Busy, busy, busy...

I just got my Iowa Driver's License renewed. It's been five years, so the pup looks different from last time. For one thing, what does that pink stripe along the top mean? Digimarc makes the equipment that spews out both Iowa and Indiana licenses, so here's a photo:


These things are chock full of "copy protection" zoobies, like "ghost photos" (bottom right corner), color shifting overprinting (IOWA and the wild rose graphic), watermarks, etc. etc.

The only altered license I've ever seen used to buy beer for minors was pretty crude — photo razored out with an Exacto knife, another tucked in and held in place with Scotch tape. Didn't fool the checkout girl for one instant, but the punk walked out with his beer, unchallenged. The thought, "citizen's arrest," never really entered her head, not in any immediately compelling sense of the word. Maybe she, like me, was stunned by the chutzpah of such a cheesy forgery.

Sikkurity Nurds, full of suggestions for the rest of us, are such luuuzers.