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BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News
COPYRIGHT 1992 ISSN 1055-4548
June 1992 Volume 5, Issue 6
Table Of Contents
-----------------
Article Title Author
Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Staff
Publisher's Corner.............................Mark Maisel
Editorial......................................Brett Thorn
Letters to the Editor..........................
New, Bigger, Better, Faster....................Brian Anderson
Review: AMF-ATW Dual Floppy Drive..............Mark Maisel
BBS Spotlight: Channel 8250....................Eric Hunt
Notes From The Trenches........................Dean Costello
Music Review...................................Michael Davidson
What's Your Job Like?..........................Jeff Vaughn
Special Interest Groups (SIGs).................Barry Bowden
Known BBS Numbers..............................Staff
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer and Statement of Policy for BTN
We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for damage
due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability, if any for BTN, its
editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
of such damages occurring.
With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any
time but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear
in a particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise
harm a person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the
content of the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their
work and it is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles
from BTN with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a
reprint, in which case he will specify in the content of his article.
Otherwise, please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as
the source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
please forward a copy of your publication to:
Mark Maisel
Editor, BTN
221 Chestnut St.
BHM, AL 35210-3219
(205)-956-0176
We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
all of this and not get too serious about it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
F R E E B I E : G E T I T W H I L E I T S H O T !
The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is with no
charge to any existing upload/download ratios.
ADAnet One Alter-Ego Arkham Asylum
Channel 8250 Little Kingdom Joker's Castle
Crunchy Frog Owl's Nest The Bus
The MATRIX Abject Poverty Hard Disk
The Outer Limits The Round Table Kiriath Arba
DC Info Exchange Owlabama BBS Safe Harbor
Amiga Alliance ][ Martyrdom Again?! Lemon Grove
Medicine Man F/X BBS Thy Master's Dungeon
If you are a sysop and you allow BTN to be downloaded freely, please let
me know via EZNet so that I can post your board as a free BTN
distributor. Thanks. MM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
N E W S F L A S H
Due to an abundance of other business, I have not
planned any parties, though I may be able to work
one in near the end of June. Pay attention to
the main message base of THE MATRIX and any EZNet
message base for any last minute announcements.
If you are a participant in Metrolink NetChat and
are interested in meeting Pat McDermott, he is
supposed to be in town near the end of June. Dean
Costello and Raymond Hugh are also supposed to be
coming in for a visit around the same time. Ahhh,
nothing like a bit of gossip...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Publisher's Corner
by Mark Maisel
I'm sorry for the issue being late but I've been busy of late. I
thought I would have plenty of time since I was returning from my
travels with a few days to spare, but I returned to a shower of calls
from clientele, thus BTN and all other non-profit activities took a back
seat till now. It shows no sign of letting up, which has its benefits,
but I don't expect to be late again for a while, since I don't plan on
doing much traveling between now and Fall Comdex. If you are inclined
to help me get BTN together, please feel free to write something. I'm
always glad to help so don't feel shy about trying your hand at an
article, editorial, or review.
An interesting little controversy has stirred up on THE MATRIX that
I have been following. A user requested that a white supremacist
conference be created. Rocky, in accordance with his rules, told the
user that he would have to find six additional users interested in such
a thing before he would create one. The user made a pitch to the other
users, and Rocky made the position of THE MATRIX clear; only those who
were interested in the conference needed respond. What followed was
unfortunately typical and rather reactionary. The main message base was
flooded with "votes" and other opinion expressing the gamut from sarcasm
to offense in regards to the conference. Among these were many who
quoted Voltaire, or tried to do so. This wasn't at all what was asked
for and it reminded me of many other controversies generated because
some people seemed to not want others to be able to discuss or make
available to others their ideas. Everyone can find some idea or
expression that is abhorrent to them. The notion that one race is
inherently superior to another is an old idea and one that is not likely
to die anytime soon. I don't put much stock in it since at one time or
another, great empires and civilizations have existed that were
primariliy the work of just about any race that currently exists.
History tells us that race plays but a small part in such structures. Be
that as it may, some folks still think the idea has value, and if they
want to talk about it, so what? It doesn't hurt anyone. Attempting to
stifle such ideas and talk indicate to me a fear, on the part of the
person(s) objecting, of such ideas. That fear may attributable to many
things that need not be discussed here. Putting the response into
proper perspective shows many valid comparisons and a great insight into
group dynamics. As for myself, no one need go into such a conference if
they are disinclined. I am interested in that I am quite curious as to
what would cause a person to espouse ideas of racial superiority. I've
talked to avowed racists before and they can be interesting and
entertaining. I've never found much substance to their arguments but I
listen all the same, just as I would to anyone who wished to present
ideas that they think have merit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial
by Brett Thorn
It was truly a sad day when nepotism hit the Frog. I remember it well.
It was April of '92. Or was it May?
It was truly a sad day when nepotism hit the Frog. I remember it well.
It was the spring of '92. There had been a BTN party a few days
earlier. Or was there a BTN party coming up?
It was truly a sad day when nepotism hit the Frog. I remember it well.
