From Harvey=P.=Sattin@nectech.com Wed Mar 23 12:10:08 1994 Return-Path: Received: from nuhub.dac.neu.edu by mail.netcom.com (8.6.4/SMI-4.1/Netcom) id MAA20477; Wed, 23 Mar 1994 12:09:58 -0800 Resent-Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 12:09:58 -0800 Resent-From: Harvey=P.=Sattin@nectech.com From: Harvey=P.=Sattin@nectech.com Received: from neu.edu by neu.edu (PMDF V4.2-13 #4985) id <01HABDRM7I8G9I89X9@neu.edu>; Wed, 23 Mar 1994 15:10:06 EST Received: from nectech.com (milkyway.nectech.com) by neu.edu (PMDF V4.2-13 #4985) id <01HABDS1AUF49JLMVM@neu.edu>; Wed, 23 Mar 1994 15:10:26 EST Received: from CS011.nectech.com by nectech.com with SMTP (5.65/29-nectech) id AA02018; Wed, 23 Mar 94 14:50:26 -0500 Received: by CS011.nectech.com with VINES ; Wed, 23 Mar 94 14:54:37 EST Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 14:52:13 -0500 (EST) Subject: Digipeter Rabbit Resent-to: wy1z@netcom.com To: wy1z@neu.edu Resent-message-id: <01HABDRMJTWY9I89X9@neu.edu> Message-id: <9403231950.AA02018@nectech.com> X-Envelope-to: wy1z@netcom.com X-VMS-To: IN%"wy1z@neu.edu" Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Status: RO The Story of Digipeter Rabbit -- a No Code Fable By Frank Terranella, N2IGO Once upon a time, in the far-away kingdom of Radio, there was a peaceful valley called Hamville, inhabited by a group of rabbits. Hamville was originally settled by the Whiskey family, and the patriarch of that family was an old hare called Charlie Whiskey. Charlie Whiskey was a farmer by trade. He came to the beautiful valley of Hamville when it was all open meadows. He saw the potential for farming the vacant land and over time he developed a thriving carrot plantation. Charlie Whiskey's carrot plantation was the envy of all the inhabitants of the kingdom of Radio. He succeeded year after year in producing a bumper crop of carrots. All the other residents of the kingdom came to Charlie for advice on planting carrots. Charlie would always tell them, "The secret's in developing a good ear." No, Charlie didn't have superior hearing, but he had developed a very special skill. You see, Charlie picked his carrots with his ears. In fact, Charlie had worked hard at perfecting this skill and was able to harvest at better than 20 carrots a minute. All of Charlie's family learned to pick carrots with their ears. Soon they were all picking at better than 20 carrots a minute. Charlie was so proud of his special skill that he insisted that everyone who came to work at Hamville first show that he could pick carrots with his ears. Charlie would not give new settlers any land unless they could demonstrate to his foreman, Victor Echo, that they could pick at least 5 carrots a minute with their ears. When they could pick 13 carrots a minute, Charlie gave them more land to work. When they were able to pick carrots by ear at the rate of 20 a minute, Charlie made them full citizens of Hamville. This process of learning to pick carrots with your ears went on for some time. In other parts of the kingdom of Radio, other rabbits began to pick carrots by ear. However, there were some noisy ducks, known as the Quackers, who lived in the community of Good Buddy. They used their mouths to pick their crops instead of their ears. They had much larger mouths than the rabbits and saw no need to use their ears. The rabbits all looked down on the Quackers. "We must always require ear harvesting skills for entry into Hamville," they said. "That way we will keep out those noisy Quackers." So everyone who came to Hamville had to learn how to pick carrots by ear if they wanted to stay. Charlie Whiskey was adamant about that. "If you don't want to learn the skill of ear harvesting then go work in Good Buddy with the Quackers," he would say. And so the years passed, and new methods of farming were developed. These new methods were easier to learn than ear harvesting, especially for the animals who didn't have the big ears that the rabbits had. What's more, the new methods were just as efficient as ear harvesting. As time went by, fewer and fewer of the young animals were willing to learn the skill of ear harvesting. The population of Hamville began to dwindle. All the residents of Hamville were getting on in years. To make matters worse, there were new neighbors nearby who coveted the beautiful open farmland of Hamville. They wanted to come in and turn it into commercial uses like shopping centers. And worst of all, the pollution from the Quackers, the other Rabbits, and the Mice (known in Hamville as the QRM group) was having an adverse effect on farming in Hamville. The future looked bleak indeed. Then, one day, a stranger called Digipeter Rabbit came to Hamville. He was an educated rabbit who had studied at the School for Scientific Bunnies (SSB). He had majored in Farm Mechanics and knew all of the latest scientific agricultural methods. But for all his education and know-how, there was one thing that Digipeter could not do. He could not master the skill of picking carrots with his ears. And since he already knew how to pick carrots more efficiently with new scientific methods, he was not interested