recent comments
mjp said: I'm, uh, working on it. Right now. ~ Fly me to the moon, then blow that shit up!
shane said: michael phillips,you are a fuckin madman,post yer next story... ~ Fly me to the moon, then blow that shit up!
mjp said: Yes, that is a potential problem for people in 10,001. I often worry about... ~ Doctor, it hurts when I move my arm like this...
damian said: indeed. ~ Doctor, it hurts when I move my arm like this...
Scott h Florance said: The Christians believe Jesus Christ tis immortal and he lives forever. It is... ~ Doctor, it hurts when I move my arm like this...
mjp said: Isn't there a NASCAR or gun or fishing or tabakky-chewing site you can go... ~ I can see for miles, but it's kind of blurry up ahead
Andrew Olin Jones said: Hillbilly said you might turn off the smog but I don't want you to do that... ~ I can see for miles, but it's kind of blurry up ahead
mjp said: My childhood box? I don't think anyone wants to open that... ~ Fly me to the moon, then blow that shit up!
 
previous ramblings
I can see for miles, but it's kind of blurry up ahead 2.18.08
Simple is as simple does 1.31.08
I feel the earthworms under my feet 1.22.08
New boots and panties 1.19.08
I haven't given up, I've just stopped trying 12.25.07
I don't pray. Kneeling bags my nylons. 12.20.07
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night 9.19.07
Grab the closet case by the horns 8.11.07
Blogged down in the forum of my youth 5.23.07
Hotter than July 5.16.07
26 Miles Across the Deep Blue Sea 5.11.07
A rose by any other name, still doesn't smell so good 4.6.07
Children of a lesser dog from hell 2.22.07
Squid lights 1.9.07
Cats and dogs 12.19.06
Mission accomplished! 11.22.06
Various tidbits of marginal interest to anyone 11.9.06
Buddy, can you spare a town? 10.16.06
A garbage can is somewhat precise. 10.6.06
Another cantankerous rant - surprise! 9.25.06
Hey, where you been? 9.1.06
Geeeeeeee mail, @smog.net 7.27.06
Oh good lord, it's a kid's show 7.22.06
Sleeping dogs 6.28.06
Dumb and dumber 6.21.06
HDTV for $150! 5.16.06
Thank you for calling the White House. My name is Krishna, how may I be providing you excellent service today? 4.28.06
Decades and bits of centuries 4.24.06
Secret Society 3.22.06
Sometimes I don't speak right, but yet I know what I'm talking about 3.20.06
This is the modern world 3.15.06
Shakespeare never did this 2.18.06
Who is Lonnie Tolliver, and why should you care? 1.27.06
Scuttlebutt and innuendo 1.16.06
Beware the fury of a patient man 1.6.06
I feel 100 pounds lighter already... 12.30.05
Dude! Your wiki is showing... 12.20.05
Yeti spotted, film at 11! 12.19.05
"God is a concept by which we measure our pain." 12.9.05
Doctor, it hurts when I move my arm like this... 12.8.05
Hey, what's with the torn up clothes, and didn't you have a shag haircut last week? 12.5.05
Shameless self-promotion or a desperate cry for love? You decide. 11.18.05
Further proof that drinking will kill you 11.6.05
Big Apple dreamin' on a wooden floor 11.1.05
Happy birthday to smog. Now where's my cake? 10.16.05
I got nothing 10.4.05
free within my own doom 9.25.05
A Rambling Essay on Politics and the Bleeding Life Written While Drinking a Six-Pack (Tall) 9.12.05
(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown 8.31.05
Well, could I have her spam instead of the baked beans then? 8.28.05
What has four wheels and flies? 8.21.05
Don't think twice, it's all right 8.13.05
My ass is getting cold sitting on this glacier... 8.11.05
Capital radio 8.11.05
nobody's fault 7.23.05
secret santa 7.3.05
everything we touch turns to rust 6.21.05
on the edge of seventeen 6.13.05
life at 300 baud 6.9.05
12 steps away from the screen, running 6.5.05
shake a leg 6.5.05
san pedro anarchy press, Inc. 5.22.05
Z is for zealot 5.20.05
Lenny Bruce was right 5.16.05
bad meat in the can 5.12.05
it's in the water 5.12.05
you tell me 5.10.05
what matters most is how well you're lit 5.5.05
just keep pulling the handle, it'll all be over soon 5.3.05
rust never sleeps 4.24.05
randomness, chaos and deliverance 4.21.05
baby was a black sheep, baby was a whore 4.20.05
Kill my boss? Do I dare live out the American dream? 4.16.05
roses are red, violets are blue, i thought my hell had ended, but the devil is a crafty bastard with a sick sense of humor and a mean streak a mile wide 4.14.05
rock the cash bar 4.12.05
many rivers to cross 4.10.05
imitation is the sincerest form of unoriginality 4.8.05
if you are the big tree, we are the small axe! 4.8.05
give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine 4.4.05
and who the hell figured QWERTY was a good idea? 4.4.05
your pope was nothing compared to this guy! 4.3.05
you've got a TV...i've got a TV...we've all got TV's... 3.29.05
hitler painted roses 3.26.05
counselor 3.25.05
she's still here, damn it! 3.21.05
patience is a virtue, but resignation is for suckers. 3.13.05
should have taken mom up on those violin lessons... 3.9.05
last night a dj saved my life! yeah, maaaaan! 3.9.05
if i had a hammer... 3.8.05
caveman re-invents the wheel! film at 11. 3.7.05
he's mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore! 3.4.05
this is a public service announcement - with guitar! 3.2.05
battlefield girth 2.28.05
never give a media giant an even break 2.25.05
10 Things I've done that you haven't 2.24.05
come back, bastard! 2.23.05
hey, just because he likes Judy Garland records and the Tony awards doesn't necessarily mean anything... 2.23.05
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." 2.21.05
