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Employee used crisp packet as 'Faraday cage' to hide his whereabouts during work
The London Telegraph ^ | Novembere 27, 2017 | Jonathan Pearlman

Posted on 11/29/2017 7:58:42 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

A man in Australia was sacked after he relied on a 180-year-old scientific discovery to help prevent his colleagues discovering his whereabouts while he played golf during work hours.

Tom Colella, a 60-year-old electrician in Perth, lost his job after an anonymous letter to his firm claimed that he left work to play golf at least 140 times over the last two years.

Australia’s Fair Work Commission, a workplace tribunal, heard that Mr Colella blocked his whereabouts by storing his personal digital assistant, a phone-like device that has a GPS inside, in an empty foil packet of Twisties, a puffy cheese-based snack that is popular in Australia.

The tribunal found that the packet was deliberately used to operate as an elaborate “Faraday cage” - an enclosure which can block electromagnetic fields - and prevented his employer knowing his location. The cage set-up was named after English scientist Michael Faraday, who in 1836 observed that a continuous covering of conductive material could be used to block electromagnetic fields.

"I can find no plausible explanation why Mr Colella would create a Faraday cage around his PDA, except to obstruct the GPS collecting capacity of the device," said Bernie Riordan, a commissioner at the tribunal.

"Mr Colella appears to have been deliberately mischievous in acting in this manner."

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Business/Economy; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: australia; faradaycage; firing; loser; pda; perth; tomcolella; tribunal; twisties
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1 posted on 11/29/2017 7:58:43 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: 100American; al baby; Albion Wilde; Allegra; BufordP; EveningStar; Gefn; GunsareOK; JRios1968; ...

DANG!


2 posted on 11/29/2017 8:00:00 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Women prefer men with money and muscles. DUH!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

well, he is probably really good at golf now and can teach lessons


3 posted on 11/29/2017 8:00:00 AM PST by yldstrk (My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I can find no plausible explanation why Mr Colella would create a Faraday cage around his PDA, except to obstruct the GPS collecting capacity of the device,


They will soon outlaw “Faraday” cages and only outlaws will have them /s


4 posted on 11/29/2017 8:04:49 AM PST by CIB-173RDABN (US out of the UN, UN out of the US)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

And no one at his company ever questioned why hi GPS signal would drop out during his 4-5 hour round of golf and then would reappear afterwards?

We use these devices in fleet management and this constant signal interruption would been have caught sooner than 2 years.


5 posted on 11/29/2017 8:05:02 AM PST by shotgun
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

All that and a bag of chips.


6 posted on 11/29/2017 8:05:07 AM PST by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

7 posted on 11/29/2017 8:06:59 AM PST by null and void (The internet gave everyone a mouth. It gave no one a brain.)
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To: Blue Jays

"...deliberately used as an elaborate ‘Faraday cage’ to..."


Elaborate? Good grief.
It was a packet of snack chips.


8 posted on 11/29/2017 8:10:39 AM PST by Blue Jays ( Rock hard ~ Ride free)
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To: shotgun

“I drove through a tunnel....for 5 hours”


9 posted on 11/29/2017 8:12:06 AM PST by AppyPappy (Don't mistake your dorm political discussions with the desires of the nation)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I helped put in a GPS enabled mobile dispatch system for a bunch of utility crews. They were quite creative in disabling the GPS portion of the application. They were all union so they knew they could get away with it.


10 posted on 11/29/2017 8:13:24 AM PST by crusadersoldier
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To: shotgun

I use this : RF Shield Bag

You can order the RF (Radio Frequency) shield bag, free of charge, by logging into your SunPass account and selecting Order Accessories on the Dashboard.

The silver RF shield bag will keep your transponder from being read when paying tolls with cash.

Keep your RF shield bag readily available in your car at all times.


11 posted on 11/29/2017 8:14:09 AM PST by keving (We the government)
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To: CIB-173RDABN

It seems a pity that they would do this as it might be protection from an EMP attack.


12 posted on 11/29/2017 8:14:44 AM PST by jmcenanly ("The more corrupt the state, the more laws." Tacitus, Publius Cornelius)
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To: bgill

Heh!


13 posted on 11/29/2017 8:15:06 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

In Florida, as I am sure in many other states, the “SunPass” device which automatically records and deducts toll charges from a pre-paid account comes with it’s own ‘Twistie’ foil bag. The instructions that come with the device tell the user that the bag will effectively prevent the electronic reader from communicating with the device if the device is placed inside it...hence, Farraday Cage.


14 posted on 11/29/2017 8:18:01 AM PST by T. Rustin Noone (the angels wanna wear my red shoes......)
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To: keving

Beat me to it by seconds! Well done.


15 posted on 11/29/2017 8:18:54 AM PST by T. Rustin Noone (the angels wanna wear my red shoes......)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

the packet was deliberately used to operate as an elaborate “Faraday cage”

Elaborate? Simple as pie.


16 posted on 11/29/2017 8:19:20 AM PST by wita (Always and forever, under oath in defense of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Due to the Australian accents of those involved, he can always claim he misunderstood the company policy regarding, “Casual Faradays”.


17 posted on 11/29/2017 8:19:29 AM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: null and void

Looks like a Cheetos knockoff.


18 posted on 11/29/2017 8:20:11 AM PST by Tucker39 (Read: Psalm 145. The whole psalm.....aloud; as praise to our God.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Not all heroes wear capes.


19 posted on 11/29/2017 8:20:20 AM PST by Constitution Day
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The tribunal found that the packet was deliberately used to operate as an elaborate “Faraday cage”

Their idea of "elaborate" and mine are quite different.

20 posted on 11/29/2017 8:20:53 AM PST by ShadowAce (Linux - The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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