The software has been successfully uninstalled.
June 23, 2021 3:30 PM Subscribe
John McAfee found dead in Spanish prison hours after his extradition to the US was approved. NPR story. (Warning, suicide references)
Newsweek: "Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine."
TMZ: He has "died by suicide."
Cracked (#1): "John McAfee is famous for the software that bears his name: McAfee antivirus, aka 'HOW DO I UNINSTALL THIS PIECE OF SHIT!!!' antivirus." Metafilter 2012a. Metafilter 2012b. Metafilter 2013a. Metafilter 2013b. Metafilter 2016, which contains one of my favorite all-time Metafilter comments, it made me laugh hysterically for some reason. Metafilter 2020.
Newsweek: "Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine."
TMZ: He has "died by suicide."
Cracked (#1): "John McAfee is famous for the software that bears his name: McAfee antivirus, aka 'HOW DO I UNINSTALL THIS PIECE OF SHIT!!!' antivirus." Metafilter 2012a. Metafilter 2012b. Metafilter 2013a. Metafilter 2013b. Metafilter 2016, which contains one of my favorite all-time Metafilter comments, it made me laugh hysterically for some reason. Metafilter 2020.
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posted by riruro at 3:44 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by riruro at 3:44 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by bz at 3:49 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by bz at 3:49 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
In true tech fashion, he upgraded his box from cardboard to pine.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:52 PM on June 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:52 PM on June 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Laurie Penny probably said it best:
John McAfee has never been convicted of rape and murder, but—crucially—not in the same way that you or I have never been convicted of rape or murder.posted by acb at 3:54 PM on June 23, 2021 [183 favorites]
If there's ever going to be a biography about the man then I'd actually want to read it, which means it would be a very rare book, but then I hear he was... interesting.
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 3:57 PM on June 23, 2021
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 3:57 PM on June 23, 2021
Self indulgent drug addled millionaire, quite likely a murderer, and a cryptocurrency scammer to boot.
posted by Nelson at 4:00 PM on June 23, 2021 [21 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 4:00 PM on June 23, 2021 [21 favorites]
This was a rare bird, and if he were a gander he is fully cooked now. My question is, "How much would you have to pay Spain to pretend you are dead?" My other question is, why do I so appreciate the cachet of one of kind bad boys, like McAffee?" I hope he slipped through a crack in some system. Didn't the entire last administration of the US evade taxes? Wasn't that the point of the whole thing?
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posted by Oyéah at 4:05 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
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posted by Oyéah at 4:05 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
Self indulgent drug addled millionaire, quite likely a murderer, and a cryptocurrency scammer to boot.Truly a man of our times.
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posted by sudogeek at 4:08 PM on June 23, 2021 [30 favorites]
He ever get around to eating his own dick
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
Many whales can now sleep safely at night.
posted by CrystalDave at 4:41 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by CrystalDave at 4:41 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
Dead, dead? He famously faked a heart attack to escape extradition in 2012.
I feel like zombie rules apply with this asshole. Unless there was a double-tap, I don't trust that it's over.
posted by slagheap at 4:51 PM on June 23, 2021 [16 favorites]
I feel like zombie rules apply with this asshole. Unless there was a double-tap, I don't trust that it's over.
posted by slagheap at 4:51 PM on June 23, 2021 [16 favorites]
I for sure trust that it's over because if they say he came back you can just say "No, he's dead" and close the tab.
posted by bleep at 4:55 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 4:55 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
"Epstein" was trending on Twitter with this.
posted by doctornemo at 5:01 PM on June 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by doctornemo at 5:01 PM on June 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
He ever get around to eating his own dick
By all accounts, it was the other way around.
posted by jamjam at 5:13 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
By all accounts, it was the other way around.
posted by jamjam at 5:13 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
.
I don't know. I remember reading something about this guy a couple years back, probably from the blue. It seemed to me that he wasunwell. I don't know a lot of the details, but I hope he found some peace, where ever he is.
posted by Alensin at 5:13 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don't know. I remember reading something about this guy a couple years back, probably from the blue. It seemed to me that he wasunwell. I don't know a lot of the details, but I hope he found some peace, where ever he is.
posted by Alensin at 5:13 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
why people are so interested in this scumbag is a mystery to me
posted by thelonius at 5:16 PM on June 23, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 5:16 PM on June 23, 2021 [16 favorites]
why people are so interested in this scumbag is a mystery to me
They bought a Dell.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:22 PM on June 23, 2021 [33 favorites]
They bought a Dell.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:22 PM on June 23, 2021 [33 favorites]
given the conspiracy related noise and foofoorah that's erupting out there in the wake of this news, I think I'm going to file this as one of those stories where the headline really says it all:
The software has been successfully uninstalled.
Thank you, melismata
posted by philip-random at 5:52 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
The software has been successfully uninstalled.
Thank you, melismata
posted by philip-random at 5:52 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
The Behind the Bastards episodes are hair raising. Robert Evans clearly wants to like McAfee, but keeps running into how horrible the man was.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:55 PM on June 23, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:55 PM on June 23, 2021 [11 favorites]
For some reason I'm thinking tonight instead of Phil Katz, another programmer who struggled with substance abuse. (If you've ever opened a .zip, that's him.)
posted by phooky at 5:55 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by phooky at 5:55 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
holy shit who's gonna fuck sharks now
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posted by taquito sunrise at 5:57 PM on June 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by taquito sunrise at 5:57 PM on June 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
why people are so interested in this scumbag is a mystery to me
He lived fast and died old. Pushed a crypto-based side hustle pyramid scheme to make money off of suckers, and he very probably murdered someone. Hid under a box to evade the police. He lived the dream that some Internet denizens aspire to secretly, but would likely never dare to admit to publicly.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:57 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
He lived fast and died old. Pushed a crypto-based side hustle pyramid scheme to make money off of suckers, and he very probably murdered someone. Hid under a box to evade the police. He lived the dream that some Internet denizens aspire to secretly, but would likely never dare to admit to publicly.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:57 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
No dot for this evil, crazy fuck
posted by Windopaene at 5:59 PM on June 23, 2021 [22 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 5:59 PM on June 23, 2021 [22 favorites]
He was a piece of shit, but an interesting piece of shit.
posted by Betty_effn_White at 6:05 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Betty_effn_White at 6:05 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
No dot from me for a thug, rapist and murderer.
