telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (07/09/89)
Talk about specialization. Callers in the Chicago area can now listen to a recorded message from 'Dial-A-Gay-Atheist'. A call to 312-255-2960 will activate a five minute tape of Don Sanders from Houston, national director of American Gay Atheists, in a message which is changed weekly. Why is this necessary? Homosexual non-believers have a special perspective, Sanders said in a telephone interview. Sanders, who makes a living producing 900 and 976 phone lines for heterosexual dating services said he hopes the new line in Chicago will promote atheism among gay people. Dial-A-Gay-Atheist is joining Dial-an-Atheist, which has been available since 1979 by dialing 312-506-9200. If you know of unusual or different recorded announcements in your community, please send them along to the Digest. Patrick Townson
davef@brspyr1.brs.com (Dave Fiske) (07/11/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0227m02@vector.dallas.tx.us>, telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) writes: > Talk about specialization. Callers in the Chicago area can now listen to > a recorded message from 'Dial-A-Gay-Atheist'. .... > If you know of unusual or different recorded announcements in your community, > please send them along to the Digest. We used to have one locally called "Dial A Poet", but it disappeared from the directory a couple years ago. One of my friends called it once, and said it was really depressing. This leads me to wonder whether maybe it changed to "Dial A Sober Thought", which IS in our directory [(518)456-3492]. We also have "Dial A Bird" [(518)439-8080], which has been around for several years. One time we left a phone message for a particularly stuffy co-worker, and wrote down the "Dial A Bird" number. This person was very officious, and, as it happened, had a visitor with him when he came back to his desk and found the message. "Oh, excuse me, I have to return this call", he said, like he was expecting it to be someone asking for his help in ending the Cold War. Then, as it turned out, he got this recording about yellow-bellied sapsuckers. The guy was so embarrassed, he turned beet red. It was great. -- "MY SPACE ALIEN HUBBY DUMPED ME Dave Fiske (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM) FOR A YOUNGER WOMAN, SOBS WIFE" Home: David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com Headline from Weekly World News CIS: 75415,163 GEnie: davef
jgo@mcgp1.uucp (John Opalko) (07/21/89)
In <TELECOM Digest volume 9, issue 227> you write: >If you know of unusual or different recorded announcements in your community, >please send them along to the Digest. Seattle has an interesting one. The Center for Non-Traditional Religion has a weekly message for people who practice magic. Not stage magic, mind you, but what most people would (unfortunately) call "witchcraft". The number is 206-527-2426 (206-LA-PAGAN). John Opalko jgo%mcgp1@Thalatta.COM uunet!nwnexus!thebes!mcgp1!jgo Note to any Pagans on the net: I apologize for the gross oversimplification, but the TELECOM Digest isn't the place for a treatise on earth religions.
bote@uunet.uu.net (John Boteler) (07/25/89)
Many of the new 5ESS switches going up around the Washington area have plant
test numbers for many of the intercept recordings. One of the neatest ones to
perplex a friend with is:
"We're sorry, the phone you are using is not in service at this time."
Actually, as I understand it, a nummer 5 ESS issues this recording on a line
which is connected to the frame but whose account is inactive. I am told you
still get dial tone, but when you try to place a call you get the above
recording. I wonder how many people have gotten this before.
Bote
uunet!cyclops!csense!bote
{mimsy,sundc}!{prometheus,hqda-ai}!media!cyclops!csense!bote
[Moderator's Note: One that mystified me for awhile was "The number you
have dialed, abc-wxyz is a working number. Please hang up and dial again."
