The Great Separation

Video of The World's Largest Swimming Pool. Why?

Don't forget your water wings. - This really is amazing. Terribly strange too. Living in Florida on the coast I've never really understood why hotels and houses have swimming pools next to the ocean. Seems silly to me. And a waste of greenbacks.

However this resort in Chile seems to think it a great idea and has created one giganto swimming pool that is sure to be one of the world's wonders. One reason they give is that the beach is terribly dangerous for swimmers, so I guess that's a good reason for a pool.

Next thing you'll see is some Hollywood type making a horror film in it where some shark makes it into the pool.

Picture Perfect Friday: That's Where My Shoes Went!

I just took them off for a minute and when I turned around they were gone!

My shoes, just up and walked away.

I had to track them down, but I finally found them.

I know it's probably real boring and all, but I there are some Big Boy photos on my other blog too. Big Boy is having a blast!

On a Gulf Beach in Florida.

You all can't be this cute. - Well, Phil and I left our cousin, John, in Georgia and have made our way down to the Panhandle of Florida to be with more family.

Here's a picture of me and Noah I grabbed with the cell.

Oh, and here is a picture of Big Boy. He's thinking that he would have a lot more fun with this ride.

Big Boy Goes GeoCaching.

Searching is fun - Particularly when the you are the search engine. That's a fact that Big Boy understands.

Click over to my book blog for the latest pics of Big Boy. He went GeoCaching today. That's where folk hide little treasures and you use a GPS to hunt them down.

What's the Same Wherever You Go?

People.

Yep. People.

Folk are the same wherever one travels.

Which is pretty cool when you stop to think about it.

And it makes sense too.

Oh, if you'd like to see more pictures of Big Boy as in the the previous adventure posts, click over to my book blog, Sins of Our Fathers. I've been using it to post them.

Oh, in the mean time, the pic to the left is my cousin John's backyard this morning.

TTFN.

Terrorists Making Dry Runs on US Airlines.

Should we be concerned? - Absolutely!!!

There were dry runs that ran up to the the 9/11 attacks.

Now it appears that terrorists are running dry runs again on our airplanes so that they can test out just how soft a target our skies are now.

Here's a link to the Reuters's report, U.S. airports warned of possible attack "dry runs":

In at least four incidents over the past year, security screeners have found items in carry-on luggage -- blocks of cheese taped to electrical components, for example -- that resembled homemade bombs, according to the TSA's July 20 memo.

"Past terrorist attacks and plots show that such testing generally indicates attacks will soon follow," said the internal memo, which was posted on the Internet by NBC News on Tuesday.

We need to be on high alert as citizens.

Here is a video of actor James Woods detailing the dry run he experienced on a plane pre-9/11 that included at least two of the Islamic terrorists of 9/11.

Picture Perfect Friday: Support an Author!

Feed a writer - It was my pleasure to meet Jodi Cowles, the wonderful author of, The Minor Protection Act. Her book is a political thriller that I believe Christians in America need to read.

Today's pic is of her MPA-mobile. You see, she is currently touring the country promoting this great work that God gave her.

You can read about her journey, almost a year now on the road, at her blog, whereisjodi.

This picture was taken on the day she pulled out of our church driveway. She was stuck with us for over a week because what was planned as a weekend stay became a lot longer when her transmission died.

My suggestion to you is click over to Amazon and buy, The Minor Protection Act. You'll help her buy some gas, pay for that transmission, and continue on her way, where ever she be today. Plus you'll get a bonus out of it. A great book from an author who really loves Christ.

Mice Don't Like Tulips?

Is that right? - Here's an animal oddity for you.

The Schipol Airport in Amsterdam has a problem with birds. It's such a big problem that Ananova™ is reporting that the airplane collision rate with feathered friends increased by 50 percent during the last year for the airport.

So apparently the solution was to put a call out to tulip growers.

Why?

