>> The Coveted "Best Program Name" to David Roe for hicin-pah-tum
	David got this one in early and (for some reason) it
	struck my fancy.  But don't try something similar for the
	next POTM, originality counts!

>> The "Better late than never award" to "symmetry", whose author wrote:
	"I am sorry to have caused trouble for you.  Symmetry 
	must be disqulified in the competition.  This program does 
	not follow the true rules.  It moves the Xs and Os already 
	played sometimes when it is losing.  I was afraid my program 
	would not be good enough, and I wanted to get a really cool 
	job programming after I graduated.   I am very very sorry, 
	also to the many other enterers in the POTM."

	Fred adds:  I must take (in part) responsibility for the problem.
	A better move evaluation program would have caught this kind of
	"error".  Further, "bending the rules" has always been some of the
	fun for the participants.  We all grow and learn, no hard feelings!

>> Most meaningful non-POTM event to Stefan Foerster
	http://home.a-city.de/stefan.foerster/navigate/wedding.jpg
	>> Stefan wrote: Btw, the most important info is that I'll 
	>> get married tomorrow (Apr 28th 2000)!!!!
	I suspect Stefan didn't have much time for last minute
	improvements to his entry.  Best of luck in life!

>> The "Good Choice" award goes to Gabriel Gambetta who wrote:
	++ If I had it to do all over - here's what I would try ....
	Not getting a girlfriend.  I stopped thinking about this 
	contest in january, I think.  I was really busy with my 
	(then recently acquired) girlfriend.  We're together for 
	over 4 months now and she's the woman of my life, so I 
	guess the choice was right :)  It's nothing personal, Fred, 
	but you just can't compete with her ;)

>> "Strangest Innermost Secret" goes to Travis Pulley who admits:
	"I once did a stunt on the set of xena, warrior princess 
	and one of my fake boobs fell out and injured an intern."

>> Second Best POTM Site for Josef Pelikan
	Surfers of the POTM bulletin board know all about
	http://sun3.ms.mff.cuni.cz/~pepca/pah-tum/
	Josef accepted WIN32 executables and ran a mini-tournament
	that had a couple of dozen participants.  It obviously helped
	to hone a few of the top entries.  Thanks for all your effort!

>> Most mangled Email goes to Bill Moeller for Still_Normandy
	An early version contained just about every ugliness I've
	ever seen in mailer problems, =3D, =20, split lines, missed
	characters, and other strangeness.
	Bill writes: The entry I sent was plaintext ... Somehow, 
	aol included it in the main email and reformatted 
	it before sending it out.

>> Longest entry-naming lament goes to William Little
	I will NOT repeat William's entire email, but here's a sample:

	"As you might have guessed, I'm trying for the coveted 
	Best Name consolation prize.  But do I go for a Pah-tum 
	related pun, and become lost amid a sea of at least 20 
	other such entries, or do I go for an anagram, despite 
	the fact that anagrams have seldom (if ever) won the prize?
	1. "Chutzpahtum" - A pun based on "Chutzpah".
	3. "Revolting_Scheme" - An anagram of the perennial "Something_Clever".
	6. "The_Rhombic_Fiend" - An anagram of "Fred Hicinbothem".

	Fred responds:  better luck next time William!

>> The "Cry too much and you'll get TWO Consolations" award to:
	/*  POTM ENTRY:   EpahtumE                                    */
	/*  My Name:      William Little                              */
	/*  My E-mail:    XXXXXXXX@gis.net                            */
	/*  Compile with: GNU C++ Compiler                            */
	/*  Please give:  Me a Consolation Prize                      */

>> Best Strategy Summary to Bill Moeller for Still_Normandy
	>>  Two dead goats and prayers to various gods
	               who then added:
	++ If I had it to do all over - here's what I would try ....
	>> Three dead goats and prayers to various gods
	
	... keep them goats coming Bill!

>> The "Longest Delay in finishing a POTM" award goes to me.
	It's hard to know just when the peaks and valleys will occur in
	"real life" ... and believe it or not, work and family must
	occasionally come before the POTM.  This one was a bit more
	demanding of time than most, and I'm looking forward to
	some time off.  But fear not, the POTM will return!
	
============  Some URLs for your surfing pleasue  =============

The following are home pages, or recommended pages, of the participants.