INQ hack dons mask in WiMAX escapade

BY THE time you read this, 2006 will be history or about to be history, part of the recent past. But Mankind needs to remember the past, in order to learn from it and avoid repeating mistakes. Now where did I hear that before? [Barcelona 1936, Ed.]

As we solace from the stressful work of another year that goes by, we relax our bodies and clean our minds from bad memories that deserve to be forgotten. So, here's a cautionary tale for you all in this time of reflection and balance: Don't mix crazy correspondents and WiMAX microwaves, the results can be embarrassing. This story was not published at the time due to editorial concerns, but after a month-long re-evaluation by our ethics committee which met in Las Vegas last week, it finally recommended its publication, with the above disclaimer attached.

This is how we feel after a year of hard work

Did you know journalism is one of the most stressful jobs?

WiMAX microwaves made me do it. It was a shocking, horrible moment

It was a long day, in fact, it was the last day of Expocomm 2006 down in Buenos Aires. The nice people at Nextel were handing out champagne like they do every year, yet somehow, a mask suddenly landed in my hands. At that point I remember very little, only that I was asked to jump aboard a Segway, and people started taking pictures of me. I drove in circles.

Who is this people?

See the antenna aiming to my head?

Then when I got off that contraption, women jumped all around me, wanting to have a picture with the "mask guy". Then the people at the Ertach booth - WiMAX ISP - also asked for a picture. I couldn't say no. My mind was being affected by the microwave signal on the show floor. The rest is history. Moral of the story? Don't wear latex masks of popular TV characters on exhibitions. That, coupled with radio waves and champagne, can have devastating effects.

And we do this to bring you the real news...

It will clearly go down in history as one of the most memorable -or forgettable - moments of 2006 down at INQ LatAm, depending on how you look at it. Kids, don't try that at home.µ

L'INQS
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Fernando's Expocomm 2006 coverage down under
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The Noise/stress link