Sad when The Onion and The Daily Show are the most reliable news sources.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Saturday, November 26, 2011
How To Bank Switch A 2732 EPROM
This technique was used years ago to make crack roms for the Apple ][ computers. It was a very early example of a "trojan horse" method for allowing a program to start up and then slipping in code, while it was running, which would allow it to be cracked.
The original crack rom was written by The Jerk (Alan) & The Catcher (Steve). Alan showed me how to wire up the EPROMs and I did my best to commercialize it ;).
Once I updated the code I renamed it The Freeze's Crack ROM. It was subsequently distributed by Bootleg via his Bootlegger Magazine.
Additional copies were built by myself and sold at the Advanced Computer Swap meets that started in Orange County (Santa Ana) in 1979. These swap meets ran two or three times a year for many years. In addition to selling crack roms at the swap meet I sold all of my friends unwanted computer stuff and split the proceeds. In many ways this was my start in the business of selling computer parts, something I have continued to do for the last 30 years. Oh yeah, I was 15 when I started selling at the swap meet. Being poor and broke most of the time sucked. Finding ways of making money became an obsession.
The owner of ACP was David Freeman. David and I became friends many years later through our association as owners of computer businesses. In all of these years I have never told him I got my start as a teenager, selling stuff at the computer swap meets that he pioneered in Orange County.
This technique of bank switching might have uses beyond just this narrow application. Additionally it can be used for other EPROM sizes. I will include as much technical information as I can, pictures, diagrams and any miscellany I can recollect.
If anyone still has an original crack rom that I built back then I'd be willing to pay pretty well for it. Thank you.
--- Instructions For How To Bank Switch A 2732 EPROM ---
This is the pinout for a 2732 EPROM. Note the pin numbers and positions.
Above is a short description of what the various pins are for.
The orientation of the socket is critical. If you are holding the socket with the notch facing you, then pin # 1 is on the right side and pin # 24 is on the left. Make sure to count your pins carefully and accordingly.
These are called, or at least we used to call them "machined pin sockets." They are not the sockets with the cheap flat pins but rather the higher quality ones with very strong and solid rounded pins. It's quite difficult to make modifications to the cheaper sockets, therefore I would strongly suggest using these. You can also use a ZIF (zero insertion force) socket.
Next you will need a SPDT (or DPDT?) switch. It looks something like the one above.
Solder the green and black wires to opposite ends of the switch. Solder the white wire to the center pin of the switch.
Next, solder the black wire to pin # 12 (right side furthest from the notch) and solder the green wire to pin # 24 (left side, closest to the notch.)
Then solder the white wire to pin # 21.
Now you need to bridge two pins together. Solder a small wire between pins # 21 and # 18, as shown below:
Clip off pins # 21 and #18 as shown above.
And then...
Plug the EPROM (2732) into the socket. Using a socket prevents damage to the EPROM itself in case you want to reuse / reburn it. A socket is not an actual requirement as these same modifications could be done to the EPROM itself.
If you have any technical questions beyond what is written above, DONT ASK, I probably don't remember. Okay just kidding. Feel free to ask - leave a comment. I made dozens of these some 30 odd years ago.
In one "side" of the EPROM I would usually burn my "The Freeze's F8 ROM" which is a modified F8 ROM that does disassembly with ASCII and binary. Its a great programming tool as it shows you all 8 bit numbers which are addressed in immediate mode - boolean bit mask operations as well as the accumulator & registers.
It's a small modification, but is very helpful when doing assembly programming & debugging. As well as cracking ;)
I think Reactive Micro still sells them, my ROM has also been included in AppleWin. If anyone needs a copy, I can email it to you.
On the other "half" of the 2732 would be the code for the crack rom. The original Jerk & Catcher version is probably floating around out there somewhere. The version I made from theirs is more user friendly.
--- Using The Crack ROM ---
- Boot the system with the switch in position for the normal F8 ROM.
- Once the program is fully loaded, hold down the reset button, and while it is held down, flip the switch. Once the switch if flipped, release the reset button.
- Depending on the version of crack rom (Jerk's/Catcher's or Freeze's) you will either hear a sound or be presented with on screen options. This is where memory utterly fails me. If anyone remembers please post in comments. Thanks!
Apologies in advance for any errors. If any are spotted please be so kind as to leave a comment so I can correct it.
Thanks again to Patrick Asato for breathing new life into old code.
The original crack rom was written by The Jerk (Alan) & The Catcher (Steve). Alan showed me how to wire up the EPROMs and I did my best to commercialize it ;).
Once I updated the code I renamed it The Freeze's Crack ROM. It was subsequently distributed by Bootleg via his Bootlegger Magazine.
Additional copies were built by myself and sold at the Advanced Computer Swap meets that started in Orange County (Santa Ana) in 1979. These swap meets ran two or three times a year for many years. In addition to selling crack roms at the swap meet I sold all of my friends unwanted computer stuff and split the proceeds. In many ways this was my start in the business of selling computer parts, something I have continued to do for the last 30 years. Oh yeah, I was 15 when I started selling at the swap meet. Being poor and broke most of the time sucked. Finding ways of making money became an obsession.
The owner of ACP was David Freeman. David and I became friends many years later through our association as owners of computer businesses. In all of these years I have never told him I got my start as a teenager, selling stuff at the computer swap meets that he pioneered in Orange County.
This technique of bank switching might have uses beyond just this narrow application. Additionally it can be used for other EPROM sizes. I will include as much technical information as I can, pictures, diagrams and any miscellany I can recollect.
If anyone still has an original crack rom that I built back then I'd be willing to pay pretty well for it. Thank you.
