My advice was roundly ignored, but speaking of kisses... snap!

[Bawstun accent] Wow, that was weird. I have this strange urge to drink warm beer. Where was I? Oh yeah, I'd like to tell you about our first major reader poll.

We'll gather all your responses and publish the findings in our Oct. 14 issue. Yes, that's the correct date: It will, in fact, take months to sift through your answers and build compelling content around the feedback. That's your feedback I'm talking about -- your words, thoughts, and frustrations. And with the potential for 220,000 responses, whew!... Well, now you know how we'll be spending the summer at Network Computing.

Let me give a few more details about this poll. Whenever I meet with networking vendors or talk to other folks in this industry, I like to tell them about the "peer" relationship our editors have with our readers. Our editors have real-world IT experience -- which gives each one of us insights into not only who reads our magazine but why they read it.

We thought it would be particularly useful to build a special issue that shows some of the trials and tribulations you and your peers (beyond our team) are struggling with--and maybe even shares some of your triumphs. Our poll also lets us conduct a quick litmus test to make sure we're reading you correctly -- that we understand your concerns and are doing our best to help you do your jobs. We want to know what aspects of work drive you a little bit crazy and how you would like to see them changed. We hope you'll sound off on a number of issues with the goal that you'll serve as a role model. Or maybe you'll just raise some red flags regarding potential business and technology problems others might be getting ready to face. Just head to www.nwc.com/go/cicweb.html and get started.

Despite the fact we're devoting an issue to your views, please don't think that responding to your feedback is something new for us. Truth is, our magazine exists to serve you and your need to understand technology, and how that technology can help solve business problems. We want to make sure our coverage is hitting the mark, and if we've strayed from the target, we want to adjust our sights.

So ... what will it take to get you to fill out the survey? How does a free MP3 player sound? We'll have a drawing to give away three of them. Simply answer a few questions and you're in the hunt. It takes "only a few short moments to complete the survey," as the telemarketers say, but unlike them, I promise not to call during dinner.

It seems there's no way we can miss with this survey. Mr. Dawson promised everything would work out just as long as I planted a big wet one on him. The things I do for this magazine.