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lisp progress
mark,
well the holiday hassle took more effort, time, and money than i had expected.
but things are finally back on a semi even keel. i assume you got the TLC lisp
stuff i sent; i now have upper/lower-case versions done on a diablo; it makes
a much nicer presentation. i am writing TWO proposals; one which  extends
tlc lisp  for the 9900 to include the display interface, and perhaps real-time
facilities. this system would be done using the current technology, guaranteeing
ti an effective lisp vehicle on the 9900 family, without getting involved
in the problems of producction-quality portability. of course, since this
portability issue is of intense interest to us and you, that implementation would
be designed as an INSTANCE of the  evolving portability technology.
(tying the success of the initial ti lisp to issues which NIL and others are
still grappling with seems unnecessarily risky; it seems to me that
one thing ti needs is a guaranteed and effective lisp as soon as possible).

the other proposal is more long range; assuming that ti wishes to fund a 
nil-like effort from day-one. that requires more money, time and personnel.
of course this effort  is something we are pursuing  now, but the financial 
realities make it more distant unless we can get a significant funding
source.

so... things ARE happening; much more slowly that I (or you) would wish.

							john