BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News COPYRIGHT 1992 ISSN 1055-4548 March 1992 Volume 5, Issue 3 Table Of Contents ----------------- Article Title Author Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Staff Publisher's Corner.............................Mark Maisel Editorial: Double Standards?..................Tim Straughn No Requiem For A Fallen Poet...................Shawn Trucks Notes From The Trenches........................Dean Costello Movie Review...................................Michael Davidson The Adventures of R.G. Strangemind & Herbert...Jeremy Lewis 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 Myth Drannor Owl's Nest The MATRIX Abject Poverty The Bus The Outer Limits Bloom County The Round Table DC Info Exchange Radio Free Troad Owlabama BBS Amiga Alliance ][ DataLynx Martyrdom Again?! Safe Harbor Kiriath Arba Teasers 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 Alter-Ego will be moving sometime this month. The new number will be 925-5099. If you sysops want accurate information in the bbs and network list, you better make sure I get it. There are getting to be too many of you guys for me to make it around each month to check for network affiliations and other changes. Check EZNet and MATRIX for possible party information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Publisher's Corner by Mark Maisel I think I'll start this month by acknowledging that this issue is rather late. I've been rather busy of late and haven't had a chance sooner to get this out the door. Kathy has been amazingly healthy, PTA has been hoppin', friends have been to town, and we've been out, and I've been consulting again. Since these are all pleasant developments, so far as I'm concerned, I'm running with them. BTN, as stated in my disclaimer, is supposed to be fun. I treat it as such so publication dates retain their historical flexibility. I have been on the short side where articles are concerned recently as well. I don't worry much about such things because BTN reflects you. If such is the reflection you want, this is OK by me. One thing I will insist upon though, is that before the next time you call me or leave me a message asking where BTN is, be sure to check and make sure you've made your contribution in the form of an article of some kind first. I choose not to do this thing by myself and I like it that way. Things are looking pretty good right now, with the aforementioned shortage of articles. I've been scouting for writers but the success has been sparse. To those of you who have come through, thanks. To those of you working on it, lets see what you can do. I've been thinking about parties again. I know that this will perk many of you up out of your stupor. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of BTN and the subsequent parties, I will share a bit. When I first started up, I solicited interested people for a bbs newsletter that would cut across brands of hardware, software, and any other discriminators save a modem. The response I received was overwhelming. As a way of thanking these folks for their support and articles, I decided to throw a party for them. It was the first of several parties, thrown privately, with me providing food and drink. As BTN became more popular, and more people heard about the parties, I decided to open them up to the public. To avoid liability and high expenses, I made parties BYO. Many have complained over the years about the parties changing in nature. I think there is merit to this charge, but I can't agree that they are any better or worse. The only point I will cede is that some people have become quite the slobs when in my house, and some have been quite rude to other guests. These, along with Kathy's pathetic health during the fall, have been the prime reasons why parties haven't occurred more frequently. It takes me much longer to recover when the disruption of appalling behavior and unbelievable sloppiness is standard operating procedure for so many party go'ers. I do not wish to return to the days of private parties only. With Kathy feeling well, I'd like to try again and see if things can go better. I've considered renting a place but it just wouldn't be the same, and it would add yet another expense for me. I'll probably be making an announcement soon about the first BTN Party of '92. It will be up to you to help me determine if I'll announce a second one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DOUBLE STANDARDS? by Tim Straughn One would think today that public office being as public as it is, would have a certain responsibility to society to make sure that all people are treated equally and fairly according to the law of the land. While I was reading Sunday's paper, however, I ran across an article, actually it was on the front page, that totally enraged me. I couldn't believe what I was reading. The Department of Human Resources, some sort of subdivision of Social Security and Child Welfare, was established to protect children from abuse. I was raised in a Baptist Children's home, or actually was there from the time I was 5 until I was 