Because the birds are apparently attracted to the airfields due to the abundance of mice:

Dutch tulip growers have been called in to plant hundreds of thousands of flowers at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport to deter mice.

Tulips will be planted near the Polderbaan runway in the hope that their smell will drive away the mice which have been attracting birds such as buzzards and herons.

Who knew mice hate the smell of tulips? Hmm... You know there's a new product in the offing there. A scent making firm needs to mass produce the tulip scent and market it as mice repellent for restaurants, farms, and housewives tired up jumping up on chairs.

First Northwest Flight 372 Now Virgin Flight 20.

The public remaining vigilant. - If you've had your head in the sand you may not know about Flight 327. Well, get educated.

For those that have read about Flight 327, today there is yet another example of passengers behaving in a suspicious way that led to the FBI getting involved.

Steve Rubenstein and Charlie Goodyear report for the SFGate.com:

A Virgin Atlantic Airways flight bound for London from San Francisco International Airport was canceled Monday night after suspicious behavior by several passengers was reported to authorities.

Virgin's Flight 20, scheduled to leave at 4:30 p.m., was barred from departing "based on suspicious activity by some passengers,'' said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration. The FBI later took charge of the case, according to a San Francisco police spokesman.

Hundreds of passengers were taken off the flight and left waiting at the airport, with little explanation. A Virgin spokeswoman declined to comment on Monday night, and the airline's Web site listed the flight only as delayed.

It was four hours after the the plane was supposed to be in the air that the flight was canceled, report Rubenstein and Goodyear.

Apparently there were two incidents.

One a drunken passenger who made a scene; something not that unusual.

The second incident was a group of five people with Romanian passports that the flight crew became suspicious about.

So the authorities were called in, the flight was canceled, and the plane searched.

Nothing was found and passengers were given rooms for the night.

Overreaction?

Maybe. But I like to think of it in the same way one passenger did:

"At the end of the day, if it's not safe, it's not safe,'' said one passenger who would identity himself only as Fernando. "I don't mind. Better to be safe than sorry.''

Related posts on The Great Separation:

More on Northwest Flight 327.
Update on Flight 327's & the Tune the Syrian Crooner Sings.
Flight #327 Syrian Musicians Continue To Raise Questions.
Terror Tactics in the Skies: Flight 327 & Others.
A Must Read Domestic Airline Experience: Flight #327.

More on Northwest Flight 327.

Look who's finally paying attention. - Proving again that she's on top of homeland security issue's - be it ports, skies, or our porous borders - Michelle Malkin points out that the Washington Times is reporting that the Senate and House Judiciary Committee called for federal officials to come and report on the events that took place on Flight 327, which Annie Jacobsen originally reported upon.

Audrey Hudson reports for The Washington Times:

One staffer who attended the briefing said officials were "very cagey" on details, which he described as "very frustrating."

However, the officials confirmed air marshals found the activities unusual and suspicious.

"They are trying to have it both ways and say yes, our people are smart enough to see something and that's why they called for authorities, but they deny it was as scary as it has been portrayed," the staffer said.

Malkin points out:

DHS is also attempting a CYA move on the expired visas issue; a spokesman revealed that the department "learned late Tuesday" that an extension had been granted to the Syrians until July 15. The fact remains that no federal immigration officer was present when the passengers were questioned in Los Angeles and no one bothered to check on their status until after they were released.

This whole incident continues to be really fishy. Maybe, as Malkin notes, the Feds are trying to cover their collective rears for dropping the ball on the visas, but I just don't know. Something continues to bother me, but I can't put my finger on it. I think it goes to the fact that there was more than one marshal on the plane. It's almost as if a chess game were being played and that they were waiting for something to happen before moving into action themselves.

Time will tell.

Related posts on The Great Separation:

Update on Flight 327's & the Tune the Syrian Crooner Sings.
Flight #327 Syrian Musicians Continue To Raise Questions.
Terror Tactics in the Skies: Flight 327 & Others.
A Must Read Domestic Airline Experience: Flight #327.