January 19, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Awesome X 3! Three generations of Mars rovers (via Reddit).
Image Courtesy: NASA.gov via Reddit - Click image to enlarge
Via www.nasa.gov
January 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm
Via Scoop.it – Transportation Today
Rather than risk missing out on the 2012 Superbike season, Suzuki rider John Hopkins decided to have one of his fingers amputated. Hopkins finger problems began when he crashed while practicing for the Czech Grand Prix. Although the fall didn’t look bad initially it led to six operations with the promise of more trips under the knife. (via Jalopnik)
Via jalopnik.com
January 11, 2012 at 11:59 am
Via Scoop.it – Transportation Today
Rolls-Royce — the luxury car brand that makes all other luxury carmakers feel young, vibrant and West Egg-ish — saw a seemingly astounding 31% increase in sales in 2011. RR saw a seemingly astounding 31% increase in sales in 2011. Rolls sold 3,538 Spirit of Ecstasy-ornamented barges of bountiful bank accounts — making it the best year of sales in the brand’s 107-year-old history. Breaking out those sales across the globe, Rolls saw 47% higher sales in the Asia Pacific region, and Middle East sales were up 23%. North America — home to the United States, the brand’s most important market — saw sales blossom by 17%.
Via jalopnik.com
January 10, 2012 at 8:41 pm
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Proposed Metro fare increases are shown below (courtesy of Washington Post).
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Metro proposes 5 percent fare increase
Metro proposes to increase bus and rail fares by about 5 percent, raise parking rates and eliminate a controversial rush-hour surcharge t…
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The continued sub-par service and prolonged operational deficiencies on Metro have left the already fuming riders on the system even more irate. And some of them are now venting it out on the social media channels, particularly on Twitter. Here is a sample of the community reaction on Twitter:
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Really, #wmata? $4 fee and $6 rush-hour for paper farecard holders? Way to send a big F you to out-of-towners
wapo.st/wnuA0y
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I refuse to give DC Metro, any more money to be stranded on trains, ride on leaky buses, or be late to work #wmata
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“They keep increasing the fare, but they’re not increasing the service.” #wmata
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RT @embraceurcrazy If government employees are being furloughed and are suffering pay freezes so should #wmata <Preach PREACHA!!!!
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Obviously #wmata your management team has not properly managed and budgeted effectively nor efficiently over the past decade or 2. Fire’m!
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10 minute wait at 6pm for next train at Farragut north the day metro wants to raise fares…r u kidding me #WMATA #metroclosesdoors
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Dicky Sarles “let them eat cake” attitude towards riders concerns re fare hikes is arrogant. Riders will revolt Dicky! #wmata @wmata
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Every time #wmata announces the possibility of a fare increase, service nosedives. Srsly. Today’s commute is taking FOREVER.
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RT @postlocal: #Metro fare hike proposal infuriates riders already frustrated by service
wapo.st/yDwzkO #wmata
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SIX DOLLARS FOR RUSH HOUR? I’m moving. // RT @washingtonpost Metro proposes fare increase:
wapo.st/zP7c5F #WMATA
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#WMATA wants to charge passengers more for increasingly worse and erratic service –
ow.ly/8oeYY
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#wmata is synonymous w/FARE HIKE! so over it! this makes driving more attractive
Metro proposes 5 percent fare increase
washingtonpost.com/local/c…
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#wmata’s actions have reached way beyond the point of absurdity. RT @washingtonpost: Metro proposes fare increase:
wapo.st/zP7c5F
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Looks like WMATA is not getting any love from the angry commuters anytime soon.. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the days ahead. The terrible thing that can happen due to this proposal is that some of the riders, esp. the ones living in the suburbs, might just give up on Metro for this high-cost+poor service mess and opt to drive, which will significantly impact the already exploding traffic in the DMV region. Every car we keep off the road will go a long way in alleviating the congestion and other allied traffic ailments at the regional level. On the other hand, this mess could also offer a jump in the biking (an uptick in the bikeshare?).
