The Film That Told Us the Good Guys Wore Leather Jackets and Typed Really Fast

Thirty years. Let that sink in for a moment.

It’s been three whole decades since Hackers burst onto our screens in a neon‑soaked blaze of rollerblades, attitude, and the kind of computer graphics that looked like someone fed a migraine into a PlayStation One. And yet — somehow — it still feels fresh, iconic, and weirdly prophetic.

Because Hackers wasn’t just a film. It was a vibe. A manifesto. A love letter to the misfits who saw the world differently.

And, most importantly, it was one of the first mainstream films to say something radical for its time:

The hackers are the good guys.

Not the villains. Not the shadowy figures in basements. Not the boogeymen of the nightly news.

But the heroes.

Back in 1995, the word “hacker” conjured images of trench‑coated cyber‑criminals breaking into NORAD to start World War III. The media loved a good panic, and computers were still mysterious enough that people believed anything. Then along came Hackers: a film that said:

“Actually, hackers are curious, creative, rebellious, and often the only ones standing between the world and the real villains.”

And it was right. The film understood something the world would only realise years later: hackers aren’t dangerous. ignorance is!

What made the Hackers crew heroic wasn’t their ability to type at 200 words per minute while wearing sunglasses indoors. It was their mindset. They questioned everything. They refused to accept the official story. They dug deeper. They saw patterns others missed. They believed information should be free, or at least not weaponised by corporate greed.

In other words, they were the digital descendants of every curious soul who ever took something apart just to see how it worked. And let’s be honest, who among us hasn’t felt that itch?

A Film That Accidentally Predicted the Future

Let’s give credit where it’s due. Hackers predicted:

• hacktivism
• digital whistleblowing
• corporate cyber‑crime
• online communities
• the idea that young people with laptops could change the world

It even predicted the fashion comeback of oversized coats and combat boots, though I’m not sure that was intentional. Sure, the film thought the inside of a computer looked like a rave held inside a skyscraper made of circuit boards, but hell, that only adds to its charm.

You may ask “Why does it matter 30 Years later?”. Why? Because the message hasn’t aged a day.

We still need people who question. We still need people who explore. We still need people who refuse to accept “that’s just how it is.” We still need digital rebels with a conscience. And that’s what Hackers celebrated: the idea that knowledge is power, and curiosity is a virtue, not a crime. It told a generation of young tech‑minded misfits that they weren’t alone. That their skills mattered. That they could be the heroes of their own story. And for many, that was life‑changing.

So Here’s to 30 Years of Hackers

To the rollerblades. To the neon. To the soundtrack that still slaps. To the keyboards that clicked like machine guns. To the film that made hacking look like a cross between a nightclub and a spiritual awakening. But most of all:

Here’s to the idea that the ones who understand the system best are often the ones who protect it.

Hack the Planet, my friends. Thirty years on, the message still holds.

As tradition demands, it’s time for the annual reminder of the official survival rules, because nothing says “I value my life” like refusing to behave like a horror‑movie extra.

So, for those wishing to make it safely to Saturday the 14th, please observe the following:

• ❌ Don’t go swimming. Lakes, rivers, ponds… if it’s wet, avoid it.
• ❌ Don’t have sex. Horror‑movie law. I don’t make the rules.
• ❌ Don’t smoke. The killer can smell irresponsibility.
• ❌ Don’t drink. Yes, I know, tragic!!.
• ❌ Don’t go out. The outside world is where the plot happens.
• ❌ Don’t split up. Ever. Even to “just check something.”
• ❌ Don’t run from the killer. They have Olympic‑level cardio.
• ❌ If you trip, get up immediately. Don’t lie there screaming like a Victorian fainting goat.

And above all, for the love of God… TURN ON THE LIGHT before entering any room. Darkness is where the soundtrack gets ominous.

Follow these simple guidelines and you might just survive the day without being chased by a masked man with questionable hobbies.

Stay safe, stay sensible, and for the love of all that is holy… don’t investigate strange noises.

