Build Date: Mon Oct 19 03:24:10 2026 UTC
You'll never catch me wearing a shirt that says "COKE" or "NIKE" in 400pt point across my chest unless I am changing the oil in my car.
-- Johnnie Royale
Acid Tripping with Buffalo Bones
1999-12-08 14:10:17
Before the Internet Revolution first exploded into the mainstream public, there were BBS systems. You will rarely hear about or see them anymore. Easy Internet access all but led to the extinction of this form of communication. The smart ones evolved and thrived. Now, some systems are returning to the graves of their predecessors to reminisce and re-unite.
If you are unfamiliar, BBS stood for Bulletin Board System. A Bulletin Board System is simply a computer hooked up to a phone line. People would call the computer with their computer using a modem and communications software. The typical BBS would have message areas to communicate with others, downloadable files, and sometimes a few games to play.
At first, BBS systems were fairly harmless, devoted to academic studies, sciences and discussion, with names such as "East Bay Astronomy Club" or "Computer Discussion Central". But the users of these early systems started getting bored. They wanted to include things like sex, drugs, Rock & Roll, explosions, and other not-so-nice topics. So they began branching out, and forming their own systems with names like The Temple of the Screaming Electron, Rathead, Sanctum, Lies Unlimited, dISCO hOSPITAL, and others. Most of the Pigdog Staff met & evolved on systems such as these, exchanging information, transforming these systems (and their minds) into horrible mutant monsters hell-bent on destroying society.
But as access to the Internet became increasingly easier and cheaper (and BBS systems became more mainstream), BBS users operators began switching over their systems to the Internet in the forms of mail-lists, MUDS, ftp sites, and later, web sites. Soon, the micro-universes that flourished like buffalo before the coming of the white man soon became as few in number as there are condors left in California. As of late, some former users have banded together to both mark the remembrance of how these systems changed the landscape of personal communication, and to meet up with old friends that may have fallen to the wayside when the revolution came and threw the systems up against the wall.
And while this initial attempt may be rather cute and sweet for most, it's only a matter of time before it sprouts horns and demands anal sex on crack with the local minister's daughter or son.
T O P S T O R I E S
John Dvorak has passed. I’m of mixed emotions. First off I’m more positive about his contribution to the overall technology journalism of the early PC days through the 90s, despite how many things he got wrong. He was a firebrand and commanded attention. (More...)
America's National Recording Registry Inducts Culturally Significant Artist - Weezer!
America's Library of Congress calls them "defining sounds of history and culture" and "audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Weezer! (More...)
The Crossroads are real and The Blues is a place; The enduring myth of Robert Johnson (More...)
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
The Deep Dark Underbelly of the Star Wars Myth, or Ramayana Remembered
It's a fact: Star Wars is a blatant plagiarism of an ancient Asian legend, and the long lines of devout Star Wars freaks are really unscrupulous Asian copyright busters. From Indonesia to Thailand to Nepal, videos are available for sale or rent before they're even released in the US and UK due to this nerdy camcorder-clutching bunch. (More...)
A Day in the Life of a Beverotologist
It was starting to look like a very boring Saturday, trapped as I was in the suburban wastelands of the outer Bay Area, so I called my Able Assistant (AA) and proposed that we perform some Spocktail field tests. For some time I've been working on creating the quintessential cinematic beverage and even tho' SMRL does most of its testing during nocturnal hours, this seemed an opportune time to roll up the sleeves of our labcoats and get some science done. While the beverotology creation tested this day (The Neurotoxin) must be deemed a success, this article focuses more the journey of the experimenters, rather then the science of beverotology. (More...)
I just came across this coolio essay by Pigdog Journal Science Editor binky wedged between two staves in the back corner of the submissions barrel. It's on the origin of the cyberbilly and is definitely de rigeur for any serious student of this fascinating sociological movement. (More...)
Paranoid Strippers & Psychotic Crack Dealers (Tales of Christmas Eve)
Christmas day, for the last 17 or so years has bored me. I find that the real fun and excitement always takes place on Christmas Eve. Every other year, it's the excitement of the metaphorical hunt instead of the kill. Otherwise, it's just plain bad craziness. (More...)
Skunk School -- Learn Why Not To Keep Skunks As Pets
There is an alarming trend in pet purchasing habits this fall. People inspired by the WWII film, "Life is Beautiful" -- the one with that annoying Italian guy -- are buying descented skunks by the millions. (More...)
Spock Went, Spock Wrote, Spock Kicked Ass
Every Labor Day weekend a large portion of the PDJ staff joins 30,000 other freaks at one of the biggest and strangest art festivals in the world - Burning Man - somewhere on the edge of the Black Rock Desert. Our base of operations is always the ultra swank Spock Mountain Research Labs - the World Leaders in Beverage Science and Leisure Technology. This year, we hauled up our computers, printers and a massive digital duplicator, determined to become Black Rock City's third daily newspaper. Even Spock was surprised by our success - news will never be viewed the same on the playa. Read all seven issues of the 2002 Spock Science Monitor for yourself and see why. (More...)
