Can’t you just wait? – Not being a big reader myself (I tend to use audiobooks because the only time I really have for books is on mass transportation, and reading while riding makes me ill), I have less enthusiasm for such events, but obviously many people all over all quite excited about the release of the final Harry Potter. I however have never felt the need to be the first on line for a book. Of course the last time I waited in line for anything, it was for Bruce Springsteen tickets. And unlike Harry Potter books or iPhones or (I’m dating myself here) copies of Windows 95, there was actually a finite quantity available.
What Security? – Unless you live in or around NY, you may not have heard or given much thought to the Steam Pipe Explosion that rocked mid-town Manhattan this past week. What is frightening as one blogger notes, is that eyewitness reports from Grand Central Station described total and utter chaos ensuing there after it happened. If this was 1997, then I wouldn’t think much about it. But here we are in 2007, almost 6 years after the World Trade Center attacks. Billions of dollars have been spent on preparedness plans, on security, on what to do in case of an emergency. And apparently when the time of an emergency hits, nothing (and nobody) seems “prepared.” It is frightening to realize that all this money and extra security etc, seems to only be “for show” when an actual emergency hits. Remember the Emergency Alert System? Or as it used to be called (why they changed the name I do not know) the Emergency Broadcast System. Does anybody know why, this system which interrupted countless television shows over the years to run its “Test” and tell us that if there was an actual Emergency you would be told where to tune for information, wasn’t functioning or used on September 11th? The money is being spent, where is it going?
Flick your Bic – When we flew down to Disney World this summer, I must admit, that I completely forgot about the ban on Lighters until somebody asked me for a light at our resort because theirs had been confiscated at the airport. I HAD a lighter, because I had placed it in my carry on luggage and it was never taken. Fortunately (for smokers) now the TSA has lifted the ban on lighters (except for “torch style”) being brought on aircraft. But as my faux pas shows. It really wasn’t all that effective anyway.
iFaux – For those craving the “cool” of an iPhone for people to be envious of, but without the excessive pricetag, Roller Coaster Galaxy has iPhone wallpaper for your phone. It may not turn your phone into an iPhone, but then again, the “cool look” is the only thing that the iPhone has going for it anyway.
Obviously I agree with you about the whole preparedness thing. It’s amazing how you can’t get through most large places here without metal detectors, cops eying you suspiciously, and all kind of crazy ID requirements, yet when something actually HAPPENS that is a major issue, no one knows what the hell to do. It’s all a crap shoot in this City. It actually amazes me we’ve not had any more attacks in the last 6 years.