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In general, those of you who have access to the web are pretty computer-literate. Perhaps you can't open your laptop with whatever's handy, throw in some more RAM, speed up your CPU by "clock-chipping" it, all while making a triple espresso, but you're not talking into your mouse either.

While this "birds of a feather" phenomenon is interesting, it means that we meet only people that are rather similar to ourselves. This is a bad thing. We creatures of the net have lost touch with dancers, artists, polyglots, culinary miracle workers, and people older and younger than we are. Too much of our web culture is intimately tied to our cult of computers, so much so that it has a tendency to overshadow the humanizing aspects of community and tribe.

I have purposely not made my web pages an odessey of geek-related adventures: if you want to soak in technical minutae, there are many such places on the net where you can drown your sorrows and escape reality (such as we know it). But my web pages would be incomplete without some computer-related things, especially where humanity and computerdom run headlong into each other.

Much of my site has become personal, how things affected me, how I dealt with them.

Amateur (Ham) Radio

Amateur radio has long been an interest of mine. In recent years I've used it to volunteer for public events.

frequencies

california

ca-towns-a-thru-c

ca-towns-d-thru-i

ca-towns-j-thru-m

ca-towns-n-thru-r

ca-towns-s

ca-towns-t-thru-z

ca-yosemite-freqs

sf-ca-fleet-week-freqs

hawaii

kauaii-hawaii-freqs

Health ramifications of using a chest pack

I'm very concerned about the health ramifications of using my handheld ham radio attached to a chest pack. Here are some words from folks in the know.

Kenwood TH-78: fixing the broken antenna mount flaw

The Kenwood TH-78 handheld transceiver

Modifying the Kenwood TH-78a handheld transceiver

The Kenwood TH-78 handheld transceiver has lots of undocumented features and possible modifications that extend the functionality of the radio. This guide doesn't cover anything the manual does, although it does clarify some features.

San Francisco Office of Emergency Services frequencies

The database coördinator of the San Francisco Office of Emergency Services sends me updated information about the frequencies we use.

The Resurrection of KPH, the wireless giant of the Pacific

Amateur radio has long been an interest of mine. In recent years I've used it to volunteer for public events.

cell phones

apple

iPhone

handspring

treo

Handspring Treo 180

Whereupon I take my first convergent item of mobile computing / conversation to Europe a month after starting to use it. The good, the bad, the exceedingly ugly truth.

speaker

Handspring Treo 180: Dead Speaker Syndrome repair, page 2

Handspring Treo 180: Dead Speaker Syndrome repair, page 3

Handspring Treo 180: Dead Speaker Syndrome repair

One of the sad realities of the Treo 180 is the wire used to connect the speaker to the main unit breaks.

motorola

Motorola RAZR v3

palm

treo

gallery

Palm Treo 600: photo gallery

Here's are some photos from the Palm Treo 600's 0.3 megapixel camera.

howTo

Palm Treo 600: Configuring Snapper for Google GMail

The steps required to have Snapper fetch Google GMail on my Palm Treo 600.

misc

Palm Treo 600: What's on my Treo?

Here's what I have running on my Treo 600 right about now.

Palm Treo 600

After the fiasco of the Handspring Treo 180 what on earth could motivate me to buy the Treo 600?

Digital Cameras

Apple QuickTake 100

I purchased my Apple QuickTake 100 about a year after it was released. The next day I took a trip to Eivissa and Gran Canaria, snapping photos all the way.

Casio Exilim EX-Z4

Casio Exilim EX-Z4U

Casio Exilim EX-Z750

Kodak DC-120

In the late 1990s I moved up to a second-generation digital camera, the Kodak DC-120. It stored images on a PCMCIA card, which made it truly useful.

Nikon CoolPix 950

At the close of the 1900s I upgraded to a Nikon CoolPix 950 digital camera. It's the third generation for me, and it's impressive.

Pentax Optio W10

Pentax Optio W20

Sony DCR-TRV20

In the weeks before Burning Man 2000 I purchased a digital video camera so that I could take video of my son, Isaac. I checked out the word on the street, and in reviews, and would up buying a Sony DCR-TRV20.

hardware

Apple

Apple Computer has been the research and development engine for much of the popular computer industry.

