[caradoc]

Wait till you get to the bottom of the bag, staplermofo 😛 😈 💡 😀 8) 😆 😉

😯

[caradoc]

But seriously, re: backscatter machines – take the patdown or get in the other line. Please, for your own health, do not go through these machines and do not let your family and friends. The science is extremely dubious and is based on your entire body absorbing the amount of radiation you are blasted with BUT only your epidermal layer is taking the hit because of the nature of delivery and kind of radiation. Especially frequent travelers, since air travel gives you extra radiation anyway.

Or so I have heard from orionid who takes this stuff seriously and kinda knows about it some.

Not to mention that the backscatter machine is easily fooled, overpriced, and just plain stupid from the get-go. Chertoff pulled a fast one, there.

[caradoc]

Do tell. I love a good story.

The airlines love to tell complainers that the TSA is “imposed” on them, ignoring the facts that the TSA represents a massive subsidy to the airlines.

People who don’t fly at all are footing the bill via taxes paid.

The response I got was essentially, “We’re sorry you feel that way, but if it keeps us safer…”

The second response was a bit more terse, as I had replied to the effect that the TSA was a massive Kabuki of security theatre, contributing no actual value higher than the pre-9/11 private screeners (as admitted by the OIG via their reports last year.)

Basically, the airlines LOVE the TSA because it indemnifies them against all claims. Stolen baggage? Blame the TSA. Plane was delayed by a phone-in bomb threat? Blame the TSA.

But the airlines won’t admit that to the flying public…

[caradoc]

When I can, I drive wherever (I’ll drive 12+ hours to Chicago instead of flying if I’ve got the time, even though the gas prices make that a less fiscally prudent decision), but when I have to due to time constraints, or if there’s an ocean in the way, I’ll suffer the indignity, because there is no way to organize an effective boycott due to the business travelers. Until the business traveling public takes a stand, your refusal is meaningless in the long term.

I switched jobs after the rollout of the so-called “body scanners” (which Jon Corbett has demonstrated to be completely ineffective), going from 10K+ miles per month to zero.

The responses I got from my frequent flyer program on notification as to exactly why I’d done so were… interesting.

[caradoc]

And so it begins…

The main goal of bureaucratic organizations is to protect the grow the organization. So of course the TSA is decided there’s no reason to let people leave after their “review”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pournelle#Iron_Law_of_Bureaucracy

…in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representatives who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.

[caradoc]

I refuse to fly until they do away with the TSA. Fark them.

Good. I had an acquaintance who apparently still works for the TSA (I can’t confirm as I haven’t spoken to them since I found out they had accepted the “job.”) People who willingly carry out such stupidity should be shunned, as should people who subscribe to the idiocy of the “Anything For Security” crap.

Those who say, “Well, the TSA isn’t perfect but as long as they’re keeping us safe…” should immediately donate their head to a medical school and the rest of their organs to people who can put them to better use.

[caradoc]

I think it will still help, for two reasons. First, the interpretations of the TSA rules is important and the TSA staff fails miserably on that count. At least a competant private security service can be managed by the airport authority to be as reasonable as possible and still following the mandated procedures. TSA will never be manageable, they are a parasitic agency of the government, by design. Second, if enough people kicked the TSA to the curb the size of the agency would shrink, hopefully out of existance. That alone would be a blessing and it left unchecked they will continue to grow and become even more intrusive.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-29/travel/tsa.private_1_tsa-government-screeners-screening-program?_s=PM:TRAVEL

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41391509/ns/travel-news/t/ditch-tsa-workers-airports-no-longer-allowed-opt-out/#.T14BsVEvas0

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/08/20110208arizona-private-security-bid-rejected-by-tsa.html

[caradoc]

They are completely irrational and incapable of making any type of decision.

You misspelled “stupid.”

The TSA is currently staffed with a collection of sub-morons who think they’re helping America, and thugs, thieves, molesters, and rapists who know full well that it’s pure theater but get their rocks off on their so-called “job.”

TSA Delenda Est.

[caradoc]

the closing comment about the pencil reminds me that you can stab a persons brains pretty easily with a pencil. it’s one of the oldest spy tricks in the book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QehZjjwb7-I

[caradoc]

FWIW, the move to require aitports to use TSA sercurity services wasn’t permanent. After 3 years any airport can elect to toss that company out and hire private securty. Some places have done just that and IMO it’s time more airport authorities follow suit. Regardless of what political leanings we all may have, I think we can all agree the TSA has been a failure on multiple levels.

Except that the TSA says that’ll only happen if the replacement contractors perform exactly the same procedures as the current rank-and-file blue-shirted douchebags.

And since those procedures are a large part of the problem, simple replacement of the blue-shirted douchebags with privately-contracted douchebags won’t change anything…

[caradoc]

Production photos for “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” have been posted.

[caradoc]

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” is on stage for Stray Cat Theatre, and getting solid reviews!

[caradoc]

I’ve got one. “Phoenix” brand. It’s crap. I picked it up for under $100 for a very specific project, and haven’t touched it since.

[caradoc]

[caradoc]

For backdrops, I often use flat sheets purchased at WalMart for 6-8. They work pretty well, come in lots of colors. For smaller shoots I drape a pillowcase over an artboard.

One can often find stuff at various clearance houses, too – bolts of upholstery material, curtains removed from old hotels/motels, etc.

I try to stay away from raw muslin in the sizes needed for larger backdrops – it tends to get expensive quickly, wrinkles easily, and my washing machine won’t handle it anyway.

[Author]

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