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932 lines
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cult of the dead cat / cult of the disposable camera / cult of the drying cum-
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stain / cult of the dead canary / cult of the dead chihuaha / cult of the dead
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cadillac / concentrated drag:::::::::::::::::::cweenz / cult of the douche con
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dom / cult of the dope cut /::XXXX::XXX::XXXX::cult of the dressed cabbage / c
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ult of the dumb comedian / c::X:::::X::X:X:::::ult of the deadly carbonated_be
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verage / cult of the dead ca::X:::::X::X:X:::::nine / cult of the dumb cow / c
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ult of the disheiferist clep::XXXX::XXX::XXXX::/ cult of the duplicated copy /
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clean dildos in a cab / cows:::::::::::::::::::drowning cows / cult of the dum
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b cult / cult of the dildo that can / crowning dead corpses / cult of the disp
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osable condom / cyber doodical c / can dogs croak? / cult of the dead cornflak
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e / cult of the distinct color / cult of the dead crib / CULT OF THE DEAD CAT!
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_ __/|
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\'X.X' Cult of the Dead Cat, Inc (c) 1992-1995
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=(___)= Funky Assed Niggahz who fORGOT the Vaseline (c) 1992
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U
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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SEND ALL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, ARTICLES, MEATLOAF, 'JESUS LOVES ME' STICKERS,
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GIFS OF GRAYAREA'S OVARIES, HACKER PENISES, HACKER JEWISH CAPS, UPT'S PASS-
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WORD FILES TO...
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upt@bud.indirect.com
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imedia@tdn.net
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CdC may be obtained the following places:
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Unphamiliar Territory XXX-XXX-XXXX /pub/ae2/cdc_cat
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Inertia XXX-XXX-XXXX conference 1, area 17
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ftp.fc.net (ftp) /pub/defcon/CULT-OF-THE-DEAD-CAT
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ftp.fc.net (ftp) /pub/deadkat/humor/CdC
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tdn.net (ftp) /pub/CdC
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or direct from invalid or grayarea
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The mailing list is gonna have to start from scratch. Mail me and I'll throw
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you on the list... sorry about it not working yet but w00p!
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TODAY'S NET SAYING IS...
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nothing.. we had no time to get one b1tch!
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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CdC special issue!!! h0h0kahn review(s)
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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phile cdci212.01
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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_ __/|
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\'x.X' Cult of the Dead Cat Communications (c) 1995
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=(___)= dis b3 dah mayn3 CdC paluz!@# w0rd, h3r3'z da fyl3z nigga!@#
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U
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:
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. "we reak 3lyt3n3$z" "we kick big fuk3n a$z 3v3ryday!@# mack!@"
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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HoHoCon '94
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December 29, 1994 - January 2, 1995
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Ramada Inn South, Austin, TX
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A Review, released to the Net on 1/25/95
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By Netta "grayarea" Gilboa
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I flew to Austin, TX after spending Christmas with some hacker friends.
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I arrived a day early, unsure if the Con was gonna come off and how many
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people would show if it did. HoHoCon had almost been cancelled this year
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after someone called the original hotel and said a bunch of mean, evil
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hackers were gonna descend on the hotel and that several federal agencies
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would be sending feds there to monitor it. If you ask me, some kid's mom
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said he couldn't go so he decided to try to make sure none of us could
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either. Lame. It also taught me that everyone in this community has
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enemies. Maybe someone just doesn't like Drunkfux. Supposedly, right after
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this phone call the hotel got another, this time from Dateline NBC who
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wanted permission to film the Con. Rumor had it the hotel panicked and
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cancelled. The truth is that a regular client of theirs offered to pay
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higher room rates and the hotel stood to make over $20,000 extra by
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getting rid of us and having them there instead. So they used the phone
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calls as an excuse. I can only imagine the hassles Drunkfux went
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through to find another hotel that was empty on New Year's Eve weekend.
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But Drunkfux came through with flying colors and when I got to the
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hotel they told me other people had started to arrive. They gave me a
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list of these people to look at, complete with their real names and room
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numbers. It's possible they would even have xeroxed the list if I had
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asked them to. Uncool. Even more uncool, almost shocking, was that the
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hotel had a clipboard on the counter with people's real names, assigned
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room number and credit card number complete with expiration date. It was
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listed in alphabetical order and I was on the top page in the third spot.
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I freaked. I told the woman behind the counter that she must move the
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clipboard as some of the people coming specialized in attacking people's
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credit and that I would surely be a target given my position on the list
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and my all too well-known real name. She said okay but when I returned my
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luggage cart, some twenty minutes later, it was still on the counter. I
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told her again, nastier this time, to move it. An hour later she still had
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not. I then asked to use a phone and was told there was one in my room and
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another down the hall. I explained that I wanted to call right from the
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counter to cancel my credit card and to call the national offices of Ramada
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Inns to have her fired. In a nasty tone she told me she'd move the clipboard.
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She did. However, the next day they threw the pages in the trash and, of
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course, had the clipboard on the counter again with a new list of the people
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due to check in that day. I argued with them again and they moved it. A few
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hours later (surprise!) their trash was invaded and they went out and bought
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two paper shredders. This was a good investment on their part although it's
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a shame it took us to teach them that. If you intend to stay at a Ramada Inn
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anywhere in the U.S., I would strongly advise you not to prepay with a credit
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card. They can't be trusted with your data. We invite readers who may have
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experienced credit card fraud after staying at Ramada Inns (or other hotels)
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to contact us. It was a sobering lesson in how vulnerable the average person
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is in society.
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I had plans to hook up with Stormbringer and Holy Spirit, two virus
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writers I love talking to. Stormbringer had recently retired from virus
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writing after hearing from someone in Singapore who got infected with
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one of his non-malicious viruses. I had read his retirement text file and
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was anxious to talk to him about it. He assured me on the phone all was well
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and they agreed to meet me at Mr. Wasabi for sushi and I ate more sushi
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than I ever had before in one sitting. Then we walked to a coffee house
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and they drove me back to my hotel around 1 a.m.
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I was invited to Novocain and Particle's room so I headed up there and
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ran into Veggie, Onkel Ditmeyer, Count Zero, Buckaroo, etc. Onkel showed
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me his way cool laptop and I finally got to see what an IBM demo looks
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like. These are programs which demonstrate the sound and graphics
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capabilities of a computer. He copied a few of them on a disk for me along
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with some electronic magazines I had never seen. Onkel is the author of a
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well known phreaking program called Bluebeep. We spoke a lot over the
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weekend and I found him brilliant, honest, charming and not afraid of
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girls who know way less than him. He was one of the coolest people at
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HoHoCon this year.
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At 6 a.m. a few of us went downstairs for free breakfast and the
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conversation turned to the various women who hang out on #hack. There
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was some dissing of one girl who has slept her way around the scene and
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in the past had given a number of hackers herpes without telling them
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first. Eeks. I tried to get out of the guys I was eating with what she
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had that I didn't (besides herpes). I message most of her old lovers on
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IRC but none has ever made a pass at me. We talked about the other girls
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on IRC, who has slept with whom, and how they got treated afterwards. We
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talked about why people might have slept with those particular girls at
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the time they did and I suddenly felt both very lucky and better about
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myself that the one hacker I had slept with was a decent choice. Quality
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might beat quantity. To know for sure, I guess I'd have to ask the girls
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<wink>.
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We picked up a bunch of food that was apparently not included in our
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free breakfast coupon. The waitress didn't know how to handle it and
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neither did we. I offered to put the food back and she finally agreed to
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let us eat it. I suggested they put up a sign to warn others and, of
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course, they didn't. Later I heard they let us all eat the bacon and other
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food for the rest of the Con. I never made it back down there again even
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though for American food it was pretty good. I was pretty tired and so
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headed off to sleep when we were done chowing down.
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I woke up Friday afternoon when Particle and Novocain knocked on the
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door. They had a car and took me to a chinese restaurant nearby with a
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killer buffet. When we got back there were many people in the lobby
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listening to a tape of prank phone calls made by Phone Losers of America.
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I wanted the tape bad as it seemed highly appropriate for us to review.
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I was promised a copy which materialized in under an hour. W0rd! For all
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the shit I take for it, there are advantages to being press.
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I felt pretty comfortable with all of the people I was talking to and
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since my room was very close to the lobby I invited everyone there and
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even left the door open for others to enter my room (which almost
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everyone who passed by did). It was kind of odd where they had situated
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me. You could watch my door from the counter where people checked in. I
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had asked for a smoking room but got dealt non-smoking instead. I
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inquired about changing it and was told some crap about all the rooms
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being accounted for already. It crossed my mind at the time that maybe
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some feds had purposely put me there but I discounted my gut feeling and
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remembered most hackers thought I was too paranoid about things. I told
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people to go ahead and smoke in my room with no ashtray. They did. All
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told about 15 people were in there and one of them pulled out a toy
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to show me. It was a box that hooked up to your telephone which allowed
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you to change your voice into that of a male, female or child. I had seen
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these boxes before in catalogs. They sure work great! I made two calls
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with it, one to a friend and one to my ex-husband. I snickered at how
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surprised they'd be when they heard my message and later regretted not
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telling either or them to save it so I could hear it back. Honestly,
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playing with this legal box was every bit as cool as great drugs or sex.
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I vowed to buy one. Watch out!
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Talk turned to dinner and people started to leave my room. Particle was
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the last one out and he showed me something about how the hotel room locks
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worked. Hackers spend hours trying to figure out how things work and
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although I had little interest in the subject it was clear Particle was
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struck by the techonology and not the idea of breaking into someone's
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room. I started to organize people who were willing to eat sushi. Just as
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we were about to leave Particle and Novocain were gathering everyone into
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a room to tell people to chill their behavior. It later turned out that
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Particle had played with another lock after I made him stop touching
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mine. He had the misfortune to be seen by a member of the Austin Police
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Department who wisely agreed not to arrest him in exchange for Particle's
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agreeing to talk to people in an attempt to curtail the usual HoHoCon
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hotel destruction. I should have attended this talk although I had no
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idea at the time why it was being organized. But I was starving and
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the people I took to eat sushi were not those who would consider trashing
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a hotel. Laughing Gas, Thumper27, Slyme, El_Jefe and I checked out Kyoto
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sushi which was good but expensive for what you got. I spent part of dinner
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wiping the free space on the hard drive on my laptop. I had never used
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this feature before, but had been told about it at the con and it sounded
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like something I should start doing regularly to protect other people's
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privacy so that erased E-mail and articles were truly erased. It was a
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good thing I had sushi to eat to keep me busy as it took a good twenty
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minutes to do on a Pentium laptop with a 500+ meg hard drive.
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When we got back to the hotel I ran into Drunkfux who had cut his
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hair and dyed it bright red. I hardly recognized him but it looked great.
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It was clear by the police presence in the lobby that the Con had
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officially started. We were told that signs hung on room doors (I had
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put up a copy of one of the magazine covers with a small piece of scotch
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tape) would be taken down. This made it much harder for us to find each
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other (I'd estimate we had 90% of the hotel's rooms) but so it goes.
