Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 22:25:57 -0500
From: crispen@NETSQUIRREL.COM
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: TOURBUS -- 28 MAY 1998 -- COOL GAMES / SQUIRREL STUFF
This post contains inline ASCII graphics that look best in a monospace
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now.
_________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _
/ | / | | / | \
| SAVE MONEY! SAVE MONEY! SAVE MONEY! / | \
|__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \
/ /______|----\
| Refill your inkjet printer. Black ink: $21.95/pint. |//////| |
| Color: $23.95/pint. Call 1-888-728-2465 or visit |//////| |
| our website http://www.oddparts.com/ink/tour.htm |//////| |
\________________________________________________________|______|____|
/ \ / \ / \
\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): A COUPLE COOL GAMES / SQUIRREL STUFF
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
WGN RADIO
http://www.wgnradio.com/
PYRAMAD FOR MAC
http://www.magicastle.com/pyramad/pyramad_mac.html
PYRAMAD FOR PC
http://www.magicastle.com/pyramad/pyramad_win.html
MICROSOFT'S DIRECT X DOWNLOAD PAGE
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/resources/dx5end.htm
THE OFFICIAL DX-BALL HOMEPAGE
http://www.clandt.com/dxb/
Howdy, y'all. It looks like we have another Internet urban legend to
squish. You may have recently received an email message warning you
that
If you receive an e-mail that is titled "Fwd: America Online 4.0
Upgrade" or has an attached file called "Setup40.exe" Do not
download the program it is NOT Aol 4.0 it is a program that will
e-mail your SCREEN NAME and your PASSWORD to two or more people
during two blackouts of your computer screen. DO NOT DOWNLOAD
DELETE IT!!! Please E-Mail this letter to as many people as
possible to avoid damage....thanks !!!
By now, everyone should know that you can not get a virus or a Trojan
Horse from reading a plain text email message (like, for example, the
email message you are reading right now). It can't happen, no matter
what you may have recently heard or read.
Also, please remember that, according to America Online, "AOL does not
circulate ANYTHING to customers by way of e-mail with attached files."
That's a pretty good piece of information to remember. In fact, if
you are an America Online subscriber, you really should write the
following down and commit it to memory:
1. AOL's staff will _NEVER_ ask you for your credit card number
(so if you get an instant message or email from anyone asking
you for your credit card number, the message is a scam).
2. AOL's staff will _NEVER_ ask you for your password (so if you
get an instant message or email from anyone asking you for
your password, the message is also a scam).
3. AOL will _NEVER_ send you an email with an attached file (so
if you receive an file attached to an email supposedly from
AOL, DELETE THE FILE ... it too is a scam).
So, the message floating around the Net right now warning you to avoid
emails titled "Fwd: America Online 4.0" is a scam. However, it is
quite conceivable (although highly unlikely) there is a program out
there called "Setup40.exe" that is full of viruses and/or Trojan
Horses. How can you protect yourself from this file, and from other
"infected" files?
1. VIRUS CHECK EVERY SINGLE FILE YOU PUT ONTO YOUR COMPUTER.
You can buy a high-quality virus scanning program for about
US$50 in almost every computer store on the planet.
2. Don't open _ANY_ file until you have made sure it is free of
viruses and Trojan Horses. Most high-quality virus scanning
programs automatically do this for you. [I've set my Norton
AntiVirus to operate in what I call 'full paranoia' mode. It
won't even save my downloads to my hard drive until the
downloads have been thoroughly checked for viruses and Trojan
Horses.]
3. Update your virus definitions often. Most good virus scanning
software companies provide free, updated virus definitions on
their corporate Web sites. I update my virus definitions
every two weeks (Norton AntiVirus has a built-in function
called "Live Update" which will automatically download and
install new virus definitions for me every week or two).
Now that we have squished that urban legend, let's pay some bills.
Make sure you visit both of today's TOURBUS sponsors (see the bus logo
above and the ad below) to thank them for keeping our bus on the road
for another week.