MacBook Pro

After the IBM PowerPC-powered Apple PowerBook comes the Intel-powered Apple MacBook Pro.

Macintosh

While I've needed to be competent on Macintosh, Windows, and Unix systems for my professional life, I far prefer Macintosh to the others. I feel that Macintosh gives me the greatest flexibility in concentrating on my work, rather than concentrating on my computer.

A cracker attacks and disrupts our ability to serve web pages

In 1996 my web server was located at a school in the mid-west. A cracker broke in and disrupted our operations. Here's the story.

Computing's Holy War

Cary Lu's 1995 article about the battle between the Macintosh and Wintel worlds. A must read for either camp.

Connectix's RAM Doubler: how it works

Discussions with (then) Connectix employee Thom Hogan about RAM Doubler.

misc

The secret weapon Apple threw away

In 1993 a stealth group of engineers from Apple Computer and Novell took on a challenge many thought impossible: to make the Macintosh operating system run on Intel Corp. processors.

PowerBook: how to display 1024x768

On c.s.m.h a user claimed to have gotten his PowerBook to display 1024x768 on an external monitor. Despite prodding, he was unable or unwilling to describe how he accomplished this feat. Today, completely by accident, I figured out how to do it.

security

PGPdisk

The goal of CryptDisk (now PGPdisk) is to provide transparent military-grade partition encryption for Macintosh. Here are the original 1995 words of its author, Will Price.

PGPdisk (formerly CryptDisk) source code review

A cryptographer gives his impressions, in 1995, of a source code review of CryptDisk 1.0.

The Macintosh as Web Server

In 1994 Brad Schrick told us why there's no reason not to use a Macintosh as a production web server. Years before MacCrack.

Troubles with Lombard (and Wall Street)

It's 1999. Lombard is the fastest laptop on the planet. And yet there are still lingering boneheaded design problems. Doesn't anyone at Apple actually use these things?

Newton

Thoughts on the Apple Newton MessagePad line, from my first (a transparent 110) to my last (a 2100).

PowerBook

My ode to the almighty PowerBook, my computing hardware of choice since the line of Macintosh laptop line was created in 1991.

QuickCam

My first exposition on the (then) newly-released Connectix QuickCam.

Connectix QuickCam Audio

From 1994: is (was) there a problem between the Connectix QuickCam audio and CU-SeeMe (or with other software)?

Connectix QuickCam Frame Rates

The factors by which the Connectix QuickCam frame rate is determined.

The Connectix QuickCam FAQ

Connectix's QuickCam FAQ of 22 January 1995 is reproduced here courtesy of Thom Hogan.

help

Baud versus Bits Per Second

This posting explains why it's inaccurate to make mention of a 14,400 baud modem.

Dad Asks

Dad's gone from being behind the digital times to surfing my web pages on his own PowerBook. Here are the answers to some questions of his.

eudora

Dad Asks: Fetching Message Remainder in Eudora Pro

It's a good idea to have Eudora Pro limit the incoming message side so you don't waste time downloading unwanted attachments. But what about attachments you want?

Dad Asks: Sending Digital Images (Pictures) with Eudora

I gave Dad a digital camera of mine. Now he's got images he wants to share with the world, but he doesn't know how.

other

Dad Asks: Cut and Paste Between Applications

One of the tasks facing Dad is how to transfer something he's written in a word processor to an email message. Here's a visual guide, for when he's in a rush.

timbuktuPro

Dad Asks: Configuring Timbuktu Pro 4.x for Remote Administration

Here's how to configure Timbuktu Pro 4.x so I can remotely administer your machine.

Dad Asks: Connecting with Timbuktu Pro 4.x

Remote administration of Dad's Mac with Timbuktu Pro 4.x is a breeze, once I get the dynamic IP address assigned to him for the current dial-up session.

Dealing with Flicker

How to minimize flicker when you point a camera at a monitor or TV. Wherein I coin the phrase 'camera-monkey' and sow the ire of videographers worldwide.

What is Bandwidth?

A discussion about different types and sizes of data transmission 'pipes'. Probably of general interest to net users. Includes information about European standards.