It was the spring of '92 at about the same time as the BTN party that
year. The weather that spring was great and nobody was indoors at their
computer. Mark was in desperate need of material to fill up the
recently vacated space created when Dean Costello, easily the most
prolific BTN writer, had unexpectedly quit after an editorial policy
dispute with the publisher. In later years, we all wondered if this
dispute hadn't simply been a ruse on Maisel's part to show favoritism to
his wife. Certainly the articles that began to turn up written by his
daughter were suggestive but, on the other hand, Sarah *WAS* the locally
recognized expert on computer hardware, marriage counselling, field
theory, and Middle English literature so you couldn't read TOO much into
this possible coincidence. And besides, the quality of the telezine
went *UP* after this change. Also, not all of the old authors were
canned...well, not all at once. But the slant of the telezine became
increasingly slanted towards the Maisellian lifestyle. Before anyone
realized what had happened, practically everyone was claiming to be
asexual. Not only that, you couldn't say that they preferred being
asexual. You had to say something like "His sexual orientation" and
entertain the notion that someone might have been born asexual despite
having children. I remember when you could snicker at someone who
purported to be an asexual and everyone else would snicker with you. You
can't do that these days. Oh well. I'm sure you're tired of an old
geezer like me reminiscing. I suppose one good thing came out of being
there when we were all starting up BTN those 40 years ago and they
cain't take that even though Mark Maisel took all the credit. I can
look somebody straight in the eye with great pride as they read the
latest installment in "The Adventures of R.G. Strangemind and Herbert"
and tell them that I remember reading the very first one of those back
in '91. Or was it '90?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Letters to the Editor
As promised, here are the responses I've received that seem to
belong here. If you wish to make it here, please feel free to leave me
a message on either the main message base of THE MATRIX or in any EZNet
message base. I'll get it one way or the other. MM
Mark! Thanks for putting the article in BTN. I will be happy to
contribute whenever, but I have a question. I noticed that you
eliminated the left margin on everything in the BTN, and I'm wondering
if I could help you at all by supplying material in that format. Putting
the thing together has got to be time consuming for you, so if I can
help along those lines, let me know. Also, if you see a goof, feel free
to edit it. My submissions are not on stone tablets, after all. By the
way, the letters to the editor idea is great! Again, thanks for the
publications.
Brian Anderson
ed. I certainly have and do appreciate your contributions to
BTN. I hope that you will continue to do so. As for the
left margin, I have always used 1, and for the right, I have
always used 72. The original reason I chose these was that
it made it real convenient to post articles or pieces of
them into messages in PC Board. I would ask anyone who is
interested in submitting articles to follow those margins
and separate paragraphs with a blank line. ASCII is the
preferred format, but I can work with most any word
processor document format too. MM
Howdy sysop. This here's a local user that would like to comment on
sumthin'. This concerns the BTN so you might wanna yell at Mark when
you read this. He was talking about never getting any feedback for his
little newsletter so I'm gonna give 'em enough ffeedback to last the
month.
(UNO)- I really (honestly) like "A day in the life of..." stuff.
Especially the one in BTN047. That was the greatest. Hope to
see more.
(DOS)- The fictional stories seriously do stink pretty bad. Needs more
humor but I'm sure that there are some people that like 'em.
(TRES)- The poetry isn't that bad, wish that there was more.
(CUARTO)- Luv the humor columns and wish they came in ANSI.
(CENTO)- The reviews are dull. Less tax programs, more games.
Other than that, I reckon you're doin' okedokee. If you need any
writing done (fictional please), yell at me and I can make you regret
it.
Dave Harmon
ed. Well Dave, I certainly do appreciate the feedback. I won't
pretend to understand it all, but that has never stopped me
before. I welcome you to try your hand at some fiction. If
you can keep it short, no more than 8K, then I'll take it in
one shot. If not, then we can serialize it the way we have
with "The Adventures of R.G...". Oh yeah, I can't recall
ever having reviewed a tax program. Are you sure you
haven't confused us with someone else? MM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
New, Bigger, Better, Faster
By Brian Anderson
Okay, so, I've got a 286 clone. Maybe I should get a 386 thing.
That would be better, they tell me. "You can do a lot of cooler stuff if
you have a 386." "But if you have the bucks, 486 is the way to go. Soon,
the 286 won't be supported, software-wise, so you better do something."
How soon? I read articles and reviews in computer magazines that refer
to a 386SX as a "minimum satisfactory configuration". Should I buy a 486
motherboard then? A 586?? It's the wave of the future, I guess. I don't
want to get stuck with a dinosaur. Boy, it sure used to be simpler. Not
simple, but simpler.
My mother bought an Atari computer, and I was so proud of her for
getting into computing. However, I scolded her for not getting an IBM
compatible. The nice part, I had told her, was that no matter what, you
could run ANY program written for an IBM compatible computer on ANY IBM
compatible. She was wrestling with several DOSes available for her
ATARI. Some DOSes would run some programs, some would not. With PC
compatibles, I told her, you don't have to worry about that.
In light of things as they are, I told my mother a big fib,
apparently. In defense of myself, I must add that this statement was
made early in my experience with PC's. Besides, it won't affect her too
much. She has purchased a Zenith laptop, and she is learning the ways
of MS-DOS. The programs she uses do not require much from DOS, so it may
be a while before she runs into any problems.
The fib comes up when I show her some programs that I have on my
computer that won't run on hers. Why not? Any number of things. A lot of
them require VGA as a minimum display configuration. Some want at least
a 286 processor. Her Zenith has neither, so she can forget it. But now
she is looking at me with that "look". The look that says she's back in
the Atari boat again. What's a son to say in a situation like this? Let
me know, preferably before the beatings start.