******* Web Site Hosting / Domain Name Services ********
FREE Web Site With Your Own Domain Name! Register & Reserve your
Domain name today. FREE e-mail account with your domain name.
Agents & Resellers needed. Sign up today at
*** http://www.cnetglobal.com or e-mail info@cngs.com ***
By the way, if you enjoy watching (or at least hearing) urban legends
get squished, you really should tune in to WGN Radio (AM 720) every
Wednesday night at 11:30-ish PM (Central Time -- which is GMT -6, I
think). Your fearless bus drive is the Internet Mythologist for WGN
Radio, and each Wednesday night I debunk (or, in some cases, "bunk") a
couple of the Internet's biggest urban legends. WGN Radio is a "clear
channel" station, meaning you can hear it in 38 states, most of
Canada, and parts of Mars and Jupiter. Thanks to the wonders of Real
Audio, you can also listen to WGN Radio live on the Net at
http://www.wgnradio.com/
And now, on with this week's journey of our little bus of Internet
happiness ...
-------
PYRAMAD
-------
Instead of talking about neat Web sites, this week's post is going to
focus on two really cool computer games that you can download and play for
free (and I am going to throw in a plug for a book too, but we'll
get to that in a minute).
The first game is called "Pyramad," and I have been playing it for
over a year. If you are a fan of mah jong (that Chinese tile game) or
even solitaire or mine sweeper, you are going to _LOVE_ Pyramad!
Pyramad is a strategy/puzzle game where you try to construct a multi-
level pyramid using multi-colored, four-sided blocks. The challenge
is that you can only place blocks with matching markings next to one
another.
What's maddening about Pyramad is that while the game is simple to
play, it is extremely addictive. The game's graphics and game play
are spectacular, and best of all it is a game I highly recommend for
_ALL_ ages.
Pyramad is free, but it is shareware. This means you are free to
download the game and play the game's first (easiest) level. If you
want to play some of the game's more advanced levels, you'll have to
register the software with the game's manufacturer (I think it costs
US$20.00). Personally, I recommend downloading the game and playing
the free level for a while. That's what I did for about six months.
:)
Pyramad is available for both Macs and PCs. The minimum Mac
requirements are System 7 or higher, 4.7 MB free disk space. 5.2 MB
RAM, 640x480 graphics, and 256 colors. You can download Pyramad for
the Mac at
http://www.magicastle.com/pyramad/pyramad_mac.html
The minimum PC requirements are Windows 3.1 or higher (it works great
on my Win 95 machine), 3.8 MB free disk space, 8 MB Ram, and 256
colors (grumble). You can download Pyramad for the PC at
http://www.magicastle.com/pyramad/pyramad_win.html
As I said earlier, I have been playing Pyramad for over a year (first
on my Mac, now on my PC), and it is a game I highly recommend. Best
of all, if you don't mind being limited to only one level of game
play, the game is absolutely FREE! :)
-------
DX-BALL
-------
If you are a fan of Star Trek, the Next Generation, you probably
remember the episode where everyone on board the Enterprise (save
Wesley Crusher) became addicted to a computer game that reprogrammed
everyone's mind. DX-Ball is the real world equivalent of that game.
:)
DX-Ball is combination of the arcade games "Pong," "Breakout," and
"Arkanoid," ... with stuff from the Amiga game "Megaball" thrown in
for good measure. The object is to use your mouse (or, in my case,
your track pad) to keep the ball in the air and to blow up bricks.