But I will pay respect to the fact that his horrible and scammy it's actually a virus itself grade antivirus software is one of the terrible things of this world that sometimes made it possible to earn a living doing freelance and renegade tech support and services.
I mean there was a whole decade or so there where the first thing I did when helping someone fix a slow computer was to look for McAffee antivirus software or suites and replace it with something better. (At least in a non-managed IT environment, IE, for home and small office users.)
And it was at the top of the list. Before looking for shit like Bonzi Buddy or Real Player, before checking out the Internet Explorer toolbar proliferation situation or even scanning for viruses using a reputable scanner it was "I wonder if you have McAfee AV installed."
McAfee is so bad it might be the first thing I look for even before checking out the remaining free drive space because you could just glance at the taskbar tray before even opening My Computer or Explorer.
Back in the day I remember seeing him pop up in random newsgroups and forums related to tech, rave, research chemicals and recreational drugs and that sort of thing and he was unhinged as fuck but entertaining even way back then.
Also did he eat his own dick or what? Really, that might be worth some cyberpunk points if that's how he chose to punch his ticket and choke on his own pecker as a last WTF and FTW to the world.
posted by loquacious at 6:38 PM on June 23, 2021 [17 favorites]
But I will pay respect to the fact that his horrible and scammy it's actually a virus itself grade antivirus software is one of the terrible things of this world that sometimes made it possible to earn a living doing freelance and renegade tech support and services.
I mean there was a whole decade or so there where the first thing I did when helping someone fix a slow computer was to look for McAffee antivirus software or suites and replace it with something better. (At least in a non-managed IT environment, IE, for home and small office users.)
And it was at the top of the list. Before looking for shit like Bonzi Buddy or Real Player, before checking out the Internet Explorer toolbar proliferation situation or even scanning for viruses using a reputable scanner it was "I wonder if you have McAfee AV installed."
McAfee is so bad it might be the first thing I look for even before checking out the remaining free drive space because you could just glance at the taskbar tray before even opening My Computer or Explorer.
Back in the day I remember seeing him pop up in random newsgroups and forums related to tech, rave, research chemicals and recreational drugs and that sort of thing and he was unhinged as fuck but entertaining even way back then.
Also did he eat his own dick or what? Really, that might be worth some cyberpunk points if that's how he chose to punch his ticket and choke on his own pecker as a last WTF and FTW to the world.
posted by loquacious at 6:38 PM on June 23, 2021 [17 favorites]
Oh my gosh. I hope someone has sent some police to protect Norton and Kaspersky.
posted by FJT at 6:50 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by FJT at 6:50 PM on June 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
Surprise! Turns out the brain-fried scammer's promise to eat his own dick if Bitcoin didn't reach $500k or $1M in 2020 was unreliable. He rescinded the offer and said it was "a ruse". What a shame.
I knew about the murder charges vaguely but forgot there's actually two plausible murders he's a suspect in. The rape victim was his business partner. A lot of this was documented in the 2016 Showtime documentary.
Now that he's dead, perhaps someone will encase his dick in lucite and sell virtual pointers to it as an NFT.
posted by Nelson at 6:52 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
I knew about the murder charges vaguely but forgot there's actually two plausible murders he's a suspect in. The rape victim was his business partner. A lot of this was documented in the 2016 Showtime documentary.
Now that he's dead, perhaps someone will encase his dick in lucite and sell virtual pointers to it as an NFT.
posted by Nelson at 6:52 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
floam: " the South American murder thing"
1) Belize is in Central America, not South America.
2) Referring to anything south of the Rio Grande as simply 'South America', besides being sometimes plain wrong, as in this case, is like people who refer to things as being simply in 'Africa' as opposed to in a specific country in Africa. It's late-stage-colonialist and parochial. Please don't do this.
posted by signal at 7:09 PM on June 23, 2021 [29 favorites]
1) Belize is in Central America, not South America.
2) Referring to anything south of the Rio Grande as simply 'South America', besides being sometimes plain wrong, as in this case, is like people who refer to things as being simply in 'Africa' as opposed to in a specific country in Africa. It's late-stage-colonialist and parochial. Please don't do this.
posted by signal at 7:09 PM on June 23, 2021 [29 favorites]
"Approximately an hour after his death was announced, McAfee's official Instagram posted an image of a bold letter "Q.""
TBH this makes speculating about the extremely dubious circumstances of McAfee's death a whole lot less fun, fuck Qanon.
posted by subdee at 7:11 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
TBH this makes speculating about the extremely dubious circumstances of McAfee's death a whole lot less fun, fuck Qanon.
posted by subdee at 7:11 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
Epstein's death has been the focus of wild speculation by QAnon conspiracists who claim he was murdered to protect his powerful friends and allies. QAnon followers believe America is run by an elite group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.My news about QAnon is curated and filtered through watchdog journalists, (mostly the QAnonAnonymous crew and their colleagues on twitter), or playing dumb while walking through the occasional rally, so I may be missing something. But, this seems untrue given everything I've heard. QAnon believers have been notably silent about Epstein. Shockingly so, given how similar his behavior was to the fictional stuff they do claim to care about. Presumably that's because involving him in the conspiracy theories out would implicate so many of the right wing political actors that they love. The Epstein-was-killed thing sure seems like a conspiracy theory driven by center-left folks, at least among the people I pay attention to. (Not all conspiracy theories are wrong. I have no informed opinion about this one.)
posted by eotvos at 7:17 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
I don't think it's in the links above, but the Soft Focus interview is also great/crazy/representative
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 7:20 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 7:20 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
yeah what's the thing we do instead of a dot? asterisk? I amend mine to asterisk
posted by taquito sunrise at 7:21 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by taquito sunrise at 7:21 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Christ, what an asshole.
