• Message To Hubs

    From Daryl Stout@316:36/9 to All on Fri May 19 14:38:17 2023
    I'm trying something new with Internet Rex...instead of my trying
    to poll your system just after 1am Eastern, 12am Central, 11pm
    Mountain, and 10pm Pacific Time, for FTN mail runs...I'm going to
    put Internet Rex into daemon mode. Originally, I had in in that, but
    one of my connects would make it exit after a poll.

    So, in conjunction with my CAPTCHA batchfiles, that copy a new
    random code every 5 minutes around the clock...every 15 minutes,
    I will have the system check for the semaphore file in Internet
    Rex's semaphore directory, indicating it or daemon mode, is active.
    If it finds that file, it exits...but if not, it activates daemon
    mode.

    If this "testing" works, then the nodelists can be modified to
    show The Thunderbolt BBS as being CM (continuous mail). I will still
    do a nightly poll at the times noted above.

    If you can't connect, then one or more of the folllowing is the
    reason:

    1) Xfinity internet outage.
    2) Power outage, which means the internet is out as well.
    3) Rebooting for Windows Update (sometime on the 2nd Tuesday).
    4) Offline for thunderstorms in the area (potential or actual).

    If you can't connect, please try your poll again later.

    For QWK Networking Connects, I'll do those polls on an hourly basis.

    Please email me at wx1der@gmail.com if you have any questions.

    Daryl Stout, WX4QZ, Sysop, The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas
    --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (316:36/9)
  • From Daryl Stout@316:36/9 to All on Wed May 24 19:20:11 2023
    I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but, unless you've been under a
    rock or in a cave (man caves are not included <G>), you've probably seen
    the stories of the possibility of the United States DEFAULTING on its
    debt, and breaching the debt ceiling on June 1, 2023.

    The Republicans are RIGHTLY saying that "Congress can't keep spending
    money like a drunken sailor, wanting a blank check, and with UNLIMITED spending, as if a credit card that gets no balance on it, no matter what
    is charged...never expecting to have to pay it back".

    Several states, including Arkansas, have a "balanced budget requirement";
    but there has never been such a thing in Washington, DC. You know that
    neither that, or the prospect of "term limits" will ever see the light of
    day, in ANY national government...especially in the US Congress!!

    I myself had to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy in late 2009, due to the
    mounting medical and credit card debt...but I'm long since discharged
    from that, and only have a debit card now. The amount of credit card
    debt (never mind student loan debt) is absolutely staggering in their
    scope!!

    The Democrats are screaming "the end of benefits for the combination
    of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), and related items".

    This debacle, if it occurs, would affect EVERYONE that's elderly, low
    income, or disablede...depriving them of funds for medications and the
    medical needs/care, food, water, and to pay the various bills for the
    utilities (electric, gas, water, phone, vehicular, etc.). Then, they
    would also deprive veterans (current and retired) of their well deserved
    pay. Yet, they are implying that they would continue to pay the illegal
    aliens, so they could "vote Democrat".

    This also would affect world financial markets...with trillions, if not quadrillions of dollars in wealth and retirement funds, along with bank
    and other savings, being wiped out as well. It would make the financial
    crashes of 1929 and 1987 look like "child's play".

    While I'm not a veteran (my health was so poor growing up, with poor
    eyesight and no arches in my feet, that I never would've passed the
    physical exam), I've been fully disabled since mid-2004, and they keep
    finding stuff wrong with me (I was diagnosed with congestive heart
    failure in spring, 2022).

    Yet, Congress WOULDN'T DARE touch their own high salaries or pensions.
    This proves that ALL of them...on both sides of the political aisle...
    are nothing more than a bunch of greedy, power mad, cowards...with no
    clue to what life is like outside the Beltway of Washington, DC. Before
    they are elected, they give the voters "the thumbs up". After they get
    elected, they give the voters the bird of obscenity -- [Screw] You. And,
    the money spent on elections (local, county, state, national), is well
    into the trillions (if not quadrillions) of dollars...so they can all
    become "lifetime politicians", just like "lifetime US Supreme Court
    justices". They lament that they can't survive on $250,000+ a year...
    frankly, they don't have a clue!!

