8. Journal of Physical Security 9(1), i-xii (2016) vii years old. See http://qz.com/604112/heres-how-uk-film-censors-rated-a-10-hour-film-of- paint-drying/. ***** Mechanical Doping Pro cyclists now have a new way to cheat: using a small motor to power a bicycle’s back wheel. For more information, see http://gizmodo.com/how-pro-cyclists-cheat-using- motorized-bikes-1756414521. ***** Staying Hydrated A man in Canada purchased a bottle of vodka from a liquor store. When he opened it at home, it discovered that the bottle was 100% water. He called the liquor store to report the tampering but was told, “it happens all the time”. ***** Bully Pulpit The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has identified warning signs or traits that may indicate that a child is a bully. These include the need to be in control, being easily frustrated or angered, a history of depression or anxiety, a lack of compassion or empathy, and having been the target of bullying himself or herself. The ADL also offers extensive advice for how to help such a child. See http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/education- outreach/What-to-Do-if-Your-Child-Exhibits-Bullying-Behavior.pdf. ***** Killing the $100 Bill Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has called for the United States to phase out the $100 bill. The European Central Bank is similarly considering getting rid of the 500 Euro bill. High denomination bills are favored by criminals and terrorists because they take up less space than smaller denominations and attract less attention. For example, a standard briefcase can hold about $1 million of $100 bills, weighing around 27 pounds. If the same $1 million is in the form of $20 bills, however, it requires 5 briefcases and weighs 135 pounds.
9. Journal of Physical Security 9(1), i-xii (2016) viii For more information, see http://time.com/money/4226174/kill-100-dollar-bill-500- euro-phase-out/. ***** Counterfeit Coins Recent jumps in the prices of gold and silver have led to a substantial increase in the appearance of counterfeit bullion coins. The fakes are made of a combination of cheaper metals, and often have the wrong thickness and diameter in order to mimic the heavier weight of gold and silver. For more information, see http://universalcoinandbullion.dallasobserver.com/counterfeit-gold-silver-coin-fraud/. ***** DNA: Do Not Always Believe DNA is often considered the gold standard for criminal forensics and biometrics. In fact, DNA analysis has many serious problems—so much so that it often cannot be fully trusted. The June 2016 issue of Playboy magazine has an easy to understand article about this issue: https://www.playboy.com/articles/the-unraveling-of-dna-forensics. ***** The Bedrock of Our Marriage A Spanish company has developed a high-tech mattress that can tell if your partner is cheating on you while you are away. Sensors in the bed—part of a “Lover Detection System”—identify “suspicious” movements in the bed, and a warning notification is sent to your smart phone. For more information, see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/15/smart-mattress-lets-you-know-if-your- partner-is-cheating/. ***** AI: Artificial Inanity Microsoft Corporation recently unleashed a new AI chatbot on Twitter. The artificial intelligence program was meant to go forth and learn how to converse on Twitter in a more human manner. After 24 hours of interacting with Twitter users, “...Tay ‘learned’ to be a genocidal racist, calling for the extermination of Jews and Mexicans, insulting women, and denying the existence of the Holocaust”. Tay also called for the use of illegal drugs.
10. Journal of Physical Security 9(1), i-xii (2016) ix Microsoft apologized, quickly shut Tay down for a time, and deleted some of its more disturbing tweets. See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/technology/microsoft- created-a-twitter-bot-to-learn-from-users-it-quickly-became-a-racist-jerk.html?_r=0. Seems to me that Tay learned what it is to be human just fine. ***** Casey Jones, Jihadi Terrorist Engineers of Jihad, a new book by Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog, examines the long- recognized fact that radical Islamists seeking power in Muslim-majority countries tend to be dominated by engineering or applied science students rather than graduates in law, the social sciences, or pure science. They found that engineers are over-represented among Islamist activists by a factor of 17 times their occurrence in the relevant society as a whole. Medical doctors are over-represented by a factor of 10.
11. Journal of Physical Security 9(1), i-xii (2016) x organizations—especially when their responsibility is not commensurate with their authority—tend to be disgruntled despite having good salaries and respected positions. The guys who work in the mailroom may be treated badly, but they are not necessarily disgruntled if they expect to be treated badly.