The 212-796-0735 Craigslist Mystery

Back in the days of the Cold War, spies found ingenious and unusual ways to communicate with each other, hiding their communications in plain sight, whether encrypted or not. For instance, an intelligence agent/spy might contact his case officer/handler by placing an ad in the personals section of the local newspaper. This practice was glamorized on the Hollywood big screen in the movie "Red Dragon". From his maximum security prison cell, Hannibal Lector used the method of placing ads in a tabloid newspaper in order to send tips to a fellow serial killer on the loose. This practice seems to continue today, but in a more modern and very real way...via Craigslist.org

On May 8, the following personal ad appeared on the Internet classified ad site Craigslist. (It has since been removed.)

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new york craigslist > manhattan > missed connections >
For mein fraulein
Mein Fraulein, I haven’t heard from you in a while. Won’t you call me?
212 //// 796 //// 0735
--------------------------------------------------

If you actually called the number, you would have heard this prerecorded message (MP3). It's a head scratcher that's keeping National Security Agency analysts occupied. Each block of numbers is repeated twice. Below I have transcribed them only once for clarity. You will notice it contains an unusually high number of zeros. This is sure to test the decryption skills of even the best of us.

Group 415
01305 60510 12079 04606 50100
93000 08203 90130 94069 01207
81080 17028 01706 90220 73038
01401 70150 15073 00402 00680
12013 12510 00540 04091 01401
30150 86022 09608 10660 02082
05507 00020 00000 02208 30290
08022 01200 40710 13065 02709
40190 29014 02200 80020 11083
07300 30260 19000 00700 00000
86

Several days later around May 12, Craigslist pulled the ad, but the number remained up and running. Hackers, phone phreaks and other curiosity seekers flooded the number with calls. That's when some more of the details behind the number began coming out and it caught the attention of US Government, in particular Homeland Security. The number is a VoIP setup from a small provider yet to be identified, but the wholesaler is a company called RNK Telecom. The account was prepaid and the flood of calls it received quickly depleted the account balance. Now the number gives nothing but a busy signal. Many questions remain, even though that the number seems to be no longer functioning. Who put the ad on Craigslist? What is the encrypted message and what does it mean? Is this all some sort of elaborate prank? Or could it be a viral marketing scheme of some type? Or the most frightening issue, could this be a form of communication terrorists are using to plot another US attack?

The Craigslist posting is typical of how intelligence agents might communicate in hostile countries where they are actively trying to evade the country’s intelligence services. What makes this situation even more bizarre is that since May, there have been 2 other follow-up posts! This one came on May 29...

The telephone number 415-704-0402 is registered to Pac-West Telecomm, another VoIP wholesaler. Although this doesn't tell who retailed the number, or to whom. The recording is much like the first number. It starts with some music, reads groups of numbers, each group read twice, ends with more music. The same pattern again.

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s.f. bayarea craigslist > san francisco > missed connections >
For Mein Fraulein
Mein Fraulein,
You must call me again soon.
///415///704///0402///
--------------------------------------------------

Group 617
06107 80020 21085 00601 30690
06079 01201 50240 07006 01601
70690 95000 01702 40050 14024
00908 70220 67089 07401 00820
10086 07801 30240 04016 02707
30130 15006 09306 91120 20084
00000 00210 03070 03107 60490
65023 02706 70000 07016 01201
7

The latest, a 3rd number was posted on June 10. It's a shorter message than the previous 2, but still follows the same basic pattern. This telephone number is owned by Global Crossing, a wholesaler of VoIP and other telecommunications services. The VoIP retailer is still unknown.

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atlanta craigslist > missed connections >
For Mein Fraulein
Mein Fraulein,
I hear the weather in the South is good this time of year. Won’t you call me?
///678///248///2352///
--------------------------------------------------

Group 134
00300 30020 79087 02202 50150
75031 06501 00110 67027 06607
90640 21079 02107 90000 72018
06501 60000 12008 06801 90180
15088 03108 40730 29024 02500
60760 79013 01107 70950 07071
01806 9070

Craigslist was founded in the mid-90s in San Francisco, CA. Now can you guess what I'm doing in SF this week? A copy of these messages has been sent up the chain of command in the US Military and at this time is labeled as "classified". No further information will be released, but you are free to take a crack at decrypting the mystery messages yourself. And if you find anything, please let me know because this isn't easy!

Blogging From The City By The Bay

I've visited California many times, however this is my first trip to San Francisco and already I can say 2 things...

The Golden Gate bridge is neither golden, nor gated. The only part of the name they have right is that it is in fact a bridge. Otherwise, what were they thinking?

And can you keep a secret? My sister doesn't know it yet, but I'm stopping down in Southern Cali to take her out for a surprise birthday celebration - shh. Yes, I'm a swell little brother.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go hitch a ride on the Rice-A-Roni trolley.

