From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of PoetryandtheGods@aol.com Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 4:38 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] The Zarr << Do you mean Zarr the Great Old One or Zarr that alien race mentioned somewhere in the Encyclopedia Cthulhiana? >> The alien race mentioned in the Encyclopedia Cthulhiana. Bruce _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of chris_10271 [chris_10271@msn.com] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 4:57 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications I remember at some point i ran across a program that would let you insert audio messages within a wav file. I cant remember if you had to generate a key to retrieve the messages or not. But the message was undetectable at least by listening to the soundfile, without running it back through the program.. http://www.johndeere.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Gil Trevizo To: Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 3:14 AM Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications > At 03:07 PM 8/25/2001 -0400, talaphid wrote: > >A few reasons the "mp4" would be better here, IMnO. A) when you get down to > >it, what's outlined is illegal. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of The Lizard King [lizardrex@charter.net] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 6:01 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications It occurs to me that a low-tech method of communication is lying in plan sight in every PGP-encrypted message, and it appears in plain text. ***** -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Comment: For info see http://www.huhpg.org iD8DXQE8cEB6AbwSMwnpLPgRAjvZAKCycQo8PTUgz88dpVxjWuI5RTx0HQCdHhvT X6pOAG6rPD9PIr0EH0COFiY= =q7hv -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ***** Just look at that loverly string of *random* numbers. Hehe. The medium is the message. One class of PGP'd message would be today's one-time pad tailored for each agent. Another class would have the short messages, or parts 1 thru x of longer messages. Now, make sure that the body of the message inside all that false encryption has disinfo (I recommend instructions to go to special dead drops to get the watchers to show themselves) in coded form and the watchers won't know whether to shit or wind their watches. Now, having frequent posters to newsgroups changing their PGP key on a daily basis might raise a few flags. That's one reason I recommend the porn groups where furtive behavior is the norm. It's recommended that DG also maintain disinfo communications with several "George Kaplans." This isn't so much in the hopes of getting a nibble as to create enough traffic with the same behavior to create a false status quo, a herd for the real messages to hide in. Mark McFadden _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Ethan Butterfield [primus@veris.org] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 6:05 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Compromised communications -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 So the recent threads on communications got me to thinking a bit. Let's say, for the sake of argument (and you can't be too paranoid), that MJ-12 and/or other government agencies have the ability to quickly crack any common existing cipher. Considering the current power of computers, the stuff that's been filtering out of the NSA for years, recent documented vulnerabilities in some of the most basic ciphers (thinking specifically here about the attacks against the streaming ciphers RC4 and RC5 that were found by several sets of researchers taking apart the Wired Equivalency Protocol around 802.11b traffic), it's not a very far-fetched premise. So all your wonderful GPG'd (even the current version which can use the 256-bit version of the new AES (Rijndael) cipher) e-mail might as well be all in cleartext, especially considering that since the vast majority of traffic across the wires isn't scrambled and encrypted traffic sticks out like a sore thumb. What is the enterprising DG cell to do? Well, a few things come to mind. 1) I talked about using steganography inside of images in the previous e-mail. 2) Make your own cipher. Now, that's much easier said than done. It's trivial to come up with a cipher. The trick is coming up with one that isn't insanely easy to break, or suffers from a fatal flaw. Any agent with Cryptography can have a go at it, but he/she/it/Shan should have an idea of what they're trying to accomplish before you let them at the dice. The more evil GM should consider not telling the PC whether it was a success or failure. That is a somewhat realistic bent, since generally in the crypto community you submit your findings for extensive peer review. Remember, though, that the weakest link (NO! No bloody game show references, you bastards.) in your crypto is the human at both ends. The downfall of Enigma (we're talking the three-wheel Enigma, not the four-wheel "Shark" variant used by the German Navy) in WWII was due to the Germans' tendencies to start off particular daily messages with the same greeting. Once you had two sets of crypto corresponding to the same plaintext, you can start making a crib. 3) Start being sneaky. Keep sending those encrypted e-mails, but make them bogus and/or containing the real message buried somewhere within. Trouble with the bogus method is that if you keep doing it, MJ-12 will figure out that you're on to them. The reverse of the methods used with ULTRA intel in WWII. Once the Allies had broken Enigma, they couldn't respond to every message they cracked because the Germans would realize that Enigma had been compromised. Or ditch the e-mail entirely, and start doing insanely evil things like burying the message in the headers of ICMP packets. (Folks have already done this IRL.) I would advise against utilitizing a sub-channel piggybacking on a normal transmission, as it's a safe bet that if they can intercept the normal communication, they can see the sub-channel as well. I think the goal I'd use is if the PCs come up with a particularly brilliant and *workable* idea (how about the fluctuations in intensity of a street light?), that you should let their messages be safe. For a little while at least. Well, up until the Bad Guys(tm) brainwash a friendly who happens to know when and where the next message will be relayed... - -- "And as things fell apart, nobody paid much attention." - Talking Heads, "(Nothing But) Flowers" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE7iYCWAmwSMwnpLHgRArmIAKC5vo7quzNQsvtJaYJb2TkjlPr9XACgoXJV 8mbBmDkmX/+hehqus128YxA= =ZHW1 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of David A. Farnell [1639556911@jcom.home.ne.jp] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 7:39 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications From: "Jay Dugger" > Back on the list at last! Thank you, Shane. Welcome back, Jay! (The MiB's back too, BTW.) > Reggie sent his last missive via a PGP-encrypted method. I'd assume, for > reasons below, that MJ-12 can read PGP-based cyphertext. I just finished reading Bruce Ballon's excellent scenario pack, _Unseen Masters_ (aka "The Best Adventure Supplement Chaosium Has Come Out With Since _Beyond the Mountains of Madness_), and there is a very brief mention of [ID redacted to prevent spoilage] using VGP encryption. I assume that stands for "Very Good Privacy." This is the first I've heard of it--is it real, or something Mr. Ballon came up with? Is it just PGP with very long keys, or something completely different? I figure MJ-12 would still likely be able to break it, though it might take some time, and it would set off CARNIVORE-type programs even more easily, so it might not be a good choice for DG communications. Still, it made me curious. Back to work, Dave _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Khorne [khorne@cyberlink.bc.ca] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 9:56 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] ANDREA the thoughtfrom entity > These "thought form entities" have also had the name "tulpas." I'm familiar with tulpas, and in this instance, I mean something entirely different. By a thoughtform entity, I eman something no one set out to create, and which no one certainly wants to have anything to do with once formed. The entities I'm contemplating are like toxic waste: unpleasant, possibly dangerous by products. ANDREA the thoughtform entity may never be "off the job". She's always active, always hunting, and that's part of her fear. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Matt "TrollBoy" Wiseman [trollboy@shoggoth.net] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 10:07 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications closest thing I found is http://www.parisien.org/vgp.htm I prefer the idea of illuminated messages... or the possibility of a "we don't care anymore" protocol. What I mean by that, is a encryption code used by blackops government agencies, those agencies, so secret, that they would never reveal those xfer'd messages due to the fact that their own existence would be exposed. So they simply don't actively monitor other parties using those protocols. Maybe Area 51 is listening to all of DG's operations the way you may listen to a basball game. Area 51 woul never go to the senate, as most of the senate doesn't know they exist. Its mighty optimistic to assume that DG is the only rogue faction out there... The Soviets had them galore... why can't we? Matt "TrollBoy" Wiseman Webmaster: Shoggoth.net Site Designer: phpslash.org The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. -H.P. Lovecraft --------------------------------------------------------- Please do not resell my e-mail address to anyone or send me unsolicited e-mail --------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "David A. Farnell" <1639556911@jcom.home.ne.jp> To: Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 8:38 PM Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications > From: "Jay Dugger" > > Back on the list at last! Thank you, Shane. > > Welcome back, Jay! (The MiB's back too, BTW.) > > > Reggie sent his last missive via a PGP-encrypted method. I'd assume, > for > > reasons below, that MJ-12 can read PGP-based cyphertext. > > I just finished reading Bruce Ballon's excellent scenario pack, _Unseen > Masters_ (aka "The Best Adventure Supplement Chaosium Has Come Out With > Since _Beyond the Mountains of Madness_), and there is a very brief mention > of [ID redacted to prevent spoilage] using VGP encryption. I assume that > stands for "Very Good Privacy." This is the first I've heard of it--is it > real, or something Mr. Ballon came up with? Is it just PGP with very long > keys, or something completely different? > > I figure MJ-12 would still likely be able to break it, though it might take > some time, and it would set off CARNIVORE-type programs even more easily, so > it might not be a good choice for DG communications. Still, it made me > curious. > > Back to work, > Dave > > > _______________________________________ > The Delta Green Mailing List > http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ > _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Khorne [khorne@cyberlink.bc.ca] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 10:06 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Magnetic shapes What about a creature that IS a magnetic field, just as Colors Out of Space (TM) are creaturesd which are colors? ">That's exactly right. Jokes apart. I wonder if this sort of priniple might >provide the basis for a "shoggoth" or a similar amorphous entity, if only >the fields could be internally generated and controlled with enough >accuracy." _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of dg@fomalhaut.mmcc.monash.edu.au Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 11:03 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Compromised communications On Sun, 26 Aug 2001, Ethan Butterfield wrote: > 3) Start being sneaky. Keep sending those encrypted e-mails, but make them > bogus and/or containing the real message buried somewhere within. Through out this whole discussion there seems to have been little mention of one time pads. To the best of my knowledge a decently constructed one time pad should do what's required fairly well. Sure it means meeting in person with your contacts every so often to exchange a floppy disk or something, but given Alphonse's seeming propensity for chatting to Agents in person (maybe it's just me, but it seems to happen an awful lot in the literature...) it hardly seems unreasonable for him to give an agent a CDs worth of one-time pads when they meet in a bar to discuss the results of the latest Op. (Hell, can you buy something on CD from the library of congress?) Write your message, encrypt it with the pad, and then send it as a randomly named attachment to the recipient with "Hi! How are you? I send you this file in order to have your advice See you later. Thanks" or if you want to irritate the NSA, PGP encrypt your one time pad encryption. Let them wonder whether you're encrypting garbage or whether you're using a cipher that their computers can't break... Personally I'd go with the former. In terms of DG laptops, I'm with the school of thought that if people are opening your laptop to look inside, they're either airport security and you're better off with a standard laptop that