Radioactive Communist Zombies

New Pictures

Two new pictures from my travels in Photo Intelligence.  See here and here.

Maybe I Don't Want to go to Australia

Lots of places I want to visit in the world and Australia is one of them.  But I'm having second thoughts after reading this report and seeing the picture accompanying it at left (click for larger view).  As the report states:

THIS amazing image of a mammoth spider devouring a bird was taken in the backyard of a property near Cairns . . . The photo, believed to have been taken earlier this week, shows the spider clenching its legs around a lifeless bird trapped in a web at a property near Atherton, west of Cairns.

Joel Shakespeare, the head spider keeper at NSW's Australian Reptile Park, has told ninemsn the spider was a golden orb weaver.

"Normally they prey on large insects, it's unusual to see one eating a bird," he said.

Mr Shakepeare said he had seen Golden Orb Weaver spiders as big as a human hand but the northern species in tropical areas were known to grow larger. 

A spider larger than a human hand?  Capable of eating a bird?

Now I'm not afraid of spiders as a general rule.  But I really don't want to be where ones that size are roaming around freely.  I mean, what if you stepped on it?

Still probably visit Australia if I get the chance.  I'll just watch were I step.  And look out for large webs.

TSA Screener Stealing from Passengers

Yet another tale of a TSA employee breaching his public trust (Hat tip Instapundit).

As The Star-Ledger reports:

As a screener at Newark Liberty International Airport, Pythias Brown was supposed to keep deadly objects off airplanes. But for the past year, authorities allege, Brown has been swiping electronic equipment from luggage of the passengers he was supposed to protect.

A laptop here, a cell phone there. Within months, he had snatched more than 100 items, authorities say.

He got caught trying to sell a camera he stole from HBO on eBay.

Among the items seized were 66 cameras, 31 laptop computers, 20 cell phones, 17 sets of electronic games, 13 pieces of jewelry, 12 GPS devices, 11 MP3 players, eight camera lenses, six video cameras and two DVD players, the affidavit said.

Now the TSA employs thousands (43,000) of screeners so one bad apple does not make a trend.  But if the TSA weren't so intrusive Mr. Brown wouldn't have had the opportunity.  But they have to be so intrusive, you say, in order to do their job?

There's the conundrum, isn't it. 

Border Agents Can Seize Laptops

Apparently there has been in place a policy the U.S. border agents may, without cause, seize and indefinitely hold electronic devices including laptops, portable music players, portable hard drives, or even cell phones, according to an article on PC World.com:

Travelers beware: U.S. agents now have the authority to seize and retain laptops indefinitely, according to a new policy detailed in documents issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As part of border search policy, government agents are now authorized to seize electronic devices and inspect documents in them, the document states. The electronic devices might include laptops, cell phones, portable music players or storage devices such as portable hard drives.

Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection will also be allowed to translate and share documents with other government agencies.

Apparently this authority has existed for some time but not be formalized.  Travelers are reporting that seized electronics are not being returned, either.

This seems to me a violation of the 4th Amendment.  Taking a laptop to fish through its contents without probable cause is like going through your house without a search warrant.  Never mind the inconvenience (and expense) of losing your computer the potential for violation of privacy is huge. 

I'm all for catching child pornographers and terrorists but not at the expense of the freedoms of tourists and business travelers.      

Guinea Pig on the Menu

When I visited Peru in the spring of 2007 my hosts took me to a restaurant that would not look out of place in Seattle or any other American city.  I was handed the English menu and thumbing through it I found the page of "Traditional Peruvian Dishes."  About the third one down was Fried Guinea Pig.  

"Yes," my hosts' daughter (a college student) explained, "It's so delicious but there's too many bones."

I did not order that.  And seeing this I'm glad I didn't:

  

From the accompanying story:

Pampered in other parts of the world as a pet, the guinea pig in Peru is dinner. Top Peruvian chefs say it tastes better than rabbit and is low in cholesterol.

