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- With the beginning of each New Year we experience an interesting phenomena
- on GEnie, since so many holiday gifts include new computers and modems. That
- influx of newcomers is as exciting for those of us who have been on GEnie
- for years as it is for those who are exploring it for the first time.
-
- I'll never forget the excitement I felt the first time I plugged in a modem
- (all of 300 bps on a VIC-20 with a tape drive) and realized I had fingertip
- access to a wonderful new world. That world is still there when I want it to
- be part of my life. I don't have to get dressed up to go exploring. I don't
- even have to be in a good mood. Indeed, when I'm feeling down I often turn
- to the computer knowing I'll find something to help buoy my spirits.
-
- Each month in NetSearch I travel around GEnie searching for files I hope you
- will enjoy or find of value. Some of them are just for fun. Some are
- intended to make you think, and others introduce you to a subject or
- RoundTable you might never have considered.
-
- I enjoy exploring GEnie. I hope you do, too! Come along with me as we search
- out January's files.
-
- NOTE: L in the descriptions below designates the Library in which a file can
- be found. F indicates number of the file.
-
-
- Politics: Your New Senators and Representatives ................ Keyword: PF
- ─────────────────────────────────────────────── Page: 545
- The political winds of the United States will change this month with
- inauguration of new Senators and Representatives. These people will be
- responsible for directing the country for the next two years. For the first
- time in many years, the House of Representatives has a Republican majority
- and faces a Democratic president. Who are these men and women? You can find
- out who they are and what their political positions are by downloading text
- files prepared by Project Vote Smart for each state. These make fascinating
- reading and will help you to understand not only the people from your state,
- but those from other states who have suddenly come to national prominence.
- I've listed the file numbers for three major states to get you started. To
- find others, search on the state name in the PF Library.
-
- L:25 F:5627 NEWYORK.ZIP Info on Senators/Representatives 133,376 bytes
- L:25 F:5606 ILLINOIS.ZIP Info on Senators/Representatives 96,128 bytes
- L:25 F:5598 CALIFORN.ZIP Info on Senators/Representatives 288,768 bytes
-
-
- Oops: Star Wars Bloopers and Trivia ......................... Keyword: SFRT3
- ─────────────────────────────────── Page: 472
- One of the things that's been on my Wish List for a long time is to rent all
- of the Star Wars videos and have a marathon watching session. After reading
- this text file, I know that's going to be one of my winter activities. I'll
- never again see these films without looking for the bloopers and mis-cuts
- that are detailed here. Now I, too, will be able to ask nonchalant questions
- like, "Remember the scene where C-3PO accidentally falls off the step he's
- standing on?"
-
- L:18 F:2331 STARWARS.ERR Guide to SW bloopers, trivia 25,472 bytes
-
-
- Privacy: Your Social Security Number ........................... Keyword: PF
- ──────────────────────────────────── Page: 545
- Remember the days before computers when no one in the United States gave a
- second thought to Social Security Numbers? Not long ago we were even
- encouraged to engrave them on personal possessions as an anti-theft measure.
-
- Today, your social security number in the hands of an unscrupulous
- individual can be used to gain a tremendous amount of information about your
- private life. In a decision handed down on October 26, 1994, the Ohio
- Supreme Court ruled that governmental disclosure of Social Security numbers
- violates an individual's constitutional right to privacy. This file contains
- information on that decision. Read it, and you'll never again think that
- protecting your Social Security Number isn't important to your privacy.
- You'll need an unzip utility for this text file.
-
- L:5 F:5668 EPICSSN.ZIP Ohio Court Decision on SSN Privacy 14,848 bytes
-
-
- Creating Memories: Small Object Photography ................ Keyword: STAMPS
- ─────────────────────────────────────────── Page: 1520
- This file is an example of how you can find gems in every GEnie RoundTable,
- whether you think it's applicable to your special interests or not.
-
- Like many people, I collect coins. They're tossed into a money jug and
- that's all I do with them; I'd never think of photographing them. The small
- objects that do thrill me are my collection of motorcycle event pins. I'd
- really like to share them with others through photography. By reading this
- text file on photographing coins, I learned some tricks that are applicable
- to any small object.
-
- L:30 F:409 COINFOTO.TXT How to Take Photos of Coins 5,120 bytes
-
-
- Words: Defining Those Pesky Acronyms ...................... Keyword: WRITERS
- ──────────────────────────────────── Page: 440
- One of my pet peeves is writers who are so intimate with the jargon of a
- subject, they think that everyone else is too. So they use acronyms that are
- familiar to them without defining a first use. A MAP's not a map when it's a
- Manufacturing Application Protocol. An RPG can be a RePort Generator or a
- Role Playing Game. There are 8 different definitions for SA, although Sex
- Appeal is certainly more interesting than Subject to Approval. Download this
- file of 2483 acronyms and abbreviations and you'll think you're an SHCD!
-
- L:1 F:5985 ACRONYMS.TXT Thousands of Acronyms Defined 84,992 bytes
-
-
- Safety: Resources on the Internet ....................... Keyword: EMERGENCY
- ───────────────────────────────── Page: 911
- There's a wealth of resources available on the Internet through GEnie. This
- text file lists some that cover safety issues. You'll find everything from
- newsletters to databases. Some of the resources here cover repetitive strain
- injuries, occupational hazards, safety in the arts, federal documents on
- endangered species, environmental impacts and much more. Take a look and see
- what catches your interest.