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Some people were told specifically that they could not use their modems
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and for hours on Friday night the phone lines were so busy with modem
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usage that there was no way to make an outgoing call or to receive an
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expected incoming one. All sorts of security guards appeared. The ones
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I spoke with were police officers too. I'd guess there were 1-3 dozen
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around at all times and apparently hotel personnel were told they were
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all on duty until we left and none of them were able to go home for the
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rest of the weekend. I wish I could say this was utterly unwarranted.
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But some lamer broke the lock on the door to the hotel's phone system.
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And remember that another person had trashed the hotel's garbage and
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must have made a mess or been spotted.
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The hot party that night was in Erik Bloodaxe's room. Loki, Ice-9
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and Ophie were staying with him and Loki was in charge of the door.
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He made sure to keep me out just as he does when he acts like a bully
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on IRC. I knew in my heart it was Loki's doing not ErikB's, but that
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didn't stop me from getting majorly upset about it anyway. I went
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downstairs to be alone and Particle knocked on the door a few minutes
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later. I gave him a piece of my mind and then some about how shitty
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some of those in the computer underground are. I went on for at least
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an hour and drew great comfort from the fact Particle thought I was not
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crazy and that things are as awful as they seem sometimes. Finally
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he told me that since I kept claiming to love hackers despite all of the
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grief, there were dozens of nice ones out there who would be thrilled to
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talk to me if I'd only leave my room and go try to have a good time. W0rd.
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I took his advice and had a good time in the lobby with the other rejects
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from Bloodaxe's party. The conversation was so good it was hard to tear
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away to go to sleep. I went to my room at 4:30 a.m., got under the covers,
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thought about sleep for 10 seconds. Then I pulled out my laptop and wrote
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a speech to deliver to the crowd the next day.
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The two people I had counted on to wake me up didn't show and it was a
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stroke of luck that made me jump up at 9:45. The speeches were supposed to
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start at 10 a.m. and even though they surely wouldn't start till later I
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was selling magazines and was due there pronto to claim my table. It took a
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luggage cart to get all those magazines downstairs. I shudder to think what
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my life will be like when I have 30 issues to lug around instead of six.
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The folks from Fringeware were selling books and T-shirts and someone else
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had old Atari game units and cartridges. People came by to say hi and to
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buy magazines. I plugged my speech and told people not to dare miss it.
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It was impressive that Drunkfux had gotten so many original speakers
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on such short notice. They mostly said what the crowd wanted to hear and
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shared thoughts on digital cash, the regulation of the Internet, recent
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laws, etc. Damien Thorn showed a video clip to the tune of the current
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rock hit "21st Century Digital Boy" which had cellular phones, scanners,
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etc. in it. It's part of an upcoming video that looked awesome. Veggie
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talked about dealing with the media after an old text file of his was
|
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used to harass a BBS sysop who got more than twice Phiber's jail sentence
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just for having a file around.
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Someone sent Erik Bloodaxe to talk to me as part of my speech referred
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to him. It was an uncomfortable talk and I was probably correct in feeling
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that half the room was watching us and not whoever was speaking. I told
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him he could pay me back in print or elsewhere but that I was going to
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go ahead with what I planned to say and he surprised me by saying that
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what I had written was fine and he even added to it. He also told me
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that Loki had gotten too drunk and had been a pain in the ass to room
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with the night before. He assured me that although way too many people
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had been in his room, and way too many had tried to get in after it was
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full, it had not been his intention to keep me out. I felt bad that I
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even cared, and that he knew I cared, and that he and I even had to
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discuss it. I was unhapy that he had no intention of staying to hear my
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speech or the fight with Loki that he knew was coming but didn't
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mention to me. We left things with the fact that we'd go out for dinner
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or something the next night with Ophie (who also had an early flight)
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after the bulk of the Con was over. It occured to me then it would never
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happen because plans are hard to keep at Cons but I mentioned it in my
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speech anyway.
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My speech went over very well. It was about what's been going on at
|
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Gray Areas since I spoke at HoHoCon last year. It was also about the
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behavior of certain elements of the community and how that behavior has
|
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affected me. And it was a stern warning about some busts that are coming
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down. I know a few people got the message. I could tell from the gasps
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and laughter at key points. But perhaps the highlight of the speech was
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the confrontation between Loki and I when he chose to bully me before
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anyone else could ask a question. I answered his accusations and managed
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to do a decent job even with no warning. Whatever he hoped to accomplish
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clearly wasn't working and from somewhere deep inside of me I found the
|
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courage to ask the entire room to vote on whether or not they really
|
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never wanted to see me on #hack again. The only vote opposed in a room of
|
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about 250-300 people was Loki's. Hours later I regretted not thinking to
|
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ask how many people never wanted to see Loki there again. Four people had
|
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come up to me and told me they would have voted him out. Loki left the
|
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room with his tail between his legs and ran to IRC. By the time I got on
|
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hours later word had spread a story that I picked a fight with him and
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he had won. The proof is in the videotape which will be available soon
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from Drunkfux. It's highly recommended for both friends and foes of mine.
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Drunkfux said demand for this portion of his footage was very high. I
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promised to give him better footage and an even better speech next year.
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Later Count Zero wrote this about my speech in Cult of the Dead Cow:
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"Grayarea gets up and begins to read off a pre-prepared speech on her
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laptop. Her speech is too quick for my alcohol-byproduct-sodden synapses
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to register accurately. I keep staring at her dress...bright tie-dye...
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mesmerizing...it's actually quite cool. Suddenly, Loki gets up in the
|
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audience and the accusations fly back and forth between them. You kicked
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me off IRC. You called my office at work. You are doing this, you are
|
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doing that. Both are getting into this verbal slugfest in a major way.
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I feel the bad karma in the room hanging heavy like blue-green cigar
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smoke. "Can't we all just get along??" I yell, but noone seems to hear
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me. I don't know who is right or wrong (it's probably somewhere in
|
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between...the truth's always gray, right?), so I don't hypothesize. All I
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do know is that I'd never want to piss off Grayarea...she's damn strong
|
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on her convictions and won't take shit from anyone. I think she'd look
|
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better up there wearing a big ol' leather jacket with studs...terminator
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style. "One tends to assume that people wearing tie-dye gear are quiet,
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meek, very soft spoken, non-confrontational types....it is a camoflage
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that suits her well," I think. Bahaha! I liked your comments, Count Zero.
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And I did hear you yell that.
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After the speeches I sold more magazines thanks to Loki who
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inadvertently made way more people interested in me. Bahahaha! Some of
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them said they liked or loved my dress, some of them hugged me and some
|
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of them signed up for subscriptions and gave me their data. I then
|
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headed off for dinner at yet another sushi restaurant. Laughing Gas
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and Slyme came again along with Mr. Spock who agreed to lose his sushi
|
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virginity to me and jokingly said that way he'd get mentioned in my
|
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review. I thought he was one of the three kewlest people I hung out with
|
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at the Con. I hope I get to spend more time with him at a Con in the
|
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future and I'd even be willing to go try his favorite type of food! The
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sushi place we picked was awesome. I was sorry I hadn't found it
|
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sooner. It's almost too bad HoHoCon will be in another city next year.
|
|
I also wanna mention the elite, Jak_Flack, who drove us to the restaurant
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when cabs were scarce on New Year's Eve. He didn't want any sushi or
|
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any money. He even got lucky and gave a ride to people who probably
|
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would have done the same thing for him under the same circumstances.
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Thanks.
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After dinner I did what Drunkfux begged us not to do. I spent New
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Year's Eve on IRC. I messaged Mr. Spock, in fact, who was typing from
|
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the other side of the room. I also messaged some hackers I talk to all
|
|
the time. Some were lonely and glad to see me. I thought a lot about
|
|
loneliness. Some of us prefer to be with computers than people. Some of
|
|
us can open up more easily to people on a computer. And some of us need
|
|
computers around even when we're with other people. I was typing from an
|
|
account at hohocon.org and there were several people in the room having
|
|
fun with their "site" as X and Y tried repeatedly (and succeeded) to get
|
|
root there. I had never seen root before from the position of the person
|
|
protecting it. I should have paid way more attention but I got too caught
|
|
up in having conversations. I should also have paid more attention to the
|
|
people in the room with me. Loq and Fool were there and they seemed really
|
|
kewl but I got too lost in IRC. Oh well, at least I wasn't hopelessly
|
|
drunk. And I wasn't kicked or banned once. People were delicate with each
|
|
other on IRC. They were often drunk, vulnerable and more likely to reveal
|
|
things when conversing. Those who were on were more than willing to talk
|
|
to anyone who showed up. People apparently intend to make public the
|
|
hohocon.org logs. If they include IRC chats it would be very shallow. I
|
|
will never again take the chance and IRC from a Con again. Although I have
|
|
mostly come to terms with the fact that I am a semi-public figure and
|
|
people will always want to see whatever I type on the Net, but it's not
|
|
fair to expose the words of the people I messaged.
|
|
I dragged myself off IRC about 4:30 a.m. and went downstairs to clean
|
|
off one of the beds. Novocain and Particle had checked out of their room
|
|
and were gonna stay in my room for one night. I was thrilled at the idea
|
|
of having company. But when the bed was empty it looked tempting and I
|
|
lay down for the 90 minutes till I was due to meet them at the breakfast
|
|
buffet. Next thing I knew it was Sunday afternoon. Oops! I wondered where
|
|
they had slept. Apparently they hadn't wanted to wake me so they slept
|
|
in another room. I felt bad but at least their stuff had been safe which
|
|
is all you really care about at a Con. SORRY! Next time, guys, wake me.
|
|
I stumbled into the lobby and joined the conversations that were going
|
|
on. A hotel employee asked if we'd mind moving to the conference room and
|
|
we agreed. We figured the room was bugged just as the hotel phone lines
|
|
had been. But we weren't talking about anything secret and a few of the
|
|
hackers answered all of the questions asked by the cop/security guard who
|
|
hung out for about half of the time we were in there. It was a very fun
|
|
time there on the floor chatting with Voyager, Ophie, Onkel Ditmeyer, lgas,
|
|
Deadkat, Drunkfux, etc. There were way more people but I'm drawing a blank
|
|
on specifically who. I went upstairs to get more magazines and ran into
|
|
Bruce Sterling. He was growing facial hair and looked great. He said he
|
|
felt lousy which shows what I know. I hugged him before he said he felt
|
|
lousy. We talked about the book he is working on. Then Ophie and I went
|
|
off to be interviewed about female hackers and the treatment of women by
|
|
hackers. It could have used Cori and Noelle but it made some good points.
|
|
We came downstairs and I saw Drunkfux at work videotaping an interview
|
|
with the guys from TNO in Colorado. This was priceless footage of them
|
|
discussing how a group decides policies and handles politics and how they
|
|
have applied political thought to hacking. I was sorry I had missed half
|
|
of it and sorry I had spent so much time socializing with them that it
|
|
had never occured to me I didn't know much about their group and I should
|
|
have interviewed them too. I hope Drunkfux includes every word of their
|
|
interview in the video.
|
|
Ophie brought up the idea of photos and so I grabbed my camera.
