NUMBER OF LINES: 999 001=Usr:0 Null User 06/30/87 20:34 Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19 1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2$************************* 23 MAY 90 ************************************** 3$Welcome to BWMS II (BackWater Message System II) Mike Day System operator 4$************************************************************************** 5$GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS II IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION 6$ PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM. 7$BWMS II was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS II is a privately 8$owned and operated system which is currently open for use by the general 9$public. No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the 10$system is privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all 11$messages which I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the 12$system, it will be periodically purged of messages (only 999 lines of data 13$can be saved). To leave a message, type 'ENTER'. Use ctrl/C to get out 14$the ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering 15$the message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to 16$replace the line. To exit from the system, type 'BYE' then hang up. 17$Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system. 18$************************************************************************** 19$ 002=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 05/23/90 23:01 Msg:5250 Call:29222 Lines:3 20 The man who can own up to his error is greater than the one 21 who merely knows how to avoid making it. -- Cardinal de Retz 22 ************************************************************ 003=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 05/24/90 02:18 Msg:5251 Call:29226 Lines:18 23 24 {+}{+}{+}{+} 25 26 Good God...I can't believe that after being "out of the loop" for 27 lo these many weeks uncounted, I come visiting and find myself at 28 the top of the disk. What an honor, what a joy, what a dang deal 29 this be. This calls for some words of wisdom. Failing that, how 30 about a nugget for a story...this from George Carlin. "He was a 31 frozen embryo, fertilized by an anonymous sperm donor, planted in 32 the womb of a surrogate mother, and raised by adoptive parents." 33 Maybe the story of someone with low self-esteem. 34 35 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+- 36 Bart Simpson Really Killed Laura Palmer 37 38 39 {+}{+}{+}{+} 40 004=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 05/24/90 15:49 Msg:5252 Call:29233 Lines:47 41 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 42 Hmmm... 43 44 'Diane, I'm currently investigating the Simpson household... I have 45 discovered the room of one Bart Simpson and have taken into evidence a piece 46 of paper with the words 'Don't Have a Cow' written in what would appear 47 to be Krusty the Clown Orange Juice...' Naaaaaaah.... 48 49 * * * 50 51 Michael continued his path through the obscurites... 52 53 "What's that you're playing with, little girl?" 54 "See?" The voice of ashes wilted the giant sunflowers. "It's a toy 55 train. I have lots of them! I get them as gifts all the time..." 56 "From who?" 57 "From a very special friend. A secret friend from far away." 58 "And where is far away?" 59 The girl's violet eyes grew wide and sad. "From a very sad place. He 60 didn't like it there." 61 "He didn't?" 62 "No..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes became pensive for a 63 brief moment. "Are you Michael?" she finally broke the silence. 64 "Sometimes..." 65 "Oooooo!" She smiled a smile of diamonds. A stubby finger pointed in 66 his direction. "YOU'RE a Temp'ral En-FOR-cer, aren't you?" 67 "Who taught you that?" 68 "My friend. I have a message for you." 69 "Really?" 70 "Yes! Yes yes Yes!" She dug through the pockets of her little 71 blouse and withdrew a green piece of string. "Can you make a cat's cradle?" 72 "I used to..." 73 "Oh, try! Try!" 74 Michael's nimble fingers created the twining design in seconds. 75 "There. Now will you give me the message." 76 "Silly!" she punched him in the leg, hitting solidly at the first 77 moment, but then passing through the quickly discorporating form. "I just 78 did!!!" 79 80 81 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 82 Thingfish: Oh, and as far as I'm concerned, I have you ALL beat... I 83 KNOW who killed Laura Palmer... 84 85 David Lynch! Now try and argue with that! 86 87 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 005=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 05/24/90 23:12 Msg:5253 Call:29237 Lines:82 88 UFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOFUFO 89 90 91 I've pondered many times about what the possible gain would 92 be if we (the public) could access the culture and technology of 93 alien beings. Could we be responsible enough to harness and use 94 such advanced ideas? 95 We already know what the government would do (or possibly 96 IS doing) if such technology landed in their hands. But what 97 could we as individuals do with it? 98 Sure, we could journey the stars and meet other exciting 99 races and cultures, possibly attain an open exchange of 100 information and ideas. But what would be the point? Can we 101 freely admit we can get along with all the races present on 102 Earth? Could we face an alien presence without any bias or 103 feelings of superiority/inferiority? We still have difficulty 104 with that on even on a personal basis within each race. Let 105 alone other races as well. Mankind has a strong history of 106 contempt for his fellow man. We've put the black man into the 107 bondage of slavery. We've dominated and murdered millions of 108 Native Indians with our lies and diseases. Millions of Jews died 109 in the Holocaust. Stalin tried his hand at exterminating 110 millions of his own people. 111 Sure, you say, we're past that now, but we're really 112 not. The black man still has to fight for his place in society, 113 the Native Indian still gets less than what is rightfully his. 114 The Jews still endure persecution. The truth is, we still have 115 contempt for whatever color or creed we have no patience for. 116 Even within the races, we have impatience with the weak, 117 immature or handicapped. We don't want to openly admit 118 those feelings, but they're still there. We can admire, and 119 stand in awe of, an advanced race of creatures. But how long 120 before it gets tarnished and we start seeking to exploit their 121 weaknesses to our advantage? 