Downward compatibility has haunted all forms of computers, but more
so for the IBM compatible models than others. Maybe it has something to
do with the fact that there's 4 million of them out there. The
interesting thing is that the hardware is still capable. The biggest,
fastest 486 50 Mhz computer will still run a program written on and for
an 8088. Intel is to be commended for that, even if that's the only
thing you can say for them. So where is the problem? No one really
wants to step up and take the blame, and some don't even acknowledge the
problem. But in reality, we are all to blame.
Oh, don't we all love stuff that's new, bigger, better, and faster.
When the PC first came into being, we marveled at the thing. Now many of
us feel sorry for the poor chap that is stuck with one. I personally
have little patience working on a slow XT at work, after having been
spoiled by a MIGHTY 286- 12 (with disk caching) at home. A soon-to-be
386 if I can come up with a little more cash for the motherboard. Then I
will really have a short fuse at work, I suppose. But think about how
many people out there are in similar circumstances. Either they have
upgraded their machine, or have bought a new box with all the bells and
whistles to start with. It's great having a fast, hi-tech machine, no
doubt. There's certainly nothing wrong with bigger and better from that
standpoint.
Now put yourself in the place of the software developer. Are you
going to use monochrome or CGA graphics for your nifty new software?
That's the only way to be sure that everyone will be able to use it.
It's known as "lowest common denominator" programming, and it's a
problem for us all. Actually, the problem is twofold. One sticky wicket
is that higher forms of processors not only accept the old CPU
instructions, but have new, better instructions they can execute to
handle things better. If you write software with these instruction
included, you immediately exclude all CPUs below it that level. Another
problem is display capability, and the situation is the same. If you
write something with VGA oriented screens, all others below this level
will be left out.
Some of you are saying to yourself, "Why don't they have the
software check and see what you have, and then proceed accordingly? I
have some programs that do that." Yep, that's the answer all right. It's
as plain as the nose on Clinger's face. So, if it's that simple, what's
the problem? I don't think there's an easy answer to that question. But
I think some assumptions can be made. One reason, I'm sorry to say, is
laziness. It takes more effort to write a program that is compatible
with all hardware setups, and some programmers are not willing to take
the time to do the job. Depending on the type of program, however, this
could result in a LOT of work. But we can't always rack it up to that.
Another reason is that some good software just wouldn't be the same on
lesser hardware. I have seen some games, for instance, that do switch
into CGA graphics if you don't have something better. But some of these
are quite lousy looking at that level, and really shouldn't even be able
to drop back to this level of graphics.
Software developers want to put their best foot forward, and try to
make their program look and operate the best it can. Things are so
competitive, you can't blame them a bit. I guess what bothers me is the
ASSUMPTION. "Our studies show that most of our potential buyers have at
least a 286 machine with at least VGA graphic capability, and at least a
40 meg hard drive. It would not be cost efficient to write for anything
below this level." I'm glad I made it in under the wire. But where will
the line be drawn a year from now? And who are they studying, anyway?
I don't have the answers. But, there is a shining light here. If
you have an IBM PC with no hard drive and a green monochrome screen, you
are certainly not "left out in the cold". Look around at the software
written for the PC in the past few years. There is literally a sea of
it. More than you could acquire and look at in 2 lifetimes. Whatever it
is that you are trying to accomplish with your computer, there's got to
be some program out there that will do the job. And maybe even free for
the asking. I guess that's the best part about owning a "lower level" PC
computer. Some software for these types of machines has even been
shifted to the public domain, partly because it is no longer profitable
anyway. Try some out! When my mother looks at an allfiles listing from
a local BBS, she is struck by the sheer number of programs. My God, what
do they all do? What should I get? Atari stuff too! I guess the beatings
will not happen just yet. So worry not, owners of old boxes. If you ever
go through all that stuff and can't find something that will work, you
haven't looked hard enough.
But one thing does bother me. We buy better computers, then the
hardware folks come up with better computers than ever, people write
software for the new computers, we buy the new boxes to run the new
software, the hardware folks come up with better computers.... Who's
winning here, anyway? "They" say it's us, because we have such great
technology at our fingertips. Now we can do things better, faster, more
efficiently than ever. Actually, I think we are all winning, in a way.
After all, don't we all love stuff that's new, bigger, better, and
faster? "They" get our money, of course, but we get the satisfaction of
having. The thing to watch out for is when "They" say we can't use our
old stuff anymore. Now we HAVE to have the new boxes to be even bigger,
better, and faster. Well, hold up there partner. Just how much better is
a 90 Mhz machine at running a word processor than an 8 Mhz machine? My
fingers haven't sped up a bit.
A friend was troubled with the age old question of what computer to
buy, being concerned about obsolescence. My reply was to take steps.
Step one: Find out what can be done with these machines. This first step
is the most important if you are new to computing. Step two: decide how
many of these things you think you will want to do. Step three: buy a
computer based on that information. It's simple logic, but it's a start.
When a newer, better box comes around, If you feel the need, buy it. But
don't get trapped in the race for "ultimate" hardware if you have what
you need already. My mother teaches the English language to people who
work in our country, but don't speak the lingo. She has found the
computer to be a wonderful tool for this purpose. And at this point, a
Zenith laptop with CGA simulated graphics and 1 floppy drive is doing
the job rather well. You might argue that spiffier graphics would hold
the student's attention better. True, but these people are amazed and
thrilled at a computer, period. They fight for the chance to use this
little machine. An actual PC with a green screen would blow them away.
You have to keep it in perspective.
