textfiles/messages/BACKWATER/bw890507.txt

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001=Usr:0 Null User 06/30/87 20:34 Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19
1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask...
2$************************* INSTALLED: 7 MAY 89 ****************************
3$Welcome to BWMS II (BackWater Message System II) Mike Day System operator
4$**************************************************************************
5$GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS II IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION
6$ PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM.
7$BWMS II was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS II is a privately
8$owned and operated system which is currently open for use by the general
9$public. No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the
10$system is privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all
11$messages which I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the
12$system, it will be periodically purged of messages (only 999 lines of data
13$can be saved). To leave a message, type 'ENTER'. Use ctrl/C to get out
14$the ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering
15$the message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to
16$replace the line. To exit from the system, type 'BYE' then hang up.
17$Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system.
18$**************************************************************************
19$
002=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 05/07/89 21:24 Msg:3775 Call:20940 Lines:2
20 Reality is always stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.
21 *************************************************************************
003=Usr:322 Stray Cat 05/07/89 21:34 Msg:3776 Call:20941 Lines:6
22 @#_$)(^@#$_@#)$%!#@_)@&#$%*&@#$+@_)+#!@^&#
23
24 HA ... first
25
26 !@#$+_)@+#($^@#$%(^!#!@#+_)!@(#^@!!)@&#@%$!#@+_@)*#%^)|@$&^
27
004=Usr:33 Mike Stanfill 05/07/89 21:57 Msg:3777 Call:20942 Lines:16
28 /*/*/*/*/*/*/*
29 Well, looks like the blancmanges have let someone else have the top of the
30 disk.
31
32 Good thing, too! Isn't there some regulation stating that a human being
33 mst have the top of the disk once a month or so...
34
35 perhaps I should turn him into a Scotsman... hmmm.
36 _
37 /#)
38 n n n (#/
39 / ~~~ ~~~ \/
40 /___/____\__\
41
42 */*/*/*/*/*/*/ -swob (a Self-Willed Orange Blancmange)
43
005=Usr:196 Cheryl Singer 05/07/89 22:17 Msg:3778 Call:20943 Lines:14
44 ******************************************************************************
45 Hello, is Cassandra here aga.....and I, for one, have no interest
46 in being turned into a Scotsman (or -woman, for that matter).There
47 has been a lot of talk around about the validity of the "cold fusion"
48 experiments, and what is really happening. What I'm curious about is
49 what ideas people have about how to use the stuffand how that changes
50 things. Oh, by the way, be careful what you say...since this is being
51 tapped. Oh, well...
52
53 Nobody did ever listen to Cassandra, anyw...
54
55 ***Cassandra***
56
57 ******************************************************************************
006=Usr:465 Gregg Harris 05/08/89 18:59 Msg:3779 Call:20954 Lines:7
58 )(*&)(&*)(&*(&*)(&*)(&*)(&*)(&*)(&*)(&)(&)(&)(&*)(&*)(&*)(&
59
60 where is ever' body?
61
62 The Mole modus alonus
63 )*&)(&)(&)(&*)(&)(&*)(&*)(&*)(&)(&)(&)(&*)(*&)(&*)(&*)(&*)(&()&
64
007=Usr:4 Milchar 05/08/89 20:35 Msg:3780 Call:20955 Lines:7
65 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
66 Cassandra: I suppose that depends upon what scientists settle on as
67 the most energy producing mix. Secondary radiation (caused by the
68 neutrons emitted by the reaction) could also be a consideration... it
69 means we might never have a car propelled by fusion power (see "Mr.
70 Fusion" in Back to the Future... :-) )
71 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
008=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 05/08/89 21:31 Msg:3781 Call:20957 Lines:9
72 *%$#)(%)#(%)#(%)@#%)@#_$^()_$%(^)_^(#)_$(_)$#!(^)_$&()_$()_#@(^)_#(^)_#(^)_
73
74 Milch: ".GT. 4" ? Methings you have been looking at certain FORTRAN programs
75 too much. Did you ever find a source for your needed chips? Sorry I could not
76 help you.
77
78 AD: Sometimes you use one more character pair yourself. Better be careful!
79
80 %()$()_^()_$#(^#(^)(#^)_@^($)_@ L'homme sans Parity %*()%*#)%*#%()_%)*#)@_%%
009=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 05/08/89 22:36 Msg:3783 Call:20961 Lines:420
81 Path: percival!littlei!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!wasatch!donn
82 From: donn@wasatch.utah.edu (Donn Seeley)
83 Newsgroups: alt.fusion
84 Subject: news from the epicenter
85 Summary: recent Pons comments; new confirmations; upcoming meetings; patents
86 Message-ID: <1731@wasatch.utah.edu>
87 Date: 4 May 89 09:11:11 GMT
88 Organization: University of Utah CS Dept
89 Lines: 407
90
91 I've been away for a week -- I was visiting a good friend who was hit
92 by a drunk on the wrong side of a freeway and survived. Some things
93 are more important than fusion (hi, Cynthia! :-). When I got back, I
94 discovered that fusion was still in the papers; here are some more
95 excerpts from local reporting which the country at large seems to have
96 been spared.
97
98 A bit over a week ago, just before I left, Pons gave a news conference
99 in which he presented a few more details about the new work going on at
100 the U. Here are some of Pons's remarks, as reported by the Salt Lake
101 Tribune on April 25th:
102
103 U of chemist B Stanley Pons said Monday [4/24] that his
104 research team is perfecting anew design for his nuclear fusion
105 experiment that may be much better suited for an eventual use
106 as a [sic] energy source.
107
108 Dr Pons decined to give specifics on his new experimental
109 design, other than to say it was 'a clearly dfferent
110 configuration.' He gave dimensions of a cyliner about a foot
111 long and 6 inches in diametr.
112
113 'If we can charge a very large piece ofpalladium, then the
114 power will be consierable,' he said. 'But, again, we would
115 like to build something we can charge up in a shorter ime
116 period.' ...