122 We could also learn more about their concept of, or their 123 disdain for, religion. Indeed, their concepts may crumble the 124 foundations of what we've believed for millenia. Are we prepared 125 to listen? Objectively? We have so many different religions now 126 that proclaim the only truth. Would this not add to the 127 confusion? And if they spoke an entirely different truth, would 128 we condemn them as devils and/or Anti-Christs? The Church does 129 not take kindly to having its' authority questioned. (Though it 130 is our God-given right to do so.) 131 Science could take a giant leap forward, but then, we could 132 hardly contain ourselves when we invented the nuclear bomb. Now 133 we live in fear of the consequences of nuclear destruction. 134 Medicine would possibly make the greatest gain, but in all 135 honesty, what good would longevity be if the quality of life 136 hasn't improved? We're living longer lives now, but we also have 137 more to worry about than we did years ago. We're more stressed 138 at work and at home, so much to do and so little time. Time has 139 become more precious than gold, yet we don't take time to slow 140 down and enjoy the time we have. How could we enjoy the benefit 141 of longevity? 142 We look to the skies in wonder about the future and other 143 life forms we'll possibly meet someday. We wish upon a star that 144 the future will be better and that we can have a greater 145 understanding of each other. But we must look within ourselves 146 before we wish too hard about discovering other intelligent 147 beings, and question our intellligence. We could find a peaceful 148 race that could show us the way we so blindly search for, but 149 that path we must discover for ourselves before other peaceful 150 races will even consider us. 151 But if we continue to exploit each other and the planet, 152 then we should only expect to unpleasantly discover beings who 153 will gladly give us lessons in aggression and exploitation. 154 155 If this essay seems negative, it was meant to be. Positive 156 thinking does have its' merit, but sometimes a hard look never 157 hurt anyone. We have to get rid of the negatives to enjoy the 158 positives, instead of ignoring them. I also wrote this in 159 response to conversations I've heard, about how wonderful it 160 would be if we did discover life elsewhere. I'm all for it 161 myself, but I just hope we can really handle it, instead of 162 pretending we can. It would definitely be a Pandora's Box. 163 If you have any comments, feel free to drop them in Compu$erve E-Mail 164 to -John Brennan-. 165 I'd like to hear your thoughts too! You count in my book! 166 167 168 UFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFO 169 006=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 05/25/90 13:55 Msg:5254 Call:29246 Lines:9 170 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 171 UFO: Unfortunately, experience has taught us that greed seems to be 172 a somwhat universal trait. I'd like to think that aliens would 173 share with us, but it's far more likely that we'll be seen by them 174 as just another resource... 175 176 'Get ready for somertthing that dreams are made of...' 177 178 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::TWIN PEAKS was RENEWED!!!:::::==== 007=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/25/90 16:45 Msg:5255 Call:29251 Lines:2 179 I want to wish everyone a very safe and happy Memorial day weekend, and please 180 don't drink and drive i would hate to have to remember you next year on that 008=Usr:352 Katie Kolbet 05/25/90 21:37 Msg:5257 Call:29256 Lines:20 181 182 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 183 John Brennan-- 184 I agree that humanity has hit a point where nothing it touches can remain 185 pure, but there is some hope. Many people, actually I should say a few people 186 are still brought up to believe in taking care of what they have now and 187 possibly improving on it to create a place where peace is common, not a rarity. 188 I believe that some people can do this. On the other hand, when a species 189 gets too advanced and too populous, nature has a way of striking back with 190 certain inventive measures of controlling that species. For rabbits, it is 191 a disease which destroys their ability to see. For humans, perhaps it is the 192 big fear now--AIDS--or perhaps it is just mankind's natural tendency towards 193 war. We are one of the few species which takes pleasure in destroying its own. 194 195 For everyone else, Have a wonderful three-day weekend. Sorry to begin it on 196 such a depressing note. Take care of yourselves because even if nobody else 197 does, I worry about you! 198 199 See you later! 200 ++++++++++++++++++++++Kaitlyn+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 009=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/26/90 14:05 Msg:5258 Call:29261 Lines:2 201 Fore sale, C. gate hard disk and controler, both in good condition. I would li 202 ke $400.00 for the two to gether, call 231-xxxx for details. Tnx for the time 010=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 05/26/90 21:15 Msg:5259 Call:29264 Lines:4 203 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 204 'What's up Doc? Think I'm gonna dream tonight... Big Bad Ones. You know, 205 the kind you like...' 206 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::L.P. (1974-1990)::::=====:::::==== 011=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/26/90 22:04 Msg:5260 Call:29265 Lines:3 207 Please cansell my previous message about my harddisk and controller for sale. I 208 have desided to keep tthem. 209 sorry for using disk space. 012=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 05/27/90 03:42 Msg:5263 Call:29272 Lines:13 210 211 {+}{+}{+}{+} 212 213 Zephyr... 214 215 Let's talk Twin Peaks. 216 Do you have a PRIV number? 217 218 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+- 219 You Have A Thing In Your Mouth 220 221 {+}{+}{+}{+} 222 013=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/28/90 10:35 Msg:5264 Call:29287 Lines:7 223 &*&*&*&*'s 224 Back to the future III was a fairly good movie, though it did have atleast 225 one glitch... 226 227 An Astral Dreamer 228 &*&*&*&*'s 229 014=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 05/28/90 12:15 Msg:5265 Call:29289 Lines:7 230 *%)@#*%!(_)!@($_)@#)(#+!%)+@_$)!+#_%@#+_$^($@%(#+_)!+_$)!+#%($^*_$(+_$)%!#+_$) 231 voyeur: I have something of the utmost importance to relay to you. Please give 232 me a landline telco call in the near future. And I mean *near* !!! 233 234 milch: Installed 4.1 yet??? 235 *_)@#%*#(%_)(_)!(%_%_)!*%!%)*(!% L'homme sans Parity (%_)#(%_)(%!*%_!%*_!%*!_! 236 015=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 05/30/90 16:56 Msg:5269 Call:29344 Lines:113 237 696969696969 238 7a of many 239 The Little UFO that Could 240 ************************* 241 * TOP SECRET * 242 ************************* 243 GAMMA SIGMA PHI 244 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 245 by 246 Benjamin Jamen 247 248 "The picture that is emerging from the 249 Voyager sweep through the outer Solar 250 System is of worlds whose placid and 251 lonely vigils are spasmodically 252 interrupted by catastrophes from space..." 