--- Instructions For How To Bank Switch A 2732 EPROM ---
Above is a short description of what the various pins are for.
Then solder the white wire to pin # 21.
Now you need to bridge two pins together. Solder a small wire between pins # 21 and # 18, as shown below:
And then...
If you have any technical questions beyond what is written above, DONT ASK, I probably don't remember. Okay just kidding. Feel free to ask - leave a comment. I made dozens of these some 30 odd years ago.
In one "side" of the EPROM I would usually burn my "The Freeze's F8 ROM" which is a modified F8 ROM that does disassembly with ASCII and binary. Its a great programming tool as it shows you all 8 bit numbers which are addressed in immediate mode - boolean bit mask operations as well as the accumulator & registers.
It's a small modification, but is very helpful when doing assembly programming & debugging. As well as cracking ;)
I think Reactive Micro still sells them, my ROM has also been included in AppleWin. If anyone needs a copy, I can email it to you.
On the other "half" of the 2732 would be the code for the crack rom. The original Jerk & Catcher version is probably floating around out there somewhere. The version I made from theirs is more user friendly.
--- Using The Crack ROM ---
- Boot the system with the switch in position for the normal F8 ROM.
- Once the program is fully loaded, hold down the reset button, and while it is held down, flip the switch. Once the switch if flipped, release the reset button.
- Depending on the version of crack rom (Jerk's/Catcher's or Freeze's) you will either hear a sound or be presented with on screen options. This is where memory utterly fails me. If anyone remembers please post in comments. Thanks!
Apologies in advance for any errors. If any are spotted please be so kind as to leave a comment so I can correct it.
Thanks again to Patrick Asato for breathing new life into old code.
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Pig Sty
The Pig Sty was a BBS (Bulletin Board System) run by The Head Swine, and subsequently by The City Slicker. It was an 'elite' underground meeting place for hackers of all stripes. It started in the early to mid 1980's and ran for some time afterwards. I was invited to join when I was about 14 or 15 and lost contact with the community in my early 20's after I moved away from Orange County.
In order to join you had to have recommendations from two other members. This kept the authorities out and kept the 'quality' (technical expertise) of the members at a high level.
Mort Goodman, The City Slicker, had access to computer games and video tapes that had not yet been released to the public. He had a massive personal collection as well and freely allowed all of us to copy whatever we wanted. Mort had a copy of the movie Wargames before it hit the movie theaters. Many of the pirated movies still had the editing time codes rolling in the upper right corner. Others were lower quality and were pirated by someone actually setting up a camera inside of a movie theater!
After the Pig Hunts we would have Pig Fests. Get togethers where all of the Pig Sty BBS members were invited along with guests and Pig Hunt players. The bill for all of this was footed by Mort, The City Slicker. Some fests had up to 100 or so people attending.
Following are a few pictures of dredged up memorabilia that's been sitting in storage for ages.
I was not a founding member of the Pig Sty BBS and the story of it's origins should be told by someone more knowledgable than myself. I hope that happens. Not to oversell the idea that the Pig Sty was ground zero for all things hacking. It wasn't. But it was a unique collection of people who were influential in the hacker community.
Pig-DOS was quite popular, as was the Pig-font that we would burn onto EPROMs. The Pig Sty was well known, even though its membership was limited to around 50 people. The ages ranged from younger members, such as myself, in my mid teens, to the much older, like Mort, in his 50's.
Many of us were programmers, game developers and most older members were actively employed in the computer industry. Bootleg, of The Bootlegger Magazine was a member. He had asked me to write a series of articles for his magazine, which I did. Amazingly I found one of the articles on the internet, after all these years! Somewhere, someone probably has the other articles.
Bill Landreth was a member. Although he was active initially, in later years he rarely logged in. Several other hackers who came to the attention of the FBI were members.
Has anyone out there done FOIA requests with the FBI? I wonder how many of us showed up in their files over the years. Anarchist, Gonif, & um, I forgot the others, but those four were busted by the FBI and certainly had files. We had quite a few scares over the years, anytime the phone company security would call us or we heard of someone we knew getting busted we would hide all of our incriminating computer equipment in the attic. As if the FBI wouldn't look there ;).. Well, thats how kids think and thats what we did.
[More later]
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Exactly...
http://howconservativesdrovemeaway.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-vs-tea-party.html
Seems to me that everyone is upset about pretty much the same thing, but can't agree as to what the cause is. Its odd to blame capitalism because we don't practice capitalism in the US. If we did, then a lot of banks would be.. well, bankrupt. And they should be.
If there is one 'doctrine' that might unify people, it is this: Separation of Powers.
We have separation of church and state. Great idea.
Why don't we have separation of corporations and state? It's polluting the democratic process and warps our system of laws to favor those who are wealthy.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Bill Landreth: The Cracker & Out Of The Inner Circle & Pig Sty
Bill Landreth, aka The Cracker, was a member of The Pig Sty for a number of years. After his Arpanet hack and subsequent arrest he dropped off many of our radars. I did not know Bill well, except for having met him a handful of times. So it was interesting for The Bishop and The Head Swine to have shared their stories with us. Thank you guys!
I have had this newspaper article from the original Los Angeles Times for many years, talking about Bill and his 'mysterious disappearance.' Was this the period of time Bishop when he disappeared to stay with Mort?
Anyhow here is what I have:
Bill wrote this book about his Arpanet hacking, arrest and general hoopla surrounding his new found fame. Sadly he was affected by some sort of mental disorder, I think schizophrenia. Not sure of his current whereabouts but I hope he is well.
The following news paper article (very awkward to post here so its all cut up.) Was concurrent with events and stories related by The Bishop & The Head Swine below.
