I'd like to send warm thanks to all who contribute knowledge here. My problem now is that I can't stop reading this site! Call me sheltered but I haven't seen such a profusion of intelligence since college. I need get off here and work on preparations...

Puddintame, do you have a genius I.Q.?

And Diane, hope no hard feelings about the Clinton issue. I know I got carried away and may have adopted a condecending attitude. You however, are a worthy opponent, and have caused me to rethink the proof threshold.

Michael = Ghandi.

Andy, well read, informed, persuasive.

Does anyone else need to set a timer to keep from staying on too long?

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999

Answers

AES,

Not starry-eyed and naive. Just appreciate informed debate on y2k, Clinton, the relationship between the two, et cetera. Can't have a passionate argument with friends or family on these issues because they know nothing about them. I'm working on it.

Yes, there are many different personality types here. Survivalist, programmer, skeptic, historian, fanatic. Me: open minded. I spend a significant amount on car insurance, but don't expect to get in an accident. The chances are higher that y2k will cause inconvenience, so I "buy insurance."

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999.

Mabel,

I too want to welcome you to the Y2K cult. The difference is that I'm NOT being sarcastic. Since E has departed that sort of leaves Nikoli and myself as the resident wacko-freaks. So from the extreem of the extreem: Welcome.

At to knowledge. I contend that the knowledge pool here FAR exceeds ANYWHERE else on the web. And there are some dam brite folks here. Just having the knowledge is of little value. What you do with it can be of great (even life saving) value.

And to AES2010,

If I look around me at the world at large (won't go into long list of attributes, would be rudundant if you follow this board) and observe where most people "are" it makes me glad to proclaim myself one of the "freaks". Both my religious and political views are so far from the norm and soooo politically incorrect that by the "normal" yardstick - you betcha I'm a freak and a cultist. (Whatever the hell cultist means.)

So Mabel, there's the "ugly" social side of association with the extreemists. I, and I think most others here are working hard and sharing all the knowledge that time allows to be EXTREEMLY alive post roll-over.

And, no, the ol Bear doesn't know how to get off this thing very easy either.

-- Greybear, wacko extraordinaire

- Got Will-to-Live?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), February 17, 1999.

Is that a troll, that AES? I do believe it is, why yes! Best to send him on his way No answer to his post, I say! Keep him from his favorite play Of kicking folks who think this way.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 17, 1999.

Mabel,

It's very easy to get off-line from this forum. I do it msyelf, dozens of times a day.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 17, 1999.

Greybear,

FWIW, I've never seen you or Nikoli (or even E. Coli for that matter--he just lacked an up close and personal knowledge of the military) as "wackos". More like realists IMO.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), February 17, 1999.

Where did E. go?

-- Franklin Journier (ready4y2k@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999.

Hi Mabel, yeah, this site can be a bit overwhelming - the thing is to learn which posters generally have something of interest and then pick and choose which posts to read...

AES,

once again you are misinformed - preparations for y2k are happening in cities and towns around the United States. Churches, local community organizations, businesses, and informal groups of friends and neighbors are all beginning to prepare. The interesting thing about your statement though is that it indicates that you are only aware of what goes on within the confines of the internet. Perhaps the solution to your problem is to get out and start associating with others a bit more. Yes it can be scary - your defensive attitudes indicate you've been hurt before - but so have we all, that's part of growing up. None the less, you accomplish neither healing for yourself nor help for others, simply by lashing out anonymously on internet discussion forums.

and yes, by the way, I have done post graduate level work in psychology.

Arlin Adams

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), February 17, 1999.

O.G. you sound like Dr. Seuss! oh gee, another poet's loose! so what is it you try to say? does rhyming chase the trolls away?

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), February 17, 1999.

Arlin, don't know if trolls are chased/But seems we have more time to waste/Than them on spinning silly verse/(It makes their crap look even worse}/So keep it up and make it funny/Turn the mood from sour to sunny!

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 17, 1999.

"Yeah well the funny thing is that no where else in the world does this "well informed debate" take place....The rest of the real world doesn't care one bit about this mythical Y2K disatser scenario because it doesn't exist!"

AES, the "freaks" are naturally attracted to one another, the same as sheeples are. Since there's very few of us, it is difficult for us to find one another outside the internet.

So please, leave us freaks alone, and go back to your herd ok?

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 17, 1999.

