SILICON SOAPWARE wafting your way along the slipstreams of the Info Highway from Bubbles = Tom Digby = bubbles@well.sf.ca.us = tgdigby@netcom.com http://www.well.com/user/bubbles/ Issue Zero Feb 1, 1995 rev Apr 29, 1995 Contents copyright 1995 by Thomas G. Digby, with a liberal definition of "fair use". In other words, feel free to quote excerpts elsewhere (with proper attribution), post the entire zine (verbatim, including this notice) on other boards that don't charge specifically for reading the zine, and so on, but if something from here forms a substantial part of something you make money from, it's only fair that I get a cut of the profits. MISC. BACKGROUND INFO as of Apr 29, 1995 This is issue #Zero, devoted to information about me and this zine. This issue will be kept on file and sent to all new subscribers. The version sent out in the future may be updated from what you're reading now, but old subscribers won't miss anything important that's not in the regular issues. As some may know, Bubbles is my name among Pagans and the Radical Fairies, and is also my handle on more than one board. Therefore it seems appropriate to use soap bubble references as a zine title. I'm an engineer and programmer by technical background, but I'm also to some degree a philosopher, poet, and all-around interesting strange person. My major gift seems to be putting disparate concepts together in new ways. For me, brainstorming is something that just happens almost by reflex, not something I have to work at doing. You are getting this either because you asked to or I had your address somewhere and thought you might want it. I hope to put it out somewhere around moonthly (near New Moon), with perturbations in the schedule for major holidays, science fiction conventions, and the like. It is distributed mostly by email, but will also be posted on The WELL and maybe a couple of other places. It may also eventually be put up on an ftp site somewhere, but that's not definite yet. Feedback is appreciated. See below about the technical fine points. For now, I'm doing this as a mailing list with two categories of readers: Public and Private. If you're on the Public list everybody else on the Public list gets to see your address and can include you in replies. If you're on the Private list others don't see your address, don't know you're getting this, and can't reply to you, even though you can still reply to me. New names go on the Private list by default, but will be moved to the Public list on request. Most systems let you choose between replying just to me or to the whole Public list, generally by whether you hit "r" or "R" to initiate the reply. Since system settings vary (some use "r" for the whole list and "R" for just the sender, while others are the opposite) check your system manual for how to do the kind of reply you want. If I reply to a reply I may want to quote some of what I'm replying to to give other readers some context. Please let me know if you don't want to be quoted in public. In that case I'll do an anonymous paraphrase of your reply. Changes as of Apr 29, 1995 Web URL has changed because the site renamed some directories. Frequency of "monthly" changed to "moonthly (near New Moon)". PERSONAL SIGNATURE THAT'S TOO LONG FOR USENET Moon??? Have you ever been to a part of the world Where people don't believe in the Moon And saying that you've seen it brings howls of cruel laughter? Where the silvery light shining in the night Is a thing that defies explanation And the tides are caused by the breathing of the oysters? Have you ever been to a part of the world Where people don't believe in the Sun And everyone is acting just like it wasn't shining? Where to walk down the road in the midday heat You are careful to carry a lantern, Or you have to move as if stumbling in the darkness? Have you ever been to a part of the world Where people don't believe in the Moon And people that've seen it are locked up in the nut house? Where the young lovers go out beside the sea And they watch the reflections of nothing, And they never talk about what they think they see there? Have you ever been to a part of the world Where people don't believe in the rain But keep on getting wet without any earthly reason? Where you go with your friends for a picnic lunch While you fear what you'd better not mention, And it's just delusions you have to come in out of? Have you ever been to a part of the world Where people don't believe In love??? Thomas G. Digby written ???? 1968? typed/revised 0130 hr 11/23/75 entered 2340 hr 3/16/92