Ray and Genie Urick, Elmhurst, Illinois

Dear Ray and Genie: Congratulations on four decades of togetherness! In truth, it wasn't that we forgot to include your wedding in our story. We regretfully kept it out because we knew we wouldn't have the space to give it the in-depth coverage it deserved.

TALKING TRASH

Jim Shahin's October 1 column about the mishap he had when he called his ISP is mistargeted. What if Mr. Shahin got in a car without knowing how to drive and having no insurance and then crashed into a tree? How much sympathy would he get from most of us? Why should we feel sorry for someone who doesn't back up data that is said to be so critical, then embarks on an adventure for which he is ill-trained?

I completely understand Shahin's frustration with tech support. But although I have talked to some fairly incompetent support staffers over the years, I have never had anyone tell me to drag something critical to the trash, then empty the trash, thus removing all important documents from my computer.­ And, if that were to happen, I wouldn't lose much information, as I make backups.

If Shahin isn't sure how to make backups, I advise him to ask any 12-year-old he can find to please make a backup of all of the data on his computer. Thirty minutes later, Shahin will have a disk he can store safely. It might take as long as an hour ... probably about as long as it took him to torpedo all of the critical data on his computer.

George Burditt, Thousand Oaks, California

Jim Shahin responds: Losing my data wasn't the metaphoric result of my driving into a tree. Extending the metaphor, it happened because a traffic cop directed me straight into a car-totaling ditch. But I quibble. We agree that backing up is a good idea because you never know what ineptitude, followed by a lack of responsibility, afflicts a service provider's service. So, thanks for the comforting words of advice.