Obviously the troll is also addicted to this Forum ;^) In addition he's part of trolls anonymous. He's an extremist in that he repeatedly denegrates those sensible responsible citizens with whom he does not agree. Nobody is forcing him to stick his poisonous darts here, but he feels an inner drive and messiah mission to derail our prudent sharing of self-sufficient life-support tips. Or maybe he's just getting paid by the cloaked PR spinners; far less noble than a troll spoiler addiction. Could he be a soul-sold "chummy" baiter? A crawling trawling troll?

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 17, 1999.

there once was a troll on this board who said we were crazy to hoard but to all our dismay he just won't go away his letters should just be ignored

OK, I never said I was good at this.

-- (rick@ina.com), February 17, 1999.

Hey, look, there's a nicely done lim'rick/It's clear that you're not at all dim, Rick/Your meter is tight/Your sentiment right/Please say this is not just a whim, Rick.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 17, 1999.

For Hardliners eyes ONLY,

Yea, me too. It is just easier and avoids all the pointless discussion with the DGIs to confess to being wacko. Since I don't really give a rip about their opinion of extreemity anyway. I do and will listen to cogent, well thought out opinions. I just don't have the patience to get into pissing contests about "how" extreem this or that opinion is.

The posts here since mine earlier prove my point exquisetly.

I do however have this nagging sense that it may be an error to lean-into their derrision. There may be some in the middle of the curve who might be persuaded by less polemic retoric. But then there are other voices here better than mine to present the reasonable case, yours among them.

-- Greybear

- Got Patience?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), February 17, 1999.

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000UdL

"Y2K news articles and items for newcomers"

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 17, 1999.

There was a young man on the net Who felt that the best Y2K bet Was to insist that his view Was the only one true While others so foolishly fret.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), February 17, 1999.

Ya know, AES, I was into money laundrying too once - left it in my blue jean pockets. The dimes and pennies were pretty clean, but the dollars were in bad shape. Hope you had better luck.....do those soccer uniforms get as dirty as baseball trousers after sliding in red clay?

Mabel: Combined intelligence here? Who knows? I learn by reading and getting corrected, but the disciple of reading (and keeping an open, but very skeptical mind) is important. Please remember, we don't know what will happen - no one does, no one has been through this before. (Though I've been hundred feet underwater in a hot engineroom - no power, no phones, no outside help, no lights, no reactor, no diesel, no fresh air, no air conditioning or fans, hooked to emergency breathing apperatus hoses, and trying to fight fires. Others I know had similar cases - except the fire was casued by flooding in the huge battery compartment directly under the torpedo room - so hot that the steel plates holding the torpedoes buckled and began to distort. .

It ain't a pretty feeling. It does force you to understand how complex things - usually so reliable all the time we don't even notice that we are dependent on them - can fail utterly at the most unusual times.

And they will fail in so many wierd and wonderful ways. I don't think we are preparing for the actual things that will go wrong next year - the most troublesome things will be those we haven't expected. So hopefully, by preparing for what is expected under worst-case/middle-of-worse-case/not-so-bad-case conditions, I'll have a chance at managing the "what was that, and where the hell did it come from?" conditions.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), February 17, 1999.

Robert,

You have hit the nail directly on the head.

This is GOOD. The view of the future that orients toward all those "unknowables" is the more usefull view. The more of the knowables - food, medicine, heat, etc. - we can cover the smaller the set of unknowables gets. And certainly, as you so aptly pointed out, there *will* be those events. The phrase Future Ghosts came to mind.

Excellent point, Robert. But it will probably play best to GIs.

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), February 17, 1999.

Get the personal and community preparedness "basics" covered, expect the unexpected, and be ready to dance on shifting sands. (Or shifting silicon?).

mabel, no hard feelings at all! This is an intelligent debate group, everyone! Well, almost. Trolls are still minus a few synapses.

Now, if only I could get offline too ... there's just one more thread to read and just one more link to search out ...

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999.

Is it just me, or does every troll that posts here just spout the same propagandist crap that you hear on the evening news. Just goes to show that if they keep repeating their mantra "Any one who disagrees with our slant on the news is an extremist" the sheep will pick it up and use it as their own, practically verbatim.

-- RB (R@AR.COM), February 17, 1999.

I echo Franklin - where did E. go??

-- Why2K? (who@knows.com), February 17, 1999.

R.B.,

no it ain't just you. There are a couple of possibilities in that regard - we've spotted a couple of different rather slick disinformation types who've pulled up their tents and left, once they were called on it...but a lot of the stuff we see from trolls seems more of the AES type - poorly socialized adolescent males who seem to seek emotional pain through arguing impossible positions.

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), February 17, 1999.