-
- L:7 F135 NETSAFTY.TXT Updated list of Internet resources 16,640 bytes
-
-
- Satire: Eight Rules for Valley Driving .................... Keyword: WRITERS
- ────────────────────────────────────── Page: 440
- Everyone needs a little laughter on a gloomy winter day and reading this
- file will bring grins as well as groans. After spending a week riding my
- motorcycle on California's infamous (that MUST be what the I stands for) I-5
- and I-405 freeways, I can attest that these rules are NOT applicable to only
- Central Valley drivers. In fact, I'm certain you'll find these rules
- applying right where you live. The author, Roger T. Imai, invites you to add
- your own rules to the end of the file and upload it for everyone else to
- enjoy.
-
- L:1 F:5954 VALDRV00.TXT Satirical Rules for Valley Driving 4,992 bytes
-
-
- Taxes: Tax Calendars .......................................... Keyword: TAX
- ──────────────────── Page: 1040
- Now that you've had a good laugh, you're prepared for a visit to the Tax
- RoundTable. Just what you always wanted, right? No matter how EZ the forms,
- taxes are complicated and the Tax RoundTable is the place to go for help.
- These two files are tax calendars in two different formats: PostScript (PSZ)
- and Portable Document Format (PDF). To decompress them you will need a
- utility that can handle pkzip v2.04g files.
-
- For more information on these formats, see the Tax RoundTable Bulletin
- Board.
-
- L:6 F:1784 J9415013.PSZ P509:Tax Calendars 88,152 bytes
- L:3 F:1771 J9415013.ZIP P509:Tax Calendars 110,064 bytes
-
-
- Reading: Romance Writers Booklist ......................... Keyword: ROMANCE
- ───────────────────────────────── Page: 1330
- Did you know that there are more Romance Novel writers active on GEnie than
- any other online service? They congregate in the Romance Writers Exchange
- RoundTable where they talk about books in progress as well as the books
- they've written. This file is a list of titles for all the RomEx authors,
- including backlist and future releases. When you're ready to curl up with a
- good book, make it one from this list, and then head to RomEx to share your
- comments with the author.
-
- L:1 F:3406 BOOKLIST.TXT RomEx author booklist 104,960 bytes
-
-
- History: Glossary of Medieval Terms ....................... Keyword: HISTORY
- ─────────────────────────────────── Page: 541
- It's time to chase away the winter blahs with a rip-roaring historical
- novel, such as one about King Arthur's Court. But hold on a minute. What's
- this about a king's writ not being valid in a County Palatinate? And did you
- know that a jongleur is the same as a minstrel, or that a woman can be
- someone's man? Reading this glossary will make any excursion into Medieval
- times a fascinating one!
-
- L:21 F:7612 FEUDAL.DIC Glossary of Medieval Terms 35,456 bytes
-
-
- Good Eating: Tummy Tempting Soups ............................ Keyword: FOOD
- ───────────────────────────────── Page: 1150
- If you got the idea from reading NetSearch that I like to cook, you have it
- right. On a chilly winter's day, few things are more warming to house and
- tummy than a bowl of freshly-made soup. Just reading this file was enough to
- make me rush to the pantry. While there are old favorites here like black
- bean and vegetable soups (not to mention oyster stew), there also are some
- unusual recipes. Who would have thought that the ubiquitous 7-ounce macaroni
- cheese dinner and beer that many college students seem to survive on could
- make a terrific soup? It's easy to make, too!
-
- L:3 F:5137 SOUPS14.TXT Recipes from Soups/Stocks Topic 62,688 bytes
-
-
- Movies: Star Trek Generations Review ...................... Keyword: SHOWBIZ
- ──────────────────────────────────── Page: 185
- I've been wanting to feature one of Bill Warren's movie reviews for some
- time. Given publication lead times, even using electrons, it's hard to
- decide which movie will still be around in a couple of months. Given the
- popularity of the Star Trek series, this is one that's going to be in the
- theaters, on TV and in video forever. This review shows Bill Warren, the
- head of the ShowBiz RoundTable, at his best.
-
- He provides a thorough review without giving away the plot. When you see the
- movie it's not ruined by knowing the ending; at the same time, enough of the
- subtle points are made that there's recognition. You can decide whether you
- agree or disagree. This is the kind of review you want to read before you
- see a movie and then again, afterwards.
-
- L:7 F:3459 STAR.TREK GENERATIONS Movie Review by Bill Warren 14,848 bytes
-
-
- Fun Reading: The Original Vampyre ........................... Keyword: SFRT1
- ───────────────────────────────── Page: 470
- "It happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant upon London
- winter, there appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the _ton_ a
- nobleman more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank." Thus begins
- the second of the classic stories that emerged when the Shelleys and Byron
- met in Geneva in 1816, and spent a fateful night telling ghost stories. Mary
- Shelley wrote "Frankenstein" and Byron's personal physician, John Polidori,
- wrote "The Vampyre." This is the first important vampire story in English
- and it introduced the concept of the undead blood-sucking creature to
- English horror literature. Download this text file and enjoy the dreadful
- deeds of Lord Ruthven, the original Vampyre.
-
- L:2 F:8775 THE_VAMPYRE.TXT The Vampyre by John Polidori 48,384 bytes
-