Couple things here. I can assume that the teacher and principle are not experts in explosive ordinance nor electronics and would be able to properly conclude that the device was indeed not a bomb. So in this case, why would you leave it up to the judgement of untrained, uneducated individuals? They felt threatened, and they made a judgement call. Again, they were most likely NOT educated in explosive ordinance. It was a matter of safety and I feel they made the right choice. At least they care enough about their student body to want to protect them from potential danger.

Ok, fair point, so you bring him to the office "out of an abundance of caution", take the clock from him and sit him down. Once the police arrive and look at the clock, they (should, at least) instantly recognize it as something other than a bomb. Because it was established that Ahmed didn't threaten anyone with it and did not tell anyone that it was a bomb, the issue should have ended there. The absolute worst that should have happened to Ahmed was having the principal hold on to the clock until the end of the day, just to make sure no one else was spooked.

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Can you point out in the picture what makes it look like a bomb?

 

To me it looks like an LED display with four digits, and a couple of circuit boards that are obviously for driving the display, power supply and his clock circuit.  I don't see anything explosive in the picture, and it is housed in a small case.  The picture kind of makes it look like it is "brief case size", but use the plug as a reference.  It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

 

Full disclosure, my background is electronics and programming.

 

That is great you can easily decipher it. You have a background in electronics and programming. The teacher probably didn't. Even the engineering teacher said don't show that to other teachers.

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Couple things here. I can assume that the teacher and principle are not experts in explosive ordinance nor electronics and would be able to properly conclude that the device was indeed not a bomb. So in this case, why would you leave it up to the judgement of untrained, uneducated individuals? They felt threatened, and they made a judgement call. Again, they were most likely NOT educated in explosive ordinance. It was a matter of safety and I feel they made the right choice. At least they care enough about their student body to want to protect them from potential danger.

 

I would suggest reading the articles that I linked above, or at least read the quotes that I posted from the articles.  He showed it to his Engineering teacher who one would think would be able to recognize basic electronic circuit boards.

 

Here is something to ponder that isn't real clear.  Was he allowed to demonstrate and explain how it worked?  Perhaps he would have been able to teach these "educators" a thing or two.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Ok, fair point, so you bring him to the office "out of an abundance of caution", take the clock from him and sit him down. Once the police arrive and look at the clock, they (should, at least) instantly recognize it as something other than a bomb. Because it was established that Ahmed didn't threaten anyone with it and did not tell anyone that it was a bomb, the issue should have ended there. The absolute worst that should have happened to Ahmed was having the principal hold on to the clock until the end of the day, just to make sure no one else was spooked.

 

I don't believe most police are qualified in EOD (correct me if I am wrong). The clock was also in a briefcase it appears. You can hide a lot of stuff behind the panels of the briefcase. I would believe an untrained officer is not going to interact with the briefcase or let the student interact with it until a qualified officer confirms it is harmless. I am not familiar on the precautions an officer will take when there is a potential bomb threat. I know when I was in high school there was a mass evacuation to safe grounds until EOD determined it was safe to return.

 

 

 

Here is something to ponder that isn't real clear.  Was he allowed to demonstrate and explain how it worked?  Perhaps he would have been able to teach these "educators" a thing or two.

 

If you believe it is a bomb why would you want the student to interact with it?

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I don't believe most police are qualified in EOD (correct me if I am wrong). The clock was also in a briefcase it appears. You can hide a lot of stuff behind the panels of the briefcase. An untrained officer is not going to interact with the briefcase or let the student interact with it until a qualified officer confirms it is harmless. I am not familiar on the precautions an officer will take when there is a potential bomb threat. I know when I was in high school there was a mass evacuation to safe grounds until EOD determined it was safe to return.

 

Apparently you didn't really read my earlier post regarding the picture.  The device is housed in a small case roughly about the size of a pack of cigarettes.  Look at the AC plug next to it as well as the 9V battery plug within it for reference as to the size of the device.

 

Any logical thinking adult (you would think) would be able to conclude that it's not an explosive device.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I would suggest reading the articles that I linked above, or at least read the quotes that I posted from the articles.  He showed it to his Engineering teacher who one would think would be able to recognize basic electronic circuit boards.