Mabel,

Welcome to the community! I've been hanging around for almost a year now and still read the posts almost daily. I used to share my ignorance more frequently, but lately I've just been lurking, reading the excellent ideas, opinions, prognostications (and limericks) of the more eloquent among us. You will find much hard information on preparation in older threads, and please don't hesitate to ask questions. That's how most of the rest of us have come to realize how much we do not know.

The forum right now is somewhat strange. I think that most of us are well into our preparations, and mostly come to get the latest news; to see if any trip-wires have been broken, so to speak. And a lot of new concepts are being discussed. I'm always amazed at how conversation, even ciber-conversation, can induce us to see into others' lives. I truely feel that I have friends here. I recognize the particular wisdom of each of many posters, Greybear, Puddintaim, Robt. Cook, Leska, Diane, Hardliner, many more. I'm delighted to see old friends re-surface after a period of silence. I even get a chuckle from the transparent adolesence of the Trolls (sometimes).

So, hang around, tell us enough that we know you a little, and share your particular knowledge, paranoia, hopes or dreads with us. After all, that's why we came, too.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 17, 1999.

Hi Lon! I want to post much more news, as that is worth going over more than the strange trough stuff we're in now, but so many squeak if the text is included, but ignore it if not. Gotten 13 "Not Founds" today when clicking hot links. So, what I'm doing for news is going to

Y2K News

and going thru the articles when I have time. LOTS very pertinent there! Go to red box on left and choose News Archives and scroll down. Amazing.

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 17, 1999.

Hi Mabel. I've only been here for about 2 weeks and I know how you feel. I've spent the last 31 years in front of a screen, and now find myself staying up too late checking things out here, and find myself coming here during breaks at work. Allow me to quote Greybear earlier in this thread:

"At to knowledge. I contend that the knowledge pool here FAR exceeds ANYWHERE else on the web."

What else is there to say. As for AES2010, don't waste your time. I know it's a hopeless cause, but I'm working on him. Just make sure you cover your own bases. <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999.

Robert A. Cook P.E. You simply amaze me. The more I read you, the deeper my respect. You displaly wisdom, on many, not necessarily (sp) related subjects. I envy you. And know you will help more of us to survive. Thank you for being you. Still down below you......

-- Charon (Thatplace@downbelow.com), February 17, 1999.

Thanks, Leska.

I too, have bookmarked several y2k news compilation sites. The trouble is, that the news is only as reliable as the writer. That's why this forum is so valuable - I have read enough to know who to believe on which topic here. I mean, we have some very good minds with years of experience in several very pertinent fields. ('course, we also have Uncle D - just kidding) Maybe it's laziness on my part, but it's really so good to get that news story after it's been digested by Big Dog or Greybear, or any one of the others who know what goes on inside of this little grey box.

I've noticed a lot of threads and answers from you in the last two or three months, and I'd like to say to you that I thank you for your effort. Many threads are so very well thought-out, so concise and definative. We really have a unique cross section of intellegence here, and were it not for y2k, I'd still enjoy all of you and be enlightened by you. Wow, am I gettin' mellow or what? It must be lonely on the bayou tonight!

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 17, 1999.

Lon, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Unc just said goodbye. :_( Hopefully to return for visits now and then...

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), February 18, 1999.

Greybear and Hardliner, Hey, I resemble that!! But seriously we have lost a valuable asset in E. Coli, I am nowhere near as articulate or well educated as he and had come to depend on him to pick up the torch when the level of discussion exceeded my grasp. I feel like a child whose parents have cast him into the deep end of the pool without the life jacket he provided. I think we are all three cut from the same cloth.

Hardliner represents young Lancelot at Arthur's court, Noble, courageous, and slightly naive. Honor, truth, and duty are his code. Standing so close to the flame he is partially blinded by its brilliance.

Greybear and I stand back from the pyre, and muse that what is burning so brightly is our future. Authur exhorts his knights to hold back the serfs as the last logs of freedom are cast to the pit, and the darkness encroaches from the cold night without.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), February 18, 1999.

Nikoli,

Thanks for the chuckle. You'll never know how willingly I'd trade your fantasy's description of me for the reality I live in.

The flame you write of is not burning very brightly. It is freedom's flame and a lot of men in our government are standing in a circle around it and pissing on it, trying to make it go out. The have a shield around them, which ironically is the Constitution. They methodically attack it while using it as a weapon against those who honor it. They are the enemy. A few of them wear a military uniform, but not many. Such men have existed in all armies throughout history and such men are universally despised and marked by true warriors. When the time comes for action, these men will no longer be a problem.

