14-year-old Texas boy arrested for bringing homemade clock

[klaus54]

Another puerile irrelevant post.

I mean are you REALLY that dumb?

[Edited to add: Re-read Kiwi's post to which I was responding in #248, you dope.]

[Sparko]

Risk? So now, I guess every unidentified electronic device should be labeled a potential bomb? The terrorists have truly won.

I agree with your sentiment. But nowadays anything even barely suspicious in schools gets scrutinized. Just like at an airport. If it was a bomb, and the school did nothing, then I am sure you and a lot of others would be complaining about why the school wasn't suspicious enough.

BTW Cow Poke is right. That is one lousy design for a clock. I used to do hobby electronics when I was around 14 or 15 and I could make a much better clock then that this one, and that was around 1975. The parts available today, even using discrete components including a power supply could easily be a lot smaller, like say the size of an altoid box.

[Sparko]

"Hey man, you forgot this!"

Done it before. Can you believe nothing happened?

I said unattended. which means there is nobody to call about it. You know, whether you will admit it or not, that you would call security..

[Sea of red]

I agree with your sentiment. But nowadays anything even barely suspicious in schools gets scrutinized. Just like at an airport. If it was a bomb, and the school did nothing, then I am sure you and a lot of others would be complaining about why the school wasn't suspicious enough.

I honestly wouldn't have. These kind of things are a consequence of the technological age we live in, and the freedom we practice. The important thing is to live life free and not let the losers even enter our thoughts - it's what they truly want.

BTW Cow Poke is right. That is one lousy design for a clock. I used to do hobby electronics when I was around 14 or 15 and I could make a much better clock then that this one, and that was around 1975. The parts available today, even using discrete components including a power supply could easily be a lot smaller, like say the size of an altoid box.

It looked like a mixture of spare parts and kit bashing to me.

[Sea of red]

I said unattended. which means there is nobody to call about it. You know, whether you will admit it or not, that you would call security..

I wouldn't want to - the TSA are all the people that are too crazy for the police or military.

There's no reason to shut down an airport over one briefcase. Don't you think terrorists know how paranoid we are about this stuff? Giving them their way only further encourages them to do more. Better safe than sorry is one thing, but when it's counter productive and actually enables the phenomenon, it's time to look for more rational alternatives.

If I had it my way: let the authorities exam the object without alerting the public to the investigating. It serves no purpose to panic; panic is what causes fatal mistakes. The last thing you want is a stampede of people freaking out. If it's determined that device is likely to be an explosive, then you alert the public.

But we're talking about the TSA.

[RumTumTugger]

You tell me. I'm just describing the facts.

no you weren't. You forgot one fact MM He showed it to one of his teachers, before the other teacher heard it beep. That is not sneaking it in.

[Sparko]

I wouldn't want to - the TSA are all the people that are too crazy for the police or military.

There's no reason to shut down an airport over one briefcase. Don't you think terrorists know how paranoid we are about this stuff? Giving them their way only further encourages them to do more. Better safe than sorry is one thing, but when it's counter productive and actually enables the phenomenon, it's time to look for more rational alternatives.

If I had it my way: let the authorities exam the object without alerting the public to the investigating. It serves no purpose to panic; panic is what causes fatal mistakes. The last thing you want is a stampede of people freaking out. If it's determined that device is likely to be an explosive, then you alert the public.

But we're talking about the TSA.

like I said I agree with your sentiment. We have become too paranoid. But would you make as big a stink about the TSA confiscating an unattended briefcase in an abundance of caution as you have done with this clock? most people would just see a bunch of circuits stuff and think it might be dangerous and call the police. The Police would investigate or call the bomb squad. Which sounds like what actually happened. What really irks me is that the TSA and such are "reactive" - someone tries to sneak a bomb aboard in their shoes, now everyone has to remove their shoes in line. Well if I were a real terrorist I wouldn't try to use something I knew they were looking for. I can come up with dozen ways to get contraband on a plane if I wanted to.

[Cow Poke]

Very dumb response.

OF COURSE he's not saying it was a bomb!!

It's about the SUSPICION that it was a bomb.

Yikes!

[Cow Poke]

BTW Cow Poke is right. That is one lousy design for a clock. I used to do hobby electronics when I was around 14 or 15 and I could make a much better clock then that this one, and that was around 1975. The parts available today, even using discrete components including a power supply could easily be a lot smaller, like say the size of an altoid box.

Yeah, this looks like the kid went to a Radio Shack and said, "lemme look at all the old stuff you haven't been able to sell over the past 40 years, cause I want to build a big kludgy impractical clock that looks like crap to impress my teacher".

Why would the thing have a 9 volt battery AND a transformer that needs plugged in? What practical application does building this thing have to contemporary electronics?

[KingsGambit]

It's still better than I can do. Just being honest there. Electronics is not my bailiwick.

[Sam]

Yeah, this looks like the kid went to a Radio Shack and said, "lemme look at all the old stuff you haven't been able to sell over the past 40 years, cause I want to build a big kludgy impractical clock that looks like crap to impress my teacher".

Why would the thing have a 9 volt battery AND a transformer that needs plugged in? What practical application does building this thing have to contemporary electronics?

Are we seriously ragging on a 14 year-old kid's electrical engineering project now?

[Sea of red]

Are we seriously ragging on a 14 year-old kid's electrical engineering project now?

This shocks you?

[Teallaura]

There's no need for "investigating", Teal. A couple of easy GED questions could have easily determined what the device actually was. The fact that all of these adults were not able to see it for what it was, is embarrassing to the entire country.

That, my dear SoR, is in fact, an investigation. So we agree an investigation was indeed warranted.




Of course, I do it better!

[Teallaura]

And was that legal obligation not satisfied once the device was seen as a non-threat? It's one thing to ask questions, it's another thing to accuse people of a very serious crime, and then disgustingly treat this kid like a murderer. He has rights too, and trying to justify paranoia by using public safety as an excuse will insure further incidents like this happen.

Um, you do know I said - repeatedly - that the response subsequent to the school's initial questioning of the device seems way out of proportion and that, given what we know (as of the time I wrote that post you responded to) it looked to me like the school and police had gone over board. My point was that the INITIAL investigation was warranted - you didn't actually read the dialogue in the other post you responded to, did you?

Out of the ordinary? Maybe to you, maybe to some others that don't what a bomb looks like - but not to anybody with an ounce of knowledge of explosives. We have people in this country scared of suitcases, light-brights, empty bags, and now anything with wires and a circuit board. How far does it have to go, Teal? Somebody is going to be wrongly accused and hurt if this public panic of ignorance keeps-up.

Clocks don't normally look like a briefcase with circuitry - yeah, 'out of the ordinary' is a valid description. but my actual point was that bringing a homemade clock like that one to school is out of the ordinary.

Freedom and safety are not the same thing. Using public safety as an excuse does nothing but enable this kind of paranoid atmosphere.

One is meaningless without some measure of the other - either way you slice it.

And you are completely off base because this does not describe my position at all.

[Teallaura]

Are we seriously ragging on a 14 year-old kid's electrical engineering project now?

Even ignorant little me knows that the two components make no sense together - wasn't half the argument that the teachers should have just known it wasn't a bomb? If the thing has components that shouldn't be necessary one would expect a bit more scrutiny to determine just what the thing actually does.

And you are being unfair - CP was pointing out the incongruity, not 'ragging' on the kid's project. IC, Jae and SoR (Maybe you, haven't caught up yet) have all argued that the device was obviously not a threat and in so doing, invited analysis of the device proper. It's poor sportsmanship to start arguing that the device is somehow off limits now.