    What I get on disability does NOT go very far...and if I do NOT get
    my disability on June 2, then there's a likelihood that, in VERY SHORT
    ORDER, I will disappear forever, online and otherwise...and the BBS
    will be shut down. I would have no way to get food, drink, medicine,
    or to pay the bills incurred, medical and otherwise.

    At that point, I'd be praying VERY HARD for either the Rapture Of
    The Church to occur (which will really accelerate things for the
    worst across the US and the rest of the world)...or for The Lord to
    send a disaster (tornado, earthquake, etc.) to destroy the place
    with me inside, or to have a sudden, massive heart attack, while
    the BBS is offline.

    Not to gloat, and not to sound like "I'm trying to cram a Bible down
    folks throats"...but the Scriptures do note that "I glory in The Cross Of Christ, and nothing that I've done"...doing "the one thing God requires";
    to repent (change my mind) on my sin, then believe on The Lord Jesus
    Christ, who died on The Cross for my sins, and rose from the dead on the
    third day, according to the Scriptures. So, I know whether at death, or
    at Rapture, I know that Heaven will be my home when I die...and I will
    see my late wife and Co-Sysop again, with joy unspeakable...never more
    to say goodbye. Her nickname was "Snake"...although she respected them.
    Mine was "Gator"...I can do the baby alligator/crocodile distress call;
    but you don't want to do that around a gator farm...as they will invite
    you for lunch...you'll be the main course!!

    I don't know if there will be BBSing in Heaven, but as I heard an
    evangelist note once..."Whether it's Chick-Fil-A, golfing, or other things needed in Heaven to make the believers happy...God will make sure that
    they are there". As a side note, during the summer months, the peach milk
    shake that Chick-Fil-A has, is TO DIE FOR...but if you drink it too fast,
    you will get BRAIN AND CHEST FREEZE!! Yet, it is the perfect thing on a
    hot summer day.

    Basically "all our righteousness is as filthy rags" (literally bloody menstrual cloths) before The Lord...and were it not for what Christ did
    for mankind, to provide "God's Free Love Gift", then no one would be
    going to Heaven...but instead, to the eternal torment with Satan and his demons...Hell, and The Lake Of Fire. These places were NEVER meant for mankind...but everyone choosing to reject the Gospel, of their own free
    will and choice, goes there at death.

    Everyone gets at least one chance to hear the Gospel, and God will
    NOT force anyone to do "the one thing He requires", as noted above;
    in other words, "I am NOT trying to cram a Bible down one's throat".
    All God requires the "believers" to do is "plant the seed". Yet, if
    the believers ON Jesus (and not just IN Him) are wrong, they won't
    lose much when they die. And one day, we'll know who is RIGHT. It is
    "God's Free Love Gift" to mankind, as none of us could do anything to
    earn or buy it.

    And, that's WHY for the Christian doors on the BBS, my policy has
    always been that "if you decided to access the items, it's of your
    own free will and choice...and what you do with that info is up to
    you". Accessing/using them, was NEVER a requirment to stay online,
    ever since the BBS came online over 31 years ago now.

    There is far more waste in government than all the excrement (urine,
    feces, and vomit) produced by every man and beast on the planet Earth.
    Yet, the globalist elite want to turn the US into another Cuba, China, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, or other totalitarian like states...
    where only those in power benefit...and all of the opposing dissident
    peasants are executed (murdered). To me, all these wanting such, need
    a one way ticket to these areas...and they will see the hard truth of
    these evil regimes. Their heads will likely be "the first to roll" when
    such hits this part of the world.

