Greenie's definitions
A form of hacking, as applied to telephone networks. Phone phreaks exploit weaknesses in the phone system to make long-distance calls for free, tap into other's calls, take control of lines, get free phone services, and the like.
Phreaks (or phreakers) are usually motivated more by technical curiosity and the hacker ethos than any criminal intent (although phreaking is most certainly illegal). To bounce a call through a dozen different switching systems around the world, to your friend next door - all for free - is regarded by phreaks as an accomplishment. The fact that they are committing fraud and felonies in the process is regarded as incidental - or perhaps part of the fun.
The tools of phreaking often take the form of "boxes", such as the blue box, red box, or beige box. These devices - whose names refer to their function, not their actual color - generate various useful audio frequencies or electrical signals. The "red box", which allows you to make free calls from pay phones, is the easiest to build and can be assembled using two parts from Radio Shack that cost less than ten dollars.
The archetypal phone phreak is John Draper, aka Captain Crunch, who began phreaking on the West Coast in the 1960s.
The practice of phreaking has declined in recent years, as phone networks have been upgraded from old analog systems to newer, less vulnerable digital systems.
Phreaks (or phreakers) are usually motivated more by technical curiosity and the hacker ethos than any criminal intent (although phreaking is most certainly illegal). To bounce a call through a dozen different switching systems around the world, to your friend next door - all for free - is regarded by phreaks as an accomplishment. The fact that they are committing fraud and felonies in the process is regarded as incidental - or perhaps part of the fun.
The tools of phreaking often take the form of "boxes", such as the blue box, red box, or beige box. These devices - whose names refer to their function, not their actual color - generate various useful audio frequencies or electrical signals. The "red box", which allows you to make free calls from pay phones, is the easiest to build and can be assembled using two parts from Radio Shack that cost less than ten dollars.
The archetypal phone phreak is John Draper, aka Captain Crunch, who began phreaking on the West Coast in the 1960s.
The practice of phreaking has declined in recent years, as phone networks have been upgraded from old analog systems to newer, less vulnerable digital systems.
by Greenie December 12, 2003
Get the phreaking mug.A man who patronizes a prostitute. A prostitute's business is known as "turning tricks". Compare to john.
by Greenie March 24, 2004
Get the trick mug.1 dodgy, sketchy, scary.
2 freekishly or scarily good.
Background - developed from sketchy on the northern beaches of sydney.
2 freekishly or scarily good.
Background - developed from sketchy on the northern beaches of sydney.
by Greenie June 22, 2004
Get the etch mug.Any menial, low-paying, unskilled, dead-end job, including (but not limited to) those in the fast food industry, which requires zero creative or intellectual involvement, and whose sole motivation is a paycheck (i.e., no one works a McJob because they like it or care about the work). The employee may also be required to wear a silly and degrading uniform. Examples outside of the food service industry include Wal-Mart greeter and movie ticket clerk.
McJobs are usually filled by teenagers, bored retired people looking for something to do, retards, and struggling single parents in need of a second income.
Turnover is high, but because practically anyone has the skills necessary to perform a McJob, the company can just hire more interchangeable McEmployees off the streets.
The term's allusion to mass-produced fast food implies both the mechanical, unfulfilling nature of the work, and the disposable, interchangeable manner in which the company treats its employees.
McJobs are usually filled by teenagers, bored retired people looking for something to do, retards, and struggling single parents in need of a second income.
Turnover is high, but because practically anyone has the skills necessary to perform a McJob, the company can just hire more interchangeable McEmployees off the streets.
The term's allusion to mass-produced fast food implies both the mechanical, unfulfilling nature of the work, and the disposable, interchangeable manner in which the company treats its employees.
by Greenie December 11, 2003
Get the McJob mug.In computer programming, code which flagrantly violates the principles of structured, procedural programming. Usually this means using lots of GOTO statements (or their equivalent in whatever language is being used) - hence the term, which suggests the tangled and arbitrary nature of the program flow.
Spaghetti code is almost impossible to debug and maintain, and rarely works well.
Programmers who write spaghetti code usually learned to code in an unstructured language such as BASIC, and never bothered to update their technical knowledge when they progressed to more serious languages.
Spaghetti code is almost impossible to debug and maintain, and rarely works well.
Programmers who write spaghetti code usually learned to code in an unstructured language such as BASIC, and never bothered to update their technical knowledge when they progressed to more serious languages.
by Greenie March 24, 2004
Get the spaghetti code mug.Song, tune; originally from reggae/dancehall culture, it has also been adopted by the drum & bass scene (which has been heavily influenced by Jamaican music).
by Greenie December 11, 2003
Get the choon mug.by Greenie November 14, 2003
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