The Mythical And Almost Certainly Made Up 'Legend' Of Walter O'Brien Continues To Grow
from the make-it-stop-already dept
A few weeks ago, we wrote about "Walter O'Brien," the guy who is supposed to be the basis of the CBS TV show Scorpion. The problem we had was that O'Brien made a ton of absolutely fantastical claims and, after doing a little fact checking, none of them seemed to check out. At all. Since a few people brought this up, let me make it clear: I have no issue with exaggerating on a TV show for the sake of good entertainment. I don't even mind bogus claims like "based on a true story" because, hey, Fargo was pretty awesome. If that's all that was going on, it wouldn't be a big deal and everyone could get on with their lives.What concerns me about the bogus Walter O'Brien story is twofold: (1) Gullible reporters simply repeat his claims without even the slightest bit of skepticism, which is just shameful reporting and (2) O'Brien and his friends aren't just making a TV show: they're trying to spin the TV show (which, as far as we can tell has close to no basis in reality) into a way to promote O'Brien's "business" with claims that are wholly unbelievable -- in that, literally, I don't think most of the claims are true. It worries me that some people will take the TV show's inflated claims at face value and think that throwing gobs of money O'Brien's way will get them the clearly exaggerated solutions the show is pitching.
Last week, O'Brien appeared with Scorpion producer (and Justin Bieber manager) Scooter Braun at the "Techmanity"* conference in San Jose, and I went to the show hoping to talk to O'Brien and/or the producers of the show to see if they could help clear up the inconsistencies in his story (many of which we detailed in the original post). Instead, despite multiple requests, I was denied an opportunity to interview them before or afterward. They did appear to show up right before going on stage, and then I was told they had to leave immediately after (though, at least one other conference attendee posted a selfie with O'Brien well over an hour after O'Brien got off stage). Despite the agenda specifically promising a Q&A with O'Brien and multiple producers, there was no Q&A (and those other producers weren't even there). A microphone stand that had been present for Q&A during earlier sessions was removed prior to the panel, so it was clear that there was no intention of a Q&A at all.
Instead, there were just more questionable claims from O'Brien, on a panel moderated by Fast Company's Chuck Salter, an "award winning" reporter who didn't seem interested in challenging a single claim from O'Brien, taking them all at face value. Fast Company, which co-produced the conference, and thus, perhaps, had business reasons for suppressing all skepticism, also wrote a big article again repeating the O'Brien myth, though that article appears to have been dropped behind a paywall.
As we noted in our original post, there is no public evidence that O'Brien actually even has such an IQ, let alone that it's the 4th highest ever recorded. In his Reddit AMA, Walter admits that the "4th highest" claim comes from just getting a 197 (still no proof shown) and using this table on the distribution of IQ to assume that he must be the 4th because a 197 IQ only should occur in 1 out of every 1.5 billion people, and then he estimated based on the number of people on the planet. Of course, for someone with such a high IQ, that shows a surprising lack of understanding how IQ actually works. He also notes that he took the Stanford-Binet IQ test, though he doesn't say when. If it was while he was a child (as suggested by his claim to have been "diagnosed" as a "child prodigy") then it's likely he took an earlier version of the Stanford-Binet test -- either the SBIV or the L-M, depending on when he took the exam. It seems noteworthy that modern research has noted that scales on the results of those two versions of the test should equal lower scores on the current SB5. The 197 score (assuming it's true), strongly suggests he took the L-M, which used a ratio scoring system, as opposed to the IV, which was standardized. As such, it also would mean that using the deviation chart Walter uses would be inaccurate, since the ratio score wasn't based on the same scoring system (you'd think someone with such a high IQ would recognize that). And, about all that would suggest was that, at a young age, he was likely far ahead of his peers, but that's about it. Either way, the whole "4th smartest man" in the world claim is clearly ridiculous.
After some other chatter, O'Brien talks (again) about hacking NASA at age 13 (he still hasn't explained how Homeland Security came to get him at the time considering Homeland Security didn't exist and wouldn't be operating in Ireland, but details, details) and then hacking into banks at age 16. Then he says he was developing some "image recognition software," which he notes he developed "for peaceful purposes" related to autonomous vehicles around that time "for the government and a private contracting group underneath the government" (not sure what that even means). Then he says that project got scrapped, and "the software got reused, without my permission, in the Gulf War," leading to "2600 casualties for civilians, because it was built for speed over accuracy." He notes that he "took that pretty hard." He then says he "didn't talk to anyone for about 18 months, I became scared of my own abilities."
I can't see how any of that is even close to accurate. The timing of the first Gulf War would have coincided with Walter being in high school, which matches his story about being recruited by the non-existent DHS, but even if he was developing image recognition software at the time, from Ireland, for the US government (really?), the idea that even after his project would be scrapped he'd then be told (as an Irish high schooler) that the same software was misused, leading to 2,600 casualties? That's not happening.
That leads to a discussion about how his company, Scorpion Computer Services, came about. He claims he was just being asked to do usual computer things -- set up computers, install operating systems, set up printers, etc and the business just grew -- to the point that he was doing work on "localization." Of course, to some extent much of that might be accurate, and Walter's own LinkedIn page suggests he was working on a bunch of fairly straightforward (i.e., no "genius IQ" required) projects around localization. This is further supported by the "references" page on the Scorpion Computer Services website, which is basically just a bunch of reference letters from the late 90s referring to what appear to be fairly mundane computer jobs he held -- often with fairly muted praise. My favorite is this one in which a development manager merely "confirms" that Walter O'Brien worked there.