 

Here is something to ponder that isn't real clear.  Was he allowed to demonstrate and explain how it worked?  Perhaps he would have been able to teach these "educators" a thing or two.

It was actually his English teacher that caused the chaos when it beeped in class and he showed it to her while turning the alarm off. Coincidentally, if it had been a bomb, the alarm going off probably would have signaled curtains for Ahmed.

 

I'm not saying that I agree with anything the school's staff did throughout this mess, but I do believe that if I suspected someone of having a bomb, I would probably not ask them to demonstrate its use.

 

I don't believe most police are qualified in EOD (correct me if I am wrong). The clock was also in a briefcase it appears. You can hide a lot of stuff behind the panels of the briefcase. An untrained officer is not going to interact with the briefcase or let the student interact with it until a qualified officer confirms it is harmless. I am not familiar on the precautions an officer will take when there is a potential bomb threat. I know when I was in high school there was a mass evacuation to safe grounds until EOD determined it was safe to return.

It wasn't the size of a briefcase. Look at JIB's response to the picture. It was the size of a box of cigarettes, or a deck of playing cards. He wasn't walking around school all day carrying a briefcase with a flashing digital display on the side.

 

The clock's interior was very clearly empty aside from a circuit board and a digital display. Any cop, explosives certified or not, should have been able to look at that and instantly determine that there was no bomb.

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Apparently you didn't really read my earlier post regarding the picture.  The device is housed in a small case roughly about the size of a pack of cigarettes.  Look at the AC plug next to it as well as the 9V battery plug within it for reference as to the size of the device.

 

Any logical thinking adult (you would think) would be able to conclude that it's not an explosive device.

 

You assume that there are many logical adults out there :thumbsup:

 

I can see it was fairly small. I probably wouldn't believe it was a bomb, or I would at least know how to ensure it wasn't. I still wont blame the teacher for their decision though. When most of the bombs the teacher has probably seen were from Hollywood blockbusters, you cant really blame them for their mistake. Also, there ARE bombs that are as small, if not smaller than that case. So, whatever.

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It was actually his English teacher that caused the chaos when it beeped in class and he showed it to her while turning the alarm off. Coincidentally, if it had been a bomb, the alarm going off probably would have signaled curtains for Ahmed.

 

I'm not saying that I agree with anything the school's staff did throughout this mess, but I do believe that if I suspected someone of having a bomb, I would probably not ask them to demonstrate its use.

 

A small device like that which uses a 9V battery and possibly an AC power cord is suspected to be a bomb?  Give me a break.

 

Ask the guy to describe the purpose of each circuit board and allow him to demonstrate it.

 

Here is something to think about.  When Steve Wozniak invented his first computer (prior to the Apple) would he not be allowed to bring it to school?  Would it have been deemed "dangerous"?

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

A small device like that which uses a 9V battery and possibly an AC power cord is suspected to be a bomb?  Give me a break.

 

Ask the guy to describe the purpose of each circuit board and allow him to demonstrate it.

 

Here is something to think about.  When Steve Wozniak invented his first computer (prior to the Apple) would he not be allowed to bring it to school?  Would it have been deemed "dangerous"?

Whoa, easy Spock, you and I are on the same page. The whole thing was a comedy of stupidity on the part of the school and its personnel from the start. I was solely responding to your suggestion that he should have been allowed to demonstrate what it does. To me, that seems like an unwise course of action if you suspect the device you're asking them to demonstrate is a bomb.

 

Now that the whole thing is behind us, I sincerely hope that he gets to bring it back to school for an assembly to show students how he built it and how it works.

 

And I hope his English teacher and principal and the cops that responded are seated front and center.

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You assume that there are many logical adults out there :thumbsup:

 

I can see it was fairly small. I probably wouldn't believe it was a bomb, or I would at least know how to ensure it wasn't. I still wont blame the teacher for their decision though. When most of the bombs the teacher has probably seen were from Hollywood blockbusters, you cant really blame them for their mistake. Also, there ARE bombs that are as small, if not smaller than that case. So, whatever.