12, and saw these people on a regular basis, or some other form of social worker. Don't misunderstand, I was not an abused child, at least not by my own parents. My brother and sisters, I cannot vouch for, because I was too young to remember anything. Nearly every day of our lives was touched in some way by a social worker of some status that was checking on or investigating something, be it a new kid in the home, or one that habitually ran away from the home. It wasn't a foster home, more like a group home, but we didn't have group therapy or anything like that. It was more a home for the underprivileged where parents going through financial difficulty could farm the kids out for a while until they were better financially able to keep them. My mother elected to place us in this home in order to keep the four of us together when she and my father were getting a divorce, and neither could support us. Of course, other family members wanted to take us, but only one or two of us, and not the whole brood of four, which of course meant each of us growing up not knowing the others. That went over like a lead balloon with my mother. She considered a Catholic home, but that was also out of the question because that would have separated my brother and I from our two sisters. We were Catholic, so you can imagine the culture shock when placed in a Baptist home. The purpose of this article, however, is not to cry about my childhood. What's the point, it's gone, and I can't undo it. All I can do is live with it. All I know is that I learned that Social Workers are generally goody-two-shoes personalities that have never had children who seem to be experts on raising them. Over the past two years, my wife and I have had to endure two visits from DHR because of reports from nosey neighbors or tattle-tale teachers that didn't know what the hell they were talking about. It is quite probably because of some things that my ten year old daughter has said out of anger toward her mother, and/or someone seeing my wife discipline one of the children in public. Most any type of discipline is frowned upon by DHR as child abuse, whether verbal or physical, and their apparent opinion is that any misbehavior on the child's part is a reflection on the parents' inability to raise children and poor quality of life. I know differently. I grew up in a large home with 35+ children being tended by four to five "housemothers" or supervisors. This home was condoned by DHR and they never seemed to notice when one of the kids got the crap beat out of them for disobeying one of the housemothers. I know, because it happened to me more than once, and never can I ever remember DHR investigating one of the housemothers for child abuse, though treatment there sometimes was borderline abuse, even in my opinion. This is not to say that I was mistreated or abused by the housemothers. Disciplined, yes. Educated, yes. Abused, no. If one of us deliberately did something we were told not to do, and another saw us do it and didn't try to stop the one misbehaving, then not only did the offender get the stuffing knocked out of him/her, but the accomplice did also just for not stopping the other or not reporting the incident. I called my brother a fool once out of anger, and a housemother overheard it. I got the crap beat out of me for that. I remembered not to do it again, at least while a housemother was possibly in earshot. Nowadays, if your child looks you straight in the eye and tells you go to hell in public, you'd best wait until you're behind closed doors before adjusting their attitude. I do not condone harming any child, but sparing the rod certainly does spoil the child. A lot of adjustment can be made with a keen peach limb without harming the child. I know there are those that would beat the child with a rubber hose, but these are sick individuals that shouldn't have children. Getting back to the article that got my dander up, the problem I saw with DHR's logic is that it's OK if DHR condones doping up a child and disciplining the child for wanting to go home to parents or foster parents. If you, however, give a child half a cup of beer one night to help it relax and go to sleep, you have been contributing to the delinquency of a minor, abused your child, and are very subject to a jail sentence and losing custody of the child. There is something very wrong with this picture. The case stated in the paper took place over 8 months ago. A young couple brought the children of some relative into their home because the relatives could not provide for the children. One of the children developed a behavioral disorder and soiled his clothes daily. The 'foster' mother (she didn't have legal custody at the time) decided to seek professional help, and told the boy of her intentions. The child responded immediately, and corrected his problem, with only a few mishaps in the next couple of months. Following her judgement, she decided to take the boy for evaluation anyway. She told the psychiatrist that the child had mentioned that he would "kill himself" on occasion, but didn't think that he was serious about