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In any case, WMATA has a huge image/perception makeover issue on its hands and it would be wise to address some of these issues before coming out with such proposed increases.. Yeah, we know you are cash strapped and also working hard to improve the service but it has not really showed up when we swiped the card at the fare gates and walked in to the platform expecting a decent service(if not great). Hope that is not too much to ask from WMATA. Should you feel compelled, you can definitely express yourself in the poll conducted by the local TV station ABC7.
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ABC7’s Poll of the Day: Would another #wmata fare hike make you reconsider your daily commute? VOTE:
wj.la/zN0kws
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January 10, 2012 at 6:11 pm
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This posted was created on my Storify back in Nov 2011 but did not make it to my website. So, here I’m making it available for my readers. Hope you like it.
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Yesterday (Nov 2, 2011), the nation’s political establishment (i.e., the members of the House) decided that it is high time the national priorities be rearranged and everyone be reminded that our national motto is “In God We Trust” and not “E Pluribus Unum”.
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In God We Trust. In Congress, not so much
But God says that won't happen again, and In God We Trust. God once destroyed the Egyptian economy by making the place dark and givin…
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“
Money House GOP spent today on creating jobs: $0. Money GOP spent on reaffirming “In God We Trust”: $215,000. We are governed by children.
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This comes at a time when the nation is reeling from one of the worst political/economic times it has endured, EVER. Our economy is grinding itself to a halt; folks are battling for jobs; protests are raging from coast to coast; and those who are lucky to have a job are pondering how to manage the looming financial uncertainty that is only growing larger by the day. The past couple of years (since 2008) has been tumultuous, to put it lightly, and we have endured crisis after crisis, erupting in every part of the globe (Euro-Zone crisis triggered by the Greeks, volatile trade relationships, wars in two continents, etc). Amidst all this, the congress still decided that it is time for reaffirming our faith in god.
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In addition, we have an aging infrastructure that needs to be urgently repaired/upgraded and the funding vehicle get this issue addressed – the surface transportation bill – is yet to see the light of day in Washington. It has been over two years – 763 days, 19 hrs, 27 mins, to be precise – since the last transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU expired on Sept 30, 2009; ). And we all know that putting folks to build our roads, bridges and railways is one good way to address the infrastructure crisis as well as the unemployment crisis. But hey, that’s what a rational thinker would do, right? The congress leadership does not seem to be in a hurry at this juncture to get anything done to improve our transportation infrastructure.
-
Time’s Up: Get moving on a transformational bill!
The clock is ticking. Is Congress on it? Every six years, Congress sets the country’s transportation and infrastructure priorities – fund…
-
What’s even even worse is the state of a similar funding bill for FAA. According to
TheHill.com, the House’s version of the long-term authorization bill, which would be the first for the FAA since 2004, would provide the agency with $59 billion over the next four years. The agency has been operating on a series of 22 short-term extensions of that last authorization since it expired in 2007.
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“
House reaffirms ‘In God We Trust’ as national motto
t.co/r8Xei2Xc
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And guess what? It is not like this is the first time it happened. “In God We Trust” had already been reaffirmed once before as the national motto, by another act of Congress in 2002. The President must be one hell of an angry man at this stage watching what’s happening in the House.
Like any responsible citizen who has a stake in the future of this country, the President got pretty upset watching elected representatives dedicate their time to discuss an issue that is not definitely at the top of the priority list (at least not for the majority in this country at this time in history). After all, he has been pressing the Congress to pass his Job’s bill (or at least elements of the proposed bill) for months so that the unemployed can get a chance to put food on their plates. And still there is no progress on that front despite his gazillion calls/pleas for action .
