F I D O N E W S Volume 17, Number 10 06 Mar 2000 +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-717-732-6820 1:270/720 | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: Douglas Myers, 1:270/720 | | | (*) | \ )) | DougM@paonline.com | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 The Shape of Things to Come .............................. 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 Advice on Holding Back ................................... 2 3. COLUMNS .................................................. 3 Ol'WDB: Fifties Quotes ................................... 3 This Weeks Web Page ...................................... 5 4. NET HUMOR ................................................ 7 Principles of Parking .................................... 7 A Hard Story ............................................. 7 5. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 9 And more cool cows ....................................... 9 6. FIDONEWS INFO ............................................ 10 Masthead ................................................. 10 FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 1 6 Mar 2000 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= The Shape of Things to Come Just when it seems like Fido is falling apart, forces gather which promise new life. Such is the power I feel coming together in the discussions in the echo FN_SYSOP. It's an unruly discussion, spilling over to other echoes and bearing concepts which have been argued for years. It's a debate over whether Fido should revert to the anarchy on which it was founded, or the "top-down" authority represented by the coordinator structure and embodied in Fido's Policy 4. Though the debate has raged for years with no particular sweeping changes resulting, what seems different this time is that the opposing sides seem to be working together rather than just spouting rhetoric. What began as yet another attempt to rewrite policy has developed into a discussion on guidelines. The theory is that the guidelines would be non-binding in the sense that individual sysops would be able to use the traditional solutions developed in the guidelines, but would have the flexibility to work out unique solutions between themselves. Is there a middle ground between anarchy and authority? This observer doesn't know if this will come to pass... but this discussion seems like the best shot in a long time. Keep talking, folks! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 2 6 Mar 2000 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Advice on Holding Back This was written by Renee Deutel, an 83 year old women, to her friend: I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what others would've done had they known that they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing; I'll never know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God. "People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there." I don't only believe in miracles. I rely on them. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 3 6 Mar 2000 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Fifties Quotes Ol'WDB AMAZING! Here are some quotes from people in the US during the 1950's. 1). "I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, its' going to be impossible to buy a weeks groceries for $20." 2) "Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long when $5000 will only buy a used one." 3). "If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous." 4). "Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging dime just to mail a letter?" 5). "The Government is wanting to get its hands on everything. Pretty soon it's going to be impossible to run a family business or farm." 6). "If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store." 7). "When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 50 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage." 8). "Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls." 9). "Also, their music drives me wild. This `Rock Around The Clock` thing is nothing but racket." 10). "I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying `damn` in `Gone With The Wind,it seems every movie has a `hell` or`damn in it." 11). "Also, it won't be long until couples are sleeping in the same bed in the movies. What is this world coming to?" 12). "Marilyn Monroe is now showing her bra and panties, so apparently there are no standards anymore." 13). "Pretty soon you won't be able to buy a good 10 cent cigar." 14). "I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the of the century. They FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 4 6 Mar 2000 even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas." 15). "Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the president." 16). "Do you suppose television will ever reach our part of the country?" 17). "I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now." 18). "It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet." 19). "It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work." 20). "Marriage doesn't mean a thing anymore, those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat." 21). "I'll tell you one thing. If my kid ever talks back to me, they won't be able to sit down for a week." 22). "Did you know the new church in town is allowing women to wear slacks to their service?" 23). "Next thing you know is, the government will start paying us not to grow crops." 24). "I'm just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business." 25). "Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress." 26). "Why in the world would you want to send your daughter to college? Isn't she going to get married? It would be different if she could be a doctor or a lawyer." 27). "I just hate to see the young people smoking. As I tell my kids, "Don't take a cigarette from ANYONE. You never know what might be in it." 28). The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on." 29). "There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel." 30). "Anymore no one can afford to be sick, $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood." FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 5 6 Mar 2000 31). "If a few idiots want to risk their necks flying across the country that's fine, but nothing will ever replace trains." 32). "I don't know about you but if they raise the price of coffee to 15 cents, I'll just have to drink mine at home." 33). "If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it. I'll have my wife learn to cut hair." 34). "We won't be going out much anymore. Our baby sitter informed us she wants 50 cents an hour. Kids think money grows on trees." 35). "Cars which dim their lights by sensors, automatic transmissions, and who knows what else? Pretty soon they will drive themselves." No it wasn't so long ago!