Stifled Creativity

Mrs. Yoast, that was her name. The Jr High School art teacher I remember, unfondly. In a venue where freedom of expression should be embraced, she placed restrictions on a student's work. To young aspiring artistes, she was Hitler in a pleated skirt. She dictated what could be shared and what should be hidden from eyes. She rejected all of my project ideas. She told me flat out "this is what you will create." Where is the freedom in that? How does that express ME? She stifled my creativity. She put an end to any artistic talent I may or may not posses. At an age where I was just beginning to discover myself, I discovered that I couldn't create within her classroom, her walls. I was trapped in a box and what was inside needed to fly free. But Mrs. Yoast 's lock was tight. There was no release.

When it comes to defining the word "art," it's definition is endless. There is no way you can simply define it. It is undefined. It's open to interpretation. That is the beauty of art. It's what you make it. It's what you see. It's what someone else sees. It's meaning may not always come across the way the artist intended it and their style may not be your liking. But if you can at least appreciate all that was poured into it and be open to various degrees of interpretation, then I think you are further along than Mrs. Yost will ever be.

Form of expression varies. It doesn't matter if you are a painter, writer, musician, whatever. From paint to canvas. Pen to paper. Finger tips to piano keys. It's art. It's personal expression that flourishes when unleashed and suffers when stifled. Placing holds on creative juices is like tying a bird's wings together and demanding it fly. There will be no liftoff. He will never soar. He will frustrate. He will make do with what he has. What he has been held down to. He will crawl because it's impossible for him to take flight.

The piece I settled on was titled "Learning To Fly." A spin-off from the Pink Floyd song. To my teacher, she got what she wanted. A chalk drawing of someone who was suppose to be a influence to me. For me, I turned the limitations she gave me into something that had greater meaning...IF she knew how to interpret my expression. And that, that is something she did not see. She did not see me. For that, I am disappointed in her. For a woman that was suppose to be so in tune with artistic expression, no person could be father from understanding the mere concept of the word "art." And far from understanding me. The real kicker, it was even in black and white for her to see. Literally and figuratively.

I still have the chalk drawing. My Mom has held onto it all these years. It depicts the silhouette of an unclothed man standing with his ankles tightly together, as if they were tied. Eyes closed, held tilted back and arms spread eagle. His toes just barely grazing off the edge of a cliff. A cliff where the bottom was not in sight. He was to fly. Or fall. The only color in the drawing was a very thin red line outlining his being. As with any art, it's open to interpretation. As the "artist," I know what it means. What I meant for it to say when I created it. For Mrs. Yoast, it met the class requirements and nothing more. A-. Not a bad grade, but it wasn't the grade that mattered. I wanted to send her a message. A message that obviously flew right over her head.

I'll let you interpret my drawing. Red representing blood, power, passion, anger, life? An unidentified man plunging off a cliff - a cry for help, a wish to fly, a mere representation of the song's lyrics? A combination of all of these things? You figure it out.

Since her art class, I've lost my will to create like that. I have no clue if I HAD talent, or if I HAVE talent today, because I won't pick up a brush. It's been stifled for over 10 years, but maybe it's time to let it fly?

If This Was An Audio Blog, I Would Hum Carnival Tunes

Step right up folks. The freaky sideshow carnival is in town! A kitten possessing 2 distinct faces was born in Ohio last week in what veterinarians call a very rare and bizarre occurrence. The young feline has 2 mouths, 2 noses and 4 eyes that have yet to open. The mouths apparently meow in unison! How freaky is that? And...I want him. The coolest cat we had growing up was a maincoon cat with 22 toes - an extra digit on each front paw. She had a litter of kittens, some of which had the normal 20 toes and some which did not. One of her kittens had 7 and 6 on the front paws. It was pretty cool. Needless to say those snowshoe footed cats walked well across snow, but sadly, not all of them had 9 lives. Now in other news, that isn't as freaky, but just as cool...

Let's talk about pee. Yes I'm doing another pee related post (11/4/05 If This Doesn't Make You "Pee Shy", Then "Gay Jay" Will) on the world's hippest bathrooms, in particular, urinals. New York's JFK airport has installed mouth-shaped urinals in Virgin Atlantic's clubhouse. Personally, I think these are awesome! However, some people don't care for the big-fat-red-lip kissing pissers. Who are these people? Women activists. My question, umm why do women get a say in what type of plumbing fixtures are installed in the MEN'S bathrooms? Does this make sense to anyone? Should I make a fuss over the tampon dispensers in the ladies room? Apparently some women made such a stink over the urinals that the airport pulled them out and issued an apology letter stating...

