

                                         
 April                                               Volume 02
 1995                                            Number 04
                                    
                                     
                                       
                                   

                   

                        (Formirly published under EMag)

    "The electronic magazine filled with Interesting & Informative Articles"

       Editor  Mark Bylok                              Data (416)663-7044
       EMail   link@tor250.org                         Fax  (416)663-4113
                                                       FidoNet  1:250/808


               Copyright 1995 by Mark Bylok, All Rights Reserved
      Views expressed do not necessarilly express the views of the Editor


        TABLE OF CONTENTS                                       Page

        Editorial:  Going to The Dentist                         01
        Letters to the Editor                                    02
        Will The Sky Ever Fall?                                  03
        Primeau's Album Review                                   04
        Online Under Pressure?                                   06
        Audio Books                                              07
        Picking up LiNK                                          08
        LiNK Information & Submitting Articles                   09


 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     Editorial:  Going to The Dentist
     
                               by Mark Bylok
     
     
     Going to a dentist must be the worst experience a person could
     have, without actually having any serious complications.  It just
     doesn't make much sense to me.  We go to the doctor when something
     is wrong, and we usually feel that any discomfort felt because of
     treatment or examination is minor compared to the discomfort felt
     before the treatment.  This usually turns out to be a fair
     tradeoff.  We like the idea of going somewhere to feel better.
     
LiNK                              Page 02                         April, 1995

     My experiences with dentists, however, are completely the apposite.
     I usually go for a regular checkup with no side effects anywhere on
     my body.  I'm feeling fine, looking great, and having no problems
     what-so-ever.  This might be enough for me to go on with life, but
     not for the dentist.  Nope, they'll take x-rays!  They'll examine
     x-rays!  And then they drill my teeth in.  Even though I feel no
     discomfort in tooth 16B, they'll shoot me with anastatic, tell me
     to open wide, and start drilling a whole through the tooth.  Are
     they digging for oil?  Nope, they're trying to stop some nasty
     bacteria that are eating away at my tooth.
     
     All together, going to the dentist is the worst experience I have
     to go through regularly in six month intervals.  It just amazes me
     how little dentistry has improved over the years.  Now with x-rays
     they catch cavities much faster, but they still drill the hell out
     of them in similar fashion as they did twenty years ago.  The
     anastatic might be nice, but I cringe at the idea of having one of
     those long needles stuck deep into my jaw.  And even with the
     anastatic you still feel pain, just not as much of it.  Why?!?!
     
     There are so many billions of dollars spent on defence, why can't
     the government allocate some of those dollars to improve dentistry. 
     We're still living in the dark ages when it comes to the practice,
     some funding is obviously needed.  Sure, I keep hearing about the
     dentist office of the future with small lasers, but I haven't seen
     anything yet!  When will I be able to go to the dentist and
     actually not feel pain?  Practically every tooth in my mouth has a
     filling, and they still find more teeth to drill, when will the
     hurting stop?!?!
     
     Am I still gonna go on about the subject?  After another two
     cavities, you bet!  It just amazes me that such a simple thing as
     some bacteria eating away at the tooth can't be halted without the
     use of that damn drill.  Our civilization has matured enough to
     send people into space and make these high action movies, and yet
     we can't stop a common bacteria from eating away at some teeth.
     
     And for those that are curious, yes I do brush and floss regularly! 
     I've inherited incredibly week teeth.


                         Letters to the Editor


 From : Bobby C. Olympia
 To   : Mark Bylok                                                              
 Subj : Link                                                                    

My wife loved it, quote "this is great.  Download it, if you can, and we can
post it on the fridge", laughing all the way.

Keep up the excellent work Mark.

bobby...


LiNK                              Page 03                         April, 1995
--------

LiNK fridge posters, now there's an interesting concept!  I'll see if I can
market the idea ;-)

MB.


Send your comments to LiNK Staff at 1:250/808, or email at link@tor250.org.


                          Will The Sky Ever Fall?
     
                               by Henry Lui
     
     
          Lately I have heard much about the subject of Earth, and all
     of us, being destroyed by an asteroid similarly to what has
     happened with the Dinosaurs.  I'm not sure whether this topic of
     conversation is new, or whether I just started noticing it after
     reading an Arthur C. Clarke book about the subject.
     
