1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ************************* INSTALLED: 17 FEB 85 ********************* 3 Welcome to BWMS (BackWater Message System) Mike Day System operator 4 ************************************************************ 5 GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION 6 PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM. 7 BWMS was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS is a privately owned 8 and operated system which is currently open for use by the general public. 9 No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the system is 10 privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all messages which 11 I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the system, it will be 12 periodically purged of messages. (only 629 lines of data can be saved) 13 To leave a message, type 'ENTER' and use ctrl/C or break to get out of the 14 ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering the 15 message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to replace 16 the line. To exit from the system, type 'OFF' then hang up. 17 Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system. 18 ************************************************************ 19 20 ******************************************************************************* 21 (chuckle, snort, big grin) on the top!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 22 oh it feels so good. 23 ******************************************oreocookieskathyd******************* 24 25 mikey: disk b should be disk c no? 26 jack: message received, ok get us out of the pits with our skins.-thanks- 27 ***********************************kathyd************************************** 28 29 it's been said before... "so close..." 30 31 *)_%#*%)_!*%_)@!*_)#*^_)#$&^_)*^_)@#&*^)_&^_)#$*!^_+)*!^)_+&_)$#*^$_)@#^&*#_)$&^_#)^*#$_)^&#_)^*#_$)^&_#)^*#_)^*_)#^&_#$)^^ 32 "Farley", L'homme began, "sometimes I worry about you. Actually I worry about you almost all of the time. I have 33 noticed your devotion to Fred with much more than a little concern. Maybe the NET indoctrination didn't spell things out 34 as clearly as it should have, so I am going to try and point out a few things to you." 35 Farley knew he was in for a big lecture, but instead of resisting, he pushed back his seat a bit, and prepared 36 himself for the sermon. #The drive to the southeast address won't take that long,#, Farley mused, #maybe we'll get there 37 before I am chastised too much.# 38 L'homme directed the Fiat, coffins full of electronics and all, onto the Banfield Battlefield, settled into the 39 far left lane, and began. 40 "When NET began many years ago, definitions between good and evil were much more clear. We had no doubts about 41 what we were doing. The individuals who initiated the NET agent network realized from the start, that in order to get 42 premium results from field agents, those agents must totally believe in what they were doing. In a business such as the 43 one you find yourself in now, there can be no second thoughts; no rationalizations about why you are here or what you are 44 doing. To second-guess a directive, or not take split-second action could result in the failure to carry out a mission, 45 and even more importantly, your death. You must hold the NET ideals as your own, or you will never live long enough to 46 tell your grandchildren what you did when you were young." 47 L'homme paused for a second to change lanes. They were now in the middle lane, coming up on the 33rd street exit. 48 Cars jostled for position, maneuvering in and out, trying to avoid being caught in the wrong place when the right lane 49 ended. #Bumper cars without the bumps#, L'homme thought. 50 NET's creators appreciated the need for agent independence. They instilled this independence in every portion of 51 NET agent training. But there was something more; something that was learned from other para-military intelligence 52 organizations. Although an agent should never be without his complement of extra-ordinary gadgets and gizmos, the devices 53 that sometimes give him or her that winning edge over the opposition, the gadgets and gizmos should never overshadow the 54 agent that is using them." L'homme's voice seemed to tremble a bit. Something Farley had never heard before. "The agent 55 IS the MOST important thing. You must never forget that. You can loose your secret decoder ring in a fight. Your sidearm 56 weapon can run out of power or ammunition. You can loose you walkie-talkie watch with Telex capability. You must never 57 lose yourself. You must always realize that you, Agent Farley, are more than a driver of a slick AI car, or the shooter 58 of a nickel-plated .45. You are a NET agent, and places you on a diases that must never tip. To fall from your elevated 59 position is to fall from grace in NET, and to lose your life in the process. SPECTER never understood this ideal, and they 60 were soundly defeated. The CIA never understood this ideal, and they are but an international joke amongst spy 61 organizations. Control understood, but was never able to gather the caliber of agents needed to pull things off perfectly. 