117
118 He alo said that the design would lend itself to better
119 transfer of energy. 'There aremuch better designs for getting
120 the heat out of the cell.'
121
122 Asked how long beore such a new design could be up and
123 working, he replied, 'I would hope this year.' But he said
124 making the process work on a commercial scale may still be
125 decades away. 'The engineers will be the best people to scale
126 up to that sort of level.'
127
128 Dr Pos said he currently has four cells running, including one
129 that produces no eat. Ten more are within two or three days
130 of running and he guessed that nine more will e up within a
131 week or so.
132
133 The largest one will be about five times the original [sic],
134 which used a palladium rod about 4 inches long and less than a
135 quarter of an inch in diameter.
136
137 Platium and possibly other metals will be substituted for
138 palladium in some of the ne experiments, he said. ...
139
140 He said one possible reason that other labs have not confirmed
141 the results is that the palladium rod must be used as it is
142 cast. Rods that have been machined or extruded do not seem to
143 work. 'I think it's clear now that the processing of the
144 plladium may be a factor.'
145
146 Given what he has learned about that, Dr Pons said he can
147 reproduce the results better than 90 percent of the time. ...
148
149 The [Walling-Simons] theory was strengthened by Dr Pons'
150 statement a week ago [4/18?] that he had measured a trillion
151 helium atoms per second coming off the device. He acknowledged
152 Monday that some helium may be present in the palladium before
153 thereaction begins, but those trace amounts are 'probably a
154 million times less'than the amounts he has observed. ...
155
156 'You could consume the palladium, the plainum, the glass, all
157 the water, everyting' and not generate the observed heat, he
158 said.
159
160 He cited the xperiments at Texas A&M University and Stanford
161 University as the most important confimations. Those two are
162 believed tobe the only ones to support the controversial
163 heat-producing aspects. Dr Pons said he knws of no
164 confirmation of the helium generation.
165
166 Another article in the same edition of the Tribune contained some testy
167 remarks by Pons about control experiments:
168
169 Dr ons and Dr Fleischmann have been criticized for not
170 maintaining a control experimnt with light, or ordinary,
171 wter, but Dr Pons said Monday such an experiment was not a
172 good control.
173
174 'We've always run a control experiment,' he said. The problem
175 is that the world is trying to tellus what a control
176 experiment is. I mightnot agree that plain water is a control
177 experiment. I'll argue that.'
178
179 The APS meeting was reported on the front pages of the Tribune and the
180 Deseret News. On Monday Pons seemed to be in hiding; the Tuesday
181 morning (5/2) Tribune was only able to say:
182
183 Dr Pons declined to comment on the APS meeting] Monday,
184 refrring all inquiries to university officials.
185
186 By Tuesday afternoon Pons was back to form, according to the News:
187
188 Pons and Fleichmann Tuesday were elated by the physicists'
189 remarks.
190
191 'We ae extremely pleased because they confirm our findings,'
192 Pons said. 'The absece of neutrons doesn't concern us in the
193 slightest. We couldn't be happier. We and other scintists
194 will soon tell them why this is so.'
195
196 Pons seemed rather blithe given the attacks cited later in the article:
197
198 The Monday conference comes on the heels f the scathing
199 editorial in the New York Time that stated that the University
200 of Utah 'may now claim credit for the artificial-heart horror
201 show and the cold-fusion circus, two milestones at least in the
202 history of entertainment if not of science.' ...
203
204 The physicists at the meeting gave their loudest cheer Monday
205 night -- mixed with a few boos -- to S E Koonin of the
206 Uiversity of California at Santa Barbara who attacked Pons and
207 Fleischman.
208
209 'Based on my knowledge,' he said, 'the xperiment is wrong. It
210 suffers from he incompetence and delusions of Drs Pons and
211 Fleischmann.' ...
212
213 He joked that maybe Utah and its environment are to blame. 'I
214 don't know how much (radioactive) radon gas they have in the
215 lab, but I do know they mine uranium in Utah.'
216
217 I suppose Koonin could equally well have mentioned all that wonderful
218 fallout that the federal government spread over the state back in the
219 days of open-air atomic testing...
220
221 The only direct rejoinder from Pons in the article was quite tart:
222
223 'We are amazed that Proessor Lewis [of Caltech] has learned
224 how to solve all those problems in only one month when it took
225 us 5 1/2 years. We further would like to know that if his
226 results are to be thermodynamically feasible, why is it that he
227 doesn't observe cold spots along with his hot spots?' Pons
228 said.
229
230 The response of the local papers to the APS flap was to contact groups
231 that had reported confirmations of the experiment and print their
232 (positive, naturally) responses. Here is what the Tribune had to say
233 this morning:
234
235 Scientists who have confirmed the heat-prodcing aspects of the
236 University of Utah' solid-state nuclear fusion experiment are
237 standing firm despite an avalanche of criticism b physicists
238 meeting in Baltimore.
239
240 And one of the scientists, Uziel Landau of Case Western
241 University, criticized the scientists for 'unfair' statements
242 about the U of U electrochemists, Stanley Pons and Martin
243 Fleischmann [sic].
244
245 'I think the statementswere just outrageous,' said Dr Landau,
246 a professor of chemical engineering at the Cleveland, Ohi,
247 school. He added that he wasn't at the meeting and only nows
248 what he heard on the radio.
249
250 Dr Landau, who announced his confirmation on Saturday, and
251 scientists at Texas A&M University and Stanford University are
252 believed to be the only people to publicly confirm the excess
253 heat of the Fleischmann-Pons experiment. ...
254
255 'Wedo see a net power output from our cell, pretty much along
256 the same numberas Fleischmann and Pons had reported,' [Landau]
257 said. ...
258
259 Dr Landau took exception with reports that the original
260 eperiment and the confirmations suffer from improper heat
261 calculations. 'I do't think we have a calculation error,' he
262 said. 'We are just as expert as anyone else at hea-transfer
263 calculations.'