"We are, of course very sorry to hear of your concerns with the design of the urinals that were to be fitted in our clubhouse at JFK airport. We can assure you that no offense was ever intended. The urinals were intended to be one of the more fun and quirky features of the new JFK Clubhouse, a project overseen by Virgin's in-house design team led by two female designers. The urinals themselves were the idea of a female designer, and we were surprised by the public reaction."

Seriously, the guy who wrote this apology letter needs to grow a pair.

Finally, I can't keep this to myself any longer. If you are a reader of the blog "Bitch On The Street", then you are familiar with the watermelon woman. If this is the first time you are hearing about her, let me briefly fill you in. BOTS (Bitch On The Street) as she likes to be called, goes around NY taking photos of some of the strange people she encounters on a daily basis. In particular, she came across a woman that eats nothing but watermelon for a meal. She sits down with a full watermelon and a plastic spoon and begins eating. New diet fad? And my Mother questions why I want to move to NY! Ahh, duh - to witness cool sh*t like this first hand!

My conclusion...people, places and animals are freaky...and I love it. They make this world a more interesting place to live and they give me good reason to hum carnival tunes when I spot a sideshow freak.

(Please note, no freaks were harmed in this blog post. Good natured fun was my only intention. I don't laugh at the handicapped or anything like that, but if I saw the watermelon lady walking the 2 faced kitten into the men's bathroom at the JFK airport, well I would just have to laugh...and so would you.)

Is This Crap True?

Scorpio - Your Horoscope for July 18, 2006

You’ll find that you’ll be in that very rare situation of having to work very hard in order to get noticed by someone today! Normally, as a power sign Scorpios don’t have to do much to attract attention, especially when it comes to romance, but today you’ll need to change your approach!

Hmm.

I Lost My Mind When I Caught The Flu

Start the violin playing because I'm about to tell a tale of whoa here with. (FYI, that is an actual saying my Grandmother uses and I have no idea where she gets this stuff. The 1930s vault?) I'm sick. Fighting the flu...and in July! Who gets sick when it's 90 degrees out? Apparently me. The flu does strange things to your body...and your mind. Catching the flu is never fun, but having the flu in mid-summer, well that just really sucks ass. The worst part is that when your body shuts down, your mind seems to get a mind of it's own. It no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the flu. Those nasty little germs that come to party in your body. Think back to "The Cosby Show", circa 1980something, the episode where Rudy caught the flu and Cliff did a little jig to demonstrate the germs partying in her body. Know what I'm talking about? No? Ok, then ignore my ramble. Remember I'm sick, so if I'm not making any sense, I have a good reason. It's called being on drugs. Lots and lots of drugs.

The flu battle began back on Wednesday where I cut my workday a little short because I felt like a Mac truck had just ran me over. Thursday I toughed it out like a champ. Meeting after meeting after meeting. I didn't have time to be sick. The words "Have Flu" were not listed on my day's agenda. Friday morning, I got up and was paying the price for being a brave little solider the prior day. Standing in the shower contemplating whether or not I had already put shampoo on my head 3 minutes earlier, I realized I wasn't in the best state of mind. I had no clue what I was doing and the day hadn't even begun! I got out of the shower, looked in the mirror and said f*ck it. Then crawled back into bed where I stayed for 6 more hours, until sleeping beauty rose at a bright eyed and bushy tailed noon! I don't think I've ever slept that much in my life. Total, I had around 13 hours of sleep! It made-up for the lack of sleep I suffered for the past several months. Strung out on flu meds, I did get a little work done from home. I also did something I swore I would never do. Something worthy of being ridiculed for. I hope you are sitting down when I say this...I joined MySpace. I know, I know - cringe, giggle, let the mockery begin.

I was getting stir-crazy. I'm not good at being sick. I can't sit still long enough to get better. So I attempted to entertain myself. I tried finishing the Internet and I almost succeeded until my Mom called. She wanted to chit-chat. Lucky me. If you know my Mom, you know what this is like. She talked and she talked and talked. And just when I thought she was all talked out, she talked some more. On and on and on. My mind had clocked out long ago, but I think she was going on 45 minutes or more chit-chatting to me about absolutely nothing. I sometimes screen my Mom's calls. I know that is really mean. I love the woman dearly, but I just can't talk to her on the phone about nothing for that long. At one point, I actually layed the phone down beside my head on the couch and started channel surfing. The show "Cheaters" was on. If you never saw it, congratulate yourself for having a life. However, when you are home sick, that is about the only thing on TV. So I watched 2 gay dudes fight over a 3rd dude, complete with a bitch slap! I think the show is suppose to be a realty drama show, but to me it was pure comedy.

I'm dragging this post out, much like my Mom's phone conversations. So let me wrap-up with a recap of the flu bug highlights. Eww, ahh.

