answer to rpc weirdness

[rshapiro@arris.com (Richard Shapiro)]

I have an answer to the odd rpc behavior I reported earlier
(converting a symbol to a string via symbol-name caused an error
whereas doing the conversion via format worked fine). Turns out my
symbols have names that are fat-strings (which confuses rpc) whereas
the call to format is generating thin strings. I haven't yet figured
out *why* the symbols have fat names (the character style is
nil.nil.nil, no weird bits are on) -- the only odd thing about these
symbols is that they come from a Statice db. Anyway, I understand the
rpc weirdness now.