Airport Security Without Profiling

With this being the last posting of the month we thought we would tackle the morass of airport security. So in accordance with the “slaying sacred cows” ideas we have we offer the following. We are sure that we need to apologize to someone for this so we offer apologies to whom ever we offend.

Homeland Security, A Poem

Homeland Security is improving airplane security

By limiting carryon luggage and the things you can bring, implemented in the fall.

This includes the clothes you wear

In fact no luggage or clothes, allowed for anyone at all.

An airplane has blown up

In the skyOh no, oh NO!

Here they come out of the blue,

Naked bodies all over, what shall we do?

Here they come again.

No carryon luggage would mean fewer employees to do the screen

With a walk through fluoroscope nothing indeed is hidden,

No way for a passenger to get by with things unseen

So the passengers are truly, truly clean.

An airplane has blown up

In the sky.

Oh no, oh NO!

Naked bodies in the trees naked bodies on the ground,

There are naked bodies all around.

Here they come again.

Naked bodies falling out of they sky like rain

Blow up an airplane and naked bodies cover the landscape.

While this may sound awful and really terrible

Naked bodies are totally biodegradable.

An airplane has blown up

In the sky.

Oh no, oh NO!

Naked bodies that passed security are in my pool,

Now just who do I call and what do I do.

Here they come again.

We must be able to tell the good from the bad

So this is the idea that we have had.

To prove that passengers have passed the test

They must have “Homeland security” printed on their back and on their chest.

An airplane has blown up

In the sky.

Oh no, oh NO!

Here they come falling our of the blue,

Whatever are we to do.

Here they come again.

We showed our poem to Father Jean Mortuadu over at the Baptist, St. Bart The Divine, Holy Sacred Cow Ecumenical Catholic church. He had very little to say which we reprint here, hopefully we have interpreted this correctly. He was sampling the communion wine and he is Irish after all. We Quote” Holy mother of saints Agnes, John, and Barthoremu. What ya trien ta do? Get arrested?”

No just point out a real cheap way of securing passengers without profiling anyone while maintaining the constitutional ideas that all of us are treated alike.

That’s how I see it.

All Sea Life Must Fry

A “dead” zone is off the Oregon coast and the “zone” is an area of ocean that has no oxygen. So things needing oxygen die. Well now that is kindda interesting. So why is this? scientists are trying to figure it out. But we have some questions.

1.What is the temperature of the sea floor in the center of the dead zone for the entire length of it? That is as relation to the “live” zone, which is outside of the dead zone? 2. Why doesn’t the current move the water and in doing so aerate the stuff which wouild enrich the water with oxygen?

If the water that makes up the Pacific Ocean actually moves than the plankton that is slurping up said oxygen ought to move. In addition the conditions that make the plankton thrive and grow ought to be looked into.

Once we comprehend why this happens then we can better determine what the fix may be. Of course this could be an issue where the floor of the sea is becoming warmer to the molten hot stuff moving up. In which case plankton will grow, consume the oxygen and kill everything in sight.

Getting these answers will not be easy because of the “humans did it” mentality that supposed scientists seem to have these days.

That’s how I see it.

And Now For Something Rather Odd

Someone gave us a makeover via photoshop, my apologies to anyone we may inadvertently offend.

Lets Make a Movie

So you want to make a movie, create a real special add for TV or run with the directors in the world of film making. Ah but where to start, what equipment to buy, so many answers so few questions.

Fear not fellow traveler on this globe of water, rock and mud I have found just what you need. Yes you do need this, http://235studios.blogspot.com/ movie making and such is what they do. The have answers for you, as long as its movies that is.

Later.

A Little Research

So you see an airplane and wonder, who owns the thing? Well if it has a United States of America N number go here http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_inquiry.asp, enter the number and viola! Loads of information. This also works for airplanes that need a little work and are parked in the weeds.

On the morbid side when airplanes go down and their accident information is made public this place has load of information. http://www.planecrashinfo.com/ but be aware that thy have the cockpit and tower trans scripts and reading through this stuff can be hard to take.

Also notice that you are safer in an airplane than a car and more so if you are traveling less than 5 miles from home.

Coming Out of a Fog

I feel like I am coming out of a fog. Since the 9/11 attack airport security is supposed to be better, more complete and accurate. Then word comes of a "possible" attack with liquid explosives. Code RED and near panic.

I thought that the airport screening was already supposed to be doing this. What did I miss other than the retail upswing when everyone has to re-purchase the items that they have to throw away?

