Thursday Thoughts

Just a post of random thoughts for the week.

1. Kaitlyn is now 18 months old. Looking back, I cannot believe how fast it has gone. The other night, Jeff and I were looking at pictures and videos and it is amazing how much she has grown and changed in the last 18 months. It really almost hurts to see her growing up so fast. I think I need to tape my eyelids open because I'm scared to blink.

2. We also just made it to an official one year mark in California. That too has gone faster than I thought, but unlike Kaitlyn growing, this is a good thing! Truth be told, I'm actually kind of enjoying the experience of something totally different. I just don't want to think about it being permanent and without a definite "leave" date it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But at least I know we now have one year down!

3. I discovered two new shows I love. I am not one to stray much from the basic cable of ABC, FOX, NBC, and, totally for Kaitlyn, PBS, but I've gotten hooked on two USA shows: White Collar and Covert Affairs. Someone needs to tell tv produces that having such long breaks in the summer is not a good thing. Overpaid actors really don't need three months for a break. I mean, really. During the summer, I get hooked on new shows and all of a sudden Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, and Modern Family just don't seem as good. I mean, who knows, maybe now that I'm out of the habit of watching them, I won't even return to them once they come back on...well until of course they show the commercials for the season premiere. I'll be hooked then.

4. Today, I read this article about the full body scanners that have been placed in major airports around the country. If you aren't aware of these, here's just a tiny little nutshell - it takes a scan of your body that is kind of like our sci-fi dream of x-ray vision. Basically it takes an image of your naked body. Now, no, it does not look like an image that you are going to find in certain adult-magazines. But it is a digital image that is pretty darn close to x-ray vision. For security purposes, this is actually a pretty amazing thing. For privacy purposes, let's just say you better not be modest at the airport. Someone behind a screen is going to see your anatomy and it isn't your doctor. There are supposed layers upon layers of privacy (for example - your face is blurred, the person looking at the image is in this little room and never actually sees your face, they can't even see you in the flesh as you walk through, etc.) but one of the great claims people have mentioned when the privacy issue comes up is that the images are not stored. They can't be downloaded and sold (like in LAX where naked celebrity pics could be sold for a lot of money!). It's an image that comes up, checks you for dangerous, hidden objects and then once you are cleared to go, so is the image. Poof, it's gone. Here is an article from 2009 that has a video (look for the red words "watch a video") where you can see more. If you check out the first article, you'll see that this alleged claim that the images can't be saved isn't exactly true, as thousands of images have been saved. Personally, I am so adamantly against such a violation of privacy, whether or not the images are saved, I cannot believe that these things are being used on a daily basis. I also find it incredibly hard to believe that a majority of the population is okay with the use of these machines. But, I'm not going to make a soapbox out of this. Point is, I'm very much against the use of these machines. Fortunately, you can still opt out of using them.

But...I also recently saw this movie The Ghostwriter. Decent movie, although I felt like it was a little slow. But there is a quote in it, which I'm not going to get exactly right, but goes something like this: "I'd like to set up two lines at every airport. In one line, you can walk up, check in, no questions asked, no security checks, and board your plane. In another, you'll first deal with all the precautions we've taken based on information we've gathered, yes, some of it through torture, and I'd like to see which line you'd choose before you put your kids on a plane."

Just some thoughts.

For the record, I'm still opposed to someone taking a scan of my body...and especially of my child's body. I can't imagine what I'll be facing when Kaitlyn is 16 and we go to the airport. But...if those two lines did exist...hum.......

5. On a lighter note, since I'd rather end on a lighter note, the high tomorrow is 75°. Hallelujah. I'm tired of hot.

Tomorrow starts the weekend!