OK, I'm not knocking progress, I'm not saying we haven't the need
for 386 computers and better, and I am not ignorant of the benefits of
these machines. Multitasking, background operation, efficiency in
operation are all qualities that are good and even necessary in most
situations. Being forced into it is another thing. I guess when we look
on the back of a software package and it says "386 or better, 1024k ram,
100 meg hard drive required", we'll just have to chalk it up to both
progress and our collective fascination with new, bigger, better, and
faster. But last time I looked, Pro Write still works on an XT just
fine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: AMF-ATW Dual Floppy Drive
CMS Enhancements, Inc.
2722 Michelson Drive
Irvine, California 92715
by Mark Maisel
Aching for some relief with my mid-size tower case, I decided to
try a novel device from CMS Enhancements. My problem was two fold, in
that I only had room for my tape drive and one floppy diskette drive. I
had a 3.5" high density drive installed above the tape drive. This
frustrated me to no end because as soon as I installed the 3.5", people
only brought over 5.25" diskettes. Additionally, much of my older and
new software was on 5.25" diskettes. Perusing the trade papers, I came
across this dual drive from CMS. I thought I'd give it a try. I'd
heard that it contained 5.25" and 3.5" high density diskette drives and
only took up one half height slot in a PC case. I ordered one for my
use and for review from Front Porch Computers of Chatsworth, Georgia and
it was sent promptly.
Naturally fighting the urge to read the documentation, I
immediately attempted to install the drive. Once in place and plugged
up; it only requires one connector attached to the controller and for
power; I tried to use it. The 5.25" worked just fine. The 3.5"
rejected about 90% of my disks and wouldn't read the ones initially
accepted reliably. I scratched my head...I decided to try my tape
software as my tape drive works off the floppy controller and was
plugged into the second connector. The tape software was unable to find
the tape drive. "Uh oh", I thought, "it looks like I've either goofed
or gotten a bad drive. Just my luck..." Annoyed, I pulled out the
documentation and pored over it. The only thing I found that was
interesting was that the end connector on the controller cable told the
drive that the 5.25" was "A:" and if the middle connector was used, then
the 3.5" was A:". I figured that this left the unused connector
available for my tape drive. I called Jeff Freeman at Front Porch
Computers and asked him about my problem. He didn't know as mine was
the first of those drives he'd ordered, and he didn't unpack it to play
with it before shipping it to me. He gave me the technical support
number for CMS, so I called them. The technician informed me that the
logic of my controller board would dictate how many devices could be
attached to it, regardless of the number of connectors on my cable.
Thus, I could not use the CMS dual drive and my tape drive at the same
time with my current controller. He did offer to sell me a floppy
controller that would handle 4 devices for $40, not a bad price, but I
declined. I was disappointed that I would not be able to use my tape
unit without first disconnecting the CMS dual drive, but I may yet
purchase that controller or build a switch for moving between devices.
One oddity that I encountered is the mechanism for engaging and
disengaging diskettes in the 5.25" drive. It doesn't use a latch, but
button. The button on the 3.5" engages automatically when a disk is
inserted in that drive. This is not the case with the 5.25" and you are
required to press the button to lock the disk into place. This is
mentioned in the documentation but in your excitement, you, as did I,
might overlook it.
The drive reads and writes low and high density formats for both
3.5" and 5.25" diskettes. I've taken diskettes of both sizes and
densities to the machines of friends and clients and have yet to find a
problem reading or writing these diskettes in other machines. I have
been using the drive for a few months now and I'm quite pleased with it.
The price, $175-250, depending on where you purchase it, is higher than
the cost of purchasing separate 3.5" and 5.25" units to operate in
tandem. Of course, the price is not so large a factor when one is tight
on space. The drive is ideal for installations where you've only got
one slot for a floppy drive and you need to support both sizes of
diskettes. Please remember that the amount of floppy devices you may
run concurrently in your machine is based on the amount supported by
your floppy or HD/floppy controller card.
Many thanks to Jeff Freeman for helping me find the drive and
giving me such good service. If you would like to purchase one of these
drives, Jeff has told me that he'll sell you one for $175 if you mention
that you read this review. Call 1-800-GO-PORCH for details.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BBS Spotlight: Channel 8250
by Eric Hunt
1) Name of the BBS:
Channel 8250
2) Name of the sysop:
Randy Hilliard
3) BBS software used:
PC Board 14.5a/E6.
4) How long have you been sysoping:
Long enough to know better than to engage in such an anti-social
hobby.
5) Are you a subscription only / completely free / hybrid of the
two BBS?
Channel 8250 is completely free.
6) How many incoming phone lines and approximate disk space? Do
you support high speed modems? If so, what type(s)?
Two phone lines, US Robotics HST/DS modems. 660 megs of disk space.
7) Is your BBS primarily a files BBS, primarily a message based
BBS, or a combination of the two?
Channel 8250 is dedicated to message bases. There is a -very- small
files section dedicated to community related text files and message
base readers -- the most notable of which is Speed Reader.
8) If you've sysop'd more than just this BBS, briefly list previous
endeavours and their lifespans.
I have helped Co-Sysop several Systems over the years but this is the
first one that I was the Sysop of.
9) What made you decide to take the masochistic plunge and become a
sysop:
To keep Channel 8250 from going down when the prime Sysop (Ed O'Neil)
got hit with 'Burn Out'.