-
Obama calls on Congress to approve highway funding bill – 44 – The …
Aug 31, 2011… impasse shut down parts of the nation's airline transportation system. … to approve a funding extension to the Su…
-
Obama Says Deteriorating Infrastructure Costly to U.S. Economy
He also announced plans to speed up grants and funding for surface transportation projects. Aging infrastructure costs businesses and fam…
-
So, like any red blooded individual he got hot under his collar and let it rip. As seen in the video below (via
Huffington Post), he went after the House leadership. This afternoon, in a speech from beneath the D.C. area’s Key Bridge, Obama told spectators that Congress had time to bring up votes on aspects of the American Jobs Act, but were instead dealing with more frivolous legislation.
“And if Congress tell you they don’t have time, they’ve got time to do it,” Obama said.
“In the House of Representatives, what have you guys been doing, John?” Obama continued, calling out Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio). “You’ve been debating a commemorative coin for baseball. You’ve had legislation reaffirming that ‘In God We Trust’ is our motto. That’s not putting people back to work. I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.”
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Obama Jabs Congress For ‘In God We Trust’ Vote
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Obama rips 'In God we trust' vote
President Obama on Wednesday mocked a vote Tuesday evening in the House of Representatives to reaffirm "In God we trust" as the…
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Obama: 'In God We Trust' Vote Not Creating Jobs
by Kimberly Schwandt | November 02, 2011 The House vote to reaffirm that "In God We Trust" is the US motto is "not putting…
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Obama: In Jobs Bills We Trust
He's very upset that the House of Representatives just wasted its time reaffirming the national motto of “In God We Trust,” which Oba…
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This political move may be well received in the Bible belt, but the rest of the country is not reacting nicely to this style of politicking. If you don’t believe me, here is a sample of how the citizenry is reacting (on Twitter) to this style of law-making at Capitol Hill.
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“
I’ve never been more proud of POTUS than today. GOP is more interested on “In God we trust” than jobs. #tcot #dumberthandirt #gop
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“
House has done nothin bout Jobs but has re-affirmed the IN GOD WE TRUST motto WTF! WTF !WTF! Is that what YOU voted for in 10? @cspanwj
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RT @BadAstronomer: Just in case you weren’t angry enough, it cost $200,000 for Congress to reaffirm the motto “In God We Trust”.
t.co/tma8Ionj
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House overwhelmingly passes pointless resolution to affirm ‘In God We Trust’ as national motto, no new jobs created
t.co/xodpXOYq
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“
RT @UnderdogLib: MT @JohnFugelsang: This week Food Stamp rates hit an all-time high, & Congress voted to reaffirm ‘In God We Trust’ as US Motto. Questions?
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Finally, today ( on November 3, 2011), the politicians some how suddenly realized that people have sent them to Washington to focus on important things and decided to get their act together and arrived at the congress to work on the Infrastructure bill. Right off the bat everyone, including the general public and the press, knew nothing will get accomplished, given the ideological stands each party has taken on this bill. But that did not stop the theatrics from happening – they still debated and voted on the proposed Infrastructure bill. CBS’s Mark Knoller live tweeted the events as they unfurled and the outcome of this voting was there for all of us to see.
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“
Senate now voting on bringing Obama $50-billion infrastructure funding jobs bill measure to floor for debate & vote,. Needs 60 votes.
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Our beloved Transportation writer, Larry Ehl (www. transportationissuesdaily.com) wrote a detailed piece on this legislative agenda. According to Larry, the Democratic version of the infrastructure funding bill will fail because Republicans oppose the financing mechanism of surcharge on millionaire’s income. The Republican version (a two-year extension of SAFETEA-LU, with regulatory reforms added in) will fail in part because Democrats will oppose many of the proposed policy and regulatory changes (click here to read Larry’s post)
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“
Senate vote is 51-49. The infrastructure measure did not get the 60 votes needed to proceed to debate and vote. A defeat for Pres Obama.
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“
Tit for tat. By Senate vote of 47-53, GOP Infrastructure Bill also fails to get 60 votes to proceed to debate..
