I am that guy people run to when the internet is not working, or they cant find a network printer because a graphical environment operating system is too complicated. The guy you want to have around when your porn habit has caught up to you and your computer is no longer responding. I am exactly that over caffeinated, fast talking, wont listen to you talk cause I know what your going to say before you finish speaking guy, that you go home and tell you're unsatisfied wife about. I am hated because I don't have the time or the attention span to discuss the undemanding details of your life with. I am loved because I retain no fear in the arena of technology. I seek and solve problems at an alarming rate. Bottom line, I make my company dead hard cash and a lot of it, so I must be tolerated.

I do have a challenge at my job because computer repairs and networking issues are boring to me. I design PCB's (printed circuit boards), write programs, and engineer electronics circuits all while trying to keep my ego from getting out of line. Some things I have deigned are being used by many prominent places. NASA has one of my instruments, as well as MIT and other institutions that have an audience of exceptionally smart people. This makes my already inflated ego especially exaggerated for some reason. I reflect now and again and find that my job is parallel to the super bowl. I am in the technology super bowl and I am leading by a large margin. Problem is - they are all German soccer fans (inside joke for the staff here at suck-o). I love my work but I cant tell anyone about it. Its not that its top-secret stuff, its the undemanding actuality that no one I know has a clue of what I am talking about. When I say "hey I used a cunningly simple concept today. I employed a rectifier IC as a EMF suppressor saving the design cost of $1.50 per board." People just shake there heads and walk by. Its depressing for me, the over caffeinated, egotistical, bi-polar, that I cant find someone to correlate these clever solutions with. At the same time its exhilarating because I am winning the super bowl.

Today I ordered some wheels for that robot that I am finally going to start and hopefully finish. I grew tired of waiting for parts and went ahead and paid for them. I have also continued to accumulate several other parts over the last year and think that I can begin a solid project with various features.

The motors are 6 mm shaft 12 Volt gear heads and if I recall correctly they are 400 to 1 ratio. In my experience its better to have a lower speed robot with a ton of torque.

The processor running the robot will be two P8X32A-Q44 running at 80 Megahertz and for programming memory I shall employ the 24LC256. The i2c bus runs up to 400Khz so boot time will be quick not that matters on this project. For extended memory I am considering a flash memory card as used in cameras or simply a Bluetooth connection to my PC. Both have issues that I need to consider before any decision is made. Since I have already designed the circuit boards the flash card option will require some trace splicing and hacking, a not so professional printed circuit board approach. The Bluetooth option is already ready on the circuit board but will need some fancy soldering that I just don't like to do. It takes a lot of time to pump the solder on each pad using a syringe and working under magnification.

The frame of the robot will be made of aluminum sheet metal that is about 8 mm thick. It has to support a fair amount of weight proportional to size so aluminum was chosen for obvious reasons. The heaviest item is the battery. I decided on a small motorcycle type battery, a non-spill sealed 12V 7.5Ah rechargeable. The size is 5.9"L x 2.6"W x 3.7"H and weights 5.6 lbs. It should give for some good run times. We shall see...

Check out this sweet project that I so want to replicate.

"My grandfather was a horologist. When he passed away in 2005 I inherited from him a collection of broken pocketwatches. As my skills are in microelectronics, rather than micromechanics, I felt it would be a fitting tribute to him to produce an electronic movement in place of one of the broken ones he'd never had the time to fix."

Read full article here.

The Night of the Hackers

________________________

. As you are surveying the dark and misty swamp you come across what

appears to be a small cave.  You light  a  torch  and  enter.  You

have  walked  several  hundred feet when you stumble into a bright

blue portal.  .  .  With a  sudden  burst  of  light  and  a  loud

explosion you are swept into . . . DRAGONFIRE . . .  Press Any Key

if You Dare."

.  You have programmed your personal computer to dial into

Dragonfire, a computer bulletin board in Gainesville,  Texas.  But

before you get any information, Dragonfire demands your name, home

city  and phone number.  So,  for tonight's tour of the electronic

wilderness you become Montana Wildhack of San Francisco.

.  Dragonfire, Sherwood Forest (sic), Forbidden Zone,

Blottoland,  Plovernet,  The Vault, Shadowland, PHBI and scores of

other computer bulletin boards are hangouts of a new generation of

vandals. These precocious teenagers use their electronic skills to

play hide-and-seek with computer and  telephone  security  forces.