|
|
Everyone there got into it and I got a whole roll of film of people
|
|
hugging and kissing me, looking at porn mags with Ophie and generally
|
|
playing around somehow. They came out great. If you want yours passed
|
|
around or published, let me know. Until then, they're private.
|
|
Slyme and I headed back to Mr. Wasabi for dinner but to our surprise
|
|
it was closed! New Year's day turned out to be a bad day to try to find
|
|
places open to serve food. We should have stayed at the hotel. We finally
|
|
ended up in a bar which served food, ordered hot chocolate and consoled
|
|
ourselves on the lack of sushi. Back at the hotel a bunch of us went
|
|
room hopping and tried to determine who was left. My flight was at 7 a.m.
|
|
and I had no intention of going to sleep and taking a chance I would miss
|
|
it. Several people had flights at 8 and 10 a.m. Others were staying on
|
|
for 3 more days to get better airfare rates. I heard ErikB had left with
|
|
Ophie and he told me later they had asked the hotel and had been told I
|
|
checked out. One room we ended up in had a console copier running. I had
|
|
heard about them but never seen one and was told it was okay if I
|
|
photographed it. I went downstairs for my camera.
|
|
I hadn't been alone once since arriving in Austin. While this wasn't
|
|
always planned, the thought did occur to me that my room might be watched
|
|
and that law enforcement might be interested in any of the many people
|
|
I was seen talking to. I had mentioned a controversial interview we had
|
|
coming up with ILF and although I thought I was being overly paranoid, I
|
|
was still nervous I would be questioned about it. But it was 12:30 a.m.
|
|
or so and I felt too silly asking for someone to run downstairs with me.
|
|
So I went alone. But as I was closing the door and checking it was locked
|
|
I saw someone head down the hall towards me and I knew instantly something
|
|
was about to be up. Hackers are right when they say you can't fully
|
|
understand this until you have lived it. He asked if I was Netta and I
|
|
said yes and then he reached towards his pocket. I knew he was going for
|
|
either a gun or a badge and there was nothing I could do about either.
|
|
It turned out to be a badge and as he got close enough so that I could
|
|
see it read "Austin Police Department" I thought to myself "Kewl, it's
|
|
not the Secret Service." He asked me to accompany him to a room and,
|
|
holding my camera, I did. He told the two "security guards" that we'd be
|
|
leaving the door open. I had asked whether he was the guy who had
|
|
called me last March and he said no that he was his partner. I wondered
|
|
whether I was under investigation or whether they had no one else to ask
|
|
for information or whether they just wanted to meet me after talking to
|
|
me voice. It didn't occur to me to ask. I thought several times about the
|
|
fact I was supposed to be out with Bloodaxe and Ophie and that if I had
|
|
made it a point to leave with them this wouldn't be happening. I wondered
|
|
who else APD had questioned who had not told anyone. I wondered if they had
|
|
even questioned someone about me. I also feared people would come looking
|
|
for me and see me in that room and think I was talking to the police
|
|
voluntarily. That I had sought them out. God forbid they should think I
|
|
was telling the police about the console copier.
|
|
The whole thing only took about 8 minutes and the officer asked me
|
|
nothing I had a problem answering. He treated me with respect and didn't
|
|
press me to say anything I wasn't comfortable saying. I offered to give
|
|
him some of my magazines at the end of the conversation and he walked me
|
|
to my room and was clearly planning to wait outside. I invited him in and
|
|
he watched me pull issues from three suitcases. It was apparent nothing
|
|
illegal had gone on in my room. I'd lay odds it was the cleanest room
|
|
there too. The day before, for example, my trash in the bathroom had
|
|
been dumped at least three times. None were by me or when I was in the
|
|
room. The only thing I couldn't answer, and it was simply from nerves,
|
|
was what I had done on New Year's Eve. The answer came out that I didn't
|
|
remember and since I stammered it, it must have looked like I had seen or
|
|
done something I shouldn't have. But all I did was IRC and eat sushi and
|
|
I do that so often I didn't even remember when asked. New Year's Eve had
|
|
been almost like any other night.
|
|
Anyway, I got the console copier photo (hint: I could use a detailed
|
|
article on how they work to run with it). We then moved on to other rooms
|
|
and I ran into Drunkfux and Damien Thorn. I did a long video interview
|
|
with Drunkfux, who would have made an excellent journalist. He resisted
|
|
the idea of asking me petty questions about who I like and don't like in
|
|
the scene and who I'd sleep with if I could. I would have answered
|
|
anything he asked in the spirit of the HoHoCon video tradition, but
|
|
instead we got into more serious issues and people who think Drunkfux is
|
|
shallow or a less-than-serious dude due to his IRC reputation will be most
|
|
surprised.
|
|
Then Damien did an equally long interview and Drunkfux got eleet footage
|
|
of me closing my eyes when the talk got too technical. I did almost pass
|
|
out as it was 3 a.m. or so and I felt really comfortable being with them
|
|
but I snapped to attention just in the nick of time as Drunkfux had the
|
|
camera aimed on me and Damien was making a joke. Damien took it in stride
|
|
but I think it was the first time anyone had ever had the chance to listen
|
|
to his most eleet technical tips and was bored. I hope he knows I love him,
|
|
like most hackers, for the person he is and not for the skills or trophies
|
|
he has. I was transfixed as he told Drunkfux his beginnings in the computer
|
|
underground and his views on laws, ethics, writing, etc. I just don't lust
|
|
to know what model of phones he respects most or what gadget he's tested
|
|
last. Luckily for you, Drunkfux did the interview, not me, and he did ask
|
|
lots on that sort of stuff. After they were done Damien and I went out to
|
|
some fast food burger joint. It was dirt cheap and tasted like cardboard.
|
|
We had a great chat, as usual, and then went to the airport with Slyme who
|
|
had slept the night away and missed everything. My flight was first and
|
|
they walked me to the gate and made a fuss over me and it was the perfect
|
|
ending.
|
|
I can't believe I now have to wait till June (and go to Georgia, of
|
|
all places) to see some of you again. Oh well. In the meantime, happy
|
|
Valentine's Day to you and whoever you netsex and/or fantasize about.
|
|
Happy April Fool's Day in advance too. Just prank someone else this year,
|
|
okay? <grin>.
|
|
|
|
(Sample issues of Gray Areas are $7.00 each (U.S.) and $10.00 each
|
|
(foreign) from: Gray Areas, Inc. P.O. Box 808, Broomall, PA 19008.
|
|
E-mail addresses are: grayarea@well.sf.ca.us or grayarea@netaxs.com or
|
|
grayarea@mindvox.phantom.com. PGP key is below. Use it.)
|
|
|
|
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
|
|
Version: 2.3
|
|
mQCNAi76UiwAAAEEALgwLwtyFrBlzHkfUlc5NIwLrIfbng5OJIG1Qlp1JN5UUaSR
|
|
EMAu8gDqwOzXVS2TLYqbz5AHYw7zBTuVneYpMH6THv4iYN9iyXMu1LUby54HLbyP
|
|
vZb61BnF9s4oyyZitGJ8F/IKnqGX5+jE3/6WvcJ0HxDJPL5jEA2uwNFX4WuNAAUR
|
|
tBZncmF5YXJlYUB3ZWxsLnNmLmNhLnVz
|
|
=rXPN
|
|
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
|
|
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
phile cdci212.02
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
_ __/|
|
|
\'x.X' Cult of the Dead Cat Communications (c) 1995
|
|
=(___)= dis b3 dah mayn3 CdC paluz!@# w0rd, h3r3'z da fyl3z nigga!@#
|
|
U
|
|
|
|
|
:
|
|
. "we reak 3lyt3n3$z" "we kick big fuk3n a$z 3v3ryday!@# mack!@"
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
H0H0K0N '94
|
|
DECEMBER 29, 1994 - JANUArY 2, 1995
|
|
RAMaDA INN S0uTH, AUStIN, TX
|
|
A REVIEW, RELEAsED T0 ThE NET 0N 1/25/95
|
|
BY NETTA "GrAyAREA" GiLB0A
|
|
|
|
I FLEw T0 AUsTIN, TX AFTER SPENDING CHRISTMAZ WiTH S0ME HaCKER FRiENDS.
|
|
I ARRIvED A DaY EARLY, UNSURE IF THE K0N WAZ G0NnA K0ME 0Ff AND H0w MANY
|
|
PE0PLE W0ULD sH0W IF IT DID. H0H0K0N HAD ALM0ST bEEN CANcElLED tHIz YEAR
|
|
AFTEr S0ME0nE CALLED THE 0RIGINAL H0TEL AND SAiD A BUNcH 0F MeAN, EVIL
|
|
HACKERZ WERE G0NNA DESCEND 0N THE H0TEL AND THAT sEVERAL fEdERAL AGeNCIEZ
|
|
W0ULD BE SENDING FEDZ THErE T0 m0NIt0R IT. IF Y0U ASK ME, S0Me KID'Z M0M
|
|
SAId He K0ULDN'T G0 S0 hE DECidED T0 TRY T0 MAKe SURE N0NE 0F UZ K0ULD
|
|
eIThER. LAME. IT ALS0 TAUGht Me THAT EVERY0Ne IN THIZ K0mMUNITY HAZ
|
|
ENEMIES. MaYBE S0ME0NE jUST D0ESN't LiKE DRUNKFUX. SUPP0SEDLY, rIGHT AFTER
|
|
THIz Ph0NE CALL THE H0TeL G0T aN0tHER, THIZ TIMe FR0M DATELiNE NBC WH0
|
|
WANtED PERMISSI0N T0 FIlM THE k0N. RUM0R HAD IT THE H0TEL PaNICKED AND
|
|
CANcELlED. THE TRUTh IZ THAT a REgULAR CLIENT 0f THEIRZ 0FFeRED T0 PAY
|
|
hIGhER R00M RATEz ANd THE h0TEl ST00D T0 MAKe 0VER $20,000 EXTRA BY
|
|
GETTiNG RID 0F UZ ANd HAvING TheM tHERE INSTEAD. S0 THEY USEd THE PH0NE
|
|
cALLZ AZ AN ExCUSe. I Can 0nLY IMAGINE THe HASSLEZ DRuNKFUX WENT
|
|
THR0UGh T0 FIND AN0tHER H0TEL tHAt WAZ EMPTY 0N NEW YEAR'Z EVE WEEKEND.
|
|
BUt DRUNKFUX CAmE ThR0UGH wITh FLYING K0L0Rz AND WHEN I G0T T0 THE
|
|
H0tEL THEY T0LD ME 0THeR PE0plE hAD STARTED T0 ARRIVE. THEy GAVE ME A
|
|
LIST 0F tHESE PE0PLE t0 L00K AT, K0mPLETE WITH THeIR REAL NAMeZ AND R00M
|
|
NUmBErS. IT'Z P0SSiBLE THEY w0ULd EVEN HAVE XEr0XED THE LIsT IF I HAD
|
|
ASKeD tHEM T0. UNK00L. EVEN M0rE uNK00L, ALM0ST SH0CKING, WaZ THAT THE
|
|
H0TEl HaD A CLIPB0ARd 0N THE K0uNTeR WITH PE0PLE'Z REAL NAMEs, ASSIGNED
|
|
R00M nUMbER AND CREDIt CArD NUMbeR k0MPLETE WITH eXPIRATI0N DaTE. IT WAZ
|
|
LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL 0RDeR AND I WaZ 0N THE T0P pAGE IN THE tHIRD SP0T.
