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Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

secretmissiondc.com

41–50 of 65 posts

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#41
post #17

Electronic Arts tried something like this once. It was called "Majestic". [1] It was sort of a mass-market conspiracy LARP. Unfortunately, it was launched just before 9/11/2001. [1] https://obscuritory.com/other/majestic/

Maybe the first ARG? Absolutely blew my mind as a kid. No install disk in the box. Just a sheet of instructions, a URL, and a form to fill in your email address, pager number, and ICQ number, and then you wait for the game to find you. Way ahead of its time.

If anybody can help me get back my ICQ # of 4860610 that'd be dope.

Gah I miss those connections. Facebook ruined my marriage. ICQ helped me learn to appreciate different people.

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this what happens to 007s if they actually live to retire age?

Pretty much - look at Frank Abignale the "Catch Me If You Can" con master. Even Mitnick fits the role. Once you've mastered a craft and somehow get out from under "the system" which punishes or has caused stress, well, education is fun. Story telling is how we grow. Oral histories and all that. Normally these type of folks are not allowed to write about their experiences much due to there being potential collateral d…

in the case of Frank, it might have all been storytelling

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#43
post #4

“See the best of Washington DC” -> sends you to Rosslyn. Those poor tourists… Joking aside I love fun new excuses to explore the city, that’s a great theme for DC.

It’s where the Iwo Jima memorial is so pretty common to send a tourist there. You can also pick up the mount vernon trail in Roslyn along with the Custis trail if you bike. They’re trying to make it more of a spot and do weekly free concerts in the park there these days.

I hope one of the "secret spots" is the Quarterdeck.

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#44
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to that museum and was most struck by the small section about Einstein informing the president at the time that the math meant nukes were possible and likely would exist in the short term. There's a lot of cool stuff in that museum, but that's the one that stuck with me. It's written with a typewriter and signed by Einstein, iirc.

It's rather famous. Written by Leo Szilard but signed by Einstein who later seemed to regret it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein%E2%80%93Szilard_lette... I don't understand why it would be in the Spy Museum.

As far as I remember, this letter started the race to nuclear weapons between the US and Nazi Germany. Lots of spycraft involved in that race.

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#45

It would be funny if this was actually orchestrated by a foreign power as a way of collecting real intel. "Break into the oval office and take a photo of any documents you find there. Upload your photos to advance to the next level"

"This test is so outside the box, I can't-- I mean WON'T even tell you what you are looking for."

"Congratulations, you managed to complete this absolutely meaningless test."

https://i1.theportalwiki.net/img/e/e9/GLaDOS_mp_coop_radarro...

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#46
post #38
post #4

“See the best of Washington DC” -> sends you to Rosslyn. Those poor tourists… Joking aside I love fun new excuses to explore the city, that’s a great theme for DC.

I feel like if I sign up for a spy tour I'd rather see the Deep Throat garage than Ben's Chili Bowl.

If it ends at Ben’s Chili bowl I’m done. That place is delicious

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#47
post #29
post #19

> What if the weather is bad? You're a spy . Suck it up, and take a lesson from the USPS. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

That quote actually belongs to these folks originally, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express

It originally belongs to Herodotus: τοὺς οὔτε νιφετός, οὐκ ὄμβρος, οὐ καῦμα, οὐ νὺξ ἔργει μὴ οὐ κατανύσαι τὸν προκείμενον αὐτῷ δρόμον τὴν ταχίστην.

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#48
post #47
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That quote actually belongs to these folks originally, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express

It originally belongs to Herodotus: τοὺς οὔτε νιφετός, οὐκ ὄμβρος, οὐ καῦμα, οὐ νὺξ ἔργει μὴ οὐ κατανύσαι τὸν προκείμενον αὐτῷ δρόμον τὴν ταχίστην.

Even better, I stand corrected.

ευχαριστώ πολύ

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this what happens to 007s if they actually live to retire age?

Pretty much - look at Frank Abignale the "Catch Me If You Can" con master. Even Mitnick fits the role. Once you've mastered a craft and somehow get out from under "the system" which punishes or has caused stress, well, education is fun. Story telling is how we grow. Oral histories and all that. Normally these type of folks are not allowed to write about their experiences much due to there being potential collateral d…

>but talking? Much smaller radius.

I don't think this adage is true now, or won't be for much longer. Fewer and fewer things are read, but everyone is watching videos now. That's the current trend at least. However, written text does have the potential for long out lasting whatever digital video/audio anything, so to that point I concede the original sentiment

Re: Explore Washington DC through the eyes of a spy

#50
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's nothing interesting in Rosslyn itself, however it's probably the closest subway stop to Georgetown. You can easily walk across the Key Bridge, which is a really nice walk when the weather is good. There's lots to see in Georgetown, especially restaurants, and also a nice waterfront area. You can also walk from Rosslyn to the Mt. Vernon trail, and to the nearby Roosevelt Island where there's some nice hiking t…

One of my favorite memories in DC is on Roosevelt island. My friend bought like 20 laser tag sets and had a computer, antenna and whatever other gear needed to setup your own laser tag. We played right there on the island next to the statue. There was a circular area, lots of bushes, what I imagine was a little water feature/moat without any water circling it. Don't think we saw anyone there outside our group.

I thought Roosevelt Island is in New York?

Edit: Lol, I see Washinton DC has got one too.

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