Legendary phreaker John Draper / Captain Crunch needs our help | Hacker News Reader

Legendary phreaker John Draper / Captain Crunch needs our help

27 pointshtilonom15 comments

Hey guys,

I believe a lot of people can relate to the legend, John Draper - Captain Crunch. He's being really ill lately and has undergone multiple surgeries! His insurance is almost gone and they won't cover the cost of post op medication, which ran out a week ago.

Please everyone, let's try to help him! The campaign has been verified by John himself https://twitter.com/jdcrunchman

About John from Wikipedia:

"John Thomas Draper (born 1943), also known as Captain Crunch, Crunch or Crunchman (after Cap'n Crunch, the mascot of a breakfast cereal), is an American computer programmer and former phone phreak. He is a legendary figure within the computer programming world and the hacker and security community. Draper has long maintained a nomadic lifestyle;[1] as of May 2013, he resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2]"

It's not much he needs, and it would be wonderful if anyone can help!

BBC article: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29381279

Thank you! Bellow is the fundraiser:

https://www.qikfunder.com/crowdfund/help-john-draper-captain-crunch

Oh man, when I lived in Los Angeles, John used to come to the monthly Santa Monica Django meetups. He even came to a few of the Pyladies events put on by the wonderful Daniel Greenfield and Audrey Greenfield (Roy at the time).

He was a bit surly, but great people, and an inspiration for a generation of phreakers. I started out blue boxing with an acoustic coupler a loooooong time ago.

Contributor++

Not to disrespect, but at 71 isn't he on Medicare? That and co-insurance won't cover his medical treatments?

Nope, his insurance is almost gone. He didn't have much employment all his life, but he is looking for part time job now...

From what I can tell, Medicare doesn't run out, and its benefits are not contingent on employment history.

It doesn't sound like he's hospitalized right now. (Medicare covers 90 days of hospitalization per benefit period, with a lifetime reserve of 60 days that does run out.)

> From what I can tell, Medicare doesn't run out, and its benefits are not contingent on employment history.

That's true AFAIK. The campaign is supposed to deal with his after-hospitalization expenses.

> Nope, his insurance is almost gone.

The hospitalization part of Medicare has no cost -- all you have to do is be in the right age group and sign on the dotted line. The cost segment of Medicare deals with medical procedures other than a hospital visit.

As far as I understand it, the present campaign is described as being for his after-hospitalization expenses.

Guys sorry, first time poster here... Links aren't directly linked. Here: https://www.qikfunder.com/crowdfund/help-john-draper-captain...

Did you set up the campaign?

I haven't, but John confirmed the campaign here: https://twitter.com/jdcrunchman/status/515163649175203841

Thanks for the tip; donated. This guy was my heroes' hero, around the time when I found my first copy of 2600.

not able to contribute at this time but I upvoted and shared to as many people as I could. I remember reading about him 20+ years ago and being very inspired. looks like they will make the goal, very nice.

Captain Crunch - any paypal account we can send to?

You can pay via paypal on this fundraiser. John will get the money, he confirmed it by twitter and email.

This qikfunder does not make it easy to donate.

https://www.qikfunder.com/paypal/?action=contrib&projID=49&f...

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