Gentle Readers,

I'm home sick today and since Cortejo likes to listen to CBC Radio 1, I get to keep hearing about the new Full Body Scanners that are being installed at the airport here and across Canada. It's bringing up all kinds of geek conflict. On one hand, these scanners are cool. It's like that scanner out of Total Recall, science fiction come to life. Not quite that fast, but that's just a matter of technology and time.

Eventually the processing will be faster and smarter with colour highlighting and all kinds of bells and whistles.

On the other hand it means that we're being electronically strip searched or receiving an "Invasive Patdown". All of the reporters and politicians are very careful to talk about how it's a much more comfortable alternative and how terrible and invasive the patdown would be. At least with the pat down, there are clear rules about what gets done and how they are allowed to do it. You can see the person who is doing it and there is oversight.

With the scanners, the person watching is not even in the same room. They say that there is no way that the viewer has any connection with the person being scanned and that the pictures will be deleted immediately after viewing. If that's the case, then how can they stop someone for being a terrorist? How do they prosecute? How do they defend against a mistake. And for anyone who thinks that the scans will never get out into the wild, I have 2 words for you: Camera Phone.

Then there's the fact that they are saying that these scans will only need to be done on those pulled aside for Secondary Screening, while neglecting to mention that this now includes 100% of travellers who will be travelling to the states.

On the gripping hand, this is excellent security theatre. The scanners don't have to work to be a deterrent.

And yet, I still want to go to the airport and see if they will scan me and let me see the scans.