                                  T H E

                               Z E P H Y R

                      __     M A G A Z I N E
                     {__]++++++++++++++++++++++++++[]
                     Issue #13                4-26-86

                A weekly electronic magazine for users of
                      THE ZEPHYR II BBS (894-6526)
                    owned and operated by T. H. Smith

                        Editor - Gene B. Williams

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                                (c) 1986

    THIS ISSUE:

       We seem to be getting less response rather than more on the
    magazine board (and on Zephyr in general). Perhaps we're in a
    slack period. Or maybe there really ARE just a very few users
    out there.
       The "Star Wars" issue of last week SHOULD have stirred up some
    conversation. First, it's something that affects all of us. You
    can hide your head, but this stuff will still blow your a** off as
    it sticks up in the air. Second, it is a much misunderstood topic,
    and some information was given that most of you probably never knew
    about (but which is easily verifiable if you doubt my word for
    it).
       Consequently, last week's issue remains up, in hopes of getting
    some action going on this board. (And I'm seriously considering
    going back to a bi-weekly status for the magazine.)
       However, a new issue - this one - is being tacked to the end
    of last week's issue - in appreciation for those who have taken
    part. It's a short one, and not much. But it is appreciatively
    dedicated to the readers who are more than just readers.

       Lots of strange things happen in our world. And there are many
    things that we all THINK that we know, but we really don't have
    the foggiest idea about them.
       Who was our first president? (It wasn't George Washington.)
       When you vote for the president, do you really? (nope)

       As Dr. Lao said, "There are more wonders in the world than you
    could ever imagine, even after a lifetime spent in Abalone."

       Well, read on.

                                Atlantis

         Ready for a disappointment? This concerns the so-called
    Lost Continent, Atlantis.
         Right around 400 BC, in Athens, there was a man named Plato
    - or rather there was a man named Aristocles. The name we know
    him by, Plato, comes from his nickname, Platon. Platon in Greek
    means, "broad," and was given to him because he was a pretty big
    fella with broad shoulders.
         Anyway, Plato was well known as a teacher throughout Greece.
    He developed what was the first university in the world. The
    location was on a chunk of land that supposedly once belonged to
    another Greek named Academus. (We still use the word Academy,
    which comes from this.)
         One of his ways of teaching was to use stories. To talk
    about the senses and illusion, he used a parable of people who
    lived in a cave. Another lesson, called Timaeus, talked about the
    morality of a fictional place - a place he called Atlantis.
         Before you get too excited, evidence shows that an island in
    the Aegean Sea DID blow up in about 1400 BC. The thing is, the
    name "Atlantis" was invented by Plato and was pure fiction.

                         Who Discovered America?

