TSA Problems

After the 9/11 problems, I can see how security at airports is beefed up and how every once in a while you get pulled aside and searched randomly. But seriously, some of these guys take their jobs waaaaaay to seriously. Today, coming home from Portland, Heather got pulled aside for a random search. I didn't see this happen, because I was pushing our belongings we were carrying on to the x-ray belt. So, I stepped up to the metal detector.

Before continuing, lets rewind a bit. On Wednesday, I found that I was going to be short a shirt to wear on the plane on Friday. So, since Heather was on my trip with me, I sent her out to find a couple new polos for me, and I wore one of them on the plane today. So, now, head back to present day with me standing at the metal detector....

Normally, when I travel, I'm wearing an untucked tshirt. Today, I not only had my jeans and a polo, I had the polo tucked in. This left my belt exposed. Now, I've been on a few planes with this belt, and been through security many a time. In Sioux Falls, TSA isn't picky, especially if you don't set off the metal detector. So today, the TSA agent with me ready to walk through said that I should really take off my belt. I proceeded to tell him that since no other metal detector would pick it up, his wouldn't either. So, after I said that, I got to take off my belt, and as soon as I got though the metal detector, without setting it off, I was immediately put into the holding pen to be searched. I got my own two TSA agents to come and search me and my things, and completely swab my entire back pack. After they of course found nothing, I started looking around for Heather. I finally saw she was sitting at a different TSA agent station getting searched as well. When she came back, she said that she got pulled randomly, and then asked how I got pulled. I told her that apparently mouthing off to TSA personnel gets you into trouble. She just laughed and said that it must be our last name that automatically make them suspicious. Then I remembered all the years of flying on Uncle Paul's passes, and how I'd get searched every time because of the pass I was flying on. Then I remembered in Romania being searched by 3 different people before I got on the plane. I think I'm just cursed to always be a TSA/Security target.

One of the coolest finds online!

So, I've been digging around on the Wii looking for some cool games from the old Nintendo console I had when I was a kid. I've found some great ones including Ice Hockey which I played with my cousin Jeff for hours during our winter stays with our great Aunt Delcie and Uncle Joe. I found one of the ones I owned as Double Dribble basketball, and I've purchased Super Mario Bros, and Techmo Bowl. World Cup soccer is another one I had for a while as a kid that i might look for. However, with all these great games, I've been looking for baseball. One game in particular: Baseball Stars. I remember the times as a kid that I spent playing Baseball Stars on the Nintendo. It was so much fun. It was super real, and I remember hitting monstrous home runs, home runs into the center field screen, and just plain fun games being played. Baseball Stars II was not quite as good, but still quite fun. I loved the original and used to own the second one for Nintendo for a while, but have lost it since. Tonight, I may have found the coolest thing ever. I found a website that allows an emulated version of Baseball Stars. OHHHH MAN!!! I played one inning and am now saving it for later. This one might get sent to my work computer for when I'm on the road in the hotel and need something to do of course. Not sure what you think else I'd do with it, but I'm a happy camper for sure! If you were a fan as well, click Here to check it out.

Review

Well, it's been a while since I've written, and since I'm going to see Grandma this weekend, I better get one post on here. Let's see, what all has happened since our last camping expedition. Not a ton. We have been camping again, although it was with the big family campout. It was slightly different as our camper was a borrowed camper after mom and dad's got wrecked in a bad storm a few weeks ago. Otherwise, things have been somewhat quiet, except when I have been leaving for work. That's because it's back to the trusty old motorcycle. Ok, it's the trusty newer motorcycle, but still. We're reduced to just one car again. The Pontiac is taking a break, which seems to be happening a lot recently. There is something up with the starter. Haven't quite put my finger on it yet, but that's what I'm going after next. I went out to leave for work the morning after returning from Minnesota for the 4th, and it was dead. Don't quite know as sometimes it will start, and other times, nothing but clicking. If we wouldn't have put the new suspension on it recently, I'd think more about shipping the thing out. Time to shape up, or get shipped out!

That's been the most recent battle, but Heather gets the Trailblazer and I ride the motorcycle and if it's raining she also plays taxi. Coming up, I've got a trip scheduled, but with only one vehicle, it makes it tougher. So, we've got the logical plan for that. Heather is going to just come on the trip with me. I've got some travel credits to be used, so she's coming along pretty cheap. That's what's kinda nice about it, everything else is paid for, her food and her plane ticket (minus the $350 in credits) is all the expense. I looked at it on Wednesday afternoon, and it was somewhat spendy. When I checked again i the evening, the price was far cheaper, so she got booked to come along too. It's kinda the last harrah trip for the summer. Hard to believe that they'll be back in school in one month. Where did the summer go?