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______ __ __ __ ______
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/ __ / / \ \ \ \ \ / _\/_ \
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/ /_/ /andom / /\ \ccess \ \_\ \umor | |____| |
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/ _ _/ / ____ \ \ __ \ \__ \____/
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/ / \ \ / / \ \ \ \ \ \ |_\____|
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/_/ \_\ /_/ \_\ \_\ \_\ |____|
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--------------------------------------------------
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The Electronic Humor Magazine
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--------------------------------------------------
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Version 1 Release 3 April 1994
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Editor: Dave Bealer
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Member of the Digital Publishing Association
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Copyright 1994 Dave Bealer, All Rights Reserved
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Printed on 100% recycled electrons
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Random Access Humor is an irregular production of:
|
||
|
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VaporWare Communications
|
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32768 Infinite Loop
|
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Sillycon Valley, CA. 80486-DX2
|
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USA, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way
|
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|
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WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
|
||
The "look and feel" of Random Access Humor has been specifically
|
||
earmarked, spindled and polygraphed. Anyone who attempts to copy
|
||
this look and feel without express written consent of the publisher
|
||
will be fed to rabid radioactive hamsters by our Security Director,
|
||
Vinnie "The Knife" Calamari.
|
||
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TABLE OF INCONTINENCE:
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About Vaporware Communications.....................................01
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Editorial - Online Chat: For the Birds?............................01
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Lettuce to the Editor..............................................02
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The Incredible Shrinking Data Center...............................03
|
||
April Fools in Cyberspace..........................................05
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In Search of Ancient Comedians.....................................05
|
||
If Computer Nerds Controlled Network Programming...................07
|
||
Roadkill on the Information Highway................................08
|
||
The Q&A Man from PC-Computing Goes Insane..........................09
|
||
1994 Random Access Humor Reader Survey.............................11
|
||
Humor/Comedy Favorites of the RAH Writers..........................14
|
||
In Memory of John Candy............................................15
|
||
The Twit Filter: The Retroactive Architect.........................15
|
||
The RAH Humor Review: More Python Alumni Tapes.....................16
|
||
Announcements......................................................17
|
||
Bumper Stickers Seen on the Information Superhighway...............17
|
||
Masthead - Submission Information.................................A-1
|
||
RAH Distribution System...........................................A-3
|
||
|
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Random Access Humor Page 1 April 1994
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|
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About Vaporware Communications
|
||
|
||
VaporWare Communications is an operating division of VaporWare
|
||
Corporation, a public corporation. Stock Ticker Symbol: SUKR
|
||
VaporWare Corporate Officers:
|
||
|
||
Luther Lecks
|
||
President, Chief Egomaniac Officer
|
||
|
||
Dorian Debacle, M.B.A. Gabriel Escargot
|
||
V.P., Operations V.P., Customer Service
|
||
|
||
Pav Bhaji, M.Tax.(Avoidance) Carlos Goebbels
|
||
V.P., Finance V.P., Political Correctness
|
||
|
||
Kung Pao Har Hoo, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. F.A.C.S, C.P.A., S.P.C.A.,
|
||
Y.M.C.A., L.E.D., Q.E.D., op. cit., et al.
|
||
V.P., Research & Development
|
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Editorial - Online Chat: For the Birds?
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||
by Dave Bealer
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||
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||
I'm hardly the most efficient person in the world. Greg Borek has
|
||
commented that most RAH readers would flip if they saw the stunningly
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||
messy conditions under which RAH is produced and distributed. The
|
||
utter chaos that reigns in my little loft office (and, indeed, the
|
||
rest of my home) serves to cancel out any innate sense of efficiency
|
||
I might possess. The fact that I'm a natural born slob doesn't help
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||
matters.
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Despite all this, there are a few things even I consider too time-
|
||
wasting and inefficient. Online chat is one of them. Don't get me
|
||
wrong, I don't object to anyone engaging in online chat so long as
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||
I'm not expected to participate.
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||
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I've never been a big conversationalist on the telephone, either. I
|
||
don't have a problem using the telephone, which is good since it's
|
||
tough to live in modern society without using the silly things. But
|
||
I've always preferred talking to a person face to face or engaging in
|
||
written communication. OTOH, when you need to talk to someone who is
|
||
hundreds or thousands of miles away, using the telephone is much more
|
||
efficient that travelling to where the other person is located.
|
||
|
||
What's the difference between hardcopy or e-mail communication and
|
||
online chat, you may ask? The difference is that with the first two,
|
||
I'm not forced to sit at my computer watching my correspondent type
|
||
the message. Many people fail to realize that watching someone write
|
||
is about the most boring activity in the world. No matter how vivid
|
||
or exciting the end product will be, observing the actual writing
|
||
process is tedium personified.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 2 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Another bonus with online chat is that I've often made a long
|
||
distance call to dial into the system where the chat is taking place.
|
||
Thus I get to fill up the idle seconds when the other person is
|
||
writing a thoughtful reply to worry about how large my phone bill will
|
||
be next month. (Did I mention that I'm a *cheap* slob?)
|
||
|
||
These factors may help explain why I turned off the "page sysop"
|
||
function on my BBS over a year ago. They also serve to explain why I
|
||
never answer pages from other users on systems I call. When the
|
||
sysop breaks in for a chat, there's little I can do about it short of
|
||
hanging up. Since even I'm not usually that rude, I simply beg out
|
||
of the conversation as quickly as possible.
|
||
|
||
So if you ever see me logged on a BBS or online system don't page me.
|
||
If you do page me and there is no response, please don't take it
|
||
personally. I don't do online chat.
|
||
- - -
|
||
It recently came to my attention that there's at least one person in
|
||
Palmetto, Florida with *way* too much time on his hands. Wayne
|
||
Downing uploaded a couple of RAH-related programs he wrote.
|
||
|
||
TAGS.EXE contains all the taglines published in RAH from 09/92 thru
|
||
03/94 and will display a randomly selected group of them on request.
|
||
The user gets to determine how many taglines will be displayed. The
|
||
only drawback is that you have to enter the desired number of
|
||
taglines in response to a prompt - there's no way to supply the
|
||
number as a command-line parameter. This limits the usefulness of
|
||
the program in a batch file environment.
|
||
|
||
INDEX.EXE contains an index of all RAH articles from 09/92 thru
|
||
03/94 (a promised future version have a self-expanding index). If
|
||
you place the ASCII text edition of all the RAH issues in the same
|
||
directory with INDEX, the program will allow you to read the articles
|
||
as well.
|
||
|
||
Both programs are available for download/file request from The
|
||
Puffin's Nest BBS (1:261/1129) in file area RAH. Filename:
|
||
WDUTIL10.ZIP. These programs require MS-DOS. This goes to prove
|
||
that at least some of you out there take RAH much more seriously than
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||
I do. {RAH}
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
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Lettuce to the Editor
|
||
|
||
Dear Deranged Editor:
|
||
|
||
I'm afraid I will be unable to read your fine publication for a
|
||
while. I am going on a long trip to Haiti. You may wonder why I'm
|
||
going there on such short notice.
|
||
|
||
I'm off to the abode of my parental units. My dad's IDE controller
|
||
bought the farm, and I heard them performing voodoo rights over the
|
||
embalmed carcass of the tower case.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 3 April 1994
|
||
|
||
I need to go over there and fix it before they try stuffing chicken
|
||
feathers into the floppy drives or pouring goats' blood into the
|
||
power supply. God only knows what they would do if it had been a
|
||
boot sector virus instead! Still, if they bury it before I get
|
||
there, I'm afraid it might be beyond repair even if the coffin is
|
||
air-tight.
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||
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||
Wish me luck!
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||
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||
Sincerely,
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||
A Faithful Reader
|
||
- - - - - - - -
|
||
Dear Faithful Reader,
|
||
|
||
It sounds like your parental units should get a hobby, like consuming
|
||
mass quantities of fried chicken embryos.
|
||
|
||
A Deranged Editor
|
||
- - - - - - - - - - - -
|
||
We want to hear from our readers! Get the same kind of respectful
|
||
answers to YOUR questions. Send your e-mail to:
|
||
Internet> lettuce@rah.clark.net
|
||
FidoNet> Lettuce at 1:261/1129
|
||
You can also ask your questions in one (or both) of our two new RAH
|
||
reader conferences. Internet users can subscribe to our RAHUSER
|
||
mailing list (send e-mail to: rahinfo@rah.clark.net for instructions)
|
||
and FidoNet users can ask their sysops to obtain the new RAHUSER echo
|
||
from the RAH Publication BBS (1:261/1129).
