The TSA Show

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KnifeI recently asked a friend, who travels frequently, about airport check-in security. He laughed and pulled out his Swiss Army knife. Not one of the tiny pin knives, but a knife with a four-inch blade.

“I forgot I had this in my pocket and went right through security.”

Isolated incident? Maybe. But does any reasonable person honestly believe we’re any safer on a plane than we were on September 10th? Do you think a terrorist group couldn’t smuggle a Stinger shoulder-fired missile into this country, park near a major U.S. airport, and knock down a plane? Remember, he’s not trying to get away.

So what’s all the TSA frenzy about. Show. A highly visible charade that accomplishes two things: 1. Persuade the American public their government is doing something to keep them safe. 2. Remind them they must be fearful and trust the government… to keep them safe.

Kerri Walsh’s ass

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KerriwalshI’ve packed my little bag and said goodbye to Barb. As soon as I can come up with Kerri Walsh’s phone number I’m going to call her and have her come get me. We’ll tell people I’m her father (okay, her grandfather). I’ll be the one crouched by the net, ready to towel off my Goddess of Beach Volleyball.

Seriously, this is the only sport worth waiting in line for. I’d like to meet the person who came up with the idea of sponsoring the back of her bikini bottom. [Photo: Kerri (6’3″) hugging her teammate Misty May-Treanor (5’10”)]

Reality spill on aisle six

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“Janet Coats, editor of the Tampa Tribune, sat down in her newsroom to tell the staff about layoffs, reorganizations, new ways of doing business, and harsh realities and an intern named Jessica DaSilva recorded the event with appropriate admiration.

My favorite bomb: “People need to stop looking at TBO.com [the newspaper’s affiliated web site] as an add on to The Tampa Tribune. The truth is that The Tampa Tribune is an add on to TBO.” — Jeff Jarvis’ Buzz Machine

If this is true for newspapers today, will it be equally true for TV and radio tomorrow? And when that day comes, what will it mean for networks and others who provide programming (content?) for those stations.

Steampunk gas mask

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Leathergasmask

Three reasons why I don’t own this steampunk gas mask: a) I can’t imagine where I’d wear it, b) It’s probably hot as hell, c) and damned expensive. But I’d be set for all Halloweens to come.

Like many others, I developed an appreciation for steampunk from the novels of William Gibson.

“Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction which came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date.” – Wikipedia

Our Goose Family

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Goose Family

Every year a pair of Canada Geese come to our neighborhood pond to nest and raise their young. I think they are Canada Geese. They have a Canadian accent. I see them most mornings and most evenings and try to snap a photo. I wish I had Henry with me to get really good shots but that would probably take a LOT longer than just sticking my Casio out the window.

I never tire of watching these critters. And seeing the goslings turn into grown-up geese is a little bit amazing. One of the adults is always "on guard." At least that’s what I imagine is going on. There are dogs in the neighborhood but I’ve never seen them chasing the geese, who stay pretty close to the pond.

I don’t know how long they’ll stay around but I’ll keep adding shots to this flicker set as I get them.

Officer Julie

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Barb has been in San Francisco all week, attending the National Health Lawyers Association meeting (I think). She’s been palling around with friends, including an old college chum, Julie. Julie is an old married lady with kids (and a nice husband, Jim), but I remember how hot she was at our annual Halloween parties.

She tripped all my fantasy switches when she showed up as an officer of the law. I just want to make sure her kids find this the next time they google “hot women in cop uniforms.”

Fez of July Webcast Special

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Tv_set_msk3

Brother George (Fez #14) and I will fire up the webcam for an hour this Friday morning, webcasting from the Coffee Zone in downtown Jefferson City. Should be lots of traffic in the Zone along with colorful carny folk and swarms of strangely dressed Americans celebrating Independence Day.

We’ll get started around 9 a.m. Central. Join us if you can.

Blogosphere as “giant wire service”

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Clyde Bentley, a Missouri School of Journalism professor whoresearches user-generated news, speaking at the Future of Journalism conference at Harvard, June 20-21:

The debate over bloggers’ influence “is over,” he said. “Blogging is a numbers game. It’s there and we’ll just have to deal with it.” Noting that 120,000 new blogs a day dwarf the country’s 1,427 dailies, he said editors should treat the blogosphere like a giant wire service. Bentley said that while consumer demand for content decreases, their demand for content navigation increases. “There will always be a place for the journalist who can craft a story better than anyone else, but there will be a bigger place for the journalist who can help media consumers find the information they want.” — Poynter: Centerpieces

Sports fan blogs

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Interesting story on NPR this morning about a sports blog called The LoHud Yankees Blog. The blog seems to be a collaborative effort by Journal News beat writer Peter Abraham and a shit-load of fans. According to the NPR piece, a post can get as many as a thousand comments and readers will post to the blog form the stands, in the middle of a game.

I have a theory about blogs like this one. If the Yankees organization tried to create  such a successful blog, they couldn’t. Wouldn’t matter how much money they threw at it. There is some organic quality to really successful blogs like this one that is damned hard for big institutions to foster.

Smart companies will find and encourage and support efforts like this one. Is there a risk that someone will post something unflattering about the Yankees? Of course. But get a clue… they’ll do that anyway.

Most of the pro leagues have some sort of dumb-ass policy regarding live-blogging of games by reporters so I’m a little curious how the Journal News is pulling this off. If Mr. Abraham or someone from the paper stumbles across this post, I’d love to know the answer. Could it be the Yankees are smart enough to know a really good thing when they see it?