Ran across this on the b3ta newsletter:
When I was a travelling sales rep, I used to be sent all over the country to the most god-forsaken places on earth. To combat this, I devised a somewhat ingenious solution: I stayed at home. My boss would regularly phone me while I was ‘in my car’ to check how I doing, so I recorded a sample of my car engine noise, complete with a couple of indicator clicks and engine revs on my laptop, which I could start at a moment’s notice while the phone was ringing.
Excellent. Well, it was until my doorbell went during one such ‘trip’. I told him it was a warning light on the car as the engine kept overheating. Later on I had to actually work for 2 weeks because my boss needed the laptop for a presentation. A little while afterwards, I was up to my usual tricks when I should have been working… The phone goes, so I quickly reach for the shortcut on my desktop to the recorded car sample. Imagine my horror when I find it has been replaced with one of my boss saying ‘you’re fired – now fuck off’.
Never lend your boss your laptop.