253 -Dr. Sagan 254 255 "That's an error, GLADYS.", Howy said to the box on the table. 256 257 "AIR-ER?" 258 259 "No: ER-ORR. That means I didn't mean to say it. Take no action," he leaned 260 closer to the box and started repeating, " Error, error, error.". 261 262 "A mistake?", the box asked. 263 264 "Yes, a fu**ing mistake," replied Howy. 265 266 " 'f**king?' I know that word-it is a derivative of 'fu**'. Ben told 267 me that..." 268 269 Howy reached over and hit the reset button. He would have hit the off 270 switch, but thought something might be left in RAM which could be 271 salvaged from this session. He was thinking, "With Ben gone, getting 272 this damn neural net-based speech interpreter to work is like taking a 273 stroll through molasses. The more you do, the deeper you get, the 274 slower the progress is.". And progress was not good. 275 276 Howy leaned back and smiled to himself while thinking about the 277 cleverness of the public at large. The entire world was about to 278 undergo a revolution, a revolution sparked by clever little boxes like 279 GLADYS, and the average John Doe didn't even know a neural net from his 280 wife's hair net. It would be one of this century's great ironies that 281 fusion in the bottle and high temperature superconductivity were on the 282 lips of every pop science mag subscriber in the country when, right 283 under their little neurons, a revolution in automated cognition was 284 quietly taking place. 285 286 Or should be taking place. A lot of the real work was being done on the 287 outside, though, with the amount of money the Intel Community had to 288 pour into it, our little group was making some interesting progress. 289 290 But, as far as Howy was concerned, I had totally gone nutballs and had 291 left him alone with GLADYS, a drab little box with serious mental 292 problems. She was supposed to recognize speech and nothing more. In 293 the process, though, she came across as a combination nerd, nagging 294 housewife, and, at times, complete and total idiot. Actually, there is 295 nothing magic about this at all. It is quite possible to analyze her 296 reactions and explain them in terms of the various connections which had 297 resulted from her learning algorithm. It was the learning algorithm 298 itself which was quite unique, but that had been formulated by people 299 many times more intelligent than me. I was just fine tuning what they 300 had provided. 301 302 As Howy leaned further back, his mind started drifting back to the night 303 before at Frizby's. When we met to head over there, he was surprised to 304 see that I hadn't shaved for a few days and looked a little greasy. 305 Those things happen... 306 307 We hadn't been there for very long before Howy's agenda for the night became 308 painfully apparent. It went something like this: 309 310 311 Howy: "The problem is, nobody gives a shit. Is that too difficult for 312 you to understand, Ben? NOBODY GIVES A S*IT ABOUT SAVING MANKIND.". 313 The conversations at the surrounding tables stopped as everyone turned 314 to stare at Howy. 315 316 He glared back at them and then turned back to look at Prissy and me. 317 "Why the hell should we? We come in here to soak a few suds, right? Our 318 paychecks come in on a regular basis, right? Life's nice! Why worry about 319 something as...as...as WIERD as annihilation?". 320 321 Me: "Howy, if anyone else had said that I'd say, 'I can't believe you're 322 saying that!'." 323 324 Howy burped: "Listen-just think about what you're saying: 'We're going 325 to get whacked by a meteor so we should colonize space'. Are those the 326 words of a sane man?". 327 328 I waved my hands and shook my head: "Wait a minute-getting whacked 329 by an asteriod is only one scenario. We might also be in for a 330 devastating climate change, a nuclear holocaust, or anything. If you 331 take all the likely doomsday scenarios and multiple their probabilities 332 together, then it is likely that our chances of surviving the next 200 333 years are slim. Why let the whole world perish when someone might 334 survive via colonization of the inner solar system?". 335 336 Howy: "Why? I'll tell you why. The answer is that it would take an 337 ENORMOUS amount of resources to save a species that doesn't even have 338 the smarts to figure out it wants to be saved in the first place! First, 339 you'd need a massive international education effort to churn out the 340 engineers, scientists, and all the other well educated pilgrims to make 341 it happen. Second, the resource drain would be so great on this planet 342 that everybody would have to go to work to support the effort. Third, 343 all countries would have to accept directives from a consortium of 344 nations to centralize the control of the colonization task so that it 345 could be done quickly and so that squandering of our very scarce 346 resources would be minimized. 347 (...to be continued) 348 696969696969696969 349 016=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/30/90 18:10 Msg:5270 Call:29346 Lines:1 350 I think that story is very interesting i will wate for the next epasode with gr 017=Usr:216 ted mittelstaedt 05/31/90 00:23 Msg:5272 Call:29355 Lines:7 351 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 352 I talked to a churchgoing person ce about the possibility that an 353 alien religion might upset the foundations of his religion and was told 354 that he would welcome the chance to "convert" the aliens. 355 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 356 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&(I had to switch borders, my 357 modem kept going into command mode)&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Bill Tell&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& 018=Usr:242 wesley smith 05/31/90 21:48 Msg:5275 Call:29370 Lines:1 358 Dear sysop, I just wanted to change my password, not my user number my old use 019=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/31/90 21:52 Msg:5276 Call:29371 Lines:2 359 please disregard last message, I solved the problem myself. tnx. from Wesley 360 Smith. 020=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/31/90 22:21 Msg:5277 Call:29372 Lines:6 361 I just wanted tell you how much i enjoy using this board. 362 It makes me feel good to know that i can access the world whit my modem, that h 363 s been a fantacy of mine for a long time. Please for give my errors as i have 364 use speech to tell where i am on the screen. 365 366 It;s alot of fun, keep up the good work and i will contribute once in a while. 021=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/01/90 13:52 Msg:5279 Call:29382 Lines:118 367 696969696969 368 part 6b 369 ------------ 370 Prissy's reply: 371 372 Dear Ben: 373 It was very kind of you to send such a letter. I appreciate your 374 ooooppppssss......... 