10) What is the general 'thrust' or area of specialty for your BBS:
The Channel is a regional hub for U'NI-Net/US, so we move a lot of
mail. We're also the primary distribution site for Jim Smith's mail
reader -- Speed Read.
11) (optional) What is your regular job/career to support this
leeching hobby of sysoping?
I have a job in Direct Digital Control -- the use of computers to
control large commercial and industrial HVAC systems.
12) What are your plans for the coming year?
Par-TY, Par-TY, Par-TY!!!
13) Where would you like your BBS to go over the next 5 years?
Spring Break -- It's never been there but the thought of spending a
few weeks drunk on the beach with nubile young ladies appeals to the
BBS -- of course, I'd have to go along just to keep an eye on it...
14) What do you feel the highlights of your BBS are?
My sparkling personality...?
Ok, OK, . . Would you believe. . .
15) What is your personal vision of the 'ideal user?'
She'd be blond, about <gestures> so high, with... Oops -- that wasn't
really what you were asking, was it?
OK, OK... people of any age that are interested in communication with
other people -- isn't that what message bases are all about?
BTW, brunettes & redheads are pretty high on my list too...
16) What is the thing you've enjoyed most about providing your BBS?
It's my family.
17) What is the thing you've enjoyed least about providing your BBS?
Sometimes, I don't have the time I need to really attend to it like I
should.
18) What is the funniest story you can tell about your BBS and/or your
users?
<snicker> Even if I would tell -- you wouldn't publish it.
Here's a space to write a paragraph or two to cover any
points/details/questions I missed, yet you feel should be addressed.
I'd like to take a moment to publically thank my Remote Sysop, Mike
Tyner -- he has provided me & Channel 8250 a lot of support when it
needed it most.
I'd like to thank Jim Smith, for considering Channel 8250 as a
distribution/Support site for Speed Read -- a lot of those people that
came for his mail reader have stayed around to test it out.
Last but not least, I'd like to thank the users that patronize
Channel 8250; without them, it not only would not work -- it wouldn't
be worth having and I enjoy running this BBS. Thank you -- very,
very much.
Randy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes from the Trenches
by Dean Costello
When I began writing this column, it was for a pretty good reason.
I had just finished graduate school, and could think of no other good
excuse for staying in Birmingham any longer, and since my father was
subsidizing my stay (as were others, but that is another, very ugly,
story), he had an awful lot of say as to what I was going to be doing
and where I was living. As a result, I went back to Maryland, where I
began my life's journey, back in 1965.
Well, not precisely where I began, but within about 1.5 miles of
where it all began.
I was home for a couple of weeks, when I discovered a very basic
fact--I didn't really like my parents. As a result, I realized that I
needed an outlet for my pent-up feelings before I cut the heads off of
my parents and put them in a bowling ball bag. And that is why I wrote
this column, as a means of catharsis so that I could hold a more even
strain during everyday contact with people, specifically Mom and Dad.
I stayed with Mom and Dad for about three months, I became
employed, and moved to Northern Virginia where I have been ensconsed for
the last year and a month. The problem being that the reason for
writing this bitch has pretty much evaporated.
As time went on, I branched out from just trying to keep from
committing patricide/matricide to coping with life in general. I like
to think that it was somewhat entertaining to read. I hold no pretense
in attempting to pass on a message with what I write (Samuel Goldwyn
once said, "If you want to send a message, call Western Union, if you
want to make a movie, call me."), since I firmly believe that
entertainment is why someone would continue to read something. This is
in contrast to those that will just read something once, that's just
happenstance. And if you learned something from my writing, so much the
better, but it isn't a prerequisite.
For better or for worse, the way that I think works best in
relieving a problem is to write about it. The inherent problem with the
continuation of this column that I see right now is that most of the
demons have been purged from my system. Be fair, what's left?
Sexuality? Nope, handled that in January. Relationship with brother?
Nah, covered that in a bunch of other columns. Work? No. Ignorant
people? No. Religion? No.
As I stated, there simply aren't that many demons dancing in my
soul right now. About a year ago, I made an horrible error in judgement
that I must take responsibility for, am still feeling the repercussions
from, and don't think will ever be resolved in a satisfactory manner. I
learned something from it, though, which is small payment for the cost
incurred. Projects are coming up at work that I frankly do not like,
and I'm afraid that I am being shuffled into performing on projects that
I really feel are pointless. Actually, more probably as I think of it,
I think that I'm just afraid that I am going to fuck them up. I don't
like to disappoint people that trusted me to perform. I've lived here
for more than a year and I still haven't met anyone here that wouldn't
mind me calling at 2am some night just to chat. Calling Scott
Hollifield or Tamara Huffstetler all the time is becoming a fairly
expensive vice. Relatively speaking, somewhat trivial demons as
compared to a year ago, but still demons, and their dancing is painful.
For whatever reason, public confession (and pennance) of weakness
and sins is a part of my soul. Must have been residual Catholicism that
I picked up from my father, I reckon, since I have never entered an R.C.
church. This is another reason I liked to write here. I could (and
have) gone on and on about inferiority complexes (complexi?), the
curious sensation that all the people the I think are my friends are
just tolerating me so that they can mock me behind my back after I leave
('an endless supply of easy comments to make you feel superior'), and
the terrifying feeling that no one actually gives a damn about me
('yeah, he's an asshole, but he's pretty dense, so he can't tell what we
think about him. It's pretty funny to watch'). Oh yes, don't forget
the self-pity.