          _THE HAMMER FROM GOD_ is a great book to read for those that
     are interested in the possibilities of ultimate destruction. 
     Besides being an entertaining novel, this book goes into some
     detail about our chances of being destroyed.  There is a one in two
     thousand chance of it happening in your life time, not the best
     odds in the world.
     
          NASA is actually going to do something about it.  The first
     step, as many specialists seem to agree, is to map out all the
     asteroids out there.  By doing so we'll have a good advance warning
     on any possible hits that might occur.  What we do with that
     warning is still an ongoing debate.
     
          The fact of the matter is simple.  There are creators on Earth
     two or three kilometres in diameter caused by objects that are only
     about a hundred meters in diameter.  The incredible speed these
     meteors travel at could make the smallest one cause massive
     destructions.  One a few hundred of kilometres wide will destroy
     the planet in a matter of seconds.  The very friction of something
     that large entering the planets atmosphere would burn everything
     around it.
     
          Should we be worried?  I'm no expert, but I'm also very glad
     that steps are under way to prevent such a catastrophe.  Those that
     still do not believe in the space program should way the odds
     before making any decisions.  The fact of the matter is, Earth
     isn't this perfect environment where if we take care of it, it will
     keep us safe.  Earth is a planet spinning around the Sun at
     incredible speeds, which in turn spins around the galaxy at
     incredible speeds, through an endless vacuum that we still do not
     understand.
     
LiNK                              Page 04                         April, 1995

          So when you sip your coffee in the morning and think about
     what you are going to do during your day, add the threat of flying
     asteroids among the other dangers such as sickness, car accident,
     world war, and all the other little details to life which make it
     stressful!

     
                         Primeau's Album Review

                            by Jason Primeau


Disclaimer(s)/note(s) :

These reviews are going to be biased of course.  If you disagree with 
me, send in your OWN review of that particular recording and tell me 
how stupid I am and WHY.  I'd love to have someone to counter-balance 
my choices, because I can get carried away if I'm not careful.  I'll 
include your comments in the next month's article.  (Send all mail to
jason.primeau@detox.tor250.org).

Wherever possible I will provide a WWW site for further exploration.

Last month I didn't do that, so I'll include them this time:
NIN       - http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~patters.nin.html
Primus    - http://iris3.carb.nist.gov:8000/pub/ram/music/primus/primus.html
Offspring - http://alfred.u.washington.edu:8080/~crevier/bands/offspring.html


Reviews For March:
1) Marilyn Manson     - Portrait of an American Family
2) Veruca Salt        - American Thighs
3) The Tragically Hip - Day For Night

Code:
*****  Amazing, incredible, stupendous
 ****  an excellent recording
  ***  good
   **  kinda sucks
    *  Really sucks


1) Marilyn Manson - Portrait of an American Family
   -----------------------------------------------

(WWW:  http://www-home.calumet.yorku.ca/kmaling/www/mm/mm.htm)
	
	If I had to describe what these guys sounded like, I wouldn't 
know where to begin.  I read an article on the WWW that called them 
"psycho punk-metal", and I suppose that's as good as anything.  This
band has been gaining recognition quickly, mostly because of their 
actions outside of the recording studio.  In my opinion, however, they 
should be getting a lot more credit for the music that they put on this 

LiNK                              Page 05                         April, 1995

album.  There are no mediocre tracks to be found, and they serve their 
tunes aggressive, with creative lyrics and no pretentious I'm-a-rock-star-
and-you're-not aftertaste.  If you happen to be a conservative prude,
you will have a heart attack within minutes of ingestion.  This album 
has enough anti-society, anti-conformity, anti-religion, and anti-majority 
messages to make even the most open-minded person cringe.  This album 
contains elements of drug use, bestiality, incest, satanism, nudity, 
violent sexual behavior, murder, morbid violence, sadomasochism,
pedophilia, sodomy and torture.  But it kicks ass.  You have been warned.

Three Favorite Tracks:
Dope Hat, Cake and Sodomy, Dogma

Rating: *****


2) Veruca Salt - American Thighs 
   -----------------------------

(WWW:  http://www.interaccess.com/users/cheeks/music/verucasalt.html)

	This is a very good debut album.  The lead single topped the 
charts on many alternative radio stations, and the follow-up singles
aren't doing too badly either.  The songs are all catchy and they sound
like the band had a lot of fun putting them together.  I guess if 
you like the grungy, guitar-driven sounds of "The Breeders" or "Smashing 
Pumpkins" you can't go wrong here.