375 376 -696969696969 377 part 7b 378 "Now-let's look at this from the perspective of the average guy on the 379 street. If his kid graduated in the last few years from one of our high 380 schools, then he can't read, write, or do math. Do you really believe 381 that his daddy is going to want to spend his hard earned money on 382 turning the educational system on its ear so that people can go on joy 383 rides to other planets? If you believe that, you're fooling yourself. 384 385 "Next, " Howy continued, "There is NO way you are going to get 386 everyone to go to work so that a small percentage of the population can 387 be saved. The fact is, everybody doesn't want to go to work, 388 particularly to support some vague notion of using spaceships to 389 colonize the little twinkles of light which most of us can't even see 390 through the smog anyway. The quickest way to turn someone against an 391 idea is to tell them they have to work for it. Do you think the 392 stadiums would be full of football fans if those guys knew they had to 393 clean up their mess before they could leave? NO-that's work. The 394 stadiums would be empty. 395 396 "So, you can't educate the people, and you can't get them to work. 397 You surely are not going to get ANY country to hand over the power to a 398 consortium of nations for a project which is so massive it is sucking their 399 GNP dry. Even if they saw the rock coming head on and knew it would be 400 here next year, you're not going to get the cooperation necessary to do 401 anything about it! 402 403 "Forget it. The idea is stupid. Dumb!", Howy even shook his finger 404 at me. "The whole space program should be cancelled and the taxes which 405 are saved used to buy beer and pizza. When the end is near, we can all 406 stuff our guts and get loaded! HEY, what a way to go!!" 407 408 Prissy was smiling, she tried to cover her mouth a little. I was 409 pretty amused myself. So was everyone within two tables of us. 410 411 Then Howy's eyes lit up. "I just thought of another good reason why you 412 should get your mind off this. Being a member of the Hebrew faith, I 413 understand this better than you. The Born Agains would have you for 414 lunch if they heard that you were trying to save mankind. They know the 415 earth is going to get whacked and they relish the thought-their whole 416 damn belief system is based on doomsday. No doomsday means no belief 417 system. If someone started a movement to get us off the planet in order 418 to extend the life of our species, they would feed his balls to Tammy 419 Faye!". The lady in the table next to ours burst out laughing. We 420 turned for a second, and the refocused our attention on Howy. "It would 421 be the ultimate insult to their religion. What are you going to tell 422 them, Ben? 'Sorry, boys, Judgement Day will have to be postponed a few 423 millennia while we go explore the galaxy.' You think they'd stand by and 424 let you muddy up their waters? Try it and see what happens!". 425 426 Me: "Look, we went to the moon. We geared up our educational system and 427 went from 15 minutes in space to a moonwalk in just 8 years.". 428 429 Howy: "And look what happened to the guy who started it all-he got a 430 bullet in his brain! Then his entire dream was killed off-AFTER IT 431 SUCCEEDED-in less than 12 months by a polical rival! Face the facts, 432 this is a tough world and we're all going to have to die here. JFK 433 would still be around if he had just reduced taxes and provided capital 434 gains credits in the form of rebates at the local pizza parlor.". 435 436 Me: "And mankind would have never have traveled to the moon.". 437 438 Howy: "What's the big deal about the moon? You see Rio on the tube all 439 the time, but you don't lose any sleep about not spending a day in the sun 440 down there, do you? You just want to go to the moon because you can't. 441 It's a disease engineers have that the rest of the world suffers for. 442 If you want to see the moon, just look out your window after the sun has 443 gone down. Damn, that's even more than you can do with Rio!". 444 445 Me: "Howy, I can't believe an engineer is talking this way.". 446 447 Howy: "Well, believe it. I can't believe a reasonably intelligent human 448 being can become so stressed out with an insane desire to colonize space 449 'before it's too late'. It's not going to happen. We are all dead-we 450 know it. And we intend to do the sensible thing: enjoy ourselves until 451 the Big Whack comes. That beats the hell out of your alternative-living 452 out some Star Trek fantasy that most of the population doesn't give a 453 damn about.". 454 455 Then, Howy stopped talking. He was breathing pretty heavily by now. It 456 was quiet at our table, but the background conversation was still 457 vibrating in the air. Suddenly, I started laughing. I couldn't stop. 458 Tears were running down my cheeks, my side hurt. Prissy handed me her 459 napkin. 460 461 I took a few deep breaths to get control: "So, I guess I can't count on 462 you to be one of my disciples?". 463 464 Then Howy started laughing, too. We got up and stumbled outside. On 465 the way to the car, all of us stopped, as if on cue, and peered up at 466 the stars overhead. Our alcohol stained breath fogged the air between 467 us and those stars. 468 469 We silently looked down and continued towards the car, trying not to 470 look up at the meteors streaking across the autumn sky... 471 -------------------- 472 "These are our choices: we can bail out the S&L's at 473 the tune of $250 Billion and have a lot of happy 474 taxpayers or we can use that as seed money for a space 475 colonization effort and have a lot of live taxpayers," 476 said an advisor on Capitol Hill. 477 478 "If that's the choice, then I'll make those taxpayers 479 as happy as can be.", was the reply. And then he added, 480 chuckling a bit, "What is the point of having live 481 taxpayers if they're not going to vote for you?". 482 (...to be continued...) 483 696969696969696969 484 022=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 06/03/90 15:00 Msg:5280 Call:29440 Lines:2 485 no entries in two days? 486 --------------------------- 023=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 06/03/90 22:56 Msg:5281 Call:29449 Lines:7 487 &*&*&*&*'s 488 No feedback=No entries. This is supposed to be an interactive media after all. 489 I often neglect to interact I suppose, but never after a TWO DAY blight. 490 491 An Astral Dreamer 492 &*&*&*&*'s 493 024=Usr:507 todd rogers 06/04/90 14:33 Msg:5282 Call:29457 Lines:5 494 ------- hmmm... doesn't seem to be much going on 495 ------- here. 496 ------- Just poking my head in once in a while. 