I've always been fascinated by that vice. I enjoy wallowing in it
some, but try not to make a habit of it, since it is more addicting than
nicotine and significantly more of a faux pas to drag it out in public.
But how does one draw the line between reminescing about 'good ol' days'
and pitying the lost glories of two years ago? I'm not sure, but Chris
Mohney has trained me to be very careful about who to open up to. Hell,
a lot of people have given me their expertise on this subject. I guess
that that is one of the reasons why I have become a big fan of the "Open
Up to the World" point of view. That way, things that were told to one
person in confidence cannot be warped or twisted too much as they items
make their way through the list of friends/ acquaintences since everyone
will know the exact same thing. Keep inopportune revelations to a
minimum, you know. Damage control is a lot easier if you control what
the media hears and have a response already formulated.
Brian Kopp, a dear friend of mine, once said, "Christ, Dean, can't
you write anything cheerful?" I laughed, but the ugly truth is that I
really don't know. About the most upbeat thing that I've written was
last month when I wrote about my dead grandfather. On the other hand, I
don't have to say this kind of shit to people at work, so I guess that
it's good.
So, what's going to happen in reference to my writing? Damned if I
know. Realistically, I don't think that there is going to be a lot more
of these columns left. Ricky Eanes, in an utterly unforseen way, got me
to think about why I write the bloody things; and the personal need for
me to continue, I discovered, just isn't there at the moment. So, for
the nonce, I continue to write about the things that swirl in and around
me. But I think that things are more tightly lashed down now than they
have been in the past. Good for me, probably less entertaining for you
and those that know me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Music Review
by Michael Davidson
This month, I didn't get any new CD's, so I think I'll review one
I've had for a while. This is a CD out of the hot Seattle scene: Pearl
Jam's Ten.
I used to tell myself that I didn't like anything from Seattle.
This was back when the 'in' thing was Nirvana. Then I heard a little
Soundgarden. No good. Queensryche was okay, but they'd been around for a
while, so they didn't count. Then I saw a video one late night on MTV.
It was Alive, by a band called Pearl Jam.
A month or so later, after seeing a few live clips in various
places, I was shopping at Camelot with a friend of mine. He had his
heart set on BAD II (another excellent CD), but I was just roving. Then
it happened. I saw the CD, and on an impulse, I bought it. My friend,
who will remain nameless here, told me not to do it, but I couldn't
resist. (My friend, incidentaly, is now a Pearl Jam fan also.)
I took it home, expecting something really hard and heavy, along
the lines of early Metallica. What I found was something entirely
different: an intelligent album with a wide variety of speeds and
melodies. I was shocked at the riffs, and was stunned by the vocals.
Let's start at the beginning. The opener, Once, is a heavy metal
song with barely-intelligable lyrics. It's nice, but not when you have
company around. Next is Even Flow, a great song about homelessness. (A
lot of the songs show the band's political preference, which is
distinctly liberal, so don't listen if you're going to be offended.)
Next comes the commercial hit, Alive. This song is truly incredible. The
guitar is played better than any I've heard since I got Appetite for
Destruction in 1987. The album continues it's high-pace with Why Go,
another political rocker about mistreatment in insane asylums. Black is
next. This is a love song, which is a lot slower than I ever expected
from this band. Great song, though. If you get a chance, watch the
version on MTV's Unplugged, Eddie Vedder (the vocalist) really adds a
lot live. The next, Jeremy, might be my favorite. On this song in
particular, the vocals shine, and the message is really great. The album
mellows out from there with Ocean, gets back hard with Garden, continues
the political scheme with Porch and Deep, then finishes with Release, a
9:30 long song.
The only down points to note are the instances of obsenities, if
this bothers you. Also, without the lyrics in front of me, I couldn't
tell the words on most songs. A few songs that don't have full lyrics
included I'm still not too sure about. Finally, Ocean is a pretty bad
song, but if you can stomach it, you've got it made.
This album is HIGHLY recommended by me to any heavy metal fans who
are tired of the mindless lyrics and boring guitars of todays bands. If
you like this one and are interested in more, two of the members of
Pearl Jam, Amment and Gossard, were also members of Mother Love Bone,
which released two albums. The lead singer died, however, and a tribute
album was done. Chris Cornwallis from Soundgarden does the vocals, with
Vedder doing backup on one song and lead on another. The band is called
Temple of Dog, and the album is self-titled. A few of the members were
also part of the Green River Band, or something of that nature, but I'm
not too sure about the particulars of that project.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
What's Your Job Like?
by Jeff Vaughn
I was sitting at home after work relaxing a little and thinking
about what went on at work the night before. I thought about it for a
minute and decided to write a small column. Hell, I work with people
from all walks of life working the same job. Working a shift that spills
from second to third gives me about eight to ten partners here and there
before the week is out. Some of these people really crack me up.
Okay, one guy is an ex-Navy joe who just got out. This guy hates
the Navy and lets you know it every time he gets the chance. His big
three things in life are : getting laid, shooting his 10mm pistol, and
ragging his friends who are still in the Navy. One or two of those I can
relate to. He's also a driver and photographer. He does these little
stunts like goes out to the Navy recruiting office and takes a picture
of himself holding a big "FTN" (F*ck the Navy) sign right out in front.
His Next big stunt is to try something like that with one of those big
signs out by the freeway. This guy has the biggest "don't give a damn"
attitude I've ever came across. But I gotta admit, the guy's so damn
funny he's alright to be around.