Christ: I know, right? Even I had trouble uninstalling that shit software.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:23 PM on June 23, 2021 [13 favorites]
Christ: I know, right? Even I had trouble uninstalling that shit software.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:23 PM on June 23, 2021 [13 favorites]
Eotvos, That doesn’t sound correct to me. What I’ve heard about Qanon is they believe he is who he is, and the people on their team that associated with him were secretly out to stop him. Trump specifically. But if it’s somebody they don’t like, such as Bill Gates, then the person was also just engaging with Epstein for all the wrong reasons.
Then again, it’s Qanon and my view of them is filtered as well. But what I do understand is basically anything goes when it comes to theories that anyone throws out. If a lot of people like it, it just gets added to the mythology more widely.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 7:25 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Then again, it’s Qanon and my view of them is filtered as well. But what I do understand is basically anything goes when it comes to theories that anyone throws out. If a lot of people like it, it just gets added to the mythology more widely.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 7:25 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
With Epstein's death, Trump was a classical suspect. He was on tape with young nubile women at a party in the home of a rapist of young nubile women. Epstein could have well had the goods on Trump.
I hope McAfee's death gets a real investigation.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:29 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
I hope McAfee's death gets a real investigation.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:29 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
Aside: The numerous vectors of batshitinsane hilarity in this person's wikipedia entry, along with the current warning at the top, is ... rare.
ETA: I mean ... "[H]e predicted that the price of one bitcoin would jump to $500,000 within three years, and that 'If not, I will eat my own dick on national television.' ... [H]is previous predictions were simply 'A ruse to onboard new users', and that bitcoin had limited potential because it was 'an ancient technology'.
posted by riverlife at 8:04 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
ETA: I mean ... "[H]e predicted that the price of one bitcoin would jump to $500,000 within three years, and that 'If not, I will eat my own dick on national television.' ... [H]is previous predictions were simply 'A ruse to onboard new users', and that bitcoin had limited potential because it was 'an ancient technology'.
posted by riverlife at 8:04 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I met him in 2014/15 when he was running for President and making the rounds at various random open source tech conferences. For whatever random reason he decided I was his new best friend and he spent the next hour or so laying out his political vision in the form of what seemed to be a Coke/meth fueled rant. Then he invited me to his hotel room with the promise of an a orgy with some sex workers he had hired for the evening and his girlfriend.
I declined the offer and left.
posted by interogative mood at 8:04 PM on June 23, 2021 [29 favorites]
I declined the offer and left.
posted by interogative mood at 8:04 PM on June 23, 2021 [29 favorites]
"He died as he lived: under incredibly weird circumstances"
The fascination of him is certainly because you don't expect that this thing that's on a lot of work machines and far too many personal ones is named after a dangerous lunatic.
posted by Merus at 8:13 PM on June 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
The fascination of him is certainly because you don't expect that this thing that's on a lot of work machines and far too many personal ones is named after a dangerous lunatic.
posted by Merus at 8:13 PM on June 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
I met him in 2014/15 when he was running for President and .
interogative mood -- I'm going to have to request a full report.
posted by philip-random at 8:28 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
interogative mood -- I'm going to have to request a full report.
posted by philip-random at 8:28 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Am I misremembering that McAfee was forced out of the company a few years before it became a shit sandwich of pre-installed bloatware? Thankfully it was pretty easy to disable when our distributor was still including it in the system images.
posted by wierdo at 8:29 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by wierdo at 8:29 PM on June 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
...antivirus software is one of the terrible things of this world that sometimes made it possible to earn a living doing freelance and renegade tech support and services.
I'm with you loquacious. It felt like a lot of the time all I had to do was uninstall McAfee from a client's machine, run a defrag, and they'd be like "Oh you are just a computer wizard!" Because it really did measurably and noticeably improve performance, and the amount of other weird shit they had on their machines, it was pretty obvious that McAfee wasn't doing anything anyway.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:44 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
I'm with you loquacious. It felt like a lot of the time all I had to do was uninstall McAfee from a client's machine, run a defrag, and they'd be like "Oh you are just a computer wizard!" Because it really did measurably and noticeably improve performance, and the amount of other weird shit they had on their machines, it was pretty obvious that McAfee wasn't doing anything anyway.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:44 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
⬛
posted by clavdivs at 8:49 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 8:49 PM on June 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
My McAfee story is that he lived in my building in Portland -- in fact, on the same floor -- for a bit (I believe this is the place where he later stalked his landlord). That's it, that's the story. We were terrified of him.
posted by thesmallmachine at 9:16 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by thesmallmachine at 9:16 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
...antivirus software is one of the terrible things of this world that sometimes made it possible to earn a living doing freelance and renegade tech support and services
maybe fifteen years ago, I was bored at work and picked up one of those I.T. specific trade papers you used to see. One of the ads caught my eye. It was for an antivirus company, presented as a personality profile of one of their resident geek-geniuses. One of the questions they asked was, what's your favourite man-made wonder of the world?
He said, The Great Wall of China.
No doubt, they were aiming to underline how thoroughly they would protect your data from enemy invaders. Except, wait a minute, I thought, the Great Wall failed! It was supposed to keep the Manchurians out and they ended up running the joint (he said compressing an awful lot of complicated history, but they did, in the end, march straight through the gates of Shanhai Pass).
[insert extrapolated HL Mencken quote about how no software company ever went broke by telling their clients what they wanted to hear]
posted by philip-random at 9:25 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I declined the offer and left.
that was your best mistake
posted by jjray at 9:29 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
that was your best mistake
posted by jjray at 9:29 PM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
McAfee was forced out of the company a few years before it became a shit sandwich
TBH he'd probably be into that sandwich
posted by St. Oops at 9:37 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
TBH he'd probably be into that sandwich
posted by St. Oops at 9:37 PM on June 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Unlike Epstein, I find it a little hard to believe that this old kook really had dirt on anybody worth murdering him over. If he intentionally set up his death to be a matter of speculation for years to come I have to say I think I’m a little bit impressed.
posted by atoxyl at 9:41 PM on June 23, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by atoxyl at 9:41 PM on June 23, 2021 [9 favorites]
Unlike Epstein, I find it a little hard to believe that this old kook really had dirt on anybody worth murdering him over.