62 Nonetheless they were successful, most of the time, against KAOS. NET believes this, lives this, and imparts this to all 63 of its agents. You were run through the system so quickly that there wasn't time to inculcate these paradigms in you. 64 #Inculcate these paradigms?# Farley was more than perplexed. #He sometimes uses big words, but I think I get the 65 meaning.# 66 "Farley, your devotion to Fred was what started this. Fred is but a tool. Your tool. You must never forget that... 67 Farley interrupted. "Fred is more than a gun or a watch or a secret decoder ring. His designers have given him a 68 personality. He is a thinking creature, capable of loyalty and friendship to me. You haven't worked with him, there is no 69 way you could know." 70 "You are right, I don't know Fred, but I do know what it is to feel a sort of comradery with an inanimate object 71 such as a car. I used to have one too. It was different from Fred in many ways, but to hear you speak of Fred, my car 72 wasn't so different. You can only go through so much with something before you start to feel a kinship with it, car or not 73 I understand where you are coming from Farley, but you must also understand my position. The only person or thing you 74 must put your utmost trust in is yourself. Someday Fred won't be there, and then what? You can only depend on yourself. 75 That is the basis for all NET training. Do you understand?" 76 Farley was silent for a few moments. Then he nodded, and responded in the affirmative. "Yes. I understand. Don't 77 miss your exit." 78 L'homme guided the car up the off ramp. Minutes later, they were almost there. What would greet the agents at this 79 new location? No one in the entire organization could even have come close to guessing, but there is time enough to explai 80 that in the next NET entry. 81 *%)_#*%@#)_%*#_@)%*@_#)%*@_)#*% 82 ch /loose/lose/ (duh?) ch /explai/explain/ sorry! 83 voyeur:You missed a fun pizza feed. natch. 84 piper:I am getting the run-around. You know... 'please go to office 123d' 123d-'please go to office 117i' 117i-'please talk 85 to....' ad nauseum. I'll try again Monday. No work, but school is open. 86 Mystery Author:NET sent two representatives to the CBBS/Aloha party last night to check into rumors of enemy 87 activity. We didn't find any, but a not-missing-for-the-time-being Gaudy Minsky said she was working on a new entry, and would 88 try to enter it today (Sunday). I gave her M.A. #1, so she knows the score. 89 *%)_#@*%_#%*_!*%_*#$_)^&*#$_)!^*!#_)^*!#_)^* L'homme sans Parity *%_)#*%_)*%!)_*^)_)_^#$*^_#^)&#_)$^*#_$)^)_#!$*^!_#)^*! 90 Amongst all this wit, I leave you 2 For Sale's: 91 ----------------------------------------------- 92 For Sale: Heath/Zenith H89A: 93 ---------------------------- 94 - 64K RAM 95 - 1 Drive w/HDOS (Assembler, etc.) 96 - Green Screen CRT 97 - 3 RS-232C ports (1 DTE, 2 DCE) 98 - 2 8 Bit Parallel Ports, 2 Handshaking Lines/Port 99 - Benton Harbor BASIC 100 - MBASIC 101 - PIE Text Editor 102 - CPS Computerized Phone System 103 - *** $500 Cash (I'll deliver) *** 104 The best time to reach me is from 8AM-12PM, Mon-Fri. 105 Contact: 106 Tom Handley / New Age Communications 107 656-xxxx (Oregon City Area) 108 For Sale: 109 ========= 110 Okidata u92 Printer 111 - 8 1/2" X 11" Paper 112 - 160 cps Data Processing Mode/40 cps Correspondence Mode 113 - 80, 96, And 136 Columns 114 - Dot Addressable Graphics 115 - Host of Other features... 116 - 8 New Ribbons 117 - Modified For Both Serial And Centronics Interface 118 (Just flip a switch on the rear) 119 - *** $400 Cash (I'll deliver) *** 120 The best time to get a hold of me is from 8AM-12PM, Mon-Fri. 121 Contact: 122 Tom Handley / New Age Communications 123 656-xxxx (Oregon City Area) 124 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 125 126 Isis: Speaking as a relatively silent guest of the Backwater Inn, I can 127 say with certainty that the fair residents herein will never snicker at what 128 you say. If you are wrong they will point this out, usually with a fair 129 amount of tact; you may even be lucky enough to start a raging debate or a 130 host of commentary; but you will never be looked down on. The folkes 131 around here are very nice about that. 132 Leonard: WHEN I join,(that is, as soon as I round up 20 bucks) I will 133 no doubt join the shire where I now reside, Coeur de Valle. After I get 134 out of school, then I will pack up my bow and move to Three Mountains. 135 No, I wasn't aware that my border had a meaning, but I will surely look 136 it up as soon as I get back to my books. 