Horology

I have a passion for time-keeping bits of hardware.

clocks

Greenwich Observatory Shepherd Gate Clock

The clock on the line.

Wristwatch

The wristwatch is the promise of the complexity of the universe in a tiny, controlled package.

Stocker & Yale SandY P650 Type 6 military

My daily-wearer; survives all the knocks of family life.

twenty-four

Twenty-four hours each day should mean twenty-four hours on the timepiece's face.

Universal Genève

My favorite wristwatch company.

Universal Genève Tri-Compax

One of the Twentieth Centuries best?

Yema Transanarctic Bi-Pole (Transantarctica Polar Navigational) wristwatch

One of the Twentieth Centuries best?

Medicine

Emergency Medicine

I've been involved with emergency medicine for decades, as a radio ham, Emergency Medical Technician, rescue diver, junior ski patrol, etc.

1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers

A day in the life of a volunteer to the Bay to Breakers footrace in words and pictures. The day was 19 May 1996.

1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers (page 2)

1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers (page 3)

1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers (page 4)

Search and Rescue

Emergency medicine, search and rescue in particular, has always been an interest of mine. So I joined up.

A Wilderness EMS Medical Kit

Keith Conover of the Wilderness EMS Institute presents the WEMSI Personal Wilderness Medical Kit and related footnotes.

Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit

BAMRU was the first wilderness search and rescue unit I experienced. Their professionalism and enthusiasm were a great place to learn human tracking and related arts.

Haight-Ashbury Emergency Response Team

The Haight-Ashbury Emergency Response Team - HAERT - is one of San Francisco's Neighborhood ERTs.

Haight-Ashbury Emergency Response Team Boundaries

Mental Health

A Mood Scale Inventory

Cognitive Therapy

NationalMentalHealthAssoc

Answers to Your Questions About Clinical Depression

The National Mental Health Association Order Form

The National Mental Health Association

The NMHA Clinical Depression Self-Screening Test

misc

screencaps

screen captures

A virtual time capsule, screen captures show a whole environment frozen in the moment.

software

Software Categories

How do you pay for software? Depends on what's expected. Is it freeware, shareware (time-bomb-ware, usageware, crippleware, nagware, guiltware), costware, updaters, demoware, or just plain data?

www

Graphical building blocks for your web pages

A bit about transparent, interlaced GIFs that I use as building blocks around this site.

Privacy

Privacy, Security, Reputation, Cryptography, and You

groups

CypherPunks

Defenders of your personal digital freedoms. Their contributions are worth a read.

contributions

A Plea against the Communications Decency Act

There's just everything wrong with this bill. It's just amazing.

Cypherpunks Write Code!

Separating [figuratively] the men from the boys via their contributions.

e$: Beastie Boys do Finance

The first description - of which I'm aware - of a monetary exchange for electronic scrip.

Johnny Get Your Modem - Scientology's War with the Internet

The Cult of Scientology wages war with everyone.

More from the Church of $cientology

The Cult of Scientology wages war with everyone, again and again.

ZLDF

The Zimmermann Legal Defense Fund (ZLDF)

cv

Curt Karnow

Vital Statistics

Eben Moglen

Vital Statistics

Phil Dubois, Lead Counsel, ZLDF

Vital Statistics

Philip Zimmermann

Vital Statistics

Dubois' correspondence

Things officially said by Dubois about the Zimmermann case.

funding

Funding the ZLDF

The Zimmermann Legal Defense Fund, the ZLDF, was founded to help defray the costs of PRZ's legal battle.

ZLDF Appeal

Hugh Miller's original request for support of the ZLDF. In one short missive, Hugh gave a short history, compelling reasons to support, and concise and complete instructions on how to help

ZLDF Virtual Yellow Ribbon Appeal

Nathaniel S. Borenstein's appeal for funds - the Virtual Yellow Ribbon Appeal - was the first time that the idea of placing a notice of support for the ZLDF in signatures was widely disseminated.

ZLDF/Europe

The ZLDF had a European branch, which did an excellent job of outreach and fundraising.

ZLFD Pro Bono

If you contributed to the Zimmermann Legal Defense Fund, the ZLDF, this is how your money was spent.

