Good thing I'm only on Friendface.

punch in any DOB you want on FB. they have no farking clue.

Next, how to create a fake facebook account.

Weird. I don't like the Big Brotherness of US driver's licenses and state photo IDs, but the one definite plus of them is that being able to get an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID that's standardized means you have an ID that other organizations -- like banks and such have to take as proof that you're you and that you really are the age it says on your ID.

I don't like the "your papers please" aspect of having verifiable ID, but the upside of being able to prove I'm me and not leave any random idiot in some business or other giving me hassle---that upside doesn't suck.

Solution: Collect IDs at the door, give them back when patrons leave. If the cops show up and there's an underager, you have the fake ID they gave you as proof, and the cops can see if you were negligent or not in allowing it. Either way, the underage kid gets their fake ID confiscated, gets whatever punishment is available for handing out fake IDs, and is (admittedly, only slightly) less likely to repeat offend.

You notice how all Farkers use their real names for their Fark IDs?

Right.

If you find this mysterious, you sort of deserve whatever problems your Facebook account produces, because you are not ready to use the internet.

Julie Cochrane: an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Hard to counterfeit"? Oh, please. Maybe they vary significantly by state, but the states I've lived in have not had "hard to counterfeit" IDs. The exact opposite, I'd say. No, they won't stand up to proper examination, but the cursory glance you get at the bar in poor light would easily miss a counterfeit.

What's the legal age to drink in a bar in the UK?

In Boston some bars hire college students as bouncers. The theory is they recognize students and often know who is a senior (legal) and who is a sophomore (usually underage).

Julie Cochrane: Weird. I don't like the Big Brotherness of US driver's licenses and state photo IDs, but the one definite plus of them is that being able to get an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID that's standardized means you have an ID that other organizations -- like banks and such have to take as proof that you're you and that you really are the age it says on your ID.

I don't like the "your papers please" aspect of having verifiable ID, but the upside of being able to prove I'm me and not leave any random idiot in some business or other giving me hassle---that upside doesn't suck.

Are they hard to counterfeit these days? I somehow doubt it. They weren't hard to counterfeit back when I might have wanted to prove I was old enough to drink but in fact wasn't. Not that many places checked IDs back then anyway.

CSB

Once when I was i my late 20s I actually did forget my ID at home and got carded. I told that to the guy checking IDs at the bar thinking there's no way he was going to believe me. He let me in anyway. I just thought "really? that worked?"

ZAZ: What's the legal age to drink in a bar in the UK?

In Boston some bars hire college students as bouncers. The theory is they recognize students and often know who is a senior (legal) and who is a sophomore (usually underage).

That's weird to me now. When I was in high school, I didn't know of but maybe 5 people that weren't of drinking age when they graduated.

I got ID'd last weekend for beer. I'm like "Really? Are you serious?" She says "We ID everyone who looks under 30."

"But, lady, I turn 40 in two months."

I would have kissed her but she was moo moo pasty gray sourpuss

So people who don't have Facebook accounts are just out of luck?

gweilo8888: Julie Cochrane: an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Hard to counterfeit"? Oh, please. Maybe they vary significantly by state, but the states I've lived in have not had "hard to counterfeit" IDs. The exact opposite, I'd say. No, they won't stand up to proper examination, but the cursory glance you get at the bar in poor light would easily miss a counterfeit.

You get a scanner that reads the code on the back of the license, and a magnetic swipe thingy that reads the strip. If the license won't scan one way or the other and bring up data that matches the front of the license, it's no good.

As far as "cursory glance" goes, really as a someone checking IDs at the door, all I've got to check is: A) did it scan, B) does the photo match, and C) is the age right? Did it scan is as simple as whether the machine beeped or buzzed.

Most counterfeiters aren't going to be able to put together blanks that are going to scan right.

Julie Cochrane: gweilo8888: Julie Cochrane: an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Hard to counterfeit"? Oh, please. Maybe they vary significantly by state, but the states I've lived in have not had "hard to counterfeit" IDs. The exact opposite, I'd say. No, they won't stand up to proper examination, but the cursory glance you get at the bar in poor light would easily miss a counterfeit.

You get a scanner that reads the code on the back of the license, and a magnetic swipe thingy that reads the strip. If the license won't scan one way or the other and bring up data that matches the front of the license, it's no good.

As far as "cursory glance" goes, really as a someone checking IDs at the door, all I've got to check is: A) did it scan, B) does the photo match, and C) is the age right? Did it scan is as simple as whether the machine beeped or buzzed.

Most counterfeiters aren't going to be able to put together blanks that are going to scan right.

Do clubs do that now? Scan/swipe your ID? Honest question, I haven't been to a check-your-ID club in years.

