blue light special

I've tried to keep up with reading LiveJournal during this last week, but I've been lax about writing either new material here or replies to other people. Mental distractions abound. I mentioned earlier that I might post some "iffy" material here, and... well, here's one of the topics now. I think that I have the right words and references to explain it properly. I started writing this piece back in 2004, but maybe now I can finally finish it.

( brevity cut for courtesy... )

Choose the explanation that's appropriate for the need. Getting them confused leads to all kinds of trouble.