Image of the "device.". Yes, it was an overreaction because it was not a threat, but I don't see a note there... perhaps there's one in the shadow. If you suspect it's a bomb, are you supposed to get close enough to read the note on it?
Hindsight is 20/20... deciding what to do in situations like these is very difficult, but there's no way that, looking at that picture, you can't call it suspicious.
The police end up looking bad in hindsight, but that's only because that's the majority of the public's view of what happened. The camera was embedded in what looked like an empty soda can, and almost completely covered with duct tape. The pin hole was likely facing out over the interstate, making what you saw on the bridge just a cylinder and duct tape, so no, even knowing what a pinhole camera is doesn't make it obvious that this was one of them.
We complain they overreact in cases like this, but then when something happens they didn't do enough. Us armchair police chiefs seem to have all the answers.
Hindsight is 20/20; what would you do if you were the police, in charge of keeping the public safe, and some hacked together package was duct-taped to a support on one of the busiest bridges in the city? I work a couple of blocks from there... I'm incredibly lucky to have been working at home yesterday and not have to deal with the ensuing traffic nightmare (it's already bad enough in that particular spot... maybe the police should spend more time ticketing the people causing gridlock).
Now, granted, I don't know if "blow it up first, ask questions later" is necessarily the right approach, but it's only an overreaction when it wasn't a threat... when it is we complain they did too little.
I would mark you up, but wanted to add that carbohydrates, or perhaps some specific high carb foods, are the cause of a whole slew of physical problems that a lot of people have. When I did low carb, not only did I lose weight fast, but allergies went away, I had consistently high energy throughout the day
I also want to add to what people are saying - you don't absorb every calorie you eat. That's been mentioned in a few posts above, but not enough, I think, although you cannot use that fact as an excuse to overeat. But beyond that, a lot of low-carb naysayers don't get that you can lose more calories than you actually burn when you're in ketosis. The simple (calories in) - (calories out) is just far too simple, and it's just accurate.
I don't know why people are scared of the police. The vast majority of them are good people just doing their job trying to keep you safe. People's opinions of them are colored by ubiquitous news stories of the tiny fraction of bad cops, and their depiction in popular media. I was a passenger in a friends car when a police car pulled up next to us at a red light. I looked over, the cop looked over, I gave a friendly wave, he waved back. My friend went ballistic. "Are you trying to get me a ticket?"
I asked "Why? Are you doing something wrong?"
"No."
"Then what's your f#@$king problem?"
I've gotten several speeding tickets in my life; been involved in several accidents (not related to speeding and not my fault), and I've never had a negative experience with a police officer... when they ask to see my license and registration, instead of arguing with them, I hand it over. I was speeding, they pull me over, I know I was speeding... I've never seen cop give anyone a hard time unless they started arguing about it.
Does it happen that there are bad cops? Of course... but they're in the distinct minority. With all these cop haters on slashdot, you can be guaranteed they're happy enough a cop is around when they need one.
In less than a century, computers will be making substantial progress on ... the overriding problem of war and peace. -- James Slagle