|
|
I fREaKED. I T0LD tHE w0MAN beHInD THE K0UNTER THAT SHE MUsT M0VE THE
|
|
CLIPB0ARd AZ S0ME 0F tHE pE0PLE k0MiNG SPECIALIZEd IN ATTACKInG PE0PLE'Z
|
|
CREDIt AnD THAT I W0UlD SuRELY be A TARGET GIVEN mY P0SITI0N 0N THE LIST
|
|
AND MY ALl T00 WELL-KN0WN rEAL NamE. SHE SAID 0KAY BUT WHEN I rETURNED MY
|
|
LUGGaGE CART, S0ME TwENTy MINUteZ lATER, IT WAZ sTILL 0N THE K0UNTER. I
|
|
T0LD HEr AgAIN, NASTIER THIz TIME, T0 M0VE IT. AN H0UR LATER SHe STILL HAD
|
|
N0T. I tHEn ASKED T0 USe A pH0NE anD wAZ T0LD THERE WAZ 0NE IN mY R00M AND
|
|
AN0ThER D0WN THE HALl. I EXPLAinED THAT I WANTED T0 CALL RIGhT FR0M THE
|
|
K0UNTER t0 cANCEL MY CREdIT cARD And T0 CALL THE NATi0NAL 0FFICEz 0F RAMADA
|
|
INNZ T0 HAvE hER FIRED. IN A NaSTY T0nE sHE T0LD ME SHe'D M0VE THE CLIPB0ARD.
|
|
SHE DiD. H0WEVER, THE NEXt DAY thEY THREW THE PAGeZ IN THE TRaSH AND, 0F
|
|
K0URSE, HaD tHE CLIPB0ARD 0N tHE K0unTEr AGAIN WITH A NEW LIST 0F THE PE0PLE
|
|
DUE T0 ChECk IN THAT DAY. I aRGUED wITh THEM AGAIN AnD THEY M0VEd IT. A FEW
|
|
H0URZ LATeR (SURPRISE!) ThEIR TRASH wAZ INVADED AND ThEY WENT 0UT AND B0UGHT
|
|
TW0 PAPEr ShREDDERS. THIz WAz A G00d InVESTMENT 0N ThEIR PART ALtH0UGH IT'Z
|
|
A SHAME It T00K UZ T0 TEAcH ThEM THat. IF Y0U INTEND t0 STAY AT A RAMADA INN
|
|
ANYWHERE In ThE U.S., I W0uLD sTR0NGly AdVISE Y0U N0T t0 PREPAY WItH A CREDIT
|
|
CARD. ThEY CAN'T BE TRUsTED WITH y0UR DATA. WE INVItE READERZ Wh0 MAY HAVE
|
|
EXPERIENCeD cREDIT CARD FrAUD AFTER sTAyING AT RAMADA INNZ (0R 0ThER H0TELS)
|
|
T0 K0NTACt Us. IT WAZ A S0BERiNG LEss0N IN H0W VULNERaBLE THE AVErAGE PERS0N
|
|
IZ IN S0CIETY.
|
|
I HaD PLANZ T0 H00K uP WITh ST0RMBRINGER AND H0LY SPIRIT, TW0 VIRUZ
|
|
WRITeRZ I L0VE TALKInG T0. ST0rmBRiNGER HAD RECEnTLY RETIRED FR0M VIRUZ
|
|
WRiTInG AFTER HEARiNG fR0M S0mE0nE IN SINGAP0Re WH0 G0T INfECTED WITH
|
|
0NE 0F HIz N0N-MALICI0uZ ViRUSES. I hAD READ HIZ ReTIREMENT TExT FILE AND
|
|
WAZ ANXI0uZ t0 TALK T0 HIm AB0UT IT. HE ASSURED ME 0N THE PH0NE AlL WAZ WELL
|
|
AND tHEy AGREED T0 MeET mE AT Mr. WASABI F0R SUShI AND I ATE M0RE SUSHI
|
|
THAN I eVER HAD BEF0rE In 0NE siTTiNG. THEN WE WaLKED T0 A K0FFEE H0USE
|
|
AnD THEy DR0VE ME BACK T0 MY H0TEL AR0UND 1 A.M.
|
|
I WaZ iNVITED T0 N0v0CAiN AND PARtICLE'Z R00M S0 I HEADED Up THERE AND
|
|
RAN InT0 VEGGIE, 0NKEl DItMEYER, K0uNT ZER0, BUCKaR00, ETC. 0nKEL SH0WED
|
|
ME hIZ WAY K00L LAPt0P aND I fiNAlLY G0T T0 SEE WHAT AN IBM DEM0 L00KZ
|
|
LiKE. THESE ARe PR0GRAMZ wHIcH DEM0NSTRATE THE S0UND AnD GRAPHICZ
|
|
CAPABILiTIeZ 0F A K0MPUtER. HE K0piED A FEW 0F THEM 0N A DISK F0R ME AL0NG
|
|
WITH S0ME ELECTR0NIC MaGAZiNEZ I hAD NEVER SEEN. 0nKEL IZ THE aUTH0R 0F A
|
|
WElL kN0WN PHREAKInG Pr0GRAM cALlED BLUEBEEP. WE SP0KE A L0T 0VER THE
|
|
WEeKEnD AND I F0UNd HIm BRILliANt, H0NEST, CHArMING AND N0t AFRAID 0F
|
|
GIrLZ WH0 KN0W WAY LESz THAN hIM. HE WAZ 0NE 0f THE K00LESt PE0PLE AT
|
|
H0H0K0n THIZ YEAR.
|
|
AT 6 A.M. A FeW 0f UZ WenT d0WNSTAIRZ F0R FREE BREAKFaST AND THE
|
|
K0nVErSATI0N TURNEd T0 THE VarI0uZ W0MEN WH0 HaNG 0UT 0N #hACK. THERE
|
|
WAZ s0Me DISSING 0F 0NE gIRL Wh0 HaZ SLEPT HER WaY AR0UND THe SCENE AND
|
|
IN THe PAST HAD GIvEN a NUMBer 0f HACKERZ HERPeZ WITH0UT TeLLING THEM
|
|
FIRsT. EEKS. I TRIEd T0 GET 0ut 0f THE GUYZ I WaZ EATING WItH WHAT SHE
|
|
HAD tHAt I DIDN'T (BeSIDeZ HERpeS). I MESSAGE M0sT 0F HER 0Ld L0VERZ 0N
|
|
IRC BuT n0NE HAZ EVER MADe A PAsz At ME. WE TALKEd AB0UT THE 0THER GIRLZ
|
|
0N IRC, wH0 HAZ SLEPT WITh WH0M, ANd H0W THEY G0T TREATED AFTeRWARDS. WE
|
|
TALKeD aB0UT WHY PE0pLE mIGHT haVE SLEPT WITH TH0SE PARTICULaR GIRLZ AT
|
|
THE TImE THEY DID AnD I SUDDEnlY fELT B0TH VERY LUCKY AND BeTTER AB0UT
|
|
MYSELf ThAT THE 0NE HaCKEr I HAd SLePT WITH WAZ A DECENT CH0IcE. QUALITY
|
|
MIGHT BEaT QUANTITY. T0 Kn0W F0r SUrE, I GUESZ I'd HAVE T0 ASk THE GIRLZ
|
|
<WINK>.
|
|
We PiCKED UP A BUnCH 0F F00d THaT WAZ APPARENtLY N0T INCLuDED IN 0UR
|
|
FrEE BREAKFAST K0uP0N. THE waITrESZ DIDN'T KN0W H0W T0 HAnDLE IT AND
|
|
NEITHeR dID WE. I 0FFeRED T0 PUt THe F00D BACK ANd SHE FINALLy AGREED T0
|
|
LeT uZ EAT IT. I sUGGeSTED thEY PUT UP A SIGN T0 WARN 0THeRZ AND, 0F
|
|
K0URSE, THeY DIDN'T. LAtER I HEARd THeY LET UZ ALL eAT THE BAK0n AND 0THER
|
|
F00D f0R THE REST 0F tHE k0N. I nEVeR MADE IT BACk D0WN THERE AGAIN EVEN
|
|
TH0uGH F0R AMERICAN F00d IT Waz PrETTY G00D. I wAZ PRETTY TiRED AND S0
|
|
HEAdED 0Ff T0 SLEEP WHEN WE WERE D0NE Ch0WING D0WN.
|
|
I W0kE UP FRIDAY aFTErN00N whEN PARTICLE AND N0V0CAIN KN0cKED 0N THE
|
|
D00r. THEY HAD A CAr ANd T00K mE t0 A CHINESE ReSTAURANT NEaRBY WITH A
|
|
kILlER BUFFET. WhEN wE G0T bACk THERE WERE MaNY PE0PLE In THE L0BBY
|
|
LISTENiNG T0 A TAPE 0F PRAnK PH0ne CaLLZ MADE BY Ph0NE L0SERZ 0F AMERICA.
|
|
I WAnTEd THE TAPE BAd AZ IT SEemED HIGHLY APPR0PrIATE F0R UZ T0 REVIEW.
|
|
I WAZ PR0MISED A K0PY WHIcH MATerIAlIZED IN UNDER AN H0UR. W0rD! F0R ALL
|
|
THE SHIT I TAkE F0R iT, THERE ARE ADVaNTAGEZ T0 BeING PRESS.
|
|
I fELt PRETTY K0MF0RTAbLE WIth AlL 0F THE PE0PlE I WAZ TALkING T0 AND
|
|
SINcE mY R00M WAZ VeRY cL0SE t0 ThE L0BBY I INViTED EVERY0Ne THERE AND
|
|
EvEN LEFT THE d00R 0PEN f0R 0THERZ T0 ENTEr MY R00M (WhICH ALM0ST
|
|
EVERy0Ne WH0 PASSED bY DiD). It WAz KIND 0F 0DD wHERE THEY HaD SITUATED
|
|
ME. Y0U K0ULD WATCH mY D00R FR0m ThE K0UNTER WHErE PE0PLE CHeCKED IN. I
|
|
HaD ASKED F0R a SM0KING r00M BUT G0T DEALT N0N-SM0KING INSTEAD. I
|
|
INqUIrED AB0UT CHAnGINg IT And WaZ T0LD S0ME CrAP AB0UT ALl THE R00MZ
|
|
BEInG aCK0UNTED F0R ALReADY. It Cr0SSED MY MIND AT THE TIME THAT MAYBE
|
|
S0ME fEDz HAD PURP0SElY PuT ME thERe BUT I DISK0UnTED MY GUT fEELING AND
|
|
REMEmBErED M0ST HACKeRZ tH0UGHt I wAZ T00 PARAN0iD AB0UT THInGS. I T0LD
|
|
PE0pLE T0 G0 AHEAD aND sM0KE in My R00M WITH N0 ASHTRAY. THeY DID. ALL
|
|
T0lD AB0UT 15 Pe0PLe WERE iN tHERE AND 0NE 0F THEM PULLeD 0UT A T0y
|
|
T0 Sh0W ME. IT WAZ A B0X THAT h00KeD UP T0 Y0UR tELEPH0NE WHiCH ALL0WED
|
|
Y0U T0 CHaNGE Y0UR V0IcE InT0 THat 0f A MALE, FEMAlE 0R CHILD. I HAD SEEN
|
|
THEsE b0XEZ BEF0RE iN CaTAL0Gs. ThEY SURE W0RK gREAT! I MADe TW0 CALLZ
|
|
WItH iT, 0NE T0 A fRIEnD AND 0NE T0 MY EX-HUSBaND. I SNICKeRED AT H0W
|
|
SURpRIsED THEY'D BE WHEn THEY hEArD MY MESSAGE aND LATER REgRETTED N0T
|
|
TeLLiNG EITHER 0R THEm T0 SavE iT S0 I K0ULD hEAR IT BACK. H0NESTLY,
|
|
PLAYInG wITH THIZ LEGaL B0X WAZ eVErY BIT AZ K00L AZ GREAT DRuGZ 0R SEX.