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
The Incredible Shrinking Data Center
|
||
by Dave Bealer
|
||
|
||
Just three decades ago monsters ruled the data center. No, not the
|
||
managers, although many of them had certain monstrous properties.
|
||
This was the era of the mainframes, near the end of the Big Iron Age.
|
||
A single computer filled a good sized room, and programs ran one at a
|
||
time, which was good enough for everyone.
|
||
|
||
A decade later the giant mainframe was still king, although this
|
||
Jurassic Iron was being challenged by upstarts with the wimpy title
|
||
of "mini-computer." Since even the name was non-threatening, the
|
||
mainframe mavens ignored the minis. Properly written programs could
|
||
execute simultaneously, which increased throughput, while poorly
|
||
written programs would crash the system. A small price to pay for
|
||
progress.
|
||
|
||
Just over 10 years ago the tiny personal computer (PC) escaped the
|
||
grasp of the hobbyists and invaded the sanctity of the corporate
|
||
computing environment. A laughable new toy, the personal computer
|
||
would obviously never be a threat. There wasn't even a good COBOL
|
||
compiler available for the PC, so how could it ever hope to run
|
||
"serious" applications?
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 4 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Once it became apparent, even to the least observant EDP types, that
|
||
people really *were* using PCs to do serious work, the real question
|
||
became how to exert complete control over their use. End users could
|
||
never be trusted with an important decision such as how to use the
|
||
company's precious computing resources. Only highly trained (and
|
||
paid) data processing professionals were qualified to decide these
|
||
things.
|
||
|
||
The last decade has brought some amazing size reductions in the
|
||
"foot print" of computer hardware. Mainframes are now little larger
|
||
than the mini-computers of old. Mini-computers themselves have been
|
||
largely squeezed out by competition from super-powered PCs and
|
||
workstations. Portable computers are now available that place all
|
||
the power of a mighty desktop machine in the palm of your hand.
|
||
|
||
Despite these "advances," all is not lost for the professionals.
|
||
Nearly everyone wants to use data that only exists on another PC.
|
||
The logical solution is to "network" all the PCs in a department/
|
||
company together. Local Area Networks (LANs) allow this data
|
||
sharing, but introduce many of the same complexities that made
|
||
mainframes so difficult to master. As the needs of the flock change,
|
||
so too do the mysteries guarded by the high-tech priests of EDP.
|
||
|
||
In the old days there was a terminal on every desk connected to a
|
||
multi-million dollar mainframe. Today the custom is to have a modest
|
||
"workstation" PC on every desk connected to a large, well equipped,
|
||
$10,000 "server" PC. Much of the overall processing power is distri-
|
||
buted to the individual desktop. Users remain happy as long as all
|
||
the game software they bring from home runs on their "work"station.
|
||
Even more money is saved by the fact that most network servers fit in
|
||
a closet, rather than requiring an large air-conditioned room with
|
||
raised flooring.
|
||
|
||
Many empty raised-flooring computer rooms are being converted into
|
||
drafty office space and miniature golf courses (no joke - this author
|
||
once helped design and build such a course). Even worse, computers
|
||
no longer need a desk to call home. Engineers can compute critical
|
||
product specs on a laptop while wolfing down styro-burgers at their
|
||
favorite fast food joint. Accountants can embezzle funds from the
|
||
privacy of their own cars using cellular modems. The next generation
|
||
of Cray super computers will fit in a backpack, finally allowing
|
||
scientists this same kind of mobility.
|
||
|
||
One major benefit of all this downsizing is the reduced energy needs
|
||
of a closet-sized computer center as opposed to a city-block sized
|
||
center. Some of these savings will be lost to the fact that every-
|
||
body, including the janitor, will soon have their own Pentium-
|
||
equipped PC. Also a problem are misguided folks who leave the PC
|
||
turned on 24 hours a day in an effort to keep the hard disk from
|
||
wearing out. They ignore the fact that the average new 528 MB hard
|
||
disk will be outgrown and replaced with a 16GB drive long before it
|
||
wears out. This is called planned obsolescence through increasingly
|
||
bloated software. {RAH}
|
||
--------------
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 5 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Dave Bealer is a thirty-something mainframe systems programmer who
|
||
works with CICS, MVS and all manner of nasty acronyms at one of the
|
||
largest heavy metal shops on the East Coast. He shares a waterfront
|
||
townhome in Pasadena, MD. with two cats who annoy him endlessly as he
|
||
writes and electronically publishes RAH. FidoNet> 1:261/1129
|
||
Internet: dave.bealer@rah.clark.net
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
April Fools in Cyberspace
|
||
by Greg Borek
|
||
|
||
Cyberspace.
|
||
|
||
The fiber frontier.
|
||
|
||
These are the logons of the starcrossed wubblies.
|
||
|
||
{Ed. note: April Fool! Greg didn't turn in an article this
|
||
month like he promised. Vinnie has been dispatched to fire
|
||
a couple of warning shots into his head. We expect better
|
||
compliance in the future.}
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
In Search of Ancient Comedians
|
||
by Erich von Daniken (a.k.a. Robert Hankins)
|
||
|
||
On an island in the South Pacific known as Easter Island, the
|
||
remnants of the first civilization are the giant gods carved in rock
|
||
and stone. Strolling among these huge pagan objects, one can only
|
||
think of a race long dead and so totally separated from us by time,
|
||
it is though they never existed. But if these so-called "giant god
|
||
formations" are viewed from the air, they take on a new meaning. One
|
||
of the gods, it appears, has slipped on a banana peel, and the other
|
||
gods seem to be laughing at him. Shortly before his death, comedian
|
||
Stan Laurel was interviewed by Richard Perkins. When asked about the
|
||
famous "banana routine" of Laurel and Hardy which inspired director
|
||
David Lean and countless others, Laurel said he had once seen it
|
||
happen to a milkman in York, then nervously tried to change the
|
||
subject. When Perkins pressured him about it, Laurel said, "I can
|
||
neither deny nor confirm the routine's origin as being that of the
|
||
rock formations on Easter Island, but I understand it is a very old
|
||
joke." He needn't have said more, the answer was crystal clear.
|
||
What is not clear is how the pagans of Easter Island could have
|
||
conceived of such a sophisticated "bit" during their time. Could it
|
||
be they were given such knowledge by ancient visitors from the
|
||
heavens, who not only possessed physical knowledge of space travel
|
||
but also a keen sense of humor?
|
||
|
||
In the year 312, shortly before their victory at the Battle of
|
||
Milvian Bridge, Constantine The Great's troops were camping one
|
||
night. Late into the evening a stranger approached and began to tell
|
||
the men a fantastic tale about a nomadic seller of wares who was
|
||
without lodging. The nomad found refuge with a local peasant who
|
||
told him, "We've no guest room, so you can sleep in my daughter's bed
|
||
--- but be warned, you must resist her charms lest you will surely
|
||
die." When the morning came, the nomad informed the peasant that he
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 6 April 1994
|
||
|
||
gave in to temptation and had his way with the girl. As a penance,
|
||
he granted the peasant his belongings, including all of his wares and
|
||
both of his oxen. When the nomad was gone, the daughter emerged from
|
||
her room. "How'd we do this time?" she asked. The peasant replied,
|
||
"Well, if we sell only the oxen, I figure we won't need jobs for the
|
||
next fifteen years!" Constantine's army went into an uproar, and
|
||
there was much rejoicing and mirth. They invited the stranger to
|
||
partake of food and drink with them, and he continued his fabulous
|
||
stories, such as the fable about the fat man who sat "around the
|
||
house." Constantine was so impressed that he asked the stranger to
|
||
join them and become their master story-teller. "I cannot," he
|
||
replied. "My work here is done. Now I must travel due west to see a
|
||
man about a goat." And with that he vanished into the night.
|
||
|
||
Even the skeptical have to give a nod to the cave drawings at
|
||
Altamira, Spain. There on the underground walls, our Cro-Magnon
|
||
ancestors rendered images of herds of bison, mammoths, and evidence
|
||
of early practical jokes. In one famous scene, one man is bending to
|
||
sit in a chair when it is pulled out from under him by a second man.