264
265 He also said he had great respect for Dr Fleischmann, whom he
266 said he has known for about 10 years. 'He's a very cautious,
267 very careful guy, highly regarded. I take very seriously any
268 statement that has come out of him.'
269
270 He sad he has also seen a slight increase in tritium levels in
271 the heavy water slution, but is making no conclusions yet.
272 'We stay way short of saying we have seen fusion.' ...
273
274 Joel Scherkin, spokesman for StanfordUniversity, said Robert
275 Huggins andhis team have an electrolytic cell that continues
276 to produce excess energy. ...
277
278 'They are standing by their guns,' he said, addin that they
279 are bracing for more criticism. 'Theyare circling the
280 wagons.'
281
282 He said Dr Huggins has submitted a paper to 'a prestigious
283 journal' that he would not name, and he wouldn't have any
284 other press announcements until it is published. 'We're going
285 to do what the University of Utah didn't.'
286
287 Txas A&M spokesman Ed Walraven said chemist Charles Martin and
288 his team re 'a little surprised' by the acrimony coming from
289 the Baltimore meeting, but 'tey're not angry.'
290
291 Mr Walrven said the school now has about a dozen electrolytic
292 cells running in heavy wate in various departments on campus,
293 and 'about half' of them are producing heat.
294
295 'The cells still continue to generate excess energy, and the
296 researchers continue to document those findings,' he said,
297 adding a note of caution: 'We're far from having all the
298 problems licked.'
299
300 The News went so far as to report a confirmation from a second group at
301 A&M:
302
303 A second team of researchers at Texas A&M University has
304 announced successful replication of the most controversial part
305 of the U experiment. Their electrochemical reaction produced
306 more energy than required to make the reaction work. ...
307
308 Wednesday's confirmation by John Appleby, world-renowned
309 electrochemist at Texas A&M University, could help silence
310 skeptics who for six weeks have criticized the revolutionary
311 research of Pons and Fleischmann.
312
313 Appleby, diector of the Electrochemical Systems and Hydrogen
314 Research Center, and his colleagus are the second Texas A&M
315 tea to independently confirm the project. ...
316
317 'His (Appleby's) confirmation is no state secret, but he has
318 only mentioned it to colleagues in conservative way,' said Ed
319 Wlraven, assistant director of public information at the Texas
320 universit.
321
322 Walraven indicated that Appleby's formal nnouncement is
323 pending publication of his daa in a scientific journal.
324
325 Like the team headed by [A&M electrochemist] Martin, the
326 electrochemical reaction carried out by Appleby's group
327 prouced between 20 percent more energy [sic] than required to
328 make the reactin work, Walraven said.
329
330 Like Martin's group, Appleby and colleagues report generating
331 lower percentages of energy than do Pons and Fleischmann.
332
333 Walraven said both Texas A&M teams are now trying to determine
334 why the initial experiments (of Martin) produced between 60 and
335 80 [sic] more energy than required to make the reaction work -- and a secnd ex
336 excess energy -- although at a somehat lower level. They have
337 half dozen experiments that are producing excess heat.
338
339 The News described how the electrochemists were planning to take their
340 revenge on the physicists:
341
342 .. U officials, who filed another patent application this
343 week, predicted Wedneday that many more groups will announce
344 confirmation next week at the biannual meeting of the
345 Electrochemical Society in Los Angeles.
346
347 Hugo Rossi, dean of the U College of Science and newly
348 appointed director of the U's solid-state fusion research
349 effort,said May 8 will be 'F-Day' -- the day that an
350 additional chemists [sic], meeting with ther colleagues, will
351 report successful repoduction of the experiment that's caused
352 fusion fever to run rampant worldwide.
353
354 Rossi said several people are scheduled to speak at a specil
355 session at 5:45 PM 'at which time five or six papers will be
356 reporting results consistent' with U chemists B Stanley Pons
357 and Martin Fleischmann.
358
359 Rossi, wh is overseeing the expansion and scaling up of the U
360 experiment, hopes confirmatons on Monday will satisfy the
361 state Fusion/Energy Advisory Council. The council is charged
362 wth allocating $5 million in state money for fusion
363 development.
364
365 Also coming up in three weeks is a cold fusion workshop sponsored by
366 Los Alamos, according to the 4/25 Tribune, although the APS fiasco may
367 take some of the steam out of it:
368
369 US Secretary of Energy James D Watkins ha directed his 10
370 national laboratories to tep up cold nuclear fusion
371 effrts...
372
373 ... Los Alamos National Labortory will sponsor a scientific
374 workshop on the subject in Santa Fe, NM, May 23-25. ...
375
376 [DOE spokesman] Mr Sherwood said the May cold fusion meeting
377 will be chaired by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Robert
378 Schrieffer, director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at
379 the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Norman
380 Hckerman, a chemist and former president of the University of
381 Texas who i a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
382
383 In the meantime Pons apparently will work fairly closely with LANL:
384
385 [Pons] ave sketchy details of his planned collaboration
386 with Los Alamos. Scientists from th New Mexico laboratory
387 will bring thei equipment to Utah to examine the experiment,
388 and they will likely take one of the workig cells back with
389 them.
390
391 Some contributors to alt.fusion have speculated that patent
392 considerations have led Pons and Fleischmann to restrict detailed
393 information about their technique. A long article on patents in the
394 4/28 Tribune shows one U official trying to dispel this impression,
395 while at the same time a U attorney apparently contradicts him:
396
397 The Utah Attorney General's Office has selected law firms in
398 Salt Lake City and Houston to lead what is already being
399 caracterized as a 'nasty' patent fight on its nuclear fusion
400 research. ...
401
402 Assistant Attorney General Joseph Tesch Thursay told members
403 of the Fusion/Energy Advisoy Council, the panel formed to
404 distribute $5 million in state fusion money, that his office
405 had retained the Salt Lake firm of Giauque, Williams, Wilcox
406 and Bndinger to oversee the patent fight.