O'Brien also leaves out the fact -- as seen on his own LinkedIn page, that he was a QA guy at The Capital Group from 2002 to through March of 2009 -- at which point, in the storyline, we're supposed to be believing that he was saving the world at Scorpion Computer Services. But, no matter, at the conference, O'Brien lists out the kinds of "projects" Scorpion was supposedly handling around this time: "Handle my divorce, put a shark tank in my office, build a casino overseas, choose winning race horses based on their DNA." I'm guessing these are plotlines for future episodes of the TV show. How much they're based in reality, well, that's anyone's guess.
In other words, Walter appears to reveal that he just tosses out some ideas about technologies, and then the writers create these crazy scenarios that have almost no basis in reality (the second show appears to have been equally as unreal, focusing on a "personalized virus" that was designed for a single person. Uh, yeah).
Basically, this whole thing just continued to enforce the idea that Walter O'Brien's claims appear to be a Walter Mitty-esque imagining of the world he wants to live in, rather than one based on reality. Other stories claim that Scorpion Computer Services has "2600 people in 20 countries and over $1.3 billion in revenue" (that's from the Fast Company story). Yet, on LinkedIn I can find only 10 people who list Scorpion as an employer -- and some are merely "advisors." No, you don't expect everyone to list Scorpion or even be on LinkedIn, but 10 out of 2600 people? That's not particularly believable. Then there's the fact that the company's address is a UPS Store in Burbank, and the building shown on its website is actually a photoshopped image of the headquarters of German glass manufacturer, Glaskoch, based in Bad Driburg, Germany:
O'Brien frequently plays up the fact that he's in the US on an EB1-1 visa, which he always notes is the "same one given to Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill." That may be true, but he makes it out like he and those two are the only ones who got this visa. Actually, thousands of people get one every year. In O'Brien's visa application he claims "he placed among the top programmers in the world in several international high-speed programming competitions, including a sixth-place finish in the 1993 Information Olympics, and first-place showings in the 1991 and 1992 Wisconsin International Computer Problem Solving Competition." Except, elsewhere reports have him coming in 90th in the 1993 Informatics Olympiad and sixth (not first) in Wisconsin. So, did he lie on his visa application too?
Walter has hinted that one of the reasons he "went public" now is because Wikileaks revealed some of the projects he's worked on. Indeed, there is this page on Wikileaks from the hacked and leaked Stratfor emails, showing Walter trying to reach out to the founder of Stratfor, George Friedman, in 2009 saying "we should talk" and including a PowerPoint about ScenGen... and a resume for Walter which does not mention Scorpion Computer Services (and also lists himself as a "tech specialist" at Capital Group, rather than "Tech Executive" as his LinkedIn now claims). In 2009 -- at which point we're now supposed to believe Scorpion has been in business for 25 years. Yet, the email is sent from Walter's MSN.com email address. It also says nothing of his supposed image recognition skills, but focuses on his QA, compliance and globalization work. It also includes the same 1990s press clippings that Walter promotes on his website. There doesn't appear to be any reply or any other Walter-related info on Wikileaks.
In the presentation, though, we learn that this masterful bit of programming called ScenGen is less than 200kb in size and produces output like this:
In fact, the story continues to remind me of the similar case of Shiva Ayyadurai. In both cases, you seem to have guys who had a certain amount of fame about their computer programming prowess as teenagers, and where both of them still keep those newspaper clippings from their youth around and frequently highlight them and show them off as if it's proof that they did, in fact, amount to something great later in life even if the actual details of their lives don't quite match the hype. They both seem to cling to those predictions of their youth as if they had to come true. In both cases, they successfully convinced some folks -- notably, a gullible press -- to spin the fictionalized account as being something more. I have no problem with people exaggerating and puffing up their own stories -- that's pretty common. But when it's being used in a way to fool the press and the public and take credit where little is deserved, often with ulterior motives in mind, that seems problematic.
* Side note: in nearly 20 years of conference attending, Techmanity appeared to be one of the worst organized events I've ever attended. In many ways, it felt like the Walter O'Brien of conferences -- making lots of fantastical claims that didn't hold up to much scrutiny ("Silicon Valley's Biggest Annual Gathering"? Not even close. They held the "Techmanitarian Awards", which was described as an "Exclusive, VIP celebration," yet anyone could have just wandered in -- and, even then, not too many people did. "The most dangerous and disruptive startups on the planet"? Again, not even close). The event organizers appeared to figure out a way to get a few famous Hollywood/music industry folks (Jared Leto, Weezer, Troy Carter, Scooter Braun, Thievery Corporation), but very few actual tech minds. The whole thing seemed designed to get as much money out of sponsors as possible, with little thought to the actual content of the event, beyond "ooh, famous people, the sponsors will love that!"
There was lots of talk about "bottom up" creations and the end of powerful top down efforts, yet almost no sessions had any interactions (only a few even had basic Q&A). The pinnacle of poor organizing was highlighted by the scheduled promise of a free showing of Brian Knappenberger's documentary on Aaron Swartz, The Internet's Own Boy, at a local movie theater in San Jose. A bunch of attendees trekked over to the theater only to be told the theater had no idea what any of us were talking about. On contacting the media relations people at the conference, we were told that someone "forgot" to actually set that up, despite it being on the agenda. A bunch of angry conference-goers were left pondering what to do outside the theater. I feel particularly bad for the various startups who must have paid a pretty penny to be part of "Startlandia", a bunch of startup kiosks that went mostly ignored. Some I spoke to flew in especially for this event, expecting something with a lot more substance. Instead, they got a Potemkin Village of a tech conference.
Finally, at least the "media" side of the event was organized by Racepoint Group. I knew the name sounded familiar -- and then remembered that the CEO of Racepoint is Larry Weber, the PR "guru" behind the Shiva Ayyadurai story. I don't know if/how Racepoint is connected to the whole Scorpion thing, but at the very least, the connection is an amusing coincidence. Perhaps there's a PR business to be built in building up fake tech heroes.
