surprise talents/activities

i just read an interesting comment thread (sorry; protected, or i'd point y'all there) about what sorts of talents people have that always make others say "YOU know how to $FOO?" when they mention them. and i couldn't think of anything. i mean, i can think of many things i do or have done, but would any of them actually surprise people who know me?

i think i'll list a few things in another entry, but i'd like to see what other people can think of, *heh*. what would surprise you if you heard i had done it?

and what sort of thing do you think would surprise me, if i heard you had done it?

more on RFID passports

edward felten went to CFP (conference on computers, freedom, and privacy) and got some insights as to why this less secure contact-free technology was chosen.

After the panel, I discussed this issue with Kenn Cukier of The Economist, who has followed the development of this technology for a while and has a good perspective on how we reached the current state. It seems that the decision to use contactless technology was made without fully understanding its consequences, relying on technical assurances from people who had products to sell. Now that the problems with that decision have become obvious, it's late in the process and would be expensive and embarrassing to back out. In short, this looks like another flawed technology procurement program. [emphasis mine.]

ah yes. because the government listens to people with vested interests, and can't admit that they were wrong, the rest of us can just bend over. it's all so mature. but at least not malicious. one hopes.

via boing_boing