I received an email today that linked to the Dan Brown website, it stated there was a new book in the Da Vinci Code series of books (I hate that people refer to it as the Da Vinci books, since Angels & Demons came out first. Lets just call it the Robert Langdon series!). The email had a link advertising the new book, which took me to page that read: –

Before the return of Robert Langdon in The Secret of Secrets on September 9, revisit the world of Dan Brown with a brain-teasing series of puzzles based on The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Inferno and Origin!

Click here to see if you can unlock the secret

I love a good puzzle, so lets play the game and unlock the secret.

THE DA VINCI CODE

Paris was once considered the “prime meridian” of the world.
Invert the sixth letter of the city to which it eventually lost that honor.

Well puzzle 1, was super easy.

I know “It’s only easy if you know the answer”, but doesn’t everyone know the answer to this one?

Confession, I have recently been looking up a lot of historical information on the Prime Meridien, and its location, and changes to it over the years as research for a paper I am writing.

THE LOST SYMBOL

Use the Masonic Cipher to decrypt this message carved atop the Washington Monument.

Well puzzle 2 is also easy, ok, ok! It is easy for me because I am a Freemason, and one who loves to read and learn, and as such I have been able to read and write using the “Masonic Cypher” since around 2007.

I say it is easy, but it did take me TWO attempts to solve this puzzle. 

In my defence I may be too smart! (I do often claim to be an egomaniac). I decrypted the text which gave me a Latin phrase, so I entered the English, only to be told I was wrong. I guess decrypting does not me answering with the final answer. So I retried putting just the Latin in and it was correct.

The page then explained to me the words were in Latin, and gave me the English translation. (Note to self: do not be too smart when answering the questions) 

INFERNO

MATEMATICA INFERNALE

Puzzle 3 continues the easy trend.

I will confess I did have to double check some of the numbers since I could not recall the correct order of the circles of Hell. 

This is understandable, since I am such a pure and sweet person that I would know nothing of Hell.

ORIGIN

MODERNISME

Faith and nature merged in stone.
God and Gaudi call this home.
A deadly kiss beside a square,
Its magic sum you now must share.

Puzzle 4 was also easy, in that I guessed what it was asking. 

I did have to do a quick google search to grab the important missing bit of the statute that was showing with the question. But once I had the full picture, it was as simple as 1 + 2 + 3.

And that was that.

Four simple questions that were a lot of fun to do, and have got me into the mood ready for the new book, which is apparently due out on the 9/9 (I wonder if 9 will be a thing in the book).

I may have to time the release so that I can re-read the existing books and end just as the new book comes out.

This evening I watched an old British film. “The man who never was” the 1956 film all about Operation Mincemeat.

Operation Mincemeat was a highly successful Allied deception during World War II, aimed at misleading the Germans about the true target of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The operation involved creating a false identity for a deceased vagrant, dressing him in a Royal Marine uniform, and planting his body in the sea off the coast of Spain. The Germans, believing the body was a real Royal Marine officer carrying secret documents, fell for the deception, believing the Allies intended to invade Greece instead of Sicily.

The film was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone. The details that went into Operation Mincemeat is amazing, and really shows the ingenuity of the human mind. Also. Do not trust anything!

So there I was watching the film, and it get’s to the part when the body washes up on Spanish coast. Eventually it showed the body being collected, and moved, and eventually buried. It was at the part where the Priest was conducting the funeral that I remembered the film had subtitles, so I turned them on, rewound and started watching the foreign parts with Subtitles on.

Priest is doing the ceremony and the subtitles are :-

[LATIN]

Well, it was the 60s and maybe they wanted to keep the religious stuff to a minimum. After all to write the subtitles for the prayors may have been a bit much.

So we see some Spanish people talking about the body, and the subtitles are :-

[SPANISH SPEAKING]

OK. That was pointless. An officer starts shouting at the people talking, and the subtitles are :-

[SPANISH OFFICER SHOUTING IN SPANISH]

Is there anything more 60s British than just subtitling “Johnny Foreigner” with just the name of the language being spoken?

14 years after the show ended,  and 7 years after the film They have made a 10th season of the show.

Now pay attention Hollywood!

Not a reboot,

Not a remake!

But a continuation, building off what has already been done.