I don't know . . . the offer he made to interogative mood:
I met him in 2014/15 when he was running for President and making the rounds at various random open source tech conferences. For whatever random reason he decided I was his new best friend and he spent the next hour or so laying out his political vision in the form of what seemed to be a Coke/meth fueled rant. Then he invited me to his hotel room with the promise of an a orgy with some sex workers he had hired for the evening and his girlfriend.
I declined the offer and left.
is only a couple of hidden cameras away from a perfect set up for a potentially very lucrative campaign of blackmail and extortion, and in retrospect, not putting backdoors in all those security packages would have been positively out of character.
posted by jamjam at 10:57 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don't know . . . the offer he made to interogative mood:
I met him in 2014/15 when he was running for President and making the rounds at various random open source tech conferences. For whatever random reason he decided I was his new best friend and he spent the next hour or so laying out his political vision in the form of what seemed to be a Coke/meth fueled rant. Then he invited me to his hotel room with the promise of an a orgy with some sex workers he had hired for the evening and his girlfriend.
I declined the offer and left.
is only a couple of hidden cameras away from a perfect set up for a potentially very lucrative campaign of blackmail and extortion, and in retrospect, not putting backdoors in all those security packages would have been positively out of character.
posted by jamjam at 10:57 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I still don't understand his grounds for objecting to xhamster.
I mean, I know what mine are, but a cursory comparison of McAfee's life and works with a cheap and exploitative porn site reveals not much difference that I can see.
posted by flabdablet at 10:59 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I mean, I know what mine are, but a cursory comparison of McAfee's life and works with a cheap and exploitative porn site reveals not much difference that I can see.
posted by flabdablet at 10:59 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Newsweek article OP linked shows that McAfee claimed to have a dead man's switch with 31 terabytes of incriminating data about governments, which would be released "instantly" if something happened to him. I guess it's not very instant, or was found and disabled, or he was just bullshitting and it never existed.
posted by TreeHugger at 12:31 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by TreeHugger at 12:31 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
McAfee expired before his trial even started.
posted by acb at 1:03 AM on June 24, 2021 [25 favorites]
posted by acb at 1:03 AM on June 24, 2021 [25 favorites]
I guess ... he was just bullshitting
I have no idea what could conceivably cause anybody to come to such a conclusion. Could it possibly be every public statement he ever made?
posted by flabdablet at 1:12 AM on June 24, 2021 [12 favorites]
I have no idea what could conceivably cause anybody to come to such a conclusion. Could it possibly be every public statement he ever made?
posted by flabdablet at 1:12 AM on June 24, 2021 [12 favorites]
The graphic suicide references above the fold are hideous for suicide survivors. At least a warning would have been nice.
posted by _Mona_ at 1:43 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by _Mona_ at 1:43 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
I guess it's not very instant, or was found and disabled, or he was just bullshitting and it never existed.
Well he did manage to post to Instagram after his death so you know he had his priorities straight.
posted by atoxyl at 2:09 AM on June 24, 2021
Well he did manage to post to Instagram after his death so you know he had his priorities straight.
posted by atoxyl at 2:09 AM on June 24, 2021
Stories from McAffee's MDPV/bath salts obsession (veracity unproven but likely)
posted by lalochezia at 4:18 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 4:18 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
One my colleagues beat me to “Who knew McAfee was self-executable?,” but I think it’s quite sad and poetic in its way. I use a lot of VBA in Excel at work, and my general experience has been that McAfee has an unfortunate tendency to hang if I put something complicated in a cell.
posted by MarchHare at 4:34 AM on June 24, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by MarchHare at 4:34 AM on June 24, 2021 [16 favorites]
The Newsweek article OP linked shows that McAfee claimed to have a dead man's switch with 31 terabytes of incriminating data about governments, which would be released "instantly" if something happened to him. I guess it's not very instant, or was found and disabled, or he was just bullshitting and it never existed.
It is probably still being scanned for viruses.
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 AM on June 24, 2021 [14 favorites]
It is probably still being scanned for viruses.
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 AM on June 24, 2021 [14 favorites]
There he goes... One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.
posted by delfin at 5:29 AM on June 24, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by delfin at 5:29 AM on June 24, 2021 [9 favorites]
why people are so interested in this scumbag is a mystery to me
I've heard people throw around the idea that all of celebrity is just a sublimated form of ritualized human sacrifice. The kind where they pick a random person out of a crowd, make them "King for a Day" (or week, or year, or whatever), dress them up in a crown and robes, fete them, let them do whatever they want, really do treat them like a king, and then at the end of the day (or week or year), they're publicly slaughtered for the sanctification of the tribe.
With McAfee, he also kinda fits the sub-archetype of "redneck millionaire who blows all his cash in ridiculous ways and totally ruins his life", kinda like the West Virginia dude who won nearly a billion dollars in Powerball, or the Duke heir whose kids never learned how to read.
posted by panama joe at 5:57 AM on June 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
I've heard people throw around the idea that all of celebrity is just a sublimated form of ritualized human sacrifice. The kind where they pick a random person out of a crowd, make them "King for a Day" (or week, or year, or whatever), dress them up in a crown and robes, fete them, let them do whatever they want, really do treat them like a king, and then at the end of the day (or week or year), they're publicly slaughtered for the sanctification of the tribe.
With McAfee, he also kinda fits the sub-archetype of "redneck millionaire who blows all his cash in ridiculous ways and totally ruins his life", kinda like the West Virginia dude who won nearly a billion dollars in Powerball, or the Duke heir whose kids never learned how to read.
posted by panama joe at 5:57 AM on June 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
The Newsweek article OP linked shows that McAfee claimed to have a dead man's switch with 31 terabytes of incriminating data about governments, which would be released "instantly" if something happened to him. I guess it's not very instant, or was found and disabled, or he was just bullshitting and it never existed.
Seeing how Wikileaks/Panama Papers/etc didn’t exactly topple the world order, it’s almost a “90s-hack the planet!-information wants to be free” notion that dropping a trove of data on the Information Superhighway is going to automatically send the rich and powerful running for the hills.
posted by dr_dank at 6:04 AM on June 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Seeing how Wikileaks/Panama Papers/etc didn’t exactly topple the world order, it’s almost a “90s-hack the planet!-information wants to be free” notion that dropping a trove of data on the Information Superhighway is going to automatically send the rich and powerful running for the hills.
posted by dr_dank at 6:04 AM on June 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
extremely dubious circumstances of McAfee's death
"He died as he lived: under incredibly weird circumstances"
What's weird or dubious about the circumstances of his death?