Like, if it knew what you were dialing, and it is a working number, why
didn't the call simply go through? Answer: In some places, a live operator
still answers intercept and asks for the number then bubbles it in to produce
the recorded answer. If you really dialed a wrong number thinking you were
dialing the right number, an automated process would announce the wrong
number. In a manual intercept, the operator has to take your word for what
you say you *thought* you were dialing. PT]jgd@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (John G Dobnick) (07/25/89)
>> If you know of unusual or different recorded announcements in your community >> please send them along to the Digest. [Edit the following as you wish -- maybe it will be useful to someone. Maybe it will be useful to Wisconsin Bell. :-) ] From the Milwaukee, Wisconsin white pages (Area Code 414): Dial-A-Devotion 762-8922 Dial a Jewish Story 962-8176 For more information -- 962-0566 Dial-A-Poem 372-7636 Dial-A-Prayer Calvary 372-4752 Dial-A-Prayer Lutheran-God-Love 463-5683 Kids Line 463-7446 Spanish 463-0464 Teen 463-4357 Dial-A-Prayer Unity 475-5468 Dial-a-Rambam 962-1817 I have not tried any of these -- my phone bill is large enough as it is. -- John G Dobnick Computing Services Division @ University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee INTERNET: jgd@csd4.milw.wisc.edu UUCP: <backbone>!uwvax!uwmcsd1!jgd "Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight." -- William Safire [Moderator's Note: Can someone please explain what a 'rambam' is; as in 'Dial A Rambam'??? Is it anything like Dial A Gay Atheist? Should I spend thirteen cents on Reach Out tonight to find out? Is it worth thirteen cents? PT]
johnl@uunet.uu.net (John Limpert) (07/27/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0255m03@vector.dallas.tx.us> jgd@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (John G Dobnick) writes: >[Moderator's Note: Can someone please explain what a 'rambam' is; as in >'Dial A Rambam'??? Is it anything like Dial A Gay Atheist? Should I spend >thirteen cents on Reach Out tonight to find out? Is it worth thirteen >cents? PT] RAMBAM is an acronym for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides. He is a well known commentator on the Torah and Talmud. This recording is probably produced by the same folks who run the "Dial a Jewish Story" line, it's on the same exchange. -- John Limpert johnl@gronk.UUCP uunet!n3dmc!gronk!johnl
sg04@gte.com (Steven Gutfreund) (07/27/89)
> [Moderator's Note: Can someone please explain what a 'rambam' is; as in > 'Dial A Rambam'??? Is it anything like Dial A Gay Atheist? Should I spend > thirteen cents on Reach Out tonight to find out? Is it worth thirteen > cents? PT] RaMbaM is an ancronym for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (the Maimonedes) (approx 11th century). He was a major Jewish scholar, and also a philosopher and doctor. He wrote "The Mishna Torah" (a complete compedium of Jewish Laws) and "The Guide to the Perplexed" (the title is a bit misleading to contemporary readers, they think this is a psychological self-help book, in fact it is a scholarly refutation of Aristotelean philosophy). Many have a custom of learning several chapters a day of the Mishna Torah according to a yearly cycle, and the concepts can be difficult to grasp (plus the fact that there are no acceptable translations). Therefore, there some towns provide a taped telephone message with explanations of the daily portion. No, this does not have anything to do with TELECOM, but since you asked :-). -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund sgutfreund@gte.com GTE Laboratories, Waltham MA ..!husc6!bunny!sgutfreund -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [Moderator's Note: Yes, unfortunatly, since I asked.... I'm now waiting for the Yuk explanations to arrive. As in, 'oh, yuck! why did I bring this subject up?' PT]
cowan@marob.masa.com (John Cowan) (07/28/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0255m03@vector.dallas.tx.us> jgd@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (John G Dobnick) writes: [various numbers omitted] >Dial-a-Rambam 962-1817 > >[Moderator's Note: Can someone please explain what a 'rambam' is; as in >'Dial A Rambam'??? Is it anything like Dial A Gay Atheist? Should I spend >thirteen cents on Reach Out tonight to find out? Is it worth thirteen >cents? PT] RaMBaM is a Hebrew acronym for "Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon", otherwise known as Moses Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish scholar. The a's are inserted for pronounceability. See >Encyclopedia Judaica< or any decent reference work, s.v. "Maimonides". I would assume that "Dial-A-Rambam" gives you a quotation from Maimonides' works, probably changed daily or weekly. -- Internet/Smail: cowan@marob.masa.com Dumb: uunet!hombre!marob!cowan Fidonet: JOHN COWAN of 1:107/711 Magpie: JOHN COWAN, (212) 420-0527 Charles li reis, nostre emperesdre magnes Set anz toz pleins at estet in Espagne.
de@cs.rochester.edu (Dave Esan) (08/15/89)
>[Moderator's Note: Can someone please explain what a 'rambam' is; as in >'Dial A Rambam'??? Is it anything like Dial A Gay Atheist? Should I spend >thirteen cents on Reach Out tonight to find out? Is it worth thirteen >cents? PT] Rambam is the Hebrew acronym given to the famous philosopher Maimonedes. Acronyms, particularly of famous rabbis, occur frequently in Jewish usage. Maimonedes's full name was Rabbenu Moshe ben Maimon, or RMBM which in Hebrew is read Rambam. It is nothing like Dial-a-gay-atheist. Whether or not it is worth 13c is your decision. Rambam was born in Spain, exiled by anti-semitism to Morocco, and finally ended up as the court physician in Egypt. His writings covered both Jewish and general philosophy, as well as medical procedures, astronomy, etc. The 800th anniversary of Rambam's birth was celebrated with a conference in Spain in which the Spanish, Jews and Arabs tried to claim him as their own. No matter that in his lifetime the Spanish and Arabs had viewed him as an infidel, and some segments of Judaism viewed him as a heretic. --> David Esan rochester!moscom!de