in learning. Charlie Whiskey was outraged. "What do you mean you won't learn to pick carrots with your ears? Why, we in Hamville have been picking carrots that way for 75 years. It's a tradition here. It shows that we're special and that we're better than the Quackers. If you don't have the desire to develop a good ear, then we don't want you here in Hamville." But Digipeter was adamant. He saw no reason to learn an obsolete skill just to stay in Hamville and he refused to even try. Charlie Whiskey took the matter to the Ancient Royal Rabbit League, which he had founded. The ARRL decreed that everyone in Hamville must learn to pick carrots with his ears or be banished. And so Digipeter Rabbit left Hamville and founded his own village called Techietown. Soon, all the young animals in the land of Radio were flocking to Techietown. But Digipeter had his own entrance requirement. A good ear and a good memory were not enough for him. No one could stay in Techie- town unless he could demonstrate technical knowledge, understanding and ability, and the desire to contribute to the advancement of Techietown. Digipeter encouraged all the residents of Techietown to experiment in the cultivation of new unexplored lands, never before farmed. Digipeter showed them how to overcome pollution problems. He showed them how to use the land they had more efficiently. Digipeter even perfected a method of farming which allowed a number of rabbits to farm the same land at the same time. And while the residents of Hamville were picking 30 carrots a minute on a good day, in Techietown, harvests of 300 carrots a minute were possible. Using Digipeter's methods, and those developed by the other bright, young residents, Techietown soon became the most prosperous village in the kingdom of Radio. This did not escape the notice of the Field Carrot Council, which governed the kingdom of radio. To reward the residents of Techietown for their contributions to the kingdom, the Field Carrot Council gave Techietown more and more land to work, until its borders touched those of Hamville. Meanwhile, Hamville was still plodding along as it always had, oblivious to the revolution in farming occurring around it. The old hares still picked carrots by ear. The Ancient Royal Rabbit League complained bitterly to the Field Carrot Council about all the new land it was giving to Techietown, but the population of Hamville continued to drop. When the Field Carrot Council gave 2 acres of Hamville property to Techietown, the residents of Hamville began, for the first time, to be genuinely concerned about their plight. Some even dared to ask the Ancient Royal Rabbit League to change its mind about the need to learn to pick carrots by ear to live in Hamville. "We need new blood here to fight off the Field Carrot Council," they said. Charlie Whiskey, now in his nineties, was furious. "We have to maintain our standards. We don't need those smart young bunnies, we need rabbits skilled in our time-honored harvesting tech- niques. We need rabbits who are dedicated enough to the principles of Hamville to want to learn our methods. If a rabbit really wants to live here, he'll learn our ways. If he doesn't, we don't want him. You don't want those Quackers to move here, do you?" But by now the residents of Hamville had seen the writing on the wall. Although they genuinely enjoyed picking carrots with their ears, they realized that there were now other ways which yielded just as many carrots. And though they would probably continue to pick carrots by ear as they always had, they could no longer shun those bright young rabbits who chose a more modern method. A group of rabbits, led by an elder statesman rabbit named Elmer, who had once served in the government of the kingdom of Radio, asked the Ancient Royal Rabbit League to change its policy. The League agreed and issued a decree that henceforth ear harvesting skills would not be required to become a resident of Hamville. When Digipeter Rabbit heard of the decree, he sent envoys to Hamville with all the latest scientific discoveries, which he shared freely with the residents. The residents of Hamville seized upon the new knowledge and soon Hamville became revitalized. Its population began to increase as young rabbits were attracted to its bountiful open farmland. The Field Carrot Council, impressed by the renaissance in Hamville, did not take away any more of its land, but actually gave some new territory to Hamville. Everyone was amazed at the new vibrancy of Hamville. Charlie Whiskey, though sad that his beloved harvesting method was no longer in vogue, saw that his people were prospering and was glad. And to show that there were no hard feelings, Charlie Whiskey sent Digipeter Rabbit a packet of 73 carrots which he had picked himself -- with his ears. The residents of Hamville rejoiced and declared a festival to celebrate their new prosperity. And over the front door of the Hamville Festival they put a banner, which read: "A bunny's worth is measured not by the skill of his ears, but by what lies between them." The residents of Hamville had learned an important lesson. -THE END-