« January 12, 2007 | Main | January 17, 2007 »
January 15, 2007
When I win the Poweball, I'll read this again ...
NY Times: Your Money: You’ve Hit the Jackpot. Now What? -- If you fall into a lot of cash, you should pause before you spend and think about how much you’ve really won and how you relate to money.
Posted by eubie at 7:03 PM permalink
The story of Cap'n Crunch -- an aging wunderkid
WSJ: The Twilight Years of Cap'n Crunch -- Silicon Valley legend John Draper made his name with Brains and pranks, before slipping to the margins. This looks at a legendary programmer, phone phreaker who developed software such as ez-writer and developing the technology that is now our modern telephone menus. But the world of technology changed and his eccentric personality was no longer tolerated. Now at 63, he lives hand to mouth, though he's a legend in technology circles. He got his nickname when he found a whistles given away in the cereal boxes perfectly mimicked a telephone code.
Mr. Draper calls aging veterans like himself part of an "off-the-grid" community. Steve Inness, 47, helped develop touch-screen cellphone technology and does programming work for startups. In recent years, he's lived on the floors and couches of employers; he was last seen hitchhiking in the desert outside Las Vegas. Roy Kaylor, 68, built one of the first electric cars in the early 1970s and contributed to a government-supported effort to develop the technology. He lives in a trailer without electricity in the Santa Cruz mountains. Mr. Draper's recent lunch host, Mr. Bengel, 61, designed an electrohydraulic machine tool and says he has worked for several Silicon Valley companies.
Posted by eubie at 7:01 AM permalink
In the woods for 20 years
Boing Boing: Adirondack "bushman" captured after 20 years in the woods
Alan G. Como, 56, was captured by police after eluding them for 20 years. He lived in the Adirondack woods of New York, burglarizing campsites to survive. Big and muscular with little fat on his body, police said he is in remarkably good shape for someone his age who has apparently lived in the woods for at least several years. “He’s a pro. He knows what he’s doing,” Cleveland said. Only items needed for survival — clothes, sleeping bags, food and batteries — were taken during the burglaries, with the thief leaving behind valuables like jewelry and electronics, the sheriff said.
Posted by eubie at 6:50 AM permalink