it at all. The psychiatrist (who probably didn't have children) diagnosed the child as psychotic and suicidal and in need of further evaluation by child psychologists. Needless to say, the woman didn't believe her ears, and decided against it. The case was reported to DHR, and that's when all hell broke loose. The woman was ordered to take the child to Hill Crest Hospital for the evaluation for two weeks. The child is still in the hospital after 8 months. Immediately after the two weeks was elapsed, the boy wanted to know when he was going home, and the staff began disciplining him for asking, and he eventually stopped. The child was also placed on anti-psychotic drugs (most likely a strong tranquilizer such as Quaalude) and the foster parent's visitation rights were revoked by DHR. Judging from what I read in the paper, this child's life has been altered forever, IMHO, and it's all because the mother did what she thought best for the child and legal in this state. There is something terribly wrong when the state can remove a child from a foster home where his behavior problems are being resolved, even if corporal punishment is sometimes necessary, and place the child in a hospital where he is pumped up with drugs to the point of being listless and not knowing where the hell he is. The doctor's reasons for stopping visitation by the parents was that "the child IS out of touch with reality" and "has no emotional ties with anyone". Seems to me, the child was plenty in touch with reality before being doped up stupid. Seems to me, the ties were plenty strong, to the point he was disciplined for asking to go home. I fear for the youth of today, who cannot be disciplined, and whose every misbehavior needs a pill or group therapy. Something tells me that someone in DHR is on the take. A month's stay at Hill Crest costs on the order of $75,000, paid by the you's and I's in our state taxes, and this doesn't include the elaborate drugs in use there to keep patients subdued. Every time a major malfunction in society occurs and a young teen or young adult commits an atrocious crime, the parent is blamed. Perhaps if parents could whack a child across the backside once in a while without fear of retribution from DHR, that child would grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong. The State has no children. Bureaucracy doesn't know how to raise children. There must be some sort of commission for every patient that DHR can commit to a state operated hospital. Too many people are being paid to prevent me from teaching my child the difference between right and wrong. Placing a child in a hospital for pooping his pants and doping him up for asking to go home is WRONG! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- No Requiem For A Fallen Poet Or Shawn Trucks: Part III - The Final Chapter (honest!) by Shawn Trucks Decisions... Decisions... In my dreams, things still exist as they were. I feel the cool Autumn breeze on a bright October afternoon, and the warm rhythmic beat of another heart close to mine. When I speak, my lips move silently, unintelligibly, the words lost on some ever flowing dream-wind. But the words are unimportant, all that matters is the moment. The moment is everything and everything in the world is perfect. When I open my eyes to a new day, I don't feel the emptiness of a broken heart. And when I look into the mirror, I don't hate the person that I see. But dreams are fleeting, and the images intangible. No matter how hard I try I can hold them only so long, then I am forced into wakefulness by the dawning realization of the meaningless existence I call life. The pieces begin to connect. I'm reminded now of a poem that I wrote recently. I think it sums up the first paragraph pretty well. Indulge me now while I bombard you with my petty attempts at creativity. Wings Of Sleep A flight upon the Wings of Sleep, Over mountains high And oceans deep. A world seen perfect From an endless sky; Till the moment I wake And the dreams must die. There are times I think it would be better to live my life in dreams, but even dreams have a habit of turning on you when you least expect it. More and more often, my dreams are beginning to echo my waking life. It seems that it's going to take something a little more drastic than sleep to deal with all of my problems. Heartfelt pain occasionally gives way to confusion, and I wonder how everything became so messed up so quickly. As I sit typing this, part of an old Kansas song comes to mind; "I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment's gone..." Sometimes I have to wonder if the moment ever really existed. Mutually, I mean. I think it did, but it becomes increasingly harder to tell every day. Whether it ever existed or not has ceased to be of any importance now anyway. A point has finally been reached, and the time at hand is a time of choices. The fact that the decision isn't a very difficult one is somewhat frightening I suppose. The fact that the people I care about the most are making the decision easier is even more so. I try so desperately to hold my life together, but I feel my will