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Cliff Stoll in case people were wondering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll I have his original book
by slyall 11y ago
Cliff Stoll in case people were wondering:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll
I have his original book my shelf, it was fascinating when it came out.
His Klein Bottle company is here:
http://www.kleinbottle.com/ http://www.kleinbottle.com/
- tragomaskhalos 11y agoOh my god the Cuckoo's Egg guy! That is a crazy book. Would never have connected them, but then again clearly this is someone who doesn't let go once he gets an idea between his teeth.
- jpalomaki 11y agoIt was interesting to read the Cyberpunk by John Markoff after the Cockoo's egg, because this book covered the same case from the crackers point of view.
- jpalomaki 11y agoHe has also written Cuckoo's Egg, a book about his hunt for hacker that broke into computer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg This was really fascinating read for a young nerd around very early 1990's.
- chii 11y agoahh, no wonder that name sounded so familiar!
- stephendicato 11y agoIt's still a great read today. This HN post led me to hand my copy to one of summer hires. I've certainly passed that copy around.
- jobu 11y agoCan't believe I hadn't heard of that before. That's an amazing story!
- nroets 11y agoIt was the first time I heard of GNU software. For the next 3 years, my only perception was that it was insecure.
- joshdance 11y agoNo way! I read that book in Junior High. Very well written, and very enjoyable. Didn't realize this was the same guy! Love it.
- astrodust 11y agoThis book basically taught me UNIX. I'm not even kidding.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y agoThe voice in that book seems different from the voice in the video, but what do I know :). Cliff turned me on to the "peoples republic of berkley" Does anyone call it that anymore?
- dexen 11y agoHe's on HN, too: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=CliffStoll https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=CliffStoll [edit] As my friends (online and off) can attest, I make Klein bottles mainly for fun. It's a zero-volume home business, small enough to be run from one room; the warehouse occupies the crawlspace under our house. Of course, the best part of Acme Klein Bottles is meeting people: via email, occasional visits, talks at schools & math colloquia, and chattering about physics & LTE & coding with friends at my day-job (Hi Newfield People!). Which is to say, it'll be a while before I recast my kleinbottle website - I'm having too much fun doing other things. -- from an earlier post
- Roritharr 11y agoThe Copy on Kleinbottle.com is marvelous, its like pouring hot cocoa spiced with love: From http://www.kleinbottle.com/drinking_mug_klein_bottle.htm http://www.kleinbottle.com/drinking_mug_klein_bottle.htm : "The 7 mm air space separates the inside from the outside, so ice water won't cause condensation. This extends the life of hot or cold drinks, saves energy, and helps stave off the dreaded local thermodynamic equilibrium." But seriously just read the whole page, this is like a bear hug from a friend I didn't knew I had.
- Sealy 11y agoI would be curious to know what would happen if you put a carbonated/soda drink in it.
- david-given 11y agoYou can't --- it has no inside. You could probably put a carbonated drink on it, though...
- dec0dedab0de 11y agoYou can't --- it has no inside. yes it does, you just pour in/out from the bottom.
- ziggit 11y agoYou can't --- it has no inside. That's basically the whole novelty of a Klein Bottle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle
- dec0dedab0de 11y agoMaybe I'm being thick, but they clearly have an inside. Your link does not mention anything about not having an inside.
- sp332 11y agoI was almost disappointed to learn that this was Cliff Stoll. I keep hoping there are other people out there who are that weird and awesome.
- esquivalience 11y agoHe writes well. Check out the guarantees section (http://www.kleinbottle.com/guarantee.htm http://www.kleinbottle.com/guarantee.htm): We unconditionally guarantee your Acme Klein Bottle to be free of any defects in workmanship or workwomanship for a period of ONE YEAR following purchase. If you aren't satisfied with your Acme Klein Bottle -- for any reason -- just return it for a refund or replacement. You pick up shipping charges. We guarantee safe arrival. If your Klein Bottle arrives broken, call or send email and we will immediately send a replacement. We slightly guarantee your Klein Bottle for THREE MONTHS against any cracks or breakage, whether due to earthquakes, clumsy undergrads, or greasy fingers. Just mail us a fragment and $10, and we will send a replacement. We warrant each Acme Klein Bottle for a period of FIVE YEARS to be absolutely free of any magnetic monopoles. If you discover one, contact us immediately and we will refund your purchase price right after you receive the Nobel Prize. Furthermore, we guarantee for TEN YEARS that any polyhedron spanning your unbroken Acme Klein Bottle will have about as many edges as the sum of its vertices plus faces. We further warrant for ONE MILLION YEARS that within a Euclidean plane, the square of a right triangle's hypotenuse will equal the sum of the squares of the two remaining legs.
- delinka 11y ago"Guarantee void if a substantial portion of the Klein bottle leaks into the 4th dimension." And he's funny. Mostly. ;-)
- samtimalsina 11y agoThe big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
- fennecfoxen 11y agooblig. Tom Waits allusion deserves the full song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2_snSkpULQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2_snSkpULQ and lyrics: http://www.tomwaits.com/songs/song/322/Step_Right_Up/ http://www.tomwaits.com/songs/song/322/Step_Right_Up/
- pbhjpbhj 11y ago>We further warrant for ONE MILLION YEARS that within a Euclidean plane, the square of a right triangle's hypotenuse will equal the sum of the squares of the two remaining legs. // Can't you break this with Lorentz contraction; it seems that would be equivalent to non-Euclidean geometry but legally within the terms. It's all about frames of reference I imagine. Though my inclination is that it might hinge on the meaning of "within" used.
- eco 11y agoWow. Thank you. I didn't make the connection until you wrote that. I really should reread The Cuckoo's Egg.