He was a 75 year old man with a history of severely erratic behavior who, probably for the first time in his entire life, finally found himself well and truly fucked in a situation he couldn't run away from as was his usual practice. He was facing legal proceedings that he knew better than anyone would probably send him to prison for, if not the remainder of his life, a significant chunk of any time he had left. Not really weird or dubious that someone might take their own life in those circumstances.
posted by star gentle uterus at 6:12 AM on June 24, 2021 [11 favorites]
"He died as he lived: under incredibly weird circumstances"
What's weird or dubious about the circumstances of his death?
He was a 75 year old man with a history of severely erratic behavior who, probably for the first time in his entire life, finally found himself well and truly fucked in a situation he couldn't run away from as was his usual practice. He was facing legal proceedings that he knew better than anyone would probably send him to prison for, if not the remainder of his life, a significant chunk of any time he had left. Not really weird or dubious that someone might take their own life in those circumstances.
posted by star gentle uterus at 6:12 AM on June 24, 2021 [11 favorites]
Mod note: Edited the post to put the info about the death below the fold and added a brief warning above the fold.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:14 AM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:14 AM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
Unlike Epstein, I find it a little hard to believe that this old kook really had dirt on anybody worth murdering him over.
You mean the guy whose company created an invasive suite of software that rummaged through every nanobit of a user's hardrive, and phoned home regularly, wouldn't have any dirt on anyone? Nah.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:58 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
You mean the guy whose company created an invasive suite of software that rummaged through every nanobit of a user's hardrive, and phoned home regularly, wouldn't have any dirt on anyone? Nah.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:58 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Are SURE he's dead? Because in the system tray of my government-issue computer there's an antivirus icon, and when I mouse over it the tool tip says "McAfee status: OK"
posted by caution live frogs at 7:01 AM on June 24, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by caution live frogs at 7:01 AM on June 24, 2021 [12 favorites]
It's interesting to compete the obits in the NYT vs WaPo. The former is exceedingly bland, the latter gets into more of the gory details, at least if you read between the lines.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:15 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:15 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
He was a 75 year old man with a history of severely erratic behavior who, probably for the first time in his entire life, finally found himself well and truly fucked in a situation he couldn't run away from as was his usual practice.
He was also, by most accounts, a heavy drug user whom one might reasonably infer from circumstances was self-medicating some form of mental illness and had presumably been cut off from his supply in prison. Not exactly conducive to sound judgment.
People like this unfortunately tend to leave a trail of too much wreckage for me to enjoy the humor in a life of what was effectively real-life shitposting.
posted by praemunire at 7:24 AM on June 24, 2021 [9 favorites]
He was also, by most accounts, a heavy drug user whom one might reasonably infer from circumstances was self-medicating some form of mental illness and had presumably been cut off from his supply in prison. Not exactly conducive to sound judgment.
People like this unfortunately tend to leave a trail of too much wreckage for me to enjoy the humor in a life of what was effectively real-life shitposting.
posted by praemunire at 7:24 AM on June 24, 2021 [9 favorites]
Stories from McAffee's MDPV/bath salts obsession
Holy cripes, that was a bizarre read. He fucked whales, dogs, ostriches and food... And took bath salts to another level
posted by TreeHugger at 7:32 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Holy cripes, that was a bizarre read. He fucked whales, dogs, ostriches and food... And took bath salts to another level
posted by TreeHugger at 7:32 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
You mean the guy whose company created an invasive suite of software that rummaged through every nanobit of a user's hardrive, and phoned home regularly, wouldn't have any dirt on anyone? Nah.
I wish people would stop repeating this nonsense. Setting aside the ridiculous conspiracy bullshit, McAfee sold his stake in the company in 1994 and had no involvement at all in operations after that.
The idea that McAfee had super-duper secret access to everything everywhere is the ramblings of a disturbed old man.
posted by star gentle uterus at 7:47 AM on June 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
I wish people would stop repeating this nonsense. Setting aside the ridiculous conspiracy bullshit, McAfee sold his stake in the company in 1994 and had no involvement at all in operations after that.
The idea that McAfee had super-duper secret access to everything everywhere is the ramblings of a disturbed old man.
posted by star gentle uterus at 7:47 AM on June 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
> You mean the guy whose company created an invasive suite of software that rummaged through every nanobit of a user's hardrive, and phoned home regularly, wouldn't have any dirt on anyone? Nah.
McAfee did originally create his (in)famous anti-virus software but was not involved in the company past the mid-nineties after he sold up and started to live his best life. They probably paid him an ongoing fee to continue to use his name but that was the end of it.
I find McAfee fascinating as someone who was very successful and retired early with enough money to do whatever he wanted. Most people who serial out of control on drugs are in their 20s and 30s - McAfee somehow waited until his 50s to really get started.
posted by AndrewStephens at 7:50 AM on June 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
McAfee did originally create his (in)famous anti-virus software but was not involved in the company past the mid-nineties after he sold up and started to live his best life. They probably paid him an ongoing fee to continue to use his name but that was the end of it.
I find McAfee fascinating as someone who was very successful and retired early with enough money to do whatever he wanted. Most people who serial out of control on drugs are in their 20s and 30s - McAfee somehow waited until his 50s to really get started.
posted by AndrewStephens at 7:50 AM on June 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
You mean the guy whose company created an invasive suite of software that rummaged through every nanobit of a user's hardrive, and phoned home regularly, wouldn't have any dirt on anyone? Nah.