wont arouse suspicion, or they're nice men from the army or whatever wondering why you're skulking around their facility plugging a laptop into what you're not supposed to. In the former case, they're probably not interested in what's on your hard drive, they want to make sure you dont have bomb parts and drugs in there. In the latter case, I'd say the contents of your laptop are the last of your worries. Personally I'd have different coloured laptops. The black laptop is for black-ops, and should only have the software on it that you need for the mission. If you get caught, you have a laptop with hacking tools on it and nothing more... In terms of Communications, run windows 2000 with a 5 minute screensaver. It's easy enough to use. It's in built security may not be the greatest but it will stop casual snoopers. Keep your one time pads in the root directory as .chk files (~640 Meg of .chk files is a little suspicious but not altogether unheard of, had a user once with over a Gig of them...) Destroy the CD of pads as soon as possible and delete the .chk file once you've used it (duh). If you are acting under the guise of a Federal Agent you can probably stop anyone official looking at your laptop by claiming the contents are classified and that the person in question is not allowed to view them. Again, if someone unofficial has your laptop, you've probably got bigger worries. Time to get back to work... -- Tim Betz _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Ethan Butterfield [primus@veris.org] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 11:18 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Compromised communications -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Mon, Aug 27, 2001 at 02:02:52PM +1000, dg@fomalhaut.mmcc.monash.edu.au wrote: > Through out this whole discussion there seems to have been little mention > of one time pads. To the best of my knowledge a decently constructed one > time pad should do what's required fairly well. Sure it means meeting in > person with your contacts every so often to exchange a floppy disk or > something, but given Alphonse's seeming propensity for chatting to Agents > in person (maybe it's just me, but it seems to happen an awful lot in the > literature...) it hardly seems unreasonable for him to give an agent a CDs > worth of one-time pads when they meet in a bar to discuss the results of the > latest Op. Two problems with one-time pads. First is the maintenance. You have to have a good method for coming up with the pads, distributing them, handling them, etc. May not be feasible depending on how deep-cover or out-of-touch your agents are. Second is the generation process for the OTPs themselves. Unless you seed it with some sort of halfway-decent PRNG on a computer, you run the risk of the human factor removing entropy from the OTP and weakening it, possibly fatally. Done properly, though, OTPs are almost perfectly unbreakable. Brute-forcing them is obviously an exercise in futility. - -- "And as things fell apart, nobody paid much attention." - Talking Heads, "(Nothing But) Flowers" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE7icntAmwSMwnpLHgRAvb4AJ9IEGCTkhdNNJ6eKLc+iJIBe0XogACbByjd gHF5Kp9KZzYNgHyZjEx62Io= =IvEg -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Jon Capps [jon@monster-net.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 12:07 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: RE: [DG] DG Communications Jay Dugger wrote: > "...it is quite possible to place "floating servers" on international > water, keeping in touch through satellite networks. Isn't Sealand in international waters? Didn't we talk some time earlier about using Sealand as a possible DG data haven/server site. Jon Capps. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Davide Mana [doctor.dee@libero.it] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 2:20 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Ring and Max Castle Greetings. [I'm cross-posting this to DG and Kurotokage - sorry to those that will get it double] I'm about to touch briefly upon two things this list already discussed in the past, to wit a novel called "Flicker" and a horror movie called "The Ring". Most readers will hopefully be familiar with both - at least in general terms. For those not in the know, my suggestion is, of course, beg steal or borrow a copy of each and go through them with a notepad handy, as they are both excellent inspiration resources for modern CoC scenarios. Two nights back, my Japanese teacher, having decided I need a workout for my spoken Japanese, handed me a copy of "The Ring", on tape (people familiar with the story will appreciate the irony), so I finally saw it. My teacher assures me the original novel is infinitely better, much more complex and much scarier (a way to bait me into doing more r/w exercise), but for starters the movie was more than enough. Boy it's scary! What really got to me is the fact that most of the film is a pretty standard (if nicely done) thriller, with supernatural investigation and weird doings. No big deal there - competent, intriguing, but hardly something to cause night frights. Then, the last ten minutes pack enough unease and downright scary imagery to last me a few weeks (did I mention I watched it alone at night?) AND there's a curious twist. The final climatic confrontation between the investigator and the supernatural (I won't put spoilers here) is shot using some of the techniques described in Roszak's "Flicker" as part of the manipulative tricks collection developed by Max Castle for his movies - hand-cranked footage shown backwards at varying speeds, weird angles, image-within-image. The effect is absolutely scary (did I already mention that?) Let people with eyes to see beware - there's _a lot_ of Flicker in the Ring, and no mistaking. Could this be a conspiracy? Back to the tepe recorder, where a copy of the sequel awaits.... Davide Mana Not used at being scared by movies anymore Torino, Italy _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Nick Brownlow [stabernide@netscape.