137 To All Concerned: as far as the True Names debate goes, I might as well 138 contribute my two cents. I feel that it is a matter of personal taste and 139 whim(whims are very important things, you know.) If you feel like baring 140 your soul to all the patrons assembled, then please do so...but if, like 141 your poor sorcerer's apprentice here (or whatever it is I'm studying down 142 there), you feel better using a pseudonym, or pseudosex, or whatever, then 143 by all means do so. That's why this is here, methinks...to be a forum for 144 YOU, to express YOUR feeling and emotions and (here's that word again) 145 whatever. That was a nickel, rather than two cents, sorry. 146 147 If all the world's a stage and all the men and women 148 merely palyers, 149 (players)(sorry) 150 then WHO'S PRODUCING THIS TURKEY??????? 151 (PRODUCING?? I thought we were doing improvs. Somebody show me a script!!) 152 153 Fare thee well... (any meesages will be saved by my devoted brother... 154 so TALK TO ME!!) 155 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Luingil/\/\/\/\/\/\/\(STUDY HELP NEEDED)/\/\/ 156 157 Okay, what is this devoted brother stuff I keep hearing???? Oh well, I might 158 as well do it.... (like those dots!)........ (((these too))) Jeez, should 159 I save all this too?? I think I will just to be silly! 160 ^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^:^(devoted?)^:^:^:^:^ 161 'tis better to be a devoted brother 162 than a deported brother, as in the 163 brother from another planet, or the 164 brother with the double chin, or the 165 brother with three %@#.... 166 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 167 I thought on what L'homme had said. Everything he had said made sense, but if he'd only talked to Fred once... 168 Our destination was rapidly approaching. I wished that I would've had more time to stop and think. 169 L'homme turned the car down a few narrow streets, and parked it. "We walk from here, Farley. The place is most likely 170 guarded, and the streets watched. Just remember what I've said, okay?" 171 "I will...," I said, not able to think of anything else. 172 We began walking. L'homme began to talk as if we were on a causal tour of the neighborhood. I returned the 173 banter for appearances. Then the building came into view. 174 It was a two-story house, seeming no different than the many others around. It was well-kept and recently painted with 175 an off-white color. A two-car garage that formed part of the house showed us how the van was supposed to get inside. 176 "That's it," L'homme whispered, interspersing his banter with his words. 177 I was, in the meantime, having difficulty keeping up the talk. "Do-you-learn-to-do-this-in-NET-training?", I managed 178 to whisper while keeping up the talk at the same time. 179 "Yes. You're doing well for your first time. I see a window that we can get to from the roof," L'homme whisper-said. 180 "I-think-I-see-a-ladder-next-door," I whispered back. We had, by this time, passed the house. Seeing that there was 181 no one at home at the house next door, L'homme and I turned to walk up to the front door. 182 "That lock'll be a cinch," L'homme whispered. I bent over and picked up a small toy on the lawn, and at the same time 183 moved myself between L'homme and the house next door. "Go-ahead," I said. 184 With my shielding his actions, L'homme had the door open in the same time it would have taken with a key. "After 185 you," he said. 186 We entered, and suddenly our banter dropped. My brain thanked me for the rest. "That's hard to do." 187 "Yes. Now, don't touch anything in here. We're just using this house as cover. Now, did you notice where they had 188 their lookout posted?" 189 I strained to remember. Nothing. "No." 190 "Look closer next time. They had one at the living-room window. There's probably another at the back. I'd guess 191 there's five or six guys in there in all. Plus Gaudy, Flemming, and parts of Fred." 192 "At least I DID see that there's no one upstairs. And that ladder is our passage up there. Neither of the lookouts 193 can see us if we approach the house from the sides." 194 "Not bad, Farley, not bad. And our cover for being out there with a ladder?" 195 I pointed to a pile of paint cans, brushes, rollers, and overalls. "Care to try on one of those overalls, Da Vinci?" 196 L'homme smiled, and we each put on overalls. Grabbing a can and a brush each, we left out the side door. 197 We moved the ladder up to the window, and very gently set it alongside the house. L'homme climbed up first, depositing 198 his brush and can on the roof just below the window. I climbed up and followed suit. 199 We moved closer to the window, and carefully peered in. "What the...", we whispered tin unison. 200 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# Farley #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 14:28 - 02/17/85 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 201 202 ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 203 204 if i was only a little less worried over people and their opinions... i might 205 leave a little song... tin unison written by yours truly... 