Because of this new season, I have been re-watching the original season (way back from 1993) and I have noticed two interesting things.

1:

The technology is so primitive, The “advanced” technology the government has in the show, seems to be just a few steps up from chisels & slates. Yet I am sure when I last watched it, way back in 93 I was impressed with the technology. And lets just gloss right over the outfits & hairstyles of the time.

2:

Each episode consists of Mulder & Scully investigating an X-File. Mulder believes from the beginning, while Scully is the sceptic. And together they solve the mystery. BUT! once or twice an episode, Scully will go to make a phone call, go home, go to a lab to run tests, basically leave the area. As soon as she is gone, Mulder will witness something “supernatural” like a UFO, A lizard man, Alien Abductions, some weirdness.  Then when the “close encounter” is over and everything’s back to normal, Scully will come running up looking for Mulder.

Now I ask you. Where have we seen this behaviour before?

Clark Kent running off to phone for help, and as soon as he is out of sight Superman arrives to save the day. Then the day being saved, Superman flies off and Clark returns from “getting help”.

How about Peter Parker, running away, running for help, being trapped and Spider-Man turning up to do his thing. Then after Spidey leaves, Peter is found/returns.

We know..

Clark Kent = Superman

Peter Parker = Spider-Man

So following Sci-Fi Logic

Dana Scully = All supernatural events! or a shape-shifter. (Martian-Manhunter?)

Basically. I suspect it is all her! that is the way the evidence points!!!!

Growing up watching Star Trek, my two favorite characters were Spock & Scotty. The Scientist and the Engineer. It’s sad that we have now lost Spock, who showed a generation that Brains and Intelligence were powerful and worthy traits.

It show’s how loved a character and actor he was, that when they decided to reboot Star Trek, and have a whole new cast of actors playing the characters in a different way. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock still made an appearance, because even though the universe of Original Trek no longer existed, Nimoy was so loved his character survived it.

So where ever you are now Mr Nimoy, know you still exist in the minds & hearts of your fans,

I may never have been lucky enough to meet him in real life, but to quote the man himself.

“I have been . . . and always shall be . . .your friend.”

Live Long and Prosper

We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted, in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most….human.

James T Kirk eulogizing Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

I have recently been watching the odd episode of Star Trek (TOS) and it has occurred to me that, we may all joke about “Red Shirts” and how as soon as you see an unnamed character that they are going to die, but think about it for a minute.

These “Red Shirts” are the Security Members, the military part of the crew. They had training in combat, weapons, survival, etc.. Had to pass fitness tests that would probably be equivalent to the military ones today. And yet these trained soldiers, whose only role is security & combat get beaten up or killed by the simplest of things. In a landing party consisting of

• The Captain (Ok, he is a hands on, fight them all kind of officer),
• The Scientist (OK, he is an alien whose race is stronger and tougher than humans),
• The Doctor (Who is older than the rest, spent years learning medical stuff so not much survival/combat),
• The Engineer (OK he is a Scottish brawler type)

Now those four occupations Officer, Scientist, Doctor & Engineer normally need a high level of specialised knowledge. And to be the Head of that area means even more skill, knowledge & experience. SO not really much time for super fitness, weapon & combat training, or survival. Especially when compared to Soldiers whose only role is soldiering.

But there is more, They often take a female officer with them, Such as a Nurse, Captains Secretary, Lab Assistant,  And yet, when the bad stuff happens, these desk jockeys survive and the trained combat guys die.

Lets take 2 examples to look at this phenomenon.

Example 1: An armed security officer is escorting an old admiral (You know, takes a long time to get to that rank, and lots of sitting at desks) who has gone days without sleep, is hungry, tired, stressed to the medical station. The Admiral has other plans to decides to escape, and beats up the security guy who tries to stop him.

Example 2: (My Favourite so far) An away team beam down to a planet they describe as “Paradise” the team consists of, Captain, Scientist, Doctor, Secretary, Navigator (guy who plots course) and 3 Security guards. Now all three guards die, 1 gets shot by a flowers poison darts, 1 is struck by lightning, and the 3rd steps on an explosive rock and blows up. Bad luck right? but wait, the Scientist gets shot with more flower darts than security guy, gets hit by an identical lightning blast, and picks up a highly explosive rock, snaps it in two and throws it on ground, yet he lives.

