For once I thought 'I don't remember writing this' and realized this was one of my very first posts I wrote. How come this went unanswered for nearly three years?

not that it matters, now that I'm quite comfortable with different forms of letter sign-offs.
I find that 'regards' is a good median: not overly formal and yet isn't rude by most standards. 'cheers' if I want to be less formal, but I guess it's all a matter of personal tastes.
- HKB