Below are the two stories about Bill during this time period that Bishop & Head Swine told us...
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The Bishop said...
[I wrote too much for one comment...with apologies, I'll have to spam Frank's blog with multiple replies...]
For the few who will remember the name, this is "The Bishop". It seems strange to refer to myself as such after more than a couple of decades have passed, but in the context of this post it's the right point of reference...
I think I'm in a pretty good position to clarify some of what was said about The PigSty, having been a member and actively involved in the operation of The Sty while it was owned and operated by Head Swine (Doug) AND when it was owned and operated by The City Slicker (Mort). I left the Sty before it was taken over by The Scorpion (Gerry?). I knew both Doug and Mort well -- Doug hired me as chief programmer for his small software company, and Mort became my godfather when I was baptised (a fact of which I'm very proud...in addition to being a legend and a character, Mort was an incredibly kind, sweet and generous individual -- and one of my very favourite people ever.)
So...the PigSty was created by Head Swine, who also created one of the first variant DOS versions for the Apple ][ (PigDos) as well as the PigFont (shame you can't be reading this in that font). Head Swine operated The Sty out of a closet in his home office in Costa Mesa for several years, including the laugh-a-minute "compu-rodents wreaking havoc by ordering call-waiting for the Sty phone line" (sound familiar, Frank & Jeff?) era. Head Swine was footing the bill for the Sty at this point, as well as updating the Sty software and maintaining the hardware (with occasional involvement from other Sty members, myself included.)
Crilly is correct (hi, Crilly, and greetings to Ta as well!) about Mort sponsoring the Sty get-togethers (aka "PigFests"). "Sponsoring" doesn't really do justice to Mort's involvement -- he planned the events at appropriate places like The Jolly Roger restaurant, made all the arrangements (or had his employees help with arrangements), had programs printed and bound (okay, he did the binding, as he owned a bindery), paid for everything, and even convinced one of his good-natured (and, thankfully, attractive and female) employees to attend several of the events as "Sex Kitten"! (Hi, Windy!) By the way…the “everything” Mort paid for out of his own pocket typically included raffle prizes and awards…he really went all-out. I still have at least one program (PigFest V?), so if Frank or anyone else ever does write a book there’s a bit of source material there (including, I believe, a roster of current Swine.)
I don't recall for certain whether the PigFests began while Doug was actively running the Sty...I believe they did, but if so they certainly continued "under new management" after the Sty transferred from Doug to Mort.
For the few who will remember the name, this is "The Bishop". It seems strange to refer to myself as such after more than a couple of decades have passed, but in the context of this post it's the right point of reference...
I think I'm in a pretty good position to clarify some of what was said about The PigSty, having been a member and actively involved in the operation of The Sty while it was owned and operated by Head Swine (Doug) AND when it was owned and operated by The City Slicker (Mort). I left the Sty before it was taken over by The Scorpion (Gerry?). I knew both Doug and Mort well -- Doug hired me as chief programmer for his small software company, and Mort became my godfather when I was baptised (a fact of which I'm very proud...in addition to being a legend and a character, Mort was an incredibly kind, sweet and generous individual -- and one of my very favourite people ever.)
So...the PigSty was created by Head Swine, who also created one of the first variant DOS versions for the Apple ][ (PigDos) as well as the PigFont (shame you can't be reading this in that font). Head Swine operated The Sty out of a closet in his home office in Costa Mesa for several years, including the laugh-a-minute "compu-rodents wreaking havoc by ordering call-waiting for the Sty phone line" (sound familiar, Frank & Jeff?) era. Head Swine was footing the bill for the Sty at this point, as well as updating the Sty software and maintaining the hardware (with occasional involvement from other Sty members, myself included.)
Crilly is correct (hi, Crilly, and greetings to Ta as well!) about Mort sponsoring the Sty get-togethers (aka "PigFests"). "Sponsoring" doesn't really do justice to Mort's involvement -- he planned the events at appropriate places like The Jolly Roger restaurant, made all the arrangements (or had his employees help with arrangements), had programs printed and bound (okay, he did the binding, as he owned a bindery), paid for everything, and even convinced one of his good-natured (and, thankfully, attractive and female) employees to attend several of the events as "Sex Kitten"! (Hi, Windy!) By the way…the “everything” Mort paid for out of his own pocket typically included raffle prizes and awards…he really went all-out. I still have at least one program (PigFest V?), so if Frank or anyone else ever does write a book there’s a bit of source material there (including, I believe, a roster of current Swine.)
I don't recall for certain whether the PigFests began while Doug was actively running the Sty...I believe they did, but if so they certainly continued "under new management" after the Sty transferred from Doug to Mort.
So...after Doug had been running the Sty for some time and out of his own pocket, he decided to find a new owner and a new home (and a new pocket) for the Sty. Mort stepped up and the Sty moved from Doug's closet in Costa Mesa to Mort's bindery (and later to his second-floor home office/mancave in Orange, if I recall correctly.) Mort operated the Sty for the next several years, and during that time he enlisted a handful of Sty members to make improvements and perform general upkeep on the Sty software & hardware. Those of us who were asked to do so were always happy to help, in part because (a) Mort always did so much for everyone around him that we ALWAYS owed him favours, (b) Mort had a larger collection of software (typically with spiral-bound documentation -- I did mention Mort owned a bindery, right?) and video than you can possibly imagine (who else would have a stack of 7 VHS recorders, running nearly all the time, in their entryway closet?) and (c) Mort was just the kind of guy that, when he asked you to do something for him, you just WANTED to say yes.