Liason's editorial about PGP

misc

CIA running anonymous remailers

Did the CIA run anonymous remailers in a (perhaps successful) attempt to read the encrypted email coming across them?

GAK, Netscape, CyberDog, and you

The problem is Governmental Access to Keys (GAK), the solution might lie in Apple Computer's CyberDog technology.

Jim Clark's Netscape supports the US key escrow plan, aka Fortezza

There's quite an important debate raging on the Cypherpunks list these days over Netscape CEO Jim Clark's recent decision to support the US govt's Fortezza (escrowed key) cryptographic system in certain versions of the Netscape web browser.

PGP (sung to the tune of Casey Jones)

A friend passed these songs along to me.

Who watches the Internet?

By monitoring computer message traffic and alternative news sources from around the world, the military might catch early warning of impending significant developments, says a paper written in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict for the Department of Defense.

Phil Dubois announces the investigation's end

Phil Dubois called. He excitedly announced that the investigation against Philip Zimmermann was dropped, and the threat of indictment that had hung over PRZ for three years was gone.

Dubois' email announcement of the investigations end

When the government's investigation of Philip Zimmermann ended, this is what Dubois had to say.

Dubois' email followup to Zimmermann's reaction to the investigations end

Dubois had more to say.

Sattler' email announcement of the investigations end

When the government's investigation of Philip Zimmermann ended, this is what Sattler had to say.

Zimmermann' email announcement of the investigations end

When the government's investigation of Philip Zimmermann ended, this is what Zimmermann had to say.

ZLDF Cast of Characters

These are the people you'll meet in our twisted little neighborhood, through the U. S. Attorney's looking glass.

ZLDF Rogues Gallery

Pictures of the legal defense team.

topics

Anonymous Remailers

Basic Issues and Concepts in Privacy and Cryptography

An introduction to the issues and concepts.

Digital Money

PGP Keys and Public Key-Servers

PGPFone

Pretty Good Privacy

Factoring - State of the Art and Predictions

misc

Adding PGP to MajorDomo

Hostile Attack on BlackNet's PGP Key

MIT Press Indicts Zimmermann

My PGP Story

pgp-docs

Philip Zimmermann's PGP FAQ

Why do you need PGP?

Sources of Cryptographic Software

Steganography

wheels

BMW

I venture into BMW land, crossing the Bimmer versus Beemer stream, heading towards my new car's user manual.

1995 BMW 318is

Perhaps not the ultimate driving machine, but way more fun than any of my VWs.

100 mph

It's not your BMW until you've taken her over 100 miles per hour (mph).

BMW Hints

Things I learned about my 1995 BMW 318is.

cleaning the car

Fighting entropy is such a silly thing, but we do it to protect our investment.

cleaning wheels

Where the rubber meets the road is where the dirt sticks the worst of all.

Immobilized Bimmer

Wherein my 37-pound 3-year-old immobilized my 3021-pound Bimmer.

install

How to install the BMW keyless remote entry vehicle security system

installing the alarm, p. 2

installing the alarm, p. 3

installing the alarm, p. 4

installing the alarm, p. 5

repair

new windshield seals

repairing the backlight

1997 BMW 318ic

Oh, finally a convertible for me :-)

events

50 Miles of Pure Twisties

We see what our wheels can do in the twisties.

So, for your enjoyment, here are my offerings in the silicon smorgasbord. (Related items may be found on my Humor master page.)

"ISP adventures": Ever want to quit your boring job and live the glamorous life of an Internet service provider? These pages include real-life techno-horror stories of my ISPs (yes, I have several because of my various networking setups at home). Read about warking modems, laugh at the crazy antics of the telephone company and hardware supplies, enjoy seeing Murpy's Law in action, have sympathy pains when you read about late-night hacking to placate a restless and evil client base. Then be happy about your job.

Baud versus Bits Per Second: a pithy exposition about the differences between these technical terms and why almost everyone gets it wrong.

Cornell University's CU-SeeMe desktop videoconferencing software.

"Philip Zimmerman"'s now-famous Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software and its political ramifications.

The in-your-pocket extention to PGP is digital cash (which you can spend at our EShop). Here you can find pointers to the software, the seminal work, and shops where you can spend, spend, spend.