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I am pretty sure that isn't really an example of "damning with faint praise" - it is clear to anyone that the use of the "duct tape" phrase was dramatic, considering he then goes to describe jwz as being one of those people that just gets out of bed looking good etc... (NOT faint praise !)

That would be "yeah, jwz did an OK job on netscape" etc..

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It definitely struck me as faint praise. It sounds like he's talking about the village handyman who lives in the granny shack behind Jake Doe's place and whom no one is quite sure where he came from.

I still can't see that in it (I guess I know who jwz is, and know who joel is, and what he has said about jwz in the past and that colours it for me, but I am POSITIVE that was not the intent).

It's not that everyone doesn't love and appreciate the village handyman. They really like having him around. They just don't respect him very much.

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