|
||
The first man then retaliates by throwing a pie at the second man,
|
||
but the second man ducks and the pie hits a third man, not the
|
||
intended victim. Another scene shows a man tying a sleeping man's
|
||
shoe laces together. When matches came along the shoe lace bit was
|
||
dropped entirely in favor of the more popular "hot-foot". Of course,
|
||
we can only interpret these drawings, which are at best, primitive
|
||
stick figures. One controversial scene in the Lascaux cave in France
|
||
shows two men who are apparently shaking hands. We think that either
|
||
the man on the right is asking the man on the left to "pull his
|
||
finger", or that the man on the left is the victim of one of the
|
||
first crudely built "joy-buzzers" of the time: a primitive rubber
|
||
band with a sharp thorn tied around it, easily concealed in a
|
||
prankster's palm. Sometimes these ancient joy buzzers could be
|
||
lethal when the stinger of an asp was used in place of an ordinary
|
||
thorn. This may be how Cleopatra died.
|
||
|
||
Wiltshire, England is the home of Stonehenge, which scientists have
|
||
traced back to 1845 B.C. It took hundreds of workers to arrange
|
||
these huge stones which can barely be lifted by the most modern
|
||
equipment --- all to create what many believe to be a giant celestial
|
||
calendar. Considering all of its splendor it is still rather
|
||
primitive: if you needed to remember an important dinner party or
|
||
mark your grandmother's birthday, you couldn't just check it off or
|
||
draw a circle around the number like we can on today's calendars. In
|
||
1948 Henry Childs compiled all available information on Stonehenge,
|
||
then fed it into the giant LUMMOX computer in Riverside, Iowa. After
|
||
deciphering the statistics for eighty three hours and seventeen
|
||
minutes, the machine spit out a single card with holes punched in it.
|
||
It read "Take my spouse, I implore you!" followed by a rim-shot.
|
||
{RAH}
|
||
--------------
|
||
Robert Hankins lives in Lake Charles, LA. No other information about
|
||
him is available, as he's in the Federal Witless Protection Program.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 7 April 1994
|
||
|
||
If Computer Nerds Controlled Network Programming
|
||
by Robert S. Coats
|
||
|
||
Gilligan's Island:
|
||
|
||
The Professor finds some rare binary coconuts that can be used to
|
||
upgrade the ROM in his bamboo clone modem to support X.25. After
|
||
hours of effort, he manages to establish a connection via his papaya-
|
||
based VT 100 terminal and satellite uplink with Telenet, but falls
|
||
asleep from exhaustion. Gilligan walks up and types "+++" then "ATH"
|
||
and drops the line. The Skipper beans him with a rock and finally
|
||
loses it, his seafaring years catch up with him and he starts making
|
||
lewd remarks about playing Leisure Suit Larry IV with Mary Ann.
|
||
Meanwhile, Mr. Howell finally figures out how to work the ISDN set
|
||
that was accidentally dropped by a passing JAL jet and has a heart
|
||
attack when he hears via Dow Jones News Retrieval that the stock
|
||
market has soared above 3000 points. Ginger calls CompuServe and
|
||
emails some software developers in an effort to convince them that
|
||
she should would be a good model for MacStripPoker 2.0. Eventually,
|
||
all connectivity on the island is lost, when Gilligan discovers an
|
||
actor in a bad gorilla costume has shorted pins 2&3 on the serial
|
||
cable, and everybody on the island has just been echoing characters
|
||
to each other.
|
||
|
||
Beverly Hillbillies
|
||
|
||
Miss Jane tries to convince Mr. Drysdale to network all the PCs in
|
||
the bank, but, typically, he won't spend the money. Frustrated, Miss
|
||
Jane pleads with Jed Clampett to persuade Mr. Drysdale to "put in the
|
||
LAN," but Jed thinks she said "put in the ham." Jed then gets Granny
|
||
to cook up a dozen hams and has Jethro and Ellie Mae bring them to
|
||
the bank. When they arrive, everybody is out to lunch, so Jethro
|
||
begins to distribute the hams, but is frustrated when he can't get
|
||
the coaxial cable to stay attached to the ham bone. To further
|
||
complicate matters, Ellie May has brought along her pet goats, which
|
||
begin to eat the ham and cable, causing the the VAX to short out and
|
||
force an emergency electronic fund transfer of the Clampett millions
|
||
to a competitive bank. As Mr. Drysdale is seen chasing Miss Jane
|
||
down the hall with a crazed look in his eye, swinging a ham at her,
|
||
Jed is heard to remark, "Weee- doggie! Why look at that Granny. Mr.
|
||
Drysdale is so happy about whut we done, he's gonna give Miss Jane
|
||
her own ham!"
|
||
|
||
The Brady Bunch
|
||
|
||
Peter uses Qmodem to dial into the high school computer and, through
|
||
hacking tricks picked up from a local "adults only" BBS, is able to
|
||
access individual student's "permanent records." He scans through the
|
||
listings, then, using a clever keyboard macro, alters his completed
|
||
courses such that he won't be required to take English Lit again.
|
||
Unfortunately, Jan is working in the school office at the time and is
|
||
alerted to the invasion by a diligent anti-viral TSR. She is then
|
||
tormented with having to decide to do the "right thing" or be loyal
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 8 April 1994
|
||
|
||
to her brother. Jan goes home and talks to Alice, who says she
|
||
should analyze all the factors and then decide after using the new
|
||
artificial intelligence software Mr. Brady has recently installed on
|
||
his '386 laptop. Jan tries to use the program, but instead
|
||
accidentally deletes all the files in the Harvard Graphics directory,
|
||
leaving Mr. Brady to blow a presentation the next day. Mrs. Brady
|
||
finds out via Jan what happened, and forces Peter to write "I will
|
||
not hack into the school computer" 5000 times with EDLIN while the
|
||
rest of the family eats angel food cake on the patio.
|
||
|
||
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
|
||
|
||
Mr. Grant tells Mary to come up with some hard facts about all the
|
||
activity out in Silicon Valley. Mary grabs her Macintosh Powerbook
|
||
and jumps on a plane west. Unfortunately, she leaves the Mac
|
||
switched on and, due to an undiscovered bug in the latest release of
|
||
System and Finder, the hard disk continually optimizes itself when no
|
||
keyboard input is recorded for more than five minutes. Needless to
|
||
say, she has a dead Mac when arriving and spends the next few hours
|
||
trying to find a replacement. Meanwhile, Ted begins his broadcast
|
||
and notes that "We expected to have some good information about
|
||
Silicon Valley for this broadcast, but somebody had to take a Mac and
|
||
not a reliable laptop PC!" Frantic, Mary calls long distance over
|
||
crystalline fiber optic lines to get help from Rhoda, who doesn't
|
||
answer the phone because she is playing Bomber and has the headphones
|
||
on. However, Phyllis's snotty daughter is around and answers. She
|
||
listens to Mary whine, then hangs up the phone. Mary is last seen
|
||
violently flinging the Mac out a speeding taxi window while crossing
|
||
the Bay Bridge. {RAH}
|
||
--------------
|
||
Robert S. Coats lives in Alpharetta, GA. He's a silly person, a fact
|
||
confirmed by his being a user of The Puffin's Nest BBS, and by his
|
||
writing.
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Roadkill on the Information Highway
|
||
by Ray Koziel
|
||
|
||
It seems like wherever you turn lately one of the key topics is the
|
||
information highway. Even this fine publication focused on the
|
||
information highway in the March issue's editorial section. In light
|
||
of all this I find myself with a case of "information highway
|
||
overload" and looking for the nearest rest stop. Now don't get me
|
||
wrong; I'm not saying that this is a bad thing. On the contrary, I
|
||
feel the evolution of our current networks, such as Internet, into a
|
||
more unified, standardized "infostructure" is vital for our country's
|
||
future. What does bother me are certain issues that exist but are,
|
||
in my opinion, hidden by all the hype and hoopla.
|
||
|
||
The first of these is the fact that this is being called a "highway."
|
||
I don't know about anybody else, but when I think of highways I think
|
||
of traffic jams, idiotic drivers, tolls, and some other items which
|
||
do not convey positive images. Also, highways make me think of our
|
||
current infrastructure, which happens to be in pretty bad shape.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 9 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Besides, "highway" is such an outdated (for lack of a better word)
|
||
term anyway, especially when used to characterize a computer network.
|
||
This is the 90s after all and I am sure a better term can be found or
|
||
made up, something like "Meganetwork" or "Dataway."
|
||
|
||
This leads to the next item of discontent. Even though it is called
|
||
an "information highway", what will actually be flowing through those
|
||
marvelous little fiber optic cables is pure data. Data becomes
|
||
information at the personal level when someone processes the data and
|
||
finds some use in it or adds it to his or her knowledge base. Now on
|
||
the economic spectrum I am a subscriber to the "supply side" theory
|
||
of economics, or supply creating its own demand. However, when it
|
||
comes to the information highway, I am afraid this may not be true.