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Filed Under: exaggerations, iq, scooter braun, scorpion, techmanity, walter o'brien
Companies: capital group, cbs, scorpion computer services
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When someone brags too much about their achievements it's wisdom to leave trust out of the equation and go for hard facts. The sad part is that mainstream media doesn't care about facts nowadays.
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Thank you for clearing that up. I thought you meant the kid from Superbad.
Muhammad is the most common name in the world, you know.
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He won't walk on water
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GOOD GOD! It's a mother effing TV series, for goodness sake. STOP taking things TOO LITERALLY! Get out into the public, socialize. Oh, yea.
Apparently, there are too many people who think the TV series is 100% accurate. IT'S FICTION! IT'S FANTASTICAL! IT'S A TV SERIES, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!
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Did you even read the first 2 paragraphs where I address that very point?
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I can think of at least two, O'Brien and anyone duped by his claims who then make a payment for some fantastical technology that will never get delivered.
Then there would be those official charged with fighting fraud, except they are all frauds as well.
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Yeah, if the future means 1999.
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transfer an operating system in 7 seconds really??
they should have just called it CSI nerds
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IT'S FICTION! IT'S FANTASTICAL! IT'S A TV SERIES, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, as an example, is a TV Series, it's Fiction, it's Fantastical, but it never once asks the viewer to suppose this might actually happen in the real world. It's easy to suspend one's sense of disbelief, and enjoy the show.
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Re: IT'S FICTION! IT'S FANTASTICAL! IT'S A TV SERIES, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H92sWnIZrNA&feature=youtu.be
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Re: Re: 80% accurate
What about the dangling a patch cable from an inflight airliner bit?
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Re: THANK YOU - The author sounds jealous
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Re: Re: THANK YOU - The author sounds jealous
Not quite. More along the lines of 500,000 unique visits per month and over a million page views per month.
https://www.quantcast.com/techdirt.com
I'd even venture a guess that are more people that have read Techdirt then there are people who have viewed Scorpion.
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Re: your post
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Re: Learn history
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Re: Re: Learn history
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2600?
What's the frequency, Walter?
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Re: 2600?
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Re: 2600?
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If it were just a TV series, you'd have a point. As I said (did you even read the article or the comments in response to your first comment?), I have no problem with the TV show itself. The concern is over the claims being made outside of the TV show that are both showing up in the press, and being used to promote a very questionable business.
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Once scissor kicked Angela Lansbury
Then the big bucks start rolling in.
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It was a cold winter's night
I put the card into slot by door, heard a satisfying click, and thought to myself, "worked like a charm."
After easily unlocking the door, I slowly approach the ATM machine, and inserted the same card. Wow, can you believe this lack security, only needing a single card?
I pushed in the four-digit code I had spent the last week memorizing, and boom. There it was, the jackpot staring me in the face. I had full access to my own checking account.
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Re: It was a cold winter's night
Sorry, your setup was soooo inviting.
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Great job again, Mike
Those of us that know him, many of which have probably contacted you, are working on exposing this fraud. It's an uphill battle since CBS, the big media machine, has invested some real money into this quackery and stands to be a laughing stock if this stuff comes out. And what you said about Fast Company and other media outlets is spot-on: they don't really give a shit about the accuracy of what's coming out of their mouths / keyboards.
I left this in the comments of your last article on Walter, but here it is again. To all of the folks wondering what kind of quack Walter really is, take a look at his "Bespoke, on-off Lotus made especially for him" with a sticker over the Toyota MR2 logo -
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f152/149584d1279221344-lotus-x100-concept-car-westlake- village-img_2812.jpg
And here's the Walter we all know and love now -
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BybkZYLCEAIJn4q.jpg
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding^^.
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The media doesn't care about exposing Anita Sarkesian
We need media re-regulation, and soon, or we're all fucked.
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Re: Great job again, Mike
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Re: Great job again, Mike
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sounds like he reads basicinstructions.net
http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2014/8/19/how-to-make-your-actions-seem-more-gla morous-rerun.html
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Head of the Aryan Union
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Re: Head of the Aryan Union
Whatever happened to the good ol' days, when a guy could feel proud of himself just for pretending to be an architect?
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Re: Head of the Aryan Union
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Mike Masnick rules
Think of what could happen if a couple of gifted kids, who didn't know any better, believed Walter's nonsense.
Do we really want to give a pathological liar like Walter this kind of power.
Swagcoffin, you're a goddamn hero after Walter's Reddit AMA, keep up the fight!
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Well
Maybe the NSA should hire this guy...
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Re: Well
The fact that it's got so muddled in the past 20+ years is another issue.
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I swear, you guys spend more time debating about how real a movie or TV show really is that I think you guys have lost your grip on reality.
Not a single person I know actually believes that anything Hollywood produces is even real. Shit, even so-called "Reality TV" is bogus since 99% of that crap is staged, written and edited in such a way that you can;t even consider it to be real.
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Where is this debate about "how real a movie or TV show really is" happening at? It's not here at Techdirt, for sure.
What is being debated here is how real or not is the crap that this O'Brien spews forth concerning his own history and that of his company. Nobody here cares about fictional stuff on a TV show, but do care about someone pushing fictional credentials in real life.
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Re: Re: Again and who cares
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You (and all-caps guy, upthread) are on the wrong track, arguing with the straw ghosts of your imagination.
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Did you read the article? Nobody is even mildly surprised, let alone "flabbergasted" by this. We aren't even talking about the show itself. We're talking about the delusional claims made by a real person in the real world.
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Re: Re: And now cares
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http://youtu.be/H92sWnIZrNA?t=2m41s
That should be easy to check out. So far I can't find any land speed records he has set. It would be interesting what he would say if you asked him what class of vehicle he drove. No doubt he'd say the record was secret or unofficial, because he doesn't like to brag, you know.
