Slashdot Mirror
Georgia State Univ. Art Project Causes 2nd Evacuation & Bomb Squad Call
McGruber writes The same Georgia State University art project responsible for Monday's shutdown of Atlanta's Downtown Connector (Interstates 75 & 85), caused authorities in the south Fulton County, Georgia town of Hapeville to evacuate businesses and call in a bomb squad Tuesday.
According to Georgia State University spokesman Don Hale, the devices are pinhole camera being used in a solargraphy project to track the rising and setting of the sun over a three-month period. "Students were instructed to take their cameras home and to place them in locations that would provide interesting scenes with bright sunlight," Hale said. "The locations were selected by the students."
It was up to each of the 18 students in the class to find a spot for their own project, the university said. The university was made aware of the art project Tuesday morning and, through its police department, immediately informed the Atlanta Police Department, Hale said.
According to Georgia State University spokesman Don Hale, the devices are pinhole camera being used in a solargraphy project to track the rising and setting of the sun over a three-month period. "Students were instructed to take their cameras home and to place them in locations that would provide interesting scenes with bright sunlight," Hale said. "The locations were selected by the students."
It was up to each of the 18 students in the class to find a spot for their own project, the university said. The university was made aware of the art project Tuesday morning and, through its police department, immediately informed the Atlanta Police Department, Hale said.
And too funny to watch these people trip all over themselves like Keystone Cops.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
What part of "home" did these students not understand?
Although I think most of us would not think that placing the cameras in a public place for art's sake is some horrible offense, it might be a violation of privacy, and it is certainly not prudent in a terrorism-obsessed world.
It should have been done with some sort of official approval, and placed with some kind of sign. Perhaps a simple: "What is this? It's part of an art project. For the sake of art, please do not disturb! Go to this website to find out more: [Insert URL here]
Of course, that would probably take months of rigmarole to get approved.
I've seen similar signs on weather stations, wildlife projects, "what's happening to the bees" projects, etc. Here around San Diego, we often come across stuff like this along the beach. (Measuring sand erosion, wildlife, etc.)
Congratulations Georgia. In the face of the 21st century where we support the troops, these colours dont run, and freedom is championed above all else you've just shit all over the idea that we in any sense emerged triumphantly from 9/11. You've marched lock-step, just as any terrorist would hope his actions would inspire you to, to the beat of their drum and not reason so ive got an idea.
If every time someone sees a box, or a can, or a light bright sitting on the street we're gong to evacuate a city and lock down schools, then lets cut the "freedom and liberty" crap. If every time we get on a plane we have to be stripsearched by xray booths and patted down for even a pittance of liquid, lets stop saying we never negotiate with terrorists and start commending ourselves for doing just what they want. If I cant make a call, or send an email, or surf the internet or even drive car without the NSA and ubiquitous plate readers tracking my every move, then lets be frank about it and recycle the statue of liberty into something more useful like tear gas grenades or battery chargers for tazers.
Good people go to bed earlier.
my first thought was, after they knew about the first one.. having a second cause problems is a bit stupid.. then of course they leave out that this second student strapped two metal pipes to the side with wires sticking out of em "for stability".. and I realize just how stupid people really can be..
yeah I made this art project that looks exactly like a uhaul truck and "parked" it in front of a federal building in oklahoma.. seriously, why'd you arrest me?!
"...the device, in addition to having a 12-ounce can wrapped in duct tape, also included two ¾-inch steel pipes with four electrical wires protruding from the top."
It's the disproportionate response that the problem.
Asking people to label their things with "This is not a bomb" is the equivalent of the evil bit. Completely pointless.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Georgians saw their shadow, six more decades of Jim Crow.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
How can a university have the audacity to assign students the project of photographing such critical infrastructure like the Sun? Surely, federal or state laws prohibit photographing things like nuclear power plants, dams, electrical distribution nodes, etc. and would apply in this case? If everyone is allowed to do what they want with the Sun and there are no regulations or policies in place to determine how the Sun is used, viewed or stared directly at, how will we ever win the Global War On (or Of) Terror??!!
After the rally in France, CNN had an idiot congresscritter on (R after the name, of course). He made a backhanded remark about how "people with signs" won't stop groups like ISIS. He wanted more bombers to go bomb the hell out of them. And the subtext here is, of course, is that he wanted more fear. He's also entirely wrong.
I think the reaction in France is 100% correct and it's exactly the opposite, of course, of what we do here. The whole point of ISIS wanting the attacks in France was so the public would be upset and fear. Instead they organized a rally that was a huge middle finger in the faces of the attackers. They held a rally that was a huge target and said we aren't going to change our way of life for your assholes.
Of course in the US we just allow it to be used by the fearmongers that want to control us and the corporate entities that want to make money on the war goods.
The revised edition now has a section on how to cause mass panic and bring an entire city to a standstill. It reads something like this:
Go to Walmart
Buy a 12 pack of Coke and a role of duct tape
Drink the coke
Duct tape the empty cans to a series of public infrastructures (EG all the bridges surrounding a specific area)
Call 911 and report seeing more than one suspicious objects.
Bonus marks
1) scrawl some arabic looking words to the outside of each installation
2) Fill the cans with talcum powder
This should be good for paralyzing a city for at least a complete day
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
She's your girlfriend AND your sister? What part of GA are you from?
If you want to be seen, stand up. If you want to be heard, speak up. If you want to be respected, sit down and shut up.
and placed with some kind of sign.
They were. The linked story doesn't say it but this one does. Specifically:
Photos of other cameras show them attached to trees, fences and windows around the city. Some include notes that identify the soda can as a "Georgia State Art Project." Some instruct passersby to "Please do not take down!"
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Law enforcement is complaining that the university did not notify them, so the issue is not the appropriateness of people calling law enforcement when they see something, but of expectations of informing the police before they do things.
I imagine if the school did contact them first, they would either have been told 'why are you telling us this?' or 'don't place the cameras, it is politcally safer for us to simpy nix it'.
...not prudent in a terrorism-obsessed world.
I believe you should remain focused on the obsession and leave the kids alone. Deal with that before you get an ulcer or something. The panicky reaction only gives incentive to do more of the same. Like it or not, it's good entertainment.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
As stupid as the Boston thing was, this is even dumber if these 'cameras' are what I think they are.
If a solar-path pinhole camera is designed right then it has no moving parts once it's assembled and the film is loaded. It literally just lets light in through a pinhole, so it can track bright things like the sun based on where the little bit of light through the pinhole strikes the flim as the planet rotates.
At least the Boston thing had wires and power. This is literally a box with a hole in it.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I imagine if the school did contact them first, they would either have been told 'why are you telling us this?' or 'don't place the cameras, it is politcally safer for us to simpy nix it'.
Just n=1, but I did this exact same thing in grad school (except it was engineering, not art). We contacted the City to ask permission. The City thanked us for asking, and actually allocated City resources to help us install the cameras. That was ~15 years ago, and the University-owned cameras are still in operation as an educational resource in studying traffic patterns.
How does a pin-hole camera even look like a bomb? It should not even be close to big enough to be a worry. You need something like like the size of a mid sized tablet, minimum to have any decent explosive power. Think of a bullet, it has about the power of a punch, and is far bigger that most cameras nowadays. Saying that, I have since seen that camera's they have used, and they really really do look like bombs. with big enough payloads to make quite a dent.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.