Somebody tried to use a Grandson Trick variant on my mother-in-law recently, claiming she was my daughter [insert older daughter's name here], had been arrested in Oregon for drunk driving and needed money wired to her for bail. My MIL isn't that easily tricked, she told the woman to call my wife, then called my wife herself. In the end the story got passed around with a lot of chuckles because a) my daughter drinks very little, b) doesn't drive (no license, though we're working on that) and c) was safely here with me in Sacramento.
It would have been even funnier if she's used my YOUNGER daughter's name. Hilarious, in fact. I wish somebody would try that, the whole family would be laughing at them for months.
The Register's coverage added that there may have been sharks in the water.
But I have to add that there was one difference between this and most of the other "distracted by tech" stories I've read. In this case, at least the woman just came right out and admitted she screwed up. She didn't blame the tech, or her unfamiliarity with the area, or the sun in her eyes, or the government for putting an ocean right where people are going to stumble over it by accident. How often do you see people doing that these days?
She also didn't panic when she fell in, but did the best thing she could, lie still and wait for rescue. Training or natural aplomb? I'm somewhat impressed either way.
Sure, laugh at her mistake. But give her credit, she handled it well and owned up. If she hadn't, you'd have made fun of her attempts to shift the blame. Since she did, credit where credit is due, please.
I was going to make a similar suggestion: anybody who gets threatened by the German gov't's attempts at censorship through intimidation -- or indeed, anybody's -- start blocking access to that country's IP addresses. Enough of that and they might start to feel isolated.
I suggest that these two be sent to North Dakota for six months.
I choose North Dakota because I've been there. Granted it's been 40 years since I've been there, maybe they've all turned into asshats or something while I've been away. But I doubt it. Really, any low-population area should do.
My experience is that the people there consider being said "hello" to by a stranger is a good excuse to stop and have a conversation. You know, a friendly one where you may actually get to meet somebody interesting.
The officers will either come back with a new appreciation for saying "hello" to strangers, or they'll go totally bugnuts. Either way, problem solved.
Assuming, of course, that they don't just decide to stay there.
I think the fingerprint thing is more of a gimmick than real security. Especially since the phone is specifically designed to encourage you to leave your fingerprint on the glass.
That said, as long as you don't have somebody following you around collecting fingerprints and waiting to steal your phone, it's simple enough to defeat. Just use, say, your off-hand pinky for the scan, and put a matte case on the phone.
He's using a pseudonym because hacking an EZ-Pass is probably a felony punishable by 13 consecutive life sentences, whereas police gang-beating a helpless old man to death gets a wrist slap.
[The London experiment of handing out free icecream for your password showed that -over 80% gave up their office password with no hesitation]
I will never accept that statistic until they can show how many of those people a) gave fake passwords or b) changed them immediately after the interview.
On the post: Berlin Law Firm Files Criminal Complaint Against Copyright Troll U+C Alleging Its Demand Letters Are Fraudulent
It would have been even funnier if she's used my YOUNGER daughter's name. Hilarious, in fact. I wish somebody would try that, the whole family would be laughing at them for months.
On the post: Conflict-Ridden CBS 60 Minutes 'Journalist' Defends NSA Propaganda Piece By Insulting All His Critics
On the post: Facebooking Woman Takes A Long Walk Off A Short Pier
But I have to add that there was one difference between this and most of the other "distracted by tech" stories I've read. In this case, at least the woman just came right out and admitted she screwed up. She didn't blame the tech, or her unfamiliarity with the area, or the sun in her eyes, or the government for putting an ocean right where people are going to stumble over it by accident. How often do you see people doing that these days?
She also didn't panic when she fell in, but did the best thing she could, lie still and wait for rescue. Training or natural aplomb? I'm somewhat impressed either way.
Sure, laugh at her mistake. But give her credit, she handled it well and owned up. If she hadn't, you'd have made fun of her attempts to shift the blame. Since she did, credit where credit is due, please.
El Reg
http://m.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/19/omfg_i_like_fell_into_shark_infested_waters_while_looking_a t_facebook/ in case I screwed that up, no preview feature in Techdirt Mobile.
On the post: Why The USTR Is Working So Hard To Kill American Innovation And The Economy
Friend of mine just posted this link, seemed appropriate
On the post: German Court Tells Wikimedia Foundation That It's Liable For Things Users Write
Re: Wikipedia NEVER DELETES ANYTHING EVER.
On the post: German Court Tells Wikimedia Foundation That It's Liable For Things Users Write
Response to: kenichi tanaka on Dec 2nd, 2013 @ 10:33am
2) please learn the difference between "libel" and "liable". They are two different words that mean very different things.
3) bonus: learn how word endings can turn nouns into adjectives.
P.S. kudos for not using an apostrophe for possessive "its".
On the post: What The USA FREEDOM Act Doesn't Fix
On the post: Company 'Thanks' Blogger For Positive Review By Sending C&D Claiming 'Unauthorized Trademark Use'
Response to: Anonymous Coward on Nov 15th, 2013 @ 11:35am
On the post: TSA's $1 Billion 'Behavioral Detection' Program Only Slightly More Accurate Than A Coin Flip
And not quite as good as astrology.
On the post: Copyright Extension Goes Into Effect In The UK: More Works Stolen From The Public Domain
Re: Re: Re:
You'd better hurry.
On the post: Experience Stop And Frisk Thanks To This POV Video
I suggest that these two be sent to North Dakota for six months.
I choose North Dakota because I've been there. Granted it's been 40 years since I've been there, maybe they've all turned into asshats or something while I've been away. But I doubt it. Really, any low-population area should do.
My experience is that the people there consider being said "hello" to by a stranger is a good excuse to stop and have a conversation. You know, a friendly one where you may actually get to meet somebody interesting.
The officers will either come back with a new appreciation for saying "hello" to strangers, or they'll go totally bugnuts. Either way, problem solved.
Assuming, of course, that they don't just decide to stay there.
On the post: School Suspends Student Indefinitely For A Drawing Of A Cartoon Bomb He Made At Home
On the post: Time To Change Your Fingerprints: Apple's Fingerprint Scanner Already Hacked
That said, as long as you don't have somebody following you around collecting fingerprints and waiting to steal your phone, it's simple enough to defeat. Just use, say, your off-hand pinky for the scan, and put a matte case on the phone.
On the post: California College Tells Student He Can't Hand Out Copies Of The Constitution On Constitution Day
On the post: NYC Tracking E-ZPass Tags All Over The City, Without Telling Drivers
Not that I am bitter.
On the post: DailyDirt: Can We At Least Agree On The Meanings Of Words?
Re: Words
On the post: DailyDirt: Can We At Least Agree On The Meanings Of Words?
Re: Re: Re:
... No. Seriously. There are fresh brains on my walls and ceiling.
On the post: DailyDirt: Can We At Least Agree On The Meanings Of Words?
Re: Re: This reminds me of a quote off Bash.org
How about "A man chasing a cat with a broom in his underwear is ambience by any definition"?
On the post: More NSA Spying Fallout: Groklaw Shutting Down
Re: Re: Re: Re: Secure E-Mail
I will never accept that statistic until they can show how many of those people a) gave fake passwords or b) changed them immediately after the interview.
On the post: Blatant Intimidation: Glenn Greenwald's Partner Detained At Heathrow Under Terrorism Law, All His Electronics Seized
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