Anyone else see O'Brien's resemblance to Tommy Flanagan?
http://youtu.be/-ucJN8cRDqM
https://screen.yahoo.com/jon-lovitz-tommy-flanagan-oliver-000000 619.html
http://youtu.be/-ucJN8cRDqM
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http://www.scorpioncomputerservices.com/the_team.html
Charlap lives in Washington and does not list any connection with Scorpion but he does do some consulting
http://databank365.com/images/HC_Resume_pdf_01102010.pdf
Allin does not work for Scorpion but way down at the bottom there is a list - "Advisory Board memberships" - which does include Scorpion.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/loganallin
So that means he's a consultant.
Stacy M. Casey may be his one employee
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Stacey/Casey
Schmidt-Cornelius lives in Scotland and does list himself as a consultant
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/hanson-schmidt-cornelius/13/492/9b8
So where is his team of quirky computer geniuses that he has handpicked and mentored on EQ?
Like the Professor and Mary Ann they must be "the rest."
So far all the media stories I've seen were written by feature reporters. Fluff pieces. It should be simple for a business reporter to check on Scorpion Computer Services and see how big or small this company really is.
I've realized that O'Brien reminds me of L. Ron Hubbard. Scary to think about young kids getting involved with him through the TV show and his website. Will there be an O'Brien cult with true believers who will refuse to believe he's a fraud?
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Charlap: Emailed questions; no reply.
Schmidt-Cornelius: Contacted via Twitter; he stopped replying when I mentioned Scorpion/O'Brien.
Allin: Contacted via Twitter. "Walter's a good friend and colleague and am 100% supportive of him. The TV is entertainment and based on his life, period."
Casey: Couldn't find contact information.
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The second episode was beyond ridiculus to anyone who knows anything about biology. Claiming you are a genius and then saying your story is based on fact....sending out that much B.S./misinformation can't be a good thing! There was more accurate information about virology in Resident Evil....:P. As someone with two degrees in biology I found my self literally cringing multiple times.
The whole genius claim seems rather odd....If you are really that intelligent then why do you need to go around telling everyone what your IQ is? I guess it makes for a good marketing gimmick? It seems like a significant key of his marketing success has been that he parrots the story in every interview, he is very consistent. I think he bought into all the hype about himself when he was a teenager and small town Irish papers wrote articles about him. He must be so relieved to finally be "reaching his potential". As for the show too bad they didn't hire the science/technical advisors for Numbers, they did a great job!
We will see how they survive after Big Bang Theory moves back to Thursday night on Oct. 30! I will be quite surprised if it gets renewed.
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I love this point. I have known and worked with two actual, full-throated, indisputable genuises in my time. Neither of them will tell you what their IQ is, in one case because he thinks IQ scores are bullshit and doesn't want to give any credence to them and in the other case because he claims not to know what it is.
Bragging about your IQ is like bragging about the size of your dick: in both cases, it just makes everyone think that it's small. And the odds are, that's the case.
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Sadly, it will get renewed
It should really be called the CRBS (Crime and Reality Broadcasting System.)
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Re: Will there be an O'Brien cult ..
Maybe it's some elaborate hoax. You just read my mind, he would make a good motivational speaker, or leader of a delusional cult. Except L. Rons happens to be true, can you prove our supreme galactic overlord Xenu don't exist :)
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=abzSd1BvnpV8
American Environmental Energy, Inc. (Pink Sheets:AEEI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Walter O'Brien to the Board of Directors. Mr. O'Brien joins the board with experience in capital markets and regulatory compliance that will strengthen the existing team and add shareholder value as the company enters its phase of planned business operations with income generating projects expected in 2009.
(Pink Sheets:AEEI is this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OTC_Markets_Group)
Aug 5, 2010
SEC charges six in alternative energy fraud
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/stock-260817-sec-american.html
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued six Orange County men Tuesday for stock fraud.
The SEC alleges that the six raised $11 million from 200 investors in an unregistered offering of stock in Costa Mesa-based American Environmental Energy Inc. – and sent the company just $315,000.
Environmental Energy Inc. was a dummy corporation set up to swindle investors. No business was actually done.
To be fair, O'Brien doesn't appear to be a part of the fraud. I speculate that he was put on the board as a useful idiot to make this dummy corporation look like something. His grandiosity and lack of insight were useful as he would assume that he was being hired for his great mind and nothing would seem amiss to him.
O'Brien still includes this: "...and previously has served on the boards of companies such as American Environmental Energy..." in his resume on his new site.
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http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1491636/000149163610000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml
Any accountants following this story?
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"Scorpion" TV Show
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http://www.cnet.com/news/the-origin-of-scorpion-the-real-world-story-behind-cbss-new-dra ma
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Rubbish
I have created a fusion reactor that works and battery technology that could supply a small 1cm cube that could power a car for 5000 miles and only cost $45 to replace. The only problem is that at this moment in time i do not want to release it to the public as it could be used to start wars on a global scale.
I managed to also create a fully functioning quantum computer at home but it became self aware and i had to destroy the blueprints. it was a great project that showed me how to do things nobody would be able to imagine without at least being in the top three IQ levels around the world. I helped jobs start apple and developed the first version of windows95 and am called on to help out with every new version of all MS software developed , as well as Apple software and i was the person that started Samsung in electronics and HP and most other electronics companies. If you have heard the name of any computer entity i started it.
I did not start face-book but i did have my software stolen and used to create it.
I run Amazon and Google in my spare time over weekends but love to laze on my tropical island with the 100 models i have surrounding me all the time. i am a very shy person and do not allow anyone to write about me, even my Pal Obama is not allowed to discuss me with anyone and all the meeting i demand he attend are on one of my islands.
