I remember that story vaguely but I don't know the title either.... sorry! But! I can reassure you that you aren't imagining it and that yes, it was about an alien. This excerpt is from my copy of "Oracle SQL Tuning with Oracle SQLTXPLAIN" by Stelios Charalambides: > Be like the alien who came to earth to try his hand at driving. He'd > read all about it and knew the physics involved in the engine. It > sounded like fun. He sat down in the driver's seat and turned the > ignition; the engine ticked over nicely, and the electrics were on. He > put his seatbelt on and tentatively pressed th