At some point (late 80s), Mort asked The Scorpion (ex-husband of Mrs. Frisby – hi Ginny!) to take over operation of The PigSty – I believe Mort continued to pay Sty expenses. To the best of my recollection this happened BEFORE Mort had the accident that kept him in ICU for an extended period of time, but certainly after that accident Mort was no longer in control of The Sty. By the time As The Sty passed into Scorpion's hands, my active involvement lessened and The Sty went in a different direction. I consider the "Head Swine" days to be the purest part of the "elite" PigSty experience, and the "City Slicker" era to be the "Golden Age" of The PigSty.
It’s been interesting and enjoyable to recall and to relate this stuff – this was all part of a small world that was huge to us a long time ago, but I think that for many of us who were active in that world it was a formative part of our lives that endures in many ways. I enjoyed the “Cracked by The Freeze” warez back in the day, but I’m sure I’ve enjoyed taking this little stroll down memory lane at least as much. So, thanks again, Frank (hi, Frank!). :-)
One final story about "just the kind of guy" Mort was…
In 1989, a story about Bill Landreth (The Cracker, author of “Out Of The Inner Circle”) ran in the Los Angeles Times (you can find an archive of this story from the Sydney Morning Herald [4/3/89] via your favourite search engine). The story reported that Landreth was living on the streets in San Diego.
Mort read the story, and without hesitation picked up the phone and called his daughter Danni who lived in San Diego (hi, Danni!). He instructed Danni to go out and find Landreth, which she did. Mort had Danni bring Landreth to Mort’s condo in Orange – effectively terminating Landreth’s homeless status. Mort and his wife Lady Jayne gave Landreth a home, bought him a new wardrobe and got him a job at a local jewelry mart owned by Mort’s friend (and former major-league baseball player) Richie.
After a short stint of domestic calm and gainful employment, Landreth abandoned the job and the home – it seemed he wasn’t ready for a more ordinary life, even under the roof of The City Slicker with shelves and shelves of cracked software just down the hall.
Mort was all about treating people right – and he didn’t feel right about the fact that the exit of Bill Landreth from the jewelry mart had left his friend Richie short one employee. Mort’s solution? He asked me to take over the job, which I did and remained there until I was hired by Apple and relocated to Silicon Valley…did I mention that Mort was the kind of guy to whom you just wanted to say yes when he asked a favour? He was, after all, my Godfather. :-)
-tB-
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Head Swine said...
Most people don't know that while I was at work one day, Bill Landreth (The Cracker) called me and asked if I wanted an email address on this new system he had just hacked called Arpanet. I told him I was leaving on a business trip and would check in when I got back. When I got back, he was in jail.
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"1st Gen Hackers" --> Update & Replies To Comments
Just noticed all the comments on the 1st Gen Hackers post from last year! Sorry I missed it until just now.
Here is a link to the original story:
http://frank-segler.blogspot.com/2010/09/1st-gen-hackers.html
So.. I figured I would answer the comments in a post.
First, if I made any errors on who ran the Pig Sty and when, please keep in mind that these are VERY old memories. I'm a crusty 45 year old and this stuff happened when I was between 12 and 17 or so. I remember Doug (The Head Swine) well. One particular memory was of him showing us his new BMV and its rocking sound system in front of Mort's (The City Slicker) house.
A common thread that everyone seems to agree on is about Mort. What a true gentleman in every way. He was the top of the hacker pyramid for video tapes, for software, even a movie treatment for one of the Star Wars movies (anyone remember that?). Yet he made time for all of us. Just to chat, talk about our problems, whatever it was. He and Lady Jane were a class act. Their parrot on the other hand...
We do owe a debt to Doug (The Head Swine) as well. Without him we would not have Pig-DOS, The Pig Font and of course the Pig Sty. I'm grateful that he gave me a chance to get on the Pig Sty. From what I recall we needed two sponsors to get on. I think The Jerk was one, and I have no idea who my second sponsor was. Maybe Doug?
Dr. Micro, Ted, was a good friend of mine. We met in PE at Ocean View High School. I showed him how to use hacked phone codes to call for free. It took him a while to realize they were illegal, and the thought of telling him that they were illegal had not even occurred to me. I mean, who pays attention to details like that?!
Alan, The Jerk, lived right in between Ted and I. About 10 houses away from me and then another 4 houses away from Ted.
Fuzil, those animations you made were so awesome. Really ahead of their time. Must have taken unimaginable amount of time for you to create those. Did you end up going in that direction in your work life?
John: Hey are you the guy from Garden Grove who I used to buy acid from? Seriously! You, or that John anyways, used to make trips (physical ones!) to Berkeley to get it wholesale. Thats what he told me anyways.
Crilly: Mort Goodman was in a class by himself. I wish all of us could get together and write up some sort of tribute to him. Things he did for us, how he helped us in so many ways. How generous he was. He treated the world like his own extended family. I know I am not alone in saying this. Without Mort adopting me as his favorite software cracker I doubt I would have become 'famous' in the way it eventually happened. I would guess well over half the wares I cracked came from Mort.
The Bishop: Thanks for setting me straight on the facts and Sty history! I knew the part about The Cracker (Bill Landreth) ending up on the streets (schizophrenia if I recall), but did not know that Mort had tried to help him so much. The only thing I knew is what was in the newspapers at the time.
My brother (The Bum) and I had the entire upstairs room (one very large room) to ourselves. So it was hacker central. We must have entertained half the hackers and pirates in Orange County up there at one time or another. Computer parts, eprom burners, UV erasers, soldering irons, open frame power supplies, IC's and diskettes everywhere!
Our dad was a survivalist and a very much "screw the system" kind of guy. He was also a pilot and flew tourists around frequently. So my brother and I were left to our own devices for up to two weeks at a time - no adult supervision at all! And yes, we very much abused it. He did have a pretty good idea of what we were doing with the hacking, phone phreaking etc.