No wonder that large business are turning in increasing numbers to charter jets for company transportation. At least one knows it is safe.

True Water Taxi

Take a gander at this http://www.beriev-usa.com/main/index.html and marvel at the simplicity of it all. Just think landing on water without floats and with wet wings. Stable but just one question. Will there be enough gas to make it run?

Translation - All or in Part

Ever want to translate a phrase into a different language? Look at this http://babelfish.altavista.com/ and note that not all languages are covered but a lot are and it can be a load of fun. You can also translate entire web pages. Beware that on a dial up connection this can take a bit.

Surprise Surprise – NOT

When looking at how governments are run in both Washington and Oregon it can look strange that anything gets done at all. Problem is, and I used to do this, criticism is most often levied by them what have no idea. They have no idea what the state constitution requires of local leadership, they have no real idea of what the US constitution is all about. They have no idea what the amount of time required to do the job actually is and they make comments based on what the think they know. In other countries we call this ignorance, in the US A we call it criticism.

I served on the town council, Town of Friday Harbor in Washington state for 8 years and I spent at least 25 hours a week staying up with the job. So if this is a legislative position why would it take so much time. This is because while the council is a legislative position there is more to the job than meets the eye. The council is the legislative body, they make the rules, and they also enable the land use regulations. This takes a public hearing and requires that they function in a quasi judicial manor. So things like traffic flow, water regulating, wet land protection, building codes, road speed limits, tax levies and so on are legislative. While at the same time they require a cretin amount of quasi judicial functionality. More so if the rules are appealed by the public or a business that odes not like the rules.

They also serve in a small capacity as administrators. While the Town has a very capable Administrator in Mr. King Fitch, the council is responsible for paying the bills. Paying bills is both an administrative function and a legislative one all at the same time. The council also receives reports from the different department heads, asks them for additional information from time to time and occasionally requests that they make special presentations. Presentations are an administrative function.

Keeping up with the rules, weather or not they need changed or added to, what other communities do to solve the same sort of issues. Are not quasi judicial, legislative or administrative. They are research things and can consume a lot of time. More so if one’s trying to head the State legislature off at the pass with what will prove to be BAD legislation AKA the GMA.

So when a bunch of idealists decided to get San Juan County to have an administrator strong council kind of government. They went on record as desiring the county government to be more like the town. These are nice intending people, some I even count as friends. However they didn’t do their research very well. How do I know? Because they are now complaining that the current 6 people aren’t behaving like the new charter says that they should.
So who of the freeholders asked any of the past council members what the job really requires? Who inquired of the State just what the County commissioners are actually responsible for? What sort of things did they do?

Obviously what they did was to envision themselves in the position and think “what would I do”. Yet none or few had ever done the j0ob at all and none did it well. The requirement for county-governing bodies to pass legislation is in the constitution and is not abated by a charter. Same thing for things like land use appeals. The county does have an appellate board but if that persons decision is applied to “Caesar” then the county council must step up tp the plate via quasi judicial. Or the county gets sued and it is not the appellate board that gets sued but he council members.

So without having done the job a few got the many to buy into a bad idea in the first place. Trading an open government where all decisions at the top level were done in public for a process where al decisions are now made in private. Then passed off in public as “open” even though the decision has been made out of chambers.

The idea was passed, as being more “user friendly” which will not happen. Multnomah County in Oregon proves that the more council members in place the increasingly nasty and awful legislation gets passed. The idea was passed as being cheaper. That could happen but the council members, there are 6 in San Juan County, need to make 35 thousand a year and not 60 thousand a year. By paying 60 thousand a year to begin with the council will eat up 360,000 bucks a year which is less than the 480,000 bucks previously. However in three years they will take in at least what three did previously and in fore a half million bucks.

It would only be cheaper if they were paid 30 thousand a year. That is a nice good sum and on San Juan Island it is a livable wage. A person working in a grocery store for 20 years lives on that so it is doable. Not classy at the county council state meetings where Armoni suites reign but oh well. If the people of San Juan really wanted the County government to be paid something like the Town members are then 30 grand would be the figure.

Staying current with pending doom from the Feds and the state will take up 20 hours a week. Special requests that the staff cannot answer will take up an additional 5. Meetings with the other heads of departments will take about 10 hours a week if done well. With 5 hours a week in research makes a 40 hour work week.

So how did a bunch of people really think that the job would become cheaper and less intensive? This is what happens when idealism and improper thought processes size one. Problem is the people of San Juan County, like the people of Multnomah County, foot the bill and must live with the ugly consequences of a bad idea.

That’s how I see it.