Nik, your heart's certainly in the right place, but you are sadly lacking in accurate information about the military, and not just our military either. I noticed one of your posts that imagined a Russian armored unit being "moved into place" for something or other and reference to Soviet Mig aircraft engaging American air forces in combat. Not only not likely, it is simply not within the capability of the Russians to do that. Their fleet is dispersed and rusting away and leaking harmful contaminants into the world around them. Their aircraft are being sold for a pitiful few dollars in hard currency and even being hauled away by teams of horses. Their armies are gutted and the remnants are not being paid. That is the reality of it.

Now the ICBMs are another story. They may have peeled the hammer and sickle stickers off of the sides, but the targeting mechanisms can still be dialed to any coordinates on the planet.

Your conception of how our government actually functions regarding inter agency cooperation is an accurate representation of the dream that many political operatives hold. In reality, the government is nowhere near so monolithic. If it were, all that we both fear would have transpired long ago.

I'm certain that you and I share common ideals and goals. I'm also certain that you are operating with "bad data" in many regards. I try very hard to be sure that my opinions are not presented as fact, and that the facts that I know to be real are identified as such. I would suggest to you that you need to get better data about the reality of our government. We are obviously on different paths, but I would like to think that we will both arrive at a common objective. We'll both find the way easier with accurate intelligence about our common enemy. I suggest that it is in your intelligent self interest to obtain such information.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), February 18, 1999.

Wellllll now, Sir Hard of the Liner, I'd like to remind you that they build them rough and repairable in the good ole Use-to-be-SR, capable of being used by roughly trained, poorly equipped soldiers and rebels working in very harse conditions. So the basic hardware (AK-47's, T34's, 55, 62, 72, etc) are likely to run as long as they have ammo and gas. (Not well maybe, but likelty to able to run.)

The ICBM's and nukes (more complex) are more likely to fail - but stillonly one or two need work for massive problems to occur. Unfortunately, now we must rely on the KGB heirs to maintain control of the nuke weapons over there.

Frightening thought isn't it? We must trust our safety to the KGB.

Anyway, also compare the "rate" a military power can rebuild itself - look at Germany from nothing allowed at all in military arms in 1930: fighting a famine and internal depression since the 1920's, and a worldwide depression since 1929.

But six years later they were a fairly strong power (greater than the US), and eight years later were credibly the strongest power in Europe. (Chamberlin in some ways was right about appeasement f tyrants - they could not have fought over Chec/Slovakia and the Sudentland in 1937-38 - Britain would likely have lost.)

But now, Russia has almost all of its former military structure in still in place, its just a "little" rusty. Not yet sunk or destroyed. Worse, its soldiers and airmaen and navy officers are not paid, not fed, not clothed or sheltered. Will they continue to stay on the job defending nuclear weapons from aggresive agents who will give the guards gold to "look the other way".

(I, for one, hope it stays that way, and keeps getting more "rusty".) Polished weapons in trained, desperate hands are more likely to be used than inaccesible rusty weapons.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), February 18, 1999.

**SHHHMMMAACK!!**

Pardon my interruption Hardliner, Robert and Nickoli, had to swat that fly. Pesky critters. Please continue your discussion, very interesting.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 18, 1999.

Robert,

Your information about the durability and utility of the Soviet hardware is entirely relevant and absolutely correct. I would note also that your comments regarding ammo and gas are also pertinent.

As far as I know, the former Yugoslavia was the heart and soul of the former Soviet "ammo" industry. Also, from what I've heard, the Russian oil industry is in pretty sad shape. My perception is that the Russian bear, although seriously malnourished, missing an eye and carrying quite a few scars, still has a lot of teeth and claws, even if he can't range over the same territory that he once did.

As for their navy, I have seen footage of Soviet submarines, aground on mud flats, some partially capsized with visible leakage from their hulls into the water. I don't remember if this was on the History Channel, CNN's Cold War series, or somewhere else. It is, of course, unverified information. Do you have any knowledge of this?

Also, I read somewhere, of the admiral in charge of some stuck-in-port-for-lack-of-fuel Russian naval vessels (some of which were nuclear powered) having to send a detachment of Russian Marines into the city in order to turn the electricity back on to the vessels (it had supposedly been cut for non-payment of same). Again, I can't cite just where I read this, and it too, is unverified. Have you heard anything similar?

Finally, didn't Russian split up the Black Sea fleet with the Ukraine?

Your observations about the ICBMs and nukes are on target as well. And, as you say, only a few are a big problem. I suggest that the Russians have devoted as many resources as they can to maintaining these, even to the detriment of other parts of their weapons inventory.