What makes DX-Ball so cool is all of the new weapons and powerups that
have been added to the game. As you progress through each level, it
is possible for you to collect special .jpgts" that let you expand the
size of your paddle, fire lasers, make your ball invincible so that it
will pass through anything, or even catch and hold the ball with your
paddle (every time you catch the ball, the game makes a really
hilarious "poot" sound). The game also throws bad stuff at you,
including things that will speed up the ball, make your paddle
smaller, cause the bricks to drop down a level every time the ball
touches your paddle, and there is even a "death" icon (a skull) that
kills you. Death is bad. Stay away from death. :P
The good news is that DX-Ball is absolutely FREE! The bad news is
that DX-Ball is only available for Windows 95 or NT 4.0. In fact,
here are the minimum requirements:
486 DX2/66 system
8 MB of RAM (minimum)
Windows 95 or NT 4.0
1.5 MB drive space
Direct X 2.0 or higher
The game uses Microsoft Direct X, an advanced set of multimedia
technologies built into Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. If
you don't have Direct X, or if you don't have the latest version
(5.2), check out Microsoft's Direct X download page at
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/resources/dx5end.htm
And, of course, to download the game, pop on over to
http://www.clandt.com/dxb/
You can also find the game in archives all over the Net, including
ZDNet's archive at
http://www6.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000PGY
Fortunately, the DX-Ball program is _REALLY_ small (592 K), so it
shouldn't take too long to download. One word of warning, though:
this game is EXTREMELY addictive. Wolfe Kincaid, half of the Lee &
Wolfe show (TOURBUS 18 September 1997) recently told me that when
faced with having to choose between watching scantily clad women on TV
doing aerobics or watching someone else play DX-Ball on his computer,
he watched the game.
Yes, this game really is _THAT_ addictive. :)
-----------------
A PLUG FOR A BOOK
-----------------
If you have been to my Web site recently (http://netsquirrel.com/),
you should know that the number one cause of power outages in the
United States is the weather. The number two cause? SQUIRRELS!
It turns out that squirrels aren't just self-propelled short
circuits. They are also the bane of everyone who has a birdfeeder.
Fortunately, Bill Adler, Jr., has written a book that just might help
you turn your "squirrelfeeder" back into a "birdfeeder." The book is
titled "Outwitting Squirrels: 101 cunning stratagems to reduce
dramatically the egregious misappropriation of seed from your
birdfeeder by squirrels" (ISBN 1-55652-302-5, US$11.95 -- you can find
it for US$9.56 at http://www.amazon.com/).
Adler's book is both informative and hysterical. He reviews several
commercial birdfeeders for their "squirrelproofness," and even offers
"101 Cunning Stratagems" for keeping your birdfeeder squirrel-free (my
favorite is "dig a moat around your feeder; fill it with piranha").
Of all the squirrel strategy books I have read, Alder's is the best
... and is also the most entertaining. And I am not just saying this
because Rosie O'Donnell said, "Bill Adler, Jr. is my hero. I love this
book. Go buy this book." :)
That's it for this week. I'll be in Portland, Oregon, this weekend
for the Educational Technology Leader's Summit, so it may take me a
little while to respond to my email. Have a safe and happy weekend,
and I'll see you on the bus next week! :)
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): A COUPLE COOL GAMES / SQUIRREL STUFF
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
WGN RADIO
http://www.wgnradio.com/
PYRAMAD FOR MAC
http://www.magicastle.com/pyramad/pyramad_mac.html
PYRAMAD FOR PC
http://www.magicastle.com/pyramad/pyramad_win.html
MICROSOFT'S DIRECT X DOWNLOAD PAGE
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/resources/dx5end.htm
THE OFFICIAL DX-BALL HOMEPAGE
http://www.clandt.com/dxb/
--------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY
--------------------------------
SALARY (noun). A stringy vegetable.
Usage: "You want salary on your salad?"
[Special thanks goes to Ken Sawka for today's wurd]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word/
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
For info on my book "Atlas for the Information Superhighway"
Visit http://www.brigadoon.com/~crispen/atlas.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
=====================[ TOURBUS Rider Information ]===================
The Internet TOURBUS - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-98, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com
=====================================================================
.~~~. ))
(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
/o o \/ .~
{o_, \ { **NEW** crispen@netsquirrel.com **NEW**
/ , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/
`~ '-' \ } ))
_( ( )_.' Warning: squirrels.
'---..{____}
