Well, the fundamental tension is between stupid bureaucratic rules, not anything that’s easily engineered around. You might start by looking for the definitions of “ballpoint pen” in the requirements, and the specific wording of the prohibitions of the prisons/hospitals involved. You may find a loophole where you can construct or find an implement that satisfies both.
My guess is that they’re under-defined in text, and up to the judgement of the bureaucrats or guards. So bribery may be a solution. Or lobbying to change either side of the rules (like ability to use a pen while supervised).
If this is worth putting some effort into, a mix of lobbying and identifying a relatively-hard-to-abuse and still permanent ink device would be the direction I’d take. I don’t know if it’d be more successful than simpler lobbying to relax either or both rules.
Well, the fundamental tension is between stupid bureaucratic rules, not anything that’s easily engineered around. You might start by looking for the definitions of “ballpoint pen” in the requirements, and the specific wording of the prohibitions of the prisons/hospitals involved. You may find a loophole where you can construct or find an implement that satisfies both.
My guess is that they’re under-defined in text, and up to the judgement of the bureaucrats or guards. So bribery may be a solution. Or lobbying to change either side of the rules (like ability to use a pen while supervised).
If this is worth putting some effort into, a mix of lobbying and identifying a relatively-hard-to-abuse and still permanent ink device would be the direction I’d take. I don’t know if it’d be more successful than simpler lobbying to relax either or both rules.