VANOC: We own that sandwich you’re eating, too.

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Security: I Am Jack Bauer!

I’ve been chatting with the p.r. person at VANOC¹, trying to line up a time for me to tour its Technical Operations Centre.

Olympic organization names are all non-descript like that: The Centre for Media… Canada House… Emery’s House o’ Weed.

It reminds me of the popular TV action-thriller 24, with its ominous “Division” — apparently, the go-to name implying the FBI, CIA, or NSA. Whenever someone’s in trouble, the threat is always “Don’t make me have to go to Division on this one!”

Then Chloe grumbles “Fine,” kicks a door, and my heart skips a beat.

But I’m beginning to think that VANOC is may be actually part of CSIS². Here’s an email exchange between me and my assistant earlier today:

Me:

Heya… Could you please call [XXXXXXXX] back to confirm the date/time she suggested. I’ll be bringing a camera operator with me as well.
I gather there are lots of security requirements there, so in addition to the exact address, please get any of those security details I’ll need to provide her with.
Thanks.

My assistant:

Hi Tod,
Per your request, I tried calling 604-689-XXXX multiple times but was unable to reach [XXXXXXXX].
I was put through to another executive who repeatedly asked me who I was working with and did not provide any information. He then hung up on me.
Please advise.

1. The generically named Vancouver Organizing Committee — better known as VANOC — is the main body heading up the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. [↩]
2. Canada’s underfunded cousin to America’s CIA [↩]

Why Automated Video Thumbnails (Frame-Grab) Suck

You can watch this video if you like. It’s only about a minute long.

So Much for a Secure Airport Area!

Sometimes I really don’t understand airp0rt security. I’ve been having boarding passes sent to my iPhone for a few months now and generally love it. I tend to lose anything in my pockets.

It struck me recently, that the screen you show to the security people when getting your carry-0n bags screened is pretty easily faked. You just need any barcode and you can type in the info you need below it. This would be about a 30-second job in Photoshop.

Save it to your cellphone and bingo — you’re into the “security” area.

Why would this work? Because the person checking boarding passes to get you to the x-ray lineup doesn’t actually scan anything. They just eyeball it — they’re looking to make sure you’re flying on that date, and they wave you in.

Of course, once you’re about to b0ard, they scan it and will figure out pretty quick that you’re using a fake screen.

But that could still get someone dangerous into what’s supposed to be a very secure area.

Is this something that hasn’t crossed their minds?

Why owe Facebook $51,313 for advertising

A funny thing happened on my way to my email account this afternoon. I got this email from Facebook:

Thank you for your Facebook Ads payment. The details of the charge are below. Please note that, due to processing delays by some credit card companies, this charge may not show up on your statement for a few days.

Transaction Details:
Payment: $51,313 CLP
Date(s) of advertising services provided: December 23, 2009 at 12:00am to Today at 12:00am (Pacific Time)

WTF? I owe $51,313 to Facebook for running two relatively small ads for three weeks?!

I currently have two ads running on Facebook. They look like this (and yes, please feel free to click them; thank you!)

Together, they generate a fair number of impressions but relatively few clicks. Certainly not $51,313’s worth!

And then I remember that Facebook is frequently confused when it comes to its advertising.

Turns out, Facebook was billing me in Chilean Pesos. I really owe a little more than $100.

So as to not stop my heart again, I try to change the currency to my own. Guess what? Facebook has a way of screwing that up too:

Nice.