         As to Christopher Columbus and America:
         It's commonly thought that he was Spanish, since he sailed
    for Spain. Some think of him as being Portuguese, since Portugal
    was at that time one of the world leaders in exploration and map
    making. Actually, he was born in Genoa, Italy, sometime around
    1451, although nobody is absolutely sure.
         As he was growing up and learning about the world, he came
    across a map made by a guy named Toscanelli. This was 1481. He
    also came into contact with the writings of Marco Polo. These
    things stirred up his interest (and his greed). There were
    incredible riches to be found to the east. The trouble was that
    those riches were miles away - HARD, dangerous and expensive
    miles. (Normally, a convoy of ships in which about half returned
    was considered to be a huge success.)
         Old Chris also had some mixed up information. He thought
    that the entire world had a circumference of only 18,000 miles.
    By some miscalculation and other problems, he thought sure that
    he could reach India, China and other points east by sailing just
    3000 miles to the west. He had the attitude of, "Whattsa matter
    you guysa? India? She'sa justa few miles thataway, and nobody
    steala you stuff!"
         He brought the idea to the Portuguese, the experts in the
    field at that time. They told him to go away, and stay away,
    until he learned something about geography. Italy, too, turned
    its back on him. So did England and Spain.
         But, in 1492 something wonderful (wonderful?) happened in
    Spain. After taking the Moors' math and science (which moved Spain
    forward vastly), the Spanish kicked them out. It was one of those
    situations where the Spanish said, "You guys gave us all we
    wanted, now you can leave - or die."
         Well, the Moors were gone at last. Ferdinand (not the
    tortoise, the King) and Isabella (not the street, the Queen) were
    finally feeling in a generous mood. (Well, sorta.)  They gave
    Columbus the equivalent of about $40 and told him to get lost -
    literally.
         August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain in three tiny,
    leaky ships. His crew of 120 were mostly people who had no choice
    in the matter, since they were taken from prison. They fought
    starvation, disease and mutiny all the way across the Atlantic.
    (Can you imagine the smell of a ship after a few weeks out on the
    ocean?)
         He got himself promptly lost and ended up by landing on a
    small island in the Caribbean on October 12th. This is now called
    the Dominican Republic. He left his brother in charge of a
    settlement there. When he came back some time later, the settle-
    ment, his brother and the others were gone. The natives just
    smiled and shrugged. "Settlement? What settlement? Never heard of
    it."
         After he arrived back in Spain he proudly announced, "I
    found India!" When he died in 1506 he was still saying the same
    thing. He never knew that he hadn't. To this day we call the
    people he found - or sorta found - Indians. Never in any of his
    explorations did Columbus actually touch our country. Nor would
    he have known it if he had.
         During his explorations (3 more trips in the next 10 years)
    he constantly got himself into trouble. After returning from the
    third trip he was thrown into prison for excessive cruelty to the
    natives. Not an easy thing to be accused of in those days!
         His discovery of land to the west stirred up quite a bit of
    attention. All of a sudden the countries of Europe wanted to go
    exploring, and to make new maps of the area.
         One of the map makers was named Amerigo Vespucci. As with
    most artists, he signed his works with his name. Later on someone
    misinterpreted the signature - and we came to be called . . .

    AMERICA!

                                Elections

         In the 1980 election Carter took 41.7% of the popular vote,
    with Reagan winning 51.6%. Yet, by electoral votes - the ones
    that actually elect the President - Carter got only 9%, with
    Reagan taking 91%.
         In the 1984 election, Mondale received 40.9% of the popular
    vote, and Reagan taking 59.1%. The electoral votes this time were
    2.4% for Mondale and 97.6% for Reagan.
         There have been cases in the past where the popular vote -
    the vote of the people - was in favor of one candidate, but
    another candidate was put into office.

                        Columbia - The REAL Thing

         Columbia Pictures (the movie company) is owned by Coca Cola
    (as is Hi-C).
         Doritos and Frito-Lay (chips) are owned by Pepsi. (So are
    Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and all sporting goods with the name
    'Wilson' on them. North American Van Lines is also owned by
    Pepsi, which means you can work up a sweat in moving and quench
    your thirst doing it at the same time.)
         Fisher Price (toys for kids) is owned by Quaker Oats (who
    also make the Ken-L Ration brands of pet foods).
         Jack-in-the-Box is owned by Ralston-Purina (makers of Purina
    Dog Chow and Cat Chow and etc.).

                       Birth of the American Debt

         Many people think that our country was born in 1776.
    Actually, this was the year that the Declaration of Independence
    was drawn up. It wasn't until 1789 that we were actually a
    country. In the first 11 years (from 1789 to 1800) the net income
    of our country was $5,717,000 (not quite 6 million). Expenditures
    were $5,776,000, which immediately put us in debt ($59,000
    worth).
         Since 1962, when Kennedy took office, there has been just
    one year in which our country showed a surplus. This was 1969
    under President Johnson, with a surplus showing at the end of the
    fiscal year of 3.2 billion dollars. (Sounds good until you
    realize that the year before - 1968 - and under the same guy, we
    suffered a net loss of 25.2 billion.)
         The single largest fiscal deficit since World War II
    occurred in 1983 (under President Reagan). In that year, America
    went another 195.4 billion dollars into debt. (Other deficits
    under Reagan have been:
         1981 - 57.9 billion; (his first year in office)
         1982 - 110.6 billion (the first triple digit deficit in
    history);
         1983 - 195.4 billion
         1984 - 183.7 billion (estimated)