The guy left the company in 1994.
posted by mikesch at 7:59 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
The guy left the company in 1994.
posted by mikesch at 7:59 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
His recent adventures are certainly interesting, in that "glad he doesn't live anywhere near me" way.
posted by tommasz at 8:00 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 8:00 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
He went to space before any of these other rich guys.
posted by adept256 at 8:52 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 8:52 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
He tweeted in 2017 that he had a "doctorate in point-set topology" when he actually just got kicked out of two separate grad programs (less than a year into each) for serially harassing women and being a general asshole to literally everyone he came into contact with.
posted by augustimagination at 9:17 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by augustimagination at 9:17 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
I find it interesting to note that pretty much the only place I've even heard about McAfee in the last 15 years has been exclusively on metafilter. Guess we just love to talk about the guy.
posted by some loser at 9:23 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by some loser at 9:23 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Nah, he's popular with a certain section of the tech right, too. I guess the way he lived constituted "the dream" for certain people, by which I mean, "men, mostly white."
posted by praemunire at 9:34 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 9:34 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
> Seeing how Wikileaks/Panama Papers/etc didn’t exactly topple the world order,
The Trump presidency did untold amounts of harm and WikiLeaks played a crucial part in bringing his presidency about. Julian Assange didn't instantly bring about the fall of capitalism and the rise of fully automated luxury gay space communism the way you wanted, and instead indirectly brought about the rise of far-right neo-Nazi fuckery which is unfortunate. Edward Snowden's dump of documents changed the course of history, even if there was nothing particularly new to anybody who was previously paying attention.
The Panama Papers toppled governments. Just because it didn't topple yours, in the way your wanted, so infodumps are useless relics of the 90's, is so USA-centric it hurts. Like, let's just not even try and build a better world for future generations.
Back on topic though, say you won a billion dollars in the lottery (or started a successful software company in the 90's), how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug? The story of lottery/other winners is an ongoing lesson that money doesn't buy happiness, but what do you do then? More crucially, how do you do it as a normal person who isn't a monk or Aesop because I'm sure that kind of money will eventually go to anybody's head. We teach morals to children - don't steal. But when the chips are down and you're an adult, do you steal that loaf of bread to feed your kids or just let them go hungry. So then too on the other side, after you win the lottery and it goes to your head, after you've bought luxury material goods like car's and houses and jets, what do you do? Because Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are known for their philanthropy (as much as it's proven hollow in the wake of other, more recent scandles), but their philanthropy is noteworthy because the rest of their ultra-mega-rich cohort mostly aren't following along. Where would any of us really be, thrust into that world? I can say I'd give it all away to charity, but I've seen enough of the darkness in my soul to know that's a lie. I just don't know how much of that is a lie and how much is virtue signaling. If John McAfee (who has never ever heard of me, to be clear) put me in his will would I really behave any better, a few decades down the line, or is it simply a lack of opportunity that grounds me?
posted by fragmede at 11:53 AM on June 24, 2021 [11 favorites]
The Trump presidency did untold amounts of harm and WikiLeaks played a crucial part in bringing his presidency about. Julian Assange didn't instantly bring about the fall of capitalism and the rise of fully automated luxury gay space communism the way you wanted, and instead indirectly brought about the rise of far-right neo-Nazi fuckery which is unfortunate. Edward Snowden's dump of documents changed the course of history, even if there was nothing particularly new to anybody who was previously paying attention.
The Panama Papers toppled governments. Just because it didn't topple yours, in the way your wanted, so infodumps are useless relics of the 90's, is so USA-centric it hurts. Like, let's just not even try and build a better world for future generations.
Back on topic though, say you won a billion dollars in the lottery (or started a successful software company in the 90's), how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug? The story of lottery/other winners is an ongoing lesson that money doesn't buy happiness, but what do you do then? More crucially, how do you do it as a normal person who isn't a monk or Aesop because I'm sure that kind of money will eventually go to anybody's head. We teach morals to children - don't steal. But when the chips are down and you're an adult, do you steal that loaf of bread to feed your kids or just let them go hungry. So then too on the other side, after you win the lottery and it goes to your head, after you've bought luxury material goods like car's and houses and jets, what do you do? Because Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are known for their philanthropy (as much as it's proven hollow in the wake of other, more recent scandles), but their philanthropy is noteworthy because the rest of their ultra-mega-rich cohort mostly aren't following along. Where would any of us really be, thrust into that world? I can say I'd give it all away to charity, but I've seen enough of the darkness in my soul to know that's a lie. I just don't know how much of that is a lie and how much is virtue signaling. If John McAfee (who has never ever heard of me, to be clear) put me in his will would I really behave any better, a few decades down the line, or is it simply a lack of opportunity that grounds me?
posted by fragmede at 11:53 AM on June 24, 2021 [11 favorites]
why people are so interested in this scumbag is a mystery to me
He made a notable contribution to the development of personal computers and software. His program and his biography are a cautionary tale. He lived the fantasy of Silicon Valley --startup, scale the business, cash out for a fortune and retire rich on a tropical beach. Then it turned into a nightmare of self destruction and insanity ending in a Spanish prison.
posted by interogative mood at 12:20 PM on June 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
He made a notable contribution to the development of personal computers and software. His program and his biography are a cautionary tale. He lived the fantasy of Silicon Valley --startup, scale the business, cash out for a fortune and retire rich on a tropical beach. Then it turned into a nightmare of self destruction and insanity ending in a Spanish prison.
posted by interogative mood at 12:20 PM on June 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Where would any of us really be, thrust into that world?
I think it's wise to be humble about one's ability to meet challenges one's never actually had to face, but...really? I can't guarantee that I would carry out the morally optimal course of action I might think of sitting here in the middle-middle class, but if by middle age you don't have some confidence that you will live according to your values (allowing for some decent margin of error and human frailty), something's gone wrong.
posted by praemunire at 1:23 PM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
I think it's wise to be humble about one's ability to meet challenges one's never actually had to face, but...really? I can't guarantee that I would carry out the morally optimal course of action I might think of sitting here in the middle-middle class, but if by middle age you don't have some confidence that you will live according to your values (allowing for some decent margin of error and human frailty), something's gone wrong.
posted by praemunire at 1:23 PM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
I didn't realize he was 75 - I've been hearing stories about him for decades and - and frankly was surprised he was still in the condition he was given extensive drug use and overall lifestyle. Always seemed like like he'd end up in a sidebar entry of history textbooks with the subtitle of "The curious case of John McAfee" or something. like that.
And if there is an afterlife and a judgement - whale fucking has to at least raise an eyebrow of whoever is judging....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:46 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
And if there is an afterlife and a judgement - whale fucking has to at least raise an eyebrow of whoever is judging....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:46 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Where would any of us really be, thrust into that world?
LOL WUT
Come the fuck on, John fucking McAfee is the farthest thing in the universe from "there but for the Grace of God go I". If all that's standing between you becoming a rapist murderer is a lotto win, you got some issues you need to confront.
posted by star gentle uterus at 2:50 PM on June 24, 2021 [16 favorites]
LOL WUT
Come the fuck on, John fucking McAfee is the farthest thing in the universe from "there but for the Grace of God go I". If all that's standing between you becoming a rapist murderer is a lotto win, you got some issues you need to confront.
posted by star gentle uterus at 2:50 PM on June 24, 2021 [16 favorites]
Huh. I didn't know the neighbour had poisoned his dogs.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 3:06 PM on June 24, 2021
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 3:06 PM on June 24, 2021
He boiled the tech industry down to it's elemental essence - an endless search for a drug that will let you fuck anything.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 3:29 PM on June 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by thatwhichfalls at 3:29 PM on June 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
I was explaining McAfee to a friend who, despite being really into things like Epstein conspiracy theories, somehow missed the whole saga, and I came up with the capsule summary that he'd be “a person halfway between Elon Musk and Charles Manson”, which is probably not inaccurate.
posted by acb at 3:38 PM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by acb at 3:38 PM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Back on topic though, say you won a billion dollars in the lottery (or started a successful software company in the 90's), how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug?
I don’t know, but I’m willing to find out. For only 1000 payments of $10,000 each, I, Metafilter’s own Huffy Puffy, will document my hundredmillionaire journey on a “web log” on the world wide internet, and post my findings to Metafilter Projects.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:04 PM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
I don’t know, but I’m willing to find out. For only 1000 payments of $10,000 each, I, Metafilter’s own Huffy Puffy, will document my hundredmillionaire journey on a “web log” on the world wide internet, and post my findings to Metafilter Projects.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:04 PM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
That WaPo article definitely glossed over some details, but even that was a hair-raising read. What a character. I hope he finds some peace in the afterlife, because he left a lot of garbage to clean up in this one.
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 4:17 PM on June 24, 2021
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 4:17 PM on June 24, 2021
I attended Roanoke College at the same time as McAfee. I (and I think McAfee) lived off-campus in Salem at the time. I never knew the guy, so I was surprised thirty or so years back to see the school in his bio. In 2008, Roanoke College gave McAfee an honorary doctorate (the school doesn't have Graduate-level studies). The question (to me) was Why? Why honor this guy? This was during a period when McAfee Associates was going to change its name. It didn't, really. "McAfee" is still the brand. I think that all the bad stuff about McAfee is known only by a few. Many others may have heard the stories but forgotten them, though they do recall that there is an aura of fame around the guy. And pondering on that is as close as I can get to Why.
posted by CCBC at 4:23 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by CCBC at 4:23 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
No dot for this evil, crazy fuck
Don't use ableist slurs. It's vile.
posted by howfar at 4:39 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Don't use ableist slurs. It's vile.
posted by howfar at 4:39 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Back on topic though, say you won a billion dollars in the lottery (or started a successful software company in the 90's), how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug? The story of lottery/other winners is an ongoing lesson that money doesn't buy happiness, but what do you do then?
Those guys had more issues than “money going to their heads”. They were crap people but it didn’t show that much. Before the spotlights. Aside from probably directly hands on guilty of murder and rape how is he much different from Musk or Bezos?
I already planned it out though I’d never ‘earn’ it it’d be lottery — trust and benefit corporation that isn’t bullshit or technobabble focused (I had to stop reading Gates’ book because it was all Star Trek bullshit and I like science fiction).
Doesn’t matter — I don’t play lotto enough. So I do what I can with my mite extra.
posted by tilde at 6:10 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
say you won a billion dollars in the lottery
I'd put maybe five percent of it aside for long term financial security and then find a way to lose the rest via investment in weird movies and music and/or other odd-extreme art related projects. Even if I just found nine-hundred-fifty underground types to give a million dollars to (no strings attached beyond they had to use it to make art)... what's the worst that could happen beyond a complete subversion of the entire capitalist order?
Or whatever.
posted by philip-random at 6:51 PM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'd put maybe five percent of it aside for long term financial security and then find a way to lose the rest via investment in weird movies and music and/or other odd-extreme art related projects. Even if I just found nine-hundred-fifty underground types to give a million dollars to (no strings attached beyond they had to use it to make art)... what's the worst that could happen beyond a complete subversion of the entire capitalist order?
Or whatever.
posted by philip-random at 6:51 PM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
Back on topic though, say you won a billion dollars in the lottery (or started a successful software company in the 90's), how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug? The story of lottery/other winners is an ongoing lesson that money doesn't buy happiness, but what do you do then?
As noted in a recent thread on the lottery, the stories that tend to get told about lottery winners concentrate on the losers, people whose lives are ruined (or ruin their lives, depending). The published research tends to support the opposite conclusion for the majority of winners. (See also.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:18 PM on June 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
As noted in a recent thread on the lottery, the stories that tend to get told about lottery winners concentrate on the losers, people whose lives are ruined (or ruin their lives, depending). The published research tends to support the opposite conclusion for the majority of winners. (See also.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:18 PM on June 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Upon further reading the gloss burned off and I realize the departed represents the end game of spirituo-capitalism, which then erodes into the kind of posh amphetamine brio and boastful misuse of young people, what, whales, birds, dogs, the planet...this is the ultimate end of capitalism. I know someone who worked for him, before he completely abraided his identity with all the chemical delusions one can buy. My friend was lucky and at the time, from the stories, McAfee seemed moderately weird. My friend ghosted the job, because of having a real life, character, and a loving household, a marriage etc. I never followed the further antics. I guess the theme of the erratic antihero plays with me, but I know it is sort of a mental cleansing tool to throw off everyday convention of mind, a free stimulus. A long time ago in my life I watched people I loved delude themselves with central nervous stimulants. I realized that if one could buy life's peak experiences in some cleverly folded paper, or dotted onto some gel or paper, then the human experience would shortly become even more meaningless than it can be on the best of days. The adage, "There is no fool like, an old fool applies here." When McAfee passed, there was nothing left to admire.
