I worked at a STEM high school in the Dallas area (close to Irving) as a social studies teacher. I have no technical background but I would've thought it was just a project.
The DFW area is super diverse and the Muslim students are very studious- I would've been impressed with he kid.
Those aren't reasonable people, those are reactionary people who don't understand what they are looking at, and that is fine. There is nothing wrong with being cautious.
There is a problem when a school doesn't have ONE teacher who could look at a homemade clock and see there was no danger because it has no source of explosive. There is a problem with police profiling a 14 year old kid and there is a problem with a school that would suspend a student for being too smart for them.
Any person ignorant of basic electronics, maybe, but that is where his teachers come in. To me it just looks like a hobby project, and i'm not a person that teaches electronics. I do not think that the kid had any intention of making threats with his setup, and has been stated before, "why would he show his teachers if that was his goal". Glad i'm not in irving, it is one thing to be against people who don't add to society, and a whole other to be against someone who can do stuff like this.
That's not how this works, you don't carry around shit that might look like a bomb, though there is a chance that the shape is coincidental.
Edit: To all the "smart" people, briefcase with a clock - a stereotypical bomb. You can make a bomb in the shape of a huge suppository and shove it up your bums for all I care, what counts is not how a bomb might look like but how a lot of people think a bomb looks like.
This is what a GSM module looks like. it is about a 1.5" square and then the rest of the circuitry to make it work might double that. So when you are "on the lookout for a bomb" in irving, that is what you are looking for.
don't forget about backpacks, that's where the boston bomber had his bomb. The local campus here is crawling with terrorists, maybe we should start a "see something, say something" campaign for every little thing that could be a bomb. Too bad the extremely intelligent officers would never simply use this as an excuse to skirt the 4th amendment.
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puddlewonderful ago
Does anyone else find it strange that the picture of the clock was released after the picture of the boy? I sense that he was put up to this because it looks like a bomb right out of a Hollywood movie. It's in a metal suitcase and has a big red face for a countdown
peacegnome ago
those are probably just the parts he had around from scavenging. I mean for fuck's sake, what kind of bomb requires an electrical outlet?
puddlewonderful ago
Any reason able person would have an extreme reaction to that device, whether its plugged in or not
britt121 ago
I worked at a STEM high school in the Dallas area (close to Irving) as a social studies teacher. I have no technical background but I would've thought it was just a project. The DFW area is super diverse and the Muslim students are very studious- I would've been impressed with he kid.
Sikozen ago
Those aren't reasonable people, those are reactionary people who don't understand what they are looking at, and that is fine. There is nothing wrong with being cautious.
There is a problem when a school doesn't have ONE teacher who could look at a homemade clock and see there was no danger because it has no source of explosive. There is a problem with police profiling a 14 year old kid and there is a problem with a school that would suspend a student for being too smart for them.
tcp ago
Technology is so scary... You would see the same shit if you smashed your alarm clock against the wall.
peacegnome ago
Any person ignorant of basic electronics, maybe, but that is where his teachers come in. To me it just looks like a hobby project, and i'm not a person that teaches electronics. I do not think that the kid had any intention of making threats with his setup, and has been stated before, "why would he show his teachers if that was his goal". Glad i'm not in irving, it is one thing to be against people who don't add to society, and a whole other to be against someone who can do stuff like this.
oldaxolotl ago
That's not how this works, you don't carry around shit that might look like a bomb, though there is a chance that the shape is coincidental.
Edit: To all the "smart" people, briefcase with a clock - a stereotypical bomb. You can make a bomb in the shape of a huge suppository and shove it up your bums for all I care, what counts is not how a bomb might look like but how a lot of people think a bomb looks like.
CipherEnigma ago
Yeah that's it. It's his fault for using a briefcase. As for being brown.
peacegnome ago
This is what a GSM module looks like. it is about a 1.5" square and then the rest of the circuitry to make it work might double that. So when you are "on the lookout for a bomb" in irving, that is what you are looking for.
Sikozen ago
Best not carry around briefcases, brown boxes, and pressure cookers then, eh?
Ever seen the inside of a laptop? Lots of bomb-y looking stuff right there.
peacegnome ago
don't forget about backpacks, that's where the boston bomber had his bomb. The local campus here is crawling with terrorists, maybe we should start a "see something, say something" campaign for every little thing that could be a bomb. Too bad the extremely intelligent officers would never simply use this as an excuse to skirt the 4th amendment.