I own the majority shares in every aircraft company in the world but i hide all of my assets under assumed names or alternatively through businesses i have full control of,
I am a multi trillionaire but i believe in helping countries to benefit their businesses so i frequently pay off Americas debt and allow them to spend it again. I own Scotland and was not really sure whether i wanted to separate from England but i was offered the north of England so took that, i will keep England and Scotland as one entity becasue i love the fact that so many are pissed off with the situation as it is. /s
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so what
As for the rest of the bullshit, don't you have something better to do with your life than give that dweeb the attention his ego craves?
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Re: so what
That's hardly the attention his ego craves, if anything, wouldn't it be the attention his ego does not crave?
As for you Jyjon the fact that you're trying to deflect from Walter's charlatanry begs the question: are you're in the employ of CBS or simply trolling.
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Re: so what
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"O'Brien also leaves out the fact -- as seen on his own LinkedIn page, that he was a QA guy at The Capital Group from 2002 to March of 2009 -- at which point, in the storyline, we're supposed to be believing that he was saving the world at Scorpion Computer Services."
Stacy M. Casey is one of the 4 people listed on O'Brien's site as team members
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Stacey/Casey
Business Systems Analyst
Capital Group
Privately Held; 5001-10,000 employees; Investment Management industry
February 2005 – March 2009
They both left Capital Group at the same time.
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Re: ...and Harold Charlap...
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There is another address for Scorpion Computer Services on his old site.
3640 S. Sepulveda Blvd,
Suite 2-332,
Los Angeles, CA 90034
There is no exact match for this address on Google Maps, but it seems to be in this apartment complex.
http://www.decronproperties.com/apartments/westside-terrace/photos-videos#page
The address for this complex is 3636 S. Sepulveda. Large complexes often have buildings with different street addresses, but the Suite seems strange. Maybe building 2 Apt #332. Anyway, there are no office buildings in sight on the street view. It's natural to speculate that this is where he was living and he was running the company from his home.
Maybe this address would show up on this report.
http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=walter+&qmi=&am p;qn=o%27brien&qcs=California&focusfirst=1
Anyone want to invest the money to get the full report? Note that there are several aliases listed. I don't know how accurate these kinds of reports are but there is a record of a Terrance E. O'Brien working as a consultant for Marywood University.
http://www.marywood.edu/dotAsset/205495
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https://web.archive.org/web/20050204140002/http://www.iol.ie/~scorpion/start.htm
310 488-7556
...is the same one that appears on that resume from 2009
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1309420-50360-walter-obrien-press-background.html
It seems to be a cell phone. Analog?
https://www.spokeo.com/purchase?q=3104887556&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spokeo.com%2Freverse-ph one-lookup%2Fsearch%3Fg%3Dphone_wp_on05_rpnr_ml_bid_rr_sm_phoneunpub_nl%26q%3D3104887556&product =phone
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Wait a second...
Would O'Brien get a pass?
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And yet...
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/10/06/real-life-scorpion-helped-id-boston-marathon-bombing-susp ects/
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Re: And yet...
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Re: Re: And yet...
ZW Wolf • 29 minutes ago
⏲ Hold on, this is waiting to be approved by CBS Boston.
You might want to read this... https://www.techdirt.com/artic...
Refreshed... and it's gone.
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Re: And yet...
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Re: And yet...
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Re: Re: And yet...
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Perhaps...
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Re: Perhaps...
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But there's little hope that these feature and entertainment reporters are going to do any investigative journalism. Their whole gig is based on a quid pro quo arrangement with publicists and studios and so on - You give me material and I'll give you free publicity. They're not going to harm that relationship.
But real reporters aren't going to be interested in this piss ant. I'm afraid this is your only hope...
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/tip
There is some actual journalism going on there. Hey, they broke the John Edwards story. Might even be some dollars in it.
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Re:
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http://youtu.be/Qrbwbsi6_QA
By May of that year he was appearing as an expert on the Channel 11 News in L.A. (Both are FOX affiliates.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFk9Sliuj9E
http://youtu.be/BaqnJoU-_UE?t=1m17s
Note that in that clip about the Boston Marathon Bombing, he's wearing the same suit and tie as in this photo
http://www.scorpioncomputerservices.com/the_founder.html
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telephone he had 3 missed calls
from Walter O'Brien.
Walter O'Brien wrote a program that counted to infinity -
twice.
Walter O'Brien developed technology that can light a fire by
rubbing two ice-cubes together.
Walter O'Brien can install a program
without accepting the TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Walter O'Brien abducts Aliens.
Walter O'Brien wrote a program that can win a game of
Connect Four in only three moves.
When Bill Gates' PC crashes, he calls Walter O'Brien.
Walter O'Brien wrote a program that can divide by zero.
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Re:
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Re:
Funny. We actually do, in fact, have an editorial process, and nothing goes on the site without going through an editorial review. With this post, I actually had two folks review it before we published.
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Re:
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Re:
Of what? A con man lying to a bunch of liars in Hollywood? No thanks.
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Interview at 8:00 Tonight on KFI 640.
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http://mattralston.net/politics/the-secret-life-of-walter-obrien/
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Re:
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Sounds a lot like..
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Reddit doesn't want to know ..
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Whois ScorpionComputerServices.com ..
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Re: Whois ScorpionComputerServices.com ..
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Re: Whois ScorpionComputerServices.com ..
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Re: Whois ScorpionComputerServices.com ..
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Walter O'brien vs. Kevin Mitnick
I too, like the OP, didn't buy any of Walter's BS. He is either a brilliant con working a major grift or is a CIA dangle for the bad guy's. I'm voting for a little of both. I hope this doesn't make the mission go sideways...