So you have to ask yourselves, just why are the Security/Soldiers in the future so weak and pathetic?

Do they abhor violence so much, that to prevent any more wars they only let the weakest, most puny people join the military? and then give them no training at all?

Do they have strict moral rules on Suicide, so anyone who wishes to kill themselves is put in a red shirt? so those with incurable diseases sign up to be paper-clip fodder, and at least die in a none suicidal manner?

Did none of the writers ever ask these questions?

And why did Star Fleet not just fill its ships with old doctors & secretaries? That way they would not loose security personnel and basically be guaranteed to win every conflict they entered.

*Answers on a postcard please*

Doctor Who is a Timelord, and as it’s been stated many times over the years TimeLords can regenerate 12 times. It is a fixed number! Now counting the original Form + 12 Regenerations A time lord basically has 13 Lives. After that he is no more, Unless like the Master he steals other people bodies, or other such things to keep living. This is set in stone Doctor Who cannon “Twelve Regeneration”

Some people were starting to worry that with Matt Smith stepping down we were running out of the number of regenerations left to the Doctor, which would then lead to major problems when future actors step down.

Then to make matters more interesting Moffat Slipped in a New Regeneration. We never saw Paul McGann (8th) regenerate into Christopher Eccleston (9th).  Now we find out that there was a regeneration between them “The War Doctor” the incarnation the Doctor hides even from himself. So from 9 upwards we now have to add 1. Mr Smith goes from 11th Doctor to 12th. We are still ok for the Xmas regeneration since there can be 13!

BUT. Tennant used up a regeneration to save off death after being shot by a Dalek. Which makes Mr Smith the 13th and final Doctor. (A lot of people were saying the Tennant extra regeneration did not count, since he did not change form. Moffat has now admitted that it does count and Mr Smith is the 13th)

Doctors:

So how are they going to fix it?

First off lets remind ourselves why there is a limit to the number of times a Timelord can regenerate. It has been stated that a Timelord has a fixed amount of regeneration energy inside them, enough for 12 regenerations. Although it can be used for other stuff, like The Doctor using a small part of it to repair rivers broken hand in the Daleks take Manhattan.

1: Sisterhood of Karn

The writers could have claimed the “War Doctor” did not use up a regeneration since the Sisterhood of Karn held off his death and gave him a choice of what he wanted to be. And they are the keepers of the Flame of Eternity. This would only give them one extra regeneration, so not a good long term solution. +1 Regerneration.

3: Bad Wolf

Another option they could pick (And we know how they like going back to Rose/Bad Wolf). When Rose took the Time Vortex inside herself and became the Bad Wolf Girl she had silly amounts of power (Technical Term). She ended the timewar by turning all the surviving Dalek’s to dust (Even though they returned several more times since) And she brought Captain Jack Harkness back from the dead so well she made him immortal. It would have been very easy for her to have topped up the Doc’s energy store, reset it to full. Or even make it never run out. Unlimited Regenerations.

4: River Song

This would be my preferred solution, and the one I would pick myself if i was the writer. In the episode “Let’s Kill Hitler” She poisons the Doctor with a kiss. The poision not only kills within an hour but DNA locks out his ability to regenerate. She then relents and kisses him again, using up all of her future regenerations to save the Doctor. Now it has been revealed in past episodes a Timelord can give up their regeneration energy to other people, but it will leave them basically human and no longer a Timelord (Which happens to River). If I was writing it, I would have the poison have wiped out all the Doctors remaining regenerations, but Rivers energy being available to him. We know she regenerated at least twice, plus power needed to save the Doctor means a possible nine left. +9 Regenerations.

I am not a fan of the idea of giving the doctor unlimited regenerations, it would make him reckless and take out and risks from future episodes. But 9 more? That is a nice number. And it allows for the possible future Valeyard (The Dark future incarnation believed to be between his 12th and final regeneration) And also from the hints given by the Curator (Tom Baker) that in the future the Doctor may look again at old favourite faces. And his implication that he is a future version of the Doctor.