-
And for the ones like myself sitting outside and wondering what is happening in the congress, the
Journal of Commerce offered the perspectives of House T & I Committee Chair John Mica (R-FL) and why he favors a long term bill compared to the Democrats’ proposal:
“…Mica defended his six-year transportation plan from () accusations that the bill wouldn’t maintain current funding levels as he claimed. “My floor is the current level … and I’m hoping we can find even more money and increase on a cost-of-living or some other incremental basis the funding for a six-year authorization,” said the Florida Republican.
……Mica said that makes it impossible to plan long-term projects such as a long-delayed New York subway line he toured Tuesday with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y Mica also said ways must be found to speed the approval of major projects. “Shovel-ready has become a national joke,” he said. “It takes six to eight years just to get the approval, to go through the red tape, the paperwork … That nonsense has to stop. The president freed up 14 projects a couple of weeks ago. Fourteen projects? We’ve got 14,000 projects tied up in red tape and paperwork.”
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As much as I disagree with Mica, this is one case where I agree with him wholeheartedly. We need to provide a sustainable long term solution, not the short term extensions, and expedite the approval process for major projects. That said, I disagree vehemently with Mica’s proposed $286 billion bill because it represents a 16 percent cut to the current spending level. This is a non-starter, because the funding for transportation sector has been
steadily declining over the decades and has reached a very a low-level already (as percentage of %GDP, shown below is a sample of how bad it has gotten). Cutting it further is a a remarkably dull move and would only hamper our economic progress and not help in resuscitating the ailing economy.
-
-
-
-
So where do we go from here? A very important question but the answer for that is yet to be determined. But whatever we do as a nation, It is high time we refocus on our priorities and engage in sensible governance and not indulge in things to sway the country’s progress for a few political points in the 2012 election. Failure to do some course correction at this stage, the Speaker and his party men will be handed a real bad outcome in the 2012 elections. Whoever gets to the White House or Congress after the elections in 2012, he/she will be inheriting an economic mess and an infrastructure network that degrades by the day because of sheer neglect/lack of resources and our abject failure to legislate properly. I sincerely hope House Speaker and his party men realize that posturing and politicking is doing more harm to the country than they intend to do. Let’s sincerely hope it does not get to that point where the Americans look like Greeks, rioting in the streets. Oh wait, we are already half-way there with the Occupy Wall Street Protests and it won’t be too long before these peaceful protesters, many of whom are unemployed, lose their patience and turn this into something really ugly!
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January 10, 2012 at 6:04 pm
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Yesterday (Nov 2, 2011), the nation’s political establishment (i.e., the members of the House) decided that it is high time the national priorities be rearranged and everyone be reminded that our national motto is “In God We Trust” and not “E Pluribus Unum”.
-
In God We Trust. In Congress, not so much
But God says that won't happen again, and In God We Trust. God once destroyed the Egyptian economy by making the place dark and givin…
-
“
Money House GOP spent today on creating jobs: $0. Money GOP spent on reaffirming “In God We Trust”: $215,000. We are governed by children.
-
This comes at a time when the nation is reeling from one of the worst political/economic times it has endured, EVER. Our economy is grinding itself to a halt; folks are battling for jobs; protests are raging from coast to coast; and those who are lucky to have a job are pondering how to manage the looming financial uncertainty that is only growing larger by the day. The past couple of years (since 2008) has been tumultuous, to put it lightly, and we have endured crisis after crisis, erupting in every part of the globe (Euro-Zone crisis triggered by the Greeks, volatile trade relationships, wars in two continents, etc). Amidst all this, the congress still decided that it is time for reaffirming our faith in god.
-
In addition, we have an aging infrastructure that needs to be urgently repaired/upgraded and the funding vehicle get this issue addressed – the surface transportation bill – is yet to see the light of day in Washington. It has been over two years – 763 days, 19 hrs, 27 mins, to be precise – since the last transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU expired on Sept 30, 2009; ). And we all know that putting folks to build our roads, bridges and railways is one good way to address the infrastructure crisis as well as the unemployment crisis. But hey, that’s what a rational thinker would do, right? The congress leadership does not seem to be in a hurry at this juncture to get anything done to improve our transportation infrastructure.