CSS:

I worked retail last holiday season, as a cashier. Now they card people for freaking cold medicine because you can apparently make meth from it. And we sold alcohol, too. So I had to learn the rules about carding people and I had to card people.

For the most part, my cash register did all the real work. It knew what bar codes it needed ID for, it wouldn't let me scan in the next item until I'd gotten that ID into the system, and the ID had to scan right. If the ID didn't scan right, I could put the birth date in by hand, but I had to call over a supervisor, because it took a supervisor's override code to approve the sale.

It really sucked when one gal was there without a driver's license or state ID, but she had her freaking passport with her. Since the stupid cash register wasn't smart enough to be able to scan a passport, I had to ask her to wait for a supervisor to get there and punch in the override code to approve the sale.

So this gal has the ultimate, perfect, gold-standard of all IDs and she can't get her damn booze without the hassle of waiting for a supervisor to walk over. Sometimes I hate computers.

Anyway, the only other good reason I was in the decision loop on selling restricted items was to check the picture on that ID and make sure the face on the ID I was swiping matched the face of the person who was using it.

And other than the passport incident, it didn't take more than half a glance to verify someone was okay to have what they were getting. Just ask for their ID, glance at it, scan it, hand it back, move on. You really don't even have to pause, because somewhere in the middle of that ordinary motion, the computer will interrupt you if there's a problem. If the computer doesn't interrupt you, there's obviously no problem.

The other hassle was "undocumented immigrants." They didn't have ID they were comfortable getting scanned, but they get colds just like anybody else does. It kinda sucked for some mom with kids to get to the check out, the register asks for ID, I ask for ID and explain the problem, the mom gets a funny look on her face and tells me she doesn't want the cold medicine after all.

That really sucked.

I don't think those women were buyers for a meth ring. I think they were moms whose kids had a cold or the flu. I felt bad for them.

oh_please: Julie Cochrane: gweilo8888: Julie Cochrane: an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Hard to counterfeit"? Oh, please. Maybe they vary significantly by state, but the states I've lived in have not had "hard to counterfeit" IDs. The exact opposite, I'd say. No, they won't stand up to proper examination, but the cursory glance you get at the bar in poor light would easily miss a counterfeit.

You get a scanner that reads the code on the back of the license, and a magnetic swipe thingy that reads the strip. If the license won't scan one way or the other and bring up data that matches the front of the license, it's no good.

As far as "cursory glance" goes, really as a someone checking IDs at the door, all I've got to check is: A) did it scan, B) does the photo match, and C) is the age right? Did it scan is as simple as whether the machine beeped or buzzed.

Most counterfeiters aren't going to be able to put together blanks that are going to scan right.

Do clubs do that now? Scan/swipe your ID? Honest question, I haven't been to a check-your-ID club in years.

I've never seen a club do it. Big box retailers do.

My point was that, at least in the US, with more and more states going to IDs that are scannable, clubs could reduce their risk of fines a lot by just sticking a scanner at the door. No idea how much it would cost. "Just" in this case means the technology is simple.

The Big Brother downside is that it's just a tiny step from that to retaining records of who's at which club, and when, and with whom.

Julie Cochrane: I've never seen a club do it. Big box retailers do.

I've never had my ID scanned by a club, ever, nor even seen one equipped to do so. And to be honest, I can't remember any retailer ever doing more than glance at it, either. Airlines would be the only ones I can think of that have...

Julie Cochrane: You get a scanner that reads the code on the back of the license, and a magnetic swipe thingy that reads the strip. If the license won't scan one way or the other and bring up data that matches the front of the license, it's no good.

As far as "cursory glance" goes, really as a someone checking IDs at the door, all I've got to check is: A) did it scan, B) does the photo match, and C) is the age right? Did it scan is as simple as whether the machine beeped or buzzed.

Most counterfeiters aren't going to be able to put together blanks that are going to scan right.

Yeah, I'm sure that's going to be a big deterrent. Nobody ever fakes IDs in this country. There aren't ever stolen identities either.

The only time I wanted to get someone underage into a bar, it was a bar where I was well-known, it was late and they weren't charging cover but had a long line, and she was a skinny little thing--the teenager.

Since I was known there, the guy carding already knew he'd carded me once that night, so he could ignore me.

I just ducked around the back of the guy he was carding, and pulled skinny minnie along by the hand behind me. Didn't give her a chance to get cold feet and protest or look nervous, didn't give him a chance to notice her since he was busy with the guy in front of him.

I didn't expect to get away with it, but it was really a piece of cake. She slid right through the gap in line like the proverbial poop through the proverbial goose.

We didn't even try to buy her a drink. Got her something non-alcoholic and let her have sips of other people's beers. As long as nobody served her, they could get away with kinda not noticing her.

She was duly impressed with our worldly sophistication.