    There is a time period coming up after The Rapture Of The Church
    (when all true believers on Jesus Christ, dead and alive, will so
    quickly disappear (faster than one can blink an eye)), noted in the
    Bible as "The Time Of Jacob's Trouble" or "The Tribulation". It will
    literally be Hell On Earth for seven years...and if The Good Lord
    did not return at the appointed time, then all flesh, man and beast,
    on the Earth, would die. The world ruler will literally be Satan
    incarnate, and he'll make the regimes of Hitler, Mao, and Stalin
    (among others) pale by comparison. Billions will die, whether they
    are Christians, Jews, or not.

    While the Bible said we would not know the day and hour of the
    Rapture, it did say we would know we were "in the season" of The
    Lord's Return, and I firmly believe we are there. Folks wondering
    what life was like before the worldwide Noahic flood, or life in
    Sodom and Gomorrah (before being destroyed by fire), just need to
    "take a look around".

    The Lord certainly has far more patience than I do...but I feel
    that His Patience is rapidly being exhausted. God has always been a
    Gentleman, and He will give those who want nothing to do with Him,
    exactly what they want one day. But, many of these also detest the
    fact that "it's God's Creation, and His Rules".

    While I've enjoyed my hobbies of the BBS, amateur radio, and
    square dancing for over 30 years, I've always known that they
    could not go on forever. Yet, this earthly life is "temporary"...
    eternity is far longer...and folks need to plan now for it. You
    can go to http://www.wx4qz.net/s00.htm to see how you can "Get
    A Free Gift". I can tell you that "Going Through The Motions",
    won't cut it...and that the majority of the world and mankind
    want nothing to do with Biblical Christianity...but again, it is
    your choice on what to do with "God's Free Love Gift".

    Tomorrow, let alone the next 5 seconds, is promised to no one.
    And, while I'm on medication for congestive heart failure, I have
    no way of knowing if I'll be raptured, or will die beforehand (in
    my sleep, or otherwise (I also have severe sleep apnea). If the
    BBS is down for severe storms, and a tornado comes through...or
    if a major earthquake occurs (the New Madrid Fault runs right
    through central Arkansas, but it'll be worse for Memphis and St.
    Louis), and the structure is destroyed with me in it...the BBS and
    I will be no more. If you see a story on the news that much of the
    city of Little Rock was destroyed in a tornado or earthquake, there
    is a possibility that I and the BBS were destroyed in it.

    I don't like to be "the bearer of bad news", but this is the
    harsh reality facing America. The Republicans did their part of
    the responsibility of the debt ceiling, but the Democrats want
    nothing to do with that...only wanting another "blank check" and
    "unlimited credit card". In the parable of the talents in the Bible,
    Jesus Christ excused NO ONE from both personal responsibility and accountability...whether in matters that are sacred, or secular.

    Network Sysops who want to disconnect and ban me from their
    networks because of this post, are welcome to do so. I run the
    BBS for my benefit, and for those who enjoy using it...because
    they want to...not because they have to.

    Daryl Stout, WX4QZ, Sysop, The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas
    --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (316:36/9)
  • From Daryl Stout@316:36/9 to All on Sat May 27 07:09:45 2023
    The "debt ceiling" X-Date deadline was extended until Monday, June 5.
    All of Congress is out on recess (as usual) for the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend...but they will still have to get an agreement before the noted deadline. Congress gets more recess than I did in elementary school over
    55 years ago.

    Sticking points still remain on "work requirements" for able bodied individuals receiving "welfare", and a few other issues.

    But, it appears that I will get my disability payment on June 2,
    which will allow me to stay online for at least another month. Of
    course, with hurricane season starting June 1, if areas of storms,
    or the remnants of hurricanes affect my area, I'm going to be offline,
    until the weather clears.

    There's a story on the NEWSMAX website from Michael Reagan (the eldest
    son of the late President Ronald Reagan), and he basically noted that "all
    this debt ceiling cry is a lie"...the main problem is out of controlled spending and "government waste".

    He noted that a few years back, The Washington Post published an
    interactive page, where readers could take the $172.4 billion that
    was available, and decided who got paid in the event of a shutdown,
    and who didn't.