|
|
I V0WEd T0 BUY 0NE. WATCH 0UT!
|
|
TALK TUrNED T0 DINNEr ANd PE0Ple StARTED T0 LEAVe MY R00M. PaRTICLE WAZ
|
|
THE LASt 0nE 0UT AND HE SH0wED ME s0MeTHING AB0UT H0W THE H0TEL R00M L0CKZ
|
|
W0RKeD. HACKERZ SpEND H0URZ tRYiNG T0 FIGURE 0UT H0W THINgZ W0RK AND
|
|
ALTH0uGH I HAD LITTLE INTeREST in ThE SUBJECT IT wAZ CLEAR PArTICLE WAZ
|
|
STrUCk BY THE TECH0N0L0GY ANd N0t THE IDEA 0F bREAKING INT0 S0ME0NE'Z
|
|
R00M. I StARTED T0 0RGaNIZe PE0Ple Wh0 WERE WILLINg T0 EAT SUShI. JUST AZ
|
|
WE WERe Ab0UT T0 LEAVE PARtICLE anD N0V0CAIN WERE gATHERING EVeRY0NE INT0
|
|
A R00M t0 TELL PE0PLe T0 CHILL tHEiR BEHAVI0R. It LATER TURNeD 0UT THAT
|
|
PaRTiCLE HAD PLAYeD WiTH AN0tHEr L0CK AFTER I MADE HIM ST0P T0UCHING
|
|
MINE. He HAD THE MISf0RTuNE T0 bE sEEN BY A MEMBeR 0F THE AUsTIN P0LICE
|
|
DEPARTmENt WH0 WISELY aGREeD N0T t0 aRREST HIM IN eXCHANGE F0R PARTICLE'Z
|
|
AGrEEiNG T0 TALK T0 PE0PLE In AN ATTEMPT T0 CUrTAIL THE USuAL H0H0K0N
|
|
H0tEL DESTRUCTI0N. I Sh0ULD haVE ATTENDED THIZ TALK ALTH0UgH I HAD N0
|
|
IDeA AT THE TIMe WHy IT Waz BeING 0RGANIZED. BUT I WAZ sTARVING ANd
|
|
THE PE0PLe I T00K T0 EaT SuSHI WerE n0T TH0SE WH0 w0ULD K0NSIDeR TRASHING
|
|
A H0TeL. LAUGHING GAS, THuMPER27, SlYME, EL_JEFE aND I CHECKEd 0UT KY0T0
|
|
SUSHI WHiCH WAZ G00D BUT EXPeNSIVE f0R WHAT Y0U G0T. I SPENT PARt 0F DINNER
|
|
WIPiNG THE FREE SPAcE 0n THE haRD DRIVE 0N MY LaPT0P. I HAD NEVER USED
|
|
THIZ FeATuRE BEF0RE, BuT HaD BEEn T0lD AB0UT IT AT THE K0N AND IT S0UNDED
|
|
LIKE S0mETHING I SH0uLD sTART d0INg REGULARLY T0 PR0TECT 0THeR PE0PLE'Z
|
|
PRIvACy S0 THAT ERAsED E-MAIL aND ARTICLEZ WERE TRULY ERASEd. IT WAZ A
|
|
G00d ThING I HAD SUsHI t0 EAT t0 kEEP ME BUSY Az IT T00K A g00D TWENTY
|
|
MINUTEZ T0 D0 0N A PeNTiUM LAPT0P WITh A 500+ MEG HARD DRIVE.
|
|
WhEN WE G0T BAcK T0 THE h0TEl I RAN INT0 DrUNKFUX WH0 hAD CUT HIZ
|
|
HAIR AnD dYED IT BRIGHt REd. I HarDLy REK0GNIZED HiM BUT IT L00KED GREAT.
|
|
It WAZ CLEAR By THe P0LIce PrESENCE IN THE L0BBY THAT tHE K0N HAD
|
|
0FfICiALLY STARTED. WE WERE t0LD THAT SIGNZ HUnG 0N R00M D00RZ (I HAD
|
|
PUT Up A K0PY 0F 0NE 0F ThE MAGazINe K0VERZ WITH a SMALL PIECe 0F SK0TCH
|
|
TAPE) W0ULD BE TAKEN D0Wn. THIz MAdE IT MUCH HARdER F0R UZ T0 FIND EACH
|
|
0tHEr (I'D ESTIMAtE We HAD 90% 0F THE H0TEL'Z R00MS) BUT s0 IT G0ES.
|
|
S0ME PE0PLE WERE T0Ld SPeCIFICalLY THAT THEY K0UlD N0T USE ThEIR M0DEMZ
|
|
ANd F0R H0URZ 0N FrIDAy NIGHt THe PH0NE LINEZ wERE S0 BUSY WITH M0DEM
|
|
USaGE THAT THERE WaZ N0 WAY t0 MaKE AN 0UTG0INg CALL 0R T0 RECEIVE AN
|
|
EXPeCTeD INK0MING 0nE. ALL S0rtZ 0F SECURITY GUaRDZ APPEAREd. THE 0NEZ
|
|
I SP0KE WITH WERE P0LiCE 0FfiCErZ T00. I'D GUeSZ THERE WErE 1-3 D0ZEn
|
|
AR0uND AT ALL TIMEZ AND APPARenTLy H0TEL PERS0NnEL WERE T0Ld THEY WERE
|
|
ALL 0N dUTY UNTIL WE LEFt AND n0NE 0F THEM WERE aBLE T0 G0 H0ME F0R THE
|
|
REsT 0F THE WEEKENd. I WISH I K0uLD SAY THIZ WaZ UTTERLY UnWARRANTED.
|
|
BUT S0mE LAMER BR0Ke THe L0CK 0N tHE D00R T0 THe H0TEL'Z PH0NE SYSTEM.
|
|
AnD rEMEMBER THAT AN0tHER PerS0n HAD TRASHED tHE H0TEL'Z gARBAGE AND
|
|
MuST HAVE MADE a MESZ 0R BEeN SP0TTED.
|
|
ThE H0T PARTY tHAT NIGHT wAZ IN ERIK BL00DaXE'Z R00M. L0KI, ICE-9
|
|
aND 0PHIE WERE StAYInG WITh HIm AND L0KI WAZ IN CHARGE 0f THE D00R.
|
|
HE MAdE SURE T0 KEeP Me 0UT juST AZ HE D0EZ WHeN HE ACTZ LiKE A BULLY
|
|
0n IRC. I KNEW IN MY hEART it WaZ L0KI'Z D0INg N0T ERIKB's, BUT THAT
|
|
DiDN'T ST0P ME FR0m GETTinG mAJ0RLY UPSET aB0UT IT ANYwAY. I WENT
|
|
D0wNStAIRZ T0 BE Al0NE AND ParTIcLE KN0CKED 0N THE D00R A fEW MINUTEZ
|
|
lATeR. I GAVE HIm A pIECE 0f My MIND AND THEn S0ME AB0UT H0W SHITTY
|
|
S0mE 0F TH0SE IN ThE K0MPUTEr UNdERGR0UND ARE. I WENT 0N F0R AT LEAST
|
|
AN H0UR AND DREW GREaT K0MF0RT fR0m THE FACT PARtICLE TH0UGHt I WAZ N0T
|
|
CrAZY AND THAT THInGZ ARe AZ AWFUL AZ THEY SEEM S0METImES. FINALLy
|
|
HE T0lD mE THAT SINCE I KePT CLaiMInG T0 L0VE HACkERZ DESPITE ALL 0F THE
|
|
GRIEF, ThERE WERE D0ZeNZ 0F NICe 0NeZ 0UT THERE Wh0 W0ULD BE tHRILLED T0
|
|
TALK T0 ME IF I'D 0NLY lEAVe MY R00M aND G0 TRY T0 hAVE A G00D tIME. W0RD.
|
|
I T00K HIz ADVICE AND hAD a G00D tIMe IN THE L0BBY WITH THE 0ThER REJECTZ
|
|
FR0M BL00DAXE'Z PARTy. ThE K0NveRSaTI0N WAZ S0 G00D IT WAZ HaRD T0 TEAR
|
|
AWAY T0 G0 T0 SLEEP. I wENT T0 MY r00m AT 4:30 A.M., G0T UNDER tHE K0VERS,
|
|
TH0UGHt Ab0UT SLEEP F0r 10 SEK0Nds. THEN I PULLED 0UT MY LAPT0p AND WR0TE
|
|
A SPeeCH T0 DELIVER T0 THE CR0WD ThE NEXT DAY.
|
|
THe Tw0 PE0PLE I HaD K0UNTED 0N t0 WAKE ME UP dIDN'T SH0W aND IT WAZ a
|
|
STR0KE 0F LUCK THAT MAdE Me JUMP uP aT 9:45. THE SpEECHEZ WERE SUPP0SED T0
|
|
START AT 10 A.M. AND eVEN TH0UGh THeY SURELY W0ULdN'T START TiLL LATER I
|
|
WAZ SELlINg MAGAZINEZ AnD WaZ DUE tHErE PR0NT0 T0 ClAIM MY TABLe. IT T00K a
|
|
LUGGAGE CArT T0 GET ALL TH0sE MAGazINeZ D0WNSTAIRS. I SHUDDER T0 THINK WHAt
|
|
MY LiFE WILL BE LIKE WHEn I HAve 30 ISSUEZ T0 LUg AR0UND INStEAD 0F SIX.
|
|
THE F0lKZ FR0M FRINGEWaRE wERE SelLInG B00KZ AND T-SHIRTZ AND s0ME0NE ELSe
|
|
HAD 0lD ATARI GAME UNiTZ aND CArtRIdGES. PE0PLE CaME BY T0 SAy HI AND T0
|
|
BUY mAGaZINES. I PLUgGED MY SPeeCH AND T0LD PE0PlE N0T T0 DArE MISZ IT.