As for rebuilding, I'm sure that it's a very high priority for Russia. The model of Hitler's Germany is a good example of just how fast it can happen and should also be a warning about "Sadly Insane" and his ambitions. I suspect that the mindset of the Russians has not markedly changed with regard to choosing between the populace and the military when it comes to resources either, but do you think that they are currently making much progress? All that I've come across indicates that they're still doing triage on their inventory to generate hard currency (note the recent sale of an aircraft carrier to China).

The guards and the gold? I'm afraid that we both know the answer to that one.

And speaking of gold, I believe that E. Coli's globalist bankers hold the answers to when and to what extent Russia will be allowed to rearm. At least, history would suggest such.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), February 18, 1999.

WOW! Was that a flame? Does this mean I get my official "net-warrior" badge? I think AES is upset because I said I sometimes get a chuckle from the "transparent adolescence" of the Trolls.

Well, in reality, I wasn't talking about you, AES, as I've actually seen you make some points. But since you volunteer for the position....

As to my being a dishonorable greybeard of advanced age and obviously treacherous; well, yes. As you say, I've gone around the block, and I've paid to see the beast on more than one occasion. But in the long run, I've probably not gained much wisdom. Actually. When I was young (like you, I think) I was MUCH wiser than I am now. I always thought I'd grow to be a beloved old gent, kind to dogs, and attractive to children. You know, kinda a cross between Grandpa Walton and a skinny Burl Ives. Well, it turns out I'm just older and tired-er, and my looks actually frighten pre-teen girls. I started work when I was 12, put myself through a couple of degrees, founded a couple of corporations., made a couple of millions (lost a couple of millions), and I still haven't cabbaged up any real store of wisdom. I come here to gather information and maybe to increase my understanding of what I percieve to be a serious problem. Hopefully, this information gleaned from all our talented, experienced, and knowledgable posters, and yes even from you, will help me to plot a course of safety for a child I care deeply about. Maybe, just once, I'll actually be first out of the blocks. I'm really getting too old to be learning all my lessons the hard way, which seems to be my norm.

In a couple of weeks it'll be Spring on my bayou. The bald cypress are already stirring in their slumber, and the wild irises will be showing off directly. And you know what? You've convinced me; I'll not strive for wisdom for a while. I think I'll get my sweetheart of the last thirty years, get into the canoe, and try to recover a little "adolescent activity" of my own.

In leaving, I'll just give you my best shot at a pearl of wisdom. May it serve you well, as it has me- "Never eat doughnuts made by a one- armed man".

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 18, 1999.

Actually, I was somehow under the impression that AES was a woman. FWIW.

Mabel, welcome to the looney bin! Sorry your welcome here got kinda ripped off by all this trollery :(and puffery? ;), but you've strolled around the grounds, so you must know how it works. As for getting offline? Well, why don't you just do what I do; have a dedicated line at work AND at home, leave your computers turned on all the time, then you NEVER have to go off-line!

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 18, 1999.

Hey Sir Lon of the Frank - can I help you find those millions you lost?

I'm sure they're somewhere near gramma's missing check, Rob's lost red sock, and the stealth rubber duckies. With all this talent - I'm sure we'll find them before the IRS finishes remediation.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), February 19, 1999.

Robert,

Lord knows I need the help. I doubt we'll find the millions (note I didn't say millions of what), but at least you can rest assured I didn't fall for some everyday shill like the stock market. No Siree, Bob (may I call you Bob?); I lost it with good old down-home, bone- deep stupidity. (Of course I had a little help from the legal community) Anyway, all I meant in my post above is that you don't necessarily need to be born with a boat load of smarts to accomplish some little things.

But now, since I was foolish enough to wade into this mess, I not only have to live with the stigma of being a devious old curmudgeon, but now also the public ridicule of being "puffery" (pshaw, pshannon, puffery? moi?)

Well, I'll make a deal with you folks on the other end of the intellectual teeter-totter from me. You keep on with your excellent, informative posts, and I'll shut my yap and fade back into the cyber- wallpaper where I belong. And at the risk of being redundant as well as a curmudgeon (sorry, I just like that word!), I'll say again, I sincerely appreciate your posts.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 19, 1999.

To future perviewers (perverse veiwers ?) of this thread - there was a bit of editing here and there to clean out a few problems related to various "AES" comments. The smell of the residue linger, but Leska's flyswatter did its job beautifully. Hope this causes no undue confusion.

Kind of like using a plunger to open up a stuck pipe - a messy job, never nice to do, but once done properly, the job can go on.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (Cook.r@csaatl.com), February 19, 1999.

I wondered what happened. How can I pretend to be offended when there's no longer any evidence? Boy am I glad I've been nice to Leska!