(Yeah, I was sitting there about like you were, "What? That actually worked?")

Happy Hours: Julie Cochrane: You get a scanner that reads the code on the back of the license, and a magnetic swipe thingy that reads the strip. If the license won't scan one way or the other and bring up data that matches the front of the license, it's no good.

As far as "cursory glance" goes, really as a someone checking IDs at the door, all I've got to check is: A) did it scan, B) does the photo match, and C) is the age right? Did it scan is as simple as whether the machine beeped or buzzed.

Most counterfeiters aren't going to be able to put together blanks that are going to scan right.

Yeah, I'm sure that's going to be a big deterrent. Nobody ever fakes IDs in this country. There aren't ever stolen identities either.

I admit that you would have a point if I actually gave a shiat about people drinking when they're not who they say they are or are younger than some magically blessed age limit.

I don't.

All I actually give shiat about is covering the bar's arse so that legally the bar has done its due diligence and doesn't get fined. "Oh, someone with a fake ID that was too good got through? Too bad, so sad, we did our best. What upgrades to our system do you recommend? Yes, ah, hmmm. And what upgrades are you making to your ID systems to make them less easy to counterfeit? Hmm, ah, yes......well.......We're glad to hear you're having a conference on that very topic and we're confident that your next iteration of IDs will be just splendid. Very nice seeing you, do come again!"

Young humans drinking are not the problem. Alcoholic humans operating motor vehicles and engaging in other kinds of criminal mischief while intoxicated are a problem. Scapegoating young people has done damned little to address the problems caused by alcoholics.

Alcoholism looks like a social problem of the young because alcoholics drink wherever they happen to be. Young people are out looking for mates. Somewhat older people who have found mates and started making kids are staying home with their mates and kids. The drinkers in both groups are drinking---when they're younger, they're drinking out, when they get married and are having the kids, they're drinking at home. And then they go through the round of divorces and wherever the hell they are after that, they drink there, too.

Some of our drink driving problem has to do with driving everywhere instead of having more reliable public transit that runs at night and into the wee hours. People can't go out drinking and clubbing and then rely on public transit to get home afterward. If we took all the money we spend enforcing the age limits and spent it on transit options, it'd do a hell of a lot more to ameliorate the problem.

And I realize public transit is an urban solution--doesn't do squat for small towns, suburbs, rural communities. Sorry, I'm too tired to figure out how to solve the rest of the world's problems tonight. Maybe tomorrow. :-)

Sluttiness ?

I'd check mySpace for the definitive answer. If she has a page, she's a slut.

Julie Cochrane: The other hassle was "undocumented immigrants." They didn't have ID they were comfortable getting scanned, but they get colds just like anybody else does. It kinda sucked for some mom with kids to get to the check out, the register asks for ID, I ask for ID and explain the problem, the mom gets a funny look on her face and tells me she doesn't want the cold medicine after all.

That really sucked.

I don't think those women were buyers for a meth ring. I think they were moms whose kids had a cold or the flu. I felt bad for them.

No. You were acting as the best, final defense for America, so you should be proud you did your job, and did it well!

I'm telling you now that if you'd let that "mom" get away with it, she would've killed you and everyone you care about.

Julie Cochrane: oh_please: Julie Cochrane: gweilo8888: Julie Cochrane: an official, hard to counterfeit, state-issued ID

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Hard to counterfeit"? Oh, please. Maybe they vary significantly by state, but the states I've lived in have not had "hard to counterfeit" IDs. The exact opposite, I'd say. No, they won't stand up to proper examination, but the cursory glance you get at the bar in poor light would easily miss a counterfeit.

You get a scanner that reads the code on the back of the license, and a magnetic swipe thingy that reads the strip. If the license won't scan one way or the other and bring up data that matches the front of the license, it's no good.

As far as "cursory glance" goes, really as a someone checking IDs at the door, all I've got to check is: A) did it scan, B) does the photo match, and C) is the age right? Did it scan is as simple as whether the machine beeped or buzzed.

Most counterfeiters aren't going to be able to put together blanks that are going to scan right.

Do clubs do that now? Scan/swipe your ID? Honest question, I haven't been to a check-your-ID club in years.

I've never seen a club do it. Big box retailers do.

Thats not so much for the ID verification as a marketing tool, the mag strip has all those yummy mailing addresses. That's why I will show ID but will not allow swiping.

Julie Cochrane: I've never seen a club do it. Big box retailers do.

I've been to a couple, but out of over a hundred clubs only those two. (And surprisingly they were fairly divey.) Never at a bar.

JDJoeE: Thats not so much for the ID verification as a marketing tool, the mag strip has all those yummy mailing addresses. That's why I will show ID but will not allow swiping.

They encode all of that? Ouch, I didn't know that, thought it was just DL #.