Sunday, October 21, 2012

Bike Race Dopes - Another DIY TSCM Failure

via a Blue Blaze Irregular...
On page 218 of the new book, "The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs" by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle, is a description of the TSCM techniques allegedly used by the U.S. Postal Service cycling team against covert audio and video surveillance:

"According to Landis, Postal performed two transfusions to the entire team during the 2004 Tour de France. The first was after the first rest day in a hotel in Limoges. Riders were taken in small groups to a room and told not to speak. For safety, team staffers were stationed at each end of the hallway. To guard against the possibility of hidden cameras, the air conditioner, light switches, smoke detector, and even the toilet were covered with dark plastic and taped off.


Fun Facts: 
• Many types of "dark plastic" – garbage bags, for example – do not block near-IR light. 
• Many cameras are sensitive to near-IR light.
• Putting dark plastic over camera hiding spots is no guarantee you blinded the camera.
• (more about seeing through black plastic)
~Kevin