"We never raise them as pets. We raise them to sell and of course, to eat," said Betty Andres, from the Ayarpongo community.

Beads of sweat gathered on her upper lip as Andres worked, stuffing the insides of a gutted pig with an egg and meat mixture seasoned with chiles and local spices. She served her creation -- ears, teeth, toes and all.

Glad I ordered the traditional steak.

New Pictures

Back from vacation so there are new pictures in Photo Intelligence.  Check out this picture of smoke from a forest fire.

Flying to get More Miserable

On top of dealing with the TSA, late (or canceled) flights, and seats designed for people with no legs and no ass, flying is going to get more miserable.

United Airlines and US Airways (two miserable airlines as it is) are going to charge for checked luggage.  This is after American announced the same policy. 

So what this means is over-head bins are going to fill up and fill up fast.  Airlines are going to be pickier about what is and is not allowed on board (and what is allowed in the over-heads).  Say goodbye to leg room as the "underneath the seat in front of you" will become prime real estate for placing "smaller items."

And it will take longer to load an airplane as everyone will be dragging on luggage and putting it in the overheads, blocking the aisle and not letting anyone past.

If anything, they should be charging to take luggage on the plane, or at least the same amount they charge for going in the belly of the plane.

Or they should figure out a way to make money.    

New Pictures

Just returned from vacation and there are new pictures in Photo Intelligence.  Go to the second page.

Christmas May be Delayed

From "Non Sequitur":

Young Frankenstein: the Musical

After the stunning success of his Broadway musical "The Producers" (based on his 1968 movie of the same name), Mel Brooks is back on the boards with "Young Frankenstein."  Again, based on one of his better movies (perhaps his best; from 1974), "Young Frankenstein" (hereafter "YF") is playing it's debut performances in Seattle.  If the attendance at a Saturday matinee is any indication, it's playing to near or totally sold-out crowds in the historic Paramount Theater.

And for good reason: it's hilarious.  The biggest downfall for me is the songs (full disclosure: I am not a fan of musicals, especially movies but plays I'll cut some slack).  The music and lyrics were by Mr. Brooks.  To ask Mel to be an incredibly funny man (and he is) and a funny Andrew Lloyd Webber would be asking too much.  His songs (and this is true of "The Producers," too) tend to be trite and even a bit annoying.  I still have "Join the Family Business" stuck in my head where Frederick Frankenstein's ancestors (and the beautiful Inga) encourage him in a dream to build a monster.  What saved many on the songs in "The Producer" was that they were sweet, funny, or full of double entendres.  In YF, Mel left out the sweet.  But then again, building a monster is not really a sweet story.

I also have little patience for long song and dance numbers (except for the pretty dancers).  And speaking of pretty, laboratory assistant Inga is played by Sutton Foster with the lithe body of a dancer and a singing voice that matches her loveliness, was the treat of the afternoon.  Roger Bart plays Frederick Frankenstein like Dan Aykroyd doing Gene Wilder.  Megan Mullally (of "Will and Grace" fame) plays Frederick's frigid yet frisky fiancée Elizabeth with finesse.  Comparing her to the brilliant and incomparable Madeline Kahn would be unfair, but who says life is fair.  She doesn't compare to Ms. Kahn, yet comes achingly close as she wisely chose to take the character in her own direction.  I haven't watched much "Will and Grace" (maybe 30 minutes total) but she seems to play Elizabeth just as she played Karen Walker on the TV show.  At least she can sing if not up to Ms. Kahn's standards.  And Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher (cue horse whinny) is hilarious.  "He Vas My Boyfriend" is practically worth the price of admission itself.

If YF is a hit on Broadway (not the one on Capitol Hill in Seattle)  it will be on the performances of its stars, it's high production values (but the moon has got to stop bouncing) and the hilarity of its book.  The songs are--to me--just filler.

P.S.: I'm eternally grateful to my friend Mark for turning me on to Mel Brooks circa 1976.  So when's Spaceballs The Musical going to come out?