By Stanley P. Gershbein
The word “hacker” is a funny word. On the one hand, it is defined as “a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity (such as a tennis hacker). Yet, when it comes to computers, it is defined as an “expert at programming and solving problems with a computer.” Some of these ‘experts’ illegally gain access to and sometimes tamper with information in the system. Five minutes after there were computers there were hackers. Many of us first learned about hackers in the Hollywood hit “War Games.” Early in the flick a young computer whiz kid, played by Matthew Broderick, gains access to his high school CPU to change grades. Although the movie was a work of fiction, this business of changing grades has been going on all over America. From youngsters in high schools all the way up through college and grad schools hackers have been caught elevating D’s to C’s and C’s to B’s. Most recently, 18-year-old Ryan Shrouder, President of the senior class at Cooper City High School in Florida, traded in his yearbook photo for a mug shot. He was arrested on charges of breaking into the school district’s computer system to change grades. According to the arrest affidavit, he gave himself and 19 classmates better grades. Better grades equal a better GPA and an unfair advantage of acceptance into choice colleges. Ryan is one of those superior students who was already accepted to attend his choice of several universities. This youngster was just trying to help others. I’m certain that this will be part of his defense when he goes to trial. “This is a good kid with a real future. I’m not excusing changing grades,” his attorney Jim Lewis said. “It ain’t a good thing but it ain’t something where I think a kid should lose his whole future.” I have two questions. First, for every hacker that is caught, how many do you think are not caught and get away with it? And second – Which major company or companies in the United States will be hiring Ryan at major bucks to check on and break into their own security systems? By the way, the movie “War Games” was released in 1983, long before most of us entered the computer era. Matthew Broderick recently appeared in “The Producers” and looks as young now as he did way back then. What’s he drinking? I want some. ******** Fifty dog sled teams from 80 different countries signed up to enter the 15-day race in the Pyrenees Mountains. The competition was supposed to cross almost 200 miles of mountain trails through Spain, France and Andorra. With major regrets, for the first time in the 17 years of existence, this winter race had to be cancelled. Why? NO SNOW. It has been much too warm for snow to accumulate on Pyrenean mountain trails. Hey – Maybe there is something to this global warming after all. On the other hand, Anchorage, Alaska has been hit with a record 75 inches of snow so far this season with more to come. Metropolitan officials say that with this added to the already record low temperatures, the city is reaching crisis level. Phoenix, Arizona just had its coldest January in 28 years and the headline on the front page of the Salt Lake Tribune was “BITING COLD SETS 26 STATE RECORDS.” The smaller headline read, “A Man Dies, Shelters Overflow, and Even Skiers Stay Home” Newscasters all over Utah and Arizona are finishing their broadcasts with the same question– “Can you please tell me again about this thing called global warming?” Many of us around here asked the same question a couple of weeks ago when, on January 26, the National Weather Service announced that a record low temperature of 9 degrees was set at JFK. Over in Boston it dropped to 3 degrees with the wind chill factors making it feel like minus 18. Brrr. That made it the second coldest day in Beantown so far this century. The coldest day was on January 15, 2004, the same day that Al Gore delivered a speech in New York on…. you guessed it … global warming. This frequently observed correlation is known as the Gore Effect. I know you never heard of the Gore Effect so here, right from the Urban Dictionary, is the definition for you to stimulate discussion when conversation drops to a lull at your next cocktail party. The well documented phenomenon that leads to a very low, unseasonal temperature, driving rain, hail, snow or all of the above whenever Al Gore visits an area to discuss global warming is called the Gore Effect.” ******** Hey. Take a look at the calendar. This Monday is Presidents’ Day. Make a note of it. Write it down. Did you spell it right? It is not President’s Day. It doesn’t belong to one president. It belongs to all of them. Therefore it is Presidents’ Day. Now, tell the truth. How many of you put the apostrophe in the wrong place? This Monday, February 19, 2007, we honor not only George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as we formerly did every February. We salute Millard Fillmore, James Polk and Rutherford Hayes. RUTHERFORD? Do you know how much you have to hate a kid to name him Rutherford? We also must pay tribute to William Harrison, Franklyn Pierce and Andrew Johnson. You didn’t even know that they were presidents, did you? And how do we observe this super-sensational holiday? No. Not with back yard barbecues. Nor with ball games or visits to cemeteries. We celebrate this wonderful occasion by buying furniture. No. I’m not kidding. Look at the newspapers. Did you ever see so many ads for bedroom sets as there are now? I am STANGERSHBEIN@BELLSOUTH.NET wishing you all a very Happy Presidents’ Day. ******** Your letters and Emails are the property of this newspaper and may be published. 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