Whatever the writers decide. The Xmas special should be interesting!

After months and months of constant rain the country is about as water logged as it can be, for a while now it has only taken a couple of hours light rain to cause flooding all over the place. So with the ground already to capacity, there has been a kind of Nationwide concern over what would happen when the several feet of snow finally melted.

In fact, the Nationwide worry was so “worrying” that the Government environmental agency issued advice on how to prepare and even help prevent flooding. That amazing, scientific, flood defence advice was………….

…………..Wait for it……………

To build Snowmen!

Yes, the cunning plan was that if everyone went out and built a snowman then flooding would be prevented. The logic being, Snowmen take longer to melt than normal snow, so by converting a lot of normal snow into Snowmen, the melting is staggered and flooding prevented.

Now my first thought on hearing this advice, was the same one you are probably having right now. That somehow “The Great Intelligence Institute” had infiltrated the environmental agency, and was planning on taking over the Earth with its army of Snowmen. (I’d seen something similar on a Documentary screened Christmas time)

I did try to investigate this further by checking with the person who answers to the name “The Doctor”, which was not as easy as it sounds. Knowing that with an army of Snowmen were being built, he would be around somewhere I kept an eye out for an old blue police box. I did not find the Police Box because he had the chameleon circuit working an the Box was now in the guise of a old Red Telephone Box. Unfortunately the Doctors recent regeneration seems to have caused problems with the language centre of his brain. The conversation went something like this :-

WO: “Doc, Can I call you Doc?“

Doc: “What? Can I help you?“

WO: “I think the Great Intelligence is trying to take over the earth again with an army of Snowmen“

Doc: “What? what are you going on about? Who are you?“

WO: “The government’s plan to build an army of snowmen“

Doc: *picks up the phone* “Police. I need help“

I decided then that my work was done, The Doctor was obviously contacting the Police/UNIT in an attempt to help. And help he did.

We had a weekend of rain, all the snow melted but there was no flooding this morning, and suspiciously no Snowmen. I can only assume the Doctor did what he did and fixed it all as we slept… So I’d like to say.

Thanks Doc..

Last night some of the Inmates at the asylum staged an escape, we went over the tunnel and through the wire before making a mad run through torrential rain into England for FREEEEEEEDOM and the Avengers movie. The escapees consisted of, DemonPengu, YoYoMan, Myself and a Hobbit. Why “and a Hobbit?” well I think all good stories should begin with …. and a Hobbit.

Now there may or may not have been an incident with the cinemas WiFi connection, and very poor security *cough* (default password) *cough* But that’s a different story for another time. So Drinks, Popcorn, Chocolate & tickets were collected, and our team of escapees sat down ready to watch the film. And what a film!!!!

What can I say about this film?

Seriously! What can I say, This film is a sequel not only to IronMan I & II but also  The Hulk, Thor & Captain America. We are talking five MASSIVE action films all with their own main character, and these five sequels combined into one uber-film. And this is not to mention the other Main (But no individual films yet) characters of Hawk-eye, Black Widow, & Nick Fury.

As you would expect of this film, the action, effects, and heroness* are out of this world (And not just because there was an Alien Army, and two demi-gods involved). All in all, it was everything you would expect in an Action Film!

What you may not expect, and I know I for one did not expect it as the pure comedy gold this film contains. Its rare to hear an entire audience pissing themselves laughing in an action film, and during this film, the audience laughed a LOT!.  I have actually been to comedy films where the laughter was not as loud and honest as it was in this film.

So we have, Heroes, Villains, Action, Effects, Comedy, Fantasy Characters, Monsters, Space Army, Spy’s, Soldiers, Secret Organisations, Futuristic exo-armour, Gods, Heartbreak & romance. I was going to say all they were missing was a funny CGI/Animated talking pet until I remembered the Hulk. This film really does have everything!!!

Put simply. The four of us left the cinema after the film, stood outside and seriously considered going back in to see the next showing. And at least two of the Inmates did re-watch it the following night (i.e. tonight). I think that’s testament to its awesomeness all by itself.

*Its a real word. I made it up and decided it is real!