Next we have a "know it all", who, of course, is a big hunting,
fishing, guns and ammo, laser, chemistry, ...........EVERYTHING expert.
This guy's about 6'0" and weighs about 330 lbs. I spent a week on duty
with this guy. I think I've heard every bogus hunting story there is.
Tells me about all these bow hunting from the trees deals, & this guy
couldn't clear the six foot wall for the Bham. Police Dept. physical
test. This guy thinks stealth fighter means 'invisible to the eye', not
almost invisible to radar like it really is. I've heard all these
stories about his buddies in the CIA & how he gave up a chemistry degree
at some college and came to work for Wells Fargo. The list goes on and
on, but you get my meaning.
Then there's the perfectionist. This is a guy who also a
ex-military. He's a guard who checks every corner in the three buildings
we patrol. Goes over totally unnecessary stuff. He favorite word is
'discrepancy'. And God forbid, he's a Star Trek nut and that's about all
I hear about when I work with him. He claims he was a ex-musician and
got thrown out of his band. Now he won't listen to any kind of music
because he claims music was a betrayal. Sometimes I think this old
fellow is on the edge.
Another I can't forget is the 'outward one'. This guy needs to be
by himself rather than a security guard. This dude stares at the
computer screen like he's trying to communicate with aliens. He's WAY
out there. He doesn't watch television or anything to that effect.
Personally, I think he just sits around listening in silence. I have to
work a few days with this guy on my next week's schedule. Someone have
pity on me.
We've also got the one person that belongs in a group, the arrogant
one. Yes, this is a guy who's got that loud voice built in that
irritates people upon contact. He's a Marvel comic, AD&D, adventure
novel guy. When I have to work with him I have to listen about how bogus
a novel or some comic book is. This is a constant thing with him, of
course. Claims he reads those 700 page novels in a hour or two. You know
the type. This guy's always talking about his bachelors degree in
something to do with English. I asked him once before, "if you've got
that, what the hell are you doing working here?". He got quiet that
night. Other than that, I can live with this guy because I went to
Hewitt and ran into several like him (no offense to you cool Hewitt
people).
There are a few other I could point out, but these few gentlemen
are the main topic of "I can't stand" conversation between the rest of
us security guards. Myself, heck, I'm just a bum. I get my rounds over
as soon as possible and then goof off here and there, but I can get the
job done. If you're 21 and have no job, being a Wells Fargo security
guard isn't the worst thing in the world. IT sure as hell beats flippin'
burgers all day or night.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SIG's (Special Interest Groups), Computer Related
-------------------------------------------------
BEPCUG CCS
Birmingham East PC Users Group Commodore Club South
Jefferson Sate Jr. College Springville Road Library
Ruby Carson Hall, Rm 114 2nd & 4th Tuesday (C64/C128)
3rd Friday, 7-9 PM 3rd Monday (Amiga)
Paula Ballard 251-6058 (after 5PM) 7:30-10 PM
BCCC BIPUG
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group
POB 59564 UAB Nutrition Science Blg
Birmingham, Al 35259 RM 535/541
UAB School of Education, Rm 153 1st Sunday (delayed one week
2nd and 4th Sundays, 2 PM if meeting is a holiday)
Rusty Hargett 854-5172 Marty Schulman 967-5883
BACE FAOUG
Birmingham Atari Computer First Alabama Osborne Users
Enthusiast Group
Vestavia Library, downstairs Homewood Library
2nd Monday, 7 PM 1st Saturday, 1PM
Benny Brown 822-5059 Ed Purquez 669-5200
CADUB
CAD Users of Birmingham
Homewood Library
3rd Tuesday, 6:30PM-8:30PM
Bobby Benson 791-0426
SIG's, Non-Computer Related
---------------------------
BBC Birmingham Astronomy Club
Blue Box Companions Subject: Astronomy
Subject: Dr. Who Red Mountain Museum Annex
Hoover Library 4th Tuesday, 7:30PM
1st Saturday, 2PM-5PM
If you belong to or know of a user group that is not listed,
please let us know by sending E-Mail to Barry Bowden on
The Matrix BBS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area
NAME NUMBER BAUD RATES MODEM BBS SOFTWARE
SUPPORTED TYPE
129 ADAnet One Nodes 1-3 854-9074 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
129 ADAnet One Node 4 854-5863 9600-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
1 Alter-Ego BBS 925-5099 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
1_ Amiga Alliance ][ 631-0262 300-2400 V.32bis PCBoard 14.5
4( Arkham Asylum 853-7422 300-14400 USR DS WWIV 4.12
( Asgard 663-9171 300-2400 WWIV 4.11
Baudville Node 1 640-4593 300-2400 Major BBS 5.3
Baudville Node 2 640-4639 300-2400 Major BBS 5.3
Baudville Node 3 640-7243 300-2400 Major BBS 5.3
Baudville Node 4 640-7286 300-2400 Major BBS 5.3
13 Bus System 595-1627 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
17= Byte Me! 979-BYTE! 2400-14400 USR HST WWIV 4.12
CM(ee) BBS Node 1 655-4059 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
CM(ee) BBS Node 2 655-4065 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
Camelot 856-679 300-2400 Telegard 2.5
16 Channel 8250 Node 1 744-8546 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
16 Channel 8250 Node 2 744-5166 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
$ Christian Apologetic 808-0763 300-14400 V.32bis Wildcat! 3.00
13_ Crunchy Frog Node 1 956-1755 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
13_ Crunchy Frog Node 2 956-0073 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
Deep Space 9 980-1089 300-2400 Wildcat!
