Illegal Engineering • Hacker News Board

Re: Illegal Engineering

#11

Post by wlesieutre » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 8:19 PM UTC

tomjen3 wrote: post #6

waterlesscloud wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a year or so in college, I worked at night for a security firm. I spent several months working in a bank's operation center, watching the camera feeds from the branches overnight. Anyway, for some reason part of the training for that job mentioned that the average bank robbery at the time grossed only about $1500 (about $4000 now). Plus the robbers would almost certainly be on video and the FBI was automatically…

It is a well known social hack to simply put a good suit on, walk up to people like you belong there, make them feel important and then get them to do whatever it is you want.

You can go anywhere in life if you look serious and carry a clipboard

Re: Illegal Engineering

#12

Post by Domenic_S » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 8:25 PM UTC

killa_bee wrote: post #10

What is the "DT" mentioned in this article? I have no prior knowledge of that acronym.

Perhaps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_and_Technology ?

Re: Illegal Engineering

#13

Post by lclarkmichalek » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 8:34 PM UTC

Domenic_S wrote: post #12

killa_bee wrote: post #10

What is the "DT" mentioned in this article? I have no prior knowledge of that acronym.

Perhaps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_and_Technology ?

Almost certainly, given that the author seems to have significant connections to the UK.

Re: Illegal Engineering

#14

Post by excuse-me » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 8:35 PM UTC

killa_bee wrote: post #10

What is the "DT" mentioned in this article? I have no prior knowledge of that acronym.

Design Technology - it's drawing pretty pictures (sorry `design concepts`) of what you would make if your school still had proper shop class.

It is to "metal work" what "information technology" is to programming.

Re: Illegal Engineering

#15

Post by excuse-me » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 8:38 PM UTC

wlesieutre wrote: post #11

tomjen3 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a well known social hack to simply put a good suit on, walk up to people like you belong there, make them feel important and then get them to do whatever it is you want.

You can go anywhere in life if you look serious and carry a clipboard

If you have a suit + high-vis vest + hard hat you can take over the world !

Re: Illegal Engineering

#16

Post by J3L2404 » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 8:54 PM UTC

wlesieutre wrote: post #11

tomjen3 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a well known social hack to simply put a good suit on, walk up to people like you belong there, make them feel important and then get them to do whatever it is you want.

You can go anywhere in life if you look serious and carry a clipboard

And a full size video camera. I've been issued temporary press passes at a Republican fundraiser by signing out a professional grade camera at the local cable company (after a four hour course), telling security we were with CCTV (they didn't blink), and CNN let us use some of their lights!

Re: Illegal Engineering

#17

Post by slug » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 9:55 PM UTC

pja wrote: post #3

Love a bit of Tim Hunkin. Anyone reading HackerNews would probably enjoy his television series from the early 90s: The Secret Life of Machines. Details, including links to download locations (bittorrent for preference I'd imagine) here: http://www.timhunkin.com/control/n_tv_index.htm

That show is awesome, be warned if you download it you will spend the weekend glued to the computer watching it :) I wish there was something more recent in the same vein.

Re: Illegal Engineering

#18

Post by simonsquiff » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 10:15 PM UTC

pja wrote: post #3

Love a bit of Tim Hunkin. Anyone reading HackerNews would probably enjoy his television series from the early 90s: The Secret Life of Machines. Details, including links to download locations (bittorrent for preference I'd imagine) here: http://www.timhunkin.com/control/n_tv_index.htm

He's amazing. I absolutely devoured his book 'Almost Everything There is to Know' as a kid, which was the collection of all his cartoons from decades at the Observer. It's now online http://www.timhunkin.com/40_rudiments_book.htm but I highly recommend getting a second hand copy of the book. I must have read it cover to cover about 5 times and I think it's the source of my reputation of always knowing ridiculous random facts.

Re: Illegal Engineering

#19

Post by ralph » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 10:48 PM UTC

killa_bee wrote: post #10

What is the "DT" mentioned in this article? I have no prior knowledge of that acronym.

He refers to it again later; "Engineering apprenticeships have been decimated, and even the old metalwork shops in schools have gone, replaced by ‘craft, design and technology’, which seems to mainly involve making things of cardboard."

Re: Illegal Engineering

#20

Post by cafard » Fri, Jul 06, 2012, 11:36 PM UTC

In the past week I have been reading _Essays Ancient and Modern_ by Bernard Knox. In the autobiographical introduction, he writes of being trained for infiltration behind German lines in WW II, including a class with a master safe cracker, then an inmate of Pentonville Prison. Knox flunked, as having insufficiently sensitive fingers, and the safe cracker advised him to stick to dynamite. As matters worked out, Knox never had the chance to practice burglary, though he saw a good deal of action.