Month: December 2011

Ce n’est pas un fusil

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

A teenager is stopped by TSA agents for a gun-shaped emblem on her purse.

“She was like, ‘This is a federal offense because it’s in the shape of a gun,'” Gibbs said. “I’m like, ‘But it’s a design on a purse. How is it a federal offense?'”

I can make my fingers into the shape of a gun. Is that a Federal offense? I know this country has gone off the deep end, but if that is the case then we’ve truly lost it.

“I carried this from Jacksonville to Norfolk, and I’ve carried it from Norfolk to Jacksonville,” Vanessa said. “Never once has anyone said anything about it until now.”

Even if the policy is legit, the inconsistent application of the policy is massive FAIL. Way to keep things “secure”.

A TSA official at JIA said it’s not that uncommon for passengers to wear something that could be considered a gun replica, but the official encourages everyone to check the prohibited items list, which can be found online or at the airport before going through security.

This is not a gun, nor a gun replica. Nor are purses on the prohibited items list.

They said we’d not live in fear, but they didn’t say we wouldn’t have to live with stupidity. *sigh*

Purple Fountain Tree – rainwater collection and other things

/ hsoi

Recently I’ve spoken with numerous people about rainwater collection systems.

I always thought the idea would be cool, tho I haven’t gotten around to it yet for my own house (so many other things to deal with). Of course, with the severe drought, well… rainwater collection is only useful if you have rainwater to collect. 🙂

Nevertheless, it seems that you don’t need much rain to collect a lot of water… one roof can have enough surface area to collect a lot of water, more than enough to get you by, provided you have a good system for collection and storage. With the recent rains we have had, one could easily fill up a system.

Some do it for survival/preparedness reasons. Some do it for landscaping and gardening reasons. Some do it for long-term economy. Whatever your reason, if you’re going to do it, you first need a system.

On Facebook I saw a buddy of mine posting pictures of a big cistern project he was doing. I asked if he had a public webpage, and he finally got one set up.

Purple Fountain Tree.

Jef does irrigation, rainwater, and greywater systems. With the way the Texas climate is turning, efficient use of water is going to become more and more important. Jef also can do other sorts of landscaping and hardscaping projects.

If you’re in the market for such things and in the greater Austin area, give Jef a call.

Appropriate Use of Shrapnel

/ hsoi

Shawn sent me the link to this story, about the appropriate use of shrapnel. It’s a really cool story with a cooler end result.

Go read. Won’t take long, and the pictures are totally worth it.

After having read it, it renews my interest in taking the blacksmithing classes over at Pioneer Farms. Something I’ve wanted to do for the past couple years but just haven’t yet. Why? Because it’d be cool.