206 207 ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttgtttttttttttttttttttttttttttgtttttttttttttttttt 208 209 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 210 211 "Why aren't you there? Helping my father, a kindly old man, who's helped 212 you more than once!" Screamed the girl, he face slightly twisted with tears. 213 The Former reached an unsteady hand, to slowly wipe away her tears and lift 214 some of the horrible agony that is worry and fear. 215 216 The little girl in the robes of a peasant fell into the arms of the Former, 217 and almost tipped him over in the doing. She cried into his fur, letting all 218 pretenses drop and all worries fade away into a time that was gone for now. 219 220 After a long while, the girl stood up and straightened her rags, then told 221 the Former that they would leave now. Leave finally for a place where another 222 person cried for worry and self doubt. Finally to the aid of a friend. 223 224 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 225 226 [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] 227 To the Guardian...... 228 Just to clarify..East Ave is called a tavern, but it's not REALLY a tavern 229 It's more of a coffee-house-that-sells-every-beer-known-to-man-house...So there 230 are no drunks or many wierd people there,well not too many wierd people... 231 Anyway it has a nice atmosphere like PC&S. If age is the question I wouldn't 232 worry about that too much either. 233 So....it's on E Burnside at about 8th. Maybe later..... 234 [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] 235 PS: Is this board getting alot more serious or what? 236 [[[[[[[[[[[[[ MENTAT & LORAC ]]]]]]]]] 237 238 Masturbation: Using a margin of 128 when entering your stories, thereby ren- 239 dering them illegible to anyone whose screen does not show lines of 132 char- 240 acters. If you are just writing for your own personal pleasure, fine. If you 241 are just writing to impress your friend, fine. If you want the rest of us to 242 take you seriously, show some courtesy. It's bad enough having to figure out 243 the convoluted punctuation, mangled grammar, and poor spelling(some of which is 244 due to "Enter Only", I know(hope?)) without having this particular problem to 245 contend with... "You may not like what I have to say, but you'll have to 246 kill me to keep me from saying it..." Patrick Henry 247 248 MathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathBOC1 249 250 Geometry problem: Naturally the difference between the volume of the sphere 251 and the cylinder varies with the radius of the sphere (or of the cylinder). 252 I believe the answer can be found with the following equation: 253 V(sphere-cylinder)=(2/3)PI(2R^3-9R^2+81) 254 255 I don't really know what direction you wanted us to go with this, but I derived 256 the equation with respect to the radius of the sphere (R). The same could have 257 been done with respect to the radius of the base of the cylinder. Also, the 258 equation could have been factored in many different ways. Oh well. 259 MathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMathMath 260 Luingil: My sympathies are more with Stromgard (perhaps being one of the 261 founding members has something to do with that). I currently reside in the 262 "unofficial" Stromgard embassy in Three Mountains. As for the meaning of 263 /\/\ according to the infamous MIT "jargon file" it is TTY for "giggle"!? 264 Math & QUIZMASTER: Sorry, I discovered AFTER I posted it, that there IS 265 a detail missing, I've got to try to find the original in my library... 266 ARRRGGHH! (and the answer is REAL weird!) 267 ____________________________________Leonard________________________________ 268 Pam: Bawdy songs? ME?! I know some VERY bawdy songs, but I doubt that the 269 Innkeeper would permit them.... (Piper, perhapss you know one them? "The 270 Ball at Kerrimuir"?) 271 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 272 ps. Mikey: Here's to 719!!! 273 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 274 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ETC.^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 275 A Dream 276 277 I am sitting on a stool about four and a half feel high. The room is 278 dark, but looking around I can see counters and an refigerator, a micro- 279 wave. The counter, shelves, and cupboards are all white. The stool I am 280 sitting on is black. 281 Beneath my feet is the cold tile floor, stretching in all directions in 282 the dark. I cannot see the counters anymore, or hear the icemaker. I 283 can only see the floor slipping into the darkness in all directions. I 284 feel as though I am in some very large, very dark room. I try to speak, 285 to see if my words reflect from distant walls. My lips move, my breath 286 passes my lips, but there is no sound. Or is it just swallowed up by the 287 walls of darkness that press in on me. 288 I try to move from my stool, but as my feet touch the floor I see a 289 ghost of movement deep within the darkness, just a whisper of a shadow. 