Many  computer  bulletin  boards  are  perfectly legitimate:  they

resemble electronic  versions  of  the  familiar  cork  boards  in

supermarkets and school corridors,  listing services and providing

information someone out there is bound to find  useful.  But  this

is  a walk on the wild side,  a trip into the world of underground

bulletin  boards  dedicated  to  encouraging  --  and  making   --

mischief.

.  The phone number for these boards are as closely guarded as a

psychiatrist's home telephone number.  Some numbers are posted  on

underground  boards;  others  are exchanged over the telephone.  A

friendly hacker provided Dragonfire's number.  Hook up and you see

a broad choice of topics offered. For Phone Phreaks -- who delight

in  stealing  service  from  AT&T  and  other  phone  networks   .

Phreakenstein's Lair is a potpourri of phone numbers, access codes

and  technical information.  For computer hackers -- who dial into

other people's computers -- Ranger's Lodge is chock-full of  phone

numbers  and  passwords  for government,  university and corporate

computers.  Moving through Dragonfire's offerings,  you  can  only

marvel  at  how conversant these teen-agers are with the technical

esoterica of today's electronic age.  Obviously they have spent  a

great  deal  of time studying computers,  though their grammar and

spelling indicate they haven't been diligent  in  other  subjects.

You are constantly reminded of how young they are.

.  "Well it's that time of year again. School is back in session

so  let's get those high school computer phone numbers rolling in.

Time to get straight A's,  have perfect  attendance  (except  when

you've been up all night hacking school passwords), and messing up

you worst teacher's paycheck."

.  Forbidden Zone, in Detroit, is offering ammunition for hacker

civil war -- tips on  crashing  the  most  popular  bulletin-board

software.  There  also are plans for building black,  red and blue

boxes to mimic operator tones and get free phone service.  And  he

re  are  the  details for "the safest and best way to make and use

nitroglycerine," compliments of Doctor Hex, who says he got it

"from my chemistry teacher."

.  Flip through the "pages." You have to wonder if this

information  is accurate.  Can this really be the phone number and

password for Taco Bell's computer?  Do these kids really have  the

dial-up numbers for dozens of university computers? The temptation

is  too much.  You sign off and have your computer dial the number

for the Yale computer.  Bingo -- the words Yale University  appear

on your screen.  You enter the password.  A menu appears. You hang

up in a sweat. You are now a hacker.

.  Punch in another number and your modem zips off the touch

tones. Here comes the tedious side of all of this. Bulletin boards

are popular. No vacancy in Bates Motel (named for Anthony Perkin's

creepy motel in the movie "Psycho"); the line is busy.  So are 221

B.  Baker Street, PHBI, Shadowland and The Vault,  Caesar's Palace

rings  and  connects.  This is different breed of board.  Caesar's

Palace is a combination Phreak board and computer store in  Miami.

This  is  the  place to learn ways to mess up a department store's

anti-shoplifting system,  or make free calls  on  telephones  with

locks  on  the  dial.  Pure  capitalism  accompanies such anarchy,

Caesar's Palace is offering good deals on disc  drives,  software,

computers  and  all  sorts of hardware.  Orders are placed through

electronic mail messages.

.  'Tele-Trial': Bored by Caesar's Palace, you enter the number

for Blottoland,  the board operated by one of  the  nation's  most

notorious computer phreaks -- King Blotto.  This one has been busy

all night, but it's now pretty late in Cleveland.  The phone rings

and you connect.  To get past the blank screen, type the secondary

password "S-L-I-M-E." King Blotto obliges,  listing his rules:  he

must have your real name,  phone number,  address,  occupation and

interests. He will call and disclose the primary password, "if you

belong on this board." If admitted, do not reveal the phone number

or  the  secondary password,  lest you face "tele-trial," the King

warns as he dismisses  you  by  hanging  up.  You  expected  heavy

security,  but this teenager's security is,  as they say, awesome.

Computers at the Defense Department and hundreds of businesses let

you know when you've reached them.  Here you need a password  just

to find out what system answered the phone.  Then King Blotto asks

questions -- and hangs up.  Professional computer-security experts

could learn something from this kid.  He knows that ever since the

414 computer hackers were arrested in August 1982, law-enforcement

officers  have  been  searching  for  leads  on  computer bulletin

boards.

