Targetted "say" by key?

I have one object that needs to say things to other objects from time to time. llListen allows you to filter (by key or name) who you LISTEN to, but llSay has no equivalent. Is there any way for me to say something in a targeted way? That is, can I say something to an object with a particular key or name?

The only way I can conceived to do it so far is to put the key into the msg text and have each listening object parse the msg to see if it contains its key. Is there a better way?

Not particularly, no. For some reason LL has really dragged their feet on adding properly architected object-2-object communication. Your strategy of including the destination object's key in the chat string is a reasonable one. One alternative is llEmail.

a beer to the linden who dares to flip on the switch that would allow objects to receive instant messages ( maby tru another event, but i dont see what the big deal would be piping it into the listen event)

maby a nice steak dinner too

If the objects are within range for llSay() or llShout() - which it sounds like, since you're asking about using llSay() and listen() - simply use specific channels...

I'd also say that a dedicated channel with a little protocol is the best approach to this. Since avatars cannot talk on negative channel numbers I always use those when I want an object to talk to another. If one cannot use random channel numbers if is best to implement a little protocol - I always start my lines with HtF then the desired object type/name and then the commands - so I can make sure that there is little chance of crosstalk or of the wrong objects answering.