power slipping away. I close my eyes and the image of something potentially meaningful that will never be brought to fruition constantly weaves it's way into my mind, drifting into my consciousness. Drifting silently... Into a dream. It's a cold November night and I sit shivering as I stare into the clear starry sky. I breathe a shuddering sigh and my breath hangs in the air like a shroud, like a thin sheet pulled over the face of some nameless corpse in a mortuary. Just another unwanted soul destined to an anonymous burial, alone and forgotten. Tears fill my eyes, blurring the night sky. I squeeze my eyes shut and the tears spill forth, coursing down my face in icy streams. I finally open my eyes and hold my hand before me. Etched on my palm is the image of a bright red rose. As I stare at it, it slowly begins to blacken and wither. From behind me a hand gently touches my shoulder. I turn slowly and there she stands, her long blonde hair flowing over her shoulders, (I have no idea who she is, I've never seen her before in real life) the expression on her face a mixture of confusion and what looks to be slight annoyance. She smiles slightly, irregularly then leans forward and kisses me on the forehead. Her lips are cold against my skin. When she turns to leave, something drops from her hand. I pick it up and look at it. It's a picture of me. I open my mouth to speak, but when I look up she's gone. I look back down at the picture in my hand, but the image has faded and the picture is blank. My vision fades and consciousness bleeds back into my life. Another piece falls into place. And still the decision remains. The dreams seem to be pushing me further in the direction I'm already headed. I remember another poem I wrote sometime last year. At the time it just seemed like something to write, and I never really thought it meant anything, but now it seems to hold new meaning for me. Maybe it always did. Dreams Of Reality Over and over inside my head, Hopes that are shattered And Dreams that are dead. A whisper of wind In the back of my mind; Just shadows of a childhood Now faded with time. So many memories Yet so few are mine. So many loves unrequited, Only heartaches I find. A constant swirling Of fantasies lost; In a dark cloud of reality I dream at what cost? I know one thing, the cost is pretty damn high. Now all I have to do is decide on how I'm going to pay. Regardless of the decision I make, this will be my last article on the subject of my life (or lack thereof). My only real regret is that one possible decision would involve breaking a promise I made to someone very important to me. If that someone is reading this - and I have a feeling they are - I guess you were right when you said I was fragile. So add a broken promise to the long list of other heinous crimes I've committed against my "loved ones". I guess it's about time to close this sucker off. So I'll end with another poem. (Just ONE I promise!) The Final Embrace A wearied soul So tired of trying. A wounded heart Not dead, but dying. A gentle breath Of whispered lies, Empty promises And alibies. The battle lost Before it is fought. The broken dreams That begin to rot. A seething hiss Of icy breath. A hand that beckons To the arms of death. The pieces continue to connect. The puzzle is almost complete... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes from the Trenches by Dean Costello "What the Hell is this Country Coming Too?" I have been floating emotionally somewhere between angry and depressed for the last week or so. I place the blame squarely on the political leadership of the United States and a book called "The Handmaid's Tale". I don't know if many of you have read this book, and I frankly don't really care much. I am about a quarter of the way through it and it is depressing me more than disk 1 of Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Basically, it tells about a theocracy that has taken over the United States and returned it to those Good Ol' Days of say, umm, 1620, when the Puritans infested Massachusetts. Apparently, the U.S. is fighting a war, but no one knows where the war is being fought since the media is completely controlled by the government. Women have no real legal status in this country any more, and their position in society is based on whether or not they can bear children. The protagonist of this book was married and had a child (before this government), but now she is the mistress of the Commander, which the government forced on her, and her family is gone. It struck me very vividly the means by which the goverment completely controls every aspect of life. Women are no longer allowed to read, and obviously they are not allowed to go to school. Public speaking of any type is forbidden. Women must walk in pairs, when they are allowed out of the house. To prevent them from looking around and 'be tempted', they must wear this blinder affair on their heads so no one can see them, and they cannot see anything more than what is directly in front of them. On the 'good' side, there is little crime. Which I guess is good. Now, I must admit that this