-
Time’s Up: Get moving on a transformational bill!
The clock is ticking. Is Congress on it? Every six years, Congress sets the country’s transportation and infrastructure priorities – fund…
-
What’s even even worse is the state of a similar funding bill for FAA. According to
TheHill.com, the House’s version of the long-term authorization bill, which would be the first for the FAA since 2004, would provide the agency with $59 billion over the next four years. The agency has been operating on a series of 22 short-term extensions of that last authorization since it expired in 2007.
-
-
-
“
House reaffirms ‘In God We Trust’ as national motto
t.co/r8Xei2Xc
-
And guess what? It is not like this is the first time it happened. “In God We Trust” had already been reaffirmed once before as the national motto, by another act of Congress in 2002. The President must be one hell of an angry man at this stage watching what’s happening in the House.
Like any responsible citizen who has a stake in the future of this country, the President got pretty upset watching elected representatives dedicate their time to discuss an issue that is not definitely at the top of the priority list (at least not for the majority in this country at this time in history). After all, he has been pressing the Congress to pass his Job’s bill (or at least elements of the proposed bill) for months so that the unemployed can get a chance to put food on their plates. And still there is no progress on that front despite his gazillion calls/pleas for action .
-
Obama calls on Congress to approve highway funding bill – 44 – The …
Aug 31, 2011… impasse shut down parts of the nation's airline transportation system. … to approve a funding extension to the Su…
-
Obama Says Deteriorating Infrastructure Costly to U.S. Economy
He also announced plans to speed up grants and funding for surface transportation projects. Aging infrastructure costs businesses and fam…
-
So, like any red blooded individual he got hot under his collar and let it rip. As seen in the video below (via
Huffington Post), he went after the House leadership. This afternoon, in a speech from beneath the D.C. area’s Key Bridge, Obama told spectators that Congress had time to bring up votes on aspects of the American Jobs Act, but were instead dealing with more frivolous legislation.
“And if Congress tell you they don’t have time, they’ve got time to do it,” Obama said.
“In the House of Representatives, what have you guys been doing, John?” Obama continued, calling out Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio). “You’ve been debating a commemorative coin for baseball. You’ve had legislation reaffirming that ‘In God We Trust’ is our motto. That’s not putting people back to work. I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.”
-
Obama Jabs Congress For ‘In God We Trust’ Vote
-
Obama rips 'In God we trust' vote
President Obama on Wednesday mocked a vote Tuesday evening in the House of Representatives to reaffirm "In God we trust" as the…
-
Obama: 'In God We Trust' Vote Not Creating Jobs
by Kimberly Schwandt | November 02, 2011 The House vote to reaffirm that "In God We Trust" is the US motto is "not putting…
-
Obama: In Jobs Bills We Trust
He's very upset that the House of Representatives just wasted its time reaffirming the national motto of “In God We Trust,” which Oba…
-
This political move may be well received in the Bible belt, but the rest of the country is not reacting nicely to this style of politicking. If you don’t believe me, here is a sample of how the citizenry is reacting (on Twitter) to this style of law-making at Capitol Hill.
-
“
I’ve never been more proud of POTUS than today. GOP is more interested on “In God we trust” than jobs. #tcot #dumberthandirt #gop
-
“
House has done nothin bout Jobs but has re-affirmed the IN GOD WE TRUST motto WTF! WTF !WTF! Is that what YOU voted for in 10? @cspanwj
-
“
RT @BadAstronomer: Just in case you weren’t angry enough, it cost $200,000 for Congress to reaffirm the motto “In God We Trust”.
t.co/tma8Ionj
-
“
House overwhelmingly passes pointless resolution to affirm ‘In God We Trust’ as national motto, no new jobs created
t.co/xodpXOYq
-
“
RT @UnderdogLib: MT @JohnFugelsang: This week Food Stamp rates hit an all-time high, & Congress voted to reaffirm ‘In God We Trust’ as US Motto. Questions?
