The Twilight Years of Cap'n Crunch

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Tech pioneer John Draper, a legendary, eccentric figure in Silicon Valley better known as Cap'n Crunch, has slipped to the margins while his peers became rich, the Wall Street Journal writes in a profile. Draper was a 'phone phreak' and helped develop the technology for word processing and voice-activated telephone menus; meanwhile, he eluded the mainstream by tampering with the phone system, frequenting the rave scene and shouting at anyone smoking anywhere near him. 'Once tolerated, even embraced, for his eccentricities, Mr. Draper now lives on the margins of this affluent world, still striving to carve out a role in the business mainstream,' says the WSJ. More from the article: 'Contemporaries who've gone on to riches and fame say they've tried to help Mr. Draper over the years. Mr. Wozniak says Mr. Draper's problem is that his skills lie in technology rather in making business deals or starting a company. "He didn't come from a business orientation," says Mr. Wozniak.'"

Comments

Re:Much more in Secret History of Hacking document

[jcr]

Why are you working so hard at giving ACs a bad name?

Grow up, kid.

-jcr

Re:Wow

[Nutria]

What's wrong with going to raves when you're 50?

Raves are where 16yo girls go to pop E and lose their inhibitions.

I know plenty of people older than that who go.

Perverts.

It's good exercise, keeps you young.

Lots of things are good exercise and keep you young, but don't involve Ecstasy-popping teenage girls. Ronald Reagan chopped wood and rode horses well into his 70s.

Or are "old people" (50 is not very old) just supposed to lead quiet boring lives?

That's an invalid leap of logic from my assertion.