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 4:38 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: RE: [DG] Ring and Max Castle <> You're lucky - someone rang me up at the precise moment I turned it off... <> I'd put money on it. <> Not quite in the same class as the original, but it's here I think, where the DG/Kurotokage-applicable scenario lies just waiting to be ripped off... cheers, Nick _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Jim Clunie [jim_clunie@hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 9:55 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Other Systems, was Greetings and Questions >From: "David A. Farnell" > >Hans' suggestion to use another system is a good choice, too. Personally, I >got comfortable with 3 or 4 rule systems years ago and just use those for >all my games--I don't have much time to learn any big new rule sets these >days. If you've got one that you prefer, CoC is generally quite easy to >convert. The magic rules are simple, and after all, "unstoppable cosmic >horror" doesn't really NEED stats. > I'll take the opportunity to mention my own small effort. I have some notes on converting CoC scenarios to WotC's Alternity on my site. Not happy with the complexity of the Sanity conversion, but I think the basic physical stat conversion works surprisingly well, for a range of character-mashing awfulness that Alternity was never contemplated to handle. (Shan conversion by request.) http://www.rpghost.com/bughunt/darkmatter/AltCthulhu.doc Jim C _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Andy Robertson [andywrobertson@clara.co.uk] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 3:08 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Magnetic shapes ----- Original Message ----- From: "Khorne" > > ">That's exactly right. Jokes apart. I wonder if this sort of priniple > might > >provide the basis for a "shoggoth" or a similar amorphous entity, if only > >the fields could be internally generated and controlled with enough > >accuracy." > What about a creature that IS a magnetic field, just as Colors Out of Space > (TM) are creaturesd which are colors? > The short answer to that is that magnetic fields by themselves are not stable. They will not persist unless thay have some sort of matter to interact with - like the tubes of plasma in the upper atmosphere, or indeed like a metal magnet. So a purely magnetic entity is not possible. But an entity that depends on the structured interaction of magnetism and matter may be possible. You don't have to worry about the science unless you want to! But I find incorporating and allowing for RW limits is often the stimulus for interesting speculations. The Glove Cleaner _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of The Nuge [jessthecatasc@oceanfree.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 6:51 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com; david wienecke Subject: Re: [Re: [DG] buying Kevlar (Warning: crossbow fondling)] >>But it doesn't matter a pinch of piss in the wind to a shoggoth. > >ooooh! Shoggoth Munchies, crunchy style. I thought we had accepted the best weapon against a Shoggoth (or the specificality Challenged) was Coca Cola in a supersoaker - assuming the coke doesnt eat through it? Visit http://www.oceanfree.net to get your free e-mail account and use our unique Irish Internet directory _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of The Nuge [jessthecatasc@oceanfree.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 6:59 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com; Jussi Marttila Subject: Re: [DG] The fnords are back in town Had a work piss-up on friday night: lots of Miller, definitely some Aftershock, some coffee later and a spot of kleptomania for good measure. Well, just off the bus, theres a 10 minute walk to my home. On the way, encounter some local teenagers (eg: tracksuit wearing 15 year olds who think drinking cider in a field is good. Bech!). For some unknown reason, I hopped up onto a nearby wall (2 foot) and proclaimed I was the King in Yellow. What do they do? beat the shit out of me and steal my Discman? Nope. They become my cult. One I dub Ytill, another the Queen in Red (i know, not really, but I was off my face), another the Mighty Messenger, and proclaim the place (the local primary school) as Carcossa. This went on for an hour, with lots of people dancing about in pure insanity, with me at the hub. Then I hopped over another wall and pulled a very immediate swifty. Ergo: If I can cause an Imprompu rendition of the KIY, we're really doomed. The Nuge PS: sorry to say (And I hear applause coming...) I wont make Gencon. Mounting costs, cant prebook. Cest la vie Visit http://www.oceanfree.net to get your free e-mail account and use our unique Irish Internet directory _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of The Nuge [jessthecatasc@oceanfree.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 7:05 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com; talaphid Subject: Re: [DG] Even more ANDREA thoughts DELTA GREEN SPOILERS (LIKE WE HAVENT ALL READ IT...) > >This scenario I like the most. If there's an actual agent Andrea -in >addition- (their role being potentially completely independent of this) all >the more gravy. Wasnt there one theory that NANCY was ANDREA? Visit http://www.oceanfree.net to get your free e-mail account and use our unique Irish Internet directory _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of The Nuge [jessthecatasc@oceanfree.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 7:17 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com; PoetryandtheGods@aol.com Subject: Re: [DG] The Zarr >I've just signed on to the list within the last 24 hours, and I was wondering >if anyone out there had any information at the Zarr? Bog standard Aliens: Blue, tall, skinny. Looks too like the Grey for convenience. Have transtemporal and intergalactic travel. Utilise Nuclear and Weather weapons. Whooped our asses before, supposidely will do it again. Led by a GOO (Zathog, I think), who is out to liberate all the sleeping GOO. Thats whats in the Encyclopedia. bit too Independence Day to fit DG, in my opinion. The Nuge Visit http://www.oceanfree.net to get your free e-mail account and use our unique Irish Internet directory _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Stango [jstanley@echoman.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 7:51 AM To: 'deltagreen@revolutionsf.com'; PoetryandtheGods@aol.com Subject: RE: [DG] The Zarr >if anyone out there had any information at the Zarr? TV jingle "...Zarr is good for more than just wood....Zarr.." Stango "Going insane ? Need directions ?" _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Nick Brownlow [stabernide@netscape.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 10:03 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: RE: [DG] The Zarr Someone's suggested here in the past (I can't remember who) that the Zarr might be based on (or would make good mythos stand ins for in an 1890's campaign) the Martians from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Ironically, the Creature Comapnion has stats for Martians, but not the Zarr - so perhaps the Martians would instead make good stand ins for the Zarr. I'm sure Rik Kershaw Moore had some stuff about the Zarr on his Shadowlands site a while ago, but I just had a quick look and he appears to have taken that whole section down. __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Rayburn, Russell E. [RERayburn@cmhmetro.net] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 10:17 AM To: Dgrpg (E-mail) Subject: [DG] leftovers from Green boxes? (minor gunfondling) Over the weekend I purchased a new handgun (EAA Witness in .45acp, picture at http://www.impactsites2000.com/site3/eaa1.htm (but mine is blued)). I bought it used... very nice. However, I did notice something interesting... it came in a green plastic box. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Bomias1@aol.com Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 12:06 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] leftovers from Green boxes? (minor gunfondling) In a message dated 8/27/01 11:19:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time, RERayburn@cmhmetro.net writes: << Over the weekend I purchased a new handgun (EAA Witness in .45acp, picture at http://www.impactsites2000.com/site3/eaa1.htm (but mine is blued)). I bought it used... very nice. However, I did notice something interesting... it came in a green plastic box. >> I have a EAA something or other in 9MM. It too came in a green box. From a pawn shop. The Thug Whisperer "Back off man! I'm a scientist." ------ Peter Venkman _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Gatten, Marshall [marshall@fusionone.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 12:51 PM To: 'deltagreen@revolutionsf.com' Subject: RE: [DG] DG Communications Steganography has come up a bunch of times in this thread, so I figured I should dig up this article: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41861,00.html Basically, it says, today's steganographic tools don't work well. So what's an agent to do? Current top of the line cryptography like PGP and 3DES-128 are "uncrackable in our lifetime using current technology". That phrase has always cracked me up. As if current technology is all that we'll have during our lifetime. The advent of a functional, practical quantum computer will spell the end of this kind of encryption. Any document encrypted with today's technology will be crackable within a matter of seconds. And I'm quite sure that such systems, if they don't already exist, WILL exist long before anybody outside of some very secret circles ever hear about them. And if they DO exist, then MJ-12 probably has them already. This basically means that phone and email communication cannot be trusted to be 100% secure. So, any extremely sensitive information ("At 1:00pm tomorrow we will raid Outlook headquarters using six agents who are currently staying in room 214 at the Capri Hotel.") should NEVER be electronically transmitted in any way. However, transmitting the above message electronically and putting some very nasty mythos entities in that room that night isn't such a bad idea at all. Let's remember, though, that the only people so keenly interested in DG as to actually spend the oodles of money required for this kind of eavesdropping are MJ-12. And MJ-12 really couldn't care less about the mythos situations that DG focuses on. If MJ-12 finds out that a few agents wiped out a colony of cultists, bully for them. MJ-12 is focused on completely different things. They're unlikely to react to anything DG sends unless it directly affects MJ-12 or its agents. After all, by responding they are revealing their ability to read DG messages. On the other hand, if DG is about to wipe out a bunch of Greys, MJ-12 would be keenly interested. In fact, this is the reason that MJ-12 would want to be able to intercept DG communications. So any communications about that kind of op should be made in person. But that's just my take. Marshall From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of talaphid [isa@zerg.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 1:18 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications > Current top of the line cryptography like PGP and 3DES-128 are "uncrackable > in our lifetime using current technology". That phrase has always cracked me > up. As if current technology is all that we'll have during our lifetime. I was of the impression that the advent of Beowulf clusters had sort of laughed statements of this caliber away. And Beowulfs run around $120k, I thought. > So, any extremely sensitive information ("At 1:00pm tomorrow we will raid > Outlook headquarters using six agents who are currently staying in room 214 > at the Capri Hotel.") should NEVER be electronically transmitted in any way. > However, transmitting the above message electronically and putting some very > nasty mythos entities in that room that night isn't such a bad idea at all. It's all a question of time. I would wager if the Keeper isn't too concerned about details and will substitute a skill roll or something of this nature, one can assure that quietly snuck around data can remain secure for a period of 24 hours. After that, act under the assumption it was broadcast on the evening news. "The lightning strikes 123 Baker Street at 3pm." is time critical data. That MJ-12 knows about this two days from now should be relatively unimportant. My brief stint in cryptography gave me the impression that any algorhythm is either crackable or bruteforceable, it's a question of how much time and effort one, or one's computers, can put into it, and how long you need them to. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Gil Trevizo [furrylogic@mindspring.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 2:41 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: (SPOILERS) RE: [DG] DG Communications At 10:51 AM 8/27/2001 -0700, Gatten, Marshall wrote: >The advent of a functional, practical quantum computer will spell the end >of this kind of encryption. Any document encrypted with today's technology >will be crackable within a matter of seconds. Will quantum computing crack a one-use pad? I personally don't know, but I'd like to. >Let's remember, though, that the only people so keenly interested in DG as >to actually spend the oodles of money required for this kind of >eavesdropping are MJ-12. And MJ-12 really couldn't care less about the >mythos situations that DG focuses on. >On the other hand, if DG is about to wipe out a bunch of Greys, MJ-12 >would be keenly interested. This brings up an interesting point.... SPOILERS for THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT!!! S P O I L E R S P A C E ... we know from RoE that there is no kind of armistice deal between ALPHONSE and Adolph Lepus. ADOLPH: "You don't hit us, and we don't crush you. You can take out all the street dealers and muggers of the Mythos, but stay away from the white-collar crime." ALPHONSE: "Okay." A key element of this deal may be that DG communications *must* remain at the level PGP and RDI phone cards. ADOLPH: "No obscure book ciphers, no one-use pads, and stay the hell away from steganography, at least until we get the bugs worked out of the new quantum supercomputers. I want to know what you are doing, so you don't go do what you are not supposed to do." ALPHONSE: "What happens if someone *else* in MJ-12 breaks our security?" ADOLPH: "I'll know that before it happens. Maybe I'll intercede and throw them off your scent. Maybe I won't. That's the deal. You don't like it, that's fine. You want to make this a streetfight again, we can play Cowboys vs Bronsons. That worked so well for Reggie, didn't it?" So then, it's true that DG communication security is very flawed. It has to be, for DG to exist at all. Just another of the rules of engagement. Gil _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Jay Dugger [dugger@vss.fsi.