Some of you old-timers and students of journalism will recognize "-30-" as the traditional journalistic closing. Details on the origins of the practice, which came to be adopted for ending press releases, are a bit murky. It is believed that the practice originated during the Civil War when telegraphers tapped "XXX," the Roman numeral for 30, at the end of a transmission. I've entitled this column "-30-" because it is my last for IR Alert.