|
|
It WaZ IMPRESSIVE THAt DRUNkfUX HAD G0TTEN S0 MANY 0RIGINaL SPEAKERZ
|
|
0N SUcH sH0RT N0TICE. THEy M0STly SaID WHAT THE Cr0WD WANTED t0 HEAR AND
|
|
SHAReD tH0UGHTZ 0N DiGITaL CASh, ThE REGULATI0N 0F THE INTERnET, RECENT
|
|
LAWs, eTC. DAMIEN Th0RN SH0WEd A vIDE0 CLIP T0 tHE TUNE 0F tHE CURRENT
|
|
R0CK hIT "21ST CENTURy DIgITAL B0Y" WHICH HAD CELlULAR PH0NES, SCANNERS,
|
|
ETC. In IT. IT'Z PArT 0f AN Upk0MiNG VIDE0 THAT L00KED AWES0ME. VEGGIE
|
|
TAlKEd AB0UT DEALInG WiTH THe MEdIA AFTER AN 0lD TEXT FILE 0F HIZ WAZ
|
|
USED T0 HaRASZ A BBZ SyS0P WH0 G0t M0RE THAN TWICE PHIBER'Z JAiL SENTENCE
|
|
JUST F0R HAVING A fILE AR0UND.
|
|
S0Me0Ne SENT ERIK Bl00DaXE T0 tALk T0 ME AZ PARt 0F MY SPEEcH REFERRED
|
|
T0 HIM. IT WAZ AN UNK0Mf0RTaBLE TalK aND I WAZ PR0BaBLY K0RRECT IN FEELING
|
|
THAT HAlF THE R00M WaZ WaTCHINg UZ AND N0T WH0EVeR WAZ SPEAKiNG. I T0LD
|
|
HIM HE K0ULD PAY ME BACk IN PriNT 0R ELSEWHERE bUT THAT I WaZ G0ING T0
|
|
G0 aHEaD WITH WHAT I PLaNNED t0 SaY AND HE SURPrISED ME BY sAYING THAT
|
|
WhAT I HAD WRITTEn WAz FINE aND HE EVEN ADDED T0 IT. HE AlS0 T0LD ME
|
|
THaT L0KI HAD G0TTeN T00 DRUnk AnD HAD BEEN A pAIN IN THE aSZ T0 R00M
|
|
WITh ThE NIGHT BEF0rE. HE ASSurED ME THAT ALTH0uGH WAY T00 mANY PE0PLE
|
|
HAD bEEn IN HIZ R00M, ANd WAY t00 mANY HAD TRIED T0 GET IN AfTER IT WAZ
|
|
FUlL, IT HAD N0T BeEN hIZ INteNTi0N T0 KEEP ME 0UT. I FELT BAD THAT I
|
|
eVEn CARED, AND tHAT HE KNew I CARED, AND THaT HE AND I eVEN HAD T0
|
|
DISCuSZ IT. I WAZ UNhAPY THAT he HaD N0 INTENTI0n 0F STAYING T0 HEAR MY
|
|
sPEECH 0R THE FIGhT WITh L0kI THAT HE KNEw WAZ K0MING BUT DIDN'T
|
|
MENTi0N T0 ME. WE LEfT ThINGZ wiTH THE FACT THAT WE'D G0 0UT F0R DINNER
|
|
0R S0mETHING THE NeXT nIGHT wiTH 0PHIE (WH0 ALs0 HAD AN EArLY FLIGHT)
|
|
AFTER THe BULK 0F THE K0N WAZ 0veR. IT 0CCURED T0 ME THEN IT w0ULD NEVER
|
|
HAPPEN BECAUSE PLANZ ARE HARD T0 KEEp AT K0NZ BUT I MENTI0NED iT IN MY
|
|
SPEECh ANYWAY.
|
|
MY SPEECH WeNT 0VER VERY WELL. IT WAZ Ab0UT WHAT'Z BEEN G0InG 0N AT
|
|
GRAY AREAZ SiNCE I SP0KE AT H0H0K0n LAST YEAR. IT WAZ ALS0 Ab0UT THE
|
|
BEHAVI0R 0F CERtAIN ELEMENTZ 0F THE K0MMUNItY AND H0W THAT BEHAvI0R HAZ
|
|
AFFECTED ME. AND IT WAZ A STERN WARNINg AB0Ut S0ME BUSTZ THAT ARe K0MING
|
|
D0WN. I KN0W A FEW PE0PLE G0T THE MEsSAGE. I K0ULD TELL FR0M ThE GASPZ
|
|
AND LAUGHTER AT KEY P0INTS. BUT PERHApZ THE HIGHLIGHT 0F THE SPeECH WAZ
|
|
THE K0NFR0NTAtI0N BETWEEN L0KI AND I WHEN HE CH0SE T0 BULLY Me BEF0RE
|
|
ANY0NE ELSE K0ULd ASK A QUESTI0N. I ANsWERED HIZ ACCUSATI0NZ AND MANAGED
|
|
T0 D0 A DECENT J0B EVEN WITH N0 WARNINg. WHAtEVER HE H0PED T0 ACk0MPLISH
|
|
CLEARLY WASN'T w0RKING AND FR0M S0MEWhERE DeEP INSIDE 0F ME I F0UND THE
|
|
K0URAGE T0 AsK THE ENTIRE R00M T0 v0TE 0n WHETHER 0R N0T THEy REALLY
|
|
NEVER WANTED T0 SeE ME 0N #HACK AGAIN. THE 0NlY V0TE 0PP0SED IN A R00M 0F
|
|
AB0UT 250-300 PE0PLE WAZ L0KI'S. H0URZ LATER I REGRETTED N0T THInKING T0
|
|
ASK H0W MANY PE0PlE NEVER WANTED T0 SEE L0KI tHERE AGAIN. F0UR PE0PLE HAD
|
|
K0ME UP T0 ME aND T0LD ME THEY W0ULD HAVE v0TED HIM 0UT. L0KI lEFT THE
|
|
R00M WITH HIZ TaIL BETWEEN HIZ LEGZ AnD RAN T0 IRC. BY THE TIME I G0T 0N
|
|
H0URZ LATER W0rD HAD SPREAD A ST0RY tHAT I PICKED A FIGHT WITH HIM AND
|
|
HE HAD W0N. THe PR00F IZ IN THE VIDE0TAPE wHICH WILL BE AVAILAbLE S00N
|
|
FR0M DRUNKFUX. IT'Z HIGHLY REK0MMENDED f0R B0tH FRIENDZ AND F0EZ 0F MINE.
|
|
DRUNKFUX SAID DEMAND F0R THIZ P0RTI0N 0F hIZ F00TAGE WAZ VERY HIGH. I
|
|
PR0MISED T0 GIVe HIM BETTER F00TAGE AnD AN eVEN BETTER SPEECH NeXT YEAR.
|
|
LATER K0UNT ZER0 WR0TE THIZ AB0UT mY SPEeCH IN CULT 0F THE DeAD K0W:
|
|
"GRAYAREA GETz UP AND BEGINZ T0 REAd 0FF a PRE-PREPARED SPEECh 0N HER
|
|
LAPT0P. HER SPEEcH IZ T00 QUICK F0R MY ALK0H0L-BYPR0DUCT-S0DDEN sYNAPSEZ
|
|
T0 REGISTER ACcURATELY. I KEEP STARInG AT hER DRESS...BRIGHT TiE-DYE...
|
|
MESMERIZING...IT'Z ACTUALLY QUITE K00L. SuDDENLY, L0KI GETZ Up IN THE
|
|
AUDIENCE AND THE ACCUSATI0NZ FLY BACK aND F0rTH BETWEEN THEM. Y0u KICKED
|
|
ME 0FF IRC. Y0U CALLED MY 0FFICE AT W0RK. Y0U ARE D0ING THIS, Y0U ARE
|
|
D0ING THAT. B0tH ARE GETTING INT0 THiZ VERbAL SLUGFEST IN A MAj0R WAY.
|
|
I FEEL THE BaD KARMA IN THE R00M HaNGING HEAVY LIKE BLUE-GREeN CIGAR
|
|
SM0KE. "CAN'T wE ALL JUST GET AL0NG??" I YeLL, BUT N00NE SEEMZ T0 HEAR
|
|
ME. I D0N't KN0W WH0 IZ RIGHT 0R WR0NG (IT'Z PR0BABLY S0MEwHERE IN
|
|
BETWEEN...THE TRUtH'Z ALWAYZ GRAY, RIGHt?), S0 I D0N'T HYP0THESIZe. ALL I
|
|
D0 KN0W IZ THAT I'D NEVER WANT T0 PISz 0FF GRAYAREA...SHE'Z DAMn STR0NG
|
|
0N HER K0NVICTi0NZ AND W0N'T TAKE SHiT FR0m ANY0NE. I THINK SHe'D L00K
|
|
BETTER UP THERE wEARING A BIG 0L' LEAThER JAcKET WITH STUDS...TErMINAT0R
|
|
STYLE. "0NE TENdZ T0 ASSUME THAT PE0PlE WEArING TIE-DYE GEAR ARe QUIET,
|
|
MEEK, VERY S0Ft SP0KEN, N0N-K0NFR0NTaTI0NAl TYPES....IT IZ A CaM0FLAGE
|
|
THAT SUITZ HER WElL," I THINK. BAHAHA! I LIKEd Y0UR K0MMENTS, K0UnT ZER0.
|
|
AND I DID HEAR Y0U YELL THAT.
|
|
AFTeR THE SPEECHEZ I S0LD M0RE mAGAZINEZ THANKZ T0 L0KI WH0
|
|
INADVERTENTLY mADE WAY M0RE PE0PLE InTEREStED IN ME. BAHAHAHA! S0ME 0F
|
|
THEM SAID THEY lIKED 0R L0VED MY DRESs, S0Me 0F THEM HUGGED ME aND S0ME
|
|
0F THEM SIgNED UP F0R SUBSCRIPTI0NZ ANd GAVE ME THEIR DATA. I THEN
|
|
HEADED 0FF f0R DINNER AT YET AN0ThER SUsHI RESTAURANT. LAUGhING GAZ
|
|
AND SLYME CAME AGAIN AL0NG WITH MR. SP0CK wH0 AGREED T0 L0SE HiZ SUSHI
|
|
VIRGINITY T0 ME AND J0KINGLY SAID THAT wAY HE'D GET MENTI0NeD IN MY
|
|
REVIEW. I TH0UGHt HE WAZ 0NE 0F THE THrEE KEwLEST PE0PLE I HUNG 0UT WITH
|
|
AT THE K0N. I H0PE I GET T0 SPEND m0RE TiME WITH HIM AT A K0n IN THE
|
|
FUTURE AND I'D eVEN BE WILLING T0 G0 tRY HIz FAV0RITE TYPE 0F F00D! THE
|
|
SUSHI PlACE WE PICKED WAZ AWEs0ME. I WAZ S0RRY I HADN'T F0UND IT
|
|
S00NER. IT'Z AlM0ST T00 BAD H0H0K0N wILL Be IN AN0THER CITY NExT YEAR.
