He can use that on his YC app to answer "Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage" (http://news.ycombinator.com/w2009form).

I would love to interview this guy just to ask 'What's up with the inner tube escape?'

Perhaps harder for cops to follow you if you're not on land and they don't know which side you're getting out on?

Alternately, another craigslist advert paying $200 to tube down the Skykomish River wearing a painting mask.

I live two miles away from where this happened. Between the social engineering aspect of this and the escape on the inner tube, this is by far the most interesting thing that has happened in our little town for a while. :)

"He then made his escape in an inner tube on the Skykomish River."

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_100108WAB_monroe_...

Didn't we see a recruiting tactic like this in the original Thomas Crown Affair (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063688/)?

Another job posting from Craigslist: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/ldn/783766933.html

I always thought if I was gonna rob a bank that starting a month prior I would call every service oriented business in town from plumbing to drapes and setup an appointment with everyone for 11am on the OTHER side of town. A thousand angry service people rioting should provide sufficient police distraction (maybe film it and monetize with revver, what a twofer).

Reminds me of the dress like Best Buy employees live skit:

http://improveverywhere.com/2006/04/23/best-buy/

Haha, that's pretty funny and creative. As long as nobody died, I think that guy should get a "get out of jail free card"!

You might think differently if you worked for the bank...

I got robbed a few weeks ago. I was using an ATM (standalone, not affiliated with any bank) which had a retractable cover over the money dispenser. Somebody had drilled a hex bolt, requiring a socket driver to remove, through the cover, locking it shut. I didn't notice until it was too late. Then after I left, he presumably returned to remove the bolt and collect my money. It was an absolutely ingenious hack, but that doesn't make me any less inclined to throttle the bastard.

Hmm.. After you noticed the cover was locked shut, could you have called the cops? That's a robbery in progress, so that seems like a valid reason to call 'em. From there, they could have retrieved your money

I called them. They couldn't be bothered to show up.

All you have to do is call them back and say "don't worry about it, I shot the guy who tried to steal from me"

They'll show up.

Where in the hell to you live? I can't imagine any police force in the US ignoring that call.

Maybe you're some sort of local hooligan who cries wolf?

You're obviously also pretty foolish to simply let yourself be passively robbed.

Jeez, dude. I hope you're just having a bad day. Relax. Have a party with some friends. Play some guitar. Paint a self-portrait. In other words, try to be happy. If you don't care about others, they won't care about you -- and that's a rather scary position to be in.

San Francisco, and I'll choose to ignore the ad hominems.

I think that was just random vandalism. The ATM takes the money back if you do not take them in about 2 minutes, for example if you forget. It happened to me, and the bank did not charge me.

He got the idea from "Inside Man" where they couldn't tell who the bad guys were b/c everyone had painters masks on.

Well that finally answers the question of "what will web 3.0 be?"

Bank robbery done right.

Here's an alternative technology he could have used. Doesn't have the same cachet of cleverness, but there's a lot less of an incrimination trail about which to worry. http://www.fakecrap.com/products/groucho_glasses.html

It's cleverness theater. Has the appearance of being clever but provides no advantage over the simple, obvious method.