Category Archives: Everything Else

Everything Else

The London MI6 North Face Red Bag Mystery

“Ahh. Well… Bring out The Gimp.”

You remember that guy in the trunk, in Pulp Fiction?  Right?

And now there is the unfortunate guy from MI 6 whose death is looking like some sort of misadventure. He was found naked inside a locked bag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Gareth_Williams

The North Face red bag was locked with the paddle lock from the outside, and the keys were found inside. The Crack Team Intelligence Unit has been actively investigating behind the scenes, and so far no one has found out.  These investigations have not been disclosed.

Until now.

 

The North Face Red Bag
The North Face Red Bag

Here is some data on claustrophilia:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/30/did-claustrophilia-kill-u-k-spy-gareth-williams.html

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/stuck/201205/turned-tight-spaces

The key to the padlock was found inside the bag.  Maybe it was just one of those things that the other person locked the padlock, and everyone forgot about the key until it was too late. In other words, maybe it started out as just an innocent game, locking the padlock, and everyone forgot about having the key to the bag at the ready.

He would be dead in about 30 minutes.

But do we know for certain that there must have been somebody else there, with the deceased?

The court saw videos of people who tried to climb in and lock themselves inside the bag, and they did get inside, but they failed to lock the lock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb6YKX_Hy40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=_ZyEHlj78hg

But the Crack Team Investigation Unit has discovered another video demonstrating principles on how a highly motivated person could actually do it all alone.

But of course, why would he want to?

The method would be to first lock the zipper tags together, then force open the zipper a few inches from it, open it wide, climb in, and then when inside, use the round end of the padlock key to slide the zipper tags, first to one end, entirely closing the zipper, and then back to the center position as when found.  This would account for the keys being inside.  So, it’s physically possible that there was no one else involved. The demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MDxzcjTrkY

Conclusion: someone, all alone, without any help could get himself killed like this, but only if he’s really smart.

Wait.  There must be something wrong with that conclusion, but I am not sure what it is.

However, not yet revealed is where the keys were found inside the bag.  I mean, if the keys were underneath him, and not available to either hand, then it would change the evaluation.

In 2007, Mr. Williams was found alone and helpless in his apartment.  That time, a neighbor answered calls for help and found him all tied up.  Was there another person who left?  Or did he do it himself?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mi6-spy-gareth-williams-tied-himself-to-bed-says-landlady-7678328.html

So at least once before, Mr. Williams was in a helpless situation, alone and in his apartment.

It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma!

Here is a timeline:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9240639/Gareth-Williams-timeline-how-the-mystery-of-the-spy-in-the-bag-unfolded.html

And a summary of the problems of the case:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/02/gareth-williams-key-unanswered-questions

Crack Team agents everywhere are advised to keep their eyes and ears open and report to the secretary if new information is found.

Good luck.

Do not fail.

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About, BTW, Everything Else, Humor, Internet, Music, Rants, Technology

Steve Jobs 1955-2011; too soon for jokes?

Logo created by a Hong Kong student. Click for more information.

It’s true, I never was a big Apple fan. I got my kids iPods because they relentlessly kept on asking. Oh, and the players were free when I signed up for a bank account (back in the day).

I inherited the old iPods and am using one today. They are not bad devices: easy to use and pretty to look at. But they are overpriced and I hate having to use iTunes to access my music. I hate being sold new material at every turn. I would love to have a simple drag-and-drop interface.

Sure there were MP3s before the iPod. I don’t blame Steve Jobs for making lossy music palatable. But I don’t share in the global outporing of grief that’s on every TV, computer and iPlatform in the world, either.

And Steve Jobs has a family that’s going thru the grieving process. So why start these tasteless Steve Jobs jokes? We may as well ask why we climb Mt. Everest. It’s because we can.

And you have to admit that it takes talent to make a clever joke about a sad, troubling situation. Sort-of like those improvisation shows where a performer is asked to make a joke about starving Somalians. A very poor-taste request, but also a challenge.

So here’s some jokes about the death of the iconic founder of Apple and the creator of the greatest devices in the world:

  • I hear President Obama has been implicated in the passing of the iconic Apple founder…
    his economic policies killed jobs.

 

  • Steve Jobs’ funeral will feature a private viewing for his many fans.
    As each person passes in front of the casket, they’ll pay 99 cents.
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About, Everything Else, Technology

Nobel Prize Update

You may remember the story of our hapless Nobel Prize Hero, Doug Prasher. He lost his job in science and ended up driving a courtesy van at a Toyota dealership, but his research allowed others to win the Nobel Prize in 2008.  Things are looking up for him, we are glad to report. You can read about it here, starting with this excerpt:

 

After joining the Toyota dealership, Prasher applied for a couple of science-related jobs in Huntsville, but nothing worked out. On one occasion he had an encouraging meeting with the hiring manager at a local company working on microfluidics; when the interviewer learned that Prasher drove a courtesy van, his interest cooled. There is no way to know how many other potential researchers were driven from their studies for similar reasons, or how many potential discoveries were never made because of the psychological and practical difficulties of the scientific lifestyle.

Finally in June 2010, several weeks after my visit, Prasher’s luck changed. He e-mailed me to say he’d been offered a science job at Streamline Automation, a local research and development company. Staffed by about 20 people, the company does work for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Prasher’s first task when he started in late June was to help develop technology to sense toxic industrial gases.