290 I stop. I wait a long time, my eyes straining at the darkness, as if by 291 will alone I can force my eyes to see. 292 293 Nothing. 294 295 I slip back onto the stool, no longer willing to give up the small perch 296 above the cool white floor. 297 Again I try to speak, to call out. Again the darkness swallows the ds 298 so that even I cannot hear the sounds. 299 300 301 Much later I see a shape in the dark. I turn slowly towards it. I feel 302 the tightness of my back and arms from to long sitting and stareing into 303 the darkness. The shape does not move as I turn. It is a person. As I 304 strain at the darkness I see a hand holding some kind of leather strap. 305 The strap is looped around the wrist, pulling the arm down and forward. 306 As time passes I see the shape of a dog at the end of the strap. It 307 pulls forward, its shoulders tight, it eyes fixed. I follow its stare. 308 309 For the first time I see a small shape on the floor. It is just a few 310 feet from my stool, a little dark rumpled pile. It is leather and there 311 are thongs tied to it laying on the floor beside it. As I watch I see the 312 pile darken. A puddle begins to form beneath it. The dark stain begins to 313 stread across the tiles, crawling fast within the cracks and moving thickly 314 along the white surface of the tile's face. 315 The stain is red. Not the bright red of hollywood blood, but a deep 316 burgundy, the color of blood fouled by sickness and age. 317 I here the dog breath, just out of sight in the darkness. I here the 318 soft slap of the strap being dropped. The dog waits. A moment later the 319 hand behind the dog flicks its fingers forward. Without having turned to 320 see the sign the dog leaps forward, somehow getting traction on the hard 321 tile its quiet energy throwing it forward with only the soft sounds of its 322 paws on the floor. It is the only sound I can hear. The dog moves 323 incredibly fast, but as I watch him pass I feel as thought my mind is 324 moving even faster. I watch his body stretch in the first explosion of 325 movement, and as his legs hit the floor I see the ripple of flesh as the 326 wave of the impact travels up the leg. I can count the hairs on his back 327 and see every detail of the dark wet tissue around the eye. The muscles 328 along the snout are pulled taut, flattening the whiskers back against the 329 short fur below the eyes. 330 The back legs hit the floor and the dog leaps again, streaching even 331 stretching 332 farther as he gathers speed. 333 He lands with one foot on either side of the pile of leather, his teeth 334 bared, drool spilling from his lips. He grasps the pile in his teeth and 335 shakes it violently, drops of blood fly in every direction, falling on the 336 white tile, splattering everywhere. 337 I can see now that the pile is a mask. A large peice of leather with 338 crude holes cut for eyes and mouth, shaped to fit over the front of the 339 face and tie in the back of the head. 340 The smell of the blood has made the dog wild. He is frenzied as he rips 341 at the mask with his teeth. I watch as he stands on the lower part of the 342 mask and fixes his teeth through out of the eye holes. With a series of 343 fierce jerks he rip the leather of the mask turning the eye into a 344 hideous gash. 345 I watch transfixed as the dog tears and chews the mask into small peices. 346 347 The dog stands, and with one look over his sholder towards the shape 348 standing in the dark, he begin to lick the blood from the floor. 349 350 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ETC.^^^^^^^^^^^ 351 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] THE TIN MAN [/] [/] [/] [/] 352 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ETC.^^^^^^^^^^^ 353 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] Adrian- THE TIN MAN [/] [/] [/] [/] 354 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355 Adrian, my friend, the tin man-- 356 I don't know what to say. Words, lack me, caught in my throat. I'm 357 lost... talk to me somewhere, please... I have stared at this screen. 358 Trying, trying to write... nothing, nothing. The light is too harsh. 359 The darkness too unsettling. -Tanya 360 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 The cold, the bitter biting cold, why is it so damn cold? 362 My skin is a mass of bumps and the hairs on my arms have 363 risen as if to climb away from the shudders and seizures of 364 my frigid body. Even my mouth has rebeled with my teeth 365 clattering so that I must separate them in order to prevent 366 the enamel from being chipped into small pieces. 367 Must I suffer so? Why am I not warming nor even gaining any kind 368 of control of my senses? Is this the death that many have warned 369 about? Does freezing to death mean violent convulsing rapture? 