Security check for idiots

So last week I happened to travel by air as I often do and once more I found myself feeling extremely frustrated at having to go through all this airport security nonsense that takes forever. It has always seemed to me as though one could easily pass an elephant through these supposedly terrorist-proof checkpoints anyways and that they mostly serve to reassure the public. For instance, when was the last time anyone has heard of a terrorist being arrested at an airport security gate? Not that I can remember.

In any case, if proof is needed that the way security checks are currently done at most airports is a pointless waste of time, including the limits on fluids, let me give it to you plainly just right here, in the hopes that authorities will finally put an end to them. I am sure more people are dying as a result of their travel time being so long and uncomfortable than are dying of terrorist attacks.

In most airports, so far as I have noticed, passengers first have to go through the security checkpoint with the X-ray scanners before entering the departure terminal and then on to their departure gate. Precisely, this is where the problem lies: there is only one common checkpoint for all the departure gates.

So all it takes is for a number of accomplices to each book a seat on a different flight, so as not to attract any suspicion, and then each of them can pass through security with their allowed dose of bomb-making fluid, or parts of a bomb or even parts of a gun. Then they can put it all back together in that great duty-free shopping lounge at Heathrow, for instance in the men's restroom to be discreet, and then the suicide bomber can take it with him to his plane. That simple.

At the very least, if such security checks are to dissuade people for real, they would have to be done at each departure gate, as this would make it much more difficult for a number of people to work as a team without attracting unwanted attention. But then again, this would still not prevent a few really dedicated individuals from going through anyway. So let's just forget about the scanners and let the people fly without having them take their shoes off. It's so annoying to have to do that.

So let me conclude this way: airport security is one more thing that I would definitely dismiss as utter crap, to be added to the list in the previous post.

It's just crap

As my friends will already know, one of my great pleasures in life is to dismiss stuff I dislike as utter crap and for some reason, this minute I totally feel like naming a few of those. Just because. With no specific ordering, I totally think open-source software is crap, and so is the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid car, as well as Intel's new Larrabee processor architecture. Then again, Obama's economic policy is also total crap and so are most large American banks. In fact, there's so much crap out there right now, I'm at no risk of running out of stuff to dismiss as crap. Which is a good thing!

Just hilarious

Just saw this on FSJ's blog. I kinda feel bad yet I can't help but laugh really hard on this one...

R.I.P. Norman Borlaug

Norman Borlaug, the winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize passed away on Sept. 12 at the respectable age of 95. His life and work were among the most inspiring of all the natural scientists. In short, Mr Borlaug single-handedly saved the lives of hundreds of millions of people in Africa and most notably in India, thanks to his efforts developing high-yielding varieties of wheat.

His method was rather simple, and most of his research took place before the more modern techniques of genetic engineering became available. Essentially he would cross-breed hundreds of varieties of crops and grow each one of them on a small plot, to see which ones gave the best results. His constant nemesis was the wheat rust, a parasite that grows underneath the stem's surface and can propagate very far away, carried by the winds. Dr Borlaug kept finding new varieties of wheat that could resist rust effectively, saving entire populations from starvation.

Thanks to Dr Borlaug's dedication, the doomsday scenario of mass starvation in Africa and India following an exponential population growth at the end of the twentieth century did not come to pass. For this Dr Borlaug will be remembered as one of science's most inspiring life stories.

R.I.P. Melanie Thornton

Now that I'm back at blogging, what better way to reboot than to put up a totally awesome 90's dance video of La Bouche, with vocals by the beautiful Melanie Thornton who tragically died in a plane crash exactly five years ago. I guess it's true the best die young.

Car for idiots

So I was laughing out loud as I was reading this interview of Mr Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America, in which he boldly affirms his feeling that GM's Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle is 'a car for idiots,' as few actual buyers will be willing to shell out $40,000 for a car that competes with a Toyota Corolla costing $25,000.

Of course Mr de Nysschen is not at all impartial in this, as he was trying to make the case that his own Diesel vehicles could immediately make a bigger difference for the environment than plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Yet as biased as Mr de Nysschen may be, I'd definitely say he has a point here. Particularly in the USA and Britain, as well as in China, there is no denying plug-in hybrids will have to be recharged with electricity generated mainly by burning coal rather than renewable energy, producing far more emissions than a fleet of regular gasoline engines. Diesel engines, on the other hand, emit up to 25% less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, while consuming 25% to 35% less fuel.

In this perspective, I would argue that, indeed, Diesel engines are a good idea and that emphasizing Toyota Prius-style hybrid vehicles, which also burn a lot less gasoline, is the way to go until America produces all its electricity from renewable sources, or at least a greater share of natural gas. In any case it is refreshing to hear an auto exec calling GM what they are: a bunch of idiots supported by an even more stupid U.S. administration who've felt bailing them out and funding electric cars was such a great idea. Which it is definitely not.

Hitler rants about the financial crisis

Adolf Hitler is pissed because all his assets have been wiped out in the financial crisis. His financial advisors are in deep trouble...