497 ------- 498 025=Usr:116 ted mittelstaedt 06/04/90 18:04 Msg:5283 Call:29465 Lines:12 499 *************************************************************************** 500 Ah the space program. When will anyone wake up and realize that the 501 barricades to going to the stars are not those of money. When has the 502 cost of anything prevented our government from doing it? 503 even now, when we are under a budget axe (Gramm/Rudm), the congress 504 still spends money on NEW programs. The barriers to going to other planets 505 are those of TIME. Unless someone has figured out a way to bypass the 506 theory of Relativity, we are going nowhere. If we were to send ou 507 a ship to mars, for instance, even accellerating at a rate of speed 508 that would come close to crushing the pilot, but not kill him, it would 509 still take a year or so to reach it. 510 *************************************************Bill Tell**************** 026=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 06/04/90 22:56 Msg:5284 Call:29472 Lines:3 511 don't forget, this thursday is the monthly PCS social, 92nd & Stark 512 Stark Street Pizza, 7PM. 513 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 027=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 06/05/90 00:35 Msg:5288 Call:29474 Lines:25 514 515 Prepare yourselves! It is almost that time again!! 516 517 June 9th (Saturday), at 9am will occur... 518 519 The Spring Edition of the CP/M User's Group Swap Meet! 520 The premier event for computer and electronics trading! 521 ( they told me to say that B-} ) 522 523 No charge for table space (tho you may need to bring yer own), 524 Buy, Sell, Trade, Barter, almost anything goes (and usually does!) 525 526 Place: Tigard Community Center (Tigard, OR) 527 Directions: 528 I-5 or Hwy 26 to Highway 217 - North from I-5, South from Hwy 26 529 Proceed to the Hwy 99 (Pacific Hwy/Tigard) Exit, Turn West 530 Proceed West on Hwy 99 to the intersection of Hwy 99 and Main/Greenburg 531 (Left to Main, or right to Greenburg... these streets terminate at Hwy99) 532 Left onto Main, and proceed to Commercial Street (on left, just past Post Offic 533 Left onto Commercial, proceed to Fire Station (on left, down a ways...) 534 Community Center is in the back of the Fire Station! 535 536 Questions to the following address... ( or by phone at 288-xxxx ) 537 538 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 028=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/07/90 16:35 Msg:5290 Call:29511 Lines:185 539 696969696969 540 8a of many 541 The Little UFO that Could 542 ************************* 543 * TOP SECRET * 544 ************************* 545 GAMMA SIGMA PHI 546 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 547 by 548 Benjamim Jamen 549 550 "The man of God who condones bloodshed is NOT a man of God. 551 The sect which approves of murder in any form deserves NO 552 followers. The purpose of God in our lives is preservation, 553 NOT annihilation." 554 -Reverend at a Baptist Church 555 556 Quite some time ago, a star exploded, flinging its charred remains 557 through the universe. Part of those remains collided with what was to 558 become a rather nondescript planet which would be circling a rather 559 average star located on the outer rim of the Milky Way galaxy. Through 560 time, chance and various electrochemical processes, these charred 561 remains combined with other matter in the earth to form the complex 562 molecules which later became the basic building blocks of life. These 563 building blocks came together to form the simple organisms which 564 populated the seas, some eventually surviving via photosynthesis, others 565 surviving by consuming whatever floated their way. The complexity of 566 these organisms increased steadily until some varieties moved out of 567 the warm womb of the sea and headed for short excursions to the desolate 568 stretches of land above. Over time, the land organisms adopted to their 569 new home so that the short excursions became permanent stays. The bare 570 rocks of the earth became clothed with plant life, the plant life fed 571 the emerging animal life, the simple animal forms became fodder for the 572 carnivores. Before long (in the scheme of things), the entire planet 573 was covered with an enormous variety of plant and animal life. 574 Dinosaurs larger than office buildings lumbered across the plush 575 landscape. Life was good. Then something happened and most of them 576 died. It looks like that something was probably a collision with an 577 asteroid from space. Whether or not the collision was responsible, the 578 earth's climate DID change drastically and some heretofore insignificant 579 mammals had an opportunity to evolve a bit without getting stepped on by 580 dinosaur feet. These mammals grew and changed and eventually formed 581 communities. Some of them, about 5,000 years ago, developed systems of 582 writing as well as complex social organizations. Very recently, a few 583 of them left the warm womb of the earth for short excursions to the 584 desolate stretches of space above. 585 586 One of these mammals looked up and hypothesized that life on earth 587 started with the explosion of a star. 588 589 Another one looked up and realized that none of these things had ever 590 really happened. He was a Creationist. His arguments were very 591 convincing. For example, the harbinger of evolution was Darwin, right? 592 (he usually ends a sentence with 'right?'). Darwin starts with a 'D', 593 right? What else starts with a 'D'? DEVIL! Yes, Darwin was the Devil's 594 messenger! To cinch the argument, he would then point out that the word 595 'Darwin' had nearly the same number of letters as the word 'Devil'. 596 Right? 597 598 His mother was also a very intelligent mammal who had some very 599 convincing arguments of why space travel had never occurred and the trip 600 to the moon was an elaborately staged studio event which had taken place in 601 Arizona. The gist of it was: God lives 'up there'. There is only one 602 way for us to go 'up there' and that way is to die. Since it is 603 absolutely not possible for men to build machines which can visit God, 604 the trip to the moon was a contrived fallacy. Besides, she had been to 605 Arizona at night and it looked just like the pictures of the moon. Case 606 closed. 607 608 His mother was very rich. As is the case with many rich people, she 609 chose to believe whatever she wanted to believe, despite any evidence to 610 the contrary. 611 612 To make a long story short, at the tail end of the evolutionary process 613 was George Hansen, an Australian, who did not believe in the processes 614 which had created him. However, he did believe in the power of money 615 and had amassed a huge fortune while in the USA, most of which he had 616 shoveled away in Swiss and Commonwealth banks. He even got an American 617 citizenship, which resulted in a dual citizenship from his mother 618 country's perspective and a singular, Yankee citizenship from the 619 American government's perspective. America's immigration rules do not 620 recognize dual citizenship. 