|
||
I mean, how many channels of Julia Child and Bob Villa do we need? I
|
||
don't see how it can be called an information highway if this
|
||
information is repetitive, redundant, or not informative at all but
|
||
just plain noise. Besides, there is talk about many types of
|
||
services such as movies on demand, travel, finance, and others which
|
||
do not really fall in the genre of information but are going to be
|
||
riding the information highway anyway. Thus it may be necessary to
|
||
make another term to incapsulate this "merger" of information and
|
||
entertainment. This is the English language, after all, and it is
|
||
quite adaptable and capable of coming up with some snappy terms,
|
||
something like "Infotainment."
|
||
|
||
Last but certainly not least is what is the toll going to be for
|
||
riding this highway? Cable, telephone and related companies want to
|
||
keep the costs down as much as possible to remain competitive but
|
||
they need to make a profit as well. Some people are lucky to afford
|
||
electricity and, at most, cable. We already have the so-called
|
||
"health care crisis" and "welfare crisis," so maybe our wonderful
|
||
politicians will declare an "information crisis." Won't that be fun?
|
||
|
||
In summary, I am not trying to roadblock the information highway. As
|
||
I said in the beginning, it is necessary for the country as economy,
|
||
society, and politics become more and more global. But, there are
|
||
some things to be considered but have been hidden by the flash and
|
||
dazzle of what it is going to provide. So you may ride the informa-
|
||
tion highway but I'll stick to my infotainment meganetwork. {RAH}
|
||
--------------
|
||
Ray Koziel is a systems programmer/analyst for a consulting firm in
|
||
Atlanta. Since Ray started contributing to RAH, his wife is more at
|
||
ease now that he has a new target for his weird sense of humor.
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
The Q&A Man from PC-Computing Goes Insane
|
||
By: Vincent B. Navarino
|
||
|
||
I always wondered what would happen if one of the Q&A guys from
|
||
PC-Computing or other computer magazines snapped after answering too
|
||
many of other people's silly PC questions (and they printed it). So,
|
||
with that in mind . . . read on.
|
||
|
||
Q&A - With Bill "Had it up to Here" Louie
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 10 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Q: I am trying to get a venerable original 4.77Mhz
|
||
IBM PC to accept a 1.44 floppy. Can you help?
|
||
|
||
A: Yes. Simply get a 1.44 floppy controller that
|
||
has an on-board BIOS chip. The chip will override
|
||
your PC's addled brains, fooling it to think it's
|
||
worthy enough to run such equipment.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q: I have a 386SX with 1 meg of RAM and I keep
|
||
getting 'Insufficient memory' messages from
|
||
Windows. What can I do?
|
||
|
||
A: Keep adding more RAM. Eventually the message
|
||
will stop, or you'll run out of money.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q: I am running a program on an IBM 386DX/40 and
|
||
it keeps asking me to "Hit any key to continue."
|
||
Which key is the *ANY* key?
|
||
|
||
A: To locate the any key, you must first get
|
||
inside your computer. Remove the screws on your
|
||
computer's case and open the cover. Look inside.
|
||
See the big green board with circuits all over it?
|
||
Notice the little grey square that says
|
||
AMD-386DX40? Using a magnetized screwdriver, pry
|
||
the chip out of it's plastic holder. It's under
|
||
there.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q:What is the best way to optimize my config.sys
|
||
and autoexec.bat files?
|
||
|
||
A: At the C:> prompt, type DEL *.*
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q: What is the easiest way to convert my venerable
|
||
AT to a 486?
|
||
|
||
A: Remove the old 286 chip from the motherboard
|
||
and put the 486 chip in it's place. It may look
|
||
to you that it won't fit, but with a large enough
|
||
hammer, it should.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q: Do you know a program I can run when starting
|
||
my computer so that the NumLock key stays off?
|
||
|
||
A: I am SO sick of answering that question. Shut
|
||
up!
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 11 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Q: I'm trying to port over spreadsheets from Excel
|
||
to Lotus 1-2-3 and I am having trouble. How can I
|
||
do this?
|
||
|
||
A: Buy Lotus, jerk.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q: Can I load SmartDrive high?
|
||
|
||
A: I don't know, can you?
|
||
|
||
|
||
Q: I own an HP Vectra 486/33Mhz VLB computer with
|
||
16meg of RAM, a SCSI-2 1.2gig Hard Drive and a
|
||
Sound Blaster Pro 16 sound card. Recently I added
|
||
10Mbit/second Ethernet cards to it and my Compaq
|
||
Prolinea 4/25s and hooked both machines up using
|
||
Novell Netware 3.1 and all of a sudden my Sound
|
||
Blaster Pro 16 doesn't work anymore and both
|
||
machines hang. What's the problem?
|
||
|
||
A: Shut up! Shut Up! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!
|
||
I DON'T CARE!!!!! SHUUUTTT UUUUUUUPPPPPP!!!
|
||
|
||
Why don't you pathetic people start writing to
|
||
Dvorak? You think I get PAID enough to take all
|
||
your stupid questions - do you? That's it, I've
|
||
had it! I Q-U-I-T!!!!!!
|
||
|
||
[Ed. Due to technical difficulties, The Q&A column
|
||
will not be appearing after this issue. In its
|
||
place, Sally Westheimer will be starting a new
|
||
column - "The How To's of Getting Along with the
|
||
Outside World". We apologize for any inconvenience.] {RAH}
|
||
--------------
|
||
Vincent B. Navarino is one of those rare Sysops who hasn't been
|
||
strung up by his rebellious users. He is rumored to be in hiding
|
||
with the author of _Satanic Verses_ and protests the $4 million price
|
||
put on his head as being too small. He formerly apologizes to all
|
||
women for whatever he must have done to not have had a date in three
|
||
years. He lives with a cat named Spot and his BBS - The Particle
|
||
Board III (Fidonet 1:272/60).
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
1994 Random Access Humor Reader Survey
|
||
|
||
Sponsored by:
|
||
|
||
EXEC-PC
|
||
P.O. Box 57 voice: (414) 789-4200
|
||
Elm Grove, WI. 2400: (414) 789-4210 V.32bis: (414) 789-4360
|
||
|
||
EXEC-PC is the world's largest BBS with 300+ incoming phone lines.
|
||
It was also one of the first major boards to adopt the Readroom Door
|
||
for online periodical viewing. Both RAH editions are personally
|
||
uploaded to EXEC-PC each month by the editor.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 12 April 1994
|
||
|
||
EXEC-PC has donated two one-year subscriptions to EXEC-PC, each
|
||
valued at $75.
|
||
|
||
Also sponsored by:
|
||
|
||
Clark Internet Services, Inc. (ClarkNet)
|
||
10600 Route 108 voice (800) 735-2258 ext. (410) 730-9764
|
||
Ellicott City, MD 21042 TDD: (410) 730-9764 FAX: (410) 730-9765
|
||
You can e-mail to all-info@clark.net for automatic reply of ClarkNet
|
||
information or e-mail to info@clark.net for inquiry.
|
||
|
||
ClarkNet provides Internet access services to the Baltimore/
|
||
Washington metro area. Full Internet/USENET/FTP/Archie/Gopher access
|
||
is available through UNIX shell accounts. UUCP, PPP, and SLIP access
|
||
is also available. The RAH support site makes its UUCP connection
|
||
thru ClarkNet. ClarkNet is connected to Internet via Sprint's T1
|
||
leased line. The modem access number is: (410) 730-9786.
|
||
|
||
ClarkNet has donated a prize package worth $100 to be awarded in a
|
||
random drawing from all fully completed 1994 RAH Reader Survey
|
||
responses received between 02/01/94 and 06/30/94. The prize
|
||
package contains: 6 month ClarkNet Basic Internet Service (Internet
|
||
e-mail and USENET newsgroups only) and a copy of _Connecting to the
|
||
Internet_ by Susan Estrada. All setup fees and shipping charges are
|
||
included.
|
||
|
||
Additional prizes may be added as the survey progresses. Any such
|
||
additional prizes will he announced in future RAH issues. If your
|
||
organization would like to become a sponsor, contact Dave Bealer
|
||
for details. (dave_bealer@rah.clark.net; Dave Bealer at 1:261/1129)
|
||
|
||
-------------------%<------- cut here --------->%--------------------
|
||
|
||
1994 Random Access Humor Reader Survey
|
||
|
||
(Only fully completed survey forms will be eligible for the drawing.)