407
408 And Richard Giauque, who Mr Tesch described as one of the best
409 trial lawyers in America,' old the panel that he has hired the
410 Houston firm of Arnold, White and Durkee to assist in securing
411 national and international patent rights.
412
413 Arnold, White and Durkee attorney Paul Janicke, who Mr Giauque
414 described as 'a very, very tough litigator,' will lead the
415 patent effort. ...
416
417 The university had prviously hired California attorney Peter
418 Dallinger, a nuclear physicist who filed the first patet
419 applications, and he will continue to assist the legal team U
420 Vice President for Research James Brophy said. ...
421
422 'Events which probably ought not to be made publi have
423 occurred in the last few days, which indicate tha there are
424 people who are going to take every advntage they can,' Mr
425 Tesch said.
426
427 Mr Giauque said his immediate goal is to stop the flow of
428 information that could undermine the patents. 'We need to get
429 a tight hold very earlyon disclosures.'
430
431 Drs Pons and Feischmann have been criticized for providing too
432 little information to other scientits trying to duplicate the
433 experment, but Dr Brophy said they are not withholding
434 information for patent reasons.
435
436 He acknowledged that the only paper the pair ha published is
437 not as thorough as it could hav been, but he and both
438 scientists havetried to help their colleagues over the phone.
439
440 He said some scientistshave been 'surprisingly naive' and have
441 committed some careless mistakes in trying to reproducethe
442 experiment. 'You have to remember that Pons and Fleichmann
443 spent 5 1/2 hears on this.' ...
444
445 The U has filed several patent applications and plans to file
446 more, and other schools, including university patent leader
447 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have said they have
448 filed applications on their own interpretations of the
449 experiment.
450
451 The competition became quite apparentwhen Mr Giauque was
452 interviewing patentfirms. 'As we scouted the major patent
453 firms, we found that some of them had developed conflic-of-
454 interest problems already.'
455
456 Mr Tesch had council members sign a confidential disclosure
457 agreement requiring them to not discuss patent-sensitive
458 issues. 'Any violation of that would be a crime,' he said.
459 ..
460
461 I couldn't resist repeating one little ironic comment about the media
462 circus that appeared in the 4/26 Tribune:
463
464 Drs Pons and Fleischmann were accompanied on their Capitol Hill
465 visits by U of U President Chase N Peterson and by James J
466 Bophy, the U's vice president for research. Rep. Howard C
467 Nielson joined th U contingent with Majority Leader Foley,
468 whose dog Alice was also in attendance.
469
470 (Yes, but was the dog a physicist or a chemist?)
471
472 While on the subject of the Capitol Hill testimony, I wanted to mention
473 that as far as I know, the $25 million figure that has been attributed
474 to Pons on alt.fusion actually came from U President Chase Peterson.
475 U officials have lost most of their self-respect when it comes to
476 scrounging for cash -- the Utah educational system is strapped, having
477 suffered budget cuts in recent years and having narrowly avoided
478 disaster with the defeat of massive tax rollback initiatives last
479 November. The Channel 2 evening news tonight had a report on grade
480 school education in Utah and found that among the 50 states and the
481 District of Columbia, Utah ranks:
482
483 51st in class sizes (24.1 pupils per teacher);
484 50th in spending per student; and
485 43rd in teacher salaries.
486
487 Utah does manage to reach the national average on standardized tests,
488 although this says to me that the state could be far superior if it
489 wanted to. A schoolteacher friend of mine quit last year and is now
490 driving limousines for a living...
491
492 Let's hope that in a year from now, Stan Pons isn't in that line of
493 work too,
494
495 Donn Seeley University of Utah CS Dept donn@cs.utah.edu
496 40 46' 6"N 111 50' 34"W (801) 581-5668 utah-cs!donn
497 ************************************************************************
498 Sorry about some of the dropouts, I'm not sure it is it me or the line.
499 I have been getting some strange line noise problems lately...
500 ************************ CM *********************************************
010=Usr:287 Ralph Steadman 05/08/89 23:22 Msg:3784 Call:20962 Lines:57
501 Isn't it strange how history can repeat itself, and the oil companies never
502 seem to learn anything except how to raise prices and increase profit and
503 destroy more of the environment.......from 1986:
504
505 APwa 01/16 0552 TankerBan
506 PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) -- Clallam County officials say they are considerin
507 aban on tanker traffic in Port Angeles Harbor because of last month's oil spill
508 that fouled the county's beaches and killed more than 1,000 birds.
509 Commissioner Dorothy Duncan said commissioners were weighing the costs and
510 benefits of allowing oil tankers to berth in Port Angeles on their way to
511 refineries in Washington's inland waters.
512 But Atlantic Richfield Co., owner of the tanker ARCO Anchoragethat spilled
513 the 189,000 gallons of Alaska crude oil in Port Angeles on Dec. 21, said it and
514 other tanker owners would challenge any move to keep tankers out of the harbor.
515 And Coast Guard Capt. John De Carteret said that even though the county coul
516 court and proved in violation of interstate commerce rules.
517 Cleanup of the spill is nearly complete. Arco is paying the more than $3
518 million in cleanup costs.
519 The existing regulation banning tankers of more than 125,000 tons from Puget
520 Sound was established only because the state asked the Coast Guard to institute
521 the rule, De Carteret said.
522 Ms. Duncan was not available Wednesday evening to respond to De Carteret's
523 statements.
524 She said earlier that there's a feeling among constituents that there's no
525 reason why tankers of that size should come into a sheltered harbor.
526 Oil-carrying tankers like the ARCO Anchorage, which weighs in just under the
527 125,000-ton limit, frequently use Port Angeles as a holding area.
528 Industry figures show that 54 such vessels stopped at Port Angeles last year
529 City and county officials say they had warned that Port Angeles was poorly
530 prepared to deal with such calamities.
531 Port Angeles officials say they repeatedly tried to pin down Coast Guard
532 officials on plans for fighting a major oil spill, but got nowhere.
533 An effort by the city to pass an ordinance giving local officials more
534 information on ships berthing in their harbor encountered resistance from
535 industry.
536 Ms. Duncan said neither state nor federal law requires an assessment of the
537 quality of a cleanup.
538 In 1979, the Coast Guard received $46 million for equipment and start-up
539 costs for 11 oil spill cleanup teams, including one for Puget Sound. But budget
540 cuts have eliminated the $10 million yearly to hire 333 Coast Guard personnel t
541 man the strike teams, and the strike force equipment sits in warehouses unused.
542 Only three strike teams are currently active. One is in Mississippi, another
543 in New Jersey and the third is in San Francisco.
544 And obviously not one in Alaska....Someone could have seen the Valdez spill
545 coming...and probably did, but it is more profitable to let the disaster happen
546 than spending money, after all how could profitability be maintained if all
547 money was "wasted" and there was no oil spill? And the oil spills just keep
548 coming, another over the weekend off Saudi Arabia, the captain was navigating
549 with out of date charts and ran aground on a reef. Sound familiar?
550 Evidently some lessons just won't be learned by some mentalities...assuming
551 there is some HUMAN intelligence in charge at the top of the "Seven Sisters"...
552 but then again I'm assuming too much.......
553
554 ___------>BOYCOTT EXXON<--------_____(and ARCO...they've spilt more than their
555 share of oil lately too)....Why not give up fossil fuels altogether?
556
557
011=Usr:287 Ralph Steadman 05/09/89 11:05 Msg:3785 Call:20969 Lines:38
558 696969696969
559
560 Do you need more reasons not to do business with the oil companies
561 ??????? Oil prices down....gasoline prices the same or higher....
562 OPEC SENDS OIL FUTURES REELING:-5/9/89
563 Reports of overproduction by OPEC knocked oil futures prices to their
564 lowest levels in nearly two months. June contracts for West Texas intermediate
565 fell 58 cents to $19.44 a barrel on the New York Merc. OPEC members boosted
566 their production in April to 20.9 million barrels a day, Petroleum
567 Intelligence Weekly' says.
568 SENATE FINDS FRAUD IN OIL FIRMS:-5/9/89
569 Senate investigators who went undercover to check on oil and gas companies
570 operating on the nation's Indian reservations found systematic under-reporting
571 and low payments to tribes. Their findings are expected to be revealed,
572 beginning Tuesday, as a special Senate committee investigating alleged fraud
573 and abuse in Indian programs opens its second round of hearings.
574
575 ...a kinder, gentler nation indeed! The "environmental president" indeed!
576
577 and a warning for long distance callers at pay phones:
578 CONSUMER GROUP - READ THE LABEL:-5/9/89
579 A recent law forcing pay telephone owners to choose a long- distance
580 company could spell trouble for consumers. Consumer groups advise customers to
581 read the labels on pay telephones before dialing, as some smaller companies
582 charge as much as five times that of larger carrier rates.
583 The three major long-distance carriers offered their access codes Monday
584 as a new rule forced pay telephone owners to choose a carrier. Some smaller
585 companies charge five times the rates of AT&T, Sprint of MCI. Phone customers
586 must now go through a carrier chosen by the phone owner, or dial another
587 company's code. Access codes: AT&T - 10288; MCI - 10222; Sprint - 10333.
588 Direct dial and person-to-person calls from pay telephones will be routed
589 through AT&T, despite recent government regulations requiring pay telephone
590 owners to select a carrier. By law, pay telephones must be labeled with the
591 name of the selected carrier on a sticker above the coin box.
592
593 presented in the spirit of the quote opening this disk......
594 696969696969696969
595
012=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/09/89 11:36 Msg:3786 Call:20970 Lines:11
596 &*&*&*&*'s
597 Me put in extra &*'s? Hmm, I might at that.
598
599 Well, I'm back from that cold dark land known as The Dalles. Just checking in
600 for now, but I'll be back later. (Big deal eh?)
601
602 I love the info. here well worth reading.
603
604 An Astral Dreamer
605 &*&*&*&*'s
606
013=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/09/89 19:36 Msg:3787 Call:20978 Lines:3
607
608 Standard looking around note. 'I hear the sound of silence.'
609
014=Usr:219 Friar Mossback 05/09/89 23:11 Msg:3788 Call:20983 Lines:1
610 [][][][][][][] Friar was here [][][][][][][][][][] Boycott Exxon!
015=Usr:277 Schizo 05/10/89 01:07 Msg:3789 Call:20985 Lines:4
611 !!! @!@! !!!! !! @@!! @@@
612 Yes, that makes sense, but you forgot to mention that golf balls
613 exibit the Magnus Effect.
614 !!! @!@! !!!! !! @@!! @@@
016=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/10/89 15:47 Msg:3790 Call:20995 Lines:7
615 &*&*&*&*'s
616
617 Ok, there must be something of interest going on.
618
619 An Astral Dreamer
620 &*&*&*&*'s
621
017=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/10/89 18:36 Msg:3791 Call:20996 Lines:57
622 . . . CONECTION
623
624 The new console was everything Kit had believed it would be. These
625 new models were lightning fast, Giving anybody who used them an edge.
626 "Invoke program mode overload."
627 Blitter, in the form of a slowly pulsing ball of light hovering
628 beside him answered. "Overload mode invoked. Ready we are."
629 "Good, I want you to be sure not to get lost. This is going to be
630 an interesting experiment.."
631 "Yes Kit."
632 The cold dark light of Cyber space surronded them. The twinkling bits
633 like stars flew by at jetlike speeds. With a jolt the bits slowed, until
634 they moved by at a much more leisurly pace.
635 "Hot d*mn, I'm going to kick some *ss now!."
636 "Kit, this dangerous, you risk burnout..."
637 "I know my limits blitter, you just keep in the background for now."
638 "Yes Kit."
639 He moved forward like a ball of lightning, invoking the scrambling
640 procs he always kept on line. Knowbody was going to know where
641 he was coming from. He could feel the power surging through him, knew that
642 there wasn't a corporate fink anywhere that could touch him. Unless..
643 "We're heading in, foreground blitter. Handle the scrambles. Get
644 ready to watch one hell of an explosion."
645 Kit decided to switch enviorments. He was in a jet fighter plane,
646 streaking through the sky towards a group of buildings that surrounded a
647 field. As he came down low he could hear the alarms begin to sound. He
648 did a quick countdown, and then let lose with two Data seeking missles. they
649 burst into the command tower, blowing it into tiny little pieces. "Yahoo!"
650 "Kit! Interceptors coming in, to your left!"
651 He looked around and saw two dozen jet fighter craft heading his way.
652 They were moving slower but still might be able to corner him. "Bring the
653 ECM's online blitter. Do a full launch, repeat full launch!"
654 "Yes Kit." There was a sudden flare behind him, as blitter invoked the
655 ECM's. half the Interceptors lost their fixes and drifted off, but he still
656 had another twelve to worry about.
657 He made a rapid turn back towards the compound. The remaining jets
658 were coming in fast, he'd have to time this just right or they would have
659 him cornored. "Arm the obliterator!"
660 "Ready Kit."
661 He was about to be pinned between two of the interceptors. With a rapid
662 motion on the stick he dived beneath them. The flash as they colided
663 momentarily blinded him, and when he was able to see again his target was
664 just in front of him. 'Drop the Obliterator blitter.!"
665 "Bombs away!"
666 "Envoke hyper-space."
667 Everything went light,dark and then light again. The plane was still
668 in evasive manuevers. "How'd it go?"
669 "CPU destroyed, lost the interceptors when net access went down."
670 "And we made it out without a scratch! We burned the corps again."
671@ "One down, 23 million plus to go." Kit reminded him.
672@ "When the h*ll did I teach you to be cynical?"
673@
674 "One down, 23 million plus to go." blitter reminded him.
675 "When the h*ll did I teach you to be cynical?"
676
677 . . . CONNECTION CLOSED.
678
018=Usr:233 molusk the crab 05/10/89 20:51 Msg:3792 Call:20997 Lines:18
679 **********************************
680 Just sitin' here watching
681 the world go round and round,
682 you know I just wish that it would
683 go. Until there was no more
684 sufferin' or wo.
685
686 Imagine all that before
687 you, and above you only sky. The
688 end is not tommorow, so don't say
689 goodbye.
690
691 Hapiness is a warm sun,
692 in that sky. Ever stop to wonder
693 why?
694
695 *********************************
696
019=Usr:287 Ralph Steadman 05/10/89 22:11 Msg:3793 Call:20999 Lines:89
697 696969696969
698 APn 05/07 1989.By PAUL JENKINS Associated Press Writer
699 VALDEZ, Alaska (AP) -- Alaska's top environmental official testified Sunday
700 that a "reluctant and myopic" Exxon stalled efforts to clean up the nation's
701 largest oil spill by largely ignoring damage outside the immediate spill zone.
702 Dennis Kelso, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental
703 Conservation, told a congressional panel the spill has caused "550 miles of oil
704 filthy foam and tar balls."
705 He said that on the East Coast, it would be the equivalent of oil washing up
706 on beaches from Boston south to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and possibly to the
707 Potomac River.
708 "The industry's response was reluctant and myopic, chacterized by stalling
709 techniques, disinformation, and a refusal to pay real attention to damage
710 outside of Prince William Sound," Kelso told the five-member subcommittee of th
711 House Interior Committee.
712 The congressional panel planned two days of hearings in Valdez, with
713 testimony scheduled from state, federal and Exxon officials.
714 In another development Sunday, a state official said Exxon's decision to pul
715 cleanup crews from an oil-stained beach caught authorities by surprise, but a
716 spokesman for the oil company defended the decision.
717 The oil company removed its workers Saturday from a pebble-strewn beach on
718 the north edge of Smith Island, a site described only shortly before by the
719 ranking federal official in charge of the cleanup as "far from clean." The site
720 was one of those visited last week by Vice President Dan Quayle during his
721 stopover in the state.
722 Crews remained on the island, but at another oil-fouled landfall nearby,
723 Exxon said. The island is considered crucial to the annual seal pupping cycle.
724 "The people who were here last night from Exxon didn't know anything about
725 this," Pete McGee, a scientist with the state Department of Environmental
726 Conservation, said Sunday. Exxon and state and federal officials have been
727 conducting nightly meetings on the progress of the cleanup.
728 McGee said state and federal officials were surprised that the beach cleanup
729 was halted because "the beach was not adequately clean."
730 Exxon spokesman Pete Stilling said the cleanup crews were moved off the
731 northern beach in order to attack more heavily soiled areas nearby.
732 "I think we fully intend to come back to that beach. I won't tell you we'll
733 be back on that beach tomorrow," Stilling said. "(Exxon's) best judgment at thi
734 point is that it's time to move on."
735 Al Ewing, an assistant regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental
736 Protection Agency, said he was on the north beach Saturday morning and found it
737 still "very difficult to walk on" because of the oil.
738 Exxon faces a Wednesday deadline to have the worst of the oil cleansed from
739 several islands in Prince William Sound, and has promised to clean some 364
740 miles of coastline by Sept. 15.
741 The tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in the sound on March 24 after
742 filling its storage tanks with crude from the trans-Alaska pipeline. More than
743 10 million gallons of oil poured into the sound.
744
745 OFFICIAL - EXXON SKEWS REPORTS:-5/10/89
746 Exxon is misleading the public about how fast it reacted to the March 24
747 Valdez oil spill, Alaska's top environmental official said Tuesday.
748 Environmental Conservation Commissioner Dennis Kelso was to testify Wednesday
749 before Congress that oil firms should be made to accept state supervision of
750 cleanups.
751 Exxon says it spent $95 million cleaning up the Alaska spill and is waging
752 a public relations campaign defending its response. Damage might have been
753 lessened, the company said, had the state allowed it to use chemical
754 dispersants. Alaska's environmental chief, Dennis Kelso, denies that Exxon
755 requested their use.
756 Exxon sent home Tuesday the Soviet oil-skimming ship Vaydaghubsky from
757 its cleanup duties along the Alaska coast. The ship has been under a $15,000-
758 a-day Exxon contract. In a related development, Alaska Gov. Steve Cowper
759 signed into law a bill raising taxes on oil firms by $235 million next year.
760 KELSO - CAN'T TRUST INDUSTRY:-5/10/89
761 The oil spill in Prince William Sound proves that the oil industry can't
762 be trusted to direct cleanup of future accidents, Alaska's environmental chief
763 said Tuesday. Dennis Kelso said oil companies should pay for teams of
764 government workers trained to contain oil spills.0He said Exxon and others
765 were misleading the public about how quickly they responded to the spill.
766
767 BUSH DRAWS FIRE ON ENVIRONMENT:-5/10/89
768 Two recent Bush administration actions affecting the environment are
769 making politicians, scientists and environmentalists increasingly upset about
770 Bush's noncommittal behavior toward what they believe are the world's most
771 critical issues. The administbqtio~ recently diluted scientific testimony on
772 global warming and hesitated to sponsor a global convention.
773 White House officials defend President Bush's role as an environmental
774 president, citing four areas: a promised U.S. phase out of chlorofluorocarbons
775 considered a cause of global warming, increased financing for global warming
776 research, cleanup programs and new amendments to the Clean Air Act.
777 ENVIRONMENTAL ATTENTION MISSING:-5/10/89
778 The Bush administratyon's dilution of scientific testimony on global
779 warming and its hesitation to sponsor a global convention suggest the
780 environmental president is missing, critics say. The actions join a list
781 that's making politicians and environmentalists disgruntled. Global warming is
782 considered a critical issue because of its relationship to climate and the
783 ozone layer.
784
785 696969696969696969
020=Usr:465 Gregg Xarrys 05/10/89 23:02 Msg:3794 Call:21000 Lines:7
786 )*&)(*&)(*&)(**&)(*)(*&((&((*&
787
788 to busy to write anything intelligable
789
790 the Mole
791 )(*(&)(*&&)(*&)(*&&)(*&)(*&)(*&
792
021=Usr:498 Hagbard Celine , 05/11/89 01:00 Msg:3795 Call:21003 Lines:7
793 {}
794
795 Whatever happened to solar power? ;->)
796
797 H. Celine (the one and only)
798
799 {}
022=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/11/89 07:34 Msg:3796 Call:21005 Lines:10
800
801 &*&*&*&*'s
802 Hqgbard, where have ya' been? Are you back for an extended stay?
803
804 6 days and counting...
805 one month and counting
806
807 An Astral Dreamer
808 &*&*&*&*'s
809
023=Usr:70 Kurfur Redlig 05/11/89 16:56 Msg:3797 Call:21015 Lines:11
810 KKKKKKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | H'lo Hagbard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
811
812 >Whatever Happened to Solar Power?
813
814 Easy, you can't sell solar power off to people, so no one has made any
815 seroius attempts to develop it.
816
817 \urk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk Lurk
818
819 KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | Gilder Rufrukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
820
024=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/11/89 18:41 Msg:3798 Call:21017 Lines:3
821
822 I'm just leaving a mark on the board.
823
025=Usr:277 Schizo 05/11/89 20:49 Msg:3799 Call:21019 Lines:6
824 !!! @!@! !!!! !! @@!! !!!
825 Were not gonna take any more.
826 You're not gonna steal from me anymore.
827 My men search the town door to door.
828 and in time they will find you!
829 !!! @!@! !!!! !! @@!! !!!
026=Usr:113 James Of Cassand 05/11/89 21:46 Msg:3800 Call:21021 Lines:5
830
831
832
833 still counting down the days. Magic number 8.
834
027=Usr:82 SWORDSMITH 05/11/89 23:20 Msg:3801 Call:21025 Lines:1
835 SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS.SS
028=Usr:70 Kurfur Redlig 05/12/89 15:14 Msg:3802 Call:21035 Lines:6
836 KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | Huh??????????????????????????????????????
837
838 Counting the days? "Days to what?" might I ask?
839
840 KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | Bankrupt Exxon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
841
029=Usr:465 Gregg Harris 05/12/89 17:51 Msg:3803 Call:21038 Lines:14
842 )(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*)(*&)*&
843 WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!
844
845 May 17th approaching.
846
847 Five days until collision.
848
849 Run and hide.
850
851 Aaaaiiiiigggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!
852
853 The Mole with nothing ympo'dant to say
854 )(*&)(*&)(*&)((*&)(*)(*&)(*&)(*&)(*)(*
855
030=Usr:33 Mike Stanfill 05/12/89 20:45 Msg:3804 Call:21041 Lines:18
856 /*/*/*/*/*/*/*
857 Jst lurking, but I guess I should contribute:
858
859 About gas prices: $10 filled my car HALFWAY last week! (@ Shell if
860 anyone cares). "Boycott EXXON?" You bet!
861 Aout old growth: Seen drawn in dirt on mudflap of lumber truck today:
862 I (heart) owls.
863 About cold-fusion: Phelps! Get me02 feet of palladium wire and a
864 'Twinkie'!
865 _
866 /#)
867 n n n (#/
868 / ~~~ ~~~ \/
869 /___/____\__\
870
871 */*/*/*/*/*/*/ -swob (a Self-Willed Orange Blancmange)
872
873
031=Usr:4 Milchar 05/12/89 22:41 Msg:3805 Call:21046 Lines:56
874 ::: BGN CYBER-LINK: ID F78B:9EA1:C88D CODED: SEMAPHORE :::
875
876 "Dana, give me the summary of last week's operations, and--" began
877 Turing Director Mark A. Hudsen, head of one of the most respected
878 enforcement agencies in the world. Hundreds of highly trained agents lay
879 under his command, each watching the half-dozen AI installations assigned
880 to him. The week's summary would be dozens of pages long and take Hudsen
881 half the afternoon to study. The Director's secretary, Dana, would have
882 the report to hym in a few moments.
883 "Director," called a voice from a hidden speaker, "I have an
884 emergency security situation. Something has breached all outer ICE
885 systems and is scanning the internal net. My efforts to purge it have
886 come to nothing, so far."
887 Hudsen suddenly forgot the summary. "Identify it!" he yelled.
888 A puzzled look crossed his face. "Why can't you purge it, Miranda?"
889 "I have failed to identify, purge, or effect the intruding program
89 afder 29 attempts. It is an unique type, quite adaptable
891 to any standard mode of attack. My own scanning subprograms are
892 unreliable at this time. Update-- intruding program accessing sensitive
893 data store." There was silence. "The intruding program has fled our
894 net. I am rebuilding outer ICE defense systems."
895 Hudsen turned pale. "Miranda, can you identify the data that
896 the intruder accessed?"
897 "I am also rebuilding much of my interface subprograms fbom
898 write-protected storage. I seem to have sustained a large amount of
899 damage from glitch programs released by the intruder. It may be some
900 time before I shall be able to examine the transaction log to pinpoint
901 the data accessed."
902 "Which databank? You know that, don't you?"
903 "Yes Director. It was the Analog Neural Net data store."
904 Dana walked in the office carrying a sheaf of papers. "Here is
905 the report you requested, Mark."
906 "Throw it away. Get the standby agents in here, pronto."
907
908 ::: CONTEXT SWITCH TO THREAD 02, 01 SWAPPED OUT :::
909
910 <PGM INFO : TARGET DATA COPIED, ORIGINAL PURGED>
911 <PGM INFO : BEGUN MAX REVERSE>
912
913 A smile crossed Sem's face, just for a moment. He was out of
914 the frying pan, but now he had to deal with the fire. DiamondCutter
915 sliced across the grid lines in an instant, guiding itself around the
916 obvious traps and debris left from the run. Sem let the smile creep
917 back. It would be a long time before the ICE here would be as thick.
918 Sem felt DiamondCutter rush past the outer defense systems, their broken
919 heaps littering the cyberscape. He'd done it-- he was out.
920 Sem jacked out, thumbing the EJECT button on the console as he
921 rose out of his chair. The DiamondCutter cartridge slid out, exposing
922 gleaming gold contacts and VVLSI modules that dotted its surface.
923
924 <PGM INFO :0LOGGED OFF MATRIX 01:22:39> shone the display.
925
926 Sem sighed with relief. "Ann, baby," he said, "we did it."
927 "As I knew you would," replied the dark grey cube.
928
929 ::: END CYBER-LINK: RUN TIME 00:16:21 CODED: SEMAPHORE :::
032=Usr:498 Hagbard Celine , 05/13/89 00:19 Msg:3806 Call:21049 Lines:14
930
931 {
932 Half-here. I guess it will do, as I am pressed for time.
933
934 I do miss this place and all the people in it. I'm sorry that I've
935 dicqppeqred from sight, but other demands (demons?) have taken what
936 little spare time I have.
937
938 If only there was some way to quickly invest small amounts of
939 money - any ideas?
940
941 Hagbard Celine, definitely broke for cash.
942
943 }
033=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/13/89 00:47 Msg:3807 Call:21050 Lines:14
944 &*&*&*&*'s
945 Hagbard, if you find a way tell me.
946
947 Money is the cause of wealth and poverty. It proves that objects are neither
948 good not evil.
949
950 No more rambling from me, I just don't seem to have much to add right now.
951
952
953 4 days to go.
954
955 An Astral Dreamer
956 &*&*&*&*'s
957
034=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/13/89 12:49 Msg:3808 Call:21057 Lines:42
958
959 Wisdom is the hardest thing to gain. If you think you have you are most likely
960 deluded.
961
962 Why is it that if somebody repeats a truth that we do not like, we accuse them
963 of repeating old and unorigional ideas?
964
965 Have you uver0noticed that if you are having an argument with somebody else
966 they will pidgeonhole you into one of their three most hated groups and argue
967 as if you actualy belong to that group?
968
969 Any political system is just a loose set of rules that those who lust for
970 power agree not to break more then 95% of the time.
971
972 Momey may not by hapiness, but it comes a heck of a lot closer then poverty.
973
974 We proclaim ourselves to be a democracy, and yet we ruthlesly put down0dhose
975 that express ideas that do not fit within the present power structure. Does
976 this make any sense? Perhaps not, but it is human nature.
977
978 Beware of hurting others. The pain must stop somewhere.
979
980 Every decision we make is a compromise. Be carefull of what you give away.
981
982 Everything is an illusion. Even this line.
983
984 The way we percieve the world is meerly a reflection of the way we percieve
985 ourselves.
986
987 To argue is to admit to caring. To sare0brings commitment. Is this why so
988 many of us are silent?
989
990 ten lines to go and then another disk will be done. What does it all mean?
991 Why? How? Three questions that are never realy answered in this life. Hopefully
992 we get a second chance to find out.
993
994 Wouldn't it be nice to know? But, I suppose we might not want to play the game
995 if we knew all of the rules. Maybe there aren't any rules.
996
997 Best wishes for a better tommorow. Fight the urge to become part of the
998 problem. There are to few trying to be the solution.
999 At the bottom, hope I don't get crushed.