And you got yourself a lawyer with a three-piece suit?

[austin_dern]

So, I bought hospitalization insurance. There wasn't much to do, just copy my employment pass and fill out various medical history forms, which asked fewer questions than the blood donation forms do. The answers to all the questions were ``no,'' anyway.

While signing I wondered how much work it would be to set up a con game, presenting oneself as an insurance agent, going around ``signing'' people up, getting their credit card numbers or signed permission to make withdrawals from their bank account. All you really need is to design some convincing-looking brochures and forms, print them on high-stock paper and carbonless copy forms and such, get an overstuffed briefcase and dress the part. I've designed purchase order blank forms and staff ID badges good enough the Secret Service let people from my campus newspaper near the President, as though we had actual reporters. Other people have graphic design sense too, though none design web sites. The only costs would be color printing and dressing as an insurance salesman all day. I didn't want to think about that right then, honestly, but I imagine there are 2,038 flomptillion (thousand pratillion British) mystery and crime stories with the same premise.

Oh, and based on pictures from an upcoming Enterprise, Captain Archer hires Jen Walters, the Sensational She-Hulk, to represent him. This is wise; she's a fine attorney and opposing council is always more agreeable to your needs when you can credibly order his client bisected. Plus she's smart enough Archer can continue not to understand anything without being a problem.

Trivia: There are only two prime numbers between 100,000,000 and 100,000,100. Source: The Mathematical Experience, Philip J Davis and Reuben Hersh.

Currently Reading: Proteus Combined, Charles Sheffield.

Comments

[orv.livejournal.com]

A somewhat related correlary is I believe you could get into a surprising number of buildings simply by dressing as a telephone repairman. Jeans, grungy tee shirt, hard hat, and a tool belt with a test set hanging from it, and people would lead you right to the most sensitive part of their business. When was the last time you saw anyone ask a telephone repairman for ID? I admit I never have, though I do generally keep an eye on them while they're working.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Well, that's kind of a special case for me since I don't remember the last time I saw a telephone repairman. But, yeah, I can't help noticing nearly every apartment complex here has at least one security guard, and that you can just go right past him if you ride up in a taxi, particularly if you have a box that looks like an appliance being delivered from a store.

I'm about 99 percent sure I sent you the link about the guys who programmed the Graphical Calculator for Apple, about a decade ago; after they were laid off they just kept coming in every day and working anyway, and eventually got an access card from a guy who was just tired of seeing them huddling outside the door every day, waiting for the chance to jump in after someone else opened the door ... If I didn't, porsupah has it.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

On that same note, I can get rather a lot of access in hotels and restaurants, simply by dressing in my usual work clothes: Chef Jacket, black and white pants, black Dansko shoes. Just swap my baseball cap for a paper cylinder, and I'm the new chef they hired back on Tuesday. Mind, I don't have anything I could aparticularly do with such access, except steal boxes of frozen chicken breasts from freezers or cook up some proper bernaise...

Look the part, act the part, people generally accept it.

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

See, I think there's my problem; I've never looked like I belonged wherever I was, even when I do. I don't know what I'd do with kitchen access in a restaurant or hotel; even stealing food components would be a waste, since the last thing I cooked that required more than ``apply heat'' was Tuna Helper. I imagine most of your better restaurants don't keep much Tuna Helper in stock.

Well...

[patchoblack.livejournal.com]

o/` I'm happy to say, you're not the only critic of mine! (yea!) So if you're gonna sue me, you're going to have to wait in line.. o/`

Re: Well...

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

That's the one. Weird Al seems to get the best response from people picking up the lyric and continuing it ... Someday I'll have to try a real test of response rates to Weird Al, Allan Sherman, Tom Lehrer and similar musical types.

[xolo.livejournal.com]

A few years back in Akron, a very large, very expensive industrial air conditioner unit was stolen from the roof of a building in broad daylight by men who arrived with a truck and a rental crane one Saturday morning. Quite a few people saw them taking it, but nobody realized anything was wrong until Monday morning.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

That's a good one. I imagine I wouldn't notice anything particular about people fiddling around on a room by a crane. Maybe a shortage of huge signs from the contractors bragging about their planned accomplishment would be the only tipoff.

On a lighter (or rather darker green) note.

[reptilemammal.livejournal.com]

Yes I say crossover is where Star Trek needs to go. I mean really that's not something that commonly done in television series. I mean it is usually basically the same character moved to a slightly different environment.

However superheroes in space, what a concept! And sure that cleavage helps pull in more viewer which seems to have been Enterprise's real problem. To Boldy Go Where no SF/TV has gone before, oh wait maybe Brisco County Jr. did that... Ah well

Re: On a lighter (or rather darker green) note.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Come to it, didn't they put the X-Men on at least one starship Enterprise, back in the mid-90s, in I presume Marvel Comics' run of the things? Though a good superhero here and there might go nicely.