|
||
|
||
>> Questions about you, the reader:
|
||
|
||
Name:___________________________________________________ Age:_______
|
||
|
||
Address:_____________________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
City:_________________________________________ State/Prov:___________
|
||
|
||
Country:______________________________ Postal Code:_________________
|
||
|
||
Electronic Address:__________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Computer Type/Brand:______________________ Are You GUI(Y/N/Huh)?_____
|
||
|
||
Modem Brand:________________ Modem Speed:_________ 16550 UART?______
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 13 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Approximate date (mo/yr) you made your first BBS call:_______________
|
||
(enter "N/A" if you haven't done these things)
|
||
Approximate date (mo/yr) you first used the Internet:________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
>> Questions about your RAH reading habits:
|
||
|
||
I get RAH from: ____ Internet Mailing List ____ FTP Site (specify)
|
||
|
||
____ BBS/Online System (specify) ____ CD-ROM (specify) ____ Friend
|
||
|
||
____ File Echo (specify) ____ Other (specify):______________________
|
||
|
||
Name of source:______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Net address/phone number of source:__________________________________
|
||
|
||
Location of source:__________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Number of RAH issues your source carries:____________________________
|
||
|
||
Number of RAH issues you have read:__________________________________
|
||
|
||
Have you ever used the Readroom Periodical Reading Door (Y/N)? ______
|
||
|
||
What Changes/Additional Features would you like to see in RAH?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>> Questions about your favorite English-language humor/comedy:
|
||
(if you have no preference in a particular category,
|
||
enter "None")
|
||
|
||
Your favorite stand-up comedian:_____________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comic actor:___________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comic actress:_________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comedy movie:__________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comedy television show:________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite humorous novel:________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comic book:____________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite humor columnist:_______________________________________
|
||
(newspaper or magazine)
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 14 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Surveys may be returned at any time. Surveys that are completed and
|
||
received between 02/01/94 and 06/30/94 will be eligible for a drawing
|
||
for valuable prizes.
|
||
|
||
-------------------%<------- cut here --------->%--------------------
|
||
|
||
Return the survey to:
|
||
|
||
Internet: survey94@rah.clark.net
|
||
|
||
FidoNet: Survey94 at 1:261/1129
|
||
|
||
Snailmail: 1994 RAH Reader Survey
|
||
P.O. Box 595
|
||
Pasadena, MD. 21122
|
||
USA
|
||
|
||
The results from the humor/comedy preference portion of the survey
|
||
will be published in the September 1994 issue of RAH, as will the
|
||
list of winners from the drawing.
|
||
|
||
Please use the survey form from this issue or later issues. The form
|
||
published in the February 1994 issue did not include space for the
|
||
respondent's postal code. Lack of a postal code could delay the
|
||
delivery of any prize you might win.
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Humor/Comedy Favorites of the RAH Writers:
|
||
|
||
For the duration of the 1994 RAH Reader Survey, we'll be providing
|
||
you with the survey responses of several RAH Writers. This month,
|
||
the survey responses of Ray Koziel:
|
||
|
||
Your favorite stand-up comedian:__George Carlin - he has a natural___
|
||
flair with the English language
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comic actor:__Chevy Chase______________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comic actress:__Whoopie Goldberg_______________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comedy movie:__"Wayne's World"_________________________
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comedy television show:_Home Improvement|Seinfeld [tie]
|
||
Saturday Night Live for the sketch comedy category.
|
||
|
||
Your favorite humorous novel:__Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_____
|
||
What else is there?
|
||
|
||
Your favorite comic book:__X-Men - ok, I know it's not humorous, but_
|
||
it is my favorite!
|
||
|
||
Your favorite humor columnist:__Dave Barry...and Rush Limbaugh for___
|
||
(newspaper or magazine) radio personality!
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 15 April 1994
|
||
|
||
In Memory of John Candy
|
||
by Ray Koziel
|
||
|
||
On Friday, March 4, 1994 the entertainment and humor world suffered a
|
||
great loss with the passing of John Candy. Born on Halloween 1950 in
|
||
Toronto, Candy got his start in acting doing television commercials.
|
||
In 1972 he auditioned for the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago
|
||
and performed with that group for a couple of years. Later he went
|
||
back to Toronto to work with the troupe based there.
|
||
|
||
It was at this point Candy met such personalities as Rick Moranis,
|
||
Martin Short, and Dave Thomas who took their comedy from the stage to
|
||
the television in the show "SCTV" - Canada's version of "Saturday
|
||
Night Live". While with "SCTV," Candy was able to create some of his
|
||
well know personalities and set the foundation for his move to the
|
||
big screen.
|
||
|
||
Candy's Hollywood debut came with the film _1941_. After some other
|
||
minor roles, Candy got his break with the movie _Splash_ in which he
|
||
played Tom Hanks' brother. He followed with other supporting roles
|
||
with Bill Murray, Steve Martin, and Dan Aykroyd (_Stripes_, _Trains,
|
||
Planes, and Automobiles_, and _The Great Outdoors_ respectively).
|
||
|
||
Proving himself as a supporting actor, Candy went on to some more
|
||
challenging tasks. He took the lead roles in such films as _Who Is
|
||
Harry Crumb?_, _Uncle Buck_, _Only the Lonely_, and _Delirious_.
|
||
Candy was working on a new film in Mexico titled _Wagons East_ when
|
||
he died of a heart attack at age 43.
|
||
|
||
Candy falls in the genre of comedians that contains other greats such
|
||
as Jackie Gleason, John Goodman, and Oliver Hardy. Although quite
|
||
rotund, each man had a heart and sense of humor of equal if not
|
||
greater proportions than his stomach. And despite their large size
|
||
they had a certain grace and flair about whatever they did. In every
|
||
role Candy played, he was able to tap the human side of that
|
||
character and play it to the fullest. To John Candy, thank you for
|
||
making life a little sweeter! {RAH}
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
The Twit Filter: The Retroactive Architect
|
||
by Dave Bealer
|
||
|
||
Public e-mail networks have been around for about a decade now.
|
||
Literally hundreds of networks exist, ranging from two-node networks
|
||
out in the cybersticks to the mother of all networks, the Internet.
|
||
Although most networks, and most network users, get their start with
|
||
private e-mail, topical public conferences (or echoes) are what
|
||
really make the online world go round.
|
||
|
||
If ideas are the currency of cyberspace, then everyone online is
|
||
wealthy. The exchange, discussion, refutation and mutilation of
|
||
these ideas are what generate the hundreds of megabytes of
|
||
information bouncing around the planet through dial-up sessions and
|
||
leased lines every single day. In short, the data goes round and
|
||
round and it comes out everywhere.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 16 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Many of these ideas are controversial, and some are downright silly.
|
||
But few ideas cause as much grief online as those of the retroactive
|
||
architect (retroarch). These creatures join a new network, or a new
|
||
conference. They look around for a least a few nanoseconds, then
|
||
loudly announce that the network (conference) was not designed
|
||
properly. Said announcement is inevitably followed by a litany of
|
||
modifications that must be implemented immediately.
|
||
|
||
The wisdom and long experience of the retroarch makes the absolute
|
||
acceptance of these commandments a certainty, at least in the mind of
|
||
the retroarch. The mere fact that hundreds or thousands of people
|
||
have been using and benefiting from the current network (conference)
|
||
structure for years has no bearing on the matter. True retroarchs
|
||
can never be convinced that their plans are not a vast improvement
|
||
over the shoddy existing design.
|
||
|
||
After the retroarch is thrown out of the target network or conference
|
||
for being an utter nuisance, the redesign campaign will be continued
|
||
from another available network or conference. The usual choice is a
|
||
network or conference frequented by users of the network/conference
|
||
the architect "needs" to modify. Since this particular affliction
|
||
can rarely be cured, the best thing way to handle retroarchs is to
|
||
place them in your twit filter. {RAH}
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
The RAH Humor Review: More Python Alumni Tapes
|
||
by Dave Bealer
|
||
|
||
Apparently someone has figured out that virtually any video tape
|
||
featuring one or more of the Monty Python troop is guaranteed to sell
|
||
at least 100,000 copies. Two more such tapes have been acquired by
|
||
yours truly in the past month. After viewing these latest attempts
|
||
at squeezing bucks out of any stray scrap of film containing one or
|
||
more of the Python boys, I find myself fervently hoping that no
|
||
cameras were rolling during Graham Chapman's briss.