He began cautiously. “There was none of the tremendous relief you might expect,” he says. “I had been so discouraged over the years that my attitude was, this may work out and it may not.” Gradually he settled into the job. At home he occasionally took science reading to bed, something he hadn’t done in years. “A lot of the hangdog is gone,” Gina told me. 
In December Prasher won a six-month, $70,000 grant from the Department of Defense to develop a field technique for categorizing tick specimens according to their mitochondrial genes, in hopes of limiting the diseases a doctor might diagnose. It brought a sense of accomplishment that had been missing from his life for a long time. In January he told me that the cloud of depression he had lived under for years was finally lifting. Science gave him a sense of purpose.

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Everything Else, Food, Travel

Vacation Dining – Las Vegas and OC

2 Comments

It’s been a while since my last post, been busy working and eating. It would be nice if I could say that I’ve also been working out, but mostly I’ve been eating. I had a chance to go to Las Vegas a few times and also hung around with the family close to home. In both instances, I took a chance to try a few new food items and also to remind myself why I like some items in the first place. And here are my random musings — definitely not a comprehensive list, but hey, I was on vacation !!!

Las Vegas

I definitely wanted to have a good Pastrami sandwich in Sin City (I mean, every cardinal sin is represented there, so why not gluttony?) As it turns out, I found a place that had a very nicely put-together sandwich and did not leave me feeling stuffed: Greenberg’s Deli  in the New York, New York Casino. They had matzo ball soup, which was a very nice touch to accompany my pastrami. I passed on the yummy potato salad, I was feeling somewhat full. This place was recommended by CT team members as better than the Carnegie Deli elsewhere on the strip and it delivered the taste. And better priced too….

I also took my son to the Las Vegas Grand Prix  and besides having 3 tracks of go-karts (kiddie, medium, expert) they also had a pretty good deal on cheese pizza ($5.00 for a large with 1 topping). Heck, given the price I would overlook bad taste, but it was actually pretty good !! The trick is to ask them to put extra cheese as the free topping. And the crust was nice and thin; you can’t go too wrong when you have thin NY-style crust.

I also tried another comfort food, Smash Burger Las Vegas . This is another burger joint in the In-N-Out price and quality category; more so, they are actually located about 100 yards from In-N-Out !! Now that’s confidence. As it turns out, these 2 restaurants are so good that they actually support each other by providing a destination hamburger experience. Why go to a cheap hamburger place when you can try a better burger for a little more cash? Smash Burger offers choices of toppings and flattens their patties so that they overlap the bun. Not sure if this improves flavor (I would think it would make them drier) because I prefer to order their Chicago dog. But their rosemary fries are the best I have tasted. Ever. Even better than my all-time fast-food favorites at McDonalds.

Finally, I had dinner at Prime at the Bellagio; I wanted to try their dry-aged beef. Would it compare to my experience at Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Paris last year?? Sad to say, the answer is no. The view of the famous Bellagio water fountain show is definitely better at Paris, across the street. And the beef, despite the premium price, was not a totally memorable experience. It was very tender and the taste was good, especially when coupled with the various chef’s sauces that were proferred. But the experience did now compare favorably with the Roast Duck I had at Paris. But hey, I’m comparing apples and oranges, so it’s not really fair. Still, I will be going back to Eiffel Tower Restaurant next year. The Eiffel Tower is also cheaper, although not as nicely decorated as Prime; but you never notice the decor because you are staring out the window panes: the view is what Paris is selling and it is pretty nice.

Back Home

At home, I’ve been doing the Food Truck circuit. I was able to visit 2 events where several food trucks were present but I still ended up eating at Grill Them All Burgers both times. At the Fullerton Food Truck RoundUp  it was tough to pass up all of the other trucks but I was interested in trying the H-100 tater tots at Grill Them All. Seeing someone eating a $12.00 lobster tail on a stick was a pretty tempting suggestion, but I stuck to my guns.1

At today’s Din Din Food Truck Event, I had to pass Central American tapas and Lomo Arigato food truck to complete my tour of the top 3 burgers at Grill Them All. But I’ve now had the three that I wanted: Waste ‘Em All, Molly Hatchet, The Behemoth. You can read more about them here.  You may not be a burger aficionado, but you should be able to find other delicacies at these gourmet food trucks. They also post their locations on Twitter and on their own websites, so you can find them easily.

  1. The picture shows a really long line in front of Grill Them All; they tend to be one of  the more popular truck in the circuit. [↩]
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Everything Else, Internet

Erasing Your Background

Listen up! This is required reading for all Crack Team agents. A sharp agent in the field1 has documented how to remove yourself from all background check web sites. This is your first step in erasing your background and living off the grid!

Actually, this only goes so far. An employee from one of the companies in that list offered the following informative comment:

All of this data is public data. The data itself isn’t going away, opting out just makes people who want to find it have to look a little harder. As an example, I live in Washington State. The state provides a site to search through public records. From here I can directly see my marriage license and the land I own.

What these sites do is take all of this publicly available information (address history, phone numbers, marriage records, death records, criminal history, etc…) and consolidates it. Some sites with more success then others. Often this data is quite vague, and it can be very difficult to actually tie a record back to a specific person. The amount and accuracy of data on these sites is dependent on how “active” you are to the public eye. Get married a lot, have multiple crimes, there’s a pretty good chance the data on you will be quite full. But if you have a fairly low public footprint (young and single with few addresses and no criminal record) the data my be somewhat spotty, especially if you have a fairly common name.

The common name thing is a bit of a problem for me. Looks like when it’s time to go underground to escape the bad guys, I’m changing my name to James Smith.

  1. Note this comes from someone with the handle LawyerCT. [↩]
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