A reader who, if not disgruntled, is very far from being gruntled (and whose sex cannot be determined from the email, though I think I’d be willing to hazard a guess at it):

Mr. Derbyshire — “the feeling stuff”? Oh, you mean that part of life that does not concern fiddling with power tools, building tree houses, telling dirty jokes at all night poker games, and throwing a ball around a field? The part of life that really does not matter much? The part of life that is kind of annoying, when it is not just boring?

[Me] Yep, that’s the part all right. The part we could PERFECTLY WELL DO WITHOUT.