Three Favorite Tracks:
Seether, Forsythia, All Hail Me

Rating: ***1/2


3) The Tragically Hip - Day For Night
   ----------------------------------
	
(WWW:  http://www.cimtegration.com/ent/music/hip/hip.htm)

	I've always liked the Hip, but I've never really gotten into 
their music that much.  As a result, when I gave this album it's first 
listen, I really wasn't expecting anything fantastic from it.  After 
hearing it, however, I was impressed by quite a few songs, ranging 
from the slower paced "Nautical Disaster" to the more aggressive 
ramblings of "Fire in the Hole".  Gordon Downie does a fairly good job 
of belting out the vocals, although sometimes his voice can be annoying
(kind of a whiny, Morrissey-wanna-be).  Musically, this album sounds 
well polished, with a few weird instruments and song intros thrown in 
for variety.  Apart from a couple filler tracks, I think this is a 
very solid album.

Three Favorite Tracks:
Grace too, Fire in the Hole, Greasy Jungle

LiNK                              Page 06                         April, 1995

Rating: ****


That's it for this month.  Remember, if you disagree with me, write me
at jason.primeau@detox.tor250.org and I'll include your comments in the
next article.  (No responses are included this month because I didn't
get any.  But, then again, why would anyone disagree? :) )



                             Under Pressure Online ?
                             -----------------------
     
     
     I suppose that if a survey of the public was ever comissioned to ask
     what people knew of or about BBS (Bulletin Board Systems) the answers
     would fall broadly into 3 catagories:
     
     1) 'Never heard of it/them '
     2) 'Oh, isn't that the thing where they find pornography ?'
     3) 'Yes, that's what hackers do isn't it ? '
     
     What a sad state of affairs computer communications has become.
     
     Why should this be so, many ideas are put forward as to why, but I
     suppose the main reasons come down to lack of public awareness together
     with poor press and media representation.
     
     We unfortunately far too often, hear about computer hackers, porn
     merchants and pirated software, but what about the positive aspects of
     BBS ?  Do we ignore the very real benefits they can have in the
     community? Usually, why? because they are not considered to be 'NEWS'
     
     What benefit can a BBS be to the local community?
     The answer to that,is quite a large one, Less abled people can meet new
     friends through various message and chat areas, can connect with support
     groups that may be able to help with their particular disability, the
     result is that they feel less isolated and more a part of the community,
     Blind people can often find electronic magazines that can be read
     electronically and the text converted to speech for them, again, they
     feel more involved in the community.
     Local community events can be notified to callers, meetings can be
     arranged for various social groups, the possibilities are unlimited.
     
     To try and help everyone become more informed and invovled in electronic
     communications, the International Sysop & Users Association was formed.
     
     The ISUA is a collection of Sysops & Users who abide by a voluntary code
     of ethics to try and encourage public awareness of BBS and the benefits
     they can provide.
     
LiNK                              Page 07                         April, 1995

     The ISUA is NOT another 'Pressure Group', but is a collection of
     responsible individuals who enjoy the benefits of electronic
     communications, and who wish to see those benefits extended rather than
     eroded by the negative attitudes generated by press and media.
     
     The Main aims of the ISUA are:
     
     1- Inform the public about the purposes, potential, and benefits of
        electronic communications.
     
     2- Monitor the press & media for inaccurate and misleading information
        regarding BBS activities and take steps to correct such misinformation.
     
     3- Regularly inform the media of significant events in the local BBS
        community.
     
     4- Serve as a source of information for people seeking information about BBS.
     
     5- Inform its members of all legislation or other actions which affect the
        BBS community.
     
     6- Help beginners in order to develop the creation of new boards.
     
     
     If you, as either a Sysop or User would like to know more about the ISUA,
     then call SPARTACUS BBS +353-402-33161 (24 hrs) and download
     ISUA0195.ZIP, Guest Log-in available (P/w Guest) or Freq from 2:263/404
     as ISUA
     
     Comms should be open to all, it's up to you to help ensure that it is!
     
     
     Barry Kingston-Wyatt
     SysOp: SPARTACUS BBS
     Ireland Regional Chairman - International Sysops & Users Association.
     