-
Finally, today ( on November 3, 2011), the politicians some how suddenly realized that people have sent them to Washington to focus on important things and decided to get their act together and arrived at the congress to work on the Infrastructure bill. Right off the bat everyone, including the general public and the press, knew nothing will get accomplished, given the ideological stands each party has taken on this bill. But that did not stop the theatrics from happening – they still debated and voted on the proposed Infrastructure bill. CBS’s Mark Knoller live tweeted the events as they unfurled and the outcome of this voting was there for all of us to see.
-
“
Senate now voting on bringing Obama $50-billion infrastructure funding jobs bill measure to floor for debate & vote,. Needs 60 votes.
-
Our beloved Transportation writer, Larry Ehl (www. transportationissuesdaily.com) wrote a detailed piece on this legislative agenda. According to Larry, the Democratic version of the infrastructure funding bill will fail because Republicans oppose the financing mechanism of surcharge on millionaire’s income. The Republican version (a two-year extension of SAFETEA-LU, with regulatory reforms added in) will fail in part because Democrats will oppose many of the proposed policy and regulatory changes (click here to read Larry’s post)
-
“
Senate vote is 51-49. The infrastructure measure did not get the 60 votes needed to proceed to debate and vote. A defeat for Pres Obama.
-
“
Tit for tat. By Senate vote of 47-53, GOP Infrastructure Bill also fails to get 60 votes to proceed to debate..
-
And for the ones like myself sitting outside and wondering what is happening in the congress, the
Journal of Commerce offered the perspectives of House T & I Committee Chair John Mica (R-FL) and why he favors a long term bill compared to the Democrats’ proposal:
“…Mica defended his six-year transportation plan from () accusations that the bill wouldn’t maintain current funding levels as he claimed. “My floor is the current level … and I’m hoping we can find even more money and increase on a cost-of-living or some other incremental basis the funding for a six-year authorization,” said the Florida Republican.
……Mica said that makes it impossible to plan long-term projects such as a long-delayed New York subway line he toured Tuesday with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y Mica also said ways must be found to speed the approval of major projects. “Shovel-ready has become a national joke,” he said. “It takes six to eight years just to get the approval, to go through the red tape, the paperwork … That nonsense has to stop. The president freed up 14 projects a couple of weeks ago. Fourteen projects? We’ve got 14,000 projects tied up in red tape and paperwork.”
-
As much as I disagree with Mica, this is one case where I agree with him wholeheartedly. We need to provide a sustainable long term solution, not the short term extensions, and expedite the approval process for major projects. That said, I disagree vehemently with Mica’s proposed $286 billion bill because it represents a 16 percent cut to the current spending level. This is a non-starter, because the funding for transportation sector has been
steadily declining over the decades and has reached a very a low-level already (as percentage of %GDP, shown below is a sample of how bad it has gotten). Cutting it further is a a remarkably dull move and would only hamper our economic progress and not help in resuscitating the ailing economy.
-
-
-
-
So where do we go from here? A very important question but the answer for that is yet to be determined. But whatever we do as a nation, It is high time we refocus on our priorities and engage in sensible governance and not indulge in things to sway the country’s progress for a few political points in the 2012 election. Failure to do some course correction at this stage, the Speaker and his party men will be handed a real bad outcome in the 2012 elections. Whoever gets to the White House or Congress after the elections in 2012, he/she will be inheriting an economic mess and an infrastructure network that degrades by the day because of sheer neglect/lack of resources and our abject failure to legislate properly. I sincerely hope House Speaker and his party men realize that posturing and politicking is doing more harm to the country than they intend to do. Let’s sincerely hope it does not get to that point where the Americans look like Greeks, rioting in the streets. Oh wait, we are already half-way there with the Occupy Wall Street Protests and it won’t be too long before these peaceful protesters, many of whom are unemployed, lose their patience and turn this into something really ugly!