    Reagan noted that he "took the money and paid all the essentials:"

    Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, T-Bill Debt Service, federal
    salaries and benefits, unemployment insurance, food stamps and
    related benefits, military pay, veterans affairs, the Department
    Of Justice.

    He then noted that there was $700 million left over for the odd
    drone strike, or congressional sexual harrassment settlement.

    He also added "There was no default", and added "You'll never see this mistake in The Washington Post again".

    For that matter, that apparently applies to any of the mainstream
    media.

    Daryl Stout, WX4QZ, Sysop, The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas
    --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (316:36/9)
  • From DarkmanAlmighty@316:36/53 to Daryl Stout on Sun May 28 08:29:50 2023
    On 27 May 2023, Daryl Stout said the following...

    The "debt ceiling" X-Date deadline was extended until Monday, June 5. All of Congress is out on recess (as usual) for the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend...but they will still have to get an agreement before the noted deadline. Congress gets more recess than I did in elementary school over 55 years ago.


    That's great. Always leaving things last minute. The so called "debt ceiling" has been a point the subject of a sensationalized news story for the past 10yrs or so no matter who is in office, and Idk why it is. Sure, the debt is out of control and it keeps growing but if you think about it, the alternative would be disastrous with so many consequences. This is not the chosen path the Government wants. It's never happened before and I would not think it would happen by choice so I wouldn't worry about it..however, there is always a threat of loosing the benefits of being the chosen currency in the world trade market. In 2008 China was on track over take but due to a financial collapse that was track was thwarted. I'm not sure where things are at today but that doesn't mean that it can't come close again in the future. That is something I would worry about--another country overtaking.

    Anyway, thats my ramblings on the subject.

    |15/)|07arkman|15 /\|07lmighty|15
    |11"No matter where you go, there you are..."

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/08/19 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: USS Excelsior BBS * excelsiorbbs.ddns.net:2000 (316:36/53)
  • From Daryl Stout@316:36/9 to All on Mon May 29 17:35:04 2023
    It appears that the issue with the IREX daemon mode has been fixed.
    So, you can update the entry for The Thunderbolt BBS in the various
    network nodelists (if applicable) to have the CM (Continuous Mail)
    flag. I use BinkP with IREX on Port 24554...please advise if you need
    a different port (such as 24555 or 24556).

    If you're unable to connect for whatever reason, I will still do a
    regular poll once a day, shortly after 12 midnight US Central Time.
    The only time this isn't done is if I'm offline for thunderstorms,
    power, internet, or computer issues.

    For security, I limit the connections to nodelisted entries, with
    a session password ONLY. I do NOT use a TIC password, and since I'm
    not a "hub", I don't have an AREAFIX password.

    Daryl Stout, WX4QZ, Sysop, The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas
    --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (316:36/9)
  • From Daryl Stout@316:36/9 to DarkmanAlmighty on Fri Jun 16 04:39:00 2023
    That's great. Always leaving things last minute. The so called "debt ceiling" has been a point the subject of a sensationalized news story
    for the past 10yrs or so no matter who is in office, and Idk why it is.

    In journalism, the theme is "if it bleeds, it leads". So, if they can
    cause panic, or other emotions, it'll be on the front page. One of the
    tricks will be to use "creative headlines", such as one story that had the
    headline "SUPERMAN TO FLY PLANE!!". But, the lead paragraph, was "Clark
    Kent Superman of Metropolis got his pilots license certification today". <G>

    The term "government shutdown" is redundant <G>...yet, they wait until
    the last minute to approve things.

    The financial constraints I (and others) have being on a fixed income,
    makes it difficult to survive. I'm back down to 1 meal a day, trying to
    stretch out the food supply (my doctor chewed me out for that, but I have
    no choice). While I don't have the car related expenses anymore, since I
    had to give up driving and sell my car a year ago, and also lost my
    "independence", at least I can get groceries and medications delivered,
    and get transportation to/from doctor's offices.

    Daryl

    ... Auto correct has become my own worst enema.
    === MultiMail/Win v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (316:36/9)