370 Where is the peaceful sleep? How many times have I heard that one 371 just closes his eyes and you never wake up? How could anyone 372 attempt to become peaceful when his entire body is reverberating 373 to the point of shattering? I must get control, I must get control, 374 I must get, , , , I must, , , ,I mu, , ,I, , , - - - 375 TTTTTTTHHHHHH--"The Cold"--OOOOOORRRRRR 376 377 378 fg 379 380 sondargaard... call me when you get to the headquarters... if you still 381 breathe that is... remember this... it is of importance... 382 383 384 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (of ^^^ and ^^^) 385 Tin Man: P-, it is with great humility that i recant my previous statements, 386 my previous thoughts and impressions. In so little a time, you have become 387 one that has been the cause of many a thought. You have taken The Mask and 388 carried it farther and deeper than I have dreamed. Your privacy was never 389 in jepordy(sp). As I stated elsewhere- "I only seem to have a problem with 390 keeping *MY* identities a secret." They never last- but yours could have 391 been forever. At this, I extend my hand as well as my apologies. 392 ^^^^^ --->the Guardian 393 My Legion is finding it hard to scurry their fingers across the keys lately. 394 Everything will be taken into account. The Emotions and all. 395 ^^^^^ 396 ***** kathyd: Thank you for the "prize", but what brought it about? (smirk) 397 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --->the Guardian 49:03 398 399 tilean ripped at the stick... trying to turn the copter to avoid another wave 400 of oncoming copters... the controls were sluggish... results of the tail rotor 401 being shot up in one of the initial strafing raids... 402 403 the gray skies... blemished with the black forms of sleek fighters... dancing 404 around each other... swooping to and fro... with one sinking low to the ground 405 once in a little while... to terrorize the copter below... 406 tilean pulled back on the stick... and with the normal grace of the airborne 407 the nose pulled high into the air... the twin turrets turned to one of the six 408 fighters above... drew bead... and let rip with a continuous thumop... one of 409 the ships burst into a thousand peices... leaving a cloud of flame to disperse 410 and metal shards to fall slowly... tilean swooped the nose down with equal 411 grace as the previous maneuvers... and flew only feet above the grassy plains 412 of the airport... and soon disappeared behind a slope... 413 414 the silence and still serenity of the sloping plain was soon again destroyed 415 in the screaming sounds of fighters pacing after an enemy now proven... oover 416 the thick crackle of a certain radio frequency someone was heard to say... "wa 417 the hell is he... rise to fifty meters and ride the crescents of the slopes..." 418 419 still silence dominated the still serenity of the slopes... interrupted only 420 rarely by the screaming sounds of fighter engines... in patrol patterns... they 421 had lost him... ought to regroup at another elevation... 422 423 tilean shoved the stick downward... with a grace betrayed only in the motions 424 of the fighter... and not in the thrashing of the fighter controls... the two 425 fore turrets drew bead again one another fighter... the continuous thumps... 426 and once again shards of metal and flaming gas... strewn along the intended 427 path of the fighter... a decisive reminder of training... and the wise intent 428 of the many sayings around the Earth... eavesdropping is fun... just never get 429 caught at it... 430 431 the continuous thumping did not stop... and the turrets emptied into gray 432 skies and flaming hulks... soon only a rasping came from the turrets... and all 433 of the fighters were lain against the grassy slopes... and tilean was streaming 434 off into the skies... under the clouds... flying free for another day... 435 436 ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttgtttggttgggtttttgtttttttttttg 437 438 gaudy minsky... is it my turn or am i simply being ignored... i know what it 439 is... i leaned a little heavy on the net betrayal bit... sorry for that little 440 episode... i only saught to protect you from a dutifully unnescessary absense 441 with no reason in sight... 442 sondargaard... i asked you to call the towers... not the academy annex... try 443 again old friend... anyway... did you see that little thing in the oregonian 444 about your little talk with morey and schafier...? 445 446 whomever was talking about margin lengths as though they might be slaughtered 447 for doing so... i am not a slaughterer... even though i was a bit less than 448 reassured by your general declarations that leaving messages that did not end 449 up conforming to everyone else and their screen lengths... was wrong and was an 450 act of masturbation... 