I just returned from another business trip. I hate hate hate flying. I enjoy the taking off, up in the air and landing part. It’s all the pre and post requisites of the horror.
In a prior post I lambasted the TSA. Ditto. This is becoming ridiculous. What is more ridiculous is that all we like sheep are led to the slaughter without so much as a bleat. Show me your picture ID, show me your boarding pass, go right thru Mr Hassan, hold it grandma Jones, we need to wand you down, strip search you (yikes) and humiliate you.
I stood in line and watched these morons wand a 3-year-old blond kid with his mom, baby sister in a baby carrier and dad standing by.
This is so out of line - completely out of control.
It takes 1 hour 15 minutes to make the flight to Nashville. The prep in and out time (luggage and bus to parking lot) takes 3 hours 12 minutes. It now no longer makes sense to fly to anywhere closer than 5 hours drive time. I wouldn’t think of flying to St. Louis or Indianapolis. I’ll get in the old Buick, fire it up, and burn 40 gallons of gasoline to make the trip.
Flying stinks.
I have a solution:
When you get to the airport and present your ticket they would usher you and your bags into a large shipping container. It’s bar coded like UPS for your destination. You are asleep the whole time. It’s air conditioned. Your bags fly with you in the same container. You never know anything until you get to your destination. They would stack these things in cargo planes like cordwood. You would be unloaded by conveyor and fork lifted 20 at a time to the disembarcment department.
What would it be like?
You lay down and are given a cranial stimulator to have you imagine nice music, a wonderful elegant food court, courteous ticket agents, roomy comfortable seats, gracious flight attendants serving nice food, nice movie and being all around wonderful after which you imagine exiting to your auto and leaving the airport for home. Wouldn’t that be something.
None of that’s true anymore. I used to be much nicer to fly. I hate flying.
Now that I think of it if a family of 4 were flying together, they all had their own suspended animation shipping containers, Billy could end up in Baltimore, Sissy in Toledo, Mom in Birmingham, and Dad would be lost in the system somewhere.
It’s the only answer, I mean real security is in a prison. This society is quickly placing us behind bars and all the maniacs are on the outside. Patriot act, TSA, Security measures of all kinds, we are going over the top and don’t even know it.
I was shocked by this article in the USA today. People are signing up for totalitarianism and don’t even know it. Hitler had an enemy he used to impose absolute control over his country. History repeats.
Barney Fife now runs the TSA. Take away their bullet ---- PLEASE.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Monday, August 01, 2005
If I just Spend a Little more I’ll get so Much More and other Lies
I eat out more than I should and more than my waistline needs. I like a really good restaurant. I enjoy nice ambience. But I’m happiest when I get really good food and really good service at a really good price. The Greeks in our area seem to have an edge on this. They give you the most for the least money of anyone.
We have lots of restaurants that come and go. Too high priced. I know their complaint. We can’t compete. Our costs are too high to make it. Wait staff expects too much.
The essence of the complaint of the restaurateur about to go out of business is if people were just willing to pay a little more they would get so much more.
I’ve been the recipient of the “little more”. It’s indiscernible from the a lot less group.
The restaurant business is tough and cruel. That’s why I’m not in it.
The whole idea of if we just had more money per plate served we could do so much better.
Public education had learned from the restaurateurs.
I’m sick to death of the spending per student quotient as a measure of how much we care. Illinois has the highest, lowest, least, best I don’t know what spending per student.
I won’t point out the fact that many states spend fractionally per student and turn out a good product. Sometimes even great. I won’t point out that in Chicago in some areas per student is now $20,000 plus per year. They still can’t read, write or do arithmetic.
This article in the Chicago Tribune this morning made me nauseous. Text without subscribing here
One more time, spending more doesn’t get you a better meal necessarily nor does it produce a better education. Never did, never will.
In the pursuit of full disclosure, my wife works in the St Charles Schools. I know of what I speak.
Charging for filet mignon and serving McDonalds Double Cheeseburgers.
We have lots of restaurants that come and go. Too high priced. I know their complaint. We can’t compete. Our costs are too high to make it. Wait staff expects too much.
The essence of the complaint of the restaurateur about to go out of business is if people were just willing to pay a little more they would get so much more.
I’ve been the recipient of the “little more”. It’s indiscernible from the a lot less group.
The restaurant business is tough and cruel. That’s why I’m not in it.
The whole idea of if we just had more money per plate served we could do so much better.
Public education had learned from the restaurateurs.
I’m sick to death of the spending per student quotient as a measure of how much we care. Illinois has the highest, lowest, least, best I don’t know what spending per student.
I won’t point out the fact that many states spend fractionally per student and turn out a good product. Sometimes even great. I won’t point out that in Chicago in some areas per student is now $20,000 plus per year. They still can’t read, write or do arithmetic.
This article in the Chicago Tribune this morning made me nauseous. Text without subscribing here
One more time, spending more doesn’t get you a better meal necessarily nor does it produce a better education. Never did, never will.
In the pursuit of full disclosure, my wife works in the St Charles Schools. I know of what I speak.
Charging for filet mignon and serving McDonalds Double Cheeseburgers.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Too Many Blondes
We just returned from a long trip to Oklahoma City (IPHC Quadrennial Conference). Had a great time.
While there I noticed something and mentioned it to Peggy. She concurred.
Somehow, at least in the mid south central USA all the young women look the same. They are hard to tell apart. All of them are sort of Jennifer Anniston wannabees except a little blonder. Big white teeth smiles that say, “I had braces, don’t you love my teeth?”
Pretty enough girls. But all identical.
I have this theory, if Dandelions (like in your yard) were rare and hard to grow we would have them cultured in greenhouses, use them in expensive bouquets, and have dandelion breeders developing new and exotic cultivars. But because they are so common we mow them down and breed orchids.
Girls, Girls, Girls, you are becoming dandelions. Ubiquitous. Identical. Pretty enough; But all glamour is no glamour.
Where are the longhaired raven beauties? (I married one) Where are the fiery redheads? Where are the curly haired dazzlers? Where are the slightly heavy Norma Jeans? What about the bob cut sandy haired cuties. And the auburn haired mystery woman, where is she? There are lots of options other than Jennifer and her imitators.
I know blondes have more fun they say. Might it not be fun to be a little different? I think you will have just as much fun.
Besides, peroxide is hard on your hair.
While there I noticed something and mentioned it to Peggy. She concurred.
Somehow, at least in the mid south central USA all the young women look the same. They are hard to tell apart. All of them are sort of Jennifer Anniston wannabees except a little blonder. Big white teeth smiles that say, “I had braces, don’t you love my teeth?”
Pretty enough girls. But all identical.
I have this theory, if Dandelions (like in your yard) were rare and hard to grow we would have them cultured in greenhouses, use them in expensive bouquets, and have dandelion breeders developing new and exotic cultivars. But because they are so common we mow them down and breed orchids.
Girls, Girls, Girls, you are becoming dandelions. Ubiquitous. Identical. Pretty enough; But all glamour is no glamour.
Where are the longhaired raven beauties? (I married one) Where are the fiery redheads? Where are the curly haired dazzlers? Where are the slightly heavy Norma Jeans? What about the bob cut sandy haired cuties. And the auburn haired mystery woman, where is she? There are lots of options other than Jennifer and her imitators.
I know blondes have more fun they say. Might it not be fun to be a little different? I think you will have just as much fun.
Besides, peroxide is hard on your hair.
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