He let me ditch school pretty much any time I wanted, wrote excuse notes until the principal called him in, and my dad promptly blackmailed him against taking any action for my excessive absences. He told the principal that he would let the news media know about the extensive drug problem that Ocean View had. And yeah, they (we) did.
Well, in due course I was eventually expelled and sent to adult school and then took the GED. It is a bit embarrassing when now as an adult, I have to fill out forms for my kids, or the census and they ask what grade I completed. Errr.. Grade 10. Doh!
My brother, The Bum, on the other hand, graduated from high school and went to USC, the Entrepreneur Program. Not bad for a kid who was on his own at 15 (he and I moved out together when I was 18 and he was 15).
Lots of memories. Thanks again for all of the comments!
Here is a link to the original story:
http://frank-segler.blogspot.com/2010/09/1st-gen-hackers.html
So.. I figured I would answer the comments in a post.
First, if I made any errors on who ran the Pig Sty and when, please keep in mind that these are VERY old memories. I'm a crusty 45 year old and this stuff happened when I was between 12 and 17 or so. I remember Doug (The Head Swine) well. One particular memory was of him showing us his new BMV and its rocking sound system in front of Mort's (The City Slicker) house.
A common thread that everyone seems to agree on is about Mort. What a true gentleman in every way. He was the top of the hacker pyramid for video tapes, for software, even a movie treatment for one of the Star Wars movies (anyone remember that?). Yet he made time for all of us. Just to chat, talk about our problems, whatever it was. He and Lady Jane were a class act. Their parrot on the other hand...
We do owe a debt to Doug (The Head Swine) as well. Without him we would not have Pig-DOS, The Pig Font and of course the Pig Sty. I'm grateful that he gave me a chance to get on the Pig Sty. From what I recall we needed two sponsors to get on. I think The Jerk was one, and I have no idea who my second sponsor was. Maybe Doug?
Dr. Micro, Ted, was a good friend of mine. We met in PE at Ocean View High School. I showed him how to use hacked phone codes to call for free. It took him a while to realize they were illegal, and the thought of telling him that they were illegal had not even occurred to me. I mean, who pays attention to details like that?!
Alan, The Jerk, lived right in between Ted and I. About 10 houses away from me and then another 4 houses away from Ted.
Fuzil, those animations you made were so awesome. Really ahead of their time. Must have taken unimaginable amount of time for you to create those. Did you end up going in that direction in your work life?
John: Hey are you the guy from Garden Grove who I used to buy acid from? Seriously! You, or that John anyways, used to make trips (physical ones!) to Berkeley to get it wholesale. Thats what he told me anyways.
Crilly: Mort Goodman was in a class by himself. I wish all of us could get together and write up some sort of tribute to him. Things he did for us, how he helped us in so many ways. How generous he was. He treated the world like his own extended family. I know I am not alone in saying this. Without Mort adopting me as his favorite software cracker I doubt I would have become 'famous' in the way it eventually happened. I would guess well over half the wares I cracked came from Mort.
The Bishop: Thanks for setting me straight on the facts and Sty history! I knew the part about The Cracker (Bill Landreth) ending up on the streets (schizophrenia if I recall), but did not know that Mort had tried to help him so much. The only thing I knew is what was in the newspapers at the time.
My brother (The Bum) and I had the entire upstairs room (one very large room) to ourselves. So it was hacker central. We must have entertained half the hackers and pirates in Orange County up there at one time or another. Computer parts, eprom burners, UV erasers, soldering irons, open frame power supplies, IC's and diskettes everywhere!
Our dad was a survivalist and a very much "screw the system" kind of guy. He was also a pilot and flew tourists around frequently. So my brother and I were left to our own devices for up to two weeks at a time - no adult supervision at all! And yes, we very much abused it. He did have a pretty good idea of what we were doing with the hacking, phone phreaking etc.
He let me ditch school pretty much any time I wanted, wrote excuse notes until the principal called him in, and my dad promptly blackmailed him against taking any action for my excessive absences. He told the principal that he would let the news media know about the extensive drug problem that Ocean View had. And yeah, they (we) did.
Well, in due course I was eventually expelled and sent to adult school and then took the GED. It is a bit embarrassing when now as an adult, I have to fill out forms for my kids, or the census and they ask what grade I completed. Errr.. Grade 10. Doh!
My brother, The Bum, on the other hand, graduated from high school and went to USC, the Entrepreneur Program. Not bad for a kid who was on his own at 15 (he and I moved out together when I was 18 and he was 15).
