Zines/b4b0/selling.out

How to Sell Out With Style*
*and still remain ueberelite with the underground scene

by HomeySan

You're in your 20's now. You've dropped out (or finished) college. You've
worked a few jobs in the industry. Maybe doing Unix admin, maybe NT admin,
maybe even some security stuff. You've moved up a tax bracket or two. The
scene just isn't doing it for you anymore. You have quite a few friends
there, but it just isn't the focal point of your life anymore. You don't
sit on IRC full-time waiting for your classes to start. The thought of
late night sessions in front of /dev/console gets you worried about being
too groggy for work the next day. You start reading real books and magazines,
not Wired or 2600 or "Takedown", but things by Clancy, Neitzche, and Koontz.

Scene

There are a lot of ways to leave the scene. Now that you are over 18, getting
busted means a lot more. Therefore, never showing up on IRC, ditching your
old e-mail accounts, and having a friend start saying things "I haven't
heard from $dude in a while... I heard he may have been busted!" is a
starting place. I'm not the compulsive liar. I just admit I sold out, but
I still have my sk1llz and my gr00ve.

"The Scene" isn't like Cosa Nostra, either-- there is no rule that says
"once you're out, they try and get you back in." Most people in the scene
don't give a rats ass about you, even if you've slept with them. If they
don't give a shit about you, why should you care about them? Just start
IRC'in less and less and less. Since you are around less and less, and
only a select few actually recognize your nick, you are that much more
ph3ared and rev3ared.

"The Scene" grows up though. Instead of kiddies talking on IRC or alt.2600
they talk on comp.security.unix and bugtraq@netspace.org. Plus, you can
put BUGTRAQ in digest mode, and pick and choose which news articles you
want to read. This saves you time. You can weed out all the OS holy war
bullshit, keep up with the 0-day, and keep the low profile you've always
wanted.

Job

I'd have no problem working for the Feds if they actually paid. I just get
a hard on thinking about the irony. I was actually offered a contract position
at netcom doing security for them. That had bad karma (or mitnicka) written
all over it. Work hard to make sure you wind up doing the least amount of
work for the most money. My last job in San Jose was working with a group
of 10 sysadmins. I was able to pawn off a lotta work on my co-workers, yet
still take credit for a good portion of it. Meanwhile, I got to watch
kids on IRC and research a lotta other stuff to work on the business I
was trying to start. In the year and half I was in Silicon Valley I was
able to make my pay-rate go from $49/hr to $62/hr. I even had a job which
was $100/hr 1099 for a few weeks setting up a NetApp and some Ultra 60's.
Don't run into the industry saying you want security work. That makes you
look like a poser. Instead, gradually work towards that. "I'm a sysadmin
who knows security." Be a damned good sysadmin, and then people will outright
trust you with their firewalls and stuff. Also, as tempting as it may be,
don't leak elite corporate info. Keep it for yourself, and share with some
friends at most.

Car

Do the dance with a devil. Get something k-rad and take out a fucking loan
for it. Who cares if it cost more than a year at Harvard. I have my two
Corvettes. I have chicks checking me out. I also do my own work on them--
everything from oil changes on up to modifying the electrical and fuel
systems. It also provides for hours of entertainment when people in Civic
Del Sols try and race you from a stoplight. You'd think it gets old, but it
doesn't. Get something Fun, Fast, and Impractical. Remember, FFI. Cars on
this list include:
Corvette, Viper, Monster Miata, Mustang Cobra, Lotus *, Karmann Ghia,
Porche 911/carrera (no boxter), BMW M, Ferrari 250GT California (reproductions
count), Shelby Cobra. Japanese cars don't count, not even the NSX. And no,
Nissan Skyline GTRs are NOT legal in the US. Don't even think about it :)

Bitches

Pimpz up hoes down, yo! Don't tie your self down. Date a few different
good looking women every so often. No IRC girlies. Make sure they aren't
technical. That way, when you run out of conversation fodder, you can make
up technical stuff and they'll think you're da shit. Don't date lame chicks
who will come over and do nasty things to you with the snap of a finger.
That gets old too quick. Make sure you gotta go out on dates from time
to time to get some-- that way you don't become an IRC/homebody junkie.
Remember, you're trying to kick that habit. Dates that take effort to
screw are usually worth the effort. Even if you don't have that great a
time, you'll still get laid (or get some) and they'll get off, too.

Family


As dysfunctional as it is, keep in touch with your siblings and folks. They
will be proud of you for having a life-- even jealous since yours will kick
so much more ass than their shitty lives. My sister is mad jealous of me,
since I got the cars and the phat cash job. She's just a school teacher,
but she's still pretty cool. But it is even cooler having your older sister
look up to you. Plus, if nasty shit goes down, it's always cool to have
your family be your friends and be on your side. So, do something nice for
them-- even as lame as remembering your sister's birthday.

Peace Kids. Hopefully these tricks will help you out.

-HomeySan