On Sat, 17 Mar 2001 22:51:53 +0000, Mel Evans, Registered Arachne User wrote:
> receiving all mail thing? I thought I had a new ISP in
> "blueyonder.co.uk" from my Cable phone company. This promised unlimited
> access to the net for a flat rate fee of œ9.00 per month UKP) However it
> turned out to need you to load Winbloat Exoploder v5.5 in AND make it
> your "preferred" connection for everything. Well, I thought I would give
American Telephone and Telegraph (ATT) just sweetened the pot as my
long distance telephone company by giving me a reduced rate on
longdistance calls and including unlimited Internet access for just
$7.95. The previous plan I had with them required me to pay a service
fee of $5.95 monthly to qualify for the low rate on long distance.
So, I'm getting a lower rate and unlimited net access for another
two dollars a month.
Not that I need another Internet provider. I have two other
unlimited accounts--one costs six bucks a month, the other
about fourteen if I pay ahead six months.
What this tells me is that in the States at least there is excess
capacity in the system and that it really doesn't cost very much
to provide Internet service. Anyone who can figure out how to do
it can set themselves up as an ISP here.
And on the Hoof and Mouth front, here in the Detroit area they now
have a manure sniffing beagle at the airport checking the shoes and
luggage of international travelers. Any suspect shoes are subject
to a disinfectant wash on the spot.
Destroying healthy animals seems like a sign of panic. Twenty five
years ago here in Michigan there was a problem with contaminated
feed for dairy cows affecting the milk supply. Thousands of cows
had to be destroyed. Farmers would bulldoze huge trenches and herd
all their cows into them, then shoot them and cover them up.
Sam Ewalt
Croswell, Michigan, USA
-- Arachne V1.70;rev.3, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
