# Return of the Wombat **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 13, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076 "2013-01-13T17:53:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/1 "2013-01-13T17:53:18Z")
After a six-month sabbatical, I have returned to the Dope. Immediately upon my return, the admins grabbed me, performed a minimal goat/octopus re-initiation ceremony, and slipped the moderator harness back on. It seems tighter this time, and I think the buckles in back may be soldered closed. It was a good sabbatical. I finished the book I was writing, and then built the most awesome Minecraft home/garden/ranch you’ve ever seen. Now _that_ is productivity! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/2 "2013-01-13T18:01:03Z")
Welcome back, Gary. 🙂 I look forward to “Wombat: Michael Myers, 20th Anniversary Sequel.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/3 "2013-01-13T18:04:23Z")
Welcome back. Gearing up for Rape Month to start, glad there’s another jackbooted thug on board! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/4 "2013-01-13T18:16:30Z")
Good to have you back on board. Spammers never sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/5 "2013-01-13T18:33:49Z")
Where Wombat is, can Periwinkle be far away? Mmmmmmmmmmmmaybe. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/6 "2013-01-13T18:53:03Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:1, topic:647076”] It seems tighter this time, and I think the buckles in back may be soldered closed. [/QUOTE] They vowed not to make _that_ mistake again. Welcome back. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/7 "2013-01-13T18:54:33Z")
Hmmm… > [@The Jargon File](#): > > **WOMBAT** : /wom�bat/, adj. [acronym: Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time] > > Applied to problems which are both profoundly [_uninteresting_](http://catb.org/jargon/html/U/uninteresting.html) in themselves and unlikely to benefit anyone interesting even if solved. Often used in fanciful constructions such as wrestling with a wombat. See also [_crawling horror_](http://catb.org/jargon/html/C/crawling-horror.html), [_SMOP_](http://catb.org/jargon/html/S/SMOP.html). Also note the rather different usage as a metasyntactic variable in [_Commonwealth Hackish_](http://catb.org/jargon/html/C/Commonwealth-Hackish.html). > > Users of the [_PDP-11_](http://catb.org/jargon/html/P/PDP-11.html) database program DATATRIEVE adopted the wombat as their notional mascot; the program’s help file responded to “HELP WOMBAT” with factual information about Real World wombats. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/8 "2013-01-13T19:02:41Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > They vowed not to make _that_ mistake again. Some days it scarcely seems worth gnawing through the restraints, but we do it anyway.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/9 "2013-01-13T21:54:13Z")
What, no frickin’ sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads watching y’all? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/10 "2013-01-14T00:01:36Z")
Welcome back! Now get back to work! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/11 "2013-01-14T00:25:25Z")
Welcome back, **Wombat**!! -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/12 "2013-01-14T00:36:46Z")
Gary who? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/13 "2013-01-14T01:37:27Z")
Welcome back, ya slacker! Hope you’ve been keeping your banhammer-wielding muscles toned. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/14 "2013-01-14T01:52:07Z")
A book, eh? Published yet? What’s it called? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/15 "2013-01-14T02:53:18Z")
Welcome back. Congratulations on the book! Let us know when it is published. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/16 "2013-01-14T03:40:11Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Hmmm… > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by The Jargon File > > WOMBAT: /wom�bat/, adj. [acronym: Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time] > > > > Applied to problems which are both profoundly uninteresting in themselves and unlikely to benefit anyone interesting even if solved. Often used in fanciful constructions such as wrestling with a wombat. See also crawling horror, SMOP. Also note the rather different usage as a metasyntactic variable in Commonwealth Hackish. > > > > Users of the PDP-11 database program DATATRIEVE adopted the wombat as their notional mascot; the program’s help file responded to “HELP WOMBAT” with factual information about Real World wombats. Oddly enough, I’ve never seen that before. Hmmm. It makes my original Straight Dope name (Invisible Wombat) even more interesting! > [@Marley23](#): > > Welcome back! Now get back to work! :mad: Okay, okay. I’m trying to ease back into it so I don’t do something silly like ban everybody on the whole board. 'Cause I’d probably get grief about that for the rest of my life. 😉 > [@Rachellelogram](#): > > A book, eh? Published yet? What’s it called? 😃 Hey, everyone, she asked! That gives me one free shameless self-promotion! [shameless self-promotion] The book is my 18th [_Who Pooped in the Park?_](http://robson.org/gary/whopooped.php) book of scats & tracks for kids. This one is set in the Cascade Mountains, and will be available in the springtime at a bookstore near you (assuming you live in Washington, Oregon, northern California, or southern British Columbia). You can also order copies directly from my bookstore and I’ll happily autograph them for you. [/shameless self-promotion] Thanks for the welcomes, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/17 "2013-01-14T04:08:25Z")
Well shit. I guess our long summer/fall of content is over I suppose. Given all that free time did you fix that glass top with bad scratch? Welcome back. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/18 "2013-01-14T05:15:45Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Well shit. > > I guess our long summer/fall of content is over I suppose. Bwahahaha! > [@billfish678](#): > > Given all that free time did you fix that glass top with bad scratch? Well, sort of. I broke it by accident. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/19 "2013-01-14T14:52:37Z")
IMO breaking things is a highly underated method of repair. Does that book have any of those cardboard poop ups? Or is it a schratch and sniff ? Kids love those things. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076/20 "2013-01-14T15:09:16Z")
I got January 27th in the “First New Over-Moderation/Unfair-Moderation Charge Against Wombat and/or Pit Thread” betting pool. Hey! Someone had to say it! Besides, you know _somewhere something_ like that is happening! (But its still great to have you back) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-of-the-wombat/647076.md?page=2)