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 2:55 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Ring and Max Castle Monday, 27 August 2001 [snip] > Two nights back, my Japanese teacher, having decided I need a workout for > my spoken Japanese, handed me a copy of "The Ring", on tape (people > familiar with the story will appreciate the irony), so I finally saw it. > My teacher assures me the original novel is infinitely better, much more > complex and much scarier (a way to bait me into doing more r/w exercise), > but for starters the movie was more than enough. By coincidence, I just bought a copy of Ring on DVD during this otherwise atrocious business trip in England. (Yes, I worked through GenCon UK.) I too watched it, alone, late at night. > > Boy it's scary! Not my impression of it, not hardly. > What really got to me is the fact that most of the film is a pretty > standard (if nicely done) thriller, with supernatural investigation and > weird doings. > No big deal there - competent, intriguing, but hardly something to cause > night frights. > Then, the last ten minutes pack enough unease and downright scary imagery > to last me a few weeks (did I mention I watched it alone at night?) > Well, this stretch saved the movie, IMO. It honestly made my hair stand on end, but I think that comes from having an intense reaction to Cronenberg's Videodrome. I wouldn't go near a television set for weeks and still don't own one after seeing that movie. > AND there's a curious twist. > The final climatic confrontation between the investigator and the > supernatural (I won't put spoilers here) is shot using some of the > techniques described in Roszak's "Flicker" as part of the manipulative > tricks collection developed by Max Castle for his movies - hand-cranked > footage shown backwards at varying speeds, weird angles, image-within-image. > The effect is absolutely scary (did I already mention that?) > > Let people with eyes to see beware - there's _a lot_ of Flicker in the > Ring, and no mistaking. > Could this be a conspiracy? > Hmmm...I'll watch it again. Do you have any particular times to examine? Of course, most of the techniques of Flicker would vanish under the compression techniques used for DVD. Perhaps seeing it videotape would scare me more. Slightly OT, does anyone else have trouble watching DVDs? The video always looks crappy to me for the first few minutes, lots of jerkiness and color distortions and so on. Then my eyes and brain seem to adjust. Perhaps the conspiracy lies inside MPEG, and not the movie itself. (I watch video with a critical eye for a living these days, so maybe this is a side effect of work.) > Back to the tepe recorder, where a copy of the sequel awaits.... > Let me know what you think of it; perhaps I'll get that one too. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Jay Dugger [dugger@vss.fsi.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 11:59 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Ring and Max Castle ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph Camp" To: "dgrpg" Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 11:59 PM Subject: Re: [DG] Ring and Max Castle [snippage re:RING sequel taxonomy] > I found and purchased two of the three novels--RING and LOOP (I think that's > what the cover said)--as well as a book containing the screenplay to RING 2. > Of course, I can't read a word of Japanese. > Davide? Dave? Care to adopt a translation project? Or, someone with decent bandwidth, care to search for a translation to English or some other western tongue? ObDG, OT: what effect would a Mythos-influenced text have on translation software such as Babelfish? Feed a copy of KiY to it, and what would happen? A spectacular crash like the stock-market collapse in _Pi_? A slow, metamorphasis of cyberspace into a Carcosan realm? Strange emails from unknown, and initially untraceable source, gradually introducing the reader into a mailing list devoted to the occult, the conspiratorial, and the self-referential? > > I ordered the English-subtitled DVD from Amazon.co.uk. > > (The DVD is Region 0, BTW, so it's fine for anywhere in the world.) > YMMV. My DVD is region 3, but I bought it retail in England. > Not quite, as the UK DVD (Tartan Video) is in PAL format and won't work in > U.S. players. RING 2 comes out from Tartan shortly, if not already. It's out. It sat on the same shelf in the same store (HMV) where I bought _Ring_. > > In other Japanese horror movie news, I recommend UZUMAKI ("Vortex"). > Sufficiently cosmic-horrorish to screen at this year's NecronomiCon > convention, though it is not a Cthulhu Mythos film. Out on DVD/tape? Spoilers? Will it play at the HPL film festival in Portland? (Not that I'll probably go, no longer living there.) > > > Now I > > realize that I need to read _Flicker_ for that research paper, too. > > Yes, you really should. It's a terrific novel. Yes, you really should. It's a terrific novel. Then go see a movie in a theatre. You'll find yourself tracing the outlines of shadows; looking for stray or subtly wrong reflections; and, if strongly affected, contemplating exactly what lenses and prisms might reveal within the most banal films. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Andy Robertson [andywrobertson@clara.co.uk] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 11:35 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ethan Butterfield" > Someone on the list have a Ph.D. in Quantum Physics? ;-) (ahem) Failed Owing To Brain Giving Way, actually, but enough of that. ----****---- There are two subjects here: one is the possibility of quantum effects being used in communication and crptography, the other is *practical* secure DG communication. On the first point: quantum communication can be used to provide absolutely untappable communication. If you tap into it, you "observe" it and therefore alter it, and that can be detected. However, this requires some method of extending a coherent quantum state across long distances. This has been done using photons in optical fibres, but the fibres have to be pretty damn special IIRC. Conclusion: it's not likely to become widespread soon. Second, quantum computing can in theory be used to break the trapdoor functions that underlie most used modern encoding techniques. I bet the Mi-Go routinely do it. Conclusion: modern encoding techniques are not secure. To turn to the practical side, I suspect the best thing, as has been suggested, is to use code phrases with no obvious meaning, or learn Sanskrit. ---- **** ---- I wouldn't trust human cryptography. Our understanding of these things is advancing fast, and **therefore** we can assume that, so far, we essentially understand nothing, and that our enemies can break anything we use (unless it is some natural law) with casual ease. It's only in the fields where we have been utterly stumped for any advance in knowledge for centuries that we may dare to suspect we are approaching the limits of what we or our enemies can know. The Glove Cleaner _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of talaphid [isa@zerg.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 4:07 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications > To turn to the practical side, I suspect the best thing, as has been > suggested, is to use code phrases with no obvious meaning, or learn > Sanskrit. Navajo. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Gil Trevizo [furrylogic@mindspring.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 4:32 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Quantum Computing & Crypto (was Re: [DG] DG Communications) At 05:34 PM 8/28/2001 +0100, Andy Robertson wrote: >However, this requires some method of extending a coherent quantum state >across long distances. This has been done using photons in optical >fibres, but the fibres have to be pretty damn special IIRC. Conclusion: >it's not likely to become widespread >soon. This is right now the major issue I have with the quantum cryptography schemes. From the online research I'm still doing, quantum crypto has been accomplished over 10km with fiber-optic cable. There may also have been tests using lasers. If you have access to orbiting satellites and the equipment to power a laser transmission, a network using quantum crypto may be possible. Los Alamos may be able to do this already, but this is far beyond the means of Delta Green from what I can tell. At least as an agent-wide network - I cling to the possibility that there may a secret network within Delta Green, perhaps just A-Cell itself, for communicating with certain elements in case security is compromised and the end has come. I'm still trying to process all the crypto stuff being thrown about, but, like Khorne, I'm still confused on why a one-time pad would not be the best way to go. I understand that the one-time pad must be absolutely random, but I'm sure Delta Green would have access to the equipment necessary to accomplish that. I've seen websites that describe using a smoke detector to create random numbers for one-time pads, though DG probably has much better than that. They might very well have someone in the NSA stealing their numbers, Another idea that is purely fictional might be to play with the Voynich Manuscript. In CoC, there is some issue that the Voynich Manuscript is a Mythos tome, maybe even a copy of the Necronomicon itself. US military and naval cryptographers took a crack at the Voynich Manuscript when it first came out. What if one of those cryptographers was Daniel Freis, who succeeded in breaking the Voynich cipher, recognized it for what it was, and hid away his findings to keep the manuscript undeciphered and the taint of the Necronomonicon from spreading. Freis goes nuts, dies, and among his personal effects are found his deciphering of the Voynich cipher. Now that cipher is the basis for that used by Delta Green, which remains unbroken (maybe) to this day. >Second, quantum computing can in theory be used to break the trapdoor >functions that underlie most used modern encoding techniques. I pulled this off the crypto newsgroup: "Abdalla's law (he spoke about quantum computers at the ECC'99 conference) is that we'll see 1 qubit/year for the next 50 years. Let's suppose he's wrong and things double every 10 years. We're at 2 qubits today, in 2010 we'll have 4 and by 2050 we'll have 32. Not near enough to threaten any crypto system. But by 2100 we'll have 1000 and that will be more than enough to crack any "classical" PK system. There is a lot I could do with a quantum computer. I would love to have it right now. Chances are good my kids might be able to play with one, but I won't. For now, it's just really cool to think about." From what I can see here, quantum computing will eventually make other kinds of crypto obsolete, but it hasn't happened yet and it won't happen for quite a while. There are also those who believe that quantum computing itself might not be able to executed at the practical level: "Some physicists are pessimistic about the prospects of substantial experimental advances in the field. They believe that decoherence will in practice never be reduced to the point where more than a few consecutive quantum computational steps can be performed." Now, while I might be confident that quantum computing will be developed at a practical level, I think we're ignoring some of the Mythos elements of quantum computing itself. I have heard or read that in each atomic blast, a small piece of Azathoth has been released in this world. A long time back, Dave K posted a history of conspiracy that has descended from the influential act of the first atomic weapon being exploded at Los Alamos. Now there are bits of Azathoth entering our world through each nuclear reactor, subtly warping our society and culture. Some academics call this millennial madness, but we would know this as the Mythos, and just another part of the stars becoming right. Quantum computing could be the vessel through which another force comes into our world in a strong way, furthering our slide into the End Times. This stuff is dealing with the very fabric of reality at a hands-on level. Daoloth, Hastur, and perhaps more than all, Yog-Sothoth may be what awaits us once quantum computing is available in every home. Maybe MJ-12 hasn't been able to develop those quantum supercomputers because their test facilities keep disappearing. >I bet the Mi-Go routinely do it. One thing I'm concerned about for my own reasons is: if the Mi-Go have developed quantum computing at a practical level, why do they need us? From the