Trip Grub

As we have covered before, it's not easy to eat right when on the road. There are ways, and it can be done. The most reliable way is to pack your food and bring it with you. Not always convenient, but it does work.

There are times, however, when you just don't have any food to pack, and you end up having to eat what you can get when on a trip. When only limited to fast food, I typically make the choice of Wendy's. Why? First off, on your burger you get actual leaves of lettuce and a slice of tomato rather than what remains when you put lettuce and a tomato through a paper shredder. And, the story of Dave Thomas and the formation of the Wendy's empire is a really cool one.

However, this is still typical fast food when talking burgers. So, today I decided to go for something new. A Wendy's salad. I chose the BLT cobb salad. I wasn't expecting more than a little bowl filled with burger accessories. I was wrong. Quite wrong, in fact. What I had was simply magnificent! Honest! It was easily as good as any cobb salad I have had in a traditional restaurant. It really was very very good. Blew me away.

I also feel the need to admit that while this salad was quite good, that "full" feeling didn't last very long. :( Maybe I need another?

Aircraft crashes into multiple buildings

Terrible, just terrible. I wonder how the folks in those buildings felt!

More from the TSA (with comments)

Taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-10996471


Rochdale man 'took 200 fireworks on US plane'

An airline passenger claims he was allowed to take more than 200 fireworks on two flights in the United States.

Paul Jones, 29, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, flew across the US from Kansas to Houston and back to the UK with a bag of bangers - and a lighter.

It was only at Heathrow Airport that officials expressed concern, he said.

You mean the TSA here in the states missed something like this????

Continental Airlines said it did not have a record of the incident, but that it warned customers about hazardous materials prohibited on aircraft.

Oooooh, yes, warning customers is all that you need to do. After all, terrorists and criminals are all well known for following the rules!

Bangers, which are explosives packed in a small tube, are banned from sale in the UK under The Fireworks (Safety) Regulation 1997.

US Federal law prohibits hazardous materials, such as fireworks, from being included in either checked in or carry-on baggage.

In this case, "prohibits" seems to suggest some level of enforcement. How about, "US federal law says that we ask people people to not have these items." Seems more accurate.

Mr Jones has been visiting Wichita, Kansas, during US Independence Day celebrations on 4 July and was left with the bag of Black Cat fireworks.

Deciding to take them home to Greater Manchester, he did not consider the security implications.

"I put them in my pocket, walked through then put them on a grey tray at the customs and security. They had to go through the x-ray," he said.

Even better! They were in the grey tray and went through the x-ray machine and everything! HOWEVER, since they were not liquid, they must have not been a threat!

It was when Mr Jones arrived back at Heathrow last month that his prohibited goods were discovered by UK staff.

This is just yet another classic case and point of why those of us who see TSA work on a very regular basis, think they are a complete and total sham.

Airline briefing card update

Caption contest

This is just one of those great pictures that needs a caption. Anyone want to offer up any suggestions?

Multi-tasking at it's finest

Just have to share this... This morning saw a fantastic display of multi-tasking. I took a dump while shaving! Seriously! I'm an electric razor kinda guy, so it wasn't too complicated.

After all, if you're on the crapper, what else are you doing besides not being very comfortable? It's wasted time. I've even been known to pull a small table into the bathroom and bring my laptop in there. I call it, "The Shitternet."

Who wants to "Log on" and join the revolution?

Flying a pet

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/traveling-pets-airlines-dog-deaths/story?id=11198807

I won't do it. Absolutely not. Never. There are times when people feel it's the only option, but I still wouldn't do it. I'd drive across the country myself if need be. I would never throw my pet to that "machine" known as airline baggage handling. No way.

I've seen the baggage machine in action. To be fair, I have seen rampies that actually take a few extra seconds to consider the well being of a living breathing animal. But for the most part, it's just another piece of baggage. I've seen animal crates left out in the cold next to a plane because it was one person's job to get that piece of baggage to the plane, and it's someone else's job to put it in. That second person wasn't there yet, so the first person dropped it off in sub-zero temps, and just left it there on the tarmac.

Some planes don't have all their cargo locations heated. This means, live animals can only be carried in the heated areas since it's often -50 deg C or colder at cruise altitude. I've heard stories of pets being loaded into the wrong bin, with nothing said to the crew. Upon arrival, the crew was informed of a "dogscicle" found in one of the cargo bins. Frozen completely solid.

I also think of the rear-engined CRJ series aircraft, and the noise level in that aft cargo compartment. All in all, it's surely a loud and scary experience for the animal even if all goes as well as it can.

I think when you check a pet as airline cargo, you are rolling the dice. You might end up with a live pet at the end, but you also might not. As the above article states, when things do go wrong, it's a truly horrid, painful and fatal experience for your pet. I care far too much about my pet to subject them to such. If I wouldn't ride in the cargo compartment myself, then I wouldn't subject my pet to it either.

That said, there are a few people that I would gladly stuff in a cargo bin...