vegetarian barbecues

* the sjmn has a good article about spying technology. incl this:

Law enforcement officials could analyze text traffic for suspicious patterns using software made by Attensity of Palo Alto. The majority of Attensity's customers are government agencies, including the NSA and Homeland Security, said the firm's Chief Executive Craig Norris.

"You don't even have to know what it is you're searching for,'' said Norris. "But you'll know it once you find it.''

For example, "if a terrorist is planning a bombing, they might say `Let's have a barbecue,' '' said Norris. "The software can detect if the word `barbecue' is being used more often than usual.''

got that? i'm not sure what the "more often than usual" benchmark is, or how many sigmas you are allowed, or how that might possibly be useful. vegetarians had better start throwing the word 'bbq' into some sentences in case their lack of the use of the term makes them look suspicious.