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 19, 1999.

Lon & Robert, thank you for your praise of my terrific all-pervading effectiveness :) :) The 15 seconds of basking in computer-efficacious is hilarious & fleeting -- if you'll look upwards on the thread, it was *Chris* who weilded that flyswatter. Sigh, I have no computer skills, although I can certainly see how they might come in handy. So, Lon, it is Chris who knows what happened, not me, but you can still be nice to me ;-J

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 19, 1999.

uhh...I'm not laughing anymore. AES's post really did disappear :-( I thought Ed said he wasn't going to censor/monitor this forum? Why was AES's post deleted, and not Invar's JBD saga?

Both offended me...

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 19, 1999.

Wow!

Evidence of stealth dispersion of troll effusion.

Cool.

Diane

(P.S. What did he say? Missed it. Probably just as well).

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 20, 1999.

Wow, not only on this thread, either. No AES anywhere! Hope I don't get labeled a troll!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), February 20, 1999.

All I know is, I DIDN"T DO IT! I've read the whole page of instructions the guy at the flea market gave me when I bought this computer, and I simply could not have dome it. I don't think. Naw.

Man, if they ever edit for puffery, redudnancy, curmudgeonry, or bad pickle recipies, I'm TOAST.

And Leska, (as he stubs his toe in the dust), I'll carry your books anyday.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 20, 1999.

Lon, since we got our iMac, we've gone paperless :) bookless too
The day we got the 'puter, cancelled the newspaper subscription. Ah, that was so good, to get rid of that inky smeary tree slaughter.
We've got piles of old papers everywhere we're slowing weeding through and putting into paper recyling bags. Course, we don't have a fireplace or woodburning stove, so there's no point saving all that paper.

Now, why hasn't anyone acknowledged it was *Chris* above with the flyswatter? Do I seem like the pesticide type? We carry bugs out and gently deposit them on grass beds. Pesticides contribute to Parkinson's and other degenerative ailments, including cancer. Trolls cause bridge explosions giving rise to fetid swamp muck creeping up and smothering good tilling. A job for an engineer: Robert Cook! PE.

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 20, 1999.

Leska, those newspapers make great mulch in our organic gardens. The ink is all soy-based now. If you spread them out layered several deep, they will keep weeks out of a fallow patch also. As for pesticides, I prefer Diatomaceous Earth. Look back on earlier posts for more info on DE, or just ask, and I'll reiterate.

And please be carefull how you say "fetid swamp muck". Us folks down on the bayou think that's synonamous (sp?) to "yard beautiful". We even have a Miss Fetid Muck contest, where the vixons show off their webbed toes. Seriously, I was a wetlands biologist for some years, and find beauty, and hope and unexcelled exuberancy of life in the last of our great natural food factories.

Lon

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 20, 1999.

It must be an attitude thing - to me the most amazing thing between Baton Rouge and Layfette is the I-10 bridge. Man, that thing is a beautiful work of art, muscle, and determination!

I assume there's water, muck, oysters, Cajun's and alligators underneath it somewhere though ....8<)

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 20, 1999.

Robert,

You think that bridge is a work of art from up there, you should see it from down here in a pireaux. Make you a deal; you learn how to pronounce Atchafalaya, and I'll show you how to fry a turducken. :)

(Man, that was my first try at one of those smily-face things. It looks more like an old dog we had once. He always walked backwards and we called him "ol' one eye".)

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 20, 1999.

Lon, it looks good to me. How'd you make that square nose?

Smileys/Emoticons

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 20, 1999.

Leska,

Square????nose. Just how much did you pay for that fancy new iMac, anyway? I hope you didn't buy it from the same flea-market guy that sold me my new, state-of-the-art Commodore.

To make that big ol' nose (I still think it looks like.. well never mind), just hold down the option key and hit 8.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 20, 1999.

88*00 <--- testing Option + 8

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 21, 1999.

I, uh, think you got it Leska! (I'm so proud!)

Sorry I went missing fo a moment. I'm espousing some pickle edification on the "tips for buying at Sam's" thread above.

Actually, it's good to have some fun thoughts after a year of y2k prep. I don't know if you've read any of my other postings, but I have a handicapped son with Down syndrome. I spend many late nights worrying what the future may hold for him and his small group of friends who have become so very dear to me. If y2k is indeed the catastrophe that we know it could be, many innocents will pay the price for our foolishness. Sorry, didn't mean to preach, but sometimes the nights are a little darker, now.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

Lon, I was a music major, classical piano & violin performance. I taught several Downs children piano, as music therapy. Greatly improved concentration & eye-hand coordination. Fun too! They invariably did better than 95% of "normal" kids. They were sunny, cooperative, enthusiastic, musical, and thrilled with each achievement. Also taught elementary & junior high school, the "emotionally disturbed" sections & the "gifted" sections. In those days, the Downs children were sent to my "challenged" trailer. They were a delight. Then all the programs (CETA) were eliminated the day Reagan became president. That was the end of those jobs & my involvement with Downs children. Still remember it all fondly whenever I see one :)

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 21, 1999.