621 622 Two-thirds of the Western hemisphere is offended by the use of the term 623 'America' to refer the the United States Thereof. In order to not 624 offend anyone, which is the sole intention of these writings, I will, 625 henceforth, refer to the middle member of the North American triumvirate 626 as the USA, United States, or something else besides America. 627 (...to be continued...) 628 696969696969696969 629 630 696969696969 631 part 8b 632 George made his money during the defense industry gold rush of the 633 1980's. He started with little whizmos that measured heat. They could 634 measure heat just about anywhere: in tanks, in guns, even the heat 635 emanating from the inside of a soldier's trousers! About every two or 636 three months, the Pentagon figured out yet another something which 637 needed a thermometer. Since George had the original contract, he was a 638 shoe-in for any follow on work. Since the Pentagon had tons of money in 639 the 1980's, they were happy to shovel large quantities in George's 640 direction. You see, the Pentagon had to burn all of its money up before 641 the end of each fiscal year or the naughty Congress would take it away. 642 George was happy to help his newly adopted country through this 643 financial crisis. 644 645 So, George amassed a great fortune building ever more complex 646 thermometers in his basement factory. While we are on the subject of 647 helping the American military, I'd like to take a little detour and tell 648 you about some guys who installed computers in a DoD office. One day, 649 the boss tells me that I need to go to one of the local military 650 reservations to find out why it had taken three months for a contractor 651 to install some computers. When I got there, I asked the guy who was 652 working on the machines how his company could stay in business when it 653 takes them 3 months to get a computer working that a 14 year old kid 654 could have had operational in an afternoon. The answer was interesting. 655 His business started in the District riots of the late 1960's when he 656 threw a rock through a store window and ran off with arm loads of electronic 657 equipment. The sell of that equipment provided the capital necessary to 658 start a thriving enterprise. However, being the smart businessman that 659 he was (yes, he owned this little company), he soon realized that he 660 could not survive in the world of private commercial enterprises. So, 661 he bid on a government contract and, much to his surprise, won it. He 662 discovered that "bull shitting" and "acting busy" were all that was necessary 663 to keep a government contract. Once he perfected these techniques, he 664 soon found he had more work than he could handle, so he hired a little 665 staff and got an address in DC (which was the address of a burned out 666 fire station-whether they actually did any work there, who knows?). Now 667 the business is a partnership and he is talking about stocks. No wonder 668 he doesn't have any time to get the computers working! 669 670 Getting back to George, he did help the Pentagon through its serious 671 financial problems of the 1980's and reaped great financial rewards as a 672 result. Now, he stopped by my house to discuss his latest scheme. He 673 was going to redeem himself by doing something for the homeless of our 674 fair city. 675 676 George (in his thick accent): "The way I see it, the homeless have got 677 no desire to live in a house, right? If they wanted to live in a bloody 678 home, they'd go to one of the shelters, right? It's clear, chappy 679 [when George wants to irritate me, he calls me "chappy"], that these 680 fellows want to be mobile. So, here's my idea: they want to be mobile 681 so we make them mobile. Cars? No. Too expensive. My idea is much 682 simpler. The answer is: BICYCLES. I plan on buying bicycles for the 683 entire homeless population of our capitol city. What do you think, 684 chappy?" 685 686 Me: "George, you know I don't give a damn about your ideas. If you 687 want to help Mitch feed and cloth the poor, I'll pitch in. I'll even 688 give you some money, even though it looks like I'm going to be 689 unemployed in the short term. But, bikes? You can't eat a bike, you 690 know." 691 692 George: "The food and the shelter is taken care of already. If a 693 homeless person plays his cards right, he can have the stature of Hardy 694 and sleep in a warm shelter every night. No-they don't need more food. 695 What they need is mobility. Right?" 696 697 Me: "I've either totally missed some critical point in your argument or 698 your brain has become addled by too many government contracts." Then I 699 added a little jab, "Right?". 700 701 George: "You Yanks've got no couth, you know that? If you used your 702 thinker, you'd realize mobility's just what these gents need. Think about 703 this: a gent is next to the monument. He hears there's a free food give 704 away in Montgomery County. With no bicycle, the gent goes hungry. With 705 a set of wheels, he's in the next county feasting to his stomach's 706 content. That's only the start of it. Now the gent's getting food and 707 exercise. So, he gets real healthy, right? So, now he's healthy. So, 708 the President decides to invade another country, right? Who does he 709 call? He calls the army and he's got to wait 24 hours for everybody to 710 kiss the wifey goodbye. Bad idea. So what's he do? He puts a 711 megaphone on the top of the White House and tells all the homeless that 712 it's time to invade and, if they'll be there in an hour, they can 713 participate in the defence of the free world. I mean, the implications 714 are ENORMOUS. For starters, we reduce the size of the army by half. I 715 mean-cities will become proud of their homeless populations. They'll be 716 heroes!". 717 718 Me: "Do you take drugs on a regular basis?" 719 720 George: "What kindova question is that? Why, I ought to...". 721 (...to be continued...) 722 696969696969696969 723 029=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/08/90 12:51 Msg:5291 Call:29521 Lines:91 724 696969696969 725 part 8c 726 Anyway, the conversation went on like that for the rest of the night and 727 I never was able to steer it into the direction I had intended: funding 728 of an organization for the preservation of intelligence. The source of 729 our problem seemed to be the Australian brew George had brought. In the 730 USA, the amount of alcohol in each can of beer is limited to some 731 measurable quantity. I don't think the Australians have such an 732 arbitrary limit. To make matters worse, Australian brew is apparently 733 much stronger than it tastes. 