Big Bertha Thing balloon
Cosmic Ray Series
Possible Real World System Constructs
http://web.onetel.com/~tonylance/balloon.html
7K Web Page
Astrophysics net ring access site
Newsgroup Reviews including sci.optics

The "Monstre" Balloon

From the book
The Ingoldsby Legends
by the Rev. Richard H. Barham
Published by Richard Edward King,
88 Curtain Road,
London E.C.
Inscribed;-
Barbara Death
From Aunt Emma
March 6th 1921
(C) Copyright Tony Lance 1999
Distribute complete and free of charge to comply. 


Big Bertha Thing welfare

29th April 1999
Operations Manager,
The Benefits Agency, 

Dear Sirs,

Further to your letter of 28th April 1999, 
regarding a list of questions, on the possibility of my working at all. 

I will attempt to answer your questions, in order as listed in your letter. 

1.I am not working, I am just pottering arround on the internet. 
  I last registered for course work with the Open University in 
  1997. This would have involved 6 hours work per week. 
  I could only manage half-an-hour per day, so totally failed 
  to do the work or complete the course. Not even one homework 
  assignment was completed.
  In August 1997, I bought a second hand computer for 150 pounds 
  sterling, and was given free access to the Open University 
  computer along local telephone lines at a call charge of 
  1p per minute.
  Since that time, I managed to build up a body of correspondence, 
  within the limits of half-an-hour per day mental or physical work.
  In January 1999, this correspondence was transfered by me to my 
  web site; www.bertha.ndirect.co.uk(since disabled.) 
  I have to pay 14 pounds and 9p per month for this site. 

2.Nobody suggested it, it just happened. 
3.My doctor does not know that I have a web site. 
4.See answer 1 for description of my activities. 
  No job is being done, so no job description exists. 

5.No employer exists or payments have been recieved. 
6.I can think straight for half-an-hour per day. 
  The rest of the time is spent pottering arround. 
  I can do one side of A4 paper of mathematics 
  or computer work per day. 

7.On any day free of a major shopping expedition, 
  I can do half-an-hour of original work and 
  about an hour of copy typing at non-typist speeds. 

8.My principle interest is a 50 year scientific project, 
  which was started 30 years ago. 
  If I could spend 48 hours per week doing it I would. 
  However half-an-hour work and an hour pottering, 
  seems to be all I can manage and 
  at that not every day of the week.
  Due to my condition, I asked Mrs. Pam S...., 
  a fellow Open University student to be the project archivist 
  for my work on the Open University computer. 
  She agreed and kept the archive of the correspondence 
  which is now on my web site. This is both an unusual 
  request and an unusually generous service 
  to a fellow student on incapacity benefit. 

9.Zero income for as far as the eye can see. 
10.Not applicable, zero wages or income. 
11.August 1997 and is ongoing. 

I trust that the above will put the internet feeding frenzy 
of the newspaper hype into some perspective. 

Thank you,
Tony Lance
mickalice@big-bertha-thing.com


Big Bertha Thing filter

On sci.astro I just had a look at Xnews killfile.(14/7/01)
There are one or two problems.
 1. Free NNTP server access is a Warez activity.
 2. PGP probably has a CIA back door.
 3. Bertha subject filter will be valid for the duration.
 4. NTK.net suggests killfile needs to be too big.
 5. 301 files most wanted list is represented by precious few.
 6. Killfile is part of the problem, not the solution.
 7. NTK.net advocates invitation only filter.
 8. NTK.net regrets the victims whose innocent postings are deleted.
 9. Xnews is free and written by Luu Tran. (news.software.readers)
10. Filter is two-edged sword. (censorship and persecution)
11. Linux type collaboration is worst case scenario.
12. For solution see Big Bertha Thing format.(see below)



Big Bertha Thing format

Anybody heard of the fly-paper trap?
Where all the flies are collected, in an unsightly mess, 
hanging from the kitchen ceiling. 
The expensive version is the lizard with a long tongue, 
that retracts after each catch. 

Take an uncensored version of a usenet newsgroup, 
show the subject line of each thread header, 
with the total number of postings and the net 
number of postings after extracts. 
Put the total number of extracts, in the first line, 
at the top of the list of postings. 
Anyone wishing to search the extracts clicks on it 
and finds each person extracted with 2 lines each. 
The first line shows the number of thread headers 
and the second the number of replies. 
Further clicks go down to posting level. 

Extract everyone with more than 1000 postings 
on any single newsgroup, from all newsgroups. 

Examples of the fly-paper trap can be found on:-
http://web.onetel.com/~tonylance/news.html
http://web.onetel.com/~tonylance/want04.html
Thank you,
Tony Lance 
mickalice@big-bertha-thing.com