Mr. Krueger, on December 7, 2004, at the instigation of
Michael McKelvy, I invited you to debate me in person at the
forthcoming Home Entertainment 2005 Show, scheduled to take
place in New York at the end of April. (See r.a.o. message
. com.) I
promised you that there would be no restrictions on what
subjects you wished to talk about, although I felt it fair
to include a section where you and I answered questions from
the audience.

Mr. McKelvy strongly felt that I was not owed a fee if I
were to accept a similar invitation -- "Stop mucking about
with all the bull**** about fees..." he wrote -- so I made
it clear that no fee would be offered you, Mr. Krueger, for
your appearance in New York, just "reasonable expenses." I
subsequently defined these expenses as a round trip,
coach-class air fare and accommodation for 2 nights. I also
subsequently clarified that this invitation was to you
personally, not to someone else that you might wish to
attend in your place.

You responded that while you were interested in taking part
in this debate, you needed some time to come to a decision.
Your specific words were "Of course that's a long way from
home, but let's see if I can put something together..." and
"I will give you my *final answer* by the end of January,
if that's all right with you."

In response, I told you on December 12 that I needed to know
your decision by February 1, 2005 (see r.a.o. message
.com).

Back then, February 1 was more than 6 weeks in the future,
so I didn't felt it necessary to remind you of the
invitation. However, as that deadline is now next Tuesday,
I really do need a Yes or No answer by 10am that morning,
as I am meeting with the magazine and Show management later
that day to make the final decisions over the Show's events
program.

Thanks in advance for letting me know what you decision is
by the time and date specified above.
Sincerely
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile