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NUMBER OF LINES: 999
001=Usr:0 Null User 06/30/87 20:34 Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19
1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask...
2$************************* 21 MAR 90 **************************************
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 03/21/90 22:23 Msg:5061 Call:28048 Lines:3
20 Management of objectives works if you know thr objectives.
21 Ninety percent of the time you don't. -- Peter Drucker
22 ***************************************************************
003=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/22/90 08:05 Msg:5062 Call:28051 Lines:6
23 &*&*&*&*'s
24 At the Top!
25
26 An Astral Dreamer
27 &*&*&*&*'s
28
004=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 03/22/90 12:17 Msg:5063 Call:28053 Lines:144
29 696969696969
30 REPORT NOTES OIL SPILLS:-3/20/90
31 As Alaska prepares to mark Saturday's first anniversary of the Exxon oil
32 spill, the Wilderness Society has released a report saying there have been
33
34 MORE THAN 10,000 oil spills across the nation during the past year. Spillage
35
36 totaled up to 20-million gallons in all.
37
38 3/18 /90 As Anniversary of Exxon Spill Nears, Alaska Seems Normal - on the
39 Surface; Safeguards Follow `Watershed' Event, but Oil Damage Endures
40 By Jay Mathews Washington Post Staff Writer
41 ELEANOR ISLAND, Alaska - Nearly a year ago, petroleum despoiling this
42 jewel-like cove covered its gray cobblestone beach with thick brown goo and mad
43 its pine-scented air smell like a refinery.
44 Today, only dark stains on some larger rocks remain to mark the course of th
45 infamous Exxon Valdez tanker spill. Where cleanup crews once cursed loudly as
46 they wrestled with hot water sprays, bald eagles now fly over the quiet beach i
47 flashes of dark and white feathers and otters pop out of the chilly blue waters
48 just offshore.
49 With Alaska about to mark the first anniversary of the March 24 spill, the
50 greatest man-made wildlife disaster in U.S. history, most of Prince William
51 Sound and the Gulf of Alaska coast seem to be wearily returning to normal.
52 Fishermen anticipate an end to last year's disruptions. Tourism, which
53 remarkably remained steady despite awful publicity, is expected to increase.
54 And the oil industry, as it has been since hot petroleum first gushed from
55 beneath Alaska's frigid North Slope, seems as healthy and influential as ever.
56 Tankers move in and out of the sound at a steady pace and politicians at the
57 capital in Juneau still consult with ARCO and British Petroleum before
58 introducing spill-prevention legislation.
59 If anything, the Exxon Valdez spill seems to have had more lasting impact
60 outside than inside the nation's greatest oil-producing state. The news of
61 nearly 11 million gallons of oil dumped into the sound's pristine waters create
62 shock waves that still vibrate in Washington, pushing plans for oil exploration
63 of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into bottom file drawers and building a
64 wave of congressional support for conversion of the entire U.S. tanker fleet to
65 double bottoms.
66 "It was an event that was in many ways a watershed," said Alaska Gov. Steve
67 Cowper (D), "an event that inspired major environmental legislation all over th
68 world."
69 Cowper, his department of environmental conservation and the U.S. Coast Guar
70 have forced some changes in the handling of tanker traffic through the twisting
71 channels of the sound. Tug escorts are now required. Booms and other
72 oil-recovery equipment have increased. New radio communication rules are in
73 force.
74 Few Alaskans, or anyone else interested in preserving the natural
75 environment, are likely to forget the carcasses - 36,471 oil-fouled birds, 1,01
76 otters and 151 eagles found in the wake of the spill. That irreplaceable loss,
77 and the temporary damage to fishing and other forms of local livelihood, are th
78 subject of scores of lawsuits. Seven killer whales are missing. Initial finding
79 indicate damage to young salmon, herring and shrimp. Salmon runs may be
80 affected.
81 But it takes a boat or a helicopter, and often a shovel and a sharp eye, to
82 find any remaining signs of the nation's worst tanker spill, even along the 117
83 miles of coastline identified last fall as moderately or heavily oiled. Exxon
84 cleanup operations manager Randy Buckley said spring activities are expected to
85 involve only a few hundred workers, rather than the thousands who covered
86 beaches last summer, and focus on minimal environmental disruption.
87 Cleanup managers for the state, the Coast Guard and Exxon, although still in
88 disagreement over exactly how to proceed, said they have detected some hopeful
89 developments that may influence oil-spill work in other parts of the world.
90 Exxon scientists said microscopic particles of clay, in high concentration i
91 Alaska waters because of melting glaciers, have shown an unexpected ability to
92 attach themselves to oil molecules and act like laundry detergent in cleansing
93 tidal-area rocks. Industry and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials
94 are enthusiastic about spraying fertilizer onto oily beaches to encourage the
95 growth of petroleum-eating bacteria. Steve Provant, the state's on-scene cleanu
96 coordinator, has asked for proof that the fertilizers, which can be toxic,
97 enhance the natural "bioremediation" process already underway.
98 State officials are suggesting, and Exxon officials seem to be resisting, an
99 expensive plan to remove, wash and replace some of the oiliest rocks and gravel
100 At Sleepy Bay on Latouche Island, one of five stops on a helicopter tour of
101 Prince William Sound shorelines Friday, special assistant to the governor Ernie
102 Piper pointed to a stream used by spawning salmon that gurgled past oil-specked
103 gravel. "We wouldn't take the whole two miles of beach," he said, "but we might
104 take rock for 200 yards on either side of the stream and treat it that way."
105 To avoid confusion in handling twisting shoreline, Exxon has reduced the
106 wave-washed gravel, jutting rocks, soggy marshes and steep mountain fiords of
107 the sound to a numbered code. The little cove on this island becomes, on Exxon
108 maps, EL-10. Sleepy Bay is LA-19, the Bay of Isles marsh is KN-136, and the onc
109 heavily oiled stretch of Smith Island everyone now calls Quayle Beach, in honor
110 of the vice president's April visit, is SM-05.
111 Helicopters and boats taking officials and reporters on spill anniversary
112 tours seem to rival eagles and sea lions in number this week. Every spot visite
113 has its own story. Most show great improvement because of last summer's cleanup
114 and the cleansing winter storms and tides, but at least one, the Bay of Isles
115 marsh, still looks like a tar pit, the result of a conscious decision to avoid
116 mechanical cleanup that might scar the soft, delicate, waterlogged soil.
117 At Bay of Isles, Piper looked at the black ooze fouling his boots and the oi
118 sheen drifting back into the bay and said, "The state and Exxon may have to hol
119 hands and say, `As much as it hurts us to say this, there is not much we can do
120 about it.' "
121 Environmentalists and state officials said they are most worried about oil
122 that cannot be immediately seen. A state survey found oil traces six to 28
123 inches beneath 224 sampled spots. Warm weather is expected to force some of thi
124 back to the surface, where tides and waves will wash it into the sound. "Oil of
125 the beach is good, but oil in the water is bad," said Piper. His boss, Cowper,
126 must worry about anything that creates fear of tainted Alaskan seafood.
127 Tourists have proven to be less of a problem. Bookings last year were up 2 t
128 4 percent. "A lot of them came up to see what was going on," said Lynn Pedersen
129 a helicopter pilot who ferried cruise ship passengers to nearby glaciers. "They
130 expected to see the place covered with oil, so they were pleased to see that
131 wasn't so."
132 The spill has created a bonanza for scientists interested in the effects of
133 oil pollution. Sixty current studies will cost a total of $35 million in their
134 first year - 26 assessing the spill's impact on fish and shellfish (salmon,
135 herring, shrimp, rockfish, clams and crabs), 14 on birds (eagles, peregrine
136 falcons, sea ducks, kittiwakes and shorebirds), seven on marine mammals (sea
137 otters, whales, seals and sea lions), six on land mammals (bears, deer, mink an
138 river otters) and six on air, water, coastal habitat and sediments.
139 Allen E. Smith, Alaska regional director for the Wilderness Society,
140 complained that many scientists have had to keep their data secret, because it
141 is to be used in lawsuits, "which means you don't have peer review for the
142 conclusions they are developing."
143 Nor have the studies or the initial reforms in tanker handling solved the
144 immense technical problems of cleaning up oil spilled at sea. "If (the Exxon
145 Valdez) spill happened again today," Smith said, "we'd have the same damage
146 again, because we can't handle a spill of that size."
147 Cowper agreed. He has submitted new bills to strengthen state requirements
148 for safe equipment, create industry incentives for safe operation, and increase
149 civil penalties for spills. But his aides acknowledge that the bills were
150 modified at the suggestion of natural resources commissioner Lennie Boston
151 Gorsuch, who like Cowper and most of the legislature contends it is wrong to
152 alienate an industry that provides 85 percent of state revenue.
153 The oil industry, Cowper said, "hasn't just sat there like an inert body" bu
154 has paid for the cleanup, changed some of its procedures and sought innovations
155 such as an ARCO plan to convert a tanker into a high-capacity spill-recovery
156 vessel.
157 Yet in the Alaskan political spectrum, Cowper is relatively tough on the
158 industry, a sign to many that as the sound returns to normal and oil again
159 become more scarce and expensive, anti-oil sentiment and radical reforms are
160 unlikely to go very far.
161 "There is a window of opportunity," Piper said, "but those windows tend to
162 close quickly."
163
164 OIL SPILLS IN THE UNITED STATES:-3/20/90
165 The Wilderness Society released a report Monday saying there have been more
166 than 10,000 oil spills across the nation during the past year. Spillage: 15
167 million to 20 million gallons. The worst: 1.3 million gallons in Pembina
168 County, N.D., July 13; 1.2 million gallons, Linden, N.J., July 18; 800,000
169 gallons, Bridgeport, Conn., May 2.
170
171 696969696969696969
172
005=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 03/22/90 13:00 Msg:5064 Call:28054 Lines:112
173 696969696969
174 part 3b
175
176 Prissy's Dad is Dr. Chen of some university located in the DC area (sorry,
177 don't remember which). I thought he said he was in Foreign Affairs, but,
178 after talking with the guy for a while, it was apparent he had a very
179 strong science background. However, I did only have one evening with
180 the fellow and it was a pretty active evening.
181
182 So, what's a Japanese girl doing with a father named 'Chen'? I was
183 wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, when my mind starts wondering,
184 my mouth starts asking. That's probably why the Mathematics Department
185 was the only group which would tolerate me at the old alma mater.
186 Mathematicians never grow tired of trying to figure out what's on their
187 minds.
188
189 Prissy's Mom is Japanese, but her father is Chinese. That is a very
190 rare combination, concerning the animosity between those two cultures.
191 Anyway, Dr. Chen met a Dr. Samatsi at a university in Tokyo (once again,
192 the exact name eludes me-I thought he said 'University of Tokyo': is
193 there such a place?). Dr. Samatsi taught physics. Dr. Samatsi,
194 like a good college professor, periodically published papers. And, Dr.
195 Samatsi never did anything exciting as far as the physics community was
196 concerned.
197
198 So, what does Samatsi have to do with anything? Well, he did something
199 very exciting as far as Dr. Chen was concerned. He wrote a series of
200 papers, none of which were published, on something Dr. Chen translates
201 as the "Theory of Intelligence" or "TOI" (pronounced by Chen as 'toy',
202 funny, I thought it might be french). When I first started looking
203 through them, it became apparent that he had spent many, many years
204 contemplating intelligence. Then, as I dug even deeper into his works,
205 I realized I was completely wrong: Dr. Samatsi must have spent his
206 ENTIRE life deriving the TOI equations. Only someone possessed at a
207 very young age could have produced a work of that magnitude.
208
209 In other words, while many physicists were concentrating on GUTs, Samatsi
210 was concentrating on the effect of intelligence on the universe. In one
211 paper, he writes: "...[intelligence] is a phenomena which has an effect
212 on the environment, just as heat is a phenomena which has an effect on the
213 environment. There is neither a single source for the generation of
214 intelligence nor heat, though there are properties associated with each
215 which can be well defined once the phenomena exists and is measurable."
216
217 I've got to be very careful here, because there is a lot of room for
218 misunderstanding. Also, Dr. Chen had not yet translated all of the
219 work, so, even if there had been time to go through everything and
220 verify it (which would have taken months, if not years), there was still
221 additional information which was not yet available. Dr. Chen felt the
222 works were extremely important and, as such, it was absolutely mandatory
223 to translate all of them precisely rather than to rapidly go through a
224 few manuscripts, release them, and then watch the world go off helter
225 skelter with some half cocked ideas. It would have been like Einstein
226 saying, "E=m something, will tell you the rest later.".
227
228 Dr. Chen is a pretty interesting fellow himself. Like many of the older
229 Chinese, he hated the Japanese. Then he met Dr. Samatsi while working
230 in Tokyo a number of years ago. This is what he had to say about the
231 ensuing friendship:
232
233 "You must understand, Mr. Jamen, that the Japanese killed millions,
234 NOT hundreds of thousands as you read in your Western textbooks, of
235 Chinese during World War II. That genocide is the reason for the
236 bitter hatred most Chinese feel for the Japanese. However, after
237 I met Dr. Samatsi, I realized, as strange as this sounds, that I
238 had misjudged the culture. It would not be possible for the
239 culture I had come to regard as totally barbaric to produce a man
240 of Dr. Samatsi's nature. Now you see why I say I misjudged the
241 Japanese.
242
243 "Imagine you were walking down a barren patch of land. Everyone
244 knows that this land is sterile, that it cannot support life.
245 But, in the middle of it, you find the most beautiful, the most
246 fragrant flower which has ever been seen. That is how I felt
247 when I got to know Dr. Samatsi. The land not only supports life,
248 but creates the most interesting examples of biological wonder
249 there are."
250
251 Yes, some of Dr. Chen's phrases are a little strange, but that can
252 probably be chalked up to the language. His English is on several
253 orders of magnitude better than his daughter's, he does speak very
254 precisely, but the words don't come out quit like they would were a
255 native speaking them.
256
257 Damn, Damn, damn. I've lost most of my notes I took at Dr. Chen's house.
258 Part of what follows will have to be ad lib.
259
260 First of all, the notes were organized as follows (all refer to the
261 subject, 'Intelligence'): Definition, Detection, and Measurement. Why
262 even bother detecting something you know how to measure? Dr. Samatsi
263 believed the measurement of intelligence was an extremely complex
264 process. And, like any person well versed in the scientific method, he
265 believed very strongly that the data collection on a single phenomena
266 should take place several times and applied to his equations several
267 times. A variation in results would indicate sloppy data collection or
268 an error in the equations. In fact, it was this rather well known
269 process which was used to strain out some errors in the equations. There
270 I go, off on another tangent. You probably guessed what was next.
271 Detection was several orders of magnitude easier than Measurement.
272 Hence, the different catagories. You don't want to waste several years
273 of your life measuring something which doesn't exist.
274
275 Now, you are going to laugh at this: Dr. Samatsi measured all
276 intelligence against Herman. Herman was a potato rock which sat on his
277 desk for more than 18 years. Since Dr. Chen was doing the translating,
278 you really start to wonder how a Chinese man could come up with a name
279 like 'Herman' for a Japanese potato rock. I'd really like to get those
280 two together at Frizby's for a few cups of saki some night to see what
281 happens next.
282 (...to be continued...)
283 696969696969696969
284
006=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 03/22/90 22:34 Msg:5066 Call:28071 Lines:4
285 I-
286
287 NAHHH, TOO EASY...
288
007=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/23/90 07:12 Msg:5067 Call:28078 Lines:3
289@
290@Wow, I can see the headers in here.
291@
008=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 03/23/90 13:03 Msg:5069 Call:28084 Lines:200
292 696969696969
293 Herman's intelligence was defined as zero. Typically, when things are
294 defined, you have a low value and a high value and all sorts of
295 inbetween values. For example, look at the temperature scale. At 0 C,
296 water freezes. At 100 C, water boils. Inbetween, and above and beyond,
297 other things happen (at one extreme, all motion stops, at the other,
298 plasma is the norm). It wasn't clear from the few papers I saw what the
299 upper end of the scale was. One thing was clear (this is one scrap of a
300 note which has survived my careless stupidity): "Life does not ensure
301 the existence of intelligence. The absence of live does not preclude
302 the existence of intelligence. The study of intelligence must not be
303 confused with the study of biology.". I don't know about you, but I was
304 very shocked by that statement. Does it mean that Dr. Samatsi
305 ascertained from his equations that something exhibited intelligence
306 which was not alive? Well, it gets interesting...
307
308 For one, Herman exhibited intelligence at times. Yes, you just read
309 what you thought you read. However, I should NOT have said 'at times'.
310 Dr. Samatsi's specific comments were:
311
312 "These equations are time constrained [and contrained in some other
313 fashion which I cannot remember right now, all this memory loss
314 is probably a good indication that I should stay away from Frizby's
315 for the rest of my life] to have any meaning. Removing the contraints
316 will, quite interestingly, result in Herman exhibiting intelligence
317 over a substantial span of time, though the measurement of intelligence
318 will still be quite small."
319
320 It was important that Herman never scored above a zero on the IQ test.
321
322 Oh, yes. IQ tests.
323
324
325 " I am very puzzled about what is being measured by the so-called
326 'Intelligence Quotient' tests. First of all, those who put these
327 tests together (and I have spoken with many of them personally in
328 an attempt to get to the bottom of this) have NO RIGOROUS DEFINITION
329 OF INTELLIGENCE. So, they are attempting to measure something which
330 they cannot adequately define.
331
332 " Next, the belief that answering a series of simple questions
333 is some measure of intelligence is ludicrous, assuming it is truly
334 intelligence which they are attempting to measure. Intelligence is
335 an effect. Through observation and experimentation, it can be
336 detected and measured. It cannot be detected or measured by answering
337 some simple questions on a sheet of paper. Would you measure the
338 value of heat by asking a candle questions?"
339
340 This was a topic which obviously he felt quite strongly about.
341 Apparently, he was unaware (beats me how this is even possible) there
342 was such a thing as an IQ test when he first became extremely interested
343 in the study of intelligence. Some point after becoming obsessed with
344 the subject, he found out about the tests. Dr. Samatsi sounds like the
345 kind of man who doesn't care where the answer comes from, as long as it
346 is correct. In other words, if he had spent 10 years studying this
347 phenomena and then found someone had already thoroughly examined the
348 field, he would not feel like he had wasted his time (at least according
349 to what Chen said, it's hard to tell what somebody is really like when
350 the person describing him is thoroughly enamored). The other research
351 would confirm or deny his own. Instead, when he did find out about the
352 tests and started looking into them, he lost his oriental demeanor. He
353 was pissed. Dr Chen said the physics professor once compared the tests
354 to astrology charts. That's pretty low.
355
356 We've rambled enough. This could go on forever. What did Dr. Samatsi
357 actually say in the few papers I reviewed? In the definition portion, it
358 become apparent that the basis of all intelligence, as defined by the
359 good doctor, is memory. Intelligence does not exist without memory.
360 However, Dr. Samatsi's 'memory' is not simply a binary pattern in a
361 digital circuit or an analogue voltage across a neuron. His 'memories'
362 are processes of change.
363
364 Look, I am trying my best to describe this without becoming too
365 esoteric. I cannot delve too deeply into the mathematics because I
366 don't understand all of it. If I were to tell you, PI R SQUARE, you
367 would first have to understand two quanties, PI and R, as well as two
368 operations, multiplication and squaring (yes, the second is a special
369 case of the first). Similarly, we would have to go into the details of
370 the good professor's symbols and his methods of manipulating them to
371 understand the TOI equations. Alternatively, we will discuss some of
372 the mechanisms he used and some of the conclusions which were reached.
373
374 Quickly back to this concept of 'memory'. There is a wall in Hiroshima
375 which contains the shadow of a working man. The shadow was etched onto
376 the wall as a result of the nearby atomic glare during the closing days
377 of World War II. From the perspective of these equations, the wall
378 'remembers' the man. This concept is quite fundamental to TOI.
379 (...to be continued...)
380 696969696969696969
381 696969696969
382 part 3d
383
384 Memories must be identified and validated before the TOI equations are
385 applicable. The memories are described as a sequence of differential
386 equations which define specific states.
387
388 So, now we have well defined states which resulted from this
389 identification of memories. There is a lot a mathematician can do with
390 states. One of them is to build finite state automata. That is exactly
391 what Dr. Samatsi did.
392
393 Now, 'finite state automata' might sound like a frightening term if
394 you've never been exposed to it before. Actually, it is a relatively
395 simple concept employed in principle by Computer Science students to
396 design certain types of software and Electrical Engineering students to
397 build digital circuits. Quite a useful concept. Essentially, a stimuli
398 (for lack of a better word at this moment) results in a transition from
399 one state to another. Hence, the first couple of papers describe
400 transitions resulting from the states defined previously. In short, if
401 certain transitions occur, intelligence is said to exist with a
402 probability which can be derived.
403
404 That is a piece of the detection portion, which is really as deep as I
405 got. It is best to compare my perusing of the TOI papers to a quick flight
406 across Manhatten. I can tell you generally what I saw, but, if you were
407 to wake up one morning and find yourself in Chinatown, you would
408 probably go out of your way to say my previous observations were
409 completely wrong-Manhatten was not as I saw it at all.
410
411 In other words, I'm doing the best I can with what little I saw.
412
413 Why did Dr. Samatsi never publish a TOI paper? This is Dr. Chen's response:
414
415 "He longed to have the equations critiqued by the largest possible
416 audience. Since he never considered himself a genius, he felt
417 that the flaws would never be unearthed without such exposure. He
418 actually did submit an initial paper for publishing about 8 years
419 after it was originally written. Soon after receiving a confirmation
420 that the paper was to be printed, he identified two catastrophic
421 applications which could be generated from the equations. Upon this
422 discovery, he withdrew his permission to have the paper published.
423 It is very difficult to stop a paper from being published which has
424 already been accepted by a journal. The end result was the journal's
425 tacit refusal to publish any other papers by my friend, regardless
426 of subject."
427
428 Me: "What were these 'catastrophic applications'?"
429
430 "He only described one of them to me. You could consider it as an
431 annihilation of intelligence within a particular domain. Such a domain
432 would encompass all intelligences which affected the state transitions
433 in a specific manner of other intelligences. Since Dr. Samatsi had
434 identified human beings as intelligent [why am I not surprised?], he
435 was very concerned about the use of such an application. That is to say,
436 the TOI equations were the result of a natural phenomena, viz,
437 intelligence attempting to define itself. Since it was probable
438 that this effect was occuring no where else in the universe, it was
439 quite important to my friend for the examination of this effect to
440 continue."
441
442 Sounds like a bunch of double talk to me. Maybe you will have better
443 luck than I did understanding what Dr. Chen meant.
444
445 When I first started going through the papers, I thought it would be
446 great to get a copy of them once Dr. Chen finished the translations (he
447 has since refused to let me look at them anymore until the translations
448 are completed). Then, I would spend my days uploading them to the local
449 BBS. However, I feel EXTREMELY uneasy about what Dr. Chen had to say
450 in his closing remarks (the 'catastrophic applications'). This needs
451 more thought.
452 ----------------------------------
453 This was not meant to be a soap opera, but you might be wondering about
454 the connection between Dr. S and Prissy. The answer is: NONE. It turns
455 out that Bob is not Prissy's son. She lied. She does that to everybody
456 because she wants Bob to believe it so he will grow up to be well
457 adjusted. I didn't pry into their private lives to get all the details,
458 but apparently Dr. Samatsi met a bar girl about 6 years ago and Bob was
459 the result of that liaison. Dr. Chen agreed to care for the child like
460 his own. Prissy's involvement came soon thereafter.
461
462 It sound like Dr. S is quite a character. When visiting some associates
463 at Cornell, he saw a little tot standing in line with Mom at the
464 supermarket. The little tot said, "Uh Ohhhh.".
465
466 Dr. S stared at the little fellow a second and replied, "uh ohhh?".
467
468 The tot responded, "UH OHHHHHHHH.".
469
470 Dr. S came back with, "UH OHHHHHHHHH!".
471
472 "UH OHHHHHHHHH!"
473
474 "UHT OHHHHHHHHHHH!"
475
476 "UHT OHHHHHHHHHH!"
477 "UHT OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
478 "UUUUUHTY OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
479
480 Well, by now, everybody in the grocery store was watching. The woman,
481 wide eyed in terror, grabbed the smiling child and fled the place without
482 even getting her groceries. Dr. Samatsi made a note on a pad he always
483 kept in his pocket.
484
485 Then there were these parties. Damn, I don't have time to ramble any
486 more. It's almost 2am-the only reason I stayed up today was to finish
487 this for you. Here it is.
488
489 By the way, since we haven't heard from Howy in this chapter, I thought
490 I might add a closing remark from him, which he said a couple of days
491 ago at work:
009=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 03/23/90 15:12 Msg:5070 Call:28086 Lines:28
492
493
494 {+}{+}{+}{+}
495
496 From : ThingFish
497 To : Whomever
498 Re : This Tracy Barry thing (on Disk B)
499
500 Your note did make me stop and think, I must admit. I'm always trying
501 to be so funny and satirical, but I suppose it wouldn't kill me to try
502 to be funny without putting someone else down. I wasn't trying to be
503 mean hearted or anything. After I read your note I thought to myself :
504 I guess the least I could do WOULD be to treat Tracy Barry like a human
505 being, like you said. Then I pondered it some more and got to thinking;
506 Why stop there ? Why not treat Tracy Barry like a God ? We could start
507 our own little religion....Our Lady of the Porcelain Hair, you know,
508 something like that. We could build a little church that looks just like
509 the Channnel 8 NewsRoom....with entire walls of video monitors all show-
510 ing Tracy. Pete Shulberg could be, I don't know, some kind of Archangel
511 or something. And Melissa Mills would be Satan. It'll be great. How
512 does this sound : "Blessed are those who wear too much makeup; verily
513 they needeth to absorb harsh studio lighting". I can't wait. Hail Barry.
514
515 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+-
516 Gimme That Ole Time Religion
517
518 {+}{+}{+}{+}
519
010=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/23/90 15:57 Msg:5071 Call:28087 Lines:15
520 &*&*&*&*'s
521 (I'm getting lazy with my border.)
522
523 And let us not forget her great elevation, for verily in the begining she
524 did labor at chanel number two, and two was a small number, a number of
525 no real significance on the lowly pantheon of ABC. And the verily did she
526 get a call from above, and was elevated to the ultimate height, the realm
527 of Cosby and Cheers, the home of the ratings crown NBC. And it was good,
528 as 8 was four times as great as 2.
529
530 And so on.
531
532 An Astral Dreamer
533 &*&*&*&*'s
534
011=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 03/23/90 21:15 Msg:5072 Call:28100 Lines:14
535 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
536 But if each Channel be judged by its Most Holy Number, then that must mean
537 that of all the Stations Most Local, Fox Broadcasting (at 13) (or 49) holds
538 the Great Honor of being heralded as the Station on High!
539
540 I ALWAYS thought that Johnny Depp was some kind of Angel, but aren't we
541 getting carried away here? I mean, really. Remember, this is the same
542 station that ran SMALL WONDER!
543
544 Let's go back to worshipping the people who really matter, like River Phoenix
545 or Wil Wheaton, and leave the Tracey Barry's of the world do what they may.
546
547 Thank you and Good Afternoon.
548 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
012=Usr:333 Bartender Slug 03/24/90 01:41 Msg:5073 Call:28103 Lines:5
549
550 Johnny Depp cannot be some kind of Angel if his next upcoming movie has famous
551 porn star Traci Lords in it. Think again.
552
553 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
013=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 03/24/90 05:00 Msg:5074 Call:28105 Lines:11
554
555 {+}{+}{+}{+}
556
557 Sure he could. If Hollywood wants him - what's porn got to do
558 got to do - with it
559
560 -|[ ThingFish ]|-
561 Sorry, Tina
562 {+}{+}{+}{+}
563
564
014=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/24/90 08:32 Msg:5075 Call:28107 Lines:8
565 &*&*&*&*'s
566 Fox is the home of the Simpsons and married with children. Hmm, perhaps it is
567 above NBC. All hail the great bart! hallowed be his name. Lift up your
568 holly skate boards and cry out the holly phrase, "I didn't do it!"
569
570 An Astral Dreamer
571 &*&*&*&*'s
572
015=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 03/24/90 17:54 Msg:5076 Call:28115 Lines:12
573 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
574 Traci Lords? Big deal. Iggy Pop is in it, too! It's called 'Crybaby' and
575 has been hailed as the Ultimate Juvenile Delinquent film... Basically a sendup
576 of those old 'REEFER MADNESS'-esque type movies... 'Don't Let This Happen
577 to You'.
578
579 Astral Dreamer: Sure, Bart has the looks and the cute smile now... But just
580 you wait 10 years... Those little child actors NEVER make it as adults!
581
582 Except for Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim...
583
584 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
016=Usr:92 Katherine Dohert 03/25/90 14:43 Msg:5078 Call:28130 Lines:1
585 ************************************************hmmmmm******kathyD*************
017=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/26/90 21:33 Msg:5082 Call:28160 Lines:36
586 &*&*&*&*'s
587 Time brings many changes. So many of them are ones we would not even wish on
588 our enemys. We live in the midst of the greatest renisance in the history
589 of mankind, and yet there are still so many things beyond our control.
590
591 Few of us are well educated. Few of us are well fed. And fewer still are
592 more then peripherally aware of anything aproaching the golden rule.
593
594 As a child I wondered what exactly it was that made the world such a cruel
595 and terrible place to live in. Needless to say I was not very well adjusted.
596 I'm an adult now, and I get by. And I know who is responsible. You are, I am,
597 everybody you've ever met, and all those who have come before us. We're still
598 just one step above our hairy ancestors. Our culture has a lot to do with it.
599 We are not that far removed from barbarism after all. 1500 years ago nobody
600 would have thought that western Europe would amount to anything. Today we
601 know better.
602
603 We have a president who thinks that atheists should have their citizenship
604 revoked. We have a congress that forgot what its job was 100 or so years ago.
605 We've got small minded red necks running around hurting anyone they can,
606 stroking their pathetic egos. We have air headed liberals telling us that
607 all the worlds problems can be solved by useing all the old tools in the name
608 of a different system.
609
610 Even when our accusations are justified we convieniently ignore our own
611 crimes. We lie to ourselves rather then admiting to even the smallest mistake.
612
613 I've met some nice people, but for the most part It seems to me that we are
614 a pathetic lot. Maybe given another thousend years will be fit to be seen in
615 public.
616
617 One year tommorow.
618
619 An Astral Dreamer
620 &*&*&*&*'s(Just plain pissed off at the world.)
621
018=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/27/90 22:06 Msg:5083 Call:28183 Lines:3
622
623 Is their anybody out there?
624
019=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 03/27/90 22:39 Msg:5087 Call:28184 Lines:21
625 *%@#*@#(_)!(@$(!@_)(~!#)!@+_$%)@#+|_%_$+#(^)+#$%*&+_(%_@+#)%|~+!)+@_#(*%#$*(^_)
626 Alex1: Gosh, I don't want to be another burden to your already worn guest room
627 carpet and associated accommodations. Besides, a trip to Hawaii??? It seems
628 so unthinkable. I really believe that part of the graduate school process is
629 denial of certain basic human needs, such as vacations. I think the grad
630 school mentality dictates that vacations shall be in the form of 1 week
631 spent in Boston suffering stifling humidity and listening to 8 hours of
632 lectures a day, to be followed by the solace of the local news bleating
633 about the celtics because you have nothing better to do because you were
634 stupid and didn't find out if there were any other people you knew going
635 to the same show so you spent your off-hours alone. A breezy time spent
636 on a white beach gazing from behind dark glasses at sun-tanned beauties
637 and remembering snippets of the movie "North Shore" is way, way outta
638 line.
639
640 So, if you do manage to make it back for brief visit, please use all
641 means possible, even NET-comm, to get in touch...
642 *%_@#*%_@#)*(%_@#*%_)@#(%_)@#(% L'homme sans Parity *%_@#%_@#(%_@#%*@#_%(*@#%(
643
644 aside to astral dreamer - - - Too much Pink Floyd lately?
645
020=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/28/90 07:05 Msg:5088 Call:28189 Lines:8
646 &*&*&*&*'s
647
648 Hmm, it does sound that way don't it. Sigh, even depression isn't origional.
649 Its probably the second oldest human emotion. :-)
650
651 An Astral Dreamer
652 &*&*&*&*'s
653
021=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/29/90 07:18 Msg:5089 Call:28243 Lines:4
654
655
656 Sigh.
657
022=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 03/29/90 15:29 Msg:5090 Call:28253 Lines:5
658 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
659 And the void continued on, and when the void was finally filled, The Creator
660 looked upon what had come to pass and said "Let's Change Disks..."
661
662 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
023=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/30/90 07:51 Msg:5091 Call:28264 Lines:3
663
664 Amen!
665
024=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/30/90 15:50 Msg:5092 Call:28285 Lines:3
666
667 Don't be a lurker!
668
025=Usr:4 Milchar 03/30/90 21:23 Msg:5093 Call:28293 Lines:1
669 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Almost-but-not-quite-Lurk-mode. +Milch+
026=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 03/31/90 09:14 Msg:5094 Call:28297 Lines:4
670
671 The quest for entries continues. Will our heros find the elusive muse, or will
672 they be forced to stare at an endlessly empty screen for yet another week?
673
027=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 03/31/90 18:43 Msg:5095 Call:28302 Lines:4
674
675 WHO YOU CALLING A LURKER, PAL!
676 NOT ME!
677 HOW CLEVER!
028=Usr:172 Eric Starker 03/31/90 21:32 Msg:5096 Call:28307 Lines:12
678 The BBS Party of the Millenium!
679 hr:Wsigo aka he.
hn pi 3ha 20 on
680 h:Ayn h ihst oe AlBSsi onare invited, along
681 ihterfml n red. l gsaewelcome.
682 ups:T aefn et new people, and eat food.
683 ht inc
684 rnprainnBc. ecnb otce n
tri 228-xxxx) or Milliways (644-xxxx). If you have a
685 esr omnini oJh.
he cost is $2.00, and this will buy both food and entertainmen
686 oe o ikt a emie o
687 B inc
0 E4t
688 otad R925
o an also get a ticket from a ticket booth at the downtown
689 alra
029=Usr:13 voyeur 04/01/90 03:42 Msg:5097 Call:28311 Lines:3
690 Our intrepid mayor - Bud "Whoop Whoop" Clark - has written a review of
691 SimCity in PC Computing (as if he really knew anything about running a city).
692 But not a 'tits up' anywhere...
030=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 04/01/90 20:38 Msg:5098 Call:28319 Lines:3
693
694 Sign...
695
031=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 04/02/90 07:56 Msg:5099 Call:28322 Lines:3
696
697 No muse here.
698
032=Usr:70 Kurfur Redlig 04/02/90 20:34 Msg:5100 Call:28347 Lines:78
699 KKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | Here Goes Everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
700
701 For quite some time I have been entertaining the idea of writing a story
702 here at Backwater (for the past two years actually), and now it looks as
703 if I might just go through with it. I am open to any comments or
704 criticisms. Tell me what you think.
705 >R
706
707
708 Rebecca had thought she had a stomach of steel. The countless
709 autopsies she had performed in college and in her two years in
710 forensics with the New York Police Department had led her to believe
711 this. She thought she had seen death in all its gory facets. The
712 scene before her now left her doubled over retching into the bracken
713 that defined the edge of the clearing she was standing in.
714
715 Erik, as usual, was unaffected as he paced the meadow, occasionally
716 stooping over to examine something closer.
717
718 Scattered over the ground between them were pieces of what had once
719 been a living human, yet now would have hardly qualify as meat. A
720 female, caucasian. Killed sometime within the last week, and, since
721 then, very badly mauled by animals. Wolves in particular.
722
723 "Guess there's not enough left for an autopsy. Any idea what got
724 her?" asked Becky, having emptied her stomach of its contents.
725 Hardening herself to her immediate environment, she straightened up
726 and looked at Erik, averting her eyes from the remains.
727
728 Erik looked back at her and replied in his unusually tonal voice,
729 "She was killed by having a wolf rip her throat out." Pointing out a
730 group of prints Rebecca had failed to notice earlier he continued,
731 "She ran from over there, limping, being chased by two wolves. When
732 she reached this clearing, two more wolves jumped her from their
733 hiding places there and there," pointing to other prints, "and killed
734 her. Clever trap, even for wolves."
735
736 "Any other footprints?"
737
738 "None of consequence. Hers are the only human."
739
740 Rebecca found that she had not quite thrown up everything when, a few
741 minutes later, Erik bent over and ran a finger over one of the
742 largest pieces of flesh in the clearing, put his finger up to his
743 nose, smelled it, and tasted the blood with his tongue.
744
745 "Large quantity of adrenaline in the blood. She was quite scared."
746
747 "I guess we can chalk this up as an animal attack," Rebecca managed
748 to choke through her convulsions. "When we get back into Portland,"
749 she gagged, "I'll alert animal control about the wolves. I didn't
750 think there were any around here anymore."
751
752 "I'd forget animal control for now," answered Erik. "This was a
753 homicide."
754
755 "Whaddya mean, homicide? There aren't any other prints. You
756 yourself said a wolf killed her."
757
758 "Yes, a wolf did kill her," Erik reached into what was once a leg and
759 pulled something out. "Wolves, however, don't usually wound their
760 prey with a .44 before killing it," and he held a small piece of
761 metal up to the sun for her to see. "She died four days ago."
762
763 "What's that got to do with anything? And how can you tell? She's
764 been dead long enough to be totally cold"
765
766 "Four days ago we had a full moon."
767
768 "Sweet Jesus, Erik, you can't be serious."
769
770 Erik did not answer her.
771
772 So, whaddya think?
773
774 I might continue later when I figure out what happens next, depending
775 on the answers I get.
