I’m sure some of you have wondered if it might be possible to change the message on those portable construction warning signs. Turns out, some dudes in Austin, Texas did just that. Personally, I think it’s awesome, but some people are just prudes and focus on the “safety issues” with doing such a thing. Generally, thoses signs don’t really broadcast anything that someone with half a brain couldn’t figure out, especially considering that the construction site is usually littered with pylons marking off the new route… but then again, we have to cater to the idiots to ensure they don’t kill themselves… or others.

Austin drivers making their morning commute were in for a surprise when two road signs on a busy stretch of road were taken over by hackers. The signs near the intersection of Lamar and Martin Luther King boulevards usually warn drivers about upcoming construction, but Monday morning they warned of  “zombies ahead.”

“I thought it was pretty funny,” said University of Texas sophomore Jane Shin, who saw the signs while driving down Lamar Bouelvard with friends Sunday night. “We wondered who did it.”

The City of Austin does not own the signs, but they are responsible for the message. The contractor on the construction project owns the signs. A city spokesperson said the hacked messages were only up for a few hours, until the construction project manager saw them during his morning commute and immediately ordered them to be changed back.

“Even though this may seem amusing to a lot of people, this is really serious, and it is a crime,” said Austin Public Works spokesperson Sara Hartley. “And you can be indicted for it, and we want to make sure our traffic on the roadways stays safe.”

Hartley said though it was a locked sign, the padlock for it was cut. Signs such as these have a computer inside that is password-protected.

“And so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it, so they were pretty determined,” said Hartley.

This crime is a class C misdemeanor in Texas, and Hartley said it endangers the public.

“The big problem is public safety,” said Hartley. “Those signs are out there to help our traffic on the roadway to stay safe and to know what’s coming up.”

KXAN Austin News cameras caught many drivers slowing down to read the signs as they approached. Some read, “Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!”

Hartley said the city will discuss more secure safety measures with the manufacturer of the signs.

- source -

I also found a YouTube upload of the Austin News (KXAN) story which shows images of the prank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVK33H85GGI

I wonder if we use the same sort of road signs up here in Canada…? I should look into that.  

Thanks to my brother for thinking that I’d get a kick out of that story. You were right.

Update (2009-01-29): …and thanks to McLeody for finding this little gem which explains how to (very simply) perform this little hack:

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/274/48/

Why am I not surprised that the default password is rarely changed, and even if it is, there is a dead-simple way to reset it? I hardly doubt that this little incident will prompt anyone to quickly make firmware updates to all the road signs out there, or for that matter, change all the passwords… it would take too long to retrain the workers.  

When I have kids (yes, I warn you now, it WILL happen), and if I decide to grow some weed in my house (well, I don’t know if THAT will happen), the last thing I will ever do is give my child a phone to play with. Hello!? That’s what baby toys are for. Spend $20 and give baby a Sesame Street phone or something. Perhaps this dude was too stoned to even think that:

A B.C. man probably wishes he had given his 11-month-old son a set of keys to play with instead of a phone, after the infant accidentally dialled 9-1-1 and brought police to dad’s marijuana grow operation.

Mounties say a 9-1-1 call came in from a White Rock, B.C. residence Friday morning but whoever was on the other end of the line hung up.

Officers arrived at the residence and after numerous knocks on the door went unanswered, they entered the home.

“The gentleman was quite surprised,” said White Rock RCMP Const. Janelle Canning.

She said the 29-year-old male, startled by the sudden sight of police, insisted he hadn’t made the call.

When it was suggested a child might have dialled, the father objected and said his son was far too young.

That’s when police spotted the baby boy, phone in hand.

“We saw him playing with the cordless phone and just pressing all the buttons, so evidently he had called 9-1-1,” Canning said.

With that mystery solved, officers began inspecting the residence and soon discovered a 500-plant marijuana grow operation.

The father was arrested and will appear in court in early April on charges of production of a controlled substance and mischief.

The boy was removed from the home by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, though he was later released into his mother’s custody.

The mother does not live in the residence and Canning says she had no idea what was going on at the home.

- source -

500 plants. Wow. I bet that kid is going to hear this story over and over again when he grows up… busted Daddy before even turning one. That’s impressive.

Well, it’s official: Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

There are some who are quick to judge and criticise him, I even heard some while I was watching his inauguration speech, but I think that is tremendiously unfair. Here is a new President of the United States, one who has no family previously at the reigns of the country, a clean slate. He has more weight on his shoulders than most new Presidents, as not only does he have to deal with the current domestic issues as he takes office, he also has to deal with the fact that most of the planet has high hopes that he will turn around the currently tarnished international image of the United States. The pressure to succeed is enourmous.

Yet, he is only one man. A figurehead of the Obama Administration. It is their policies, with his stamp of approval, that will be subjected to the most scrutiny.

Personally, it is the fact that Obama was elected that makes me consider moving to the United States. Molly and I have talked about it for a while, with California being the obvious choice, yet we were waiting to see if the Americans would vote for change, or more of the same. They voted for change. They voted to do away with the old policies and try some new ones. I was really hoping they would, because no matter how much people want to deny it, the United States is the current superpower in the world, and what happens within their borders also affects the world. Here’s hoping that things turn around as a result of Obama being elected.

On a minor note, something I’ve had on my site has finally disappeared: The countdown until Dubya left the White House. Feels nice to not have that up anymore, and to further display my happiness at Dubya’s departure, I wore this today:

Don’t let us down, Mr. President. Eight years of hell was enough for a while, thanks.  

Some amusing flowcharts detailing how the different sexes prepare to go out for a drink, how they handle their booze, and possible relationships that may result. 

Thanks to Cvon for passing this my way.

A while ago I signed up for Twitter, yet at the time I didn’t think much of it. I used Facebook a lot, and updated my status there, and didn’t see the need in updating yet another service with what I’m doing at that very moment. Even a month and a half ago I thought about putting a Twitter feed on my site and got it up and running, yet took it down within hours as I yet again didn’t see the allure.

Well, that’s changed, and funny enough, it was all due to the blackout in Toronto last night.

Seems that EVERYONE who was affected, and even some who weren’t, were updating their Twitter statuses, replying to others’ statuses, and the like. A whole community of Twits, and while I was one of them, I wasn’t an active one.

I am now.

I even have the Twitteriffic app for my iPhone, so no matter where I am, I will be able to update my little space on the ‘net with what I’m up to at that very moment. How neat/lame is that?  

Feel free to add me, or send me your Twitter details.

http://twitter.com/Dysantic