734 735 Anyway, this organization I wanted to start was going to be divided into 736 two functional departments: 1) earth preservation and 2) contingency 737 plans in case Department #1 fails its task. From reading the previous 738 chapters, you already know what the contingency plans are... 739 740 All that was for naught because, at some point, I passed out and wound 741 up in bed upstairs and George drove away in a drunken stupor. We never 742 had a chance to discuss the future of humankind. 743 744 Then, it's 3am and the door bell is ringing. There's no telling how 745 many times it rang before I pulled the pillow over my ears. That didn't 746 help. Then, it suddenly occurred to me that this could be my old place 747 of employment calling. They want me back, and it's such an emergency, 748 they've personally come to my front door at 3am to drive me away to fix 749 something in time for some unreasonable deadline. 750 751 They want me back! I've been saved! 752 753 I ran down the stairs and threw open the front door to see a drunk 754 staring me back in the face. George had not returned. This was 755 someone I had never seen before. 756 757 The strange thing is, there was 100% and absolutely no hint of alcohol 758 whatsoever on this guy's breath. Even though he was standing less than 759 a foot away, I couldn't smell a thing. But, he was acting drunk, so he 760 was drunk. Besides, he looked like he had just stepped off of skid row 761 in Seattle. Case closed. 762 763 I'm not the kind of guy who can shut the door in someone's 764 face-especially someone who is down on his luck. So, I stood there a 765 few minutes before he finally looked up and directly aimed his bloodshot 766 eyeballs into mine. He did not blink at all. Those eyes certainly had 767 no hint of a smile in them. The stare was intense. 768 769 Him (in a very gravely voice-each word was spoken with extreme precision, 770 which is quite puzzling-I would have expected a drunk to slur a bit): 771 "Hoss. It's been a long time, Hoss." 772 773 There was a long pause as if he was expecting a response. My vocal 774 cords were paralyzed, I was not able to respond. 775 776 Him, after taking a deep gravely breath (sounded like he was dying of 777 last autumn's flu): "There's not much time, Hoss." 778 779 He continued to stare me down with his x-ray vision. I wanted to slam 780 the door and get away, but could not move my arms now. He must have 781 been hypnotizing me. I can think of no other explanation. Why would a 782 60 year-old drunk come to my house at 3am and hypnotize me? What is 783 happening to my life?!? 784 785 "I'll tell you this, Hoss. Each moment you waste is gone. When all the 786 moment are gone, it is over." 787 788 He continued staring at me but his expression slightly changed. I've 789 seen that expression before. It was in another country where a man 790 desperately wanted to tell me something, but he did not have sufficient 791 command of the English language to do so. There is a slight tinge of 792 frustration in the face of the person who is unable to communicate. 793 794 Then he turned and was gone. I shook my head and looked all over the 795 place. Then I ran out to the street and looked up and down. He was no 796 where to be found. I looked back at my house and realized I had left 797 the front door open. Maybe this crazy had gone back into my house while 798 I was not looking and was waiting inside to rob me. No. I knew that 799 was not true. What I felt was the truth bothered me very much. 800 ------------------ 801 "Reactions to new knowledge are amusing. For some, as such knowledge 802 reveals the intricacies of our universe and of life itself, it 803 also confirms the existence of God. For others, such knowledge 804 definitively confirms the nonexistence of God. For yet another group, 805 new knowledge confirms a belief in the nonexistence of scientists. 806 807 "I don't believe Copernicus' faith was anything but strengthened 808 when he deduced that the earth circled the sun and not vica 809 versa. The fanatics who threatened him remind us that we are 810 no better than they are when we cease to question the validity 811 of our knowledge." 812 -Spoken by a grey bearded man at an astronomer's convention 813 696969696969696969 814 030=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 06/08/90 14:41 Msg:5292 Call:29523 Lines:92 815 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 816 Thingfish: I'd love to 'talk Twin Peaks, but I couldn't seem to find a private 817 account number . 818 819 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 820 821 Michael continues his journey through the obscurities... 822 823 * * * 824 825 A human boy, probably no more than eighteen years of age, drifted up from 826 the thick cloud of pink mist that tumbled across the stainless steel 827 chessboard. 828 HThe first aspect of the boy's character that Michael took notice of 829 dealt with his attire. Despite the warm radiance of the green sunflower 830 burning in the puce sky, the child wore a heavy leather jacket and motorcycle 831 gloves, bulky olive drab trousers and heavy, steel toed combat boots. 832 His green eyes regarded the landscape casually, almost disinterested, as the 833 warm, milky wind from the east attempted in vain to tousle his heavily greased 834 short, spikey red hair. 835 "And whose presence am I in at present?" 836 #Do yoou not know the face of evolution?# The voice was metallic, 837 flat. 838 "An enforcer, perhaps." 839 #Perhaps not.# The boy withdrew a set of dog tags from one of his many 840 pockets, opened the clasp, and allowed the flat metal cards to slip back 841 out of view. He began toying with the remaining chain. #Tell me, do you like 842 whale songs?# 843 "Not particularly," Michael replied to the boy. "But recent experience 844 has led me to the distinct conclusion that I would benefit from listening." 845 #Good.# The boy held up his hands and showed Michael a perfect Cat's 846 Cradle. #Can you make one of these?# 847 "Yes, now." 848 #Very good...# 849 "Who are you?" 850 #The future.# He laughed futilely. #Look, I really do find this cryptic 851 nonsense distasteful, but there are rules... The Anglers are not known for 852 granting the right to circumvent them without dire consequence...# 853 "Who are the Anglers?" 854 #The whales know. Ask them.# 855 "Where can I find them?" 856 Again the boy laughed, his androgynous , indistinct features 857 made more concrete by his brief smile. #Not an easy task.# 858 "I'm already on a difficult task of my own." 859 #The temporal disturbance?# 860 "Yes..." he paused for a moment. "Is your name Michael?" 861 #No. I'm not you. Not now. Not ever. But I have met you before 862 now.# 863 "Before?" 864 #Speaking from the perspective of temporal distortion. Permit me to say 865 'I did know you' from my own viewpoint while stating 'I will know you' from 866 yours.# 867 "And when will this be?" 868 #Probably very soon, I'd imagine.