Tell me about it! Mine is sitting in there listening to his tape player right now at ten minutes past midnight. He loves 50's music. (but then don't we all?)

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

Cajun? Did somebody say Cajun??

Fly with Cajun Airlines

Pierre and Boudreaux was flying Cajun Airlines. Boudreaux was flying da plane and Pierre was in da back foolin wit da cargo equipment an stuff..

Da plane hit some turbulence an started bouncin around an Boudreaux got knock unconscience. Then da plane started driftin. Pierre him come run up to da front an Boudreaux was sprawl out over da steerin wheel..

Well, Pierre don't know notin bout flyin an he start to get panaky.. He grab da microphone and holla "May Day! May Day! Dis is Cajun Air Line 90210. Boudreaux, him knock unconscence an I don know nutin about flyin dis plane!"

"Dis is da control tower," someone answer. "Don you worry about nutin..

We gonna splain how fo you to land dis plane, step by step, ah gar-on-tee! Jus leave arything ta us. Fus, how high are you an whas you position?"

Pierre thought a minute, den say, "I'm five foot ten an I'm all da way to da front of da plane."

"No! No!" answer da tower. "What's you altitude an where's you location?"

Pierre say, "Man ah got a po attitude, an I'm from Thibodeaux!"

"No! No! No!" came an exasperated voice. "Ah needs to know how many feet you got off da ground an how you plane's in relation to da airport!"

Pierre start to panic by dis time. He say, "Countin Boudreaux'san mine, we got four feet off da ground an I don believe dis plane's related to you airport!"

A long pause --- the silence was deafenin. "We needs to know who you next of kin is and where to send da flowers."

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), February 21, 1999.

Gayla, LOL

This may be much funnier to some of us than to others. You might need to be a CGI (Cajun Get It). I'm not really Cajun, being a West Texas ranch kid transplanted among these wonderful, hospitable people.

The best thing is, unlike many of America's ethnic groups who seem to have thier senses of humor, all the Cajuns I know would be ROFLTAO!

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

make that "seem to have lost their senses of humor"

(the flea-market guy said this would never happen with a smart computer like mine)

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

Lon Frank,

>I'm not really Cajun, being a West Texas ranch kid transplanted among these wonderful, hospitable people.

The best thing is, unlike many of America's ethnic groups who seem to have thier senses of humor, all the Cajuns I know would be ROFLTAO!<

I'm a transplant to "Cajun Fun Country" too, and I fully agree. If you stay on their good side they are excellent folks. Oh, from your other post, how about "AA chaff a lie ya" for the 12 mile bridge? I am west of the bridge over Henderson swamp, but east of Lake Charles. I love the area around Crowley, Indian Bayou, Ridge. Even Iota. I may be in your back pocket. Oh, and I like my turducken rubbed with Tony Cacheres' before it's fried, and then served with dirty rice.

Ms. Gayla; I was stationed at Abilene Texas for over 6 years. That is about as close to a "home" as I have ever had. You Texans are definately "a breed apart", and I always felt welcome there, I even loved the barbequed goat. The town always threw a big barbeque dinner for us folks at the Dyess AFB. I never saw anything like that anywhere else in the world. Texas really is "A Whole Nuther Country". If I move from here in "hometown USA" it will be back to Texas. I am also not too far from your "nest in the west" Ma'am. Just across the Toledo Bend a short ways.

I do hope that y'all don't end up as "Texas Toast" as Paul Milne would put it.

Take care and prepare well.

S.O.B.

-- sweetolebob (buffgun@hotmail.com), February 21, 1999.

SOB-

You win today's prize. I still pronounce Atchefalaya wrong everytime I see it in print! I'll send your turducken along, properly rubbed with Tony's, and throw in a jar of my sweet hot pickles (see "Any tips for buying at Sam's " above)

You are indeed in my neck of the marsh. In keeping with the spirit of this original thread, I have noticed many excellent postings from you in the past; thanks. Like Gayla, I have been prepping for some time now. Lots of rice in this area, you know. My greatest worry now is the wild card of social reaction. Even though I am "down on the bayou" I am still within rock-chunkin' distance of about 300,000 folks. I have given some thought to retreating deeper into the wetlands or going home to the sparcely populated ranchlands, but just don't know what to do yet. Except keep my eyes and ears open, and stay flexable.