People always wonder what they would do if they had everything, you can bet the toothless tweakers trolling the alley on recycle day, are sure they have it all when they sell enough bottles to get their drug of choice. Having a competent dentist, half an Island, nice suits doesn't alter the basic structure of the scenario.
Watching Matt Gaetz troll a general after wandering the halls of congress with pictures of his conquests, makes me think that stuff is ubiquitous among certain travelers. Billionaire wives, they certainly can't compete with chemistry, chemistry. You have to wonder if that isn't on the table in many places, then combined with memory erasing drugs...the video must be damning especially in the intelligence arena, the narco-intelligence arena, blackmail, diplomacy, the modern anaesthesia business is something else.
"Sudden in a shaft of sunlight Even while the dust moves There rises the hidden laughter Of children in the foliage Quick now, here, now, always— Ridiculous the waste sad time Stretching before and after." TS Eliot
posted by Oyéah at 7:24 AM on June 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
People always wonder what they would do if they had everything, you can bet the toothless tweakers trolling the alley on recycle day, are sure they have it all when they sell enough bottles to get their drug of choice. Having a competent dentist, half an Island, nice suits doesn't alter the basic structure of the scenario.
Watching Matt Gaetz troll a general after wandering the halls of congress with pictures of his conquests, makes me think that stuff is ubiquitous among certain travelers. Billionaire wives, they certainly can't compete with chemistry, chemistry. You have to wonder if that isn't on the table in many places, then combined with memory erasing drugs...the video must be damning especially in the intelligence arena, the narco-intelligence arena, blackmail, diplomacy, the modern anaesthesia business is something else.
"Sudden in a shaft of sunlight Even while the dust moves There rises the hidden laughter Of children in the foliage Quick now, here, now, always— Ridiculous the waste sad time Stretching before and after." TS Eliot
posted by Oyéah at 7:24 AM on June 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
why people are so interested in this scumbag is a mystery to me
I found McAfee interesting because he showed that the world would accept the illusion of security sold by a vicious knave.
I had a brief chance to work for him. He had some half-baked ideas about stingrays and how to detect them and was looking for coders to help him with a project.
I was prepared to give even odds on whether this was about the law enforcement tool or the fish.
posted by Ptrin at 7:40 AM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
I found McAfee interesting because he showed that the world would accept the illusion of security sold by a vicious knave.
I had a brief chance to work for him. He had some half-baked ideas about stingrays and how to detect them and was looking for coders to help him with a project.
I was prepared to give even odds on whether this was about the law enforcement tool or the fish.
posted by Ptrin at 7:40 AM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug?
Fuck, I thought Tony Hsieh had just died tragically in a house fire, I missed the terrible lead up.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:22 AM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Fuck, I thought Tony Hsieh had just died tragically in a house fire, I missed the terrible lead up.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:22 AM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
"Who ranged the world gathering sycophants around him, investing in power yachts, designer chemical labs, bodyguards and shotguns, and, above all else, making his life a holy shrine to his penis."
Uhh. Rest in peace, I guess. Could we please keep the sex to the consenting animals. That's a little too far to species-bend. Thanks.
posted by firstdaffodils at 11:44 AM on June 25, 2021
Uhh. Rest in peace, I guess. Could we please keep the sex to the consenting animals. That's a little too far to species-bend. Thanks.
posted by firstdaffodils at 11:44 AM on June 25, 2021
“Rest in peace” doesn't feel right. Were there an afterlife, McAfee would probably have merited a few hundred thousand years in the rivers of boiling shit or whatever it is.
posted by acb at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2021
posted by acb at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2021
I propose replacing “rest in peace” with “please stay dead”
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:59 PM on June 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:59 PM on June 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
As noted in a recent thread on the lottery, the stories that tend to get told about lottery winners concentrate on the losers, people whose lives are ruined (or ruin their lives, depending). The published research tends to support the opposite conclusion for the majority of winners. (See also.)
It's because the rich want to promote the view that they are special. If all poor people who strike it rich just lose it all and blow it all on drugs, it just goes to show that the current crop of rich people deserve their money.
Don't believe the lies.
posted by Iax at 9:51 PM on June 25, 2021 [5 favorites]
It's because the rich want to promote the view that they are special. If all poor people who strike it rich just lose it all and blow it all on drugs, it just goes to show that the current crop of rich people deserve their money.
Don't believe the lies.
posted by Iax at 9:51 PM on June 25, 2021 [5 favorites]
I've been thinking that "Rest In Peace" carved into headstones could have been used as a command and even a spell to keep the spirits and bodies of the dead safely in their graves so that they cannot trouble the living, which would be appropriate for McAfee, but the Wikipedia article offers no support for that idea.
posted by jamjam at 5:32 PM on June 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jamjam at 5:32 PM on June 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
When McAfee passed, there was nothing left to admire.
That's what happens when somebody fakes their own life.
posted by flabdablet at 3:55 AM on June 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
That's what happens when somebody fakes their own life.
posted by flabdablet at 3:55 AM on June 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
fragmede: say you won a billion dollars in the lottery (or started a successful software company in the 90's), how would you avoid falling into the hole that John McAfee or Tony Hsieh (sold Zappos for $300 million) dug?
MacKenzie Scott Has Donated More Than $4 Billion In Last 4 Months
posted by tzikeh at 12:42 PM on June 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
MacKenzie Scott Has Donated More Than $4 Billion In Last 4 Months
The gifts are to 384 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico – all are unrestricted gifts, with no strings attached.It's a question with a much easier answer than you seem to think.
The organizations, which she lists in her post, include those that fulfill basic needs, such as food banks and emergency relief funds. Others target longer-term problems, she says – "systemic inequities that have been deepened by the crisis: debt relief, employment training, credit and financial services for under-resourced communities, education for historically marginalized and underserved people, civil rights advocacy groups, and legal defense funds that take on institutional discrimination."
posted by tzikeh at 12:42 PM on June 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
"The final two decades of McAfee's life included a somewhat bizarre series of events."
posted by tclark at 3:43 PM on June 23, 2021 [78 favorites]