-
-
-
-
-
January 10, 2012 at 12:34 am
Via Scoop.it – Transportation Today
The BreathalEyes app for iPhone uses the smartphone’s camera to detect and measure involuntary eye movement, and then offers an approximate blood … The app uses the iPhone camera to record a subject’s Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) – where the eye twitches and jerks of its own accord as the iris reaches an angle of about 45 degrees while the person’s head remains forward. Sufferers of HGN are blissfully unaware that it’s happening, and there are many reasons why it occurs – one of which being alcohol consumption. As such, suspected drunk drivers have been subjected to variations of the pen test for some time now as one of an arsenal of field sobriety tests. The BreathalEyes app is available now for just US$0.99, and is compatible with iPhone 4 or later. Fans of Google’s mobile OS can look forward to an Android version later in the year.
Via www.gizmag.com
January 4, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Via Scoop.it – Transportation Today
Our beloved Bob Burns at TSA, yes, the Transportation Security Administration, has posted the best “catches” of 2011. Some of the things on this list will make you think “whatha…” others will make you go “Are you serious, man?” Especially items 1 & 2, all the way atthe bottom of the list Glad the TSA is working hard to stop these items from getting through their check points.. Here is the list to go with the attached image: 10) Snakes, turtles, and birds were found at Miami (MIA) and Los Angeles (LAX). I’m just happy there weren’t any lions, tigers, and bears…
9) A science project shut down a checkpoint at Omaha (OMA). I wonder if mentioning the shutting down of the checkpoint added enough flare to his presentation to score him some bonus points?
8) An artfully concealed non-metallic martial arts weapon called a “Tactical Spike” was found in the sock of a passenger at Pensacola (PNS) after being screened by a body scanner. The only thing I keep in my sock is my foot.
7) Inert landmines were found at Salt Lake City (SLC). I always travel with mine, don’t you???
6) A stun gun disguised as a smart phone was found at Los Angeles (LAX). Not very smart to travel with this stunning device.
5) A flare gun with seven flares was found in a passenger’s carry-on bag at Norfolk (ORF). Hmmm… pressurized cabin + 7 live flares = no good can come from this.
4) Two throwing knives concealed in hollowed out book were found at Washington National (DCA). Killer book…
3) Over 1,200 firearms were discovered at TSA checkpoints across the nation in 2011. Many guns are found loaded with rounds in the chamber. Most passengers simply state they forgot they had a gun in their bag. 2) A loaded .380 pistol was found strapped to passenger’s ankle with the body scanner at Detroit (DTW). You guessed it, he forgot it was there… 1) Small chunks of C4 explosives were found in passenger’s checked luggage in Yuma (YUM). Believe it or not, he was brining it home to show his family.
Via blog.tsa.gov
January 2, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Via Scoop.it – Aviation
Washington Post editorial argues for revoking the subsidies for EVs: “THERE MAY NOT have been a party in Times Square to celebrate, but two of the most wasteful subsidies ever to clutter the Internal Revenue Code went out with the old year. Congress declined to renew either the 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit for corn-based ethanol or the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol, so both expired Dec. 31. Taxpayers will no longer have shell out roughly $6 billion per year for a program that badly distorted the global grain market, artificially raised the cost of agricultural land and did almost nothing to curb greenhouse gas emissions. A federal law requiring the use of 36 billion gallons of ethanol for fuel by 2022 still props up the industry, but the tax credit’s expiration is a victory for common sense just the same.”
Via www.washingtonpost.com
December 31, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Via Scoop.it – Transportation Today
CHICAGO — Animal rights group PETA wants Illinois to install highway signs in memory of 20 cattle killed when trucks hauling them flipped in two separate wrecks. Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Josh Kauffman says the request will likely be denied because the state’s Roadside Memorial Act specifies that only relatives who lost loved ones in highway crashes may request memorials.
Via www.huffingtonpost.com
