Paul W. Swansen's Weblog

Lighten up Friday.

Here's some fun video to lighten up your week.

Found Footage: Woz on Colbert: "

Filed under: Apple, The Woz

Here's the video of last night's Colbert Report interview of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. It certainly is fun, and it seems Steven Colbert wasn't quite ready for the Woz's unique personality.

Thanks, Bill I.

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(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog.)

Found Footage: Woz on Colbert

Technorati Tags: Woz | Colbert | interview |

Straight from the "Flyers" mouth.

Flyer Detained For Graffiti-ing Own Bag Speaks.: "Flyer Detained For Graffiti-ing Own Bag Speaks.
Ryan Bird is a soft-spoken 31-year-old senior executive for a manufacturing company in Milwaukee who flies about 100,000 miles per year. On Tuesday, Bird took a magic marker to his plastic bag of toiletries -- the newest security regulation issued by the government -- and wrote 'Kip Hawley is an idiot.'

Hawley heads up the Transportation Security Administration, and for insulting him, Bird says he ended up being detained for 15 minutes by Milwaukee sherriff's department and told by a TSA official that he had no First Amendment rights in the screening area.

Bird's stunt gained him quick e-fame, but refused to talk to reporters until he talked with Wired News today.

He wasn't after publicity outside the world of the FlyerTalk frequent flyer community, Bird said, and he just wanted to express his opinion that the ban on liquids was 'kabuki security theater' and that the TSA should be focussing on looking for bombs in cargo, instead. He'd tried writing the TSA, his Senator and Congressperson to no aviail.

I really thought of it as culmination of my frustration at the idiotic policies of the TSA and if I had the chance to write a complete disertation to show the guys at the checkpoint, I probably would have, But it was pretty succint: 'Kip Hawley is an idiot' and he is.

I think what struck a chord with people was not that the TSA overreacted but it was the blatant comment from the TSA supervisor, when he said, 'Out there you have rights. In here, you don't.' I think it rung a bell with a lot of people who realize that TSA is little more than window dressing.

Now that you have some publicity what do you want?

In addition to a response to my complaint, I'd like to see a more commonn sense approach when it comes to security, lets admit that the whole water and gel and liquid ban was a stupid knee jerk reaction to a non-credible threat.

If we are going to spend billions of taxpayer dollars in money and fees attached to tickes, lets address proactively address some real threats: How about that you can sneak a bomb into the cargo hold or you can check a bag and misconnect?

I definitely want to see the end of random patdowns of people like common criminals. And let's end the shoe carnival -- shoes can be swabbed for explosives just like anything else it?s a foolish time waster that seems to be done for public opinion.

Bird says he still has his baggie and this morning said he planned to fly home with it today. [27B Stroke 6]"

(Via Privacy Digest.)

Flyer Detained For Graffiti-ing Own Bag Speaks.

Technorati Tags: FlyerDetained | RyanBird | TSA | KipHawley |

Travel Lunacy

HOWTO make a "Kip Hawley is an idiot" Freedom Baggie: "Cory Doctorow: KipHawleyIsAnIdiot.com is a site devoted to helping travelers express their dissatisfaction with the TSA's security theater war on moisture.

This week, a traveller in Milwaukee was detained and then booked as a threat to the nation for writing [TSA director] Kip Hawley is an idiot on the 'liquids' baggie at the airport.

KipHawleyIsAnIdiot.com gives you instructions for making your own 'freedom baggie' with your opinion of the TSA chief.

I flew from SFO to LAX yesterday morning, and was robbed at gunpoint by a TSA agent, who stole my cologne, face-wash, and moisturizer. She said that my moisture baggie could only contain vessels of 3 oz or less' worth of moisture. I pointed out that all these vessels did have less than 3 oz' worth of moist substances in them, as they were all half-empty, and she said yes, but the vessels were capable of holding more than 3 oz. Apparently, the risk is that a hair-gel bomber will take to the skies, and use a syringe to refill the tube of face-scrub through its tiny little aperture, somehow mixing some kind of moisture-bomb in the plastic tube without melting it. Apparently, liquids acquire magical explosive properties when they are in quantities of more than 3 oz.

A TSA supervisor took me aside and asked me why I was so upset. I said that my family left the Soviet Union to escape arbitrary authority, and the seizure of property by the state. She suggested that I send in a report to the TSA complaining, and I laughed and asked her how many of those people get added to the No-Fly List.

Of course, this is all a hollow joke. The risk of someone mixing a binary hair-gel explosive has been dismissed by chemists as a near-zero. Meanwhile, as KipHawleyIsAnIdiot.com points out, 'air cargo is not screened and there is still no point-to-point baggage matching.' Link (Thanks, Bill!)
…

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

HOWTO make a "Kip Hawley is an idiot" Freedom Baggie

Technorati Tags: TSA | KipHawley | liquids | moisture | noflylist |

Gunman claims to have bomb, holding hostages in high school

This is ongoing. About 25-30 miles southwest of Denver

Gunman claims to have bomb, holding hostages in high school: "BAILEY - At least four schools are in lockdown after a gunman, claiming to have a bomb, took an unknown number of people hostage inside Platte Canyon High School."

(Via 9NEWS.com Top Stories.)

Gunman claims to have bomb, holding hostages in high school

Technorati Tags: BaileyColorado | hostages | highschool | gunman | bomb |

Illegal Immigration

It's happened both here in Denver and now a report in Houston. Maybe if more if this is reported, it will begin to bring the crisis to a point that people will want to take action against Illegal Immigration.

Houston Police Officer Murdered By Illegal Immigrant: "Suspect shot the officer 4 times in the face after he had already been deported once. Quintero has been working for a landscaping company in the Deer Park area and was driving a company Ford double-cab pickup when Johnson stopped..."

(Via Blogs for Bush.)

Houston Police Officer Murdered By Illegal Immigrant

Technorati Tags: illegalimmigration | denver | houston | policeofficershot |

Winter Preview

It took one of our family members 7 hrs to get from Vail Pass to Silverthorne last night. Yes winter is coming.

I-70 reopens after wintry September blast: "VIEW SLIDESHOW
GEORGETOWN - Interstate 70 reopened in the Colorado mountains Friday after blowing snow and icy roads forced an overnight shutdown and stranded some travelers."

(Via 9NEWS.com Top Stories.)

I-70 reopens after wintry September blast

Technorati Tags: winter | silverthorne | vail | georgetown | coloradomountains | skiing |

Sleepy boys.

  Sleepy boys. 
  Originally uploaded by pswansen.

Copper and Rusty, sound asleep.

Invaluable US Airport WiFi Guide

Here's a great resource for all you road warriors.

Invaluable US Airport WiFi Guide: "

Davenetics‘ Dave Pell passed along this link to a guide with listings for the wifi offered at 134 airports across the country. Would have come in handy yesterday on my way from Oakland (Sprint PCS, $9.95 daily) to Seattle (AT&T and Wayport, $7.95 and $6.95 respectively). Only five of the top twenty airports have free offerings (Vegas, JFK, Boston, Phoenix and Orlando), though it’s not surprising that you’ll have to pay the same premium for WiFi that you would for anything else they sell to the captive audience behind the security line. Makes paying for alirline club room access look like a bargain.

"

(Via Web Worker Daily.)

Invaluable US Airport WiFi Guide

Technorati Tags: airports | airportwifi | wi-fi | roadwarrior | travel |

Downtown Denver

  Downtown Denver 
  Originally uploaded by pswansen.

Friday night in Downtown Denver

Blogging Truth.