|
|
I ALS0 WANNA MENTi0N THE ELITE, JAK_FLAcK, WH0 DR0VE UZ T0 THE REsTAURANT
|
|
WHEN CABZ WErE SCARCE 0N NEW YEAR'z EVE. HE DIDN'T WANT ANY sUSHI 0R
|
|
ANY M0NEY. HE EVEN G0T LUCKY AND gAVE A RIDE T0 PE0PLE WH0 pR0BABLY
|
|
W0ULD HAVE D0NE THE SAME THING F0R HIM UnDER THE SAME CIRCUMsTANCES.
|
|
THANKS.
|
|
AFTER DINnER I DID WHAT DRUNKFUx BEGGeD UZ N0T T0 D0. I SpENT NEW
|
|
YEAR'Z EVE 0N IRC. I MESSAGED MR. Sp0CK, iN FACT, WH0 WAZ TYPiNG FR0M
|
|
THE 0THER SIDE 0F THE R00M. I ALS0 MeSSAGEd S0ME HACKERZ I TALk T0 ALL
|
|
THE TIME. S0mE WERE L0NELY AND GLAd T0 SeE ME. I TH0UGHT A L0T AB0UT
|
|
L0NELINESS. S0Me 0F UZ PREFER T0 BE WiTH K0mPUTERZ THAN PE0PLE. S0ME 0F
|
|
UZ CAN 0PEN UP m0RE EASILY T0 PE0PLE 0N A K0MPUTER. AND S0ME 0F UZ NEED
|
|
K0MPUTERZ AR0UND EVEN WHEN WE'RE WITH 0THER pE0PLE. I WAZ TYPING FR0M AN
|
|
ACK0UNT AT H0H0k0N.0RG AND THERE WERE SEVERaL PE0PLE IN THE R00m HAVING
|
|
FUN WITH THEIR "sITE" AZ X AND Y TRIED REPEAtEDLY (AND SUCCEEDED) T0 GET
|
|
R00T THERE. I HAd NEVER SEEN R00T BEF0rE FR0m THE P0SITI0N 0F THe PERS0N
|
|
PR0TECTING IT. I sH0ULD HAVE PAID WAY M0RE ATtENTI0N BUT I G0T T00 CAUGHT
|
|
UP IN HAVING K0NVeRSATI0NS. I SH0ULD ALs0 HAVe PAID M0RE ATTENTI0n T0 THE
|
|
PE0PLE IN THE R00M WITH ME. L0Q AND F00L WERE tHERE AND THEY SEEMEd REALLY
|
|
KEWL BUT I G0t T00 L0ST IN IRC. 0H wELL, aT LEAST I WASN'T H0pELESSLY
|
|
DRUNK. AND I WASN'T KICKED 0R BANNED 0NcE. PE0PLE WERE DELICATE WiTH EACH
|
|
0THER 0N IRC. THEy WERE 0FTEN DRUNK, VUlNERABlE AND M0RE LIKELY T0 REVEAL
|
|
THINGZ WHEN K0NVeRSING. TH0SE WH0 WERE 0N WErE M0RE THAN WILLING T0 TALK
|
|
T0 ANY0NE WH0 SH0WED UP. PE0PLE APpARENTlY INTEND T0 MAKE PUbLIC THE
|
|
H0H0K0N.0RG L0Gs. IF THEY INCLUDE IRC CHATZ IT W0ULD BE VERY SHaLL0W. I
|
|
WILL NEVER AGAIN TaKE THE CHANCE AND IRC FR0M a K0N AGAIN. ALTH0UGh I HAVE
|
|
M0STLY K0ME T0 TERMZ WITH THE FACT tHAT I AM A SEMI-PUBLIC FIgURE AND
|
|
PE0PLE WILL ALWaYZ WANT T0 SEE WHATEVeR I TyPE 0N THE NET, BUT iT'Z N0T
|
|
FAIR T0 EXP0SE ThE W0RdZ 0F THE PE0PLE I MeSSAGED.
|
|
I DRAGGED MYSeLF 0FF IRC AB0UT 4:30 A.M. aND WENT D0WNSTAIRZ t0 CLEAN
|
|
0FF 0NE 0F THE BeDS. N0V0CAIN AND PARTiCLE HaD CHECKED 0UT 0F THeIR R00M
|
|
AND WERE G0NNA StAY IN MY R00M F0R 0NE NIGHT. I WAZ THRILLED AT tHE IDEA
|
|
0F HAVING K0MPaNY. BUT WHEN THE BED wAZ EMpTY IT L00KED TEMPTInG AND I
|
|
LAY D0WN F0R THE 90 MINUTEZ TILL I WAZ DUE T0 MEET THEM AT THE BrEAKFAST
|
|
BUFFET. NEXT THINg I KNEW IT WAZ SUNDAY AFTERn00N. 00PS! I W0NDEReD WHERE
|
|
THEY HAD SLEPT. APPARENTLY THEY HADN'T WANtED T0 WAKE ME S0 THeY SLEPT
|
|
IN AN0THER R00M. I FELT BAD BUT AT LEAsT THEiR STUFF HAD BEEN SAfE WHICH
|
|
IZ ALL Y0U REAlLY CARE AB0UT AT A K0n. S0RRY! NEXT TIME, GUYS, WAKE ME.
|
|
I STUMBLED INT0 THE L0BBY AND J0INED THE K0NVERSATI0NZ THAT WErE G0ING
|
|
0N. A H0TEL EMPL0yEE ASKED IF WE'D MIND M0VINg T0 THE K0NFERENCE r00M AND
|
|
WE AGREED. WE FiGURED THE R00M WAZ BUgGED JuST AZ THE H0TEL PH0nE LINEZ
|
|
HAD BEEN. BUT We WEREN'T TALKING AB0Ut ANYThING SECRET AND A FEw 0F THE
|
|
HACKERZ ANSWERED aLL 0F THE QUESTI0NZ AsKED By THE K0P/SECURITY GuARD WH0
|
|
HUNG 0UT F0R AB0UT HALF 0F THE TIME We WERE IN THERE. IT WAZ A vERY FUN
|
|
tIME THERE 0N THE Fl00R CHATTING WITH V0YaGER, 0PHIE, 0NKEL DITMEYEr, LGAS,
|
|
DEADKAT, DRUNKFUX, ETC. THERE WERE WAY M0RE PE0PLE BUT I'M DRAWING A BLANK
|
|
0N SPECIFICALLY WH0. I WENT UPSTAIRZ t0 GET M0RE MAGAZINEZ AND rAN INT0
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BRUCE STERLING. HE WAZ GR0WING FACIAL HAIR aND L00KED GREAT. HE SAID HE
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FELT L0USY WHICh SH0WZ WHAT I KN0W. I HUGGEd HIM BEF0RE HE SAID HE FELT
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L0USY. WE TALKEd AB0UT THE B00K HE IZ W0RKInG 0N. THEN 0PHIE ANd I WENT
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0FF T0 BE INTERViEWED AB0UT FEMALE HACkERZ AnD THE TREATMENT 0F w0MEN BY
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HACKERS. IT K0ULD HAVE USED K0RI AND N0eLLE BuT IT MADE S0ME G00D P0INTS.
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WE CAME D0WNSTaIRZ AND I SAW DRUNKFUx AT W0RK VIDE0TAPING AN InTERVIEW
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WITH THE GUYZ fR0M TN0 IN K0L0RAD0. THIZ WaZ PRICELESZ F00TAGE 0F THEM
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DISCUSSING H0W A gR0UP DECIDEZ P0LICIEZ AND HaNDLEZ P0LITICZ AND h0W THEY
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HAVE APPLIED P0LiTICAL TH0UGHT T0 HACKiNG. I WAZ S0RRY I HAD MISsED HALF
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0F IT AND S0RRy I HAD SPENT S0 MUCH tIME S0CIALIZING WITH THEM THAT IT
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HAD NEVER 0CCURED T0 ME I DIDN'T KN0W MuCH AB0UT THEIR GR0UP AND I SH0ULD
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HAVE INTERVIEWEd THEM T00. I H0PE DRUnKFUX iNCLUDEZ EVERY W0RD 0F THEIR
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INTERVIEW IN THe VIDE0.
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0PHIE Br0UGHT UP THE IDEA 0F pH0T0Z AND S0 I GRABBED MY CAMERA.
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EVERY0NE THeRE G0T INT0 IT AND I g0T A wH0LE R0LL 0F FILM 0f PE0PLE
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HUGGING AND KiSSING ME, L00KING AT p0RN MaGZ WITH 0PHIE AND GeNERALLY
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PLAYING AR0UNd S0MEH0W. THEY CAME 0uT GREaT. IF Y0U WANT Y0URz PASSED
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AR0UNd 0R PUBLISHED, LET ME KN0W. UNTIL THEN, THEY'RE PRIVATE.
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SLYME AND I hEADED BACK T0 MR. WASaBI F0r DINNER BUT T0 0UR sURPRISE
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IT WAZ CL0SED! NEW YEAR'Z DAY TURNED 0UT T0 BE A BAD DAY T0 TRY T0 FIND
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PLACEZ 0PEN T0 SErVE F00D. WE SH0ULD HAvE STAyED AT THE H0TEL. WE FINALLY
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ENDED UP IN A BaR WHICH SERVED F00D, 0RDEREd H0T CH0K0LATE AND k0NS0LED
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0URSELVEZ 0N THE LACK 0F SUSHI. BAcK AT tHE H0TEL A BUNCH 0F UZ WENT
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R00M H0PPING AND tRIED T0 DETERMINE WH0 WAZ LeFT. MY FLIGHT WAZ At 7 A.M.
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AND I HAD N0 INTEnTI0N 0F G0ING T0 SLEEp AND tAKING A CHANCE I W0uLD MISZ
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IT. SEVERAL PE0PLE HAD FLIGHTZ AT 8 aND 10 A.M. 0THERZ WERE STaYING 0N
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F0R 3 M0RE DAYZ t0 GET BETTER AIRFARE rATES. I HEARD ERIKB HAD LeFT WITH
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0PHIE AND HE T0lD ME LATER THEY HAD AsKED ThE H0TEL AND HAD BEEn T0LD I
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CHECKED 0UT. 0NE R00M WE ENDED UP IN HaD A K0NS0LE K0PIER RUNNINg. I HAD
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HEARD AB0uT THEM BUT NEVER SEEN 0NE AnD WAZ T0LD IT WAZ 0kAY IF I
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PH0T0GRAPHED It. I WeNT D0WNSTAIRZ F0R My CAMERA.
|
|
I HADN'T BEEn AL0NE 0NCE SINCE ARRiVING iN AUSTIN. WHILE THIz WASN'T
|
|
ALWAYZ PLANNED, ThE TH0UGHT DID 0CCUR T0 ME ThAT MY R00M MIGHT BE WATCHED
|
|
AND THAT LAW EnF0RCEMENT MIGHT BE INtERESTeD IN ANY 0F THE MANy PE0PLE
|
|
I WAZ SEEN TALKiNG T0. I HAD MENTI0NEd A K0nTR0VERSIAL INTERVIEw WE HAD
|
|
K0MING UP WITH ILF AND ALTH0UGH I TH0UgHT I wAZ BEING 0VERLY PARaN0ID, I
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|
WAZ STILL NERV0uZ I W0ULD BE QUESTI0NeD AB0uT IT. BUT IT WAZ 12:30 A.M.