Lots of memories. Thanks again for all of the comments!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The Recantation of Galileo Galilei
I, Galileo, son of the late Vincenzo Galilei, Florentine, aged seventy years, arraigned personally before this tribunal, and kneeling before you, Most Eminent and Reverend Lord Cardinals, Inquisitors-General against heretical depravity throughout the entire Christian commonwealth, having before my eyes and touching with my hands, the Holy Gospels, swear that I have always believed, do believe, and by God’s help will in the future believe, all that is held, preached, and taught by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. But whereas — after an injunction had been judicially intimated to me by this Holy Office, to the effect that I must altogether abandon the false opinion that the sun is the center of the world and immovable, and that the earth is not the center of the world, and moves, and that I must not hold, defend, or teach in any way whatsoever, verbally or in writing, the said false doctrine, and after it had been notified to me that the said doctrine was contrary to Holy Scripture — I wrote and printed a book in which I discuss this new doctrine already condemned, and adduce arguments of great cogency in its favor, without presenting any solution of these, and for this reason I have been pronounced by the Holy Office to be vehemently suspected of heresy, that is to say, of having held and believed that the Sun is the center of the world and immovable, and that the earth is not the center and moves:
Therefore, desiring to remove from the minds of your Eminences, and of all faithful Christians, this vehement suspicion, justly conceived against me, with sincere heart and unfeigned faith I abjure, curse, and detest the aforesaid errors and heresies, and generally every other error, heresy, and sect whatsoever contrary to the said Holy Church, and I swear that in the future I will never again say or assert, verbally or in writing, anything that might furnish occasion for a similar suspicion regarding me; but that should I know any heretic, or person suspected of heresy, I will denounce him to this Holy Office, or to the Inquisitor or Ordinary of the place where I may be. Further, I swear and promise to fulfill and observe in their integrity all penances that have been, or that shall be, imposed upon me by this Holy Office. And, in the event of my contravening, (which God forbid) any of these my promises and oaths, I submit myself to all the pains and penalties imposed and promulgated in the sacred canons and other constitutions, general and particular, against such delinquents. So help me God, and these His Holy Gospels, which I touch with my hands.
I, the said Galileo Galilei, have abjured, sworn, promised, and bound myself as above; and in witness of the truth thereof I have with my own hand subscribed the present document of my abjuration, and recited it word for word at Rome, in the Convent of Minerva, this twenty-second day of June, 1633.
---------------
What delightful irony that this was signed at the Convent of Minerva. Minerva, the patron goddess of wisdom.
A decade ago the "Clovis First" meme was all but unalterable. However since about 2005 the weight of evidence has finally overturned this. The Clovis were not the first modern humans in North America. Dates which originally were stubbornly stuck around 11,500 YA are now being push backwards by many thousands of years.
Until very recently the idea that a bacteria was the cause of ulcers was laughable. Today it is science-fact. However to over turn this required a massive effort and an overwhelming amount of evidence to be available in the public domain for well over a decade before the "consensus" gave way.
It took a shockingly long time and enormous effort to dispel the bad science which was the foundation of the MMA - Autism link. The imprimatur of "peer review" took a hit with Lancet publishing junk science.
Mankind has not yet become wiser, we have only gained in knowledge. They are very different things. A gain in knowledge means the total datum has expanded. A gain in wisdom means we are better equipped to exploit our knowledge. Yet our focus is still in gaining raw knowledge and not in wiser ways of using and applying it.
Galilio would be very familiar with today's world.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Science Is Settled: The Gore Effect is Real!
"Heart Attack: Sighting of Al Gore kills off polar bears"
No more need for any additional scientific research on this subject. The "Gore Effect", whereby mother nature causes unusually cool temperatures during any media event where 1) Al Gore is present and 2) He is discussing global warming.
You might say mother nature has a sense of humor. I personally think she is getting back at him because he forced his tongue down her throat in a seedy hotel. She is pissed. Such is her outrage that even the mere hint that he might appear at a global warming conference, such as the UN-IPCC meet in Cancun, causes mother nature to shiver with frigid anger. The "Gore Effect" is real and is happening at nearly any global warming conference that Al Gore has even *thought* of attending. Trust me, the science is settled on this one.
See links at bottom for detailed lists.
A small sampling of "Gore Effect" happenings:
And of course, Cancun... Where they are experiencing temperatures not seen in over 100 years.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gore_Effect
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15931.html
http://www.climatedepot.com/a/1869/Climate-Depot-Factsheet-on-the-Gore-Effect-Phenomenon
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
UN Is A Disease Vector
Killjoy stories of the day...
UN Spreads Cholera In Haiti:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11943902
Story Breaks, UN Denies It:
http://www.salon.com/wires/health/2010/10/29/D9J5IHBG1_cb_haiti_disease_outbreak/index.html
UN Peacekeeper Kills Protester (Guy didn't like the cholera gift)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11761941
(UN also blames elections for the protesting lol)
Researchers Link Cholera to Nepalese Peacekeepers & Nepal Strain:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11943902
(UN still deny's it)
So lets see, they brought AIDS to many of world's countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam which I saw firsthand. They send sexual predators to Africa. Now they bring Cholera. Great. At what point does the massive financial waste and mismanagement get called out?
UN continues to blow millions and billions on hotel bills for useless conferences that do nothing, go nowhere and would invite a world wide economic "Jonestown" if actually passed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11897262
UN Says "We are running out of time" for the billionth time. Except we are not. They are the ones running out of time to pull this scam off on us. So sad, too bad its getting way colder. Sucks that they blew the science project of the century, along with all our money. Now we gotta do it all over again to find out what is really happening. A sudden cold snap doesn't mean much in geologic time, just as a sudden warming spell. The difference, is that not one single computer model in the universe predicted this. What does that mean? You still can't predict the future with computers. Doh!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11939768
UN Spreads Cholera In Haiti:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11943902
Story Breaks, UN Denies It:
http://www.salon.com/wires/health/2010/10/29/D9J5IHBG1_cb_haiti_disease_outbreak/index.html
UN Peacekeeper Kills Protester (Guy didn't like the cholera gift)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11761941
(UN also blames elections for the protesting lol)
Researchers Link Cholera to Nepalese Peacekeepers & Nepal Strain:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11943902
(UN still deny's it)
So lets see, they brought AIDS to many of world's countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam which I saw firsthand. They send sexual predators to Africa. Now they bring Cholera. Great. At what point does the massive financial waste and mismanagement get called out?