451 452 tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttgtttggtttgttttggggttgggtgttgggtgtggttt 453 454 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 455 tilean: just a couple of points that bothered me during the action -- the 456 last rotary wing aircraft I had anything to do with had quite different 457 controls -- the tail rotor speed was controlled by a set of foot pedals, and 458 the main rotor was controlled by two pitch controls: the overall pitch 459 of the rotor blades by the collective pitch control (also containing an 460 engine speed control via a motorcycle-type twist grip throttle), a single 461 lever to the left of the pilot's position, and the cyclic pitch control, which 462 controled the pitch of the rotor blades at different points in the revolution. 463 The last joy-stick controls that I am aware of were in fixed-wing aircraft. 464 If things have changed, my apologies -- I've not been following aircraft for 465 many years now. (On rereading the above, I see that I forgot to mention 466 that the cyclic control was suspended from the roof of the aircraft.) 467 ppppppppppppppppp 468 all: We seem to be shaping up for a re-run of the great margin wars of 469 yesteryear. There are two opposing viewpoints -- each fully valid -- 470 about margin length. One viewpoint states that with only 629 lines of data 471 available on a disk, anything less than a full 128 characters is a sinful waste 472 of precious disk space. The other is the viewpoint of someone whose terminal/ 473 computer/idic-screen does not "wrap-around" long lines. This person sees only 474 the first x characters of a line (where x may be 22, 32, 40, 64, 80 or another 475 machine-dependent value) and feels that use of any other portion of the line 476 is an insult to him/her. Mikey suggested during the course of the last one 477 that the margin be set to 72 characters. This seems to be a good compromise 478 for most folks -- if your machine won't wrap on this short a line, there 479 is not much hope for you anyway. Now I'm gonna duck before the glass 480 starts flying! 481 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 482 -------------------------------------- 483 Mad Max checking in at 9:29'30 8502.18 484 -------------------------------------- 485 hello everybody!!!!!!! 486 ZYXXYZZYXXYZZYXXYZZYXXYZ:ZYX 487 Sitting in front of the terminal, 488 Zyx wondered what would happen 489 next. "I wonder...", said Zyx. 490 closs 491 492 493 I wonder what would happen too if people like that were left in charge... 494 Oh well. If the program cuts things off at a small margin then change it if 495 at all possible. The margins should be up to the individual to decide on. 496 we shouldn't be presured into foing things we don't want to. 497 498 HO! I JUST FIGURED OUT HOW TO GET THIS STUPID MACHINE TO LET ME TYPE FULL LINES! 499 I AM KIND OF NEW ON THIS SYSTEM. WOULD SOME NICE PERSON TELL ME WHAT IS GOING 500 ON ON THIS SYSTEM AND HOW TO GET IN ON IT? MY NAME IS BOTCH, AND I CAN BE FOUND 501 ON LE NERD OR OAK GROVE! 502 503 since a margin length of one-hundred-twenty-eight disabilitizes the fa and fi 504 ommands... it is not the best length for everyone to use... perhapsnothing is 505 the best for everyone to use... the ma command exists that we might change it... 506 and we are not forced into one-hundred-whatever or seventy-whatever... 507 508 let the margin lengths vary... and try to strike a medium between matters of 509 congeniality and legibility... and try not to be upset with those who use the 510 more miserable lengths... say twenty-two or others... 511 i know it can be done... after all... if you could see what the eighty column 512 pprejudice does to my screen... all those forms and charts... graphic arts just 513 infuriate me... and ya wanna talk about pains to read...? 514 515 tttttttttttgttgtgtgggtgtttgtttgtggggggttttttggttttttttttttgttttttgtgtttttttttttt 516 517 piper... almost all of what you said flew right over my head so to speak... 518 sure the pun was intended... anyway... i am not familiar with the insides of a 519 copter... steering inside one of the little things is nearly a complete mystery 520 to me... as i never did take any aviation classes... 521 however... as most things i learn are by osmosis...i always saw the controls 522 of copters to be joysticks... the similarity in controls always seemed so 523 constant... it was only right if i wanted to write that the controls ought to 524 be in the form that i know them best... sorry if i was wrong... 525 526 %--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--% 527 HELLO, OUT THERE IN BBS LAND. 528 ANYONE WANT TO BUY A YOUNGER, SLIGHTLY 529 USED BROTHER? ONLY -$150 DOLLARS. 530 LEAVE A MESSAGE PLEASE. 531 532 %--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--%--% 533 534 tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i 535 Gaudy had noticed that the dark figure was becoming very anxious. It 536 appeared to be that something was about to happen. What it was, she couldn't 537 tell. What was it to be? Was this figure going to make th event occur, or was 538 he waiting for th event to take place around him? 539 The dark figure strolled with much control and restraint to a portion of 540 the far wall. It then began to tug at the material covering that wall, it gave 541 way easily. At first, Gaudy had thought that the material that was draped over 542 a good portion of the room was being used to create the dark, withdrawn atmos- 543 phere as well as act as an acoustic shield. 