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------- This Weeks Web Page by Frank Vest 1:124/6308(.1) Got an E-Mail pointing out this web page to me. Thought it was great to get a suggestion of a page to add to the links on my page and decided to feature the suggested page this week. It was nice to find a BBS related web page without having to go search. :) What: TheLitterBox Where: http://www.thelitterbox.org/ Here it is: This page will fool you. At first glance, it looks like another Internet BBS. Of course, that is part of the site. Directly below the cartoon picture (drawing) of a cat behind a computer screen is a "Login" option. This will take you to a new page to log onto the BBS via HTML with options for how you want to participate in the BBS. I tried the log in and it didn't work for me. I read on down and found that there is a problem with the HTML log in and new users. The solution is to login via Telnet and then the HTML will work the next time you try it. It did work and I logged in via HTML. The BBS is run on BBBS and seems to work well via Telnet and HTML. I didn't get into the message areas much, but there are plenty of them from what I saw. Ok, back to the page itself. I said the page would fool you... Under the "Login" option is a couple of links about cats. Being that this is a page for the "Litterbox", that would seem right. :) Check out "Toby's Memorial". It will touch you in many ways if you are an animal lover or sentimental. FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 6 6 Mar 2000 I'll say again. you will be fooled if you don't look this page over. Going on down, you find a section marked "Supporting Memberships and Affliliations". At first glance, you might think this is sponsors and move on. !STOP! Look at the spinning word "Fidonet". Click on it. Look the page that comes up over. What a wealth of information! From the top, which has both the ASCII and a graphic of the Fidonet dog, to the bottom are archives and information about BBSing and Fidonet. Now, if you ever wade through all the information on the "Fidonet" page, go back and try the other links. :) On a side note... I'd like to thank the person that pointed me to this page and got me to take another look. I had found this page before and never got past the assumption that it was "Just a page about cats" that had a HTML BBS. I'll not mention a name since it was an E-Mail, but... Thank you very much! Drop in on this page when you have some time to kill or even if you don't. Get past the first impression and look into the page. It's worth it! With kind regards, Frank, flv@texoma.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 7 6 Mar 2000 ================================================================= NET HUMOR ================================================================= *****Principles of Parking***** Excavated by WDBonner@Pacbell.net Before going to Europe on business, a man drove his Rolls-Royce to a downtown New York City bank and went in to ask for an immediate loan of $5,000. The loan officer, taken aback, requested collateral and so the man said, "Well then, here are the keys to my Rolls-Royce." The loan officer promptly had the car driven into the bank's under- ground parking for safe keeping, and gave him $5,000. Two weeks later, the man walked through the bank's doors, and asked to settle up his loan and get his car back. "That will be $5,000 in principal, and $15.40 in interest", the loan officer said. The man wrote out a check and started to walk away. "Wait sir", the loan officer said, "while you were gone, I found out you are a millionaire. Why in the world would you need to borrow $5,000?" The man smiled. "Where else could I park my Rolls-Royce in Manhattan for two weeks and pay only $15.40? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moral of this story is "Don't work for your banker, work with him!" Ol'WDB ----------------------------------------------------------------- A Hard Story Thanks to Roy Reed A man came walking up to the house when he noticed his grandfather sitting on the porch, in the rocking chair, with nothing on from the waist down. "Grandpa, what are you doing?" he exclaimed. The old man looked off in the distance without answering. "Grandpa, what are you doing sitting out here with nothing on below the waist?" he asked again. The old man slowly looked at him and said, "Well, last week I sat out here with no shirt on, and I got a stiff neck. This is your FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 8 6 Mar 2000 grandma's idea. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 9 6 Mar 2000 ================================================================= COMIX IN ASCII ================================================================= And more cool cows... (!!) _/\_ \_\ !!!!!!!!(oo) _______(oo) _________(oo) !/| \/ /| \/ /| Ferrari \/ !/ |______|| / |______|| / |________|| * || || * || || * || || ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ Last of the Moo-hicans Mayflower cows Sports Cow ___ / \ ( ) Happy | \ |--| Mooosic! (__) | | \ /__ (oo) +----------+ __oo| \ / -\/ |Steinway &|_ \/| | / || |___ Sons ___|_/ |__| * ------|| | | | / / | ^^ o o o | | ||---- ^^ Chopin'ing Cow TeX cow ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 10 6 Mar 2000 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFO ================================================================= Masthead + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- FIDONEWS STAFF - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Editor: Douglas Myers, 1:270/720, DougM@paonline.com | | Webmaster: Jim Barchuk, jb@fidonews.org | | Columnist: Joe Jared, 1:103/0, jarhead@osirusoft.com | | (Fido Via Internet Hubs column) | | Columnist: Warren D. Bonner, 1:103/401, wdbonner@pacbell.net | | (Warren uses the pen name "Ol'WDB") | | Humor: Roy Reed, rcreedv@juno.com | | Features: Frank Vest, 1:124/6308.1 | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - EDITORS EMERITI - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince | | Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, | | Christopher Baker, Zorch Frezberg, Henk Wolsink | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141, and are used with permission. Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of Fidonet. Fidonews is Copyright (C) 2000 by Douglas Myers, though authors retain rights to their contributed articles. Opinion expressed by the authors is strictly their own. Noncommercial duplication and distribution within Fidonet is encouraged. Authors are encouraged to send their articles in ASCII text to Douglas Myers at one of his addresses above. The weekly edition of Fidonews is distributed through the file area FIDONEWS, and is published as echomail in the echo FIDONEWS. These sources are normally available through your Network Coordinator. The current and past issues are also available from the following sources: + -- -- -- -- -- -- - FIDONEWS AVAILABILITY - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Freq FIDONEWS @ 1:270/720, 1:140/1, or 1:396/1 | | ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ | | ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ | | http://www.fidonews.org | | email subscription: majordomo@fidonews.org | | (subject: help body: list) | | ftp mail: ftpmail@fidonews.org (subject: help) | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + FIDONEWS 17-10 Page 11 6 Mar 2000 -----------------------------------------------------------------