If you're going to tell lies to make yourself more impressive, at least make sure they're "un-Googleable"

Poor Christopher Durnford. You know that the York Prep Academy principal was just trying to impress his father-in-law and boss when he embellished his cycling experience, claiming that he had been captain of a Canadian cycling team and telling tales of the day he competed in the Barcelona Olympics. "The road was rough that day, my friends, " he'd probably said. "I was on the verge of inching past Germany's Stefan Steinweg, leading my team to the gold medal when suddenly, a kitten appeared in the road. I swerved to avoid it, and alas, the race was lost. But at least I met Mittens…" How would they ever know? he must have thought. It's not like Americans ever pay attention to what Canadians are up to, in sports or anywhere else. But then the lie snowballed. His father-in-law, York headmaster Ronald Stewart, was so pleased his son-in-law was something other than a regular milquetoast that he added details of the competition to Durnford's bio on the school's Website, and the story gained traction, even though Durnford tried his best to play it down. "He's a pretty self-effacing guy," according to one parent. And then this week, it all went bad. Someone — who? Probably some enterprising ninth-grader with well-honed Internet research skills and an ax to grind — found him out. He called the Post, the Post called the Canadian cycling team, and it was all over. Durnford's weak protestations only solidified his guilt: "I do talk about trying to make the Olympic team," he told the paper. "I took a couple years off college to try to get there, but I never made it to competing for Canada." The lesson, kids? If you're going to tell lies to make yourself more impressive, at least make sure they're un-Googleable.

Fireman drives trucks 20 years without license
Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:17pm EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - A firefighter in Japan lost his job after city officials found out he had been driving ambulances and fire trucks for over 20 years without a driver's license, an official in Takaoka City, central Japan, said on Tuesday.

The case came to light when the firefighter in his 40s, who had been working for the city for over 25 years, hesitated to show his driver's license during a regular inspection last week, said Shigeru Sawasaki, a Takaoka City official.

"He was acting awkward when the inspection took place on the 5th," Sawasaki said. "And when the inspector took the driver's license and checked, it belonged to a family member."

The firefighter, whose name the city declined to announce due to privacy concerns, had been bringing in his father's license and showing it to the inspector while hiding the photo with his fingers, Sawasaki said.

The monthly inspection of driver's licenses started last year and before that, the firefighter had filed a fake license registration number to Takaoka City in 1981, Sawasaki added.

Between April 2003 and June 2008, the firefighter, who told city officials he had gone to a driving school but failed the writing exam, drove ambulances 309 times and fire trucks 97 times, Sawasaki said.

"In terms of his driving, he has not been in any accidents whatsoever," Sawasaki said, adding that there had been no problem with his work attitude either.

"This is a misconduct where no excuses can be made to the citizens. We are sorry to fail the citizens' expectations," Keiichiro Tachibana, the mayor of Takaoka City, was quoted by Sawasaki as saying.

The firefighter appeared at the police station after he was fired and is now being questioned by the police, Sawasaki said.

"In terms of his driving, he has not been in any accidents whatsoever," Sawasaki said, adding that there had been no problem with his work attitude either.

JaysonAych wrote:

"In terms of his driving, he has not been in any accidents whatsoever," Sawasaki said, adding that there had been no problem with his work attitude either.

Give the dude a license then or at least give him a chance to go get one. I'm sure that after 20 years, he picked up a few things about how to drive. Serving the public in that capacity for so long, cut the guy some slack and let him get a license and keep his job.

dunnas wrote:No, you don't have to, but that doesn't seem to stop you.

Wookie 5.6 wrote:

JaysonAych wrote:

"In terms of his driving, he has not been in any accidents whatsoever," Sawasaki said, adding that there had been no problem with his work attitude either.

Give the dude a license then or at least give him a chance to go get one. I'm sure that after 20 years, he picked up a few things about how to drive. Serving the public in that capacity for so long, cut the guy some slack and let him get a license and keep his job.

Nope, his only option now is seppuku