|
||
|
||
o The Strange Case of the End of Civilization As We Know It
|
||
- featuring John Cleese as Arthur Sherlock Holmes, a
|
||
bumbling, modern-day descendant of the famous detective.
|
||
Connie Booth plays Mrs. Hudson, and several well known
|
||
performers (e.g. Denholm Elliot) also appear, although it's
|
||
a safe bet none of them list this turkey on their resume.
|
||
One (sort of) redeeming feature: the absolute worse Kojak
|
||
impression in the history of the genre. "Who loves ya,
|
||
baby?" In the case of this tape, precisely no one.
|
||
|
||
o Romance With A Double Bass
|
||
- Based on a short story by Anton Chekhov, this one actually
|
||
isn't that bad. John Cleese plays Smichkoff, a double bass
|
||
player whose clothes are swiped while he's skinny dipping.
|
||
Connie Booth, a princess, suffers the same fate. The naked
|
||
Cleese gallantly carries her back to the palace in his double
|
||
bass case. Major redeeming feature: a couple of full frontal
|
||
nude shots of Connie Booth (circa mid-1970s). Major
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 17 April 1994
|
||
|
||
drawback: a nude John Cleese. (Feel free to reverse these
|
||
feature/drawback judgments as desired.) Although strained
|
||
at times, at least this one has an innately funny premise at
|
||
its core.
|
||
|
||
Both tapes were released by White Star Films. {RAH}
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Announcements and Observations
|
||
|
||
Believe it or not, _Command Line Cowboys: The Best of RAH, Volume 0_
|
||
is actually shipping. Yes! Just 6 weeks after the planned initial
|
||
shipping date. Possibly a new record for vaporware. The reason for
|
||
the delay is that we tried to add some graphics features that would
|
||
never work in a text magazine. Unfortunately we couldn't get them to
|
||
work in the hypertext system either. Better luck next time.
|
||
- - -
|
||
The RAH official RAH Gateway system is being disbanded as of 4/30/94.
|
||
The Official RAH Distribution system will remain in effect.
|
||
Basically, this means that the multi-line Gateway listings will
|
||
disappear, but the single line listings by state/nation will remain.
|
||
- - -
|
||
REMINDER: RAH is now being published 10 times per year. There will
|
||
be no July or August issues this year.
|
||
- - -
|
||
The deadline for submissions for the May 1994 issue is 04/25/94.
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
--- Bumper Stickers Seen On The Information Superhighway
|
||
|
||
"More hay, Trigger?" "No thanks, Roy, I'm stuffed!"
|
||
|
||
Been there. Done that. Reincarnated.
|
||
|
||
Don't touch that keyboard, we'll be right back.
|
||
|
||
A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
|
||
|
||
"Are you sure it isn't time for a colorful metaphor?"
|
||
|
||
Lottery: a tax on people who are bad at math.
|
||
|
||
Error, no keyboard - press F1 to continue.
|
||
|
||
Cats know how we feel. They don't give a damn, but they know.
|
||
|
||
I have a grip on reality, just not this particular one.
|
||
|
||
Eat the rich. The poor are tough and stringy.
|
||
|
||
There's too much blood in my caffeine system.
|
||
|
||
Artificial intelligence usually beats real stupidity.
|
||
|
||
Cream rises to the top...so do dead fish.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 18 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Ask me about my vow of silence!
|
||
|
||
A bachelor never makes the same mistake once.
|
||
|
||
If you can read this, my cloaking device is on the fritz.
|
||
|
||
What's all this about hell fire and dalmations?
|
||
|
||
I'm not a complete idiot - several parts are missing.
|
||
|
||
Veni, vidi, velcro: I came, I saw, I stuck around.
|
||
|
||
Every time my ship comes in there's a dock strike.
|
||
|
||
Efficiency is a highly developed form of laziness.
|
||
|
||
What is the highest pyramid in the world? Amway.
|
||
|
||
Guts: putting "Sysop" in your twit filter.
|
||
|
||
Why'd they bury Mozart? Because he was decomposing.
|
||
|
||
Excuse me, Chief, my shoe is ringing.
|
||
|
||
Got a 486 for my wife - good trade.
|
||
|
||
You can fool some of the people and really piss them off.
|
||
|
||
If everything seems to go right, check your zipper.
|
||
|
||
The four food groups: Fast, Frozen, Instant and Chocolate.
|
||
|
||
What this country needs is a good 5-cent quarter.
|
||
|
||
Ensign Walnut approaches Dr. Crusher with caution.
|
||
|
||
Ted Kennedy's Bumper Sticker: My other car is underwater.
|
||
|
||
Do televangelists do more than lay people?
|
||
|
||
C'mon, where's your sense of adventure?
|
||
|
||
I'm not round. I'm an oblate spheroid.
|
||
|
||
Gotta run, the cat's caught in the printer.
|
||
|
||
"Cher"ware - you have to send in proof of a tattoo.
|
||
|
||
Neutrinos have mass? I didn't even know they're Catholic!
|
||
|
||
I wouldn't be caught dead with a necrophiliac.
|
||
|
||
Don't be so open minded that your brain falls out.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 19 April 1994
|
||
|
||
I know it all, I just can't remember most of it.
|
||
|
||
Can priests turn other food into God, or only cookies?
|
||
|
||
What goes around usually gets dizzy and falls over.
|
||
|
||
If reality wants to get in touch, it knows where I am.
|
||
|
||
Learn from your parents' mistakes - use birth control!
|
||
|
||
Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off now.
|
||
|
||
Give the gift of high velocity lead.
|
||
|
||
System error - press F13 to continue.
|
||
|
||
Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
|
||
|
||
No, I'm not an elitist. Why do you ask, peasant?
|
||
|
||
Did you expect mere proof to sway my opinion?
|
||
|
||
Smokey the Bear says, "Strip mining prevents forest fires."
|
||
|
||
Just sliding down the razor blade of life.
|
||
|
||
Quoth the Raven, "Eat my shorts!"
|
||
|
||
And you thought space was warped.
|
||
|
||
Government: not the solution, but the problem.
|
||
|
||
The most affectionate creature is the wet dog.
|
||
|
||
The secret of the universe is @*&^^^ NO CARRIER
|
||
|
||
My IRS check just bounced.
|
||
|
||
I can't think of anything that remotely fits the subject.
|
||
|
||
"Bother," said Pooh, as he struggled with his condom.
|
||
|
||
Raise your IQ: eat gifted children.
|
||
|
||
I was born alive. Isn't that punishment enough?
|
||
|
||
One if by LAN, two if by C.
|
||
|
||
I pray to St. Francis of ANSI C.
|
||
|
||
Computing is a terminal condition.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page 20 April 1994
|
||
|
||
My superiority complex is better than yours!
|
||
|
||
"Hey, can I get something to drink?" Socrates
|
||
|
||
"I drank what?" Socrates
|
||
|
||
Double your drive space - delete Windows!
|
||
|
||
Everybody stand back, he's got a MAGNET!
|
||
|
||
Everything's falling into place - on top of me.
|
||
|
||
I won't rise to the occasion, but I'll slide over to it.
|
||
|
||
Boldly going forward because we can't find reverse.
|
||
|
||
Karaoke is the Japanese word for "tone deaf."
|
||
|
||
Sinead O'Connor: a chia pet before adding water.
|
||
|
||
The is abuse. Arguments are down the hall.
|
||
|
||
What is a "free gift?" Aren't all gifts free?