thread we had over the mathematics of all this, the basis of quantum computing is that it can make the leap "to make guesses that do not fit a logical extrapolation from their current theoretical models" - in other words, do that for which the Mi-Go are studying mankind. If the Mi-Go have quantum computing, why not just braintape their intelligences into it and go along their happy way with their newfound toy of intuition? What about the idea that no matter how many myths we like to spin about NSA future-tech, quantum computing at a practical level is still out of reach, for humans and Mi-Go alike. God knows though the Mi-Go are really pushing the hairless monkeys in MJ-12 to develop it as quickly as possible. They want the Intuition OS at least in beta before Big C wakes from his slumber. FWIW I've rewritten (deleted a bunch of stuff more like it) from the DG communications article on my website. No web comm or DG-enabled laptops, just phone and email as described from the DG books, and some very basic schemes for snailmail comm using Green Boxes as dead drops. The systems are not as secure as they could be, but I'm going with the following: a) A-Cell won't make it more secure because of the Rules of Engagement. b) A-Cell won't make it more secure because it's secure enough against most general threats, and to change the system would require a major project that A-Cell is too busy to deal with at the moment. I favor a) but figure they BS the agents who ask with b). Gil _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Andy Robertson [andywrobertson@clara.co.uk] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 1:31 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Re: Quantum Computing & Crypto ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gil Trevizo" > Now, while I might be confident that quantum computing will be developed at > a practical level, I think we're ignoring some of the Mythos elements of > quantum computing itself. > Quantum computing could be the vessel through which another force comes > into our world in a strong way, furthering our slide into the End > Times. This stuff is dealing with the very fabric of reality at a hands-on > level. Daoloth, Hastur, and perhaps more than all, Yog-Sothoth may be what > awaits us once quantum computing is available in every home. May-be. There is the possibility that it is an impracticable technology, as you say. Or it may be a lethal technology. Or here's an idea of why the Mi-Go need us. Maybe the whole fabric of what can be known is riddled with Holes, areas where the knowledge is lethal. Directly lethal, or lethal because it lets in the Mythos. Longlasting species like the Mi-Go have evolved to be unable to enter these areas of knowledge. They simply **can't** address these areas, because their evolution forbids it. Perhaps they react to certain types of maths, certain types of music, by utter numbness, or in an extreme by losing all trace of consciousness. FX the Vibe (one such Hole) has no effect on them, they are not "aesthetically" moved by it. (how else can they be "long-lasting" except by having such a defence? ) --- *** --- But they still want to research these areas. So they build or capture or train or rear slaves or puppets, to do the work at one remove, and watch them as they get sucked in. Maybe this is what lies behind the stuff about "intuition"? QC might indeed be one such Hole, as you say. > > One thing I'm concerned about for my own reasons is: if the Mi-Go have > developed quantum computing at a practical level, why do they need > us? IMHO I don't think quantum computing and that "special" thing in humanity are related in any way. I think they are completely different. Mmmmm. If I was really pressed, I'd say that here you are falling into the error of conflating two unknowns and making one stand as an explanation for the other. But I agree we don't know. The Glove Cleaner _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Joseph Camp [alphonse@delta-green.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 5:51 PM To: dgrpg Subject: Re: [DG] Ring and Max Castle >> In other Japanese horror movie news, I recommend UZUMAKI ("Vortex"). >> Sufficiently cosmic-horrorish to screen at this year's NecronomiCon >> convention, though it is not a Cthulhu Mythos film. > > Out on DVD/tape? Spoilers? Will it play at the HPL film festival in > Portland? (Not that I'll probably go, no longer living there.) Available on DVD in Japan, unplayable on normal U.S. players. Bootleg VHS copies are available from online anime stores, I gather, but I don't know the addresses. For that matter, another excellent Japanese horror film is CURE. Very creepy story about hypnosis, masterfully made. I believe it's been touring film festivals and small theaters of late, so keep your eyes open. be seeing you, Alphonse _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of David A. Farnell [1639556911@jcom.home.ne.jp] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 6:16 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Ring and Max Castle From: "Jay Dugger" > From: "Joseph Camp" > > Of course, I can't read a word of Japanese. > > > Davide? Dave? Care to adopt a translation project? OK, I'll quit my part-time jobs and devote myself to studying Japanese for 4 hours a day, and I'll be ready to start translating major works in, oh, I'd guess 6 or 7 years. :-) Actually, I have daydreamed of doing just that--it would be nice to be able to read a newspaper here. As somebody who's already polylingual, I'm sure Davide would learn faster and be ready earlier. But the Agent for the job is Ed Lipsett--he's a professional translator and has his own company. ObDG: The difficulty of learning to read and write Japanese touches on the Communications thread. Someone mentioned earlier using another language, one with more letters, to make an encryption harder to break. Well, Japanese uses the English alphabet, plus two syllabaries of 46 characters each (more, depending on how you count them), plus 2000 (!) basic kanji, plus a whole lot more kanji that don't see everyday use. (All these are mixed together in the typical newspaper article--see why I'm illiterate?) Also, on a computer screen, Japanese characters are 2-bit, as opposed to the standard 1-bit of Western characters. I don't know if that could be useful, but there it is. OTOH, we were routinely breaking Japanese communications 60 years ago. Hmm. > YMMV. My DVD is region 3, but I bought it retail in England. Are you sure? Region 3 is Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. The UK (and Japan, luckily) is Region 2. As for PAL format, I dunno--mine played just fine on a friend's American Region 1 DVD-ROM. Dave _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/