Home Depot,

Last Monday, I received a manila envelope in the mail from Rob. I've saved it so that I can extract DNA samples from the saliva used to seal the envelope with the idea that in the future, I’ll be able to clone Rob.

Contained in the envelope were three laminated signs, a life-sized picture of an electrical outlet, four pieces of double-stick tape, and the mission instructions. As it happens, I needed to go to Home Depot anyway to buy parts to make hula hoops for a birthday party.

This was a low-risk prank, but for some reason I felt pretty nervous about pulling it off. My alternate worries were 1) some hyper-officious Home Depot employee would call the cops and I’d end up at Camp Delta on a trumped-up terrorism rap and 2) some other Cockeyed.com fan would have beaten me to the punch.

The only hitch in the scheme was that someone had moved all the sheds since the last time I was at HD. They used to be in front of the store between the entrance and the exit. I had a slight moment of panic before I found them at one end of the store. Maybe it wasn't "shed season" in my town and they wouldn't be back until autumn. Luckily, they were just moved to make room for some enormous riding lawnmowers.

Actually placing the signs didn't worry me at all but photographing them made me a little skittish. I've read recently of people being arrested for photographing trains or national monuments. I figure it is just a matter of time until photographing sheds at Home Depot can get you water-boarded. I decided to stage the mission in two phases to lessen the chance of being detected.

For phase one, I attached the double-stick tape to each of the signs in the car and placed one on each shed. Double-stick tape is awesome! I'm taking it on all future missions. The sheds each had a small collection of similar signs stapled on the inside, so I placed them unobtrusively with the rest. I wanted one sign to be visible from the outside, so I attached it to one of the open doors. I stuck the electrical outlet on the outside as well.

Phase two took place after I bought the hula hoop parts.

I took my camera and photographed my handiwork. I had an elaborate cover story about my bedridden father-in-law wanting to buy a shed, should I be caught, but I needn't have worried.

Honestly, I think you could move into one of those sheds and no one would notice for months. I checked on the signs a day or so later when I had to return some hula hoop parts (3/4" hose barbs don't necessarily fit in a 3/4" tubing – who knew?) The signs were still there.

They blend in so well with the others that they might be there for months.

Incidentally, here are the instructions on making your own hula hoops: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Hula-Hoop

please continue reading Mike's story of the shed prank .