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-1 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Masthead:
|
||
|
||
Editor & Publisher: Dave Bealer
|
||
|
||
Associate Editor: Greg Borek
|
||
|
||
Contributing Editors: Ray Koziel, Vincent B. Navarino
|
||
|
||
Logo Design: Kelly Price
|
||
|
||
Contact: The Puffin's Nest BBS
|
||
FidoNet: 1:261/1129 (1200-14400/V.32bis)
|
||
BBS: (410) 437-3463 (1200-16800/HST)
|
||
Internet: dave.bealer@rah.clark.net
|
||
greg.borek@rah.clark.net
|
||
|
||
Regular Mail: (Only if you have no other way to reach us!)
|
||
Random Access Humor
|
||
c/o Dave Bealer
|
||
P.O. Box 595
|
||
Pasadena, MD. 21122 USA
|
||
|
||
>> Legal Junk <<
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor (RAH) is published ten times a year (September -
|
||
June) by Dave Bealer as a disservice to the online community.
|
||
Although the publisher's BBS may be a part of one or more networks at
|
||
any time, RAH is not affiliated with any BBS network or online
|
||
service. RAH is a compilation of individual articles contributed by
|
||
their authors. The contribution of articles to this compilation does
|
||
not diminish the rights of the authors. The opinions expressed in
|
||
RAH are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the
|
||
publisher.
|
||
|
||
This entire publication is a work of satire (except for these legal
|
||
bits here). If anyone takes offense to something published herein,
|
||
the fault (a lack of a sense of humor) lies with them and not with
|
||
the magazine. The editors and publisher will not be held responsible
|
||
for the use or misuse of any information contained in this magazine.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor is Copyright 1994 Dave Bealer. All Rights
|
||
Reserved. Duplication and/or distribution is permitted for non-
|
||
commercial purposes only. RAH may not be distributed on diskette or
|
||
in hardcopy form for a fee without express written permission from the
|
||
publisher. For any other use, contact the publisher.
|
||
|
||
RAH may only be distributed in unaltered form. Online systems whose
|
||
users cannot access the original binary archive file may offer it for
|
||
viewing or download in text format, provided the original text is not
|
||
modified. Readers may produce hard copies of RAH or backup copies on
|
||
diskette for their own personal use only. RAH may not be distributed
|
||
in combination with any other publication or product.
|
||
|
||
Many of the brands and products mentioned in RAH are trademarks of
|
||
their respective owners.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-2 April 1994
|
||
|
||
>> Where to Get RAH <<
|
||
|
||
Copies of the current issue of RAH may be obtained by manual download
|
||
or Wazoo/EMSI File Request from The Puffin's Nest BBS (FREQ: RAH), or
|
||
from various sites in several BBS networks. Back issues of RAH may
|
||
be obtained by download or file request from The Puffin's Nest BBS.
|
||
|
||
Internet users may obtain RAH back issues as UUENCODED files attached
|
||
to e-mail. Free subscriptions are also available via mailing lists.
|
||
For more info, send an e-mail message to: rahinfo@rah.clark.net
|
||
The subject line and body can contain anything or be blank.
|
||
|
||
RAH is also available on the Internet via FTP:
|
||
|
||
etext.archive.umich.edu (192.131.22.7) dir: /pub/Zines/RAH
|
||
(ASCII Text edition compressed with gzip)
|
||
|
||
ftp.clark.net (198.17.243.2) dir: /ftp/pub/rah
|
||
(ASCII Text edition uncompressed - RAHyymm.TXT)
|
||
(ASCII Text edition compressed with ZIP - RAHyymm.ZIP)
|
||
(READROOM.TOC edition compressed with ZIP - RAHyymmR.ZIP)
|
||
|
||
>> Writing For RAH <<
|
||
|
||
Article contributions to RAH are always welcome. All submissions
|
||
must be made electronically. File attach your article to a netmail
|
||
message to Dave Bealer at 1:261/1129. E-mail (with file attaches)
|
||
may also be sent via Internet to: dave.bealer@rah.clark.net
|
||
|
||
Tagline and filler submissions may be made via e-mail. Article
|
||
submissions should be made via file. Submitted files must be plain
|
||
ASCII text files in normal MS-DOS file format: artname.RAH; where
|
||
artname is a descriptive file name and RAH is the mandatory
|
||
extension. If your article does not conform to these simple specs,
|
||
it may get lost or trashed. Also note that such imaginative names as
|
||
RAH.RAH might get overlaid by the blatherings of similarly minded
|
||
contributors. If your hardware is incapable of producing file names
|
||
in the proper format, you may send your article as one or more e-mail
|
||
messages. As the volume of mail increases it may not be possible to
|
||
make personalized responses to all submissions or correspondence
|
||
received.
|
||
|
||
The editors reserve the right to publish or not to publish any
|
||
submission as/when they see fit. The editors also reserve the right
|
||
to "edit", or modify any submission prior to publication. This last
|
||
right will rarely be used, typically only to correct spelling or
|
||
grammar misteaks that are not funny. RAH is a PG rated publication,
|
||
so keep it (mostly) clean.
|
||
|
||
RAH can accept only the following types of material for publication:
|
||
1) Any material in the public domain.
|
||
2) Material for which you own the copyright, or represent the copy-
|
||
right holder. If you wrote it yourself, you are automatically the
|
||
copyright holder.
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-3 April 1994
|
||
|
||
In writing jargon, RAH is deemed to be given "One Time Rights" to
|
||
anything submitted for publication unless otherwise noted in the
|
||
message accompanying the contribution. You still own the material,
|
||
and RAH will make no use of the material other than publishing it
|
||
electronically in the usual manner. Your article may be selected for
|
||
publication in a planned "Best of RAH" electronic book. If you want
|
||
your copyright notice to appear in your article, place it as desired
|
||
in the text you submit. Previously published articles may be
|
||
submitted, but proper acknowledgement must be included: periodical
|
||
name, date of previous publication.
|
||
|
||
RAH Distribution System:
|
||
(Sites bearing the <contrib> designation will accept your
|
||
contributions and forward them to the editors.)
|
||
(All these systems would be good places to find sysops with a sense
|
||
of humor...seemingly a rarity these days.)
|
||
|
||
The Puffin's Nest Pasadena, MD. Sysop: Dave Bealer
|
||
FidoNet> 1:261/1129 (410) 437-3463 16800 (HST/Dual)
|
||
<contrib>
|
||
Current RAH Issue (text format): FReq: RAH
|
||
Current RAH Issue (Readroom format): FReq: RAHR
|
||
Back Issues of RAH: (text) FReq: RAHyymm.ZIP
|
||
(RAH9209.ZIP for premiere issue)
|
||
Back Issues of RAH: (Readroom) FReq: RAHyymmR.ZIP
|
||
(RAH9302R.ZIP and later only)
|
||
Complete Writers Guidelines: FReq: RAHWRITE
|
||
Complete Distributor Info: FReq: RAHDIST
|
||
|
||
RAH Gateway Systems:
|
||
|
||
Pooh's Corner Fells Point, MD. Sysop: Mark Truelove
|
||
FidoNet> 1:261/1131 (410) 327-9263 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
RBBSnet> 8:936/206 FilNet> 33:410/0 CandyNet> 42:1031/1
|
||
<contrib>
|
||
|
||
H*A*L Muskogee, OK. Sysop: Lloyd Hatley
|
||
FidoNet> 1:3813/304 (918) 682-7337 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
RFNet> 73:102/1 RANet> 72:918/21 LuvNet> 77:101/1
|
||
DoorNet> 75:7918/205 <contrib>
|
||
|
||
The Shop Mail Only Flushing, NY. Sysop: Steve Matzura
|
||
FidoNet> 1:2603/203 (718) 460-0201 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
ADAnet> 94:7180/1 JayNet> 17:99/100 WorldNet 62:4400/200
|
||
MusicNet.FTN> 88:8001/12 <mail only - no BBS)
|
||
|
||
Cyberdrome Philadelphia, PA. Sysop: Mike Taylor
|
||
FidoNet> 1:273/937 (215) 923-8026 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
PodsNet> 93:9600/2 <contrib>
|
||
|
||
Abiogenesis Kansas City, MO. Sysop: Scott Lent
|
||
FidoNet> 1:280/310 (816) 734-4732 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