version of Utopia is tempting , but there are a few problems with it. Among others, any absolutism, to me, is anathema, and someone else's religion is being forced on everyone in the society, whether they agree with all the tenets of the belief or not. And I would argue that a society where no one can speak in public is not a society I would like to be part of. But the big problem to me is that the government acts in whatever way they deem necessary to control 'public unrest'. Do the ends justify the means? I hope not. At least one person I know (and a whole lot more than that, from what I can tell) feels that it is perfectly acceptable, if not the responsiblility of the government, to curtail constitutional rights in the effort to Fight Crime. What the hell is this? So, they are saying that in the EFFORT to prevent crime (nothing is mentioned as to actually reducing crime, but just trying is sufficient), it is fine to ignore things like the right to prevent personal incrimination, the right to speedy trial, and the right to protect against unreasonable search and seizure, as long as the Fight Against Crime is continued. Look at the Drug War. No significant decrease in crime has been noted (increases in the D.C. area, the one that I am most familiar with). It looks more to me that the government is merely trying to address symptoms (and doing a shitty job of it), and not attempting to cure the more troubling problems. Case in point: Funding has been cancelled for prenatal care in D.C. A friend of mine that was working on prenatal interventions told me that there is no better way of helping children than helping the pregnant mother. So, funding has been cut, and we (the society) will have to pay the price later. And it will be a hell of a lot more than the cost of a couple of clinic appointments. As a tangent to a tangent, don't be disappointed if you are involved with someone with drugs, and when they go to rehab they don't get cured. The best clinic in the country gets no better than 8-12% PERMANENT recovery. Anyway, lord knows we wouldn't want to do the responsible thing. I think that I am teetering between being a libertarian and being an anarchist. I'm not exactly sure how to reconcile my feelings. Randy Hilliard once said that he would not be surprised to see a revolution against the U.S. government before 2000 due to the emmense number of disenfranchised people (for the younger readers, go ask your civics teacher what 'disenfranchised' means); and I have to admit that I agree. Hell, I'd be right in the middle of it, with the way I've been feeling as of late. There is a journalist who killed himself out in West Virginia a week ago or so. A pretty nice chap, from what I have been led to believe by acquaintences of mine. Anyway, he was working on a story involving the BCCI scandel, Iran-Contra affair, and that ugly business concerning Reagan and the boys negotiating with Iran into not releasing the hostages until after the election. As a result, the current and conventional wisdom is that he was the victim of a government hit. And you know what really upsets me? Its that I am not the least bit surprised that something like that could happen. Dammit, it's time for a change, and it's obvious that the election booth ain't cutting the mustard. Cazart! Did I just call for an armed revolt against the government? That kind of shit can get my ass thrown into Fairfax County jail in Sununu's Oakton. Which doesn't mean that I still don't think that the best place for George Walker Herbert Bush is stuffed on my balcony. At least there I can keep an eye on him. This is a quote from one of my favorite books, "V For Vendetta", by Alan Moore: "...It's 1988 now. Margaret Thatcher is entering her third term of office and talking confidently of an unbroken Conservative leadership well into the next century. My youngest daughter is seven and the tabloid press are circulating the idea of concentration camps for persons with AIDS. The new riot police wear black visors, as do their horses, and their vans have rotating video cameras mounted on top. The government has expressed a desire to eradicate homosexuality, even as an abstract concept, and one can only speculate as to which minority will be the next to be legislated against. I'm thinking of taking my family and getting out of this country soon, sometime over the next couple of years. It's cold and it's mean spirited and I don't like it here anymore." I believe that this is the best way of summing of American, circa 1991. The only thing that I would change in the above paragraph is that I don't have any family, and the leader of the U.S. is Reagan. But Christ knows that I don't like the current trends in the U.S. I was reading an article in "Penthouse" about the current aggressive push of hard-right Christianity (such as Donald Wildmon, of the AFA). It seems that the Right-hand Christians are currently attempting to control local governments. I see that happening right around here. These people are getting control of School Boards, altering the cirriculum, banning books, all that kind of good stuff. Is this a good