A nameless associate, who lives in Albuquerque, seems to have a local perspective on this...

Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 17:11:54 -0500 To: rah@shipwright.com Subject: Re: Proposed Legislation Regualting Expert Testimony

Bob,

It is clear from the following why the bill did not pass:

...

When a cryptologist or computer expert testifies during a criminal defendant's penalty hearing, the cryptologist or computer expert shall wear a cone-shaped hat no less than two feet in height for the duration of the hearing. The surface of the hat shall be imprinted with stars, moons and lightning bolts.

Additionally, the cryptologist or computer expert shall be required to wear a white beard no less than eighteen inches in length for the duration of the hearing. The cryptologist or computer expert shall punctuate crucial elements of his testimony by stabbing at the air with a wand no less than one foot in length.

Whenever a cryptologist or computer expert provides expert testimony regarding the defendant's methods, the bailiff of the court shall dim the lights of the court room and shall administer two strikes to a Chinese gong."

You see, the conical hat, the beard, and the wand are the costume of Manny Aragon, the President pro tem of the Senate, and the striking of the gong is the conditioned response of Ray Sanchez, the Speaker of the House, to anything Manny says.

Of course, *black* hats and goatees on cryptographers are somewhat de regeur, cf. Sameer, Eric, Derek, etc. By the way, do *you* have a black hat, Tim? Cheers, Bob Hettinga PS: I'll stop now. ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "Reality is not optional." --Thomas Sowell The e$ Home Page: http://thumper.vmeng.com/pub/rah/