776
033=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 04/02/90 22:38 Msg:5101 Call:28353 Lines:6
777 &*&*&*&*'s
778 Interesting. A good opening.
779
780 An Astral Dreamer
781 &*&*&*&*'s
782
034=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 04/04/90 11:59 Msg:5103 Call:28374 Lines:100
783 696969696969
784 ====================================================================
785 4a of many
786 The Little UFO that Could
787 *************************
788 * TOP SECRET *
789 *************************
790 GAMMA SIGMA PHI
791 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
792 by
793 Benjamim Jamen
794
795 "Do not spank a genius."
796 -Albert
797
798 I want to make it absolutely clear that I am NOT a physicist. In fact,
799 physicists totally lose me when they get into the real theoretical
800 extremes of their work. If Dr. Feynman had said, "There is a black
801 hole at the center of everyone's brain", I am too stupid when it comes to
802 this field to know where to even begin discussing such a comment, much
803 less argue that it might not be true. Sometimes I pick up a popular
804 trade journal and try to follow the diluted stuff spooned out to the
805 masses. I'm usually so confused by the time I leave the magazine rack
806 that I forget to stop by the cashier on the way out to pay for the rag
807 tucked under my arm.
808
809 Dr. Samatsi was (and probably still is) a physicist. For that reason,
810 it was difficult for me to follow some of his reasoning. But, there was
811 a later paper he wrote I'd like to mention to you. Somehow, his
812 investigations into intelligence led to some conclusions about
813 causality. Now, even a nonphysicist like me remembers from college
814 (mucho years ago) about the principles involving causality. Inertia provides
815 a nice example. If a body is in motion, there is a reason, or a
816 cause, for its condition of motion. First there is the cause, then there is
817 the effect. One follows the other. That is how the average individual
818 on this planet views the universe.
819
820 No, I don't understand how TOI evolved from a fascinating definition of
821 intelligence to a discourse on causality any more than I understand how
822 observations of a speeding train led to the General Theory of Relativity
823 (though the later does make a LITTLE more sense).
824
825 In a paper dated September 1988, Dr. S concluded that our concept of
826 time was as wrong as preCopernican views of the cosmos. He seemed to be
827 saying that the principles of causality hold true in a certain context
828 ONLY, just as Newtonian physics are only valid within limited
829 considerations of time and distance (does any of this make sense to you?
830 it doesn't to me...).
831
832 He was very intrigued with the first trip to the moon in July of '69
833 (oh, what a fine year!). He seemed to be arguing that the Apollo
834 astronauts actually traveled into the future by some small amount of
835 time and supported thsse arguments with equations which involved the speed
836 and distance traversed by those guys. I'm almost afraid to include this
837 rather unusual conclusion here because it sounds so far fetched that it
838 might turn you off to his other theories. I am only doing it because it
839 is fascinating to see how one thing (TOI) leads to another (causality
840 theories).
841
842 Anyway, he seems to be saying, in what time did the astronauts arrive?
843 For all practical purposes, it would appear to the occupants of the
844 capsule, had they traveled at a greater distance at a higher speed (he
845 plays with various speeds-he's really my kind of person-->I love to plug
846 numbers into models, too, and see what happens), that they had skipped
847 time from their "reference point". In this case, the "reference point"
848 would have been the time on planet Earth at which they departed. In
849 other words, in one example, it seemed to the occupants that they had
850 been gone on a short little jaunt lasting a few weeks when they found,
851 after returning to Earth, that a year had passed at the "reference
852 point". From their perspective, it appears to them that they arrived in
853 the future, due to an effect referred to as "time dilation".
854 Apparently, this effect translates to a little time passing for the
855 subjects who are speeding while a lot of time passes at the reference
856 point.
857
858 What if, through some unknown process, the astronauts traveled back into
859 time instead of ahead? And what, to make it more interesting, they blew
860 up their capsule and everything else at Cape Canaveral involved in
861 launching pieces of metal into space (my example, not his-his example
862 was more boring...). From the limited perspective of causality, that is
863 impossible because the cause of their departure has been destroyed so it
864 cannot have the effect of taking them back in time. Dr. S said that
865 his calculations indicate that there is really no problem with this
866 scenario on a macro scale any more than there is a problem with the time
867 skip phenomena which was actually experience by the moon travelers of
868 1969. Why? Because each brings his own causality with him just as each
869 traveler takes his own relative time with him.
870
871 Does any of this make any sense to anyone out there? If not, please
872 forgive me for ever bringing it up. I do not want to get off on a
873 tangent and detract from our real purpose for being here today.
874
875 The real purpose for being here today is to tell you I showed Howy the last
876 entry and he said he would have stopped me from sending it out if he had
877 seen it in advanced. Apparently, I left out some details which are
878 fairly important to engineering types like himself. So, to redeem
879 myself, I agreed to put his comments in this chapter.
880 (...to be continued...)
881 696969696969696969
882
035=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 04/04/90 14:11 Msg:5104 Call:28379 Lines:7
883 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
884 Not a lot of useage at present, eh, Mikey? Don't worry though... Summer
885 is coming in two short months, and that means we'll have LOTS and LOTS of very
886 young, very immature, very inexperienced modemers who'll post LOTS and LOTS
887 of absolutely delightful witticisms on life and related! Aren't you just
888 *breathy* with anticipation?
889 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
036=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 04/05/90 15:01 Msg:5106 Call:28394 Lines:101
890 VOYAGER BULLETIN # 98
891 On February 14, Voyager 1 took advantage of an historic and unique opportunity
892 to image most of the solar system's planets, taking a final look back at where
893 the Voyagers have been and showing Earth among its fellow planets. Earth,
894 Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will be targeted in a sequence of
895 wide- and narrow-angle images. Mars may be visible, but it will be a slim
896 crescent close to the Sun, while Mercury will be masked in the Sun's glare.
897 Pluto is too far away and too small to be imaged. From Voyager 1's viewpoint,
898 the planets will appear to be clustered along the constellation Eridanus (The
899 River). Voyager 1 will be approximately 40 astronomical units (AU) from Earth
900 and 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane at an ecliptic longitude of 242
901 degrees . A series of about 64 images will be taken, beginning with Neptune.
902 The wide-angle frames will be taken through clear filters, while the narrow-
903 angle frames, each centered on a planet, will be shuttered through blue,
904 violet, and green filters. The spacecraft will roll to take images of regions
905 that would otherwise be obscured by the spacecraft's high-gain antenna.
