There is something about harboring a confessed criminal in your house that can bring new excitement to your life. Within minutes of meeting the so-called “homeless hacker” Adrian Lamo, he was showing me how to reprogram my cell phone. That is the kind of guy he is — someone who has broken into numerous computer systems around the world and knows his way around the cell phone firmware, yet isn’t afraid to share his knowledge with the common reporter. The funny thing was, he could remember the codes to get it into programming mode, but had trouble finding the phone’s power switch. It was sort of cute, in a way.

You could say he is a criminal with a conscience, and I mean that in just the nicest way. When I told him to help himself to whatever he could forage in my fridge (which is always a risky proposition in even the best of times), he told me he boosted a yogurt. No, you didn’t steal it, I offered it to you, I said. Then he told me his credo: “If you are going to be a criminal, you might as well be a trustworthy one.” I completely agree. So have all the yogurts you can find, Adrian. In the meantime, I got to watch him in action and spend more time with him doing normal (i.e., non-computer-related) activities. It was a gas.

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