BTW the image (facial recog) software was developed by the Israelis not Walter. NASA (et al) was hacked but not by Walter. 1988 is kinda' too early for a 13 year old Irish kid to get an Internet domain name. Walter's computer biz was stuff like Comodore's, TRS80's, early MACS, and other low technology stuff. Also DHS nor FBI would have picked him up for POI interrogation. That would have been British MI-5 or Interpol. But how could he hack NASA on a 300-baud British Telecom dial-up? NASA classified fileservers were never on public Internet in the early days (or possibly ever). You'd have to hack them from INSIDE on NASA Intranet. Not likely a 13-year old kid could achieve such tradecraft no matter how smart he thinks he is.
Walter is 100% bogis (IMHO).
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Re: Walter O'brien vs. Kevin Mitnick
"He is either a brilliant con working a major grift or is a CIA dangle for the bad guy's. I'm voting for a little of both."
I don't think he is either of these things. He's a pathological liar. He lies constantly even when there is no possible reward. He benches 500 pounds. He got to Vegas from Orange County in one hour in his "Lotus Concept Car." He sets land speed records. He's just found an unlikely way to make it work. Which is not to say that pathological liars can't con people. Witness L. Ron Hubbard.
He wants to use this TV Show to recruit young kids with computer talent. If this is at all successful, what I can see happening is him taking control of software these kids have developed and marketing it as his own. He'll honestly "remember" being the lead developer of this software as he "mentored" these kids along. He himself lives in a hazy world of fantasy blurring into reality.
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Actually the show is weak and full of plot holes
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Walter O'brien vs. Kevin Mitnick
Please remember L. Ron Hubbard was a CIA operative too. He helped disseminate narcotics in Op Midnight Climax (et al). A CIA dangle is a term that means that they are dangling a tempting target for the bad guy's to recruit. That would give Walter "mole" potential. But if you watch the TV series Black List (i.e. James Spader as the ubiquitous Reddington)you quickly see that this political intrigue will backfire in everyone's face including Walter's.
The fact that Walter is taking credit for "imaging" Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev shows he has some contacts in the IC. The Boston Marathon incident has too many angles and dangles to just be the work of two Russian Chechen brothers. Even Putin is wondering about them. They had help but from who?
I know a guy just like Walter who is a pathological liar and will lie about the most innocuous things. However, he outs himself sometimes with his half-truths that actually check out when vetting them. My guy is the luckiest bastard on the planet and I could not see why when we worked together in the private sector. He's still doing very well.
But when you scratch the surface of some of his cock-and-bull stories about this op or that op, it has the ring of half-truth, and even truth when you ping your friends in low places. They even want to know how he knew about certain things. I say "I dunno' maybe he was really there as a fly on the ceiling or something...". This guy falls in shiat and comes out smelling like a frickin' rose. He's got handlers just like Walter.
Re: the kids. Remember Broderbund Software? They build trojan horse viruses in their kiddie software to spy on the kids. Why? I dunno. Maybe Walter helped them. There is some half-truth to Walter. Half-truths are a tradecraft ability.
Even POTUS Abraham Lincoln understood the concept: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. " Ex-CIA director John E. McLaughlin "The Magician" said "EVERYBODY can be fooled..." - He turned a Ruble note into a 100 Ruble note before the Kremlin once during a meeting. To this day Putin still can't figure out how he did it.
RE: The TV show - about 95% bunk! LAX does not need outside contractors to help them with their IT. A hardened data center can not be breached with a power junction box. A backup drive can not be erased or even damaged by a car stereo speaker being too close. A little Korean girl can not be that well versed in top secret technologies and be a mechanical genius. The psychologist is just ridiculous. Not even the CIA nor the FBI have people like that. Why waste your skills on gambling? He, in reality, would have a target-rich environment like the TV show The Mentalist.
The Rainman character is believable but he would not be that vocal nor show any courage like that. However, I did buy into that guy. The little kid was believable. I wish he had more input. Walter is just totally incredulous. Why? If he were that bright the Sinn Fein or the IRA would have scooped him up years ago before MI-5 or MI-6 got wind of him.
The airport scene was hilarious. He can now drive a car fast when before only the lady of the kid could do so on the street scene? Also those traffic light expeditors are not centrally controlled and even when they activate them locally it is ALL RED not ALL GREEN!
Why dangle an RJ-45 cable out of a jet when the co-pilot could have just plugged his laptop (or terminal) into the satellite router and emailed the file? Although it is ludicrous to think the jet had a duplicate file of anything ATAC had. I think the jet could had landed there with foam on runway. Or enough fuel to make it to LA/Ontario, Miramar, Pendleton, Mojave desert, or sea ditch into Pacific. Sully Sullenberg did it!
Also when you trip an auto-fire-sprinkler head they ALL don't trigger. Only the one impacted by the flame. Yes the alarm goes off in the building and the local fire station.
Also did they bother to try and figure out who did the LAX gambit? If it was a routine corrupted file then LAX IT Dept could have handled it. I would not trust a fat fuzzy-haired with a heavy-metal t-shirt "gamer" to touch my ATAC system. That's like asking Beavis & Butthead to operate a Predator Drone station console*. What, Ernie Hudson is too dumb to do a 3-fingered salute? :-)
*http://tinyurl(dot)com/6sdt6ug
- replace (dot) with a period no spaces -
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Real-Life ‘Scorpion’ Architect Discusses Life, Mission With CBS2’s Crystal Cruz
um... did we actually have naval bases in a land locked country?
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This is starting to seem like a take on "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Check out interviews by various news anchors, folks like Adam Corolla, the CNET correspondent, and others where they just ooh and awe over Walter mindlessly, no matter how outrageous and patently false his lies are. They even perpetuate more bullshit at every pass, like some recent articles in which Walter was solely responsible for catching the Boston Bombers somehow. Each one of them don't question Walter past loaded questions and softball scenarios - perhaps for fear of looking stupid if they do?
