Feeling as if you are being watched? You probably are. The
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the United States
recently began rolling out a new security program, Screening
Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT), at dozens of airports
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around the country. Using behavioral profiling, SPOT aims to identify
“high-risk individuals” by monitoring passengers’ body language.
Under this initiative, “behavior detection officers” are trained to
recognize involuntary gestures, subtle facial twitches, and changes in
vocal pitch that signal stress or deceit. A passenger displaying
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suspicious behavior is taken aside for additional screening.
But do such programs work? In Israel, where officers get nine
weeks of training, behavioral screening is considered effective. But
most TSA screeners receive only four days’ instruction; the idea that
they will be able to master the art of behavior recognition with such
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meager training is “preposterous.” Meanwhile, the Department of
Homeland Security just finished testing an automated version of
SPOT using a device called Cogito, which works in a manner similar
to a polygraph device. Passengers answer a set of simple questions
displayed on a touch screen while inserting one hand into a sensor
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that measures biometric responses, such as sweat levels and blood
pressure.
All that you will need to decorate your birdhouse are a few simple
tools you probably already have at home. You also need some paint.
When painting the birdhouse, make sure the paint is safe for the birds
as well as __1__ enough for an outdoor setting. Exterior latex paint is
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ideal. But this type of paint tends to be sold in large quantities and
can be costly if you are using a __2__ of colors. Many craft stores
now carry small containers of exterior latex or exterior acrylic craft
paints in a __3__ spectrum of colors. These paints will __4__ your
birdhouse project well. Use white and black or dark brown paints to
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lighten or darken your colors. Finding all the supplies you will need
and preparing your work space before you begin to paint will make
decorating the birdhouse more pleasant and cleanup easier.
Do you wear a mask? I’m not talking about a Halloween mask of
the killer from Scream or anything. I’m talking about going out of your
way to look different on the outside than how you feel on the inside.
These masks can be made up of many different things: the way you
dress, the way you act, and the people you hang out with.
I used to wear many masks. I decided how I wanted to be
perceived, and then did what I needed to do to get that image
across, whether it was wearing certain clothes, or laughing at things
that weren’t funny, or hanging around with a certain group of people
even if they weren’t the ones I felt I had the most in common with. But
at the end of the day, I couldn’t change who I was. Wearing these
masks just left me feeling more frustrated than ever that I wasn’t the
person I thought I should be. In fact the person I thought I should be
didn’t exist.
I’ve finally stopped wearing masks, and realized it’s a lot easier
to breathe without doing it through a piece of plastic. The best part is
to find that people actually like me for who I am, when I let my true
colors show.