Apparently I was so quick in e-mailing my order to Patti after Dan opened the store last night that even he was impressed. I was in and out in no more than 36 seconds. So I thought I'd share my technique with the rest of the Dogs so when Dan has another ganza, more of us will be able to score.

Obviously, you've got to have your order ready to go BEFORE the store opens. That's easily enough accomplished. Just read what Dan says in the 24 hour notice and prepare an e-mail order to his precise specifications beforehand. Then all you should have to do when the time comes is press the SEND button. The trick, of course, is knowing when to send it.

Here's the key:

First, make sure that threads are being sorted by LAST POST in descending order. (That's the default, so it should already be set up that way.) Refresh (F5) the forum in regular intervals. 5- to 10-second intervals should be sufficient. As you do that, keep an eye out for a NEW THREAD in the SECOND THREAD position on the first page. (The first thread position permanently belongs to the Knives 'n Gear Pics Only sticky.) When Dan gets ready to open the store, he'll post a new thread with distinct features in three of the columns:

Column 1, Subject: The subject will contain a call to action. Look for words like "OPEN" or "NOW" or "GO" or "BEGIN".

Column 2, Poster: The Poster will be Dumpster Dan.

Column 6, Last Post: The Last Post will be from Dumpster Dan.

When that thread appears, DO NOT OPEN IT!!! You'll just be wasting time. Immediately send the e-mail order to Patti that you prepared beforehand. Then watch for the Auto-Response to appear in your inbox. If it doesn't show up in a reasonable amount of time, send your order again. Repeat until you receive the Auto-Response. It's the ONLY evidence you'll have that the store received your order.

Good luck.

That is all.