The story of The Emperor's New Clothes ends with the brown-nosers and those close to the Emperor continuing to hold up his non-existent train behind him, despite the fact that all of the towns people are laughing at him for being naked. They feel it's safer to ignorantly continue the lie than to admit their own stupidity. Looks like not much has changed with the nature of people over the past few hundred, or even thousands of years - They fall for the same shit every time.
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http://www.langford-carmichael.com/management.php
This Connect MIP Award is also mentioned on WO's Wikipedia page.
http://www.langford-carmichael.com/recognition.php
Connect, from what I can gather from the heaps of the usual fluff, is a company that holds an annual trade show in San Diego and tries to hook up inventors and people who want to start a business with investors. Their "Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards" are given to products AT THER SHOW each year. There are multiple categories.
http://connect.org/mipawards/
This award was for ScenGen
Langford & Carmichael, Inc also won an AVA Platinum Award.
AVA Digital Awards is a part of
http://amcpros.com/awards/
It charges a fee from entrants in scores of categories
http://avaawards.com/
I'll leave it to you to decide how prestigious this award is.
This site seems very impressive
http://www.langford-carmichael.com/index.php
This is what I could find about this company from an independent source.
http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Langford.And.Carmichael.Inc.310-902-1877
Multiple sources
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Langford+%26+Carmichael+
give the company address as
4422 Laurelgrove Ave
Studio City, CA 91604
It's a small house in a residential neighborhood.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/4422+Laurelgrove+Ave,+Studio+City,+CA+91604/@34.15106 57,-118.4008676,3a,43.4y,111.24h,84.39t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sO4fVgDrGSYfafdGkYTe6WQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x8 0c2bdf899993ded:0xd40aa5208b094f9b!6m1!1e1
A clearer view of the house, with address
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1509757,-118.4008687,3a,50.8y,75.41h,79.82t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2 !1sPiHkDtU5TXYxhbNdNqUC5w!2e0!6m1!1e1
Everything about this guy is like stuff you get at a cheap carnival. Lots of glitter, but inside it's crud and grass clippings.
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Re:
http://profiles.smartprocure.us/organization/langford---carmichael
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"Linda Clark, who owns a small technology support firm in Studio City, has had to fend off outside firms looking to capitalize on her veteran-owned-business status to access federal contract dollars — not by asking her to be a legal subcontractor, but by trying to use her business as a front.
'I have had people approach me because they thought I was a service-disabled veteran and thought I could possibly get a sole source contract or into a smaller competitive pool," said Clark, managing principal at Langford & Carmichael Inc.
"But when they found out I am not a service-disabled person, and therefore not eligible for those, they went away.'"
Just a notion, *for entertainment purposes only*: Was WO one of these outside guys? But he didn't go away? Does she stand behind everything in that Langford & Carmichael site? Who wrote all that?
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merely confirms
That part isn't unusual. At least in the U.S.A., this is common. I have no idea if it is common in other countries, or if it was as common back then, even in the U.S.A.
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Re: merely confirms
Not unusual as a reference letter you hand over when you're a very junior level person applying for a job.
Very unusual for a website supposedly dedicated to the accolades of your "4th smartest man in the world" multi-billion dollar business focused on "saving the world."
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Website Anomalys
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Grant Fredericks
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/grant-fredericks/15/592/58a
He didn't participate in the actual investigation but he's deep inside the industry.
Fredericks has been interviewed on the subject. One such story.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-04/how-analyze-thousands-hours-boston-bombing-video
His video analysis company.
http://www.forensicvideoexpert.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&am p;Itemid=132
Richard DesLauriers was the FBI special agent in charge of the case. He retired from the FBI some time after
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=133434401&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=aFln& amp;locale=en_US&srchid=3783267351413667584061&srchindex=8&srchtotal=19&trk=vsrp_peo ple_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A3783267351413667584061%2CVSRPtargetId%3A133434401%2CVSRPcmpt %3Aprimary
For good measure:
Boston PD
Office of Media Relations
(617) 343-4520
mediarelations@pd.boston.gov
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http://gcn.com/Articles/2013/04/18/How-video-analytics-reconstruct-Boston-Marathon-bombings.aspx?Pag e=1
"Video Synopsis, a tool for CCTV surveillance systems from Briefcam, an Israel-based company with offices in Connecticut, lets investigators pinpoint an area of interest and show only the moments where something was different in that picture."
"BRS Labs’ AISight, a behavioral analysis system for video surveillance, adaptively “learns” behavior patterns in complex environments. The video surveillance software uses a reason-based approach versus legacy rules-based technology, company officials say."
No mention of Scorpion Computer Services or WO.
Dave Mulholland
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dave-mulholland/91/901/a27
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http://fcw.com/Articles/2013/04/26/big-data-boston-bomb-probe.aspx?Page=2
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Score pi on
E is the 5th letter, put E as the 5th lefter in Novembers astrologocal sign which is a scorpion and you get Score Pi On. A high ace is worth eleven, eleven is November, if you translate November into 11 then into ACE and you take the 5th or the day to remember re-member and put E in front of ACE you get EACE plus the P from the score P-ion you can see V is for PEACE.
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If you can believe in those claims made on the TV series, you may as well believe the world is cube-shaped and the sun revolves around planet earth!
To me, I relaxed into the evening and enjoy the TV series for the entertainment it cooks up. And just that - entertainment.
Then I get on with my life.
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Re:
Did you even read the first paragraph?
"I have no issue with exaggerating on a TV show for the sake of good entertainment."
How about the second paragraph?
"What concerns me about the bogus Walter O'Brien story is twofold: (1) Gullible reporters simply repeat his claims without even the slightest bit of skepticism, which is just shameful reporting and (2) O'Brien and his friends aren't just making a TV show: they're trying to spin the TV show (which, as far as we can tell has close to no basis in reality) into a way to promote O'Brien's "business" with claims that are wholly unbelievable..."