thing? I don't think so. An awful lot of people seem to think that the U.S. has gone to hell in a handbasket since prayer in schools was outlawed. I don't think so, but whatever. But the current mindset is what Barry Goldwater said in the '64 election, "Extremism for democracy is no vice". A lot of people are screaming for change, for "Traditional Family Values". I sure hope that they realize their error when they get what they asked for. Another thing, very trivial in the large scheme of things. The high price of using BBSs in the D.C. area. Here's a message that snapped up a couple of days ago: 8/14/91 ------- The Hallucination is now subscription only. Most existing accounts have been set to expire in 30 days. Those who have donated have expiration dates sometime in the future. Your expiration date, DEAN COSTELLO, is 09-14-91. To subscribe, read Main Board (B)ulletin #11. In a nutshell, the rate is $25 for 6 months (or $50 for 1 year). (Incidentally, we predict this will cover about half of our expenses). This will give you the following: * 120 min. per day * Unlimited downloads * Access to send private FidoNet and UUCP "Net-Mail" * Access to the 9600/14.4K line (the modem is due to arrive any day now) Our mailing address is: Virtual Perceptions 3909 Prince William Dr. Fairfax, VA 22031 The registration process for write access to the UseNet message areas will be put in place tomorrow night. If you think your contribution (monetary or otherwise) is going unnoticed, we encourage you to leave a (C)omment. So, for $50, I can use some damned BBS. I'll have to pass, thanks. All I do is leave messages, but in this region, leaving messages ain't enough. For $50, I can drive 1250 miles, and I think that that would be a better way of spending money than on a BBS. But, as Mr. Moore said, oh so succinctly: "It's cold and mean- spirited, and I don't like it here anymore." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Movie Review by Michael Davidson First of all, I would like to explain myself. The month I wrote my music article was the month Joseph Ray missed the deadline. In an effort to be original, I will change my reviews to movies, unless the peanut gallery demands otherwise. Last month, I just happened to miss the deadline. As I am writing this, it is Feb. 15, so we'll see if Mark can get it in the March issue. This month I am reviewing a truly spectacular movie: Grand Canyon. The previews make it look like a comedy, but this is everything but a lighthearted movie. It is a heavy commentary on society today in general. The cast is wonderful. Kevin Kline plays a yupped-out man, who finds a long-needed friend in Danny Glover, who plays a tow truck driver who rescues Kline from a tight situation in an inner city. Mary Louise-Parker plays Kline's secretary, and Alfe Woodard (pardon me for murdering the spelling of that) plays her friend. Finally, another Mary (whose last name escapes me) plays Kline's wife, who finds a baby while jogging. The many sub-plots include Glover's nephew who is in a gang, his romance with Woodard, and Steve Martin's (who plays a minor role as a violent movie producer) run-in with crime. The acting is superb, with great performances given by all. Especially noteworthy is Glover's portrayal of the average American. (Then again, when isn't Glover great?) This is a movie that makes you stop and think about where you are and where you want to be. It really puts life into perspective. ("All of life's riddles are answered in the movies!" says Martin.) But the most amazing thing about this movie is that it does it all without gimmicks, and without spending hundreds of millions of dollars on special effects. I loved this movie, but I'd like to leave you with a word of warning: my parents hated it. It's more for the liberal side of you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Adventures of R.G. Strangemind and Herbert by Jeremy Lewis Copyright 1991,92 by Jeremy Lewis no reprints without the permission of the author Part XII As the Large Gray Spaceship shot through space, a large gleaming fist-like vessel moved up along side it, extending a long cylinder like extension from its side and connecting it to the Large Gray Spaceship. Meanwhile, in that dark, dark place that super beings are intimately familiar with a small rational voice spoke,"Sir, The Split-Splat has moved along side the Large Gray Spaceship." "SO???" screamed the loud irrational voice. "I thought you might like to know, sir. "Interesting..." "WHAT, WHAT IS INTERESTING?!?!?!?" "The Toatans of Melba are heading after the Large Gray Spaceship." "oh no," spoke a voice no longer as loud as it had been moments before. On the Large Gray Spaceship, Slob was looking at the large human's body. Could this be him? On his planet, there was a legend about the coming of The Great Stupid One who would lead them out of darkness. Slob had never cared for that legend, but he knew many that did. This human could be his meal ticket. Contemplating his newfound resource, he failed to notice the Purple Thing get to its feet and walk off towards a set of stairs. The sign beside the stairs read "Deck Six" and for some strange reason, Ginger headed down. R.G. stood up. What was he doing lying senseless on the floor? He had to find Herbert. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong...He had to find Herbert. As got up and headed towards the stairs he heard a grinding noise. Suddenly hole appeared in the wall. He stopped long enough to see a large bald, green person walking down a corridor inside the hole before he took off back from where he had come, forgetting all thoughts of Herbert as he ran. Splort smiled as he walked down the corridor that now connected the Large Gray Spaceship and The Split-Splat. Slob was his, he blinked for a moment as he saw what he thought to be a human run past the opening to the corridor, but dismissed as having had to much ranting and raving in the last couple of days. That was when he heard the soul chilling howl as a Large Purple Thing moved to cover the opening to the Large Gray Spaceship. Emperor Splort summoned his guards. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Node 1 854-9074 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5 129 ADAnet One Node 2 854-2308 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5 129 ADAnet One Node 3 854-0698 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5 129 ADAnet One Node 4 854-5863 9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5 1 Alter-Ego BBS 744-7733 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5 1 Amiga Alliance ][ 631-0262 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5 4 Arkham Asylum 853-7422 300-9600 USR DS WWIV 4.12 Asgard 663-9171 300-2400 WWIV 4.11 Baudville Node 1 640-4593 300-2400 Oracomm Plus Baudville Node 2 640-4639 300-2400 Oracomm Plus Birmingham BBS 854-5131 300-2400 Mind-Pawn 13 Bus System 595-1627 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2 17 Byte Me! 979-BYTE! 2400-9600 USR HST WWIV 4.12 CM(ee) BBS Node 1 655-4059 300-2400 Oracomm Plus CM(ee) BBS Node 2 655-4065 300-1200 Oracomm Plus 136 Channel 8250 Node 1 744-8546 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5 136 Channel 8250 Node 2 744-5166 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5 Christian Apologetic 808-0763 300-2400 Wildcat! 3.00 1 Crunchy Frog Node 1 956-1755 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5 1 Crunchy Frog Node 2 956-0073 300-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5 DataLynx 322-3425 300-2400 WWIV 4.12 Disktop Publishing BBS 854-1660 300-9600 V.32 Wildcat! 3.01 Empire 428-6074 300-2400 Image 1.2 F/X BBS Node 1 823-5777 300-2400 PC Board 14.5 F/X BBS Node 2 822-4570 300-2400 PC Board 14.5 F/X BBS Node 3 822-4526 300-2400 PC Board 14.5 12{ Family Smorgas-Board 744-0943 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5 Graphics Zone Node 1 870-5306 300-9600 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16) Graphics Zone Node 2 870-5329 300-9600 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16) Hacker's Corner 674-5449 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5 Hardeman's BBS 640-6436 1200-2400 Wildcat! 2.55s 13 Hard Disk BBS 987-0794 300-2400 PC Board 14.5 2 I.S.A. BBS 995-6590 300-9600 USR HST Remote Access Infinite Probability 791-0421 2400 PC Board 14.5 13 Joker's Castle 664-5589 300-2400 USR HST PC Board 14.5 Kiriath Arba 681-8374 300-2400 WWIV 4.20 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 300-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.2 # Medicine Man BBS 664-5662 300-2400 GTPower 16.00 29 MetaBoard 254-3344 300-2400 Opus Missing Link 853-1257 300-2400 C-Net Night Watch 841-2790 1200-2400 TriTel 2.0 Optical Illusion 853-8062 300-1200 C-Net Ouija Board 669-0623 300-1200 # Owlabama BBS 833-7176 300-2400 GTPower 15.00 1 Owl's Nest 680-0851 300-9600 PCBoard 14.5 Paradise City 853-1439 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5 Pooh's Korner 980-8710 300-2400 Ravens Bluff 681-4096 300-2400 Telegard 2.7 # Safe Harbor Node 1 665-4332 300-2400 GTPower 15.00 # Safe Harbor Node 2 665-4355 300-9600 USR DS GTPower 15.00 Sperry BBS 853-6144 300-9600 Hayes PCBoard 14.5 1 ST BBS 836-9311 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2 Strattosphere 428-1066 300-1200 Strawberry Fields 856-0267 300-2400 Telegard 2.7 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 Commodore Zone 856-3783 300-2400 Image1.2 The Den 925-0707 300-9600 USR HST ProLogon/ProDoor 4 The Dragon's Hoard 833-3790 300-2400 WWIV 4.12 12378 The MATRIX Nodes 1-4 323-2016 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5 12378 The MATRIX Nodes 5-7 323-6016 2400-9600 USR DS PCBoard 14.5 The Monster 967-4839 300-2400 Telegard 2.5i The Other Side 520-0230 2400-9600 USR DS PC Board 14.5 2 The Outer Limits 985-1725 1200-9600 USR HST Wildcat! 3.01 The Quiet Zone 833-2066 300-2400 ExpressNET 12@ The Round Table 938-2145 300-2400 Telegard 2.5i The Safety BBS 581-2866 300-2400 RBBS-PC The Word 833-2831 300-2400 WWIV 4.12 Wildfire 1 942-9576 300-2400 Telegard 2.7 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, a national network, multi-topic If you have any corrections, additions, deletions, etc., please let us know via EzNet.