"Application did not respond to a request for services"

Hi.

I have a handful of homemade AppleScript services that I'm using to control iStopMotion and some other stuff. Every so often I get the following error:

"The 'Play Button' service [for example] could not be used because the application did not respond to a request for services. Try reopening '(null),' or contact the vendor for an updated version."

The alert box has no name, but the warning symbol in the box is badged with the either the iStopMotion or Xee (the other app in play) icon.

Generally if I just click OK, the services are fine on the next invocation.

This link is somewhat helpful:

http://www.rainmakerinc.com/kb/html.php?category=38

...but since these are applescript services that are presumably part of the system, I can't figure out what else should be "running" to respond to the request for services.

It happens pretty infrequently in the grand scheme of things, maybe 1 in 100 times the services are invoked. But the services are invoked constantly when someone's using the system, so the number of times it happens is significant.

Any ideas? I'm thinking of resorting to sticking a keystroke return into the beginning of the scripts to just dismiss this error box if it exists, but I'd rather figure out what I'm doin to make it happen in the first place!

Thanks for any ideas!