VirNet> 9:103/110 MailNet> 20:416/310 SuperNet> 43:1315/102
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-4 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Datanet BBS Voorschoten, Netherlands Sysop: Ed Bakker
|
||
FidoNet> 2:281/101 31-71-617784 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
Digital-Net> 15:200/512 MomNet> 71:2000/2
|
||
|
||
SoftCom Online Istanbul, Turkey Sysop: Tolga Yurderi
|
||
FidoNet> 2:430/1 90-1-2572790 16800 (HST/Dual)
|
||
GlobalNet> 52:9000/1 IntlNet> 57:90/1 HiTNeT> 102:1001/5
|
||
|
||
The Vision BBS Keflavik, Iceland Sysop: Jon Karlsson
|
||
FidoNet> 2:391/20 354-2-14626 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
IceInet> 354:2/10
|
||
|
||
Incredible BBS Burleson, TX. Sysop: Don Teague
|
||
FidoNet> 1:130/82 (817) 447-2598 14400 (HST/Dual)
|
||
USPolNet> 30:603/103
|
||
|
||
The Harddisk Cafe Nidderau, Germany Sysop: Bernd Hohmann
|
||
FidoNet> 2:2465/317 49-6187-21739 19200 (Z19)
|
||
FidoClassic> 2:248/317 Gamesnet> 144:4906/153 BasNet> 255:1000/0
|
||
|
||
The Next Level Scarborough, ON, Canada Sysop: James FitzGibbon
|
||
FidoNet> 1:250/301 (416) 299-1164 19200 (Z19)
|
||
ZyXELnet> 18:105/301 ibmNet> 40:6482/301 NAnet> 81:416/520
|
||
<contrib>
|
||
|
||
Didi's Place Dearborn Heights, MI. Sysop: Diane Pahl
|
||
FidoNet> 1:2410/120 (313) 563-8940 14400 (V.32bis)
|
||
W-Net_fts> 66:636/0 CrossNet> 73:4100/3 SEMSOGNt> 94:101/0
|
||
<contrib>
|
||
|
||
RAH Official Distribution Sites:
|
||
|
||
-= AUSTRALIA =-
|
||
Northern Territory
|
||
Images Unlimited Darwin 3:850/110 61-89-41-1630 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Victoria
|
||
The Flying Circus Highett 3:635/555 61-3-532-5224 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= BELGIUM =-
|
||
Proteus/2 Brussels 2:291/711 32-2-3752539 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= CANADA =-
|
||
Ontario
|
||
Typecast BBS Kingston 1:249/107 (613) 545-9148 V.32bis
|
||
The Next Level Scarborough 1:250/301 (416) 299-1164 Z19
|
||
Echo Valley Vanier 1:243/26 (613) 749-1016 HST
|
||
|
||
-= FRANCE =-
|
||
The Data Zone Versailles 2:320/218 33-1-39633662 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= GERMANY =-
|
||
The Harddisk Cafe Nidderau 2:244/1682 49-6187-21739 Z19
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-5 April 1994
|
||
|
||
-= ICELAND =-
|
||
The Vision BBS Keflavik 2:391/20 354-2-14626 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= ITALY =-
|
||
Temple of Knowledge Rome (NoFido) 39-6-546880 Z19
|
||
|
||
-= NETHERLANDS =-
|
||
BIB Aalten Aalten 2:283/401 31-54-3774203 V.32bis
|
||
BBS Sussudio Denhaag 2:281/517 31-70-3212177 HST/Dual
|
||
Midkemia BBS Denhaag (MomNet) 31-70-3361872 V.32bis
|
||
TouchDown Hoofddorp 2:280/401 31-2503-24677 HST/Dual
|
||
Bommel's BBS Schiedam 2:285/800 31-10-4700939 V.32bis
|
||
Pleasure BBS Utrecht 2:281/705 31-30-934123 V.32bis
|
||
Datanet BBS Voorschoten 2:281/101 31-71-617784 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= PORTUGAL =-
|
||
The Mail House II Loures 2:362/29 351-1-9890140 V.32bis
|
||
The MAD BBS V.N.Gaia 2:363/9 351-2-3706922 V.32
|
||
|
||
-= SAUDI ARABIA =-
|
||
MidEast Connection Riyadh (NoFido) 966-1-4410075 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= SLOVENIA =-
|
||
R.I.S.P. Ljubljana 2:380/103 38-61-199400 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
-= UNITED STATES =-
|
||
Alabama
|
||
J & J Online Chickasaw 1:3625/440 (205) 457-5901 V.32bis
|
||
Digital Publ. Assoc Birmingham (NoFido) (205) 854-1660 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
California
|
||
InfoMat BBS San Clemente (P&BNet) (714) 492-8727 HST/Dual
|
||
Automation Central San Jose 1:143/110 (408) 435-2886 V.32bis
|
||
The Software Station Saugus 1:102/1106 (805) 296-9056 V.32
|
||
Marin County Net Sausalito 1:125/55 (415) 331-6241 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Connecticut
|
||
ModemNews Express Stamford (P&BNet) (203) 359-2299 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Florida
|
||
Ruby's Joint Coconut Grove 1:135/373 (305) 856-4897 V.32bis
|
||
The Software Cuisine Miami 1:135/57 (305) 642-0754 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Hawaii
|
||
Casa de la Chinchilla Honolulu (NoFido) (808) 845-1303 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Idaho
|
||
Phantasia BBS Boise 1:347/25 (208) 939-2530 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Illinois
|
||
The Crossroads BBS Chicago 1:115/743 (312) 587-8756 HST/Dual
|
||
The Loonatic Fringe Elk Grove 1:115/542 (708) 290-8877 V.32
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-6 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Indiana
|
||
Digicom Evansville 1:2310/200 (812) 479-1310 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Maryland
|
||
Wit-Tech Baltimore 1:261/1082 (410) 256-0170 V.32bis
|
||
Outside the Wall Baltimore 1:261/1093 (410) 665-1855 V.32
|
||
The File Exchange Cockeysville 1:2617/104 (410) 628-7243 HST/Dual
|
||
Pooh's Corner Fells Point 1:261/1131 (410) 327-9263 V.32bis
|
||
Cybersystems Frederick 1:109/713 (301) 662-8948 V.32bis
|
||
Robin's Nest Glen Burnie (P&BNet) (410) 766-9756 V.32
|
||
The Puffin's Nest Pasadena 1:261/1129 (410) 437-3463 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Michigan
|
||
Didi's Place Dearborn Heights 1:2410/120 (313) 563-8940 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Mississippi
|
||
Ranch & Cattle South Columbus (NoFido) (601) 328-6486 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Missouri
|
||
Abiogenesis Kansas City 1:280/310 (816) 734-4732 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
New Mexico
|
||
High Mesa Publishing Los Lunas 1:317/100 (505) 865-8385 V.32
|
||
Paula's House of Mail Los Lunas 1:317/317 (505) 865-4082 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
New York
|
||
The Shop Mail Only Flushing 1:2603/203 (mail only) V.32bis
|
||
The Wall-2 Middle Village 1:278/612 (718) 335-8784 HST/Dual
|
||
Particle Board 3 Monroe 1:272/60 (914) 783-2455 V.32
|
||
Computers & Dreams New York (NoFido) (212) 888-6565 V.32bis
|
||
ASB Ronkonkoma (NoFido) (516) 471-8625 V.32bis
|
||
Dome Ideas BBS Yonkers 1:272/104 (914) 968-2205 HST
|
||
|
||
Oklahoma
|
||
H*A*L Muskogee 1:3813/304 (918) 682-7337 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Oregon
|
||
Bitter Butter Better Tigard 1:105/290 (503) 620-0307 V.32
|
||
|
||
Pennsylvania
|
||
Writer's Biz Greenville 1:2601/522 (412) 588-7863 V.32bis
|
||
Cyberdrome Philadelphia 1:273/937 (215) 923-8026 V.32bis
|
||
Milliways Pittsburgh 1:129/179 (412) 766-1086 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Texas
|
||
Sunlight Thru Shadows Addison (P&BNet) (214) 620-8793 V.32bis
|
||
Incredible BBS Burleson 1:130/82 (817) 447-2598 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Utah
|
||
Vital Signs Midvale 1:311/20 (801) 255-8909 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Random Access Humor Page A-7 April 1994
|
||
|
||
Virginia
|
||
Pen & Brush Burke (P&BNet) (703) 644-5196 V.32bis
|
||
Data Empire Fredericksburg 1:274/31 (703) 785-0422 V.32bis
|
||
Flying Dutchman Newport News 1:271/237 (804) 595-9383 V.32bis
|
||
The Time Machine Newport News 1:271/236 (804) 599-6401 HST/Dual
|
||
|
||
Washington
|
||
Spokane Online Spokane 1:346/20 (509) 327-8540 V.32bis
|
||
Dragon's Cave Tacoma 1:138/198 (206) 752-4160 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
West Virginia
|
||
Blue Powder BBS St. Albans (NoFido) (304) 727-6733 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
Wisconsin
|
||
The First Step BBS Green Bay 1:139/540 (414) 499-6646 V.32bis
|
||
|
||
=====================================================================
|
||
|
||
Although not official RAH distributors, the following large
|
||
commercial systems carry RAH. (Uploaded by the editor himself.)
|
||
|
||
Channel 1 Cambridge, MA. (617) 354-8873 (Readroom)
|
||
|
||
EXEC-PC Elm Grove, WI. (414) 789-4210 (Readroom)
|
||
|
||
SPACE Menlo Park, CA. (415) 323-4193
|
||
|
||
Software Creations Clinton, MA. (508) 368-4137 |