.  "Do you have any ties to or connections with any law

enforcement  agency  or  any  agency which would inform such a law

enforcement agency of this bulletin board?"

.  Such is the welcoming message from Plovernet, a Florida board

known  for  its great hacker/phreak files.  There amid a string of

valid VISA and MasterCard numbers are  dozens  of  computer  phone

numbers  and  passwords.  Here you also learn what Blotto means by

tele-trial.  "As some of you may or may not know, a session of the

conference  court was held and the Wizard was found guilty of some

miscellaneous  charges,  and  sentenced  to  four  months  without

bulletin  boards."  If  Wizard  calls,  system operators like King

Blotto disconnect him. Paging through bulletin boards is a test of

your patience. Each board has different commands.  Few are easy to

follow,  leaving you to hunt and peck your way around.  So far you

haven't had the nerve  to  type  "C,"  which  summons  the  system

operator for a live, computer-to-computer conversation.  The time,

however,  however  has  come for you to ask a few questions of the

"sysop." You dial a computer in Boston.  It answers and you  begin

working your way throughout the menus. You scan a handful of dial-

up  numbers,  including one for Arpanet,  the Defense Department's

research computer.  Bravely tap C and in seconds the screen blanks

and your cursor dances across the screen.

.  Hello . . . What kind of computer do you have?

.  Contact. The sysop is here. You exchange amenities and get

"talking." How much hacking does he do?  Not much, too busy. Is he

afraid of being busted,  having his computer confiscated like  the

Los  Angeles  man  facing  criminal  changes  because his computer

bulletin board contained a  stolen  telephone-credit-card  num

You fear each new question;  he probably thinks you're a cop.  But

all he wants to know  is  your  choice  for  president.  The  chat

continues,  until  he  asks,  "What  time  is it there?" Just past

midnight, you reply. Expletive. "it's 3:08 here," Sysop types.  "I

must be going to sleep.  I've got  school  tomorrow."  The  cursor

dances "*********** Thank you for Calling." The screen goes blank.

Epilog:

.  A few weeks after this reporter submitted this article to

Newsweek,  he found that his credit had been altered, his drivers'

licence revoked,  and EVEN HIS Social  Security  records  changed!

Just in case you all might like to construe this as a 'Victimless'

crime.  The  next  time  a  computer fouls up your billing on some

matter, and COSTS YOU, think about it!

_______________________________

.  This the follow-up to the previous article concerning the

Newsweek reporter.  It spells out SOME of the REAL dangers to  ALL

of us, due to this type of activity!

_______________________________

The REVENGE of the Hackers

_______________________________

.  In the mischievous fraternity of computer hackers, few things

are  prized  more  than  the  veil  of  secrecy.  As  NEWSWEEK San

Francisco correspondent Richard Sandza found out after  writing  a

story on the electronic underground's (DISPATCHES,  Nov.  12, 198\

ability  to  exact  revenge  can  be  unnerving.  Also  severe....

Sandza's report:

.  "Conference!" someone yelled as I put the phone to my ear.

Then came a mind-piercing "beep," and suddenly my  kitchen  seemed

full  of  hyperactive  15-year-olds.  "You  the  guy who wrote the

article in NEWSWEEK?" someone shouted from the depths  of  static,

and  giggles.  "We're  going disconnect your phone," one shrieked.

"We're going to blow up your house," called another. I hung up.

.  Some irate readers write letters to the editor. A few call

their  lawyers.   Hackers,  however,  use  the  computer  and  the

telephone, and for more than simple comment. Within days, computer

"bulletin  boards"  around the country were lit up with attacks on

NEWSWEEK's "Montana Wildhack" (a name I took from a Kurt  Vonnegut

character),  questioning  everything  from  my manhood to my prose

style.  "Until we get real good revenge," said  one  message  from

Unknown  Warrior,  "I  would like to suggest that everyone with an

auto-l modem call Montana Butthack then hang up when he  answers."