I couldn't say it if it wasn't true 2.17.05
The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." 2.11.05
how to lose 10 pounds in five minutes! 2.6.05
earth to smog, earth to smog 2.5.05
my own private chernobyl... 2.2.05
Estoy solo, pero siento que tu estas conmigo. 1.26.05
confessions of an obsessive freak of nature 1.5.05
death wants more death 12.30.04
every mikkle make a muckle (ask a Jamaican what it means) 12.17.04
things that don't suck 12.15.04
what's it all about, mjp? 11.11.04
old dog, new tricks 9.2.04
if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all 8.15.04
Frida Kahlo, Charles Bukowski and Joel-Peter Witkin have left the building 2.13.03
R.I.P. smog.net 5.19.04
almost cut my hair...it happened just the other day 4.23.04
and we're back! 4.22.04
one cocoa full a basket 2.14.04
let's get ready to rumble 1.24.04
brace yourself for a shitstorm 1.6.04
it's my party, i'll o.d. if i want to 12.6.03
pimp-a-licious 11.27.03
on a clear day you can see the 18th century 11.9.03
men are from mars, women are from vegas 10.14.03
hit and run walker 10.6.03
It's all cow, after all 10.2.03
Johnny Cash is dead, Tower records is bankrupt, gawd save the fucking Queen. 9.13.03
any history of mental illness? 9.10.03
boggle: to hesitate as if in fear or doubt. 9.6.03
pass the aspirin 8.27.03
this is what i get for leaving the house 7.21.03
safety in numbers 7.13.03
god damn 7.11.03
a million and one stupid things... 6.6.03
praise Jeebus! 5.23.03
Kennedy to John Lydon; "Oh, lighten up!" 5.20.03
they say the French are cowards and assholes... 5.2.03
I couldn't possibly be *that* fat! 4.19.03
what's so funny 'bout peace love and understanding? 3.22.03
this skunk's for you 3.12.03
Monday's coming like a jail on wheels 2.24.03
linux, linus, lomax, duck! 2.20.03
FREE MICHAEL JACKSON! 2.18.03
the weather in Los Angeles is cloudy 2.13.03
©1995-2008 mjp
| life at 300 baud Thursday, June 9th 2005, 12:01am
Carol and i have been watching a great documentary for the past couple of days, and i know how documentary-hungy you bitches are, so here's a link for you: BBS: The Documentary.
"eh? what's the matter with you, mjp, are you losing your mind? i ain't watching no damn BBS documentary! what the hell is a BBS anyway?!"
BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems) are how geeks communicated online in those dusty olde pre-internet days. you'd have your computer's modem dial a number (usually another geeks house), and if the line wasn't busy (early boards could accommodate only one user at a time), you'd be connected to their computer. that computer ran BBS software that had a primitive version of email, file downloads, games, etc. the geek running the system was called a sysop - system operator. they were usually surly and unnecessarily authoritarian and stern.
sounds like a barrel of fun, doesn't it?
well, even if it doesn't, the fact that you're reading this means you use computers in some form or another, and that will be enough to hook you in. because really, the documentary isn't so much about the actual BBSes as it is about the people who ran and used them.
director Jason Scott travelled the country interviewing over 200 such people, and has distilled the interviews into a 5 1/2 hour documentary spread over three DVDs, with another hour and a half of bonus footage thrown in just to make it that much more overwhelming.
i've only seen the first disc so far, but the quality far exceed my expectations. never mind that it is a DIY project - the product of only one obsessed guy - this is a damn fine film by any standards. i would rank it up there with Robert Cringely's Triumph of the Nerds documentaries. and i really liked those.
even if you didn't live and breathe BBSes, as most of his interview subjects did, you'll be fascinated by this look back into the ancient history of the first online communities. really great stuff.
and i know, 5 1/2 hours is a hell of a long time, but the first disc zipped by quickly. the film flows really well, and since it's interesting, time flies while you watch it. kinda like how the season premiere of six feet under flew by the other night...
so here's my obligatory BBS story ---
i found a local BBS listed in the back of some computer magazine - i think there were about three dozen of them in LA at the time - but it was a private board so i had to actually call the sysop on the fucking phone to get a login. i left him a message and he called me back a couple of days later...
sysop: do i know you?
me: no.
sysop: do you work for McDonnell Douglas? (turns out the board was run by and for aircraft engineers)
me: no.
sysop: well...why do you want to use the board?
me: i don't know - i saw it in a magazine, and i have a computer and i was curious...
sysop: [long pause, followed by a dramatic sigh] ooookay. i suppose i could let you in on a trial basis.
so, yeah, things were a little different back then. stay tuned and i'll tell you about the day electricity came to town, and the first moving pictures! bastards...
on Thursday, June 9th 2005 at 7:53am, damian said:
on Thursday, June 9th 2005 at 8:55am, sarah said:
on Thursday, June 9th 2005 at 8:56pm, Jason Scott said:
on Saturday, June 11th 2005 at 9:29pm, Thumper Jumpstart said:
on Sunday, June 12th 2005 at 2:44pm, mjp said:
on Thursday, July 21st 2005 at 10:56pm, sueflokey said:
on Sunday, July 24th 2005 at 1:44pm, Hillbilly Jones said:
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