UN continues to blow millions and billions on hotel bills for useless conferences that do nothing, go nowhere and would invite a world wide economic "Jonestown" if actually passed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11897262
UN Says "We are running out of time" for the billionth time. Except we are not. They are the ones running out of time to pull this scam off on us. So sad, too bad its getting way colder. Sucks that they blew the science project of the century, along with all our money. Now we gotta do it all over again to find out what is really happening. A sudden cold snap doesn't mean much in geologic time, just as a sudden warming spell. The difference, is that not one single computer model in the universe predicted this. What does that mean? You still can't predict the future with computers. Doh!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11939768
Pearl Harbor Day
Google has a tradition of celebrating important days by doing something stupid "different" with their logo. Like turning it into a game of Pac-man on the day that the video game was released many years ago.
Google today; on Pearl Harbor Day:
For one second lets forget that Microsoft is a brutal rapacious unethical competitor that uses questionable means to gain and maintain dominance, and at least thank them for remembering those who died in service to our nation.
Pearl Harbor was almost as bad as 9/11 with 2,400 American servicemen killed. The one thing you can always count on with Bing is that they celebrate our national holidays and they always have amazing photographs along with links where you can learn things you probably did not know.
Google today; on Pearl Harbor Day:
So what about Bing?
For one second lets forget that Microsoft is a brutal rapacious unethical competitor that uses questionable means to gain and maintain dominance, and at least thank them for remembering those who died in service to our nation.
Pearl Harbor was almost as bad as 9/11 with 2,400 American servicemen killed. The one thing you can always count on with Bing is that they celebrate our national holidays and they always have amazing photographs along with links where you can learn things you probably did not know.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
NYT:ClimateGate No! Wikileaks Yes!
When ClimateGate hit the world like a storm, throwing cold water on a rich pity party by global elites, The New York Times stated that:
"The documents appear to have been acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye, so they won’t be posted here."
And thus the NYT missed the most significant scandal of the year and did their best to hide the entire issue of faked science, rigged reporting and insider scheming.
But now that we have WikiLeaks with 250,000 documents, which contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye" AND were "acquired illegally" they suddenly have a change of heart.
So what is their new reason for posting illegally acquired, private information?
Says The New York Times:
"The Times believes that the documents serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match."
But wait a second. ClimateGate was actually a WHISTLEBLOWER! The documents in question had already been requested and illegally withheld in a Freedom Of Information request! So not only were they NOT illegally required, it was fully legal to release them. Which is why they probably know who leaked it - after investigating for over a year - but will NEVER, EVER prosecute. This individual is legally protected!
In the case of Wikileaks, they were indeed illegally obtained. Bradley Manning is sitting in jail, facing very serious charges for betraying his nation. The New York Times as well as Wikileaks are also guilty of betrayal and treason.
If the US Government wasn't so pathetically weak (or if this had been done to Israel and the Mossad was in charge), the last thing going through Julian Assange's mind as he faced his assassin would have been a half powder load .22 from a Beretta 70.
Russia doesn't mess around with it's traitors. Everyone knows that Russia assassinates them, does it publicly and in other countries (not that I'd approve of killing of dissidents or reporters as Russia is doing en masse.) They also suffer NO blowback from the diplomatic community. In other words, assassination in the interests of one's country is the standard modus operandi - except for The United States. We just get accused of it all the time.
"All the news thats fit to print, as long as it fits our 'progressive' agenda."
Pathetic.
"The documents appear to have been acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye, so they won’t be posted here."
And thus the NYT missed the most significant scandal of the year and did their best to hide the entire issue of faked science, rigged reporting and insider scheming.
But now that we have WikiLeaks with 250,000 documents, which contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye" AND were "acquired illegally" they suddenly have a change of heart.
So what is their new reason for posting illegally acquired, private information?
Says The New York Times:
"The Times believes that the documents serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match."
But wait a second. ClimateGate was actually a WHISTLEBLOWER! The documents in question had already been requested and illegally withheld in a Freedom Of Information request! So not only were they NOT illegally required, it was fully legal to release them. Which is why they probably know who leaked it - after investigating for over a year - but will NEVER, EVER prosecute. This individual is legally protected!
In the case of Wikileaks, they were indeed illegally obtained. Bradley Manning is sitting in jail, facing very serious charges for betraying his nation. The New York Times as well as Wikileaks are also guilty of betrayal and treason.
If the US Government wasn't so pathetically weak (or if this had been done to Israel and the Mossad was in charge), the last thing going through Julian Assange's mind as he faced his assassin would have been a half powder load .22 from a Beretta 70.
Russia doesn't mess around with it's traitors. Everyone knows that Russia assassinates them, does it publicly and in other countries (not that I'd approve of killing of dissidents or reporters as Russia is doing en masse.) They also suffer NO blowback from the diplomatic community. In other words, assassination in the interests of one's country is the standard modus operandi - except for The United States. We just get accused of it all the time.
"All the news thats fit to print, as long as it fits our 'progressive' agenda."
Pathetic.
Monday, November 29, 2010
P.C. In Oregon Can Kill
According to this article in the Washington Examiner, the city of Portland Oregon refused to cooperate with an anti-terrorism FBI task force because of political correctness.
In what can only be described as 'inevitable', this turns out to be the very same task force that saved Portland from a massacre at the hands of a disturbed Somali youth.
The reason they originally decided to decline cooperation was because of their disenchantment with the Bush presidency. In a completely asinine turnaround, and only AFTER the terrorist incident, they now say they are willing to change their position because Obama is the president.
What was left unsaid and unreported is that Obama has not deviated one iota from Bush 43's policies. If anything Obama has ramped up the war on terror, enlarged the state even further, expanded the fronts to include Yemen and approved the extra-judicial killings of American citizens. In Pakistan the rules of engagement have been loosened far beyond anything Bush had allowed.