Since  then  the  hackers  of America have called my home at least

2000 times.  My harshest  critics  communicate  on  Dragonfire,  a

Gainesville,  Texas,  bulletin  board  where I am on teletrial,  a

video-lynching in which a computer user with grievance  dials  the

board  and  presses  charges  against  the offending party.  Other

hackers  --  including  the  defendant  --post   concurrences   or

rebuttals.  Despite  the  mealtime interruptions,  all this was at

most a minor nuisance; some was amusing, even fun.

.  FRAUD: The fun stopped with a call from a man who identified

himself only as Joe.  "I'm calling to warn you," he said.  When  I

barked back, he said, "Wait, I'm on your side.  Someone has broken

into TRW and obtained a list of all your credit-card numbers, your

home address,  social-security  number  and  wife's  name  and  is

posting  it  on  bulletin boards around the country." He named the

charge cards in my wallet.

.  Credit-card numbers are a very hot commodity among some

hackers.  To get one from a computer system and  post  it  is  the

hacker  equivalent  of  making the team.  After hearing from Joe I

visited the local office of the TRW credit bureau and got  a  copy

of my credit record.  Sure enough, it showed a Nov.  13 inquiry by

the Lenox (Mass.) Savings Bank,  an  institution  with  no  reason

whatever  to  ask  about me.  Clearly some hacker had used Lenox's

password to the TRW computers to get to my  files  (the  bank  has

since changed the password).

.  It wasn't long before I found out what was being done with my

credit-card numbers,  thanks to another friendly hacker who tipped

me to Pirate 80,  a bulletin board in Charleston,  W.Va.,  where I

found  this:  "I'm  sure you guys have heard about Richard Stza or

Montana Wildhack.  He's the guy who wrote the obscene story  about

phreaking  in NewsWeek Well,  my friend did a credit card check on

TRW . . . try this number, it' a VISA . .  .  Please nail this guy

bad . . . Captain Quieg.

.  Captain Quieg may himself be nailed. He has violated the

Credit  Card  Fraud Act of 1984 signed by President Reagan on Oct.

12.  The law provides a $10,000 fine and up to  a  15-year  prison

term  for  "trafficking" in illegally obtained credit-card account

numbers.  He "friend" has committed  a  felony  violation  of  the

California  computer-crime  law.  TRW  spokeswoman Delia Fernandex

said that TRW would "be more than  happy  to  prosecute"  both  of

them.

.  TRW has good reason for concern. Its computers contain the

credit  histories  of  120  million people.  Last year TRW sold 50

million credit  reports  on  their  customers.  But  these  highly

confidential   personal   records   are  so  poorly  guarded  that

computerized  teenagers  can  ransack   the   files   and   depart

undetected. TRW passwords -- unlike many others -- often print out

when  entered by TRW's customers.  Hackers then look for discarded

printouts.  A good source:  the  trash  of  banks  and  automobile

dealerships,  which  routinely do credit checks.  "Everybody hacks

TRW," says Cleveland hacker King Blotto,  whose bulletin board has

security  system the Pentagon would envy.  "It's the easiest." For

her her part,  Fernandez insists that TRW "does everything it  can

to keep the system secure

.  In my case, however, that was not enough. My credit limits

would hardly support big-time fraud,  but victimization takes many

forms. Another hacker said it was likely that merchandise would be

ordered in my name and shipped to me -- just to harass me.  I used

to  use  credit-card  numbers  against someone I didn't like," the

hacker said.  "I'd call Sears and have a dozen toilets shipped  to

his house."

.  Meanwhile, back on Dragonfire, my teletrial was going strong.

The charges,  as pressed my Unknown Warrior,  include "endangering

all phreaks and hacks." The judge in this case is  a  hacker  with

the  apt name of Ax Murderer.  Possible sentences range from exile

from the entire planet" to "kill the dude." King Blotto has  taken

up my defense,  using hacker power to make his first pleading:  he

dialed  up  Dragonfire,   broke  into  its  operating  system  and

"crashed"  the  bulletin  board,  destroying  all  of its messages

naming me. The board is back up now, with a retrial in full swing.

But then,  exile from the electronic underground looks better  all

the time.

Welcome to my first blog posting. I am thrilled to bring to you my passion for technology and hope that I can keep a few people tuned in on a regular basis. My goal for this blog is to discuss electronics, show my latest creations, and to correlate how important it is to learn the most basic of electronics to Hack or create. Today is a tech rich environment are you ready?

Peace.