Time to print some keys

It's a basic fact of life that once you publish something on the Internet, it's pretty much impossible to get it back. Now illustrating that point with painful clarity, images of the TSA's master luggage keys have been published online, meaning that anyone with a 3D printer can make their own. It all started when The Washington Post published a story last November about "the secret life of baggage" that was reportedly accompanied - only briefly, though - by a photo of the master keys the Transportation Security Administration uses to open what it calls "TSA recognized" luggage locks. The photo was hastily taken down, but not before it was snagged and circulated. Reports about the leak began to appear last month, but it wasn't until this week that detailed blueprints showed up on GitHub. "Security researchers have long warned of the dangers of using master-keyed locks," wrote Xyl2k, the GitHub user who posted the detailed plans. They were right to warn us because anyone with a 3D printer can now create their own copies of the TSA master keys, which were designed to enable security officers to inspect luggage without having to cut off any locks protecting it. They work on locks created specifically for that purpose through partnerships between the agency and lock manufacturers. But enough about that because Super Mario, the hyperactive little plumber who has become one of the best-known characters in video-gaming history, celebrates his 30th birthday tomorrow for which Japanese giant and creator Nintendo is marking the event with the release of a creative new format. Big deal. It's not the only birthday in the video gaming world to take place in recent days. The North American releases of the PlayStation and the Dreamcast were both on September 9 (in 1995 and 1999 respectively), with both consoles having been launched in Japan a year prior. And Spyro the Dragon turned 17 on Thursday.