I suppose that because Obama says nice things that people want to hear he gets Nobel prizes and mayors of cities to change their minds about cooperating with the FBI to protect their citizens. Do they even care that what Obama says and what he does are diametric opposites? Or is it still don't ask, don't tell?
"Here in Portland, we are not willing to give up individual liberties in order to have a perception of safety," said city commissioner Randy Leonard.
(So what about now? How's that perception of safety going Randy? Is it better to feel safer or be safer?)
"What is ironic is that the operation that found and stopped Mohamud is precisely the kind of law enforcement work that Portland's leaders, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, rejected during the Bush years. In April 2005, the Portland city council voted 4 to 1 to withdraw Portland city police officers from participating in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mayor Tom Potter said the FBI refused to give him a top-secret security clearance so he could make sure the officers weren't violating state anti-discrimination laws that bar law enforcement from targeting suspects on the basis of their religious or political beliefs."
(Looks like Mr. Political Correctness got owned. So lets break this down: Tommy boy gets all pissy because the FBI won't give him a top-secret clearance. He pretends to be all concerned that the FBI, the most politically correct of all the intel services, is going to be used to 'profile' people. But in fact, profiling works. Why do you think professional profilers are called "Profilers" - Duh! They also happen to have an impressive track record.)
Current Portland mayor Sam Adams "...stressed that he has much more faith in the Obama administration and the leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s office now than he did in 2005."
(Okay so Oregonian lives are worth less during the Bush admin and more now that Obama is prez? I don't get it. Same legal system, same FBI agents, probably the same judges as a few years ago. So what exactly is different IN OREGON from 2005 to 2010? Its not like the case is going to Guantanamo or being tried in DC. He is being tried in Oregon Federal Court. So are both mayors and the city council saying they do not trust their fellow Oregonians who work for the Federal Judicial system and the FBI?)
I wonder if any one of these tools is going to thank the FBI for saving the lives of perhaps dozens of innocent Oregonians. Sorry if I just don't buy excuses like what the FBI was attempting to do was only a 'perception of safety.' Nor do I accept that they essentially refused to cooperate with the FBI over political differences. The law is the law. The FBI follows the law. If they don't there are whistleblower statutes which would have protected any of the policemen involved. This was pure politics, ego and power trips and it was played with peoples lives.
It should also be noted that in this case, as well as the underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, it was their fathers who turned them in. Both fathers were religious muslims who wanted nothing to do with violent jihad. When you really look at these cases they are more often than not, solved by informants. Muslim informants. Sadly, with the billions and billions of dollars we spend on intel agencies, its old fashioned human morality and the desire to save innocent lives that cracks most of these cases. In this case the kid was indoctrinated in hate over the internet.
In what can only be described as 'inevitable', this turns out to be the very same task force that saved Portland from a massacre at the hands of a disturbed Somali youth.
According to the FBI affidavit, the undercover agents asked whether he worried that law enforcement would stop him. "In Portland?" Mohamud replied. "Not really. They don't see it as a place where anything will happen. People say, you know, why, anybody want to do something in Portland, you know, it's on the west coast, it's in Oregon, and Oregon's, you know, nobody ever thinks about it."
The reason they originally decided to decline cooperation was because of their disenchantment with the Bush presidency. In a completely asinine turnaround, and only AFTER the terrorist incident, they now say they are willing to change their position because Obama is the president.
What was left unsaid and unreported is that Obama has not deviated one iota from Bush 43's policies. If anything Obama has ramped up the war on terror, enlarged the state even further, expanded the fronts to include Yemen and approved the extra-judicial killings of American citizens. In Pakistan the rules of engagement have been loosened far beyond anything Bush had allowed.
I suppose that because Obama says nice things that people want to hear he gets Nobel prizes and mayors of cities to change their minds about cooperating with the FBI to protect their citizens. Do they even care that what Obama says and what he does are diametric opposites? Or is it still don't ask, don't tell?
Cast of Culpable City Characters
(So what about now? How's that perception of safety going Randy? Is it better to feel safer or be safer?)
(Looks like Mr. Political Correctness got owned. So lets break this down: Tommy boy gets all pissy because the FBI won't give him a top-secret clearance. He pretends to be all concerned that the FBI, the most politically correct of all the intel services, is going to be used to 'profile' people. But in fact, profiling works. Why do you think professional profilers are called "Profilers" - Duh! They also happen to have an impressive track record.)
(Okay so Oregonian lives are worth less during the Bush admin and more now that Obama is prez? I don't get it. Same legal system, same FBI agents, probably the same judges as a few years ago. So what exactly is different IN OREGON from 2005 to 2010? Its not like the case is going to Guantanamo or being tried in DC. He is being tried in Oregon Federal Court. So are both mayors and the city council saying they do not trust their fellow Oregonians who work for the Federal Judicial system and the FBI?)
I wonder if any one of these tools is going to thank the FBI for saving the lives of perhaps dozens of innocent Oregonians. Sorry if I just don't buy excuses like what the FBI was attempting to do was only a 'perception of safety.' Nor do I accept that they essentially refused to cooperate with the FBI over political differences. The law is the law. The FBI follows the law. If they don't there are whistleblower statutes which would have protected any of the policemen involved. This was pure politics, ego and power trips and it was played with peoples lives.
It should also be noted that in this case, as well as the underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, it was their fathers who turned them in. Both fathers were religious muslims who wanted nothing to do with violent jihad. When you really look at these cases they are more often than not, solved by informants. Muslim informants. Sadly, with the billions and billions of dollars we spend on intel agencies, its old fashioned human morality and the desire to save innocent lives that cracks most of these cases. In this case the kid was indoctrinated in hate over the internet.
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