• Created a MySpace account. You can view it at www.myspace.com/diamondkt Just 1 hour after creating it, I regretted the decision. I've never joined any of those social networking sites like Frienster, nor have I ever signed up for any online dating sites and for good reason. Just an hour after creating the MySpace account, I started getting bizarre messages from people. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only normal person alive on planet Earth. I have a feeling I won't be keeping that MySpace account for very long. Weird people scare me, but I just had to see why it is rated the #1 most visited site on the net today.
• Despite not feeling well, I was determined not to let the flu ruin my weekend. So I dragged my ass out where my friends were doing shots of God only knows what, while I was stuck doing capfuls of Robitussin. Hey, a shot is a shot.
• Took my waverunner to the lake this weekend and came to an amazing discovery. Your back can get pretty fried riding hunched over in 90 degree direct sun, shining down and reflecting up on you from the water.
• Weekend finished off with a surprise visit from my niece. She buttered me up with the usual hugs and kisses. Then she layed it on thick by telling me she likes my car. Finally, she went in for the kill and raided my kitchen. Did you know 2-year-olds like beer? I learn something new everyday.

Transparent

I once read somewhere that people see you the way you allow them to see you. For those that wear their heart on their sleeve, you give the world an open invitation to what's inside. But what about those of us that aren't always as open? Does that mean we will forever remain a mystery? A dimly lit shadow that only cracks the door open for a select few. What if I were to put it all out there? What if I made it as real for you as it is for me? Would you relate to my pain and accept naked truths? Could you handle the rawness or would you run to flip the switch, turning the light back off? I've been called a "mystery man". That I omit parts of myself from others until I can fully trust them to see all of me. Maybe that is a form of self-protection or maybe I'm not shielding anything. Perhaps I'm more transparent than I thought. People can see thru you. For some, it's not hard to make an accurate assessment of your character. I realized this last night when I received one of the most amazing letters anyone has ever written me. To say it was insightful is a great understatement.

Normally I wouldn't share a personal e-mail I receive. Although in this case, I've asked the person who wrote it if I could post this. They agreed as long as I kept their identity unknown. This letter has not been edited, only a spell check has been run. Everything else is left original the way they wrote it. The way I like it. The way it should remain...in their words. I will admit that their assessment of me was pretty much flawless, minus the deep depression. I have my moments, but I think these days, I'm fairly happy. Maybe it's a misconception that I'm a great mystery. I may not wear my heart on my sleeve, but apparently I wear a transparent cloak. Perhaps others have also seen through me, but never before has anyone been able to articulate it to me with such clarity. (This letter came to me unexpectedly after I mentioned that I am considering quitting my blog, mostly due to lack of writing inspiration. A letter like this may of just inspired me to continue writing, if not publicly on this blog, then perhaps privately in my own venue.)

Subject: This is the e-mail that I didn't send you the other night.
Your writing has been great. I would even have to go so far as to say that it's wonderful. It appears as though a professional writer has crept into your body and written some of these posts you have written lately. They are fluid, and descriptive and beautiful. You make people see and feel what you are writing about. You have a gift of writing that most people would love to have, embrace it, cultivate it, be proud of it. I don't think that you realize your potential. No true artist is ever satisfied with their work.

Now about blogging. Everyone feels like quitting blogging sometimes. I have always felt that you do too many post in one week. I don't know how you do it. I'm surprised you haven't suffered from burnout a long time ago. Personally I hope you stay around, it would be a great loss to the rest of us if you should quit completely.

Sometimes I worry about you. Do you want to know some of the things that I know about you. We have established that I know that you are kind and sensitive and friendly. You are also very loyal to those that you care deeply about. But I also believe that you can be very stubborn and head strong. You also suffer from highs and lows at times. Not normal highs and lows, you can be very up or very down.

You are good at almost everything that you choose to do but, you are too judgmental and hard on yourself. At times you doubt you abilities. Although outwardly you are confident and proud of your accomplishments, inwardly you suffer from inner insecurities and depression, deep depression. Many very creative people are this way. Sometimes I think that's what brings out their creativity.

The depression will get better when you find your soul mate David, You are not complete without a significant other. Although you like the sex, a lot, hehe) It's not just the sex for you David. You like having someone lean on you, need you. You like caring for her and being her protector. You love the feeling of her needing you, it gives you that masculine high when you are with her. It makes you feel complete. In fact I sometimes I think finding that special someone is the only thing that will ever make you feel complete. Is that enough, do I know your inner feelings. Am I creepy? Sorry.

All of the things that I have said to you about your personal self are not from psychic readings. They are all from mere observation. So not to worry I'm not going weird on you. I'm just a good observer. And I think the things that I have noticed are pretty much right.

If you choose to quit blogging, keep writing , even if it is just in a journal. Your writing is well worth keeping.