Thanks for the shout, later ma sha'

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

Oh, and SOB,

Did you say barbequed goat? Oh, man, slap me with a basting brush and call me cabrito! I'll get the mesquite goin' if you'll pass along one of them long necks.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

Atchafalaya - pronounced "long bumpy flat bridge over alligators" in Texianian.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 21, 1999.

Robert

No turducken for you! No, no, definately not. And no dirty rice neither.

I am thinking about sending you some of my "nuke cukes", though. The boys over at BIT (Bayou Institute of Technology) think they can possibly be used to restart the grid. I told them you know a smattering about such things. But I don't know; anyone who can't see the swamp for the bridge - I just don't know.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

Lon and SOB, I'll bring the banjos :-) and gumbo (from Pappadeauxs- yum!); you get some crawfish (etoufee?) and boudin. We'll have a LOT of fun.

(PS- I lived in New Orleans for almost 4 years and ate up at Lake Pontchartrain every chance I got.)

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), February 21, 1999.

Gayla,

Don't forget the catfish court boullion (that's another one that smart aleck Robert Cook probably can't pronounce) :

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 21, 1999.

I'll try again - "catfish court boullion" pronounced "hard square fish soup cubes."

Come on - now, Give me a break - I was able to dance to every Cajun tune played at that Baton Rouge resturant/dance hall 1-1/2 south of I-10 just before the I-10/I-12 junction. Taught a couple of rookies too!

Can't figure out why those guys figured a Schotische or Cotton-Eyed Joe isn't Cajun .... Now, doing a polka to the Willaim Tell Overture is something not tried since college days - but if necessary ......

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 22, 1999.

But anything requiring more than 3 ingredients is considered cooking! And I don't like to cook.

Now, eating is okay - I'll find time to eat if I absolutely have to, like when I'm real hungry. But cooking - nah. Too hard. Inefficient use of time, resources and energy.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 22, 1999.

Thanks, Robert,

I needed a smile this afternoon. O.K. I guess we'll lighten up on you now. After all, an Engineer who can do the Schotische! I bet if we had us a couple of St. Pauli Girls we could do a respectable Chicken Dance.

I'm with you on cooking. When I'm foraging for myself, eating is strictly utilitarian: no cooking talent whatsoever. Actually, I was a cook at one time. When I was eighteen, I was a deck-hand on a towboat between Panama City and Lake Charles. The old Cajun cook either died or quit, I don't remember now, but they thought since I was the greenie, they would make me cook. Bad idea. I still remember standing on the stern, chunking my bisquits at the gulls. (Even they wouldn't eat 'em.) Needless to say, that career was short-lived, and I was back to chipping paint in about 2 days! That was good background for Y2K though. We had rice with EVERY meal.

I guess that's why I'm in y2k panic mode. Mercy, if I have to actually eat my own pickles......

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 22, 1999.

But note that a proper prepared turducen meets the test: one pot, one ingredient. The pot holds the turkey, the turkey holds the duck, the duck holds the chicken.....and the gravy floats all around, all around - like Captain Kangaroo used to say.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 22, 1999.

ALL IS FORGIVEN!!! Welcome home, ma sha!!

I knew you were just joshin' with us all along. Why I bet you've eaten crawdads off a beer tray more'n once. But I never really thought of a turducken as an example of efficient packaging. In another posting somebody said that you think differently than the rest of us, and don't we all!

And Leska, if you're wondering about the nose on that last smiley face, well, my allergies have been acting up.

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 22, 1999.

??? :! %?} ;^? :6 ;0 :_ ;+) w?
-
` !  # " ? ' 6  * :  != +   x  ( %  . 4  e _ ?  ) ? ? ? ,  f w >= <= 5  ? ? g ? ? `!# " ?  4 .  A (  X ?   + F  R ? T S ) O N M E ? ? G ? ?  B <= >= w
Lon, ya got me hooked on that option key! Now I just gotta learn how to HTML-force a space, gotta find one of Dan's posts and View Source
:G? Right now busy being nosy, thanks ta ya ... 8+'

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 22, 1999.

Leska,

A BOW TIE, no less. I love it!

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 22, 1999.

Oops! Those look *real* different on this here Forum than on my screen. Gotta go experiment somewhere else ... a sheeple feelin sheepish here ;}

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 22, 1999.

But you got your xxxx's back - except there are different amounts of them in each list.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 23, 1999.