Augusta

Augusta has a surprisingly small airport, and I've flown to places like Cedar Rapids and Sioux Falls. It's the only airport I've seen where you have to go outside to get from the ticket counter to the gates. And they don't even bother keeping the security checkpoint constantly operational. We had to wait (outside, let me remind you!) until a security agent appeared, with not much time to spare before the flight.

(Yes, I know you couldn't have an outside waiting area in Sioux Falls. Too cold. Or too hot, but that didn't stop the designers of the Augusta airport.)

So much for bag matching!

One of the tactics established to increase airport security in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack is bag matching. Long used in Europe to address terrorist bombings, this system ensures your bag does not get on the plane if you don't.

But then, I landed after a delayed flight, and found the airplane's cargo hold was filled with bags from earlier flights on that route, and not mine. A snowstorm had seriously mangled flights through Charlotte, and a lot of bags didn't make their earlier connections. It's a loophole that could possibly be exploited, although it would be nearly impossible to plan.

Aside 1: Why is it Charlotte which has given me the worst weather-related delays, and not a northern airport?

Aside 2: If people are willing to die for their twisted lies, I'm not sure how useful bag matching really is to stopping bombs.

Update: This old article indicates that it doesn't require any effort at all to exploit this loophole.

Back

San Juan, Puerto Rico
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Rouseau, Dominica
Bridgetown, Barbados
Castries, St. Lucia
Basseterre, St. Kitts

And as an added bonus, this is a company holiday, so there's a vacation day to recover from a vacation! It's amazing how good that feels.

Best

I will occasionally update this post with my favorite blog entries. A lot of my posts comment on double standards.

Music

If record labels are convinced that CD singles cannibalize album sales, then why are they contributing to million-selling compilations?

But this is a good way to introduce consumers to new artists. It's the Carnival of the Vanities... applied to a genre of music.

Why do you think differently of a man and a woman who would sing these song lyrics?

Someone's got to blog about the dance phenomenon Dragostea Din Tei.

Politics

What Aladdin Casino owner Bill Timmins should have said to Michael Moore in the Linda Ronstadt hullabaloo.

Michael Moore doesn't understand that Republicans and Democrats support the same thing.

If you don't support federal funding for something you find offensive, shouldn't you feel the same about things others find offensive?

Want to spend some of the military's funds on social programs? Here's a slap of Constitutional reality.

Why is Congress telling the District of Columbia how to live?

Unanswered questions on global warming.

Slavery reparations? You may have already experienced it.

It should be "Leftists for Voldemort."

Create a world where the United States is not the world's superpower, but the world is a better place.

The right response to Indonesia's request to remove troops delivering tsunami aid.

Answering questions for conservatives on Social Security.

Executing the mentally retarded? Look at what you can learn from Family Guy.

Pay attention to when news articles talk about how well off the "rich" are by using percentages. They may be concealing the whole story, as I surmise here.

Here's some interesting analysis on Social Security, including identifying changes that will make Social Security self-sufficient over the infinite horizon.

Women earn more than men. It's true in some cases, and certainly more accurate than comparing all men to all women.

Humor

Beware Canada's terrorist threat! (Click on the second link to learn more about the threat.)

John Kerry sells his Vietnam heroics to Hollywood.

Avoid the mistakes of those who came before you! If you're an Axis of Evil Overlord, be sure to follow this advice!

There are many more offensive sports team names that should be banned.

I've got some ways to improve a barter exchange.

Here are some signs of spring.

Life

Agreed! The comics page doesn't reflect real life.

Want to protect kids from obesity? Try stopping being overprotective in this way.

Fun with telemarketers. Enough said.

What Civilization II teaches us about human advancement.

Video games get a bum rap. There's a positive side to video games that needs to be acknowledged.

Blogging

Here's a clever use of Blogger: hosting a puzzle challenge.

Canada's terrorist threat (continued)

(Continued from here)

I'm demanding action from President Bush and our government. For too long, they have ignored this terrorist threat.



They come across our porous borders with our northern neighbor. They just fly across, and we've done nothing to stop them.



They come. They congregate. They send out their calls to their brethren all throughout the day (such annoying honking!).



Some even raise a family here, right in our midst.



Yet all remain hostile to us. It takes very little to arouse their ire, to get a hostile response. Just being near them causes them to hiss, raise their wings, even charge. They attack us, and yet we're supposed to ignore it.

They come, attacking our resources, eating our grass. They leave the most foul-smelling droppings, which are certainly hazardous to our health.

They're also incredibly stupid. The origin of this post is from witnessing recent behavior of these Canada geese. I work in an office building with typical reflective glass, with some windows extending almost to ground level. That, of course, leads to stupid geese attacking the strange scentless bird they see in front of them. Enough banging of bill against glass makes it clear to me that these geese are a true terrorist threat.

(What, you thought I was talking about a different terrorist threat?)

Update: Welcome, Carnival of the Vanities readers. Some of my favorite posts are here.

Ambiguity (2)

Flip the picture upside down, and it's something else entirely!

A great picture for a Magic card called Ambiguity.