         As far as presidential performance is concerned since the
    end of World War II: (all numbers are billions of dollars)

    President      Net Loss       Average Loss Per Year of Term

    Truman          4.4             .55
    Eisenhower     15.8            1.975
    Kennedy         5.95          11.9
    Johnson        42.0            7.0
    Nixon          68.7           13.74
    Ford          124.6           62.3
    Carter        181.0           45.25
    Reagan        547.6          136.9    (1st 4 years in office)

        (including the predicted deficits of 1985, Reagan's
         total net loss comes to 728 billion for his first
         5 years, or an average yearly loss of 145.6 billion)

                               In the News

         In 1972 Hans Grosse of West Germany set the world's record
    for distance flown in a glider. He flew 907.7 miles - without
    using a drop of fuel (except, of course, the fuel needed to get
    the glider into the air). That's about the same distance as it is
    between Chicago and Dallas.
         In 1981 another aerial record was set. Ben Abruzzo, in a
    Raven Experimental balloon (hmmm, that name sounds familiar),
    went from Nagashima, Japan to Covello, California. The flight
    took 3 days (between November 9 and 12). By the end of it,
    Abruzzo had gone 5,208.67 miles.

         Richmond High School in Indiana decided that too many
    students were cutting classes. Their solution was to offer $100
    to any student with a perfect attendance record. It seemed a fine
    idea, since only 37 students had such a record in the previous
    year. But, when the 1983-1984 school year ended, the school found
    itself in debt to 200 students ($20,000).

         As of May, 1984, the toilets on 10 of the 11 shuttle
    missions failed to work properly.

         A woman in Richmond (California, this time) must have been a
    real nut for having a green lawn. She watered it 24 hours a day,
    using up some 21,433 gallons per week.

    UNTIL NEXT TIME

      Next week? Maybe the week after that? Or perhaps the magazine
    should become a monthly? I used to set a minimum goal of about
    25 posts. Maybe I could institute that? The issue stays on until
    there have been 25 meaningful, and participatory, posts?
    It's worth some thought. YOU tell ME how often you want to see
    new issues come up.
      But keep in mind that my only pay for this job is the response
    from the readers. As it is at the moment, I'm far FAR below the
    poverty level. (hmmm. maybe nobody likes the magazine)
      We could set things up so that only those users who have "paid"
    that subscription fee of bringing in a new user gets access to the
    magazine section. Or perhaps I could limit access to the magazine
    to those readers who take part? (All BOTH of them.)
      I must admit, this is getting rather frustrating.
      Let's hear some views and opinions.

      I still welcome submissions and ideas from the readers. Encourage
    might be a more accurate term. Or to put it another way - consider
    it a challenge.
      Chris Mitchell accepted that challenge and wrote an issue.
    To date, he has been the only one.
      If you are interested, tell me. In fact, commit yourself by
    telling me right here on the magazine board that you would like
    to do an issue. (Besides, I've found that the people who appreciate
    the magazine most are those who have at least attempted to do an
    issue. So, let's have EVERYONE give it a try!)
      The only condition is that I will have to reserve the right
    to accept, refuse or edit (hopefully moderately - and even more
    hopefully, not at all).

    One final note.
      This past week or so I've received quite a number of messages
    from people who have the idea that I am Sysop. Like everyone else, I
    LOVE to get mail. But, and to make it official - I simply work here.
    Thane is the "boss." If you have questions or suggestions about the
    magazine, fine. I'm the guy. But if it concerns Zephyr as a system,
    the one to contact is owner, lord and master of the Zephyr, Thane
    Smith. Just address your mail to SYSOP and he'll get it.
      If you have an article suggestion - that's me.
      If you have an idea for a new sub-board, that's Thane.

Zephyr Magazine is © Gene Williams. All rights reserved.