter birds in western Arabia. Once I got all excited, but the bird I saw strutting on a park greensward "sturned out" to be a Common Mynah. Another time it was "only" a Rosy Starling. Funny how one's attitude can change with a change of patch. I used to chuck rocks at the Starlings at my feeder in Skagit County...



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