     

                                Audio Books
     
                               by Mark Bylok
     
     
     Audio Tapes seem to be a recent trend forming inside our book
     stores.  We have had the technology to produce audio tapes for
     decades, and yet only recently has this commercial enterprise grown
     in strength.  Why? I ask.  Has our society become that illiterate
     or that lazy to read, or is there something special about these
     audio tapes?  I decided to find out.
     
     The audio book I purchased for $20 was "The Lord of Chaos"; the
     sixth part in a great fantasy adventure series by Robert Jordan. 
     The book was read by Mark Rolston who played the character Drake in

LiNK                              Page 08                         April, 1995

     Aliens.  That's one of the first things I've noticed about audio
     books:  The majority of them are read by well-known names.  Jack
     Nicholson even has a series of children's stories in the form of
     audio books.  Now that's an interesting concept.
     
     Mark Rolston has a very powerful voice which proved to be very
     dramatic in "The Lord of Chaos", especially toward the end of the
     book.  There was an attempt made to use different accents for
     different characters, but this proved to be very inconsistent.  The
     majority of the book was easy to follow, but I was disappointed by
     one major downfall.  Since Jordan's books are lengthy, the three
     hours worth of audio wasn't enough for the entire book.  It was
     obvious where the cuts were made, and caused many unanswered
     questions.  
     
     To be honest, I prefer reading.  For long drives audio books might
     be great, and probably used most often for that, but for any other
     reason it seems pointless.  They're great for people that can't
     read, but for those that can, reading a book is probably more
     satisfying.  My little experiment set me back about $25 since I'll
     probably end up buying the paper back version when it is released.
     
     It is something worth trying, anyhow, but for that price a person
     can purchase a good movie and have the video along with the audio. 
     It amazes me that people in our society will actually spend all
     that money for a tape, where we can buy an entire movie for a few
     dollars more.
     

                              Picking up LiNK
     
     
     LiNK is officially released on the 1st of every month, and can be
     picked up in a variety of different ways.  The sure fire ways are:
     
     
     FidoNet
     ~~~~~~~
     
     File Requesting from FidoNet 1:250/808 (Canadian Site) or
     1:3819/156 (US Site) under the following:
     
     LINKE     LiNK executable files and current issue (DOS & Door 
               version)
     LINK      LiNK current issue (requires executable files)
     LINKT     LiNK current issue on plain ASCII text.
     LINKA     Both the data files and plain ASCII text.

     Back issues are available under LNK<YY><MM>.* and LNK<YY><MM>T.*
     (text) or for issues before February of '95 EMAG<YY><MM> (no text
     version).
     
     
LiNK                              Page 09                         April, 1995

     InterNet
     ~~~~~~~~
     
     Send e-mail to "link@tor250.org" requesting issues to be delivered
     to you through e-mail.  State whether you want the plain ASCII or
     uucoded Dos viewer.
     
     FTP Site:  ftp.etext.org:  /pub/Zines/LiNK
     Gopher:    gopher.exext.org:  /Zines/LiNK
     

     Software Distributing Systems
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
     Some FidoNet nodes might be able to receive LiNK through EPubNet's
     EP-MAG.
     
     
     Other
     ~~~~~
     
     BBSLIST.ASC contains a list of BBSes where issues may be picked up.
     

                 Submitting Articles & LiNK Information
     
   "The electronic magazine filled with Interesting & Informartive articles"

                       Publisher & Editor Mark Bylok
     
                    Copyright 1995, All Rights Reserved
     
     
     LiNK is a non-profit electronic magazine that has been designed to
     entertain and inform the reader.  We encourage amateur writers to
     send in their articles for future issues of LiNK.  LiNK rests the
     responsibility of plagiarism and other copyright infringements on
     the individual authors, and in no way supports any illegal
     material.  All articles and ideas sent to LiNK remain the property
     of the author, but LiNK does reserve the right to make minor
     grammar, spelling, and/or format corrections.
     
     LiNK is distributed on the 1st of every month twelve times a year.
     All articles should be submitted before the 20th of every month in
     order to insure printing in the next issue.  There is no limit on
     the topic of the article.

LiNK                              Page 10                         April, 1995

     Articles and/or comments on LiNK can be sent through one of the
     following means:
     
     FidoNet 1:250/808             LiNK Staff
     Data (416)663-7044            78 Fletcherdon Cres.
     Fax  (416)663-4113            Downsview, ON, Canada
                                   M3N 1S3
     
     Or you can reach us through InterNet at:  link@tor250.org