544 Since they were in a darkend room, the light that shined through the now 545 partially incovered window was brilliant. The objects within the room semed to 546 take on more distinct shapes, more reality. #Hmmm... Within light there is 547 truth# thought Gaudy. She spared no time in beginning to analyze her newly 548 uncovered surroundings. In the farthest reaches of this odd room could be seen 549 a table covered with many papers. And around it could be seen things that 550 looked like maps and medals layed out on the floor. There was a ruffle on the 551 wall near the table, and slight bulge where a doorknob might be. A fact hidden 552 in the absence of light. 553 Gaudy could almost picture this figure, this person of missions past, to 554 have lived those empty months alone in a world created by its dreams. Then 555 Then, as she dared look out of the room into the light, everything had 556 changed. #If I'm going to save this guy from himself# she thought #I'm going 557 to have to work a little faster or he could be dead within minutes!# Gaudy 558 then mentally prepared herself for anything, any action. #I just hope I have 559 enough time to straiten out things before it's too late and they barge right 560 in.# She then remembered her thoughts concerning the rediscovery of Joshua 561 and Petrov... #Rescue never seems to be thought out on BOTH sides, it's just 562 assumed that the missing person WANTS to be rescued. Now This...# 563 Sounds began to filter into the room from the outside world, sights and sounds. 564 Words could barely be made out... something like "Hey Sven, pass me another 565 brush, this one is all a gummed up!" And like "Oky-doky Oly, just let me get 566 this here ladder in place so we can paint this here house right THE FIRST TIME" 567 The sight of a couple of 'vikings' in work clothes seemed to go right 568 past the figures notice, as if it didn't matter. But to Gaudy, a moustache 569 wouldn't hide the recognition, it never did before. 570 tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i 571 L'homme: before you continue (hoping you READ before you ENTER) I must clear 572 up a few points concerning the surroundings. A note should be waiting for you 573 somewhere within the files of a PCS. I hope I am in time... 574 tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i tis i Tis I, Mystery Author tis i tis i 575 576 IS ANYONE READING THIS A BLUE BLAZER 577 OR A HONG GONG CAVALIER?????? 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 KOMMISSAR 585 586 check it out joe 587 HOT,1,2,3,it's easy to tellbut it's that I don't care 588 Cause I here it all the time and they never let you know 589 On the T.V. and the radio! 590  She was young and her heart was pure but evry night it was the price she got 591 She said she was sweet ( you got to rap it to the beat ) and I knew that she was right! 592 She said "baby you guys,jill and joe and all my funky friends but my crude understanding was just enough to know ju 593 -st what she realy meant! 594 I got to thinking while she was talking that here nose don't mean a store 595 Those special places that she knows and goesand she rides with the others, 596 Their singing! 597 Don't turn around ue ut oh oh oh 598 shaw shaw da kommissar's in town ah ut oh oh oh 599 Their in his eye and you know why the more you live the faster YOU YOU WILL WILL DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE 600 aletch clar herkommissar? 601 602 Hey you wan'na buy some stuff man?? 603 did you eve rap that thing jack? 604 say rap it to the beat! 605 We meat jill and joe and brother hip ( the whole coll gang and all) 606 Their raping here and raping their 607 WHILE SHE'S OUT CLIMBING THE WALL!! 608 It's a clear cut case herkommissar cause all the children know ,The're all sliding down to the valey of daeath their 609 all slipping on the same snow! 610 (chor) 611 MARK L. (*) (*) 612 ) 613 /-----/ 614 615 mlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlm 616 yakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyak 617 618 "C'mon Herri!". It was the insistent voice of a young child, yelling 619 through the fog. "C'mon, or you'll be late!". The recicpient of this plea 620 turned, shouted back. "I'll be there in a minute. I gotta see something." 621 The small boy turned back, looked out over the valley. 'It was so good here, 622 isisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisis This Inn is too crowded now. 623 624 625 ^^^^^ what's that supposed to mean? --->g 626 627 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 628 It's always been crowded. You just have to find the room if you can. 629 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM.[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 629