There have been a few recent notes on a new x-ray technique that, apparently, stops at the skin. They use this to get a precise trace of everything the subject is carrying or wearing. Needless to say, this sounds to me like a reality TV show.
Concerned user-advocate folks--that's me, and a bunch like me--get nervous that, well, a really good x-ray image that stops at the skin is exactly the product advertised in the back of my old Boy Scout Magazines, and we never, ever planned to use it for scientific investigations. It had something more to do with getting rid of pesky clothes.
Clever designers, then, figured out a way to blur the skin level into a more generic shape, while not losing information about the objects that are being held or carried. Pretty clever, very useful. Sounds like a win.
Apparently, from what I've been hearing, there's a surprising second-order effect in the development process: even though the blurred version is just as good for security, it LOOKS blurred, and feels, therefore, "insecure." So customers--both the people they test it on, and the agencies--are apparently asking to restore the details (no link to J*n*t or the super bowl here!) to give a more secure image.
That's why a I have cooked up, with a little help...
THE SECURITY CHANNEL.
AirSecurityCam--the hot pay-per-minute website that Airport Safety has successfully used to fund their development of ever more secure websites--is now moving to premium television.
Does this mean AirSecurityCam.gov will go down? Absolutely not! AirSecurityCam.gov will continue to operate as its continued citizen-intervention security website! You'll still be able to do the exciting work of a volunteer air transportation security person: you'll still see the nude forms of customers passing through the x-ray, and you'll still be able to save our nation from the dangers of airport-bound terrorists. When you take over an AirSecurityCam, you can still point and click your way to a safer America, for the low price of 1c per minute!
But AirSecurityCam is now coming to it's own premium cable station. Daytime, the station will feature the blurred forms that subtly suggest figures; night time, the Security Channel will move to the popular classic look.
Look for our contests, including the $50,000 prize "Spot the Gun" contest: be the first to identify the make, model, and exact carrier of one of thirty-four guns, and win!
Also, every evening from 7-9 are our special guest stars! This week, look to appearances from the stars of "Charlie's Angels 4" and "The L Word". And Wednesday is cooking night: this week, at 9 pm, we cook in x-rays with Emeril While we watch how cooking looks in low-power x-rays, he uses a portable high-power x-ray gun to sear the meat--locking in the moisture for extra taste!
Also look for our special appearance with the Lord of the Rings Special with Gollum: "What's he got in his pocketses, I wonder?"
OUR LINEUP:
7-10 AM: The Morning show: today in security and airport weather
10 AM-1 PM: East Coast special.
Wake up with the city that never sleeps
1-4 PM: Midwest and Mountains.
Ski-bunnies and river bums; gingham and mormons;
does deep-dish pizza pass security?
4-7 PM: West Coast.
Don't you wish they all could be California girls?
7-9 PM: Friends of the TSA.
Guest stars show off at major airports
and in our special x-ray studio
9-10 PM: World's Most Dangerous Security Episodes!
Catch the excitement!
10 PM-12 PM: Late Night! with Special Agent K.
12-3 AM: Risky Looks of the Day
3-7 AM: Up All Night--with Security Cam and International Updates
Call your local cable operator and sign up for The Security Channel.