just another thursday
Since I really made use of Google Reader, I’ve given up on printed newspapers (unless there’s something really interesting going on in there, e.g. my face). My sister subscribes to The Star because of the Classifieds but I hardly touch the paper. Admittedly it’s like reading a book — e-books are poor substitutes for printed and bound paperbacks but they’d do because books aren’t cheap in Malaysia (dollar to dollar, a book may cost $11 in the UK or US whereas it’d cost around $35 here, and there are a lot of legally free e-books around). Reading news articles on your web browser is hardly the same as licking your index finger to easily turn the newspaper page over. Besides, for some reasons a lot of stories in our local newspapers do not get transported to the Net version, not to mention their published Classifieds and what not. Why? I don’t know. Why ar?
(Not talking about stories bought from wire services but the newspapers’ own.)
But there are days when I feel that it’s not worth purchasing local newspapers at all because of news articles like this:
Thieves clean out ATMs, CCTVs blackened in RM600,000 robberySUBANG JAYA: It was an ingenious operation where thieves coated eight CCTV screens with black paint to prevent the devices from recording them robbing three automated teller machines of more than RM600,000 at a bank here.
[...] Read more here.
According to my dictionary, the word ‘ingenious’ can be substituted for ‘clever’ and ‘cunning’. Maybe I’ve been watching too many movies where they elaborate in great details on scheming plans to rob banks, but I hardly think that painting CCTV screens with black paint so robbers could go about their business is ‘conniving’, ‘crafty’, ‘wily’, ‘inventive’, ‘imaginative’, ‘resourceful’, ‘creative’… I think I’ve just about exhausted Thesaurus.com.
In fact, if I were a ATM or bank robber, I’d be ’stupid’, ‘careless’, ‘idiotic’, ‘unintelligent’, a ‘pudding head’, a ‘dolt’, a ‘pillock’, ‘thickheaded’, ‘imbecilic’, ‘moronic’, ’silly’, a ’simpleton’, a ‘dumbbell’, ‘fatuous’, extremely ‘dense’, ‘brainless’ and heartbreakingly ‘addle-minded’ not to abuse any CCTVs in sight so I could get away scot-free; a phantom in the night running off gleefully with your money. Bank robbing 101?
A photo of one of the ‘blackened’ CCTVs accompanies the news article. Seriously? With a CCTV that big, white and obvious, any criminal who does not factor in the possibilities of being captured on the CCTVs deserves to be caught.
(Not that the truly ‘ingenious’ ones don’t deserve their comeuppance.)
Don’t know why that got on my tits, but it did. On the other side of the globe, Slashdot reported that AI (artificial intelligence) could power next-gen CCTV cameras. To quote a couple of lines:
“Over time, the scientists claim the AI algorithms would learn, picking up key words and phrases it associates with criminal activity.”
Now, THAT is ingenious. To me, at least. I just wonder what kind of key words and phrases are associated with criminal activity. Wouldn’t it be terrifying if it turns out to be something out of ‘Minority Report‘ where intentions, whether carried out or not are more punishable than actions?
“I am going to break this motherfucking ATM apart. Work, damn it!” might get you into more trouble than you think.
Related Posts
- me wants to be a lean machine: day 22
- gladly scruffy
- movie review – mukhsin
- thursday burst day
- off to penang
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
ingenuity is when you tow away a check deposit machine thinking it’s ATM
Another classic is to tow away a “Sorry, Out Of Service” or rather out of cash ATM.
ky & galvin: LOL true true
When force open an ATM, it suppose to trigger alarm.
But wait..
““We believe someone who has the key and access code to the ATMs must have done it as there was no sign of forced entry,’”
So so call “smart” are nothing more than an insider job. And only those who make the ATM case and box know how to disabled the build in alarm.
well, i would say blacking out the cctvs were a bright and cheap idea and guess what – it worked! thiefs no longer need high-tech gizmos and gadgets as seen on tv to commit a bank robbery these days.
Reading news online is far far far more effective though it’s not like a book, a book is better in physical form because you read it in a linear fashion, page by page chapter by chapter.
News you only read what interests you, that’s where the benefit of RSS and searching really kicks in.
KY & Galvin – Stop talking about me! I didn’t know they were out of cash and cheque thingies! I’ve only just got used to this internut thing.
Now, where did I leave my spray can?
Suanie – Words associated with criminal activity.
‘Hey, we gonna do this bank robbery or not? Here, take this M16 and shove it in the guards face.’
‘That guard looks a little like GW Bush!’
‘WARNING! Alarm triggered! Criminal activity alert. KEY WORDS GW BUSH!!!! Bank is being invaded for Oil!!!!’
Law enforcement mentality: They shout ‘Berhenti! Jangan lari!!’ and expect the thief to do so…
KY, haven’t you heard about the bunch that actually broke into a couple of cheque deposit boxes in downtown Singapore? They DID have a technique to make use of the cheques, though they got busted before they saw it through. When you think about it, it’s probably a pretty smart plan: cheques in main branches would tend to have many 000s and if successfully encashed might be worth a lot more than all the cash in the ATMs.
ah, i’m sure u din read the sarcastic comments the slashdotters made on the AI CCTV camera article eh.. its kinda true u know…
well, in a way ATM thieves(or do we call them robbers? rob who?) are quite smart though, because they have chosen not to steal money from coca cola vending machine instead. got little blain one.
moo_t: makes sense for insiders to know where the CCTVs are also. but not complete and utter genius for them to black ‘em out
ohkulala: i agree it’s cheap
ST: my google reader is giving me problems though
dabs: heh guess some people will look for oil where there’s none
suertes: oO reminds me of the polis show that aired on tv2 or something. was very funny. policewomen in make=up to rival strippers
sam: i did
aeroplane: sheryl crow says that change will do you good