Grate--ful,

I have no problem conceiving of you being a real person with a true story to include your tale of successful countermeasure application.  Prior to several accounts like yours, I would have thought it highly beneficial if not necessary to at least practice with an instrument, but the weight of the anecdotal evidence is beginning to make me think a careful reading and consideration of the points discussed in the The Lie Behind the Lie Detector may well be sufficient for the needs of an examinee who desires to successfully apply countermeasures.  You are quite correct in your assessment that if you can "do it" so can a considerably less desirable applicant, employee, criminal suspect, etc.  The only way to protect innocent examinees without requiring them to use the same countermeasures that will allow an unscrupulous individual to beat the test and harm the system, is to completely end polygraph screening.  No other solution will do.