|
|
0R S0 AND I FELT T00 SILLY ASKING F0R s0ME0Ne T0 RUN D0WNSTAIRZ wITH ME.
|
|
S0 I WENT AL0NE. BUT AZ I WAZ CL0SING ThE D00r AND CHECKING IT WAz L0CKED
|
|
I SAW S0ME0NE HEAD D0WN THE HALL T0WARDZ ME ANd I KNEW INSTANTLY S0METHING
|
|
WAZ AB0UT T0 BE UP. HACKERZ ARE RiGHT WhEN THEY SAY Y0U CAN'T FULLY
|
|
UNDERSTAND THIz UNTIL Y0U HAVE LIVED IT. He ASKED IF I WAZ NETtA AND I
|
|
SAID YEZ AND THEn HE REACHED T0WARDZ HiZ P0CkET. I KNEW HE WAZ G0ING F0R
|
|
EITHER A GUN 0r A BADGE AND THERE WAz N0THiNG I K0ULD D0 AB0UT EITHER.
|
|
IT TURNED 0UT t0 BE A BADGE AND AZ He G0T cL0SE EN0UGH S0 THAT I K0ULD
|
|
SEE IT READ "AuSTIN P0LICE DEPARTMENt" I Th0UGHT T0 MYSELF "KEwL, IT'Z
|
|
N0T THE SECReT SERVICE." HE ASKED mE T0 aCK0MPANY HIM T0 A R00M AND,
|
|
H0LDING MY CAMERa, I DID. HE T0LD THE tW0 "SeCURITY GUARDS" THAT WE'D BE
|
|
LEAVING tHE D00R 0PEN. I HAD AsKED WhETHER HE WAZ THE GUy WH0 HAD
|
|
CALLED ME LAST MARCH AND HE SAID N0 ThAT HE WAZ HIZ PARTNER. I w0NDERED
|
|
WHETHER I WAZ UNdER INVESTIGATI0N 0R WhETHER THEY HAD N0 0NE ELSe T0 ASK
|
|
F0R INF0RMATI0N 0R WHETHER THEY JUST wANTED T0 MEET ME AFTER TAlKING T0
|
|
ME V0ICE. IT DIDN'T 0CCUR T0 ME T0 ASK. I TH0uGHT SEVERAL TIMEZ Ab0UT THE
|
|
FACT I WAZ SUPP0SED T0 BE 0UT WITH BL00DAXE AND 0PHIE AND THAT iF I HAD
|
|
MADE IT A P0INT T0 LEAVE WITH THEM THIZ W0ULDn'T BE HAPPENING. I w0NDERED
|
|
wH0 ELSE APD HAD QUeSTI0NED WH0 HAD N0T T0LD ANy0NE. I W0NDERED IF tHEY HAD
|
|
EVEN QUESTI0NED S0ME0NE AB0UT ME. I ALS0 FEAReD PE0PLE W0ULD K0ME L00KING
|
|
F0R ME AND SeE ME IN THAT R00M AND THINK I WAZ TALKING T0 THe P0LICE
|
|
V0LUNTARILY. THaT I HAD S0UGHT THEM 0uT. G0d F0RBID THEY SH0ULD THINK I
|
|
WAZ TELLING THe P0LIcE AB0UT THE K0NS0LE K0PIER.
|
|
THE WH0LE tHING 0NLY T00K AB0UT 8 MINUtEZ AND THE 0FFICER aSKED ME
|
|
N0THING I HAD A pR0BLEM ANSWERING. HE tREATEd ME WITH RESPECT ANd DIDN'T
|
|
PRESZ ME T0 SAY ANYTHING I WASN'T K0Mf0RTABlE SAYING. I 0FFERED T0 GIVE
|
|
HIM S0ME 0F MY MaGAZINEZ AT THE END 0F THE K0NVERSATI0N AND HE WaLKED ME
|
|
T0 MY R00M AND WAz CLEARLY PLANNING T0 wAIT 0uTSIDE. I INVITED HIm IN AND
|
|
HE WATCHED ME PuLL ISSUEZ FR0M THREE sUITCAsES. IT WAZ APPARENT N0THING
|
|
ILLEGAL HAD G0NE 0N IN MY R00M. I'D LAY 0dDZ IT WAZ THE CLEANeST R00M
|
|
THERE T00. ThE DAY BEF0RE, F0R EXAmPLE, mY TRASH IN THE BATHr00M HAD
|
|
BEEN DUMPED AT LEAST THREE TIMES. N0nE WERe BY ME 0R WHEN I WAz IN THE
|
|
R00M. THE 0NLY THING I K0ULDN'T ANSWeR, ANd IT WAZ SIMPLY FR0M NERVES,
|
|
WAZ WHAT I HAD D0NE 0N NEW YEAR'Z EVE. THE AnSWER CAME 0UT THAT I DIDN'T
|
|
REMEMBER AND SINCe I STAMMERED IT, IT MuST HAvE L00KED LIKE I HAD SEEN 0R
|
|
D0NE S0METHING I SH0ULDN'T HAVE. BUT AlL I DiD WAZ IRC AND EAT SuSHI AND
|
|
I D0 THAT S0 0FTeN I DIDN'T EVEN REMEMbER WHeN ASKED. NEW YEAR'Z EVE HAD
|
|
BEEN aLM0ST LIKE ANY 0THEr NIGHT.
|
|
ANYWAY, I G0t THE K0NS0LE K0PIER Ph0T0 (hINT: I K0ULD USE A dETAILED
|
|
ARTICLE 0N H0W THeY W0RK T0 RUN WITH IT). WE tHEN M0VED 0N T0 0THeR R00MZ
|
|
AND I RAN INT0 DRUNKFUX AND DAMIEN Th0RN. I DID A L0NG VIDE0 InTERVIEW
|
|
WITH DRUNKFUX, wH0 W0ULD HAVE MADE AN EXCELlENT J0URNALIST. HE rESISTED
|
|
THE IDEA 0F ASKInG ME PETTY QUESTI0NZ aB0UT wH0 I LIKE AND D0N'T LIKE IN
|
|
THE SCENE aND WH0 I'D SLEEP WITH IF I k0ULD. I W0ULD HAVE aNSWERED
|
|
ANYTHING HE ASKED IN THE SPIRIT 0f THE H0H0K0N VIDE0 TRADITi0N, BUT
|
|
INSTEAD WE G0T InT0 M0RE SERI0UZ ISSUEz AND pE0PLE WH0 THINK DRUnKFUX IZ
|
|
SHALL0W 0R A LESS-tHAN-SERI0UZ DUDE DUE t0 HIZ IRC REPUTATI0N WILL BE M0ST
|
|
SUrPRISED.
|
|
THEN DAMIEN DID aN EQUALLY L0NG INTERViEW ANd DRUNKFUX G0T ELEET F00TAGE
|
|
0F ME CL0SING MY EYEZ WHEN THE TALK G0t T00 tECHNICAL. I DID ALM0ST PASZ
|
|
0UT AZ IT WAZ 3 a.M. 0R S0 AND I FELT rEALLY K0MF0RTABLE BEING WiTH THEM
|
|
BUT I SNAPPED T0 ATTENTI0N JUST IN THe NICK 0F TIME AZ DRUNKFUX HAD THE
|
|
CAMERA AIMED 0N Me AND DAMIEN WAZ MAKINg A J0kE. DAMIEN T00K IT In STRIDE
|
|
BUT I THINK IT WAZ THE FIRST TIME ANY0NE HAD EvER HAD THE CHANCE T0 LISTEN
|
|
t0 HIZ M0ST ELEET TeCHNICAL TIPZ AND WAZ b0RED. I H0PE HE KN0WZ I L0VE HIM,
|
|
LIKE M0ST HACKERS, F0R THE PERS0N HE IZ aND N0t F0R THE SKILLZ 0R tR0PHIEZ
|
|
hE HAS. I WAZ TRANSfIXED AZ HE T0LD DRUNKfUX HIz BEGINNINGZ IN THE k0MPUTER
|
|
UNDERGR0UND AND HIz VIEWZ 0N LAWS, ETHICs, WRItING, ETC. I JUST D0n'T LUST
|
|
T0 KN0W WHAT M0DeL 0F PH0NEZ HE RESPECtZ M0St 0R WHAT GADGET HE'z TESTED
|
|
LAST. LUCKILY F0R Y0U, DRUNKFUX DID THE INTERvIEW, N0T ME, AND HE DID ASK
|
|
L0TZ 0N THAT S0RT 0F STUFF. AFTER THEY wERE D0NE DAMIEN AND I WENt 0UT T0
|
|
S0ME FAST F00D BUrGER J0INT. IT WAZ DIRt CHEAp AND TASTED LIKE CArDB0ARD.
|
|
WE HAD A GREAT CHAt, AZ USUAL, AND THEN wENT T0 THE AIRP0RT WITH SlYME WH0
|
|
HAD SLEPT THE NiGHT AWAY AND MISSED EvERYTHiNG. MY FLIGHT WAZ FiRST AND
|
|
THEY WALKED ME T0 THE GATE AND MADE A FuSZ 0VeR ME AND IT WAZ THE PERFECT
|
|
ENDING.
|
|
I CAN'T BELiEVE I N0W HAVE T0 WAIt TILL JUNE (AND G0 T0 GE0rGIA, 0F
|
|
ALL PLACES) T0 SEE S0ME 0F Y0U AGAIn. 0H wELL. IN THE MEANTIMe, HAPPY
|
|
VALENTINE'Z DaY T0 Y0U AND WH0EVER y0U NEtSEX AND/0R FANTASIZe AB0UT.
|
|
HAPPY APRIL F00L'z DAY IN ADVANCE T00. JUST PrANK S0ME0NE ELSE THiZ YEAR,
|
|
0KAY? <GRIN>.
|
|
|
|
(SAMPLE ISsUEZ 0F GRAY AREAZ ARE $7.00 EACH (U.S.) AND $10.00 EACH
|
|
(F0REIGN) Fr0M: GRAY AREAS, INC. P.0. B0X 808, BR00MALL, PA 19008.
|
|
E-MAIL ADDRESSeZ ARE: GRAYAREA@WELL.sF.CA.uZ 0R GRAYAREA@NETAXs.K0M 0R
|
|
GRAYAREA@MINDV0X.PHANt0M.K0m. PGP KEY IZ BEL0W. USE IT.)
|
|
|
|
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BL0CK-----
|
|
VERsI0N: 2.3
|
|
MQCNAI76UIWAAAEEALGWLWTYFRBLZHkFULC5NIWLRIFBNG50JIG1QLP1JN5UUASR
|
|
EMAU8GDQw0ZXVS2TLYQBZ5AHYW7ZBTuVNEYPMH6THV4IYN9IYXMU1LUBy54HLBYP
|
|
VZB61BNF9S40YYZITGJ8F/IKNQGX5+jE3/6WvCJ0HXDJPL5JEA2UWNFX4WUNAAUR
|
|
TBZnCMF5YXJLYUB3ZWXSLNNmLMNHLNVZ
|
|
=rXPN
|
|
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BL0CK-----
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|
##EOF
|