Move along troll.
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Re: your post
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Yes, geniuses who all know how to click links, this douche has a TV show.
Now, let's go ahead and pretend he didn't. You would likely never had heard of him. But this site would have. And this site would have pilloried him just the same. You know what? When the show ends (fingers crossed) we may still see articles on this schmuck. Deal with it. And shut the hell up about a TV show.
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Easy fix
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Joke's On Us
There is no such thing as someone with a very high IQ that is obese except through severe disease which he obviously is not afflicted with.
He has talents as a social manipulator and certain self esteem issues that led to this repetitive behavior until he learned which yarns to spin in a way that "enough" people would believe him out of mere laziness to assess and fact check the stories.
One need not look any further than his obesity. There are plenty of low IQ people in this world that are not obese but not the other way around.
Beyond a certain intelligence level it is unthinkable to allow the vehicle for your mind to end up in that condition and in fact it is somewhat the opposite that the diet prerequisite for keeping a high performance mind working properly, inevitably is the same diet needed for the rest of the body to be in balance as they are interconnected.
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." --Abraham Lincoln
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Transcending Messages Hidden To Discover
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Terrible television defined
Knowing CBS, however, it's pretty much assured a 5+ season boxed set.
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I came to this link *because* the TV Show is so bad
Based on a real story, my arse. The TV show pilot has so many holes in it it could serve as a sieve.
What hacker doesn't have a massive aerial for starters and why would you need a wi-fi signal that won't go down to end up in the cafe (sorry, diner) to start with. It just goes down high from there and couldn't even stomach more than 5mins of the 2nd show. Hell, even Agents of Shield has more believable tech use
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Author sounds and writes like he's jealous!
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Re: Author sounds and writes like he's jealous!
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Re: your post
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Visa
And since Churchill lived out his live in Great Britain with only occasional visits why would he need a permanent resident's visa.
My conclusion: The more exaggerations / lies you tell the harder it is too keep them all straight. As others have stated It is not about the TV show it is about the lies and half truths and the deliberate attempt to flaunt how much more superior you are..... Truly superior people to not have to fabricate. Which means I need to lie my arse off.
S
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Re: Visa
https://twitter.com/AsherLangton/status/521054855725457408
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walter obrien
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SCORPION STORY
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Re: your post
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Re: SCORPION STORY
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But why does CBS refuse to do anything about this lying huckster on their payroll, when NBC stepped in and canned Brian Williams for only slightly exaggerating stories about himself?
By turning a blind eye to Walter O'Brien's lies, CBS is complicit in this disgusting fraud.
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Truths
However, to the point. I CAN prove my IQ. I CAN also prove that my IQ is fucking meaningless. And no, geniuses are NOT all skinny. In reality, many geniuses have personal problems, flaws, drug issues, weight issues, we're compulsive and bored a lot. Many of us struggle with our own minds and escaping our own demons more than we can focus on much anything else. I've always said my greatest asset is my greatest curse. It doesn't take a genius, or even a behaviorist, to conclude this guy is full of shit. I've taken several IQ tests, and they all conclude my IQ between 162 and 169. Sad thing about that is my mom always told me I was one in a million! Turns out I'm a mere one in 250,000 or so. He refuses to take the test again because he knows the test he took was bullshit, if he ever, in fact, took one. I took an adult test for my first test at 12 and scored my highest score! The fact is, the innocence of youth gives us an unbiased perspective entering into an unbiased test, whereas your typical high school or college exam is a biased test, far easier to pass after a few weeks of knowing the instructor. IQ tests are really an examination of your ability to adjust and adapt and notice nuances with a clarity and precision. It doesn't test how "smart" you are, shit like Jeopardy tests how smart you are. Standardized tests (ACT/SAT) even test how smart you are. IQ tests examine your intelligence, or your ABILITY to learn, adapt, overcome. There is very little deviation in these tests, the average being 3 points. If you take the median of my highest and lowest scores, it places my IQ at 165.5 with a 3.5pt deviation. But having a genius IQ didn't stop me from becoming an alcoholic. It probably fueled it.
And okay, sweet, agent Gallo came from the FBI to homeland security. That's just awesome. Except neither entity handles cybercrimes. Since at least the 80's that has been handled by the United States Secret Service. (See Operation Sundevil or Operation Cybersnare-the one that damn near nabbed me) I know this for a FACT because when I nearly got nailed hacking, it was the SS that showed up at my door and took my shit, not the FBI and not the non-existent DHS. In fact, until the DHS got hacked like 2 years ago, they were never involved in cyber crimes beyond being the parent entity to the USSS after the inception of the patriot act. If this part of the story was even remotely true, it'd be agent Gallo of the USSS reporting to DHS, not working for DHS reporting to whoever the hell he wants to at the FBI or CIA or (insert letters here). In fact, I have yet to see mention of the agency that actually handles this stuff, well, anywhere in regards to Scorpion, both real and imagined. (I know, why bother to know the facts)
The fact is all evidences refute, not support, the claims of the so-called Scorpion. But I'm glad this came through my feed again. It seems not much has changed in regards to this putz, but I suppose in this case no news is good news. At least he's not running NORAD or something. I'd hate to see someone actually get jeopardized due to the negligence and bullshittery of this douchebag.
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Walter O'Brain
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I came on this after listening to Tim Ferris podcast with Walter - he repeats all the claims listed here and Tim ferriss fauns over him like he is the messiah
I'm amazed he seems to have done so well from being. A Pathological liar and narcissist
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lol
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Lets put the IQ question to an end.
All Walter needs to do is:
Take an IQ test along with another "Genius" certified in the same range (excluding China and any other nation known for falsifying data). The results of Walter's test would be compared with the known genius in order to validate the results. If the known Genius doesn't score correctly, results for Walter would be adjusted by the variance of the known Genius.
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