# The boy put on a Walkman, but the 869 music blared around Michael as if from a speaker. 'After all, we're flesh 870 and blood/After all, we're flesh./ 871 It's so hard to believe unless we try to believe./Out of control./Perhaps she 872 is hiding underneath a blade of grass./ The skeletons are hidden in the 873 closet./Till they get home./' 874 "A Medalic Prophet!" 875 #You catch on quick.# The grin was genuine this time. #We'll be seeing 876 a lot of each other in the obscurities. Most of the time I'mll just be one of 877 the bystanders or witnesses. Just try to ignore me. I have to tell the 878 Anglers about your progress. They're very interested.# 879 "They created the Stone Triangles on Pyrrix A'aaal." 880 #They created the worlds on Pyrrix A'aaal. It's a lot more complex than 881 a bunch of floating Triangles.# 882 "What can you tell me?" 883 #Not enough. The Anglers did create the Triangles, long ago, and it 884 has to do with the Design of the ruling Technocracy. The Quantier is another 885 factor in there. They're all pieces of onne puzzle, but don't expect it to fit 886 or make a picture. Roll with it. Just do it.# 887 "Why?" 888 The boy was disappoined. #You should know by now, being a Temporal 889 Enforcer. The chronoverse doesn't work. Sometimes... hell, all the time, 890 you need to just whack at the pieces or file them ddown to a new shape to 891 get them to fit. And even then the picturee never turnns out to be the 892 kittens and the Oreo cookies.# 893 "Just do it, hmmm?" 894 #Right.# 895 "Then I'll be moving on. Th road back to physical existence is paved 896 with many obscurities today." 897 #I hate to break it to you, Michael, but physical existence IS an 898 obscurity.# 899 "Sometimes that's more true than even you know." 900 The boy saluted. #Be seeing you. By the way, I had to get through all 901 that cryptic bull**** at the beginning of this exchange, and I didn't get the 902 chance to introduce myself...# Even as he spoke, Michael felt his physical 903 form in this obscurity disincorporating, but he did make out the last few 904 words. #Zephyr's the name...# 905 906 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 031=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 06/10/90 12:13 Msg:5293 Call:29554 Lines:3 907 908 Then Again... 909 032=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 06/10/90 17:02 Msg:5294 Call:29556 Lines:87 910 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 911 912 * * * 913 914 "You gunna order sumphin?" 915 "Whiskey." Michael muttered, distractedly. 916 The pretty girl in tafetta leather that had been eyeing him since he had 917 materialized in the saloon approached. She stroked the scaley material of his 918 green cape. Her long fingernails were painted into black and white 919 checkerboards. "Nice." She giggled, and a dozen butterflies erupted from 920 a discarded beer bottle. 921 "No thanks. Not interested." 922 Her lips fell into a pout. "You sure? I'm really good with ropes..." 923 She reached into her sow's ear purse and withdrew a cat's cradle. 924 "How nice." 925 The woman took a long swim in Michael's pale green eyes before 926 clicking her tongue in disgust. "Oh. One of them 'artsy' types..." She 927 moved on to the construction worker who was ordering a screwdriver. 928 "Actually," Michael said, turning back to the bartender. "I was here 929 for a little informati." 930 "It'll cost you." 931 Michael flicked two pennies onto the bartender's eyes. "I'm trying to 932 find out about a localized disturbance on Pyrrix A'aaal." 933 "The Anglers' pet project?" 934 "That's the one." 935 "Keep your business out of their affairs... that's the best advice that 936 anyone'll offer." 937 "And the disturbance?" 938 "It wouldn't be there if it didn't have a purpose. How'd it manifest 939 itself, anyway?" 940 "A goblet." 941 The bartender tapped the counter. "You mean like the one you're drinking 942 out of?" 943 Michael casually examined the symbolism. "Shot-glass-as-Quantier? 944 Nice touch." 945 "I thought so." 946 "I'm not looking for something I can't use in my obscurity." 947 "Too bad." 948 Michael's temper flared for a brief moment. "Right now I'm trapped in a 949 Stone Triangle, in the middle of the desert. I've been wandering around 950 the non-corporeal realms without accomplishing more than a sightseeing 951 tour of PPF-Realtime Dreamspace." 952 "Simmer down, boyo." 953 "You usually have the answers." 954 "Had the answers. Remember your dates." 955 Michael looked down at his chaps. "Sorry. I've never been used to 956 Inhabiting myself." 957 "Doesn't matter. You're a son of a bitch in 1877 Earth anyway." 958 "How long have I been here?" 959 "Speaking in terms of my relativity? About six years." 960 "Six?" 961 "A pretty nasty relativity distortion rears its head pretty 962 soon around here. It's pretty much going to end up localized, but you 963 were never able to pin down an exact date, time, or place." He paused for 964 a brief moment. "Have you seen the damned Medalic Prophet?" 965 "No, where is he?" 966 Zephyr waved from the blackjack table. "He's been hanging around 967 forever." the bartender grimaced. 968 "Grand." 969 "Listen, about all this Inhabiting ****... mind telling me exactly how it 970 works?" 971 "Not really. I'm sure certain parties coulduse the expository right 972 now." The eastern wall, a huge number '4' painted on its side in red letters, 973 collapsed. "Right now, I'm filtering through bits and pieces of my 974 collected subconcious from various existences." 975 "Regenerations?" 976 "No, more like evolutions. None of that dramatic 'Look, he's changing.' 977 nonsense. Just an attitude shift under different circumstances. Right now, 978 from my temporal perspective, I'm inhabiting my own persona of the 979 future... my future, who's currently tracking down a disturbance in the 980 past." 981 "Communal telepathic living." 982 "You got it, kemosabe." 983 "WATCH it!" 984 "Sorry. Anyway, I roam around the obscurities trying to gather 985 information about my personal mission from my oter 'selves', though most of 986 them haven't been all that helpful. Just a week ago, when I first arrived 987 in Pyrrix A'aaal, I was Inhabited by that bastard Michael from a few hundred 988 years down the road, and he went on a nice little spree of mayhem." 989 "Any reason?" 990 "The hell of it." 991 "Thought so." The bartender looked over at the skeletal piano 992 player. "Hey, Fingers, how about some music?" The bony hands began darting 993 across the Ocestral Grand. "Like it?" the barkeep asked, rocking back and 994 forth to the tune. "Whalesongs..." 995 996 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 033=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/12/90 01:58 Msg:5297 Call:29580 Lines:3 997 696969696969 998 At the bottom...no mean feat when the new disk is already installed 999 696969696969696969