EMP Shopping Cart Locker
July 2nd, 2007If you know even a little about the critical and undefended infrastructures that make modern society possible, you might find this article funny, and not funny, all at once.
Note on a Different Matter: These people mention Tor. Please read The Ugly Truth About Online Anonymity if you haven’t already re: Tor.
Via: Instructables:
Ever noticed a painted yellow line in the parking lot around many supermarkets and retail stores? The magic yellow line emits a signal that causes carts to stop dead in their tracks, preventing carts from leaving the parking lot.
Now you can build your own portable yellow line– with up to a 20 foot range. Need I say more? Hint: it works inside the store.
Disclaimer: This is not an easy project. It will require knowledge of circuits, soldering, social engineering, and a tiny bit of PIC microcontroller stuff. High power is involved, and if you mess up, you might get burned, caught on fire, or arrested– most likely all three. Always use an appropriate amperage fuse to prevent a short from becoming a much bigger problem. This project is also fairly expensive. The parts will cost about 65 bucks. Batteries with some kick will run 20-30 bucks, and a single PCB is about 60 bucks. They get a lot cheaper if you buy multiples for your friends.
We would be thrilled to sell kits, and it would certainly make the components cheaper and easier to get, but frankly, we’re a little worried about the possibility of civil action. We likewise recommend that no one else sells kits commercially.
Well, shopping-carts do have a secret life of their own, and are, in fact, a much studied artifact and barometer of civilisation, as exemplified at this following site:
http://www.strayshoppingcart.com/shopping_cart/1_introduction.htm
Bag ladies who commandeer shopping carts are enemies of freedom . . . .