906 Images of the inner planets will be mosaicked around the Sun to avoid direct
907 sunlight. The final wide-angle frame will be centered on the Sun. Due to
908 tracking schedules, the images will be recorded on board the spacecraft and
909 returned to Earth in late March. Several weeks will then be needed to process
910 the images to reveal as much detail as possible. Most of the planets will be
911 smaller than a pixel in size; however, Jupiter may be as large as four pixels.
912 (Voyager's imaging frame is 800-by-800 picture elements, or pixels.) Due to
913 the scale, it is unlikely that the entire set of images can be mosaicked to
914 produce for publication a single photograph showing all the planets stretching
915 from Jupiter to Neptune. A display of this mosaic would require a wall 100 to
916 150 feet long, depending on the chosen size of the individual prints. Imaging
917 team members hope to release at least the central frames showing Earth, Venus,
918 and perhaps Mars together. Voyager 1 was chosen over Voyager 2 for this task
919 due to operational considerations. Another factor is the fact that Jupiter
920 would be too close to the Sun to be visible from Voyager 2's point of view
921 this spring. Although the ultraviolet spectrometer is still on, the sunlight
922 will be too bright to allow observations during this imaging sequence. The
923 infrared spectrometer and photopolarimeter instruments will not be on. The
924 only potential damage from pointing these optical instruments too close to the
925 Sun is that the shutter blades of the wide-angle camera might warp due to the
926 increased heat of the sunlight focused on the blades. Update Contact with
927 Voyager 1 has been normal since a partial loss of contact last fall. On
928 October 23, Voyager 1 stopped sending its telemetry signal, by which science
929 and engineering data are transmitted. The carrier signal, a single frequency
930 used to track the spacecraft's location, continued. Commands were sent to
931 reset the spacecraft's telemetry modulation unit. Controllers waited 11 hours
932 for the signal to reach the spacecraft and a return signal to reach Earth
933 before they knew that full contact had been restored. Flight controllers had
934 no explanation for the one-time event, but there was some conjecture that it
935 was related to high solar activity. Several other spacecraft also experienced
936 computer problems during last fall's spate of huge solar flares. The high-
937 speed particles ejected by solar flares can cause computer bits to "flip" from
938 the desired position. Voyager 2 has completed its post-Neptune instrument
939 calibrations and has begun its Interstellar Mission, the search for the edge
940 of the Sun's influence. Neptune Results The Voyager science teams have
941 submitted their "30-day reports" on the Neptune encounter, as required in
942 their contracts with NASA, and these reports have been published in the
943 December 15, 1989, issue of Science magazine. As the papers were being
944 written, data analysis continued, bringing new information to light. Changes
945 from what has been previously reported in the Bulletin are summarized below.
946 Neptune's rotation rate is now cited as 16 hours 7 minutes 1 minute, based on
947 data from the planetary radio astronomy instrument. Winds near the Great Dark
948 Spot are now believed to be a rip-roaring 560 meters a second (1230 miles an
949 hour), the strongest winds yet measured in the solar system. (Voyager measured
950 winds on Saturn up to 500 meters a second or 1100 miles an hour.) The cloud
951 streaks seen near latitudes of 27 degrees N and 71 degrees S are estimated to
952 be about 100 kilometers (60 miles) and 50 kilometers (30 miles), respectively,
953 above the cloud banks on which their shadows were seen. Temperatures at high
954 altitudes in Neptune's stratosphere have been measured to be about 750
955 kelvins. The tilt of Neptune's magnetic field is now given as 47 degrees from
956 the rotational axis, while the offset of the magnetic pole from the center of
957 the planet is 0.55 radius. The strength of the surface magnetic field varies
958 from more than 1 to less than 0.1 gauss. As Voyager 2 passed through the ring
959 plane, the maximum impact rate from ring particles was measured at 250 hits
960 per second. Triton's surface temperature has been revised to 38 kelvins (about
961 -391 degrees F), while the surface pressure is now believed to be about 14
962 microbars. Methane and nitrogen form a thin veneer on the moon's surface,
963 while the underlying topographic features are suspected to be formed of water
964 ice. Methane and nitrogen ices are too weak to support their own mass for very
965 long in such formations. At least six small, previously unknown satellites,
966 ranging in diameter from 54 to 400 kilometers, have been identified in Voyager
967 images. Their orbital elements are given in the accompanying table. Names
968 will be assigned by the nomenclature committee of the International
969 Astronomical Union (IAU). Researchers will continue to publish science results
970 of the Voyager mission in professional journals such as Geophysical Research
971 Letters and the Journal of Geophysical Research for many years to come. The
972 Voyager mission has provided a unique data set for comparative planetology:
973 four planetary systems studied by the same instruments.
974 Orbital Radius
975 Ring* (from Center of Neptune)**
976 1989N3R 41,900 km (26,000 mi)
977 1989N2R 53,200 km (33,000 mi)
978 1989N4R inner edge 53,200 km (33,000 mi)
979 1989N4R outer edge 59,000 km (36,700 mi)
980 1989N1R 62,900 km (39,100 mi)
981 Orbital Radius Orbital
982 Moon* (from Center of Neptune)** Period Diameter
983 1989N6 48,000 km (29,800 mi) 7 hrs 6 min 54 km (33 mi)
984 1989N5 50,000 km (31,100 mi) 7 hrs 30min 80 km (50 mi)
985 1989N3 52,500 km (32,600 mi) 8 hrs 180 km (90 mi)
986 1989N4 62,000 km (38,500 mi) 10hrs 18min 150 km (110 mi)
987 1989N2 73,600 km (45,400 mi) 13hrs 18min 190 km (120 mi)
988 1989N1 117,600 km (73,100 mi) 26hrs 54min 400 km (250 mi)
989 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
990
037=Usr:70 Kurfur Redlig 04/05/90 19:00 Msg:5107 Call:28399 Lines:5
991 KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | Rapid Repeat Keys Help Games!!!!!!!!!!
992
993 Neptune: Sounds like a hall of a place to visit, but I wouldn't want
994 to live there.
995
038=Usr:70 Kurfur Redlig 04/05/90 19:04 Msg:5108 Call:28400 Lines:1
996 On a lighter topic, it looks as though I get to finish off this disk.
039=Usr:70 Kurfur Redlig 04/05/90 20:51 Msg:5109 Call:28403 Lines:3
997 With a little luck, as well as thousands of calls, I'll start the next.
998
999 KKKKKKKKKKurfur Redlig | I HATE Call Waiting, Dont You???????????????????