 

There are many logical adults our there.  They are known as conservatives, tea party members and moderates.  How many of the school personnel including the teachers involved do you think are associated with those groups?   :thumbsup:

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

There are many logical adults our there.  They are known as conservatives, tea party members and moderates.  How many of the school personnel including the teachers involved do you think are associated with those groups?   :thumbsup:

 

I can safely assume a very small amount.

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There are many logical adults our there.  They are known as conservatives, tea party members and moderates.  How many of the school personnel including the teachers involved do you think are associated with those groups?   :thumbsup:

Well, considering that it's in Irving, TX, a suburb of Dallas, and that nobody on staff was screaming about racial profiling during the event, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that most if not all of them were.

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There are many logical adults our there.  They are known as conservatives, tea party members and moderates.  How many of the school personnel including the teachers involved do you think are associated with those groups?   :thumbsup:

 

I can safely assume a very small amount.

You two are adorable. 

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Well, considering that it's in Irving, TX, a suburb of Dallas, and that nobody on staff was screaming about racial profiling during the event, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that most if not all of them were.

 

Speaking of profiling, are you not doing it yourself?  I can play the game too.

 

Since the staff couldn't figure out that a harmless project was not a danger, and they are in education I'd say that it's a pretty safe bet the few if any of them were.   :yes:

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

You two are adorable. 

 

I'm taken.  Jaguar Warrior might be up for a date though.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Speaking of profiling, are you not doing it yourself?  I can play the game too.

 

Since the staff couldn't figure out that a harmless project was not a danger, and they are in education I'd say that it's a pretty safe bet the few if any of them were.   :yes:

I am absolutely profiling. I've spent quite a bit of time there for work, including lots of interaction with local business owners, and I'll be living there as of October 1st. Trust me when I say that they are all tea party conservatives.  :yes:

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Can you point out in the picture what makes it look like a bomb?

 

To me it looks like an LED display with four digits, and a couple of circuit boards that are obviously for driving the display, power supply and his clock circuit.  I don't see anything explosive in the picture, and it is housed in a small case.  The picture kind of makes it look like it is "brief case size", but use the plug as a reference.  It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

 

Full disclosure, my background is electronics and programming.

 

I'd say the size is more like half of a full-sized keyboard. Maybe the size of a shoe, and they make us take off our shoes because they might hold enough explosive to bring down an airplane. I'm still not sure why I have to take off my shoes when I go into a courthouse, it's not like the courthouse is going to plummet 35,000 feet if a shoe-sized bomb goes off.


 

In any case this is typical government in action. It at least seems more reasonable than suspending a kid for bringing a gun into school when the gun in question is the one carried by a 3" plastic army man.

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"Why should I give information to you when all you want to do is find something wrong with it?"

No, I just had a lot of work and appointments this morning.....

 

I just got back 2 Grateful Dead songs ago (Studio not live lol)

 

So, about an hour ago...

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

I'd say the size is more like half of a full-sized keyboard. Maybe the size of a shoe, and they make us take off our shoes because they might hold enough explosive to bring down an airplane. I'm still not sure why I have to take off my shoes when I go into a courthouse, it's not like the courthouse is going to plummet 35,000 feet if a shoe-sized bomb goes off.


 

In any case this is typical government in action. It at least seems more reasonable than suspending a kid for bringing a gun into school when the gun in question is the one carried by a 3" plastic army man.

 

Point taken.  After looking at the photo again, it might be a bit bigger than I described, but not much.

 

As far as taking shoes off going into a courthouse, that's kind of ridiculous in my opinion.  I can understand when screening to board an airplane, but not on the ground.

 

I do wonder if plastic army men are still sold for kids?  I can remember as a child not only having the little plastic green ones, but there were also little soldiers molded to look like the British and the U.S. as well as others molded to look like the north and south.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'd say the size is more like half of a full-sized keyboard. Maybe the size of a shoe, and they make us take off our shoes because they might hold enough explosive to bring down an airplane. I'm still not sure why I have to take off my shoes when I go into a courthouse, it's not like the courthouse is going to plummet 35,000 feet if a shoe-sized bomb goes off.


 

In any case this is typical government in action. It at least seems more reasonable than suspending a kid for bringing a gun into school when the gun in question is the one carried by a 3" plastic army man.

 

Or the gun is a poptart.

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