Disktop Publishing 854-1660 300-9600 V.32 Wildcat! 3.02
Empire 428-6074 300-2400 Image 1.2
- F/X BBS Node 1 823-5777 300-9600 USR HST PC Board 14.5
- F/X BBS Node 2 822-4570 300-9600 V.32 PC Board 14.5
- F/X BBS Node 3 822-4526 300-2400 V.32 PC Board 14.5
12 Family Smorgas-Board 744-0943 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
Genesis Online 4 Nodes 620-4144 300-2400 Major BBS 5.3
Graphics Zone Node 1 870-5306 300-2400 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16)
Graphics Zone Node 2 870-5329 300-2400 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16)
Hacker's Corner 674-5449 1200-2400 MNP4 PCBoard 14.5
1^ Hard Disk 987-0794 300-9600 V.32 PCBoard 14.5
$* Hardeman's BBS 640-6436 1200-2400 Wildcat! 3.02
2 I.S.A. BBS 995-6590 300-9600 USR HST Remote Access
( Infinite Probability 791-0421 2400-9600 V.32 VBBS
13 Joker's Castle 664-5589 300-14400 USR DS PC Board 14.5
4( Kiriath Arba 681-8374 300-2400 WWIV 4.21
Lemon Grove 836-1184 300-12000 V.32bis Searchlight
15 Little Kingdom Node 1 969-0007 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
15 Little Kingdom Node 2 969-0008 300-2400 MNP4 PCBoard 14.5
1- Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300-14400 USR HST PCBoard 14.2
# Medicine Man BBS 664-5662 300-2400 GTPower 17.00
29 MetaBoard 254-3344 300-14400 USR DS Opus
Missing Link 853-1257 300-2400 C-Net
^&* Night Watch 841-2790 1200-2400 TriBBS 2.11
= Nirvana 942-6702 300-2400 WWIV 4.21
Optical Illusion 853-8062 300-1200 C-Net
# Owlabama BBS 833-7176 300-2400 GTPower 17.00
13_ Owl's Nest 680-0851 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
^&* Party Line 856-1336 300-2400 TriBBS 2.11
Pooh's Korner 980-8710 300-14400 USR DS Remote Access
Ravens Bluff 681-4096 300-2400 Telegard 2.7
# Safe Harbor Node 1 665-4332 300-2400 GTPower 17.00
# Safe Harbor Node 2 665-4355 300-14400 USR DS GTPower 17.00
SkyNet 674-0852 300-2400 Telegard 2.7
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
1 ST BBS 836-9311 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
= Teasers 987-0122 300-2400 WWIV 4.20
2 The Bone Yard 631-6023 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
The Castle 841-7618 300-2400 C-Base 2.0
The Den 933-8744 300-9600 USR HST ProLogon/ProDoor
1378% The MATRIX Nodes 1-4 323-2016 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
1378% The MATRIX Nodes 5-7 323-6016 2400-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
The Monster 967-4839 300-2400 Telegard 2.7
2 The Outer Limits 425-5784 1200-9600 USR HST Wildcat! 3.01
The Quiet Zone 833-2066 300-2400 ExpressNET
The Safety BBS 581-2866 300-2400 RBBS-PC
( The Word 833-2831 300-2400 WWIV 4.12
Thy Master's Dungeon 940-2116 300-9600 V.32 TriBBS 2.11
Triangle 933-8227 300-2400 Hermes 1.8
Warrior River BBS 520-9540 300-2400 Wildcat! 3.02
= Wild Side 631-0184 300-1200 WWIV 4.20
Willie's DYM Node 1 979-1629 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
Willie's DYM Node 2 979-7739 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
Willie's DYM Node 3 979-7743 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
Willie's DYM Node 4 979-8156 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
Wonderland Avenue 699-5811 1200-2400 MNP4 PCBoard 14.5
Ziggy Unaxess 991-5696 300-1200 Unaxess
The many symbols you see prior to the names of many of the bbs' in the
list signify that they are members of one or more networks that exchange
or echo mail to each other in some organized fashion.
1 = EzNet, a local IBM compatible network
2 = FidoNet, an international network, multi-topic
3 = Metrolink, an international network, multi-topic
4 = WWIV-Net, an international network, multi-topic
5 = Intellec, an international network, multi-topic
6 = Uni'Net, an international network, multi-topic
7 = ThrobNet, an international network, adult oriented
8 = ILink, an international network, multi-topic
9 = ADAnet, an international network dedicated to the handicapped
0 = USNetMail, a national network, multi-topic
- = RIME, an international network, multi-topic
= = TcNet, not certain at publication time
! = RF-Net, a national network, dedicated to amateur radio
@ = 93Net, a national network, dedicated to the occult
# = GTNet, an international network, multi-topic
$ = WildNet, a national network, multi-topic
% = InterNet, an international network, linking businesses,
universities, and bbs', multi-topic
^ = City2City, a national network, multi-topic
& = TriBBS Net, a national network, multi-topic
* = Dixie Net, a regional network, multi-topic geared toward the south
eastern United States
( = MAXnet, a local network, connecting WWIV and VBBS systems
) = PlanoNet, a national network, multi-topic